Ever since Empress Dowager Zhang gave a banquet to the ministers in the Wenhua Palace.
Zhu Si became "honest" and did not argue with the cabinet on almost anything after that. Zhu Si also listened to the opinions of the cabinet and the six ministers in court affairs. He spoke less in the court and basically did not follow in court affairs.
Ministers argue.
The mentality seemed peaceful, making the minister feel "relaxed" as never before, but some people still felt inexplicable "pressure."
On this day, Yang Tinghe and Jiang Mian left the cabinet early. When they were leaving the palace, they saw several royal guards passing by.
Jiang Mian said: "Do you have time, Mr. Jie? There is a banquet at the house today, why not..."
"Um."
Yang Tinghe originally thought it was too early to go home, so Jiang Mian went to the Jiang Mansion together.
Jiang Mian's residence is next to the former Chief Assistant Li Dongyang's residence. This is the gathering place for officials and officials on the west side of Daming Gate. Many ministers live here. In fact, the residence where Zhu Si usually goes out of the palace and where Zhu Hao usually reviews
The "official office" where the memorial was written is also nearby.
But the capital city is not a small place after all. Even if they live in the same neighborhood, they are separated by a few streets and cannot be seen at all.
There was a banquet at Jiang Mian's mansion, but it was Jiang Mian's nephew, Jiang Dong, the son of Jiang Mian's brother Jiang Min, who came to the capital to visit Jiang Mian. Jiang Mian held a banquet at his home to invite relatives and friends.
Yang Tinghe came as the chief assistant and only showed his face before the banquet, which was considered a great courtesy to the younger generation.
Arrive at the inner hall.
Jiang Mian and Yang Tinghe sat down to discuss the affairs of the DPRK. There were many things that could not be discussed in the cabinet, but there were not so many taboos in private.
Jiang Mian came up to express his desire to leave the court as soon as possible.
"... I have been extremely tired after working hard for the government these years. Many times I have been unable to do what I have done. In the past two years, I have been plagued by illness and have been bedridden for ten months at a time... It's not that I don't want to serve the country, it's just that I am unable to do it."
Jiang Mian was actually tired of the disputes in the court.
The new emperor ascended the throne and the Ming Dynasty seemed to have settled down. Jiang Mian felt that there was no need to stay in the court and suffer from idleness. Even Liang Chu had resigned, so why should he stay?
Yang Tinghe said: "If you are unable to do so, how can others be fine? Stay in the DPRK for a few more years, and when a stable transition is achieved, no one will force you anymore."
I won’t tell you any big truths. Yang Tinghe’s words are almost like an order. If you want to quit, you must first survive these two years.
"Jie Fu, in fact, our Majesty, when he came to the throne, was pragmatic, or wanted to make great achievements within a few years. Even though he was suspected of being too hasty, it did not violate my Confucian style of benevolence and forgiveness. In fact, it is up to you to advise him.
I think it is enough to guide Your Majesty, but there is really no need..."
Jiang Mian had a very high opinion of Zhu Si.
I am not afraid of not knowing the goods, but I am afraid of comparing goods. This adopted little emperor is simply much better than the previous Wu Zong, who has a good reputation. The two of them are not on the same level at all.
Even compared to Emperor Xiaozong, the current emperor is no less generous than Emperor Xiaozong. Although Xiaozong was benevolent, he was actually incompetent. His whole life he focused on ruling by inaction.
After Zhu Si ascended the throne, he pursued to make a difference, which led to quarrels with Yang Tinghe everywhere.
Yang Tinghe stretched out his hand to interrupt Jiang Mian's words, and his tone was slightly tough: "As an emperor, you should stick to your ancestral legacy. No matter how much you do, it is not as important as sticking to your duty... If you can't even achieve the mean, then talk about it.
He Renshu? In the past year, has the court been tormented by him less?"
Yang Tinghe couldn't listen to other people's advice at all.
This was also the main reason why Liang Chu left the court. Since the young emperor ascended the throne, Yang Tinghe became the de facto prime minister of the Ming Dynasty with his support. He was no longer just a minister in the cabinet like a vase, but could really do all the affairs of the court.
