"In the court conference tomorrow, the Emperor wants to order the officials to discuss the hall that Yang Ling mentioned..."
"The Navy Martial Lecture Hall." Zhang Wenmian reminded him with a grin. He picked up the teacup and respectfully handed it to Liu Jin. He then smiled at Zhang Cai, who was sitting next to him, and returned to his chair.
Zhang Cai was in his early forties. He had a stalwart figure and a jade-like face. He had long eyebrows and bright eyes, and was handsome and tall. This was the age when a man was most mature and charismatic. Now that he was the head of the six ministries and was the Minister of the Ministry of Appointments, he was in high spirits and had an extraordinary bearing.
Liu Jin appreciated him. In order to promote him to this important position, he used both carrot and stick. In the end, he partially compromised with Li Dongyang, Jiao Fang, and the others and gave up a few positions in other yamens. Finally, Zhang Cai was promoted to a heavenly official of the Ministry of Appointments. Because of this, Zhang Cai was dead set on becoming Liu Jin's disciple. He was a frequent guest of the Liu family and didn't need to report to his family.
"En! Yes, yes, yes, it's that Navy Martial Lecture Hall. Haha, it's rare. It's rare that all these fellows are of the same mind as me. The officials, civil officials, and generals in and out of the court are all opposed to this. Not only are Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe against it, even Jiao Fang, that slippery old fox, isn't willing to speak up this time. "
Liu Jin smiled as he used the lid of the bowl to fiddle with the teacup. He pointed at the table and said, "Here, let me take a good look at these memorials. Pick out the ones with strong words that accuse Yang Ling of cultivating trusted aides, usurping military power, and having ill intentions. I have great use for them. Haha, tomorrow is really a good day. "
Two pretty and adorable little maids were fanning Liu Jin from behind. He had already taken off his hat and was wearing a casual light robe. He reclined on his seat with an extremely relaxed and contented expression.
"Eunuch Liu, this memorial has to be picked. However, in my opinion, Eunuch Liu shouldn't attack together with these officials. On the contrary, Eunuch Liu should protect Yang Ling."
"Oh." Liu Jin raised his eyelids and glanced at Zhang Wenmian. He chuckled and said, "What do you think? Tell me."
Zhang Cai's eyes flashed as she stared at Zhang Wenmian. She wanted to hear what this number one think tank of Liu Jin had to say. Although he was loyal to Liu Jin and had given him many ideas, he also tried his best to dissuade some of Liu Jin's wrong ideas. He was not a mediocre person who only knew how to flatter others. He really wanted to use Liu Jin's power to show his ambition in the political field.
For example, Liu Jin had a very 'childish' and 'hateful' habit: he liked to check accounts and impose fines.
If his people checked the granaries and silvers and found that there was a shortage or loss, even if it was just a small loss, he would impose a heavy fine. He would not only punish the warehouse officials but also the prefectures and prefectures.
Very soon, he was going to offend all these middle and high ranking officials, but Liu Jin was still enjoying it. Zhang Cai repeatedly tried to dissuade him. However, Liu Jin came from a humble background and had a deep-rooted antagonism towards the high ranking officials.
Scholar Zhang, who was in front of him, was another unsuccessful person. Although he had real talent, he was impetuous and narrow-minded. Due to his unfavorable circumstances, he also hated the high ranking officials. Zhang Cai tried to dissuade him a few times, but not only did Liu Jin not accept it, he even reprimanded him. So recently, Zhang Cai did not speak much.
"Eunuch Liu, Yang Ling wiped out the Wokou pirates, cleared the East Sea, and subdued the Frang Ji people. Each and every one of these were great achievements. With the Emperor's martial and meritorious personality and his trust in Yang Ling, he should have rewarded him greatly and even promoted him. But do you see any movement from the Emperor?"
"Yes, you're right. I've always been worried that the Emperor would reward him greatly. I've already prepared a response, but I didn't use it. Could it be that the Emperor … is also suspicious of him?" Liu Jin was overjoyed and hurriedly asked.
