Chapter 1163 1254 Good news arrives in Beijing
Feng Bao left, but the news about Wei Guangde's duty spread rapidly in the cabinet.
Zhang Juzheng was fine, he just smiled after knowing the news.
He could roughly guess Feng Bao's intention, but the only mistake this time was that he didn't expect Feng Bao to come here not to tell Wei Guangde about the attitude of Ciqing Palace, but he wanted to intervene in the gem mines in Myanmar to make money from those red and green little cuties.
But Zhang Siwei heard the news differently, because before this, he knew that Zhang Juzheng had a close relationship with Feng Bao. Although the relationship between Wei Guangde and Feng Bao seemed good on the surface, in fact, for some reasons, the two had drifted apart.
But this time, Feng Bao didn't come to the cabinet to find Zhang Juzheng, and he even left without showing his face.
He had to think about whether the relationship between the three people was really as it seemed on the surface.
In fact, in the final analysis, Zhang Siwei was more like a political speculator and politician.
Seeing that Zhang Juzheng was in power, he naturally took the initiative to join Zhang Juzheng.
Before that, Gao Gong was the one who held the power in the Ming Dynasty, and he also tried his best to please Gao Gong.
It can be said that during the Longqing period, Zhang Siwei's way of doing things changed a lot.
There was no way. The Zhang family's business was getting bigger and bigger. In the past, the court officials that the Zhang family and the big families around them relied on were old and sick, and they urgently needed new officials to come to the stage to continue to protect the family.
Zhang Siwei was the chosen one, and they pushed Zhang Siwei in front of Gao Gong.
From then on, Zhang Siwei could no longer indulge in the mountains and rivers like in the past, but could only find ways to climb up.
Now, there are only two big mountains left in front of him, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde, but it is difficult for Zhang Siwei to figure out what the relationship between the two is.
When he first entered the cabinet, Zhang Siwei thought that Zhang Juzheng wanted to use his power to suppress Wei Guangde.
The first assistant and the second assistant should always be wary of each other.
The first assistant must do everything he can to keep his position, and the second assistant should try to replace him at all costs.
However, from the observation during his time in the cabinet, the relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde seems to be very subtle.
The most troublesome thing is that Zhang Juzheng does not seem to want to move Wei Guangde.
The first assistant, the second assistant, and an internal minister are all from Yu Ju, and they are all old acquaintances. This iron triangle really makes him headache.
"It seems that I still have to think about how to get along with the second assistant."
Thinking of Wei Guangde's business, Zhang Siwei couldn't help but think of intervening and getting closer to Wei Guangde in private.
Now the merchants around Wei Guangde are mainly from Jiangxi, Liaodong, Northern Zhili and Fujian. Shanxi merchants and Lianghuai salt merchants have almost no dealings, which is not acceptable.
At this time, outside Fucheng Gate in the west of the capital, a fast horse was galloping on the official road. The postman on the horse had a bamboo tube hanging on his chest and three small red flags on his back. He whipped the horse from time to time and urged the horse to rush towards the city gate along the road.
At this time, Fucheng Gate was crowded with people and cars. There were many people and merchants entering and leaving the city. How could the soldiers guarding the gate see it?
It seemed that there was a slight riot on the official road in the distance, and they just looked over curiously.
Indistinctly, a fast horse could be seen coming.
"I don't know which family's son is running directly on the road."
A soldier guarding the city gate muttered dissatisfiedly.
There are too many nobles in the Forty-Nine City. If anyone comes, you don't know if he has a thousand threads of connection with the family of a noble official in the city.
Usually, the sons of these families have been running like this in and out of the city more than once or twice.
Even the censors, who gave the adults a headache, actually had no way to deal with these sons.
After all, every family has such a kid. Today, it is someone else's family who is watching the excitement, but who knows if their family will go up tomorrow.
Therefore, the officials of the Fourth City are still very tolerant of these brothers from the mansions.
"Quick, clear the city gate."
Just as a few soldiers were laughing and talking about the people on the horses in the distance, the soldiers on the tower above shouted loudly to the bottom of the city gate.
"What's wrong?"
Outside the city gate, a soldier heard the shouting above his head and looked up at the tower.
A head appeared on the tall city wall and was still shouting at them: "Clear the city gate, there is a military report."
For ordinary documents, there is only a small red flag on the back of the postman. Three small red flags indicate that the document on the postman is a military report, or an urgent military report.
"It's bad, stop the people in the city and clear the road."
When the soldier heard the word "military report" clearly, he was shocked, and then took a few people around him to stop the people and carriages who wanted to enter the city, blocking them on both sides of the road.
The soldiers in the city gate also heard the shouts outside, and immediately stopped the people in the city gate, and continued to drive them to both sides of the road.
With the concerted efforts of the soldiers inside and outside the city gate, the pedestrians on both sides separated consciously with the city gate as the center, leaving space in the middle of the road.
At this time, the fast horse in the distance had already rushed to the front of the city gate.
