Pan Sheng's resignation cannot be regarded as surrender for the time being, because normally, even if a cabinet minister is impeached, the first reaction is to resign on his own initiative to show his innocence.
It can even be said that "even" should not be used here, but "whatever" should be used, because the higher the status of a civil servant, the more timely he should resign when he is impeached to make his position clear.
Generally speaking, the emperor would definitely not approve it at such a moment, and would usually use "gentle words to persuade them to stay". Even those highly favored ministers who were impeached were not only persuaded to stay by the emperor's gentle words, but also issued decrees by the emperor. To blame the impeachers is just like Gao Gong who was treated like this many times back then.
However, Pan Sheng's status in Zhu Yijun's mind was obviously not that high. What he received was simply "gentle words to persuade him to stay," without explaining the reasons or blaming the impeacher.
Although Pan Sheng was known for his ability to do what he said, he still wanted to lose face after all. Obviously, he could not regard the emperor's reaction as a sincere attempt to persuade him to stay, so he had no choice but to shut himself up at home and thank guests behind closed doors.
This is also a routine operation. Even Gao Pragmatic did it last time. It means that I am now "suspended and reflecting". You can investigate as you want. I no longer have the ability to interfere and will never obstruct justice.
So the emperor had no choice but to follow the "routine operations" and ordered him to "come out and take matters into his own hands."
Usually at this point, if the outside world does not continue to pursue him fiercely, then he can return to the cabinet duty, which means that the crisis has basically been passed safely.
However, since Gao Pragmatic had taken action, he would certainly not let him get through so easily - this was not a game of house, so just leave it at that.
So on the day the emperor ordered Pan Sheng to "come out and take matters into his own hands," another impeachment was filed with the General Affairs Department.
This time, the person impeached by Shangshu was slightly older than Xiao Liangyu and Wang Tingyu. He was Li Hongdao, who was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Wanli and was the censor of Guizhou Province at the time.
Why could Li Hongdao, the censor of Guizhou Province, impeach Pan Sheng? Because according to the Ming system, the so-called "dao" that oversees the censor, in addition to the chief secretary of the province, also has concurrent supervision. For example, the censor of Guizhou Province, According to the records in the "Da Ming Huidian", his responsibilities are to "take charge of the Chief Secretary, the Supervisory Department and the Capital Command Department of Guizhou, and coordinate the personnel department and the supervisory affairs of the three prefectures directly under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Hejian and Shunde." (Note: The remaining departments. There are also different "co-administrations". This system is to avoid that a certain department or a certain place only needs to face the Sword of Damocles. Because there are too many people to supervise, it will be difficult to "manage".)
Li Hongdao impeached Pan Sheng precisely because he assisted in the management of Suzhou Prefecture. The reason for his impeachment was that he discovered that Pan Sheng's nephew had recently obtained a group of sea ships for free and docked at a private port in Suzhou. (Note: This is The jurisdiction of Suzhou at that time was different from that of later generations. To put it simply, it was larger and had a river mouth port.)
Li Hongdao believed that there must be a problem, so he impeached Pan Sheng for seeking personal gain by using his status and power.
The supervisory censors of the Ming Dynasty have always had many privileges. This has been mentioned many times before. For example, this is a typical "hearsay incident" - Li Hongdao did not provide any conclusive evidence, he just heard that the Pan family had many A group of sea ships can justifiably impeach a high-ranking minister.
However, it is not that Li Hongdao cannot produce evidence. If necessary, Gao Pragmatic is fully capable of providing him with more detailed data, and can even help him obtain confessions from some intermediaries involved in the matter, and even let these
Anyone who rebels can come forward to testify.
This crime is not fatal to middlemen. Gao Pragmatic can spend money to "persuade" them, and they will definitely be happy to be persuaded by Gao Pragmatic.
It's just not necessary.
The result that Gao pragmatism wants to cause is just to confirm Pan Sheng's scandal, rather than bringing the entire Xinxue sect out for a decisive battle now, so it would be better to be vague now. Anyway, for the emperor, he only needs to know that Pan Sheng is not clean.
That's fine, the specific uncleanness is not the point.
Some people say that "it's rare to be confused." This idea is very appropriate to put here, because the emperor also knows that some things cannot be truly investigated to the end, otherwise if it is too widely implicated, everyone will not look good at that time, and that is for himself.
Looking for trouble.
Whenever a political power is established for a long time, this situation is basically unavoidable, so everyone from top to bottom will usually try to avoid expansion. The emperor himself will also pretend to be stupid, because turmoil in the court is obviously not a good thing for the emperor.
Once Li Hongdao was impeached, Pan Sheng was of course unable to "come out and take a look at the matter." Not only was he unable to come out, but he had to continue writing his self-defense and resignation at home.
But this time was different from the last time. The emperor did not continue to "gentle words to persuade him to stay", but only issued a few words of comfort. At the same time, he asked the cabinet to write a letter to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, asking the Metropolitan Procuratorate to investigate the problem and clear Mr. Pan Ge's innocence.
