Chapter 384 383 Asking for an official position, becoming a vassal

Chapter 384 383 Asking for an official position, becoming a vassal

"Master Huang, we toast you."

At this moment, Wei Guangde and several young censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate stood behind an old man in his fifties and wearing a red official robe and toasted.

This is a restaurant near the Yamen of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. It is noon at this time, and the entire second floor has been booked. Although most of the officials here are in green robes, they are officials from the capital, and even all officials in the world are unwilling to offend. a group of people.

At this time, they gathered here, naturally serving wine to celebrate.

"I don't dare to take it seriously. We are all colleagues. Let's drink this cup together."

The old man raised his wine glass with a smile, stood up, clinked glasses with Wei Guangde and others, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Sir Huang's hard work has made great achievements. The Miao rebellion in Sichuan is capricious, but it is only when the Sichuan governor is in charge that the rebellion is calmed down and there will be no more rebellion. This is unique."

Behind Wei Guangde, a censor shouted flattery.

"Yes, the imperial court has promoted you to the position of Yushi of Youqiandu, taking charge of the Miao rebellion in the three provinces of Hu, Guizhou and Sichuan. I think the rebellion in the three provinces will be completely subdued soon. If you know the right people and appoint them well, the cabinet and the staff have chosen the right person this time."

"That's not the result of Mr. Huang's exhaustive efforts in taking office and appointing people on their merits."

At this time, Wei Guangde stood quietly aside, watching Huang Guangsheng's conversation with those people, but his mind was recalling Huang Guangsheng's resume and another thing he had planned.

Huang Guangsheng was the right envoy to the Chief Secretary of Sichuan in the 30th year of Jiajing's reign, and later served as the left chief envoy and governor of Sichuan.

During nine years in Sichuan, he had a thorough understanding of the people's conditions and diseases. He tried to reorganize the Yao books in the province and adjusted the dosage so that officials could not compete with each other. He checked the autumn grains and left over rice, and used it as a way to deduct small grains of materials for powerful and powerful people. , so he wrote it as an order forever.

These practices gradually stabilized the entire Sichuan society.

In fact, the rebellion of ethnic minorities is not only caused by some people's dissatisfaction with the king's rule, but also the oppression of local officials.

When Huang Guangsheng took office, he worked hard to resolve this contradiction and gradually stabilized the various ethnic groups in Sichuan.

These actions of his were naturally noticed by the imperial court, so after completing the examination in the ninth year of Sichuan, he was ordered to return to Beijing to report on his duties. He was also the right minister of the Ministry of War of the Jin Dynasty and the censor of the right capital of the Imperial Procuratorate. He was also the governor-general of Huguang, Military affairs of Sichuan and Guizhou provinces.

In ancient times, ethnic minority areas were always appointed by the central government and were in a state of autonomy. Since the Yuan Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty's "Jizhou" system was changed to the chieftain system. Chieftains, also known as native officials, were used to stabilize the frontier.

In the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court tried to stabilize the situation in the southwest by combining kindness and power and balancing the minority groups. However, rebellions by chieftains, large and small, often occurred, and the turmoil in the southwest was never quelled by the Ming Dynasty.

Since the pacification of the southwest during the Hongwu period, wars have always occurred in the southwest minority inhabited areas. Therefore, the degree of turmoil in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty was no less than that of the northern border. Large-scale social conflicts often existed, and sometimes they were particularly harmful. It is said that "five years ago" "One small rebellion, one big rebellion every ten years" is not an exaggeration.

In the Ming Dynasty, the emergence of the official position of governor was closely related to the continuous ethnic conflicts that broke out in the southwest region.

Speaking of which, the official position of Governor of Huguichuan was naturally established because of the frequent rebellions in the area. The first Governor of Huguichuan was established in the 27th year of Jiajing. The governor at that time was Zhang Yue.

In the twelve years since the establishment of the governor-general, five governors have been replaced frequently. Huang Guangsheng is the sixth governor accepted by the imperial court. The purpose is naturally to allow the practices he used in Sichuan to be extended to Huguang and Guizhou and to quell the rebellion of local ethnic minorities.

In fact, Huang Guangsheng, the right censor of the capital, was only on a temporary basis, but since he was in the capital, he also had to go to the capital procuratorate to identify himself.

No, when he came to the Metropolitan Procuratorate today, his colleagues naturally pulled him to the restaurant to celebrate his promotion from the right deputy imperial envoy to the right imperial censor.

Huang Guangsheng has now been promoted from governor to governor, and will definitely be a big shot in Zhangbutang in the future. Although the censors are not afraid of these high-ranking officials, they are not willing to give up this network easily.

Although the Metropolitan Procuratorate has great power, after all, the ranks are there, and only a very small number of people can be promoted in the court. The final way out for the censor is to serve as a six-ministry or local official, and it is impossible to say that it will be under this person.

After the toasters gradually dispersed, Wei Guangde thought about it before finally making up his mind. While everyone was tipsy, he stepped forward to talk to Huang Guangsheng.

