In the thirteenth year of Shaofeng's reign, 1544 AD.
In the spring, Ouyang Duo, the censor of Zuodu, died of illness, and the reformists lost another general.
In history, Ouyang Duo was the first to implement the "One Law" and kicked off the tax reform of the Jiajing Dynasty. Ouyang Duo in this time and space once served as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and he was at the helm of the reforms in Guangdong and Guangxi.
In the summer, the cabinet minister Wang Tingxiang died of illness, leaving a gap in the cabinet arranged by Wang Yuan.
On the contrary, the second assistant Wang Hong, who should have died long ago, has lived eight years longer than in history because of his smooth career. He is still in good spirits at the age of seventy-eight.
The first assistant, Mao Ji, couldn't hold on any longer. He was ill for two months in the winter of the first year. As soon as spring came, he asked to become an official. Since Wang Yuan was about to expire as Ding You, Mao Ji had to give up the throne if he stayed, so he planned to become an official as the first assistant.
Xiyuan.
The prince Zhu Yiyong, who had just turned two years old, was sleeping soundly in the arms of Queen Mother Gu. Queen Mother Gu coaxed and patted the prince and said with a smile: "Is the emperor worried?"
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"No," Zhu Zaiyi shook his head and explained, "I reviewed the memorial too late yesterday and I was sleepy and dozed off today."
Queen Mother Gu smiled and said: "Are you troubled by the cabinet selection?"
Zhu Zaiyi silently acquiesced.
"Well, it's time to make the decision yourself after all. It's common sense not to tell mother." Empress Dowager Gu sighed.
Zhu Zaiyi finally said: "Tian Hanlin (Tian Qiu) should be the first choice to add cabinet ministers."
Empress Dowager Gu said: "To consolidate imperial power, we do not have to choose another imperial party, but we should put the word 'stability' first."
"My child knows, it's just..." Zhu Zaiyi hesitated before speaking.
Queen Mother Gu smiled and said: "Are you afraid that Wang Erlang and Ding You will not leave after returning to the court after his term of worry expires?"
Zhu Zaiyi was silent again.
Empress Dowager Gu handed the prince to the wet nurse, straightened her sleeves and said: "I don't know anything else, but I have known Wang Ruoxu for more than twenty years, and he has never regretted the promises he made. A gentleman's words are hard to chase, so it goes without saying.
He deserves it."
Zhu Zaiyi stood up and said: "My child knows what to do."
Tian Qiu is the real chief assistant left by Wang Yuan to the emperor. All civil and military officials can see it as long as they are not blind.
This is the inevitable result of comprehensive considerations from many aspects.
Tian Qiu is Wang Yuan's fellow villager in Guizhou and an old friend who participated in the provincial examination together. With Tian Qiu in charge of the cabinet, he can control all parties and unite the hearts of the various factions of the royal party.
What's even better is that Tian Qiu has average abilities and doesn't like to fight for power. As long as he is the chief assistant, he will inevitably follow Wang Yuan's established line and govern everything according to Wang Yuan's established line. And the emperor can also take over power smoothly, Tian
It is impossible for Qiu to go against the emperor. No good man can do such a thing.
For this reason, Wang Yuan promoted Tian Qiu to be a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and to be in charge of the imperial office ten years in advance. He had already accumulated enough qualifications, prestige and connections.
It was during the Mao-Wang fight that Zhu Zaiyi fully understood the role of Tian Qiu. He was so relieved that he broke out in a cold sweat. Because Wang Yuan's layout was too far away, not long after he started to reform, he had already chosen the future.
successor.
Even if he can successfully take over power, Zhu Zaiyi still feels that he is living in the shadow of Wang Yuan, as if his life path has been arranged by Wang Yuan.
This made Zhu Zaiyu very uncomfortable, and he always felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
The next day, morning.
The emperor allowed Mao Ji, the chief minister, to retire from office due to illness, and he was promoted to the rank of Taifu, and his grandchildren were appointed as the imperial supervisors.
"Thank you for your grace!" Mao Ji was overjoyed.
Mao Ji had long been tired, and he felt frustrated as the first assistant. Even the fight with the second assistant Wang Hong had been arranged by Wang Yuan a long time ago. Even if he knew that the fight would not produce any results, he had to continue acting according to the script.
Now, three years are approaching, and Wang Yuan is about to expire.
According to the rules, as long as Wang Yuan returns to the court, he must give up his position as chief minister. In this case, it is better to resign now, at least to return to his hometown as the chief minister.
With his number one political enemy gone, Wang Hong actually felt at a loss.
Wang Hong was already seventy-eight years old. As soon as Mao Ji left, he was automatically promoted to the position of chief minister, but Wang Yuan was about to return to the court. When he thought of Wang Yuan, Wang Hong could not think of fighting at all. In the past three years, he had promoted many close associates.
, but the highest position is just the Right Assistant Minister.
Thinking of this, Wang Hong came out and knelt down: "Your Majesty, I am old and frail, and I request that I become an official and return home."