.
"Clear the clouds" is of course a polite word, and you can't just take it at face value. The emperor's actual intention is to ask the Metropolitan Procuratorate to "investigate the matter clearly."
This time, some people became anxious.
The one who was anxious was not Pan Sheng, because Pan Sheng had actually prepared for the worst and was already thinking about how to return to his hometown.
The anxious person is Shen Shixing.
Using the power of Zhejiang maritime merchants to force Pan Sheng to give up his talent to Wang Xijue, it was a clever move that he came up with after having a serious talk with Zhang Cheng and thinking for a long time. This move not only perfectly used the move "Great Shift of the Universe"
, transferred the pressure brought by the maritime merchants to Pan Sheng, and also solved his dilemma of lack of help in the cabinet, which was the best of both worlds.
Shen Shixing and Pan Sheng generally held the same or similar views on the possible reactions of the Practical School. They both believed that the Practical School would not be completely angered this time, because Zhang Siwei had just been worried about it, and the Practical School was facing such a big change.
Complete internal adjustments first, and then unify them externally.
Shen Shixing believes that before the internal adjustment is completed, the Real School should be cautious in facing any changes in the government situation at this time, especially changes that do not directly cause harm to them, and should temporarily turn a blind eye to avoid blind actions that lead to unexpected
bad results.
However, since Pan Sheng's calculation was wrong, Shen Shixing's calculation was also wrong, and Gao pragmatically chose to fight back directly without giving any face.
But Shen Shixing has no time to think carefully about why Gao Pragmatic is like this. He only knows that he must not let Pan Sheng collapse unexpectedly before recommending Wang Xijue to succeed him!
Although he himself is the chief minister, and the chief minister himself can directly recommend cabinet ministers, even if Pan Sheng falls, he can also come forward to recommend Wang Xijue.
But in fact, there was a big difference whether Wang Xijue was recommended by Pan Sheng or Shen Shixing when he was appointed to the cabinet.
If Pan Sheng recommends someone, nothing will happen, because Pan Sheng is a neutral faction, and no matter who he recommends - unless it is his own protégé - it will not cause backlash from the government and the opposition.
But if Shen Shixing recommends Wang Xijue himself, he may be accused of "nepotism" or even "secret planting of party members."
This statement is not fatal as long as the emperor does not take it seriously, but it will also affect Shen Yuanfu's prestige.
Like Gao Pragmatic, Shen Shixing is extremely reluctant to see his reputation damaged.
So when it came to this step, Shen Shixing was much more anxious than Pan Sheng himself, and he secretly sent his own housekeeper to pay a private visit to Pan Sheng's residence that day.
What the steward of the Shen Mansion brought to Pan Sheng was Shen Shixing's reminder to him not to sit still and wait for death, let alone to hope that the Real School would save him any face this time.
Shen Shixing emphasized that since the opponent still launches a fierce counterattack at such a moment, the most likely reason is that the main militant faction within the Real School has gained a clear upper hand. If you still hope that the opponent will let you go, it is simply a daydream.
Shen Shixing proposed that Pan Sheng had better quickly mobilize his power in the court to defend himself. If it was not easy to defend, he should at least muddy the water, such as causing another major event to divert the court's attention.
At this point, Pan Sheng also hesitated.
Although Shen Shixing did not name him, Pan Sheng certainly knew that the "war faction" mentioned by Shen Shixing must be headed by Gao Pragmatism. This is because Xu Guo has always been a peacemaker and a moderate school, and there are currently many factions within the pragmatism school.
There is no third peak. Since it is not Xu State, it is of course Gao Pragmatism.
However, to this day, Gao Pragmatic has no intention of talking to himself. Instead, he continues to promote the impeachment case in an orderly manner, obviously not intending to negotiate.
What can be expected is that Gao Pingshi must have some back-ups, because until now, those who have come forward to impeach him, Pan Sheng, are all Yan Guan, and no high-ranking person within the Practical School has followed suit to impeach him.
Gao Pragmatic definitely has the ability to get senior figures within the Pragmatic School to come forward to criticize him. The reason why he hasn't done so yet is because the time has not yet come.
Pan Sheng is almost certain that if he suppresses the impeachment of Li Hongdao by any means, Gao Pragmatic will continue to launch further attacks, and most of the people dispatched will not be ordinary supervisory censors, but will most likely be high-ranking officials of the imperial court.
.
If things develop to that point, Pan Sheng is really involved in this party dispute, and unfortunately stands at the center of the storm. If he wants to escape unscathed by then, it will be almost like a dream.
One misstep will lead to eternal hatred!
Pan Sheng sighed with emotion: How did it end up like this? I just sold the last two years of my official career to the Xinxue school, and this is not what I was originally willing to do. I seek truth high, I seek truth high, I
I haven't offended you before, so why can't you show your dignity and let me live a glorious career?
