Chapter 544 Running Errands

Chapter 544 Running Errands

The news about Xiyuanli spread in the capital with lightning speed.

Although the government office had been dismissed at this time, there were still staff on duty after the government office was dismissed.

Emperor Jiajing set the tone, and the memorials after criticizing the Red Army were sent to Wuyi Hall for processing first, and soon the official text was sent to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment.

When the left-behind officials saw it, word spread quickly, and overnight, almost all the officials who were out entertaining heard about it.

The Ministry of Punishment sent people to various places overnight to seize Yang Xuan, governor of Jiliao, Xu Shen, governor of Shuntian, and Lu Yi, deputy envoy of Bingbeidao.

Many officials who had received gifts from Yang Xuan before were also a little embarrassed at this time.

In their view, even if Yang Xuan was responsible for the defeat, according to the rules, he should be impeached by the official, and if Yang Xuan was dismissed, he would be imprisoned for it.

Once a person goes to prison, it’s hard to predict what will happen next.

Moreover, everyone actually knows that the person who hates Yang Xuan the most is actually Yang Bo, Minister of War.

With this great god on the throne, who can help him speak?

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng both attended the banquet organized by their colleagues in the Hanlin Academy tonight, with more than 20 people at three tables.

The news about them was relatively late. It was mainly because Prince Yu's Mansion knew the news and sent someone to notify them. Only then did they find out that they had not returned home, so they found them.

When everyone was drinking and drinking, a waiter appeared at the door of the elegant room, which naturally made everyone a little stunned. It was not until Wei Guangde recognized that he was from Prince Yu's palace that the atmosphere became slightly better.

He and Zhang Juzheng first confessed to everyone, and then went out one after another.

"Eunuch Li said that thanks to Mr. Wei and Mr. Zhang for their advice, he almost made a big mistake."

First, the little chamberlain bowed to Wei and Zhang.

"But what happened?"

Wei Guangde asked with a frown.

"The news just came out from the palace, the emperor has issued an order to arrest someone."

"Take who?"

As soon as the little chamberlain started to speak, he was interrupted by Wei Guangde and asked.

"Yang Xuan, Governor of Jiliao, and Xu Shen, Governor of Shuntian"

When the little chamberlain finished reporting the names of several people, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other and knew that Emperor Jiajing had made a big fuss this time.

Because there are a lot of officials involved.

Seeing that Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng were both silent, the little chamberlain hesitated for a moment and said, "I heard the news from the palace. The emperor wants the Ministry of Punishment to investigate whether Yang Xuan is a collaborator."

"Ah? How do you say that?"

Zhang Juzheng was surprised to speak first this time.

In fact, Wei Guangde was also very surprised at this time. How could the dignified governor of the Ming Dynasty collaborate with the enemy? What a joke.

These days, there is no such thing as foreign monks who can chant sutras. Han people are generally very proud of being Ming people and look down on foreigners who come from overseas as barbarians.

Emperor Jiajing actually believed those rumors?

Wei Guangde only felt a little funny. Isn't this too unconfident?

"I don't know the specifics. I just heard what people in the palace said."

The chamberlain was obviously someone Li Fang trusted, otherwise he would never have heard these secrets. He might even know who the informants placed by Prince Yu's palace were in the palace.

However, this has little to do with Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, and even the people who were arrested have nothing to do with them.

Whether it is Wei Guangde or Zhang Juzheng, they will never fancy those positions. If they are not good officials in the capital, they will go out on business trips.

"Today, the cabinet has two urgent matters to deal with. In addition to arresting people, it is also necessary to send an order for Jiang Dong to return to the court."

The little waiter said again.

"Koto?"

"The one from Xuanda?"

Xiao Nei seemed to hear what they said, so he nodded.

"Why do you want him to come back? Is it to take over the military department?"

Wei Guangde said in surprise.

He knew Jiangdong, and he was still a minister at the time, because he reported Yang Shun, the governor of Xuanda, and then Yang Shun was taken back to the capital for questioning.

Although he was saved by Yan Song, he could not become an official, and the person who succeeded Yang Shun was Jiang Dong, the Minister of War.

"The emperor's original words were to assist Yang Shangshu in recounting his merits."

Therefore, the little chamberlain told the news again that Jiang Dong led the Datong Army to ambush the Mongolian Huangtai Ji tribe at Pigeon Cave, a pass of the Great Wall, and forced them to withdraw from the Great Wall from Longwang Valley.

"So, the people who made the meritorious service this time are all Governor Xuanda's people."

After listening to the words of the chamberlain, Wei Guangde couldn't help but chuckle and said: "Master Jiang's life is really good, so he has made a contribution."

"Jiang Dong may succeed Yang Xuan."

Zhang Juzheng said, but his mind was not on that.

He knew that his teacher also had a candidate in mind, and he also got Yang Bo's support. This was actually an exchange.

