Chapter 48 Zhang Juzheng: I was once full of vigor and vitality! Xu Jie: Do you suddenly feel insecure?
"My dear ministers, please enjoy your meal." Lu Fang arranged for the eunuch to serve everyone a bowl of ginseng soup. "Everyone should warm up first. It won't be too late to discuss politics later..."
Although everyone in the cabinet was already confused, they still didn't know what the emperor was thinking, so they had to suppress their confusion for the time being and began to enjoy the fragrant warming ginseng soup.
In the main hall, the Imperial Household Department and the Cabinet stood in two rows, and everyone in the hall was drinking ginseng soup quietly.
In the exquisite house on the platform of the side hall.
Jiajing was still meditating, with aura floating around him. When everyone had drunk almost all of the wine, he slowly opened his eyes, picked up the bronze chime and swung it casually. As the bronze chime hummed, he stood up and walked out of the temple.
"Tram, tramp, tramp." Hearing the footsteps approaching from the side hall, the cabinet and the eunuchs knelt down and shouted long live the emperor.
"Everyone, stand up." As Jiajing spoke, he came to the throne, lightly waved his Taoist robe, motioned for everyone to stand up, and then sat down.
"Two things." Jiajing looked around at everyone. Under his gaze, everyone bowed slightly and obeyed. Even Yan Song, who was sitting, bent slightly.
"The first one," Jiajing glanced at everyone, then smiled meaningfully and said, "Everyone is very sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, so I'm sure you all know it. I won't keep you in suspense and will just tell you straight away."
"The national master has examined the celestial phenomena and found that the southeastern position has an abnormal celestial phenomenon, with Mars and the star Zhenxing approaching each other, which is an ominous sign."
"Mars is responsible for chaos, while Zhenxing is responsible for stability. The two are in conflict with each other, which may indicate that there will be unrest in the southeast."
"Natural disasters are frequent in the southeast, Japanese pirates are rampant, resentment is rising, Mars is flashing, and there seems to be a warning of war."
"So I ordered the Imperial Master, Qingfeng Xuanling Shouzhen Huiwu Zhenren, as an imperial envoy to go to the southeast to preside over the Luotian Grand Ceremony to pray for blessings and ward off disasters, thoroughly investigate the people's sentiments, and clarify grievances, so as to ensure peace and prosperity for the country and the people."
Upon hearing this, the people in the Imperial Household Department were not surprised, and neither were the people in the cabinet, as they all knew about this.
"The second one is naturally the matter of Dinghai County. This is also related to the Imperial Master's trip to the southeast this time..." Having said this, Jiajing paused and looked at everyone.
Inexplicably, everyone in the hall seemed to respond. Sensing the heavy atmosphere, they subconsciously bent over.
At the same time, we also know that the focus of today's political discussion, or more precisely, the accountability for their dissatisfaction with "debt collection", is here!
"Who recommended Hai Rui?" Jiajing asked. Although he was asking, his eyes were on Zhang Juzheng.
Zhang Juzheng is an absolute talent. We cannot let him continue to follow the Qingliu and bide his time. We must bring him to the forefront. He will be needed for the next big move.
"Here I come!" Zhang Juzheng was startled when he noticed the emperor's gaze from above. He knew it was his turn to step forward, so he stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Hai Rui was recommended by me."
"I remember that you wrote a memorial on current affairs in the 28th year of Jiajing," Jiajing said, raising his finger and pointing at Zhang Juzheng. "I was deeply impressed by this memorial."
"You said in it: Talent is ability. It is important to cultivate it with the right elements, and to use it with the right tools. If you cultivate it with the right elements, you will not lack them, and if you use it with the right tools, you will use it properly..."
Hearing this, everyone looked sideways at Zhang Juzheng.
Zhang Juzheng's eyes suddenly widened, as if he had recognized his emperor for the first time, with a look of shock in his eyes.
Memories suddenly popped up in my mind.
In the 26th year of Jiajing, at the age of 23, he won the ninth place in the second class of Jinshi and was awarded the title of Shujishi.
After he was selected as a scholar, his teachers included the cabinet ministers at that time, Xu Jie, and Xu Ge Lao. In a sense, it is not an exaggeration to say that Xu Jie was his teacher.
The situation in the court at that time was far more complicated than it is now.
At that time, he was still studying in the Hanlin Academy, but an extremely brutal and bloody struggle was going on in the cabinet.
At that time, there were only two cabinet ministers, Xia Yan and Yan Song.
In order to compete for the position of Prime Minister, the two of them killed each other fiercely, and it is no exaggeration to say that all the officials were trembling with fear.
Afterwards, Xia Yan won the position of Prime Minister, but was killed due to slander by Yan Song. After that, Yan Song has been the Prime Minister of the cabinet until now.
It was also because of the bloody struggle in the cabinet that the young man, still full of passion, finally wrote "On Current Affairs" in the 28th year of Jiajing, hoping that the court could face up to the malpractices in the court.
But in the end, his passion and enthusiasm did not cause any waves.