Without stopping, the postman on horseback urged the horse through the city like a gust of wind and entered the city.
Along the straight Fuchengmen Street, he rushed all the way to Guangji Temple and then turned south, almost circling the imperial city to West Chang'an Street.
He continued to gallop along West Chang'an Street, causing chaos in the inner city of the capital.
Finally, the postman quickly rushed to the military office on Chang'an Street.
When the fast horse rushed over, the person in charge of receiving documents at the gate of the office had already left the gate of the military office.
After all, this is Chang'an Street, and even the sons of the princes and ministers in the capital would not dare to act arrogantly here.
The only ones who can come galloping are the postmen delivering urgent documents.
"Southwestern battle report, great victory."
The horse galloped a few steps outside the gate of the Ministry of War. The postman reined up his horse and jumped down. While running, he took the bamboo tube from his chest, half-kneeling on the ground, holding the bamboo tube in his hands and raising it above his head, shouting.
The manager took the bamboo tube, first checked the sealing paint of the bamboo tube, then took out a sign from his arms and handed it over, saying: "Take it."
This means that the documents have been delivered and the postman's errand is completed.
The chief officer had already heard that he had the report of the Southwest War in his hand and the good news of a great victory, so he immediately turned around and ran to the Yamen.
When the principal entered, the gatekeepers immediately gathered together to discuss.
"Hey, it looks like Myanmar has won the battle."
"Myanmar is nothing. It's a small country, so why bother fighting with me, the Ming Dynasty?"
"Don't say that. I heard from the adults inside that Burma has mobilized 300,000 troops."
“Myanmar has 300,000 troops?”
"Not that many. It is said that there are more than 200,000 people. I just listened to Mr. Liu, the official director."
"No wonder the adults seemed to be very nervous some time ago. Myanmar has so many soldiers and horses, and this battle is not small."
"That is, the Northern Yi, who had made the most troubles in the past, only sent out tens of thousands of troops each time. One hundred thousand people was already their limit. Who knew that a small chieftain like Myanmar could mobilize more than two hundred thousand troops? It was also a knife that opened my eyes."
The officers at the entrance of the military department were whispering, and the news spread quickly in the military department, and it quickly became a rage.
Officials from various departments of the Ministry of War temporarily put down their work and rushed to the lobby.
The reason why the news was delivered so quickly was because the person in charge trotted all the way inside to deliver it, shaking the bamboo tube in his hand when he saw someone, saying that Southwest Express had arrived.
For two days, the atmosphere in the Ministry of War was actually quite depressed, because the court was engaged in two wars at the same time.
It seems that before this, the Ministry of War had not seen such a situation for a long time.
Not to mention Wei Ge, who was in charge of the Ministry of War, this situation of fighting on two fronts can be traced back to the time of Jiajing's Japanese suppression campaign. The south was fighting Japanese pirates and the north was fighting Japanese cavalry.
As for the Ming Dynasty, apart from the southwest war, there were still wars elsewhere. It was naturally Qi Jiguang of Liaodong who led his troops to attack Hongli Village and Shaji City.
Wang Gao was dead long ago, but his two sons still refused to obey Wang Hua. In the name of avenging their father, they continued to recruit troops in Liaodong and established themselves in Hongli Village and Shaji City.
The Ming army in Liaodong had already discovered the clues, but they kept it secret and quietly sent people to guard the two cities to see which Jurchen tribes in Liaodong had contact with them.
Instead of wiping out all the scattered people, it would be easier for them to gather the Jurchen tribe who were against the Ming Dynasty and then catch them all in one fell swoop.
So Zhang Xueyan and Qi Jiguang chose to "appease the traitors" and let them roam around in Liaodong.
The capital has already issued a document, letting them handle it on their own.
Now, feeling that the time was ripe, Qi Jiguang led three troops to launch a siege and annihilation campaign against the two cities, vowing to wipe out all the remaining Wang Gao.
The latest Liaodong battle report has not yet come back. Unexpectedly, the southwest, Myanmar, which is considered the most difficult to fight, has sent the victory report to the Ministry of War first.
At this time, in the lobby of the Ministry of War, Tan Lungao was sitting in the hall. He took the bamboo tube handed over by the chief, first looked at the seal, then opened the bamboo tube and poured out the rolled-up military newspaper inside.
Putting the bamboo tube on the desk, Tan Lun quickly unfolded the military newspaper and started reading.
This military report is actually just to report the results of the battle to the capital. The detailed military report should not arrive for a few days.
After all, a battle of 100,000 people, the time it took to finally count the results, especially identifying the identities of senior Burmese officials, all required a lot of work.
Although the imperial court has never announced it, the senior officials of the imperial court and the important generals in the army have actually heard about one thing, that is, the identity of the so-called Feilong national bandit Zhang Lian, who Yu Dayou participated in the encirclement and suppression, may be a fake, and the real Zhang Lian died in Nanyang.
This is a big scandal. In order to capture Zhang Lian's so-called first crime, there was a lot of conflict between the Fujian and Guangdong Ming troops and the Jiangxi Guards Station led by Yu Dayou.
