Bright Moon and Breeze(11)

The light of the morning sun shines down, and the red walls and yellow tiles are the best match for the magnolia flowers at this time of year.

When Fourth Master went out, he glanced at the magnolia in the corner. The magnolia should have bloomed long ago according to the season, but it was frozen by the spring freeze just after it opened its buds. He raised his hand to pick the buds, held them in his hand and twisted them, and couldn't help but

He sighed. The flower buds within the palace walls had become like this, and he didn’t know what happened to the crops.

After leaving the small courtyard, the Changsun Courtyard next door was very quiet. He did not stop and continued to leave.

Wang Cheng stood on the corridor of the main hall, watching King Jian leave. Where were he going? Hongde Hall? He hurriedly went inside first. The prince had just stood up, with a tired look on his face. He applied a hot handkerchief.

In front of his face, Li Xuan was asking someone to pass on breakfast.

"Sit!" The prince moved the hot handkerchief away, and then looked at Wang Cheng, "Is there something wrong when you come here so early? Why don't you see Wang An?"

Wang An's health was not good again. He caught a cold at night and had a headache.

Wang Chengjin came here in a hurry, "It is still a matter of choosing a concubine for the eldest grandson! King Jian is his younger brother, and he has already married. It is really time to choose a concubine for the eldest grandson."

The prince waved his hand, "What if the younger brother gets married, but the older brother doesn't get married? If King Rui's younger brother doesn't get married, wouldn't King Gui and King Hui get married first? This is not a reason to ask for the title of grandson. Even if he goes, he will not be able to pass.

of!"

Wang Cheng was anxious, what if he didn't give it a try? He lowered his head, stood up and said, "I just saw King Jian going to Hongde Hall."

The prince chuckled lightly, "Let him go!" There is an eldest son, what can he do? The emperor has been arguing with the courtiers for more than ten years about Prince Fu? Didn't he also retreat? He thought that he would win the emperor's favor.

Can he become a grandson?

childish!

I am still too young, too young, and I don’t even know that the person who holds this power is not the emperor, but the minister!

As a prince, I am not the prince of the emperor, but the prince of the ministers. He is a prince under the rule of direct heirs and elders. It is true that I am afraid of the emperor, but my fear is not that I will be dethroned, but that I will die one day when I lie down.

If you can't get up, your death will be unclear.

As for being deposed, the emperor cannot depose himself! From top to bottom in the Ming Dynasty, no one would agree to the emperor's request. As soon as the emperor opened his mouth, more than half of the ministers were killed in the hall!

Therefore, there is no need to worry about this matter! The emperor likes to learn, so let him go! In the future, he will be sent to a fief far away, that’s it!

Breakfast was served, and Wang Cheng quietly withdrew. He had to go to see the eldest grandson on behalf of Wang An and see what the eldest grandson was doing. The invitation to invite the eldest grandson to go out to study has been handed in for several days. What if this comes down?

Now, it’s time for a great Confucian to teach you how to study. Studying is not a trivial matter. Back then, the imperial court fought with the emperor for a long time in order to ask the prince to go out to study. Until King Fu Gui and King Hui reached the age of studying,

The prince just came out to study. Unfortunately, he only studied for three or two years. The emperor suddenly stopped the prince's study. This suspension lasted for seven or eight years. So far, the prince has not even read the four books and the five classics. Those who have read it are all

I swallowed my jujube in a hurry, and now I am thirty-seven years old and can no longer study.

But at the age of the eldest grandson, it was still in time.

The gate of Changsun Courtyard hadn't been opened yet, so he was waiting outside. From time to time, Princess Jian's voice came from the courtyard next door. He moved around, wanting to hear what the princess was saying.

The princess seemed to be talking to the female officer, "...This is a leek root that was dug out and planted here. The sprouts sprouted in the past two days, but you see, it froze overnight.

The weather this year is very abnormal. I would like to see if Shang Yi can help me retrieve the information from Qin Tian Jian. Since this cold wave has come, the closer to the village and city, the less affected it will be. The smell of fireworks

It can keep warm! But inside the palace, there are many high walls, but it is like this. Then I dare not think about what will happen to the crop fields in the wilderness. When the grass and trees are sprouting, it happens to be cold in spring. With this delay, what will happen to the summer grain?

