The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"It's just a casual move. Hai Rui doesn't deliberately target Mr. Xu Ge, so it's natural that he can't do anything wrong to him.

But if Hai Rui also feels that Xu Ge's hometown is a little too much, he can directly let Zhang Shuda and Gao Suqing fight in the cabinet. "

Chen Yiqin opened his mouth and made the final decision.

In Chen Yiqin's house, Chen, Yin, and Wei finally came up with an unlikely method to split Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, two rivals who might have a potential alliance.

Although the method was not thorough, it was still a test for Hai Rui.

Whether it is for fame and reputation, or whether he is honest and upright, you will know once you bring him to Yingtian Mansion.

On the way back home, Wei Guangde had a vague feeling that this might be the reason why.

Why?

In later generations, Hai Rui was too famous. If Hai Rui bypassed Xu Jie this time, it would be a stain that he could not wash away.

With a stain, he will not be famous in future generations.

Thinking of the vague memory, it seems that there is a history of Hai Rui's fight with Xu Jie.

Well, in fact, Wei Guangde is doubting the role he played in it. How will future generations judge him in future generations?

Traitor? Loyal minister? A mediocre minister? Or something else.

However, Wei Guangde is still very clear about one thing, that is, if there is a real commotion in the end, he will have to find a way to obscure the time when Hai Rui went to Yingtian Mansion, because he seems to have read an article about Hai Rui and Xu Jie, and the one mentioned in it is Hai Rui It was Gao Gong who sent him to the south of the Yangtze River to support Xu Jie.

Although the emperor's decree to recall Gao Gong has not yet been issued, the meaning is already obvious.

Gao Gong is really a perfect person to blame.

After the matter was finally done, they tried to shift the responsibility to Gao Gong, saying that Gao Gong wanted to take revenge on Xu Jie, so he sent the honest and upright Hai Qingtian to Jiangnan to kill people with a borrowed knife.

Wei Guangde didn't want his name to be criticized as a treacherous villain in future generations, so it was better to blame some unpleasant things on others, and he could only bear the burden of good deeds that were fair and honest and benefited the country and the people.

Early the next morning, Yin Shizhen found the Jiangnan memorial and took it out to discuss with the cabinet ministers about selecting a flood control master in the court to go to Jiangnan.

In Li Chunfang's room, Wei Guangde also said in a fake tone: "I remember that Pan Jixun, the right deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate who worked with Zhu Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry to control floods, was an expert in this field. He was the censor of the capital and the governor of Yingtian It is appropriate to deal with floods in the south of the Yangtze River."

"Censor Pan is not in the court now."

Chen Yiqin said.

"ah?"

Wei Guangde pretended to be puzzled, "Didn't he recover from his illness and return to the court last year? I remember that the construction of the New Yellow River was completed, and he was promoted from the censor of the right capital to the censor of the right deputy capital. Isn't it still better?"

"Ding You, his mother died of illness. Now Pan Yushi returns to his hometown Ding You."

Li Chunfang also spoke.

Officials in the Ming Dynasty lacked practical doers, and officials familiar with water conservancy were even more lacking, even in the Ministry of Works.

It seems that Pan Jixun also took the initiative to learn knowledge in this area because he liked water conservancy. However, he initially took an official position in the Ministry of Punishment, and later transferred from Dali Temple to the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

However, when the Yellow River floods intensified in the late Jiajing period, he stepped forward and took up the responsibility of controlling the floods together with Zhu Heng of the Ministry of Industry.

Although the two had different political views, the court also knew from this that both of them actually understood water conservancy.

“As mentioned in the memorial, the embankments of Wusong River, Baimao River and other rivers have collapsed, and it is time to rebuild them. Otherwise, tens of thousands of acres of fields on both sides of the river will be in danger.

The people who go to Yingtian Mansion this time must not only be able to control water, but also understand water conservancy, and also repair the surrounding irrigation canals.

To build water conservancy projects, who do you think is suitable?

If there is no suitable candidate, you might as well ask the officials to check and let them recommend. "

Li Chunfang spoke again.

"It's okay to let the officials check and see the talents in this field in the DPRK and China.

Flood control is a major event, and Zhu Shangshu cannot be allowed to take charge of it himself. "

Zhang Juzheng also spoke.