"Master Huang, this time Governor Hu Guichuan, I wonder how your Excellency plans to quell the rebellion in the three provinces. Is it to promote the reorganization of the corvee in Sichuan?"

Wei Guangde felt that one of the important reasons why he was able to quell ethnic rebellions in Sichuan was that he restricted local officials from exploiting ethnic minority villages.

In the past, one province did this, and now the three provinces will naturally do the same.

However, the cost of doing so is very high, and it is easy to offend local squires and chieftains, because it is not only the local officials who accept the imperial court's orders but also the chieftains who exploit the people.

Wei Guangde personally feels that Huang Guangsheng's plan is good, but it is very difficult to implement and requires strong force to deter Xiaoxiao.

Huang Guangsheng opened his drunken eyes slightly and looked at Wei Guangde, and replied with a smile: "Actually, most of the Miao people are not barbarians in our eyes. They only want food and clothing. As for those with ulterior motives, they still need to be suppressed by force."

"A combination of kindness and power?"

"Yes, let the Miao people bathe in the court's kindness, use force to intimidate Xiaoxiao, and the world will be at peace, haha."

Huang Guangsheng replied with a smile.

"Sir, are you from Quanzhou, Fujian?"

Wei Guangde also laughed in agreement.

"Yes, he is from Jinjiang, Panhu and Linzhang in Quanzhou. Lord Wei, too?"

Huang Guangsheng asked with a smile.

"I am from Pengze, Jiujiang Prefecture."

Wei Guangde smiled and said, "I wonder if you have heard of Yu Dayou."

"You said Zhifu, he is also from Jinjiang County, and I am a fellow villager, but he is a military household of Quanzhou Guard."

When Huang Guangde heard Wei Guangde mentioning Yu Dayou, Huang Guangsheng's drunken eyes narrowed slightly, thinking about what Wei Guangde was doing when he mentioned Yu Dayou.

Speaking of which, Huang Guangsheng knew Yu Dayou. Yu Dayou was three years older than Huang Guangsheng, and Yu Dayou's books were not in vain. He was considered a celebrity in Jinjiang County at the time. After all, he was a scholar in his teens.

Jinjiang County is so big, Huang Guangsheng naturally knew Yu Dayou, but later Yu Dayou took over his father's position and joined the army, while he passed the imperial examination and had a different path in civil and military affairs. It was said that he had not seen him for many years.

He naturally knew before that Yu Dayou had committed crimes in suppressing the Japanese in Zhejiang, but now he had just won the battle in Datong. Although the reward from the court was a bit short, he had resumed his hereditary military position after all, so he had not failed his ancestors.

Huang Guangsheng didn't know why Wei Guangde mentioned Yu Dayou, so he started to be cautious, but he soon felt relieved.

"My father once worked with General Yu to suppress Japanese invaders in Zhejiang, and I admire him very much."

Wei Guangde first briefly talked to Huang Guangsheng about the relationship between him and Yu Dayou, and then began to introduce in front of him Yu Dayou's record of moving from Fujian to Guangdong and Guangxi, then to Zhejiang, and finally to Shanxi.

Huang Guangsheng nodded slightly while listening. Naturally, he knew a lot about this old classmate. Although he had not met him since he became an official, he still heard his name often in newspapers and official circles.

Speaking of which, Yu Dayou has fought countless battles, big and small, but now he has returned to work as a hundred households, which is really embarrassing.

"With General Yu's ability, he is definitely more than enough to serve as the commander-in-chief of a province."

At this time, Wei Guangde had almost finished speaking, and then looked at Huang Guangsheng to see his reaction.

At this time, if Huang Guangsheng still didn't understand what Wei Guangde meant, his job as an official would have been in vain. He was helping Yu Dayou by recommending himself.

Of course, Huang Guangsheng didn't know Wei Guangde before. If he hadn't met him at the Metropolitan Procuratorate this time, he would have only heard of his name but didn't know who he was.

"After we break up later, we will find a place to discuss this matter."

Huang Guangsheng understood what Wei Guangde meant, nodded slightly and responded in a low voice.

After all, it was the banquet of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. They had stood aside and whispered for so long, which had attracted some people's attention.

"good."

Wei Guangde nodded with a smile and whispered back.

While everyone in the Metropolitan Procuratorate was drinking in the restaurant and keeping in touch with each other, the atmosphere in the main hall of Yongshou Palace in Xiyuan was very depressing.

Ordinarily, Datong has won the war and completely resolved the crisis on the northern border. The Anta Ministry has withdrawn from the Great Wall Pass. There should be a festive and peaceful atmosphere in the government and the public at this time. However, yesterday a memorial to the Ministry of Household Affairs broke it. A cheerful atmosphere.

"I called you here, you guys should have guessed the reason."

At this time, under the throne, cabinet ministers Yan Song and Xu Jie stood on the left, while on the right stood Gao Yao, the minister of household affairs.

After Emperor Jiajing finished speaking, the three of them bowed slightly.