Fortunately, this time everyone chose to keep the matter quiet and covered the lid together so as not to spread the news.
After all, the person is already dead, and if he dies overseas, it can be considered a death without evidence.
"Sir, what does the battle report say?"
When Tan Lun was slightly dazed after reading the battle report, Yin Du, the Minister of War, asked from the side.
"Oh, the battle report is of course a good news. Li Rusong, the son of Li Chengliang, captured the rebel Mang Yinglong in a battle. After Li Chengliang, the governor captured his son Mang Yingli. Most of the main force of the Burmese army has been wiped out. Now the main officials and chieftains of Myanmar are not captured. To be beaten to death is to be captured alive.”
Tan Lun shook the battle report in his hand and said, then handed it to him and asked everyone to circulate it.
After Yin Du took the battle report and quickly browsed it, the excitement on his face was palpable.
When Tan Lun was in a daze just now, he was frightened, thinking that there was something wrong with the battle report.
"You guys should take a look too."
After Yin Du read it, he happily handed the battle report to others and asked them to take a look.
"Send a copy of the report to the cabinet."
At this time, Tan Lun, the leader, opened his mouth and gave instructions.
"Yes, Master Tan."
Yin Du agreed.
Because of Zhang Juzheng's earlier memorial, the current ministers of the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of War rotate relatively quickly. Generally, a minister will be sent out to take over the post of governor-general after being in office for only one and a half years.
This was also the reason why Zhang Xueyan, the governor of Liaodong, wanted to go to Beijing. It was said that he was also qualified to enter the capital from Liaodong and serve as a minister in the Ministry of War.
However, of course he was not willing to be the second-in-command in the Ministry of War, so he thought of pursuing Liu Tai fiercely, hoping to gain Zhang Juzheng's favor and promote him when he went to Beijing to arrange his posts.
If you don't become a minister, you won't be serving as a minister.
Zhang Xueyan is also a talented person. Because of this policy, he arranged a lot of people in the capital early to inquire about the news from the DPRK. He learned that Zhang Han, the Minister of Personnel, had become an official and had a vacant position as Minister.
Although the official department is not something he can get involved in, after the exchange of officials, there is always hope that it will not be the case.
At this time, Zhang Juzheng, the cabinet minister, was in the room. He called Wei Guangde here and was discussing the candidates for the staff.
With Feng Bao here last night, it was certainly difficult for him to tell his final decision.
"Shandai, I plan to let Wang Guoguang succeed Zhang Han as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."
"Uncle, what are the arrangements for the household department?"
Wei Guangde frowned slightly and asked in a low voice.
To be honest, he did not expect Zhang Juzheng to replace Zhang Han with Wang Guoguang.
But when I think about it, I feel relieved. The Ministry of Personnel is obviously more important than the Ministry of Household Affairs, which is where the official title is held.
Wang Guoguang has completely looked up to Zhang Juzheng in the court these years, and is considered one of Zhang Juzheng's most trusted people.
"Yin Zhengmao."
Wei Guangde was curious about how Zhang Juzheng arranged the candidates for the household department. Unexpectedly, Zhang Juzheng named a person without thinking.
"He."
Wei Guangde frowned even more when he heard that Zhang Juzheng planned to make Yin Zhengmao the Minister of Household Affairs.
There is no other way. It is said by both the government and the public that this Yin Zhengmao is greedy for money. If he is placed in the Ministry of Household Affairs
"hiss"
Wei Guangde took a breath and didn't dare to think any more.
"Why, Shandai is also worried about cultivating his solid character."
Zhang Juzheng asked with a cheerful smile.
"Haha, uncle, your words are serious."
Wei Guangde stretched his brows and smiled.
The Ming Dynasty's evaluation of Yin Zhengmao was polarized. Some people firmly praised him for his integrity, while others criticized him for being corrupt and corrupt.
The two factions each hold their own opinions, and it is unknown which one is correct.
However, Wei Guangde had heard many stories about Yin Zhengmao's greed for money, but he mostly regarded them as entertainment, but it still subtly influenced him to be biased against Yin Zhengmao.
"Uncle, if you give him the power to enclose the territory, I will have no problem with it, but the Ministry of Husband."
Wei Guangde and Tan Lun actually recognized Yin Zhengmao's military talents, especially Yu Dayou, who served under him.
However, like Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang and others, Yin Zhengmao was also very greedy for military pay.
Yu Dayou was not greedy in the past, but he will take some now, and he must live up to his standards.
"That's different. If you let him be in charge of the military department, he will do things the same as Zili, and he will do the same thing in the household department.
But if you are worried that he will move Taicang home, then worry too much, he is not that stupid. "
Zhang Juzheng smiled.
The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs are both places where money is produced, and it is an unspoken rule that money is lost.
The meaning of Zhang Juzheng's words is very clear. Yin Zhengmao will take the money specified in the rules, but will not touch things that should not be touched.