"

Wang Cheng couldn't hear what others said. He only heard Princess Jian calling someone else inside, "... Seal the seedlings with plant ash first to avoid dust and sprinkle some water... It's okay if there are debris covering it...

…”

For some reason, Wang Cheng felt that his nose was sore. From the court to the palace, he had never heard of anyone watching the farming season and checking on farm affairs for several years!

After waiting for a long time, the gate of Changsun Courtyard opened. The little eunuch who was guarding the door ran over in a flattering manner and whispered: "You are always here? So early?"

Is it early?

The little eunuch called his ancestor in a low voice, and then said: "Last night, His Highness Changsun played a puppet show, and he went to bed late! You don't know that the puppets made by Changsun are very good. Last night, he played the role of the Three-Bao Eunuch Going to the West...

…”

Before he finished speaking, Wang Cheng walked away and met several female officials hurriedly walking on the road. Some of them were holding very thick books, as if they were delivering them to King Jian's Courtyard. Yes! This is the month, the year of Yongle, it is time.

Busy with the silkworm ceremony first! During the Jiajing period, I was also busy with this for several years. But later, I no longer farmed or silkworms.

Yes! Plowing and sericulture are done for others to see, but you don’t need to show it to anyone. They are really paying attention to spring plowing and sericulture... There is no utilitarian purpose, and the concern is just pure concern. Such people

...Who should it be?

For the first time, he doubted that those ministers who once seemed to be strong-willed and dared to compete with the emperor for the country, were they right? It was really the eldest son and the legitimate son who inherited the throne. It was good! Is that right? Fighting for the throne

If it is cholera, what good will a ruler who is not a wise ruler do to the world?

Today's Ming Dynasty has become like this. From the emperor, royal family, nobles to ministers, no one is completely innocent!

Innocent or not, wisdom comes from the perspective of others! No matter whether they are monarchs or ministers, each of them hides a lot of grievances.

At this time, in the Hongde Hall, in addition to the fourth master, there was another adult, the only chief minister of the cabinet, Fang Congzhe.

Yes! The cabinet should have three people, but over the years, it has always been an independent prime minister! Before Fang Congzhe, there was only one person in the cabinet, Ye Xianggao. Ye Xianggao submitted several requests to complete the cabinet, but the emperor ignored him. If he asked again,

I still didn’t pay attention to it. I’ve asked him how many times and for so many years, I’m afraid Ye Xianggao may not remember it accurately, but he never paid attention to me anyway! Ye Xianggao had no choice but to ask for help every day.

If I can't do it alone, then I won't do it. Isn't that okay?

As a result, Mr. Ye Ge submitted seventy-five tricks in a row, and the emperor finally agreed. Two people were added to the cabinet, one was Fang Congzhe and the other was Wu Daonan.

This Fang Congzhe was recommended by Ye Xianggao.

Ye Xianggao was from the Donglin Party, and Fang Congzhe was from the Zhejiang Party. It’s a long story to tell! And the other Wu Daonan, after meeting Ding You, returned to his hometown after not being a few cabinet ministers. Ye Xianggao was left

and Fang Congzhe, they belong to different camps. The Donglin party was involved in various troubles, and even Ye Xianggao had no choice but to retreat in the end. Therefore, there was only one person in the cabinet.

But as far as the chief minister is concerned, even if Ye Xianggao comes from Donglin, the various parties in the court can still be reconciled under his mediation. But if it is Fang Congzhe, it is not the same thing. Donglin's party has been

After being expelled and the officials shut up, what has become of the DPRK?

Fourth Master has not speculated. He has never interacted with any of the ministers outside. Let’s take a look! Let’s take a look.

Fang Congzhe did not look at the fourth master, but only said that he came in to ask for something to report to the emperor, "...there is a shortage of officials. In the first month of the first month of the year, the Ministry of official affairs gave Zhang Kong, the official in charge of the matter, an explanation, so I won't go into details! According to the old system, I will give the report to the emperor.

