The Prosperous Era of Longwan

When Wei Guangde came out of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, his face was already gloomy and he still had a little bit of regret.

At first Gao Gong said that he should be brought into Prince Yu's Mansion, but after seeing Prince Yu's Mansion's attitude towards Gao Gong, he gave up the idea and quietly told Gao Gong what he wanted. Doing things seems to be more beneficial.

Of course, he would not be stupid enough to tell the real reason, as that would affect his relationship with Gao Gong and Prince Yu's Mansion.

But it is true that he cannot enter Prince Yu's palace, otherwise he will be completely covered by the high arch, which will not be good for his future.

As for the errand I received today, well, the Chinese New Year is just over two months away, but I have to be sent to the south for business. What a big deal.

The key is not just one errand, but two.

The case in Suzhou is easy to try. The entire crime process is complete with evidence and confessions. It just depends on the final verdict.

In fact, for the leader, it is definitely a capital crime, and there is absolutely no way to survive. At that time, it will still have to be submitted to the Ministry of Punishment for review before execution. If it is a prison sentence, it will only be a few accomplices and their families. This can be dealt with locally. It was judged.

Wei Guangde didn't think that in such a big case, someone would bend the law for personal gain. He had never heard of anyone among the criminals having a strong relationship with him before.

Now in the capital, starting from Tuesday, the leader of the gang, the net worth details of the more than 20 main criminals have actually been spread.

Wei Guangde was actually more troubled by the second errand assigned to him by Zhou Yan, because in his opinion, this Wang Zhi did not need to die.

Although he did commit a heinous crime, even Ling Chi could not blame him for it.

But what the court should consider is the tranquility of the coastal areas. If letting go of a single life can bring long-term peace and stability along the coast, it is indeed worth it.

When considering the issue of Wang Zhi, Wei Guangde did not think about the issue of opening up the sea, but purely thought about it from the perspective of interests.

Ordinary people will judge based on good and evil, while officials consider more interests.

If he sincerely surrendered to the imperial court and asked him to summon his old troops to fight against the Japanese invaders, it would not only save the imperial court a lot of money in fighting the Japanese pirates, but the Japanese pirates would also be familiar with each other, making it easier to destroy them, and all it would take was a few official posts.

Hu Zongxian's plan at the beginning actually made sense, but there was something wrong with the operation. In the end, he ended up in this situation. He will definitely not be able to get rid of the blame for his bad faith.

The current civil servants of the Ming Dynasty still cherish feathers very much. No one wants to be trampled by future generations and comment on how bad their character is.

Time, fate, and luck may have destined Hu Zongxian not to have a good reputation.

Wei Guangde went home directly after leaving the Metropolitan Procuratorate. On the way, he asked Zhang Ji to contact his friends and have a banquet at home in the evening.

The decree has not yet been issued. When Zhou Yan saw him today, he just wanted to inform him in advance so that he could be prepared.

I estimate in my mind that it will definitely be next year when I return from this trip to Jiangnan. Maybe I may not be able to reach the capital in February next year.

Naturally, Xu Jianglan could only stay in Beijing. It was very hard to travel back and forth. Maybe he could go faster by himself.

In the current Ming Dynasty, because the emperor was absent from work for a long time, the phenomenon of arriving late and leaving early in various yamen was actually very common. Officials did not take it seriously. Many people had already left the yamen at the beginning of the Shen Dynasty, and few people went there. Tube.

Wei Guangde has been quite conscientious in the past, which may be why Emperor Jiajing valued him.

After all, at a time when all the ministers in the dynasty were not very disciplined, the emperor should still be very pleased to have such an employee who came to get off work on time.

There were not many people at the banquet in the evening. They were all people Wei Guangde felt he could trust. They were all people he had known in Jiangxi before. There were only two people, Lao Kan and Zhang Ke.

Recently, Zhang Ke has started to be active again and wants to seek a new external position.

Wei Guangde did know what Zhang Ke was planning. He said it was to go abroad, but in fact he was just bored after staying in the capital for a long time. He was envious of Wei Guangde's official position as censor. In fact, he also wanted to join the Metropolitan Procuratorate, so that he could I have the opportunity to go out to the capital to inspect the Chief Envoy Department. After all, each censor rotates regularly.

Wherever the censor goes, there will naturally be no shortage of oil and water.

Wei Guangde called them over for no other reason than to let them know in detail why this errand was his turn.

You know, Wei Guangde went to the Metropolitan Procuratorate two or three times a month, and he should not think about himself under any circumstances.

But his meeting with Zhou Yan in the afternoon let him know that the matter seemed to be finalized and irreversible.

In fact, having errands is a good thing, but Wei Guangde feels a little guilty.

People outside don't know, but he knows very well that he has offended his chief assistant, Yan Song. Could this trip to Suzhou and Hangzhou be a trap set by Yan Song or Yan Shifan?

