The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Nanjing, Wei Guogong Mansion.

The contemporary Wei Guogong Xu Pengju finally survived the hot summer. During that time, he lay on the bed all day long because he was seriously ill and had to drink three bowls of medicine every day. Forget about those days.

Sometimes the heat is so unbearable that I almost want to die.

As for why he didn't put an ice basin, according to the doctor's opinion, he didn't want to be cold, otherwise his condition would be aggravated.

Now that the weather is getting cooler, my health has improved significantly, and I can at least open the windows to get some air.

Today, I was lying on the couch and taking a nap when I heard footsteps outside the door, which quickly disappeared outside the door, followed by a rustling conversation, but I couldn't make out what was being said.

Not long after, the door of the room was gently pushed open. A senior servant put his head in and looked at the bed. When he saw Xu Pengju looking over, he said hurriedly: "My lord, the housekeeper has something to ask for."

"Let him in."

Xu Pengju actually made some guesses about the previous footsteps. After all, he was familiar with the actions of the people around him, including the footsteps.

After the old housekeeper entered the house, the door was quickly closed.

When the old housekeeper stood in front of the couch and was about to salute, Xu Pengju had already said: "You are an old man for many years. Don't come here with such nonsense. If you have anything to do, just tell me directly."

The old housekeeper is a son of the Xu family, and the previous generations have served the Xu family, so Xu Pengju trusts him very much and is very casual with him.

"Sir, the latest newspaper was sent from the capital just now. It said that His Majesty appointed Mr. Wei as the Bachelor of the East Pavilion and the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs."

"What? Is he joining the cabinet now?"

As soon as the old housekeeper finished speaking, Xu Pengju sat upright in shock, and the thin quilt on his body fell to the ground.

The old housekeeper quickly stepped forward, picked up the thin quilt from under the bed and wanted to put it on Xu Pengju, but Xu Pengju took it with one hand and threw it to the end of the bed.

"I didn't expect it to happen so quickly."

It can be said that his son-in-law's promotion path followed the Hanlin standard path to the cabinet, and with his experience in Prince Yu's Palace, Xu Pengju never doubted that he would not be able to join the cabinet.

It's just that this is too fast.

It’s not just that the time in the DPRK was short.

In the past, it can even be said that when he was in Yuzhuan, Wei Guangde was not really an official. In fact, he was still doing secretary and official work because he had no real power.

It wasn't until he presided over the transcription of the "Yongle Dadian" and was named the minister that he truly entered the officialdom.

After copying the book, he was first promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Official Affairs, then to Minister of Rites, and finally to the cabinet, which lasted only two years.

"With the right person, it's really different."

In fact, at this time, Xu Pengju was conflicted.

It is certain that my son-in-law is capable. He handled the Nanjing Mutiny very well last time.

Although he was not rewarded with merit, he could not do so because it would show the incompetence of Nanjing officials.

"Master, is it in the house?"

Of course the old housekeeper knew Xu Pengju's thoughts. He did not take a stand. Although he still favored Xu Bangrui in his heart, after all, the master was thinking of his youngest son. What could he say as a servant?

However, now that my uncle has entered the cabinet, what should be done now is that the government should send someone to the capital to congratulate him.

Xu Pengju was worried that Wei Guangde would climb too fast and affect his plans. The old housekeeper knew that, so he warned him at this time.

If this kind of thing is done, it will be very rude and outsiders will laugh at it.

As for whether it is inappropriate for the father-in-law to give gifts to his son-in-law, in fact, this is the wrong idea.

Not only that, but it stands to reason that the Duke of Wei should also set up a banquet in Nanjing and invite the dignitaries in Nanjing to have a drink together.

After thinking for a while, Xu Pengju said: "Today there will be a banquet in the mansion, and the officials in Nanjing will be invited to attend, and Bang Ning will host it."

"master"

Just as the old housekeeper was about to speak, Xu Pengju waved his hand, interrupted him, and continued: "Let Bangrui go to the warehouse immediately to select gifts. Tomorrow, go to the capital with Bangning."

"Yes, sir."

The old housekeeper hesitated to speak, but finally said cruelly: "Both young masters are going to the capital, this house."

"Nothing's wrong, my body is fine and I can still survive for a few more years."

Xu Pengju seemed to know what the old housekeeper was thinking, and shook his head.

Wei Guangde's entry into the cabinet meant that he had a stronger say in front of the emperor.

Undoubtedly, this would disrupt his previous arrangements.

But what can be done to make the emperor take back his life?

With Wei Guangde's relationship with the mansion, he is naturally closer to Xu Bangrui, so now he can only take a gamble.

"You go down and make arrangements. Also, get Bunning back and ask him to come to my place. I'll tell him something."