Once the two parties were seized, the civil servants of the DPRK and China formed a clique, which was not considered selfish, but it had formed a huge force that could compete with the emperor.
Since ancient times, it is not uncommon for powerful ministers to cause chaos in the country. It cannot be said that you, Yang Tinghe, have the merits of supporting the establishment, so you can rest on your merits and boss around, and even the emperor can ignore him.
Liang Chu, as a cabinet boss who had temporarily acted as chief minister when Yang Tinghe was in power, could almost sit on an equal footing with Yang Ting in many cases. Knowing that he could not persuade Yang Tinghe, Liang Chu could only choose to leave sadly.
At that time, Yang Tinghe made no attempt to persuade him to stay, which shows how deep the gap between the two was.
Jiang Mian said: "Recently, I heard that Your Majesty has been asking more about imperial edicts and prison matters, and that he is willing to pardon the officials who were blamed and implicated in the previous dynasty. I wonder what do you think, Jiefu?"
Another "gossip".
Jiang Mian could not say these words in front of others. He could not even tell Yang Tinghe where he heard this news.
Yang Tinghe shook his head: "I'm afraid he is thinking that old ministers from the past dynasty will return to the dynasty and use military aircraft to exercise power and disturb the people... Since ancient times, the king has not been restrained, which will only accelerate the corruption of the dynasty. You cannot take it lightly because of his generosity.
.”
According to Yang Tinghe, all Zhu Hao's actions were aimed at the civil servant group, wanting to monopolize power and completely suppress the civil servants.
Jiang Mian heard it.
Now Yang Tinghe has lost patience with Zhu Si. Whenever Zhu Si does something, Yang Tinghe will use hostile thoughts to analyze it in detail.
For example, if Zhu Si wanted to pardon a group of ministers, such as Wang Qiong, who were involved in the sycophant case during the Zhengde period or last year, Yang Tinghe would think that Zhu Si wanted to use Wang Qiong to restrict civil servants.
Yang Tinghe confidently classified Wang Qiong as a rebel against the party, and never thought that Wang Qiong had made great contributions to the court.
Is Wang Qiong considered an upright minister?
Doesn’t count!
There are many stains on Wang Qiong, but most of them are due to the corruption of the imperial court during the Zhengde period and the sycophants in power. In order to maintain the stability of the court, those loyal ministers had to put aside their dignity and adopt the strategy of "saving the country through curves" to fight against the faint emperor and the near sycophants.
Clever maneuvering.
At that time, the Ministry of War served as the bridgehead for Emperor Zhengde to control the court. What could you do with a Minister of the Ministry of War? Later, Wang Qiong became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The assessment, appointment and dismissal of officials were not all under the control of Zhu Houzhao and the ministers around him?
Wang Qiong played a great role in protecting Yang Tinghe, Liang Chu, Jiang Mian and other cabinet scholars. He also recommended Wang Shouren and other capable ministers, put down the rebellion of King Ning, and contributed to the great victory in Yingzhou in the northwest...
…
But Yang Tinghe will not remember Wang Qiong's kindness, he just wants to kill him with one shot. He is more afraid that Wang Qiong will come back and form a force that can confront him. He calls it that he cannot let the female officials come back and "corrupt" her.
"Chao Gang", but what he did was to unite the party and defeat those who are different.
In terms of corruption and perversion of the law, Yang Tinghe's younger brother Yang Tingyi is even worse, but is he not doing well now?
Jiang Mian found that it was getting more and more difficult to talk to Yang Tinghe.
In the past, they could discuss some court affairs and exchange opinions as friends, but now Yang Tinghe's attitude has become more and more tough. The conversation between the two of them seemed like a report from a subordinate to a superior. As a superior, Yang Tinghe could not listen to a word.
Opening your mouth is just a lesson and a correction, without any loss of face.
Before, Jiang Mian thought that Yang Tinghe had to keep a straight face and maintain dignity in public occasions such as the cabinet. Now he realized that Yang Tinghe's personality had changed and he would not be accommodating even in such private occasions.
