It was midsummer, and the weather was changeable. In the evening, there was a shower in the capital. The rain was heavy and fast, destroying flowers and trees. It came without any warning, just like the angry outburst that Gao Gong had in his study after returning home.
generally.
The servants of Gao Mansion have all retreated far away from the study. This was the gesture made by the eldest young master to them when he pushed out the door from the study. The servants were very grateful. After all, no one dared to be angry at Gao Ge.
Why was Gao Gong angry? It wasn't because Gao Gong was informed about Meng Chong's resignation and Feng Bao's upcoming appointment as Chief of Ceremonies. And that's not all, Gao Jingshi also told Gao Gong that Meng Chong's request
It was he who persuaded me to resign.
Perhaps this was the reason why Gao Gong became even more angry, because Gao Jingshi had never talked to him about this matter before, and this matter was completely done by Gao Jingshi without permission.
But Gao Pragmatic was not panicked. Instead, he turned around and informed Gao Gong of what happened in Yongning Palace, and analyzed: "Third uncle, the key issue at the moment is not who will be the chief ceremonial official, but whether the two palaces and the emperor can do it."
I have enough trust in you - this is just like when Emperor Daxing was here, would you really care whether the seal of the Supervisor of Ceremonies was Chen Hong or Meng Chong?"
"No, you won't." Gao Pragmatic didn't wait for Gao Gong's answer before he said flatly: "Because Emperor Daxing has unparalleled trust in you, no matter who the Chief of Ceremonies is doing the palm seal, he can only give it honestly.
Your vote is intended to be used as a treasure - so in the final analysis, the power of the world does not lie with the Chief of Ceremonies, but with the Emperor!"
Gao Gong's temperament is straightforward and impatient, but that doesn't mean he doesn't use his head. So as soon as Gao Pingshi said these words, his anger was reduced by 10% to 90%. After taking a few deep breaths, he had to be upset.
sit down.
After a while, Gao Gong said: "I know what you said is not unreasonable. It is true that you advised Meng Chong to resign because of the unexpected situation in Yongning Palace, but there is one thing you cannot ignore:
When Emperor Xing was there, the seal of the Supervisor of Ceremonies could not restrict my contact with Emperor Daxing, so I had good access to government affairs. However, it is different now. As the chief assistant who cares about life, even if I can still contact the emperor at any time, it has no effect.
, because the emperor is still too young, the one who really makes the decision... As you saw today, it is actually the imperial concubine! I am a minister of the outer court, so it is impossible for me to go to the imperial concubine to discuss everything, and the imperial concubine is even less likely to be like the Daxing Emperor.
Then, if you don't understand something, just call me to see you."
He took a long breath and sighed: "You should know the difference. That is, the ceremonial supervisor's palm seal can cut off the connection between the emperor and the ministers, thereby manipulating the overall situation of the world, just like all kinds of powerful officials in the past and present. You also
You should know what serious consequences it will have for the court if a villain like Feng Bao is allowed to have such power!"
If it is true as Gao Gong said, it is indeed a big problem, and Gao Pragmatic must admit this.
However, Gao Pragmatic did not mean to panic, but said calmly: "If Feng Bao can really control the Supervisor of Ceremonies, my nephew agrees with San Bo's analysis, but I can say with confidence: As long as San Bo and his nephew are still in the capital, Feng Bao will
Bao doesn’t have such ability.”
Gao Gong suddenly narrowed his eyes, stared at Gao Qingshi for a while, and asked, "What's the reason?"
Gao pragmatic stood up and walked on the sidewalk: "When Meng Chong was the palm seal, the five chief officials of the Supervisor of Ceremonies were Feng Bao, Chen Hong, Huang Mengyu, Zhang Cheng and Chen Ju. Among them, Feng Bao, Chen Hong and Zhang Cheng,
They were all former ministers of Yudi. After Emperor Daxing ascended the throne, Feng Bao and Chen Hong entered the palace to serve him. Zhang Cheng was sent to Nanjing to serve as a guard eunuch. Chen Ju's qualifications at that time were still a little shallow, and Huang Mengyu left Daxing.