It's a pity that lamenting is of no use. He really can't change what Gao pragmatically does.
Pan Sheng thought about it and felt that Shen Shixing's suggestion also contained selfish motives: Now that he is starting to fight back and even muddy the water, will Shen Shixing end up personally?
If he ends up in person, it will prove that he has completely betrayed the principle of neutrality this time and sided with the Heart School. Such a high-pragmatic blow will only come more violently and more thoroughly.
At that time, Shen Shixing is behind the whole Xinxue school. Even if he can't defeat Gao Pragmatism, at least he can protect himself. But what does Pan Sheng mean in front of the Practical School? He is not much different from a lonely man. Once Shen Shixing is slightly out of control
, he could just turn around and sell him as cannon fodder. Who would he cry to when the time comes?
And if Shen Shixing himself doesn't end up, it would be even more nonsense. Pan Sheng and his few capable disciples are worthy of fighting against Gao Pragmatic, the "direct heir" of the Practical School?
Mr. Pan Ge thought maliciously: Maybe Shen Shixing just wanted to cast a stone to ask for directions, and I, Mr. Pan, was just the stone. His purpose was probably to see how much wealth Gao Pragmatic had mastered in the Real School.
How large-scale an impeachment case can be launched.
Why?
You Shen Shixing wants to know yourself and the enemy, and you want to weigh someone high and pragmatic, so you use me as a weight?
Gao pragmatism relied on the influence of the third generation of chief ministers and the emperor's holy family, so he just didn't take me, Pan, seriously. Whose influence does your Shen Shixing have?
Yes, you have become the first assistant, but can you compare with Gao Gong's situation back then? Gao Gong could exclude people with different political views from his cabinet, can you Shen Shixing do the same? I
After being harmed like this by you, you don't consider buying a horse bone for thousands of dollars, and quickly save me first before talking about anything else. Instead, you expect me to be a weight for you, weighing the pragmatic weight?
With your courage, I don’t look like you’re a master who can achieve great things. At most, you have some tinkering skills!
Pan Ge lost his temper in the study and felt much better, but the problem was not solved at all.
He found that he was now in a dilemma, like a rat in a bellows, suffering from both sides.
He wanted to go all out and do something, so he simply listened to Shen Shixing's suggestion and went to see how powerful Gao Pragmatic could be. But when he thought about the fact that the students and former officials of the Practical School were all over the world, and the power of Jinghua Group was even more pervasive, he thought
Some can't muster the courage.
I really want to give in to Gao Pragmatic, hoping that Gao Pragmatic is a "reasonable" person after all. As long as he makes his situation a little more miserable, he may have inherited half of his teacher Guo Pu's kindness, that is,
I let myself go. But when I thought that this time the Zhejiang Merchants Alliance wanted to dig out the roots of Gao pragmatism and fight Gao pragmatism in the shopping mall...
Pan Ge always cares about himself and others, but also feels that being pragmatic may not be so magnanimous as to ignore millions of transactions.
It’s difficult!
In just two or three days, Mr. Pan Ge, who had always been known for his strength and vigor, turned 70% of his hair gray. It seemed that if he continued to be entangled in this matter, he would be driven to death sooner or later.
However, what Pan Sheng didn't expect was that he hesitated for two days after receiving Shen Shixing's warning, which finally made Shen Shixing lose his temper.
On September 14th, Shen Shixing came to the throne as the first assistant, saying that since Xu Xuemo was promoted to Minister of Rites, the vacant post of Left Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs could not be left vacant, so he recommended Song Zhihan, who was the Right Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs at that time, to be promoted.
Song Zhihan was the backbone of the Gao Party. Shen Shixing certainly did not do this to give Gao Pragmatic a favor, but he made another point: Since Song Zhihan was promoted from the Right Minister of the Ministry of Personnel to the Left Minister of the Ministry of Justice (Note: Ming Dynasty, Left Minister
(respected to the right.), then the right minister of the Ministry of Personnel should also fill in.
Shen Shixing recommended Zhao Zhigao, the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Nanjing, to succeed him.
Zhao Zhigao, a native of Lanxi, Zhejiang (belonging to Jinhua Prefecture), was a Jinshi in the second year of Longqing. Although he is not young, his seniority is not high, and he is also a "rising star" of the Xin School.
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Thanks to book friend "Glowing Tiger" for your monthly ticket support, thank you!
PS: The E key, which had been ineffective for a long time, is still not broken, but today the Z key is suddenly completely broken, so that tonight I have to bring up the soft keyboard of the input method, and press Z whenever I need to.
When I click on the soft keyboard with the mouse, the writing is terrible.
However, I ordered a new keyboard shipped in the same city, and it said it would arrive tomorrow. I hope I wasn’t fooled... Speaking of which, I’m a really good typist, and even mechanical keyboards can only be used for one year.