There should be more than fifty people, and there should be more than a hundred censors. But now, there are only four people in the six departments, and no one is in charge of the official seals in the five departments... Among the six departments, there are only four or five high-ranking officials.

The history has been vacant for so many years... In addition, the Supervisory and Supervisory Department has been short of personnel every year, but has never been replenished. Now, there are already too many shortages. There are no teachings in various places, and there are thousands of vacancies... There are also

, due to the shortage of officials in the Ministry of Punishment, prisoners are detained in prisons without being tried. Every day, there are always people blocking the bus and going around crying and redressing their grievances... There are thirteen lanes in the world, and one person in Beijing is in charge of several lanes, and the official duties are piled up..." Even if

I was prepared in my heart, but the fourth master was also shocked. Without officials, the people will have no one to govern. This is just like ordinary people going to do things. Every day, the departments that should be in charge are closed. So what will it be like?

?

Fourth Master looked away from Fang Conzhe, wanting to hear what the emperor Wanli had to say.

Emperor Wanli leaned on the couch and asked Fang Congzhe, "Why do so many officials leave with their titles hanging?"

Fang Congzhe lowered his head and said nothing.

Emperor Wanli chuckled lightly and said, "I don't like talking about officials, so there are no talking officials in the court, right?"

Fang Congzhe knelt down immediately! Most of the officials were members of Donglin's party, and the emperor was accusing him of excluding dissidents!

Emperor Wanli sighed, "Mr. Fangge!"

Yes! I am here!

"Do you know why I don't like those officials?"

"I... I will die." Fang Congzhe kowtowed, "I also know that the vacancy is huge, and it cannot be filled overnight. My colleagues below are blocking my door every day, and I came into the palace to urge this matter, which is really true.

I have no choice but to resign now that I know what to do."

Then he stood up, holding his hat and slowly retreated step by step.

Emperor Wanli raised a hint of contempt on his lips, turned his face and continued the topic with Fourth Master, "Do you know why I don't like those officials?"

The fourth master sat over and sighed: "Only mentioning the shortcomings, but not telling how to rectify them. This is not the way to govern a country!"

Wanli's eyes lit up, and he laughed loudly, "Yes! What a simple truth this is! Every minister standing in the court could point at my nose and scold me for being useless. I was beaten for scolding the emperor.

Banzi is an honor to them! They have brought out the shortcomings of the imperial court in front of the people of the world. Now that they have gained fame, what has become of me? No one is perfect since birth. Which dynasty or generation does not have shortcomings? Yes, don't be afraid.

!Treat it! I have been scolded since I was a child! My mother is strict, my eldest companion is strict, and my teacher is even stricter... I have been scolded every day since I can remember... I am diligent and studious, especially if I hate it.

Not diligent enough. I like calligraphy. The teacher said that as an emperor, I don’t need to worry about it... I am subjected to abuse and criticism every day... Why does everyone have such strict requirements on me? What should I do right?

! Later, I discovered that if I don’t do it, it will be good. If I do, it will definitely be wrong. I once thought that this world is my world! But later I understood, how can this world be my world!? Since it is not my world!

My world, then let him go! What I want to do is the emperor, not the ruler of the world. As for the emperor, he is the emperor once he has secured the throne, and it is the ruler of the world who has to be responsible for the world. Then I will do it

As long as he is a stable emperor, what's the difficulty?"

The Fourth Master was speechless. Everyone has different circumstances, different experiences, different personalities, and different choices. In the early days of Emperor Wanli, he was considered diligent among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. He received strict instruction since childhood, and after he ascended the throne, Li

Even when the Empress Dowager, Zhang Juzheng, Feng Bao, etc. were in power, he never slacked off. After five o'clock, except for the early morning sessions on March 6, 9, and 9, he would listen to the lectures of great Confucian scholars and the collection of classics and history, and learn everything. He never stopped in the cold winter and hot summer.

Therefore, there is no single reason why his imperial path has come to this day.

As he said himself, he was actually powerless against the courtiers!

Exactly, this is also the most difficult problem for Fourth Master!
To be continued...