The emperor was the farthest away, but in terms of status, he had already served as the eunuch guarding Datong at that time."
"Later, Chen Ju was persuaded by his nephew and transferred to Zhongcui Palace to serve the prince. Huang Mengyu was also transferred back to the capital because of his nephew's recommendation in front of Meng Zhangyin. Later, that is, after the previous conflict with Mr. Zhang Ge broke out
, Meng Zhangyin proposed to adjust the structure of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, and obtained the consent of Emperor Daxing. Huang Mengyu and Chen Ju were promoted to Bingbi, while Feng Bao lost the concurrent post of the Royal Horse Supervisor, resulting in the current situation of five major Bingbi.
"
Gao pragmatic paused for a moment, and seeing that Gao Gong had no intention of interrupting, he continued: "Now, we don't know what tomorrow's decree will be, but I think even if Meng Chong resigns, the Chief of Ceremonies probably won't
If you make too many adjustments, there is a high probability that each Bingbi will rise in sequence. In this way, there are still at least two of the four major Bingbis—Huang Mengyu and Chen Ju—who we can trust.
, and Chen Hong..."
"Who will the Dongchang belong to?" Gao Gong suddenly interjected: "If Feng Bao is promoted to the position of palm, will he hand over the position of the admiral of the Dongchang? If so, who will it be handed over to? Chen Hong?"
Gao pragmatic shook his head slightly and said: "This is exactly the problem at hand. Concubine Li seems not to be very familiar with the four major Bingbi besides Feng Bao. Chen Hong and Zhang Cheng both served Emperor Daxing in their early years.
We can only have some interactions with the concubine, but we definitely don’t know much about her, and she is far less considerate than Feng Baolai, so just based on the closeness, it is difficult to determine how Concubine Li will arrange Dongchang.”
Gao Gong said with a gloomy face: "The worst case scenario is that Feng Bao will be the ceremonial supervisor and also in charge of the East Factory. If that is the case, this beast will be really powerful and difficult to control..."
This is for sure. The Chief of Ceremony is the last person to stamp the vote. If he thinks the vote is inappropriate, he can send the vote back to the cabinet and ask for a new vote. If it were during the Longqing period, there might not be any seal.
Dare to call Gao Gong's draft back casually and ask for a re-draft, because if Gao Gong was angry and asked the emperor directly, it would be impossible for the emperor to object to the teacher's opinion, and then the palm print would be embarrassing and even dangerous.
But now that Long Qing is gone, the imperial power is largely exercised by Concubine Li. It is impossible for Gao Gong to ask for Concubine Li at will, and it is impossible for Concubine Li to meet Gao Gong at every turn, so it will be easy for Feng Bao to become a big player in the middle.
, and then exercise the right to reject, knocking back Gao Gong's votes at every turn. Don't think this is a trivial matter. Once or twice may not be a big problem, but if there are more and more intensively, it will have a serious impact on the political prestige of the chief minister.
It's huge.
And if he also controls the Dongchang, it would be even more incredible. It is equivalent to not only controlling the unshakable administrative power of the outer court, but also the supervisory power that is not restricted by the outer court. In other words, as long as Feng Bao can conceal or
By coaxing Concubine Li, his power can be infinitely amplified, almost to the point of imperial power itself.
Gao Pragmatic's face had to become solemn, and he said slowly: "So the order we made before cannot be changed. We can only go to Feng Bao first, and then Jiangling."
"One by one, the order remains unchanged." Gao Gong frowned deeply: "But the problem now is that the imperial concubine regards whether I agree with Feng Bao as the palm seal as a test of my loyalty. Not only can I not initiate impeachment by the courtiers,
Feng Bao can't even speak privately, so how can he chase Bao?"