"But recently, His Majesty has seldom directly interfered with the affairs of the court. If things continue like this, are you afraid that Your Majesty will lose his enthusiasm for the government? I am afraid that the saintly monarch and wise master we have painstakingly cultivated will start to run wild in the affairs of the government before he has taken shape..."
Jiang Mian still tried his best to persuade him.
You Yang Tinghe are so strong, you are destroying the self-confidence of the little emperor. Don't think that everyone is as unfazed as you are. People are enthusiastic and want to do something practical. I am a little anxious, but I can't kill him with a stick, right?
He has just become the emperor, he is capable and can still do things, but what is the result of repeated suppression? The result is that the little emperor no longer takes the important affairs of the court seriously!
Is this what you, Yang Tinghe, want to achieve?
"If the emperor has no interest in court affairs just because of a little setback, how can he be a wise king or a holy master? Which of the wise kings from ancient times has not walked step by step on thin ice? Born in worry and died in happiness, if the emperor has not even the slightest worry in mind
If he doesn’t have any, how can we still expect him to achieve great things? Besides, now that the world is at peace, he only needs to maintain his achievements. Do we really expect him to open up new territories and achieve great things? "
Yang Tinghe spoke plausibly.
Jiang Mian shook his head and smiled bitterly.
It's completely impossible to talk about it now.
"In terms of gifts..."
Since it is meaningless to persuade Yang Tinghe, let's talk about the Dali discussion. At least on this point, the two of them have the same opinion.
Recently, Zhu Si has not deliberately striven for great gifts, so Jiang Mian can only avoid the important and take the easy, casually chatting with Yang Tinghe.
…
…
Yang Tinghe's changes were brought about step by step by Zhu Hao.
Historically, after Yang Tinghe and Zhu Houcong ascended the throne, although there were many rifts between the emperor and his ministers, they at least maintained great respect for the new emperor and gradually delegated power, making Emperor Jiajing step by step a king with real power. Within three years, he replaced his chief minister.
After giving up his position, Zhu Si began a process of "working hard to govern" for more than ten years.
Jiajing's transformation occurred twenty years after he ascended the throne.
The reason for the corruption of the imperial court in the middle and late periods of Jiajing's reign was because Zhu Si was not a diligent person to begin with. He also had an inexplicable stubbornness, pursued immortality, and had a suspicious personality...
Zhu Hao gave Zhu Si advice, and it seemed that he was helping Zhu Si. In fact, it was to make Zhu Si eager to seize power, offend Yang Tinghe, and force Yang Tinghe to stop it. Then conflicts between the monarch and his ministers would naturally form, and Zhu Si could only
Rely on Zhu Hao to fight...
Zhu Hao knew better. If Zhu Si trusted Yang Tinghe more, then Zhu Hao would be nothing. The person who betrayed him might even be someone close to him, or even worse, it might even be Zhu Si himself.
But now this situation...
It was no longer possible for Zhu Si to make peace with Yang Tinghe, and Zhu Si failed in the ceremony discussion, which made him secretly fight in his heart. In this way, Zhu Hao's value around Zhu Si became more and more prominent.
If you want to fight, there are no capable people around the emperor, and almost all ministers in the court are on Yang Tinghe's side. Who can you count on?
"...The second batch of 40,000 taels of silver has been allocated to Jianghuai and other places to purchase money and grain, as well as the ironware that the young master mentioned, and will be sent to Xishan at the turn of spring and summer. As for the young master mentioned that it will be sent to Jingdong
The matter of mining and building an iron factory in the land... I am ashamed to say that there are no large iron ore mines in Yongping Prefecture. I have also asked experts in mining and they all said that it is very difficult to explore and find the ore. I am afraid that the young master will have to do it himself.
You just have to go..."
Su Xigui went to Shandong in March and just came back.
The previous purchase of the mine was stopped by Yang Tinghe, but Su Xigui's enthusiasm for investing in the coal mine did not diminish at all. Zhu Hao also sold the output to Su Xigui, using Su Xigui's business network all over the world for sales.
At present, the two are still the best business partners.