That's all Hu Zongxian's territory.

Lao Kan and Zhang Ke were both fellow villagers of Wei Guangde. In the past, they often went to Yan's house together, so they were more or less aware that Wei Guangde and the Yan family were gradually estranged, but everyone was sensible and didn't ask more questions.

During the dinner, Zhang Ke's eyes naturally showed envy when he heard that Wei Guangde might have taken up an errand and headed south again to attend to matters in Suzhou.

The facts of the Suzhou incident were clear and the evidence was conclusive. In the eyes of the two people at the table, the credit was for nothing. As for the subsequent trip to Hangzhou, they were just to supervise the execution and kill the Japanese pirate leader, which was also a sub-question.

Wei Guangde expressed his doubts, that is, why do these good things happen to him and not others?

To Lao Kan and Zhang Ke, they thought it was Wei Guangde who was showing off nakedly in front of them at first, but later they discovered that Wei Guangde seemed to be speaking very seriously, and in the past, Wei Guangde was not a high-profile person who liked to show off. Just started thinking about this.

"As you know, I had a good rapport with Master Gao Gonggao before, so I moved around more. Gao Gong represents Prince Yu's Mansion. I don't know if it's because of this, so I started there with Mr. Yan Ge."

Wei Guangde didn't finish his words, he stopped mid-sentence. He knew that Lao Kan and Zhang Ke should understand what he meant.

"I've felt it the last two times I've been there."

Lao Kan nodded in approval.

As for Zhang Ke, he didn't speak and just nodded slightly.

They also knew that Gao Gong had been to Wei Guangde's house several times, but they felt that this was a personal relationship and should not affect the relationship between fellow villagers. Wei Guangde could not find a reason to explain why he was estranged from the Yan family. At this time, he could only I can use this rhetoric.

"Hu Butang and Mr. Yan Ge."

Zhang Ke suddenly spoke a few words, and everyone frowned as soon as he finished speaking.

Hu Zongxian's success is inseparable from Zhao Wenhua and Yan Song. This is something everyone in the court knows.

You must know that before Hu Zongxian took over the important task of suppressing Japanese pirates in Jiangnan, he was just a Zhejiang Dao patrol censor. He had the same position as Wei Guangde, but his rank was not as high as Wei Guangde.

"Probably not."

Lao Kan considered it carefully and answered: "At least it's not the case in Suzhou. After all, it belongs to Nanzhili. The father-in-law who is good at lending is still a garrison in Nanjing. His influence in Nanzhili is deeply rooted, but he went to Hangzhou to supervise and kill Wang Zhili. Be careful when you are there, don't be fooled by Hu Zongxian and cause Li Daitao to become stiff."

To be honest, some of Hu Zongxian's bad deeds in suppressing Japanese invaders in Jiangnan were actually widely circulated in the Ming Dynasty. Many officials in Beijing heard about it, so most people didn't think highly of Hu Zongxian.

However, Hu Zongxian now has a special position and is responsible for suppressing Japanese invaders. As long as he does not do anything outrageous and involves cases such as rebellion, even the censor, who is commonly known as the "mad dog", is unwilling to participate in him. Because there is no easy way out.

Before the work of suppressing the Japanese was completed, and while Mr. Yan Ge was still in office, Hu Zongxian's position was secure.

Nowadays, the coastal counties in the south of the Yangtze River are run like iron barrels by Hu Zongxian, and the Japanese pirates are not like they were able to come and go freely and plunder at will.

Of course, the DPRK and China also have different views on this. Many people do not think that this is Hu Zongxian's achievement, but that the coastal prefectures and counties have perfected and summarized a set of methods to resist Japanese pirates because they have been harassed by Japanese pirates all year round. They say this It is Hu Zongxian's achievement, which is to put gold on his face.

All Hu Zongxian can do is to promptly send reinforcements to rescue when the Japanese pirates attack the prefecture and county. This is his own job, and naturally cannot be regarded as merit. Before the Japanese pirates are completely wiped out, what Hu Zongxian does is actually of limited effect.

Lao Kan's words naturally played into Wei Guangde's hands. What he had been worried about was the trip to Hangzhou.

He doesn't know Wang Zhi, and Hu Zongxian has a record of protecting Wang Zhi. If the time comes to find someone else to take the stabbing on behalf of the king, Wei Guangde, as the prison officer, will be in big trouble. At least he will have it on his resume. Being recorded will definitely have an impact on his future career advancement.

This was also the reason why Wei Guangde had his suspicious eyes on the Yan family and his son from the beginning. In fact, he and the Yan family had really parted ways and were drifting apart, so it was not surprising that the Yan family would do something to him.

"Actually, as long as Shandai is careful when doing things and doesn't leave any clues to be caught, although I don't dare to say that he will definitely become a general or prime minister in the future, his position in the Six Departments and Nine Ministers will still be secure."