Zhang Wenmian smiled, but immediately felt that this smile was unavoidably disrespectful to Liu Jin. He hurriedly retracted his smile and coughed, "Eunuch Liu, the heart of an emperor and the way of officialdom have similarities, but there are also areas where they go against each other. After all, the world is the Emperor's, and everything is within his control.
Promotion can be preparation to kill, demotion can also be preparation to use people. Is this not favoring him too much? On the contrary, this is the Emperor's love and trust for him, and he doesn't want him to become the target of public criticism.
Yang Ling has done meritorious deeds but has not been rewarded. His position as the Governor of the six provinces will be removed after the Mansla incident is resolved. His position has not changed, his authority has not changed, and he has never claimed that he will be the principal of the martial arts lecture hall. Think about it, do you think the officials' impeachment will be effective? The Emperor's words of 'jealousy of the virtuous and ability, framing the loyal and good, and framing me for being ungrateful and muddle-headed', who would dare to say another word? "
Liu Jin was stunned. He thought for a while and shook his head, "I understand the Emperor the best. Although the Emperor has grown up, he doesn't have this kind of scheming mind. Someone must have given him advice. But I keep a close eye on the Emperor. Dai Yi and Jiao Fang can't find a chance to speak up. Who else is speaking up for Yang Ling …?"
Zhang Cai looked at Zhang Wenmian with admiration, "This Xiucai is indeed talented. It's a pity, if it wasn't for the fact that he is vengeful and likes to avenge personal grievances, he would definitely be of greater help to Eunuch Liu."
He smiled slightly and continued, "Eunuch Liu, you keep a close eye on the outer court and the inner court. But there is one place, one person, even you can't keep a close eye on …!"
Liu Jin said nervously, "Who is it? Who is so daring to go against my family? "
Zhang Wenmian was afraid that Zhang Cai would steal his limelight and hurriedly continued, "It's Tang Yixian, Miss Tang, who is currently living in the Wei Wu Hou Mansion!"
"Ah! It's her! " Liu Jin was suddenly enlightened. To be able to make Emperor Zhengde listen to everything and be willing to secretly protect Yang Ling, and not fear that he would frame her for revenge, who else could it be other than Tang Yixian who was about to be conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort?
Zhang Wenmian smiled sinisterly, "Eunuch Liu, can't you see? The Emperor does things his own way and is someone who is not afraid of heaven or earth. He brought a commoner girl and rode a horse to the Meridian Gate. That is a place that only the Emperor, Empress and the top three scholars of the imperial examinations can enter.
In the end, the Emperor often accompanied this Miss Tang to roam around and there were always complaints in the inner palace. This time the commotion was too big and the inner palace was silent. Even the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager did not dare to reprimand them. Everyone could see that the Emperor had steeled his heart. He was not bringing Miss Tang to the Meridian Gate and riding around the palace. He was demonstrating his might to the whole world.
Yang Ling is currently not in the capital and none of his people have the qualifications to speak in front of the Emperor. But this girl is here. Although she is very obedient and has never participated in political affairs, she can still occasionally help out and give pillow talk, right? Once she speaks, the Emperor will have to think about it. As long as the Emperor makes a mistake, no one can use these groundless and exaggerated reasons to overthrow Yang Ling. "
Liu Jin frowned and rubbed his smooth chin as he thought for a while. He put down the teacup and said, "Don't beat around the bush with ye. Just say it. Since ye should not be involved in this, why are you still looking for those impeachment reports?"
"Ha ha," Zhang Wenmian opened his fan with a 'hua' sound and fanned himself a few times in satisfaction. He said with a smile, "Those old officials in the court are now following Hangul's lead. That old fellow is unmoved by force or persuasion. Although he is not on Yang Ling's side, he is not on good terms with Eunuch Liu. Whenever he sees an opportunity, he will make things difficult for you. We cannot topple Yang Ling, but we can topple Hangul. "
Liu Jin shook his head and said, "Difficult, difficult. That old fellow has learned his lesson. No matter what he does, he is not willing to leave behind any evidence. He stubbornly clings to the position of the Minister of Revenue and refuses to leave. He does not make mistakes and has a virtuous reputation. We cannot do anything to him."
