As we all know, the Ming Dynasty implemented a two-capital system.
In addition to the capital, Nanjing also had a court structure, but its jurisdiction was limited to Southern Zhili.
After three generations of management by Taizong, Renzong, and Xuanzong, the political center of the Ming Dynasty has been completely transferred to the capital.
The imperial court structure in Nanjing has long existed in name only and has become a place for elderly officials to retire.
Moreover, what makes the elders feel speechless the most is.
Lord Tianguan, your retaliation is a bit too obvious, isn't it?
Since the death of the previous emperor, the Supreme Emperor Youchong and Sanyang have been in charge. Their core philosophy is to "stop all non-urgent tasks". In addition, in order to avoid suspicion, they rarely recruit high-level officials on a large scale.
After the Supreme Emperor came to power, the situation improved, but the generals straightened out the affairs of the capital, and when General Sanyang was there, many vacant positions were slowly filled.
As for Nanjing, before he had time to fill the gap, he happily went to stay in Yibei.
Of the two official positions that Wang Wen just mentioned, the position of Nanjing Zuo Fudu Censor is better. After all, it was vacant just last year when he became old and became an official.
But the Minister of Industry in Nanjing has been vacant for almost fifteen years, okay?
Wu Zheng, the assistant minister who is now in charge of the government, took office in the sixth year of Zhengtong. It has been almost ten years now. He complains about being tired every year, but he has not fallen behind at all in government affairs.
And this is not just the case for one department of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry. The positions of the Nanjing Household Department, Nanjing Rites Department, Nanjing Punishment Department, and the Chancellor are all vacant, and the ministers are in charge of government affairs.
Wang Tianguan chose the lowest ranking Nanjing Ministry of Industry and brought it out. This was not a tactful bowing, it was clearly disgusting.
Therefore, after hearing this, Takagu's face suddenly became ashen and his face turned ashen.
Of course, it was not easy for him to refuse such a thing, just like when the Manchu Dynasty besieged Wang Wen, Wang Wen did not open his mouth to defend himself.
But it doesn't matter, Gao Gu still has some business in the court over the years. The newly appointed Minister of Dali Temple, Du Ning, immediately stood up and said.
"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate. The Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry has been vacant for a long time. It is not an urgent matter. The government affairs in Nanjing are not as good as those in the capital. Wu Zheng has been in the Nanjing Ministry of Industry for many years and has handled things properly. Now is the time for the imperial court to employ people. It is not appropriate to be based on whim.
Fighting has brought shame to your virtuous ministers, so I beg your Majesty to think again."
Although this Du Ning had just assumed the post of Minister of Dali Temple not long ago, his status and reputation in the court were not low.
This person was the second in the imperial examination in the second year of Xuande's reign. He was first assigned to the Hanlin Academy as editor and editor. He once participated in the compilation of Xuanzong's Records. He was born in Qingliu, a serious scholar.
In the 13th year of the Zhengtong reign, he and Takagu both served as examiners for the joint examination. Soon after, he was transferred to Nanjing as Minister of War, and was recalled to the capital in recent days.
If the group of ministers in Nanjing are purely providing for the elderly, then the group of ministers in Nanjing are really doing the work. After all, Nanzhili still has a lot of government affairs to deal with, whether it is big or small.
Although Du Ning did not stay long as the Minister of War in Nanjing, he had outstanding talents and managed all government affairs in an orderly manner.
After the news of the Tumu Battle spread, he wrote several memorials one after another, presenting his suggestions for border defense.
Many of them were directly adopted by Yu Qian. Because of this, after the court situation stabilized, he was recalled to the capital. He originally planned to fill Jiang Yuan's vacancy and become the Minister of Justice.
As a result, before the appointment was completed, Xue Xuan was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown due to the Zhennan King case, so he became the Minister of Dali Temple.
This person has ability, reputation, and connections. Although his qualifications are not as good as Gao Gu's, he is one of the most promising candidates in the Hanlin lineage.
Du Ning himself did not have a deep friendship with Gao Gu, and the only person who could influence him was Chen Xun, who was not in the capital now.
Therefore, when Gao Gu first came forward to impeach Wang Wen, Du Ning did not speak. But now, Wang Wenming is brazenly suppressing Gao Gu and wants to send him to Nanjing to idle, so Du Ning has to stop him.
