Recently, Wang Xijue had been very worried.
Ever since he returned to the court 15 days ago, he had not been able to relax. Returning to the court and becoming the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet was in itself the highest honor for a civil official of the Ming Dynasty. However, at this moment, this honor did not make Wang Xijue feel very happy. On the contrary, Wang Xijue only felt a strong worry. This strong worry grew stronger as time went on, and he was unable to sleep at night.
He was the Cabinet Secretary, but he had such a strong worry. It was not normal.
Yes, at this moment, the Cabinet Secretary, Daming, was extremely abnormal both inside and outside the court.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Wang Xijue retired at the most intense time of the battle for the foundation of the country. He used his mother's illness as a cover and did not return to the court for a long time. To put it bluntly, this old guy was reluctant to give up his official position. He knew that the Emperor would never compromise easily. At that time, leading the charge would only cause him to be removed from office and never to be used again. He would have a reputation, but he would have no power.
Animals of practical interests would not care about him. As a political animal, Wang Xijue had long made up his mind to give up part of his reputation to seize power. This determination became more and more determined as time went by. When he saw the reality of Shen Shixing, Xu Guo, and other big shots constantly losing their official positions because of various problems, he understood that the current Emperor Wanli regarded this battle for the foundation of the country as the great ceremony of the Jiajing Emperor and would not let it go.
The Jiajing Emperor's skill and intelligence could be regarded as the best among the Daming Emperors, so he played the court officials in the palm of his hand for decades. But later, his skill was seen through and the officials were promoted. Emperor Wanli also saw this, so he did not treat the officials as harshly as his grandfather, but it was obviously impossible for him to compromise.
He did not have his grandfather's skill and courage, but he had enough patience and time. He was only 30 years old. What was there to be anxious about? He had plenty of time and energy to waste with the officials. The ones who couldn't afford to waste time were not Zhu Yijun, but the rest of the officials in their seventies and eighties. Of course, it wasn't that the officials didn't have an advantage. They had the advantage of numbers, and the Inner Pavilion Elders played the role of role model. One fell, the next rushed up, leading the officials to attack again and again, almost forcing the Emperor to abdicate.
However, people were not the same, and political animals were also different. There were politicians among the top civil officials in the Daming Dynasty. Politicians knew how to solve problems, while politicians only knew how to create problems and profit from it. Wang Xijue was not a politician, but he was not a qualified one either. A qualified politician dared to face the wind and rain. Although Wang Xijue had the heart to solve problems, he did not have the courage to face the wind and rain.
It was just like an old saying: in Jianghu, the more you mix in, the older you get, the less courage you have. Wang Xijue was obviously a representative figure. The more you mix in, the less courage you have. Now, after seeing the fate of the previous few elders, he decided that he would definitely not confront the Emperor head-on. The Emperor was too embarrassed to kill a small shrimp, but he was a big fish, and the Emperor would not hesitate to kill him.
However, this violated a problem of political correctness. There was a common red line between the officials and the Emperor, which was the position of the struggle for the foundation of the country. This was a life-and-death political struggle, a game of power and prestige between the Emperor and the officials. In a life-and-death political struggle, a big boss like Wang Xijue had no chance to be a snake and a rat. He had to choose a side, and he had to make a clear stand. Otherwise, he would be attacked by both sides.
Thus, the choice was very clear. He could not confront the Emperor head-on, and he could not be a snake and a rat. With these two conditions combined, he could only choose to compromise with the Emperor. Otherwise, what else could he do? He had to choose a side. Although choosing to stand with the officials would give him a reputation, the end result would be becoming the officials' scapegoat. If he chose to stand with the Emperor, he could at least keep his position and then think of a way to mediate the conflict between the Emperor and the officials.
Thus, Wang Xijue was very vexed and depressed. After he returned to the capital to take up his position, basically every day, a large number of civil officials came to visit him. They asked him about his views on the affairs of the country and how he should deal with the current situation. Some simply encouraged him to immediately write to the Emperor to ask for a Crown Prince. These people came one after another. The main meaning was to immediately ask him to immediately carry the banner of the struggle for the foundation of the country and oppose the Emperor.
They said that old fellow Zhao Zhigao did not do anything and did nothing. If it were not for the fact that they were at war, they really wanted to drive Zhao Zhigao away. Now that they heard that the war was about to end, the Emperor had no reason to continue stalling for time. Thus, considering the problem of everyone's struggle, they hoped that Wang Xijue would immediately stand up to take charge of the situation and be everyone's head.
One after another, without stopping, like a chain of bombs, they blew up Wang Xijue's head into a ball of paste.
As a wily old fox in the officialdom, Wang Xijue gradually became aware of the current problem in the court. The key point was the end of the war in Korea. He heard that the situation in Korea was very good. After the war in Korea ended, the temporarily suppressed struggle for the foundation of the country would inevitably start again, and the momentum would be even fiercer. This time, it was likely that a winner would be determined. Would the Emperor win, or would the officials win? Everything would be clear.
Wang Xijue, who was unwilling to become a pile of cannon fodder, also began to take steps to save himself. He thought of a brilliant plan. On the night that Xiao Ruxun's battle report arrived in the capital, Wang Xijue came up with this brilliant idea. He decided to find an opportunity to secretly report to the Emperor the next day, surrender, and express his sincerity.
Wang Xijue knew very well that this was his only chance, so he even rejected Li Chengliang's request for an audience and focused on writing this memorial. The next afternoon, Wang Xijue quietly went to the Imperial City alone and had someone help him pass on his request to the Emperor.
Zhu Yijun was still immersed in the great results of the war in Korea, but when he heard that Wang Xijue wanted to see him, he instinctively felt disgusted. The only difference between these old officials and the Imperial Censors was that their words were gentler, while the Imperial Censors were more intense. But at the core, they were all the same, equally hateful.
"I won't see you!"
Zhu Yijun was in high spirits and did not want to be disturbed by matters related to the struggle for the nation's foundation. In his view, the only reason Wang Xijue wanted to see him was because of the struggle for the nation's foundation. He had just returned to the court, and the way to gain a foothold was to pick a side. It was obvious that Wang Xijue had already chosen his side and was now here to express his attitude. Zhu Yijun had not had many happy things in all these years, so he wanted to be happy, so he refused to see Wang Xijue.
Previously, in order to express to the officials that he wanted to reconcile, he made an exception and summoned the officials. However, these officials not only did not know propriety, but they also pushed their luck. This made Zhu Yijun very angry. In his anger, he did not summon the officials for many days, and when the officials requested an audience, he would not see them. This time, he was forced to summon Wang Xijue back. He did not expect that Wang Xijue would not directly come to see the Emperor, but instead chat happily with his colleagues.
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