"He, he, he, he, methods are thought of by people. If you want to incriminate someone, you can always find a pretext. Eunuch Liu, you are too lenient. "
Liu Jin's heart was comforted by the praise. His old face smiled like a chrysanthemum. He pursed his lips and said, "Could it be that you have a way?"
Zhang Wenmian closed his fan and leaned over to say, "Eunuch Liu, the Emperor is preparing to take Tang Yixian as a guifei in the ninth month. At the same time, he wants to repair the leopard room. Aren't you planning to take this money out of Taicang's treasury?"
Liu Jin spread his hands and said, "What else can I do? I can't make the emperor unhappy. If he's unhappy, how can I be happy? The Ministry of Revenue doesn't have money, so we can only take out the Emperor's treasury. "
"Wow!" Zhang Wenmian used his fan to strike his palm. His eyebrows danced as he said, "We will definitely take out the money. But for the Emperor's wedding, whether the Ministry of Revenue doesn't have money or doesn't want to take out money, isn't it just a word from you in front of the Emperor?"
Liu Jin's eyebrows jumped and a trace of a dark smile appeared on his face. He nodded and said, "Continue."
Zhang Wenmian said, "The Emperor is also a person, and a man who cares about his face. This matter can make him unhappy. This student will clean up the memorials tonight and pull out all the memorials written by our people, leaving only the memorials from Hangul's faction to present to the Emperor. Liu gong will then indignantly say a few good words for Yang Ling in front of the Emperor. Hangul will stink to the max in the Emperor's heart, and he will never be able to smell good ever again. "
"Hahahaha …" Liu Jin laughed strangely like a mother duck. Zhang Wenmian saw that he was happy and continued to show off, "Liu gong, that's why I say, this is called the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Hangul has designs on Yang Ling, but we have designs on Hangul. It's a struggle in the imperial court, nothing more."
"The strategy is not bad, but it's a bit childish." Zhang Cai laughed disdainfully in her heart and interrupted, "Hangul has been in the officialdom for a long time and is well versed in the ways of being an official. I've seen these memorials just now. They are all led by the imperial messengers and imperial censors. Hangul will definitely not go into battle and bravely be the vanguard. The imperial censors are not guilty. As long as Hangul does not show himself, what can he do? "
"This …" Zhang Wenmian's painstakingly thought of method was pointed out by Zhang Cai to be impractical, and he couldn't help but become angry out of humiliation. This person is narrow-minded and can't stand being bullied by others. Zhang Cai was the Minister of Personnel and had a dignified appearance, a handsome man. He was already envied and hated Zhang Cai, and now he was even more disgusted.
Zhang Cai was in the den of villains, but he didn't know how to guard against villains. How could he know that he would offend the other party with one sentence? He took a sip of tea and pondered, "Hangul has suffered a few big losses and has become much more cautious. Now that he dares to use this matter to impeach Yang Ling, it's because he is certain of one thing!"
Zhang Cai paused for a moment before continuing, "When establishing the lecture hall, Duke Liu opposed it, Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe opposed it, the civil officials opposed it, and even those high-ranking military officials who have their own factions opposed it with all their might. Hangul is certain of this point, so he wants to borrow the wind and rain to give it another shot. If he still fails like this, then he has nothing to say.
It's not that Hangul can't see that the Emperor is protecting Yang Ling, but he really can't wait for a more suitable opportunity. Anyway, if he doesn't succeed, the law does not punish the masses and he won't suffer any losses. But he's not a boorish man, he will definitely observe the words and expressions of tomorrow's court discussion. If he sees an opportunity to stir up a storm, then he will step forward. So we can't pull out the other impeachment memorials, we still need our people to cooperate and give this old man some hope … … "
Liu Jin understood immediately and chuckled, "There's no need to say more, I understand. Even if Yang Ling's faction isn't that willing to establish the lecture hall, they won't step forward to impeach him. There's a possibility that Li and Yang's faction will act as a peacemaker. I'm currently fighting for power with Yang Ling, and Hangul hopes that I'll take the lead.