After all, there are only a few people from the Hanlin lineage who can have a substantial say in the court, and among them Chen Xun and Gao Gu are the most respected.
Du Ning gave reasonable advice, but Shang Ren who came out next was not so polite and said directly.
"Your Majesty, as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Wang Wen is narrow-minded and prone to revenge. Gao Cifeng cannot speak out and impartially. Even if he offends, it is just because of different political opinions."
"Previously, Wang Wen's threats to the court officials were still in his ears, but now he turned around and decided to transfer the dignified deputy minister he had just argued with to Nanjing. Is such behavior worthy of the position of Otsuka Prime Minister?"
This statement directly refers to Wang Wen's retaliation.
Du Ning on the side couldn't help but feel a little headache. After all, he had stayed in the Hanlin Academy for a long time and had never really participated in political affairs.
Don’t you see what the situation is like now?
On one side, he was cautiously trying to calm things down, but on the other side, he immediately began to intensify the conflict. He really failed to succeed but failed!
Sure enough, Wang Wen's face suddenly became a little ugly.
He didn't originally intend to actually kill Gao Gu, he just wanted to teach him a lesson, otherwise he wouldn't have done it so obviously.
But I didn't expect that these clear-minded people from the Hanlin Academy would bite their noses in the face. They were so unyielding. Do you really think he was a fool?
With a cold snort, Wang Wen said with a stern face.
"Then according to what Shang Shi read, what should I do?"
"In the case of Peng Shi, although he was mediocre and incompetent, and his evaluation was inferior, the officials had already planned to demote him, but after all, he was not brought to the imperial court, and without Zhu's approval, I made a mistake for a moment, and this old man accepted it."
"But among the various departments in Nanjing, the position of minister has been vacant for a long time. It is natural for the chief of the official department to select and recommend according to examples. Whether it is accurate or not is up to your majesty. I have not violated the rules at all. It is difficult to do it, because Gao Cifuhe
I had a conflict with you, so the Ministry of Civil Affairs will have to avoid him at all times when selecting officials from now on, right?"
With that said, Wang Wen took a step forward, walked up to Shang Ren and asked.
"In this case, in front of the ministers and His Majesty, I would like to ask the merchant to read a sentence. You keep saying that I and Gao Cifu just have different political opinions and are having normal arguments. Now, do you think every word of yours is correct?
Aren’t you judging a gentleman’s heart with a villain’s heart?”
Shang Ren's face turned pale and he was speechless by this barrage of questions.
Du Ning sighed on the side, he was still too young and acted impulsively.
Do you really think Wang Wen is as impulsive as he seems on the surface?
If you, a mere Imperial Scholar, quarreled with a dignified official, you would only be treated as a joke.
It's not on the same level at all. Now I'm choked and speechless. I'm really asking for trouble.
After shaking his head, Du Ning cupped his hand again and said.
"Your Majesty, today is a matter of court discussion on mutual trade. The various ministries in Nanjing have been vacant for a long time. The position of Shangshu is also a second-rank official. It should not be awarded lightly and requires more consideration. Therefore, I believe that the Ministry of Civil Affairs will be in charge of the court recommendation and will be discussed separately.
, is more appropriate.”
In the court, the most taboo thing is disputes of spirit.
In this regard, Du Ning is much more clear-headed than Shang Ren. His goal is to keep Gaogu.
In fact, both he and Wang Wen knew in their hearts that it was impossible to transfer Gao Gu, a high-ranking assistant, to Nanjing to be idle just because of such a trivial matter.
After all, even if Takatani's words and deeds just now were a little out of line, did he really make any mistakes?
Even if Wang Wen really wanted to do this, the emperor could not afford to lose this person, so there is a high probability that Wang Wen just wanted to make Gao Gu look bad.
All they had to do was to provide a step for Wang Wen'an to descend safely. There was no need to waste words with him.
Unfortunately, Shang Ren has been studying in the Hanlin Academy since he was a Jinshi, and he has never really participated in the affairs of the court, so he has never been able to see this clearly.
As Du Ning expected, the messy situation down there clearly made the emperor dissatisfied.
Therefore, after he finished playing, the emperor quickly answered.
"What Du Siqing said is reasonable. Today is not a discussion about the vacancies in the various ministries in Nanjing. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will preside over the court recommendation on that day. Now the ministers should discuss carefully what the regulations for the mutual market should be."