This time, Xu Pengju's idea was to ask Xu Bangning to go to the capital and try his best to build a good relationship with Wei Guangde. As long as he could remain neutral at the critical moment, he would be victorious.

As for the rest, Xu Bangning is already the spokesperson of the Duke of Wei in Nanjing. Although some people in the city are complaining, Xu Bangning still has a righteous name. As long as the Zheng family is still the wife of the Duke of Wei, Xu Bangning is the legitimate son.

However, he also knew that his son was getting more and more unsatisfactory. At this time, he still didn't know where he was playing with those gang of friends, so he gave the butler such instructions.

In a study room in the backyard, Xu Bangrui was reading the Di newspaper copied by his entourage, and then laughed loudly.

He somewhat admired Wei Guangde. As a son of a hundred households, he could achieve such success in the capital in such a short time.

But what he admired more was himself.

When I first got to know this person, it was just a mere example. Who would have thought that in more than ten years, he would have become a hugely influential figure in the Ming Dynasty.

Cabinet ministers were of course important people. Even though he had seen that Wei Guangde was ranked at the bottom of the cabinet, he was still a cabinet minister, a place that countless civil servants wanted to get into.

The game between him and his father had actually decided the winner in front of this newspaper.

"Dong dong."

There was a knocking sound on the wooden door.

"What's the matter? Come in and talk."

Xu Bangrui said.

"Master, the butler is here."

The man at the door said.

"Invite him in quickly."

One day later, Jiujiang Mansion.

The same newspapers have been delivered, one to the Jiujiang government office and the other to the Jiujiang Wei.

At this time, Wu Zhankui was holding this newspaper in his hand, trembling all over.

Of course, he was not cold, but excited.

His nephew has become the eldest boss of the cabinet and is already a very important figure in the court. In one word, he is a powerful figure that will make the entire Jiujiang Mansion and even Jiangxi tremble.

He has not been promoted in Jiujiang Guard over the years, but he has firmly controlled the entire guard, not least because of Wei Guangde's influence in the capital.

Whether it was Jiangxi or Nanjing, that official dared not give him face.

A few days ago, the governor of Jiangxi came to Jiujiang for inspection. He was very polite to him at the banquet and said that he was a colleague of his nephew and had a close relationship with him.

"Come here, call Wei Meng back to Jiujiang City, and inform him that there is a big banquet in Wei today, and there is a big shot in Jiujiang Wei, hahaha."

Wu Zhankui stood up and ordered the soldiers around him.

The soldier trotted out, and he also wanted to sit with the Wei family and tell his sister the good news.

He had to move faster, but if he was delayed, the prefect of Jiujiang would rush ahead.

Several copies of Di Bao had already been copied in the prefect's Yamen, and they had to be sent to the following counties respectively. However, a large-character poster had been posted outside the prefect's Yamen, and soon the copied Di Bao was also posted outside the Dehua County Yamen. .

However, the prefect of Jiujiang was naturally the first to know the news. He had already arrived at the signing room while the Di newspaper was still being copied. After confirming that it was correct, he immediately sent someone to prepare the sedan.

For people in Jiujiang Prefecture, most people certainly don't know Wei Guangde, but they also know that there is an official here who has great power in the capital. He is the Minister of Rites and can often see the emperor.

This is not news released by the Wei family, but by people who are doing business in Jiujiang Prefecture. Anyone who goes to the capital will inevitably establish contact with the Wei House.

On weekdays, when merchant ships come and go, they have to establish connections between their hometowns and official offices in various places for these Jiujiang fellow villagers who are serving as officials abroad. This is also a link for them to receive protection from fellow villagers in various places.

The capital city, at the feet of the emperor, was the most prosperous area. It was even more prosperous and prosperous. Businessmen who went north would definitely go to the capital city.

The news that Wei Guangde was in the capital naturally spread from the homes of these Jiujiang businessmen.

At the very least, in the capital, as long as they use the brand of Jiujiang Prefecture, it will still be easy to use in officialdom. The yamen offices in the capital will show off Wei Guangde's face and will not embarrass them.

When the news of Wei Guangde's entry into the cabinet came out, various wealthy families in Jiujiang City responded and prepared generous gifts to celebrate. The already bustling streets were even more lively, with merchants constantly setting off firecrackers in celebration.

The street where the Wei family is located is already covered with red debris from firecrackers. Cars and sedans are still swarming in, and will soon be covered with red debris from newly set off firecrackers.

There are many pavilion elders in Jiangxi, but there is only one in Jiujiang.

However, just as Jiujiang Prefecture fell into a "city-wide carnival", the atmosphere in Jiangling Prefecture, Huguang, was extremely strange.