I've done the work of raising flags and shouting battle cries for many years. It's even easier to set a trap to trip people up. When he comes in, I'll shake my body and be filled with righteous indignation, making Old Han look bad both inside and outside. Heh heh heh … … but … … "
He affectionately called Zhang Cai's courtesy name, "Shang Zhi ah, do you think you can topple him with just this? I think Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe will definitely step forward to protect him. "
Zhang Cai smiled, "Wen Mian's two strategies of not losing money at the Imperial Wedding and gathering people to attack loyal officials are only used to create momentum, solidify His Majesty's loathing, and make it clear that he's passive in court. As for the real fatal blow … …"
Zhang Cai paused, then said, "The Ministry of Revenue's Vice Minister is involved in corruption and has already been arrested. According to his resume, yesterday the Factory Guards were transferred away from the Ministry of Appointments. Liu Gong, the Ministry of Revenue's Vice Minister, is someone from the Ministry of Revenue's Minister yamen. I just don't know if Master Han is also implicated?"
"Bang!" Liu Jin slammed the table and shouted, "There must be, how can there not be?" He originally had a good habit and good tradition of overstepping his rank to investigate the crimes of lower officials. Moreover, he wanted to mess with Hangul and seize the opportunity to seize his political territory, so he immediately agreed.
Zhang Wenmian's eyes turned, "That Vice Minister is a corrupt official, I'm afraid he doesn't have a tough bone. This kind of person doesn't even need to be tortured. As long as Liu Gong makes that one hundred and fifty catties of shackles are placed around his neck and he stands under the hot sun, won't he be able to recruit whoever we want him to? "
Zhang Wenmian hurriedly stood up and said, "Liu Gong, leave this matter to me. In three days … … no, within a day, I will definitely have good news to report to Liu Gong."
Liu Jin smiled and stood up, patting his shoulder in satisfaction, saying, "Good, I will leave this matter to you. But there is no need to be overly anxious, wait until after the court conference tomorrow before going, in case there is trouble … …"
Zhang Wenmian understood and hurriedly saluted, saying, "Yes, yes, Liu Gong's suggestions are correct. I will do it tomorrow, tomorrow."
"En!" Liu Jin nodded complacently and turned his head slightly to the southeast. His eyes narrowed, "Once Hangul falls, I will be able to gather more power and the cabinet will be even more useless. When Yang Ling returns to the capital, the world will change.
Yang Ling, Yang Ling, I wish you happiness in Sichuan! "
※ ※ ※
Ming Destiny's Celestial Empire sent troops to help the Sultan of Manchuria to restore his country. This matter was not just a victory in a war. Ming Destiny had seventy or eighty vassal states. In recent years, Ming Destiny was too busy with the Tartars in the north and had no time to take care of them. So more than twenty vassal states had not made a pilgrimage for many years.
Now Ming Destiny's North and Duoyan's Three Guards defeated the Tartars' cavalry, wiped out the Wokou pirates, subdued the East Sea pirates, stationed troops in Ryukyu, and recovered Manchuria. Once the Eastern Dragon awoke, the surrounding countries were both respectful and fearful. They had already begun to send special envoys to visit Ming Destiny.
For a time, envoys from Beijing's Siyi Hall kept coming, recreating the prosperous situation of tens of thousands of countries. Ming Destiny's court also knew that the political significance of Manchuria was far greater than the military victory. In order to build momentum, when King Su Duanma of Manchuria returned to the country, Zhengde sent two imperial envoys. One was the Minister of Ministry of Rites, Wang Hua, and the other was the new Minister of War, Liu Yu. It could be said that they were extremely courteous and respectful.
Such a huge fleet was simply putting on a show for the other countries. The Sultan of Mansurakha was just a prop in this show. Therefore, even though he was eager to return home, the fleet still traveled steadily. It was not until the beginning of August that the fleet arrived at Mansurakha.