"This time, I thought the situation would be very bad, so the Ministry of Accounts raised money from various sources. It was very good, but it has raised as much as 300,000 taels, with hundreds of thousands more to come.

Ordinarily, if the battle is won, the extra money will naturally be of no use and should be returned to the warehouse. It can also be used to supplement the court's expenses in the future. But why are so many yamen now trying to take it away?

Now that Tila is gone, what will happen if the court wants to use the money in the future? Continue to issue IOUs? "

Emperor Jiajing frowned and looked at the three people below with a very unhappy expression.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Household Affairs issued a memorandum. It had collected money from many provinces for the war. The first batch collected nearly one million taels. They used official positions as threats to force local governments to recover the tax arrears over the years.

As a result, the battle was won at once, and naturally there was no such big expense.

There is money in the accounts of the household department. Although it has not yet been transported to the capital, many yamen have made up their minds.

The original use of this batch of silver was to prepare for the southern invasion of the Anda tribe. Various yamen wanted to take it away, but the Ministry of Revenue did not dare to agree easily. After all, it had been reported to the emperor.

In order to deal with this battle, Emperor Jiajing sent his servants to the Ministry of Household Affairs every day to keep an eye on the payment process, and personally witnessed the transfer of the money.

But people came to the Ministry of Finance with a note, and the Ministry of Finance couldn't keep delaying it. Seeing the pressure gradually coming to the Ministry of Finance, they had no choice but to hand over the conflict and let Emperor Jiajing decide whether to use the money first. Make up for some of the shortfalls over the years, or what to do?

At this time, Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, took two steps forward slowly, bowed first and then said: "Your Majesty, I know about this. The notes taken out by the major yamen are all previous expenses. They should have been paid a long time ago." It’s settled, the IOU was issued just because the household department had no money.

Now that the Tatars have retreated, there shouldn't be any big moves in the short term. The various yamen may also be thinking that those accounts have been owed for a long time, and they happen to have such a sum of money, so they will pay some first. "

Yan Song stepped forward to answer, but Xu Jie, who was standing behind him, peeked at Gao Yao.

To be honest, he also sent someone to talk to Gao Yao two days ago about some related households who wanted to withdraw money from the Ministry of Household Affairs, but he didn't expect that Gao Yao would go directly to the emperor in the end.

When Xu Jie thought about it, when the money arrived, he should pay some first. Even if the emperor knew about it in the future, the money had been given and it was a legitimate expense, and there would be nothing to say.

"If you give it, can the account be wiped out? There will be no deficit in the treasury this year, and there will be next year and the year after that."

When Emperor Jiajing said this, everyone in the hall already knew that the emperor was interested in this batch of money and planned to continue to hold on to the accounts.

Although he didn't know what Emperor Jiajing was going to do with the money, but thinking about his annual training expenses, not only Yan Song and Xu Jie, but also Gao Yao felt a toothache and felt like he had done something stupid.

Emperor Jiajing did not notice the thoughts of the three people.

Because he was really interested in this batch of silver. After knowing that Datong might defeat the Tatars and knowing that the north could usher in a short period of peace, he was planning the use of this famous batch of silver.

However, what he said next shocked the three people below.

"No one can touch this batch of silver. The Ministry of Accounts must take it all back and temporarily store it in Taicang."

At this point, Emperor Jiajing had already stood up and continued: "The cabinet will come down together with the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household Affairs to see where to build a palace and submit a plan as soon as possible."

"Your Majesty, this is a new palace."

Yan Song looked up at Emperor Jiajing and opened his mouth to ask, but was interrupted by the emperor before he could finish his words.

"The palace is naturally the prince's palace, and my son should prepare to become a vassal."

After saying this, Emperor Jiajing looked at Huang Jin next to him. At this time, he also looked horrified.

I have been accompanying the emperor in the Yongshou Palace these days, but I have never heard anything about the vassal from the emperor. In other words, this is the emperor's arbitrary decision.

He waved his hands and said to Yan Song and Xu Jie: "You go down first. You can come up with the results of this matter as soon as possible and report it."

Yan Song and Xu Jie were shocked at this moment. No one thought that at this time, the battle between the two kings would come to an end.

Emperor Jiajing did not say who the new palace was for. Although they wanted to ask, they both kept silent. They bowed slightly and bowed slightly before exiting the hall with Gao Yao.

Yan Song and Xu Jie both had their own concerns at this time. After all, at the last moment, they had different support targets. It can be said that from this moment on, it was impossible for the two to continue to maintain their previous close relationship.

But Gao Yao was overjoyed at this time. In his opinion, the new palace was naturally prepared for King Jing, and it could only be King Jing.

His unintentional act actually contributed to this big thing, asking King Jing to seize the domain and complete it as soon as possible. At this time, he had already made up his mind, mainly decided on the place, and immediately handed over the money to the Ministry of Industry, so that they could start work as soon as possible, and he would get the money from the domain. Although it is troublesome, no matter how difficult it is, you must squeeze it out.