Jiangling was formerly known as "Ying", the capital of Chu State. From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, 34 generations of emperors established their capital here, which lasted for 515 years. Since the Han Dynasty, Jiangling City has long existed as the administrative seat of Jingzhou, so Jiangling is often referred to as "Jingzhou".

As the central city of the Jianghan Plain, Jiangling controls Bashu to the west, Xianghan to the north, borders Jianghu, and Wuyue on the arm. It is the key link between the Central Plains and Lingnan, and is known as the "Southeast Important Town."

But just today, Hong Chaoxuan, the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment, sent by the imperial court, and Cheng Yaoxiang, the commander of Jin Yiwei, arrived in Jiangling. When they learned of the current situation, they were immediately frightened to death.

It turned out that the news that King Zhu Xian of Liao was impeached by the censor Chen Sheng and the censor Gao Guangxian was no longer a secret, and the news that the imperial envoy sent from the capital to verify the matter had long been widely circulated.

In fact, for the prince, this is not a big deal.

Because for the relative who lives in the Forbidden City, as long as it is not linked to rebellion, there is generally no fear for his life.

Even if people are angry and resentful, the king of Ge is the one who stands tall. Most of the relatives who were sent to Fengyang were dissatisfied and complained about the emperor, so the emperor ignored their family ties and locked them up directly.

What are the charges that Chen Sheng and Gao Guangxian impeach Zhu Xian for?

Thirteen major crimes include falsely requesting a title, fornicating a concubine, beating the guest of honor to death, imprisoning the county monarch, and extorting members of the clan.

In fact, the princes' mansions are somewhat involved in these matters, so if they are found out, they will not die, but they will be punished.

However, the King of Liao was pretending to be serious. He knew that the things he had done in the past were definitely related, but the one he was most worried about and feared was the one who walked out of Jiangling City.

When Zhang Juzheng passed the exam as a teenager, the King of Liao was still resentful because of his youth. The King of Liao ordered his grandfather to drink wine. Even though Zhang Zhen said he could no longer drink, he still persuaded him to drink as the King of Liao.

Zhang Zhen had to drink that wine even if he didn't want to.

Originally he just wanted to vent his anger, but he didn't expect Zhang Zhen to be so useless and die immediately after being drunk.

Of course the Zhang family knew what happened that night, but they were just toasting, so naturally they couldn't say anything about it. He is the prince of the dynasty, so what are you going to fight with?

The reason for the commotion was that Zhang Zhen himself was ill, had no control over the surprise, and drank too much.

No matter what happened that night, the Zhang family had no reason to use it as an excuse, so the King of Liao was not afraid.

But it's different now. People coming from the capital, who knows if Zhang Juzheng's handiwork is among them.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became. In the end, he was even more convinced that Zhang Juzheng used Yu Zhuan's identity as an old friend to join forces with Chen Sheng and Gao Guang to sue him first.

At this time, he still didn't feel that he had done anything wrong, because the Zhu family could bear those crimes.

This actually shows that Zhu Di's strategy of raising pigs has been running very well after so many years of implementation.

King Zhu Xian of the Liao Dynasty was trained as a useless person in this way. Hong Chaoxuan, the minister of punishment of the Ministry of Justice who was investigating him, had not arrived in Jingzhou, but he was anxious in the palace.

They didn't realize at all that he was a vassal king and his surname was Zhu. As long as he didn't kill anyone, his life would be the same. At most, he would only be warned and ordered by the court.

Even if he bullies Hong Chaoxuan, the Minister of Criminal Affairs who came to investigate, Hong Chaohong can't do anything to him.

When there was a conflict between civil servants and the vassal king, the court would often fight each other fifty-fifty.

Such a punishment would not deter the feudal king at all, and he would still go his own way. For officials, it would affect their promotion, which would be a huge loss.

But there is a premise here, that is, no big fights can be made, and no lives can be lost.

The human lives here generally do not include the lower class people, because in the eyes of the rulers, they can be compensated with money.

Zhang Zhen's death was different. The Zhang family had no good reason to make trouble, so they could only break their teeth and swallow it. But if the King of Liao openly ordered the murder, the King of Liao would be severely punished.

Because although the vassal king was a relative of the emperor, the court was controlled by civil servants, and civil servants evolved from scholars. If the King of Liao dared to attack Zhang Juzheng, the civil servants would definitely not let him go.

After all, if he is let go, countless scholars will be oppressed by the feudal kings in the future, and the dignity of scholars will be lost.

This is actually a very delicate balance.

However, the King of Liao knew little about this, so in desperation, he hung a flag on the roof of the palace. On this flag were four characters "Litigation of Injustice" written on it.

He wanted to express that he was persecuted by Zhang Juzheng and was unjustly accused.

But he had read a book, but at this time he just forgot to hang this flag. In fact, there is another interpretation from the outside world: rise up.