Zhu Zaiyi said: "If you love me, you will be strong when you are old. There is no need to talk about becoming an official."
Wang Hong stopped talking and decided to resign another day. It would not be too late to resign three times before leaving.
"Tian Qiu, a Hanlin bachelor and the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Household, was awarded a bachelor's degree in Dongge, pre-engineering."
"Yan Song, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was awarded the bachelor's degree of Dongge University, pre-engineering."
"Xia Yan, the censor of the right capital, was transferred to the Imperial Academy and was also in charge of the imperial palace."
"Song Cang, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Hubu."
Although the officials were a little surprised, they were not surprised, and some officials were secretly glad.
The little emperor is finally following the path paved by Wang Yuan.
Tian Qiu was Wang Yuan's hometown friend and the future chief minister of the Ming Dynasty. He represented Xiao Gui and Cao Sui's continued reforms.
Although Yan Song had defected to Wang Yuan early, he was considered a member of the Empress Dowager Gu and was equivalent to half of the imperial party. He was the future second assistant of the Ming Dynasty. He was the emperor's check and balance on Tian Qiu and also acted as a lubricant.
Xia Yan is the real imperial party, and he will definitely join the cabinet as an assistant minister in the future.
Song Cang was a person left behind by Yang Tinghe. He was not considered a member of any faction. He was a pure lone minister. The emperor felt very comfortable using him.
As for Jin Lei, Gui E, Chang Lun, Ling Xiang, Zheng Shanfu, Shi Dao, Nie Bao... these core reformists, because they are too close to Wang Yuan, I am afraid they will suffer from the emperor for a long time.
Deliberately suppressing them, and being able to add them to the cabinet is already the limit.
The little emperor has completely matured.
But the premise of everything is that Wang Yuan leaves the court and no longer continues to be the chief minister.
Once Wang Yuan refuses to leave, there will be a big conflict between the monarch and his ministers. Jin Lei, Gui E and others will definitely be the first to be dismissed from office.
In Gui E's house, the core of the royal party gathered together.
Ling Xiang asked: "Sikou (Jin Lei) will say something today. Does the Grand Master really want to become an official?"
"Don't ask me." Jin Lei waved his hand and said.
Gui E still had the same bad temper: "Who are you asking? You and the Grand Master took the provincial examination in the same year and went all the way to the capital to take the exam. Will the Grand Master give you a secret explanation?"
Chang Lun said: "When Brother Ruoxu just attacked Ding You, I didn't even understand his arrangement. The more fiercely Mao and Wang fought, the clearer the situation became. Ruoxu made it clear that he didn't want to be an official anymore, and he just
He had a plan at the beginning of the reform, otherwise how could he have sent Tian Ruli (Tian Qiu) to the imperial office ten years ago? There are many more qualified people for that position, so Ruoxu decided to choose Tian Ruli."
"That's right," Shi Dao also analyzed, "when Ru Ligong was in charge of the imperial office, all the officials complained about him, thinking that he was appointing local party members for personal gain. Now that I think about it, what is the favoritism of Mr. Ru Li? He is clearly selfless, and he has thought about it a long time ago.
Retreat bravely from the rapids."
Jin Lei finally spoke: "The master is so powerful, how dare Ruoxu not retreat?"
Gui E patted the table and said: "Why retire? If Xu is still in his prime, he can stay in power for another twenty years. I am very impressed by him as the first assistant. To put it bluntly, I, Gui, are the first assistant with Tian Ruli.
I really don’t like him! With his methods, it’s hard for him to be a minister, but he’s not at the mercy of the emperor when he’s the chief minister?”
Jin Lei complained: "You are indeed very capable, but would His Majesty be able to accept you as the first assistant? What I want is that he lacks ability."
Guihe was speechless.
Zheng Shanfu sighed and said: "Sir's great wisdom is indeed unmatched by ordinary people. If it were any one of us at the table, who could retreat at the request of me? Anyway, I can't retreat, so I will definitely be stuck in the past and find it difficult to leave."
Everyone was speechless.
Power can corrode people's hearts and lower their IQ.
When Wang Yuan was at that point, few people were willing to let go. To put it more bluntly, Wang Yuan could choose to fight hard with the emperor. He would not lose until the emperor was shameless, and at most he would be forced to serve.
However, people like Jin Lei and Gui E will be in bad luck, and they will definitely become victims of the struggle between kings and ministers.
The core group of the royal party exchanged opinions and then dispersed and went home.
Even if Wang Yuan leaves, they are still the largest force in the court. Wang Yuan has already arranged what they will do. Arita Qiu is in charge of the cabinet. They have promoted many local hard-working people and sent them to various places over the years.
The official's physics disciple is not a decoration.
The little emperor dare not act recklessly, otherwise the political and military circles will be in chaos. Wang Yuan still has a lot of martial arts disciples.
The complete collapse of the royal party will probably have to wait until Zhu Zaiyi's son takes office, or there will be a serious split within the royal party.