Yang Ling made use of this time to build the barracks of the Great Ming Navy at the location chosen by the Portuguese fleet. He used this team of thousands of free laborers to build the barracks of the Great Ming Navy. He also chose the commanders of the garrison and went back and forth between Fujian and Manchuria to settle some important military and political affairs.
Because the East Sea had been settled, now Ming Destiny had opened the Tianjin Port and Hangzhou Port to Korea, Japan, Luzon, and Ryukyu. The sea trade began to start and quickly affected more countries.
At the same time, Gu Daeyong organized a group of businessmen, scholars, monks, and spies to visit Japan. The businessmen's representative was Xu Jing, and the scholars' representative was Tang Bohu. They brought a large number of exquisite and expensive Ming Destiny products, which were welcomed by famous people everywhere.
The Japanese believed in Buddhism, and the upper class liked to be cultured. The number one scholar of Jiangnan, Tang Bohu, was knowledgeable and elegant when he was serious. He was also very knowledgeable about Buddhist scriptures. When he met the Japanese monks, he was not inferior to them in talking about scriptures and Taoism. When he was romantic, he was lustful and unrestrained, which suited the tastes of the generals very much. Now he was the most popular person in Japan. Nowadays, whether it was the generals or the nobles, ladies, or famous monks, everyone was proud to see the Top Scorer Tang.
Therefore, if one day someone saw such a strange scene: a daimyo's army escorting a complicated convoy to the border of their power, and then another daimyo's army respectfully received them and politely escorted them into their city. Then, the two armies continued to fight, killing until rivers of blood flowed in the city. Then, it would not be strange to know that this convoy was definitely Tang Bohu's visiting group.
When Su Duanma arrived at Fujian, Yang Ling also rushed back to welcome her, and then accompanied the two imperial envoys to Manchuria.
The 'Formidable General' sailed on the billowing waves of the sea. After removing its armor, the General's speed was even faster, plowing a huge scar on the surface of the sea.
Yang Ling stood on the third deck of the warship, holding onto the railing as he quietly listened to Liu Yu describe the situation in the capital. "Daren is not in the capital, and now Liu Jin is able to control the majority of the government affairs in the court. The new Minister of Personnel, Zhang Cai, was personally promoted by Liu Jin, and has already followed him wholeheartedly. With the Ministry of Personnel in his hands, there are even more officials who have thrown in their lot with him. Even Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe do not express much opinion anymore."
Yang Ling smiled. "They have become shrewd after repeated failures, and are unwilling to act rashly unless they are confident. Don't look at how they are feigning civility with Liu Jin now. That is because they are waiting for an opportunity. These old officials may be a bit foolish in their political views, but their character will not easily change. "
Liu Yu respectfully said, "Yes! Daren's foresight is admirable. Although Daren is far from the capital, the Emperor's favor is still strong. Hangul and the others used the matter of building the Navy Martial Lecture Hall to attack Daren. Originally, they had predicted that Liu Jin would definitely respond and wanted to use the pressure of the entire court of civil and military officials to force the Emperor to remove you from your military post. However, Liu Jin did not dare to offend you. Instead, he helped you refute Hangul, causing them to be rebuffed. "
"Oh?" Although Yang Ling was not in the capital, he had not relaxed his attention to the capital. If there was any major or minor matter in the capital, the internal guards would promptly deliver it. He already knew of this matter.
However, he wanted to see what these officials thought of Liu Jin's actions and also wanted to know if Liu Yu was hiding anything from him. He calmly said, "What other actions did he take? Tell me."
Liu Yu said, "Daren is not in the capital, and Liu Jin is very powerful. Daren transferred the Bureau of Taxation to the internal court and the Ministry of Revenue to be jointly managed. These two yamens are filthy because of taxes. Liu Jin used the matter of the Vice Minister of Revenue's corruption to bring down Hangul. Now, Hangul has retired and returned to his hometown.
However, Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe did their best to promote the old official Xu Jin to succeed as Minister of Revenue. Liu Jin was not able to put his own people in, and the power to collect taxes was still divided between the two families. Liu Jin had no choice but to rope in the eunuchs stationed in various places. He is now using the court's insufficient tax collection and extremely difficult financial situation to persuade the Emperor to increase the power of the eunuchs stationed in various places in order to increase the power of tax collection. Now the eunuchs stationed in various places have the same power as governors and inspectorates. They can investigate any administrative and legal matters, and can supervise officials. Their power is overwhelming. "
Yang Ling frowned and nodded. There were many reasons for Ming Destiny's financial difficulties. This was something that even he could not change. He could only hope that matters such as introducing grain seeds, exchanging goods, and opening the sea would produce benefits. However, it would take at least one or two years for these matters to really see results. Compared to the current predicament, it was distant water that could not quench the present thirst.
However, the imperial court was overstaffed. There were 30 princes, 215 dukes and generals, 2700 lieutenants, more than 20,000 civil officials, 100,000 military officials, 772 guards, and 40,000 scholars who passed the imperial examinations and lived off their stipends for free. Every year, the total stipends, salaries, and rations amounted to tens of millions.
In addition, the taxes were unreasonable, and there were many corrupt officials. Opening the sea, building warships, equipping the navy, and the war between the north and the south cost even more. Last year, the summer and autumn taxes in the world amounted to about 26 million dans. The output was more than the income. Therefore, the Wang Fu had been short of grain for a long time. The Wei Institute had been short of monthly rations for a long time. All the borders were short of soldiers. The situation of the provinces lacking salaries was very serious. Unless he had the ability to turn stone into gold, it would be a myth to solve these problems in an instant.
"Ruling a big country is like cooking a small dish. No matter how hungry I am, I have to slowly control the heat. I can't burn the dishes." Yang Ling sighed and nodded heavily.
What really disappointed him was another piece of news that came through other channels. The establishment of the Maritime Martial Arts Hall was indeed not approved. It was really too difficult to break the old order!
Looking at the endless sea, Yang Ling suddenly had an impulse. The Great Empire had lasted for thousands of years. Its civilization and order had already formed its own system. No matter what changes were made, they had to destroy the old and build the new at the same time. Therefore, even the Emperor standing at the top of the power structure had to be careful.
But what if it was a small place? What if it was a backward and wild place? It was like a piece of white paper that could be painted at will. For example, in a small place like Mantha Ka, if one wanted to build a school, set up a factory, and reform the official selection system, wouldn't it be easy? Because there was originally nothing here, there was naturally no destruction of the old, and it wouldn't touch a large number of people who obtained the old interests.
This bizarre and imaginative idea only flashed through his mind. The cry of a seagull cutting through the air called back Yang Ling's soaring spirit. He collected his thoughts and said, "Continue."
Liu Yu said, "The most important thing is that now, after Liu Jin used the guarding eunuchs to participate in politics, he began to legitimately demand that all important official documents be submitted to him first. Only after receiving his approval can they be sent to the various ministries and the cabinet. The memorials of the officials also have to be written in red and then sent to the Office of Transmission …"
Liu Yu paused and lowered his voice, "Some people say that now the world only knows Eunuch Liu, but not the Emperor."
The corner of Yang Ling's mouth twitched, and he smiled without a trace, "Soon, the fate of Liu Jin is coming to an end!"
Now, the external threats were not enough to destroy Ming Destiny, but the internal opposition forces might kill what he was doing and many policies that Ming Destiny was changing step by step.
Right now, Da Ming was just like a butterfly that was struggling to break free from the shackles of its cocoon. Its wings were folded together, its body trembling as it shrunk into a ball, unable to even stand steadily. It looked even uglier than when it was hiding in the cocoon, even more fragile. However, if it was given a bit of time, it would unfold its five-colored, sparkling, brightly colored, dazzling wings, flying into the endless flowers.
Looking at the huge waves stirred up in front of the warship, Yang Ling suddenly flew back to Beijing. "Liu Jin, Liu Jin, the cocoon has turned into a butterfly and is about to spread its wings. How can I let it be pecked away by an old sparrow like you!"
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