At this time, Zhang Ke suddenly interrupted.

Being a general or becoming a prime minister is actually just another way of saying that the ministers of the Ming Dynasty meant being in the cabinet. After all, the Ming Dynasty did not have official positions such as prime minister or prime minister, and the cabinet actually assumed such positions.

Seeing the confused looks in Lao Kan's and others' eyes, Zhang Ke felt a little resentful that iron could not turn into steel.

"Have you read the resumes of all the ministers? Can you tell me, apart from Uncle Wu Dazong, who has not had the experience of leading troops in combat?

What Shandai lacks now is actually taking over the civil affairs power of a place. However, this is what the Liubu Hall officials have to do, and cabinet ministers may not all have the experience of running a place. "

The first words were naturally referring to Wu Shan, and the second words were naturally referring to Yan Song.

Wu Shan and Yan Song had similar experiences. They both followed the standard process for Hanlin officials to enter the cabinet. That is, after becoming a Jinshi, they were elected to the Hanlin, and then directly moved to the Ministry of Rites, and finally impacted the cabinet.

But now, Yan Song has successfully completed this journey, while Wu Shan is still halfway there. It is still unclear whether he can finally reach the end of the cabinet.

Although Wu Shan and Yan Song are both from Jiangxi, it is well known that the two have a bad relationship.

As for the other six ministers, Wu Peng, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, was the prime minister in Hecao. He supervised the troops and successfully suppressed the rebellion of the Henan division. Jia Yingchun, the minister of the Ministry of household affairs, and Zheng Xiaoze, the minister of the Ministry of punishment, both had the experience of serving as ministers of the Ministry of war. During their tenure, they were either governors. Those who build border walls, or prepare to fight against Japanese invaders, are considered to be those who know how to fight.

In addition, Ouyang Bijin, minister of the Ministry of Industry, suppressed local rebellions when he was governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Zhou Yan, censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, also participated in the Jiajing Dynasty's campaign against Annan and the subsequent pacification of Yazhou when he was the envoy of Zuobu in Guangdong. The people revolted.

As for Yang Bo, the last Minister of the Ministry of War, it goes without saying that he is probably the only civil servant who knows how to use soldiers best. Otherwise, how could he take over the defense of Xuanda and Jizhen successively, and then be promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of War so quickly? .

"Your intention is to let Shandai go south. Maybe it's that person's intention? To prepare for future overseas expansion and accumulate experience?"

What Zhang Ke means is that the boss of the Sixth Ministry and the Metropolitan Procuratorate seems to have some military experience and has made achievements on the battlefield, and Wei Guangde exactly meets this condition.

By mistake, he followed Weng Pu in a battle with the Mongolian Tatars in Xuanfu, which was considered a great victory. His military resume was filled up. If he added to the local governance, in Zhang Ke's eyes, he would be like a second. A good official position is at your fingertips.

Wei Guangde is still very young now and has plenty of time to make up for this shortcoming.

As for Wei Guangde following Yan Song and Wu Shan's footsteps, from the Hanlin Academy to the Ministry of Rites and then to the Cabinet, Zhang Ke is not optimistic.

But after Zhang Ke reminded Lao Kan, what he thought about was where Wei Guangde would be sent.

Jiangxi can be crossed out first. The Ming Dynasty did not allow officials to serve as officials in their hometown.

If it is true as Zhang Ke guessed that Emperor Jiajing wanted to train Wei Guangde and prepare for him to be sent to other places in the future, then South Zhili and Zhejiang are both possible.

However, South Zhili was soon crossed out by Lao Kan, because Wei Guangde's father-in-law was Wei Guogong Xu Pengju, and the possibility of going to South Zhili to serve was relatively small, so the remaining one might be Zhejiang.

"You said that when you were in the Xuanfu, and after you returned to the court, you boasted that you were confident of defeating Anda Khan?"

A few years later, some of Lao Kan's memories became blurry, and most of these words were said at banquets. Now he has become a little unsure.

"He said that at first, but he told us privately that it was just bragging, haha."

Zhang Ke answered, "I have an impression of this."

When Wei Guangde heard Lao Kan mentioning old things, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

"I doubt it's the one who plans to use you as a substitute, right?"

Lao Kan said very uncertainly.

"Speak clearly, what kind of substitute?"

Zhang Ke hurriedly interjected.

"In addition to the previous plan to kill Xu Hai and deceive Wang Zhi, Hu Butang's main achievement in the past two years was to improve coastal defense. He said that he protected the coastal people from Japanese pirates, but he did not do much to exterminate other Japanese pirates."

"impossible."

Before Lao Kan could finish speaking, Zhang Ke shook his head and said, "The possibility of Shandai going to Zhangzhou Prefecture in Nanzhili is high, but the possibility of going to Zhejiang is very slim."

"Why is it impossible? He beat me in Xuanfu."