He was even prepared to "go to war" with Yan Song. After all, some of the problems in the book were alluding to Yan's party.
The result? Ignored!
Yan Song had never even looked at him straight in the eye. Not only that, the emperor seemed to have no idea that such a person existed.
That was quite a blow to him!
He tried his best, even prepared to die to prove his will, and imagined confronting Yan Song many times late at night, no matter how much he caused an uproar in the court and the emperor. However, he was ignored.
The emperor ignored it, Yan Song ignored it.
Except for a few officials who were familiar with him, no one remembered that memorial, which was full of his passion and written while drinking.
From then on, apart from routine memorials, he never submitted another memorial, and he became disheartened.
In the 33rd year of Jiajing's reign, he left Beijing due to illness and returned to his hometown, Jiangling.
At that time, he traveled around the mountains and rivers, expressing his feelings in the scenery, and just wanted to be one of the many frustrated hermits in ancient times.
Just when he was determined to "let go of the mess", he saw the big picture from the small details in his hometown and realized the court's shortcomings such as uneven land taxation, unemployment of the poor, and people suffering from annexations, and he felt deeply the weight of his responsibility.
Afterwards, he regained his confidence, and with the help of Lord Xu, he successfully returned to the court. This time, he restrained his edge, suppressed his arrogance, and determined to accumulate strength, grow his wings, and talk about reform again!
Now, His Majesty brought up the old matter again, and he couldn't help but feel dazed.
Did His Majesty remember everything? Did His Majesty not ignore me? Not only that, but he could even repeat the exact words in my memorial?
What does this mean? This means that His Majesty had noticed me a long time ago and had never ignored me!
Considering that he is now Prince Yu's teacher and the prince's teacher, how could he have easily taken on the role if he hadn't always been concerned about him?
However, I have wasted three years since the 28th year of Jiajing, and I have been complaining. After returning to the capital, not only did I not think about sharing your worries, but I also chose to lie dormant. Is Your Majesty disappointed in me?
For a moment, Zhang Juzheng was in a trance as he looked at the emperor above him with a sullen face, who seemed to be holding him accountable.
Jiajing naturally noticed the changes in Zhang Juzheng's expression throughout the whole process, but at this time his tone gradually became lower.
"From what you said, it's not hard to see that you have a good understanding of talent and the principles of employing people. And since you recommended Hai Rui, it means that you recognize his talent."
In fact, Jiajing's "Essay on Current Affairs" is at most an impression.
What really reminded him of this memorial was another one, "Memorial on Six Matters" which Zhang Juzheng would write in his future reforms.
This "Memorial on Six Issues" was developed based on the "Memorial on Current Affairs" submitted in the 28th year of Jiajing.
This memorial could be helpful to him in solving the following six crises, or more precisely, to Zhang Juzheng.
That's why I just read the forgotten "On Current Affairs", which now seems a bit immature and crude.
"Then why has Hai Rui still not investigated the smuggling in the southeast?" Jiajing sat up straight, leaned forward, and said:
"Now tell me, is Hai Rui a mediocre person or a talented person?"
As soon as these words came out, Qingliu's heart tightened slightly.
Zhang Juzheng also suddenly put away the trance in his heart caused by the mentioned memorial. The most important thing at the moment was to deal with the present, rather than being absent-mindedly reminiscing about the past.
You have to answer this question carefully.
If he is a mediocre person, why did you choose to use a mediocre person when you have the ability to identify and employ people? If he is a talented person, why can't the person you recommend do something that everyone knows well?
We have already agreed on this. You, the Qingliu, are you trying to renege on your promise? Are you playing tricks on the emperor?
Well, didn't you see that Yan Shifan was ready to fire? He was just about to jump out and shout flatteringly: Your Majesty is playing tricks on you!
If you are not careful, you will be bitten by that madman Yan Shifan today!
At this time, Gao Gong saw this, took half a step forward, and was about to step forward, but was stopped by Xu Jie's eyes.
Because now is Zhang Juzheng’s stage!
At the same time, Xu Jie was also wondering what His Majesty meant by suddenly mentioning "On Current Affairs"?
Are you going to reuse Taiyue?
While Xu Jie lowered his head, he looked up at Zhang Juzheng's back.
Now your majesty's thoughts are becoming more and more unpredictable.
After the matter in the southeast is settled, the next step will be to implement the national policy of stationing troops and promoting agriculture in the border areas. By then, he and others will still have a tough battle to fight with the Yan Party. If Taiyue turns against us at this time...hiss!
There is also Gao Gong, who has already complained about things in the southeast.
For a moment, Xu Jie's brows were unconsciously deeply furrowed. He suddenly felt that the surroundings were fine, but without him noticing, they were now covered with thorns and very cold.
For the first time, Xu Jie realized that he had lost his sense of security!
"..."
Sorry, I had dinner outside today and came home late. I couldn’t send the second draft on time. I kept revising it and it’s been delayed until now. Sorry, sorry, sorry~
(End of this chapter)