Although the governor is responsible for the military and civil affairs within his jurisdiction, he actually focuses more on the military. To intervene in the civil affairs, he needs to go through the governor's level.

Although the governor can suppress the governor in most cases, he is not his direct superior after all.

In this way, the Ministry of War actually has the greatest say in the selection of governor generals.

This is why Xu Jie agreed to help Yang Bo bring down Yang Xuan.

Xu Jie was a big tree with deep roots in the court, and he had too many people in his pocket, and there were quotas for official positions in the court.

Everyone wants to make progress, so they can only find ways to get more official positions.

Yang Bo needs his support if he wants to overthrow Yang Xuan, and he naturally has third-level officials in his pocket waiting to take over.

This can also be regarded as political mutual benefit.

Exchange, everything is exchange.

If you want to get something, you have to give something, and everyone is happy.

As for future battles, each will rely on his or her own methods.

Xiyuan's conversation that day was already well known to the officials in the capital.

Emperor Jiajing was very angry at the invading bandits and saw the fire at night. When he asked Xu Jie, Xu Jie bluntly said that Yang Xuan was lying, saying that the bandits were in the north and Yang Xuan was going south, so he could resist the Tatar invaders.

After that, Yang Xuan reported three times a day, even more aggressively, hoping to divert the emperor's attention.

But the news of Sun Bin's defeat and death soon came back, which was a severe slap in the face.

By this time, Yang Xuan's outcome was actually destined.

Emperor Jiajing could not tolerate being deceived, and Yang Xuan was blatantly deceiving the emperor.

Wei Guangde didn't know what was going on, but seeing the uncertainty on Zhang Juzheng's face, he naturally didn't know that he was worried about his teacher.

However, if Wei Guangde knew about it, he would only smile, because even if Jiang Dong takes over Yang Xuan's official position, Governor Xuanda will be vacant. In fact, it is just a change of governor, and it is not a big deal.

Therefore, after seeing off the chamberlain, Wei Guangde smiled at Zhang Juzheng and said, "Should we ask Yang Shangshu for a drink sometime? I heard that he doesn't like Yang Xuan very much.

Now that Yang Xuan's downfall is a foregone conclusion, he might be secretly drinking wine at home to celebrate. "

"Haha. You just sent me to your door to scold me. Mr. Yang is the kind of person with a small belly and a chicken heart."

Zhang Juzheng just smiled and said a few words casually.

When Wei Guangde said this in front of Zhang Juzheng, he actually wanted to know everything first.

He originally planned to wait two days before looking for Yang Xuan, but within a few days, Jiang Dong would return to the capital to participate in the Ministry of War's meritorious service. Wei Guangde still remembered what Ma Fang had mentioned in his previous letter.

Yes, when Wei Guangde mentioned Dong Yikui that day, it was certainly not a random question.

Ma Fang knew that Dong Yiyuan was the first person to join Wei Guangde, so he took good care of his brother Dong Yikui.

In that letter, one thing was mentioned: the post of Shanxi Town Chief Military Officer had been vacant for half a year, and no one had been arranged to take over.

Dong Yikui had that intention and wanted to do this job.

Ma Fang had tested Jiang Dong, the governor of Xuanda, before. Jiang Dong did not agree, but he did not object.

Of course he understood the reason, that is, although Shanxi Town was under the jurisdiction of his Governor Xuanda, he did not have the final say in the appointment of the general military officer. It was appointed by the Ministry of War in the capital, and at most he consulted his opinion.

Of course Jiangdong would not be confused about this matter. If he wanted an official position, he would go to the capital by himself.

This time he led troops to help, which was a great achievement. He just took this opportunity to let Dong Yikui go to Shanxi to take charge.

Jiang Dong was about to return to the capital, so he just took this opportunity to see if he could sort things out.

Strictly speaking, Wei Guangde should not be involved in military affairs at this time, but when Ma Fang said this, he happened to have an excuse.

But how to go to see Yang Bo, Wei Guangde had a headache.

After all, his official duties and the Ministry of War were out of reach, and it would be inappropriate to go there rashly, so that was why he said what he said to Zhang Juzheng before.

The next day, Wei Guangde went to see the proofreading of the grand ceremony. He didn't go there for a few days and left behind a lot of copied books that needed to be proofread.

Not long after he entered the Imperial Academy and sat down, Wei Guangde frowned when he saw several copied books sent by Lu Bu.

"Why only these few books?"

Logically speaking, Wei Guangde thinks there should be no less than ten books.

Fifteen people who were good at regular calligraphy were responsible for copying the affairs assigned by his subordinates. This took less than half a month, so there should be more.

"Sir, Cheng Daonan, Fang Kun and other Confucian scholars have fallen ill due to overwork recently and cannot continue copying books, so..."

Lu Bu replied awkwardly.

In fact, there are also tasks for copying the canon. Each person has to complete the copying work of a canon regularly, and the selected transcriber must have good regular script skills. The copying speed is naturally not fast, and many people have to work day and night.

Since they are Confucian scholars, most of them are naturally older, and it is normal for them to fall ill after working hard.

"How many of the scribes in each room are sick now?"

Wei Guangde became a little worried. This ceremony was the emperor's biggest concern. Even if they set the task, the plan has been scheduled for several years.

Wei Guangde knew the ages of the people who copied them, and he didn't know how many times it would take to complete this important task.

We have to recruit more people, otherwise we will definitely run out of time.

At that time, the emperor will definitely be embarrassed and think that your performance is not good enough.

"Is Master Qu here?"

Wei Guangde asked.

"Just entered the check-in room."

Lu Bu replied.

"Okay, I'll go over and take a look."

Wei Guangde got up after saying this and went straight to Qu Jingchun's check-in room.

After talking to the clerk in front of the door, Wei Guangde walked into the duty room after the clerk came in to report.

Qu Jingchun was an upright person. Although he had been an official for many years, he still had not learned the tact of officialdom.

Wei Guangde naturally liked him. After meeting, he just exchanged a few casual greetings and brought the topic down to business.

"Sir Qu, I came here to arrange the scribes for each room. I heard that over the past year, several of the more than 100 people originally scheduled have died of illness. Now there are still more than 10 people who are unable to manage due to illness. If this continues, it will be terrible. Can not be done."

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, he looked directly at Qu Jingchun, waiting for his answer.

"I am also having a headache at this time. I have mentioned this to Su Qing before. The only solution is to continue to select people and add more people."

Qu Jingchun nodded and said.

"Qing Su is in the Ministry of Rites. Has this matter been reported?"

When Wei Guangde heard that the two chief officers were already arguing, he naturally didn't want to get involved, so as not to leave a bad impression on them, especially in front of Gao Gong.

As for selecting people, that was the job of the Ministry of Rites. Thinking about it, Wei Guangde thought that since the two of them had already decided on this matter, it was of course best for Gao Gong to do it.

"Qing Su asked me to submit a memorial. In the past two days, I have written a report and prepared to send it to the cabinet."

Qu Jingchun smiled, stood up and took out the written statement from the desk, handed it to Wei Guangde, and asked him to read it too.

Wei Guangde quickly read the article and handed it back to Qu Jingchun. He said with a smile: "Since Mr. Qu has already taken care of it, it seems that the student is worrying too much."

Qu Jingchun was a Hanlin bachelor, but he was much higher than him, a Hanlin attendant, and it was normal for him to call himself a student.

"Since Shandai thinks it's feasible, why don't you take the time to go to the cabinet and take a walk on my behalf."

There is no need to take credit for the submission of documents. He wrote all the documents.

However, although it was said that he and Gao Gong were appointed as the chief officers regarding the transcription, Gao Gong also had an errand from the Ministry of Rites, so in fact all the responsibilities of the chief school fell on him.

He was already in his sixties, so his legs and feet were inconvenient, and his energy was a little low, so he asked Wei Guangde to do it for him.

"good."

Wei Guangde agreed, and it would be no trouble to send a note to the cabinet anyway.

He took the note from him and put it away. After chatting for a while, he left the check-in room and returned to his place.

Lu Bu asked Lu Bu to put away the books that needed to be proofread. He didn't want to read them today and planned to proofread a few more books together.

After tidying up, he went out, got on the carriage and went directly to the cabinet.

When I arrived at Xiyuan Gate, I negotiated with the doorkeeper and found out that because the Tatars had retreated, the cabinet had moved back to Wenyuan Pavilion to work last night, and the two adults, Xu Jie and Yuan Wei, were no longer working in Wuyi Hall.

Back on the carriage, we changed route and went to Wenyuan Pavilion again.

When we arrived in front of the palace gate, the carriage was naturally not allowed to enter. We got off the bus and registered to enter the palace. The young man walked quickly and entered the cabinet in a short time.

After a brief chat with the secretary of the cabinet who received him, he found out that Yuan Wei was busy at the moment and that someone at Xu Jie was talking in the room, so Wei Guangde had no choice but to wait in the yard.

In fact, it is okay to hand it over directly to Zhongshu, which is nothing more than being assigned to the duty room of the two bachelors together with the memorial.

But now that they are here, Wei Guangde feels that it would be good for him to walk around and talk with them more.

Speaking of which, there is no hostility between himself, Xu Jie, and Yuan Wei.

Even if Xu Jie was because of the possible competition between himself and Zhang Juzheng in the future, he would not show it.

After all, with his current situation, it is not worth mentioning to him at all.

The first thing he had to do was to find a way to help Zhang Juzheng up.

After a while, the door of Xu Jie's room opened and he saw Yang Bo, Minister of War, coming out.

"Mr. Xu Ge, Mr. Yang."

Wei Guangde stepped forward and saluted.