"Then I'll write a note and let the officials check it."

Yin Shizhen said.

"If nothing bothers the two masters, let Zhengfu do this. The officials will come up with the list. We will sum it up and report it."

When Li Chunfang said this, she looked at Chen Yiqin and saw him nodding. Then she looked at Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde. Neither of them had the intention to speak, so she settled on that.

Another day passed before the officials responded. There was only one name listed in the document, General Affairs Secretary Zuo Tongzheng Envoy Hai Rui. The article listed in detail that Hai Rui had built water conservancy projects and reclaimed wasteland in Chun'an County and Xingguo County. practice, and for more than ten years now, these projects are still in use without any problems, which can be regarded as benefiting the people.

In the Ministry of Personnel, although the minister is still Yang Bo, this is the place where both Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen have stayed, and there are still people under them.

Moreover, Yang Shangshu is getting older now and his health is getting worse.

Speaking of which, he had also been in the border town for several years and had a lot of hidden illnesses, so there were few directors these days. This gave Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen the opportunity to control the list of officials.

Otherwise, Yang Bo might not have an easy time, at least the name Hai Rui would not be listed and left to the cabinet to discuss.

Yin Shizhen took the official documents and went to Li Chunfang to check in, and gave the documents to him to read.

"Hai Rui."

Hai Rui is really famous now. First, he almost lost his life when he gave the "Public Security Manual" to Emperor Jiajing. The fact that he prepared a coffin at home had already spread in the capital and spread to other parts of the Ming Dynasty.

The second is his background. He has been ranked as a fourth-rank official in the court as a judge, which was hard to imagine before.

In the early Ming Dynasty, officials like this still had a chance to rise to the top, but it had been over a hundred years since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, and it was already difficult for officials to get ahead, so most of them would be dead if they could reach the seventh rank, and if they did well, they would be the sixth rank.

However, everyone knows that the main reason for Hai Rui's promotion was the first one, and his subsequent promotions were also due to Qingliu's momentum.

Well, the fourth-grade official is no longer within the control of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. When the report was first reported, the cabinet could not say anything, so it could only admit it. It was also a compliment for him to be included in the "Public Security Shu".

"Come here, please invite some adults to come to my place to discuss matters."

Li Chunfang did not intend to decide on the person himself, but planned to convene the cabinet ministers to discuss it, just to get some relief.

In the Ming Dynasty, the governor of Yingtian was particularly powerful. His official title was "Prime Minister of Grain Reserves, Supervisor of Military Affairs and Governor of Yingtian and other Mansion". He was a governor set up in the southern region of Zhili during the Ming Dynasty. He managed the place with the heaviest grain reserve tax in the country at that time. .

Governor Yingtian was appointed in the fifth year of Xuande's reign and was responsible for supervising the grain reserves in the Jiangnan area. At first, he was appointed as a minister and other officials. Later in Jingtai, he was appointed as the censor of the capital. During the Jiajing period, he was given the rank of admiral to lead the army and the people to resist Japanese invasion.

The jurisdiction area has been increased and decreased frequently. The largest one currently governs Yingtian, Chengtian, Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Taiping, Chizhou, Huizhou, Ningguo, Anqing Eleven Prefectures and Guangde Prefecture.

In the early days, Governor Yingtian was stationed in Nanjing and lived in Huitong Hall. In Chenghua, he built another office and moved out of Huitong Hall.

After Jiajing, he was stationed in Suzhou every time there was a storm, and he was called Xingtai.

During the Wanli period, the Yingtian governor's office also moved back to Jurong, Nanjing, and then moved back to Suzhou, changing back and forth several times.

Historically, due to the changes in jurisdiction and location, there are various records of official positions in historical materials. In addition to governor Yingtian, there are also governors of Suzhou, governor of Susong, governor of Nanji, governor of Jiangnan and governor of Wu.

It is called Wufu because the area centered on Su and Song was the land of Wu State and Wu County in ancient times. People at that time also used to call Suzhou Prefecture "Wu County".

But no matter how you say it, although Governor Yingtian is called a governor, because of the four words "Admiral and Supervisor of Military Affairs", his essence is on the same level as a governor, and he can be regarded as a feudal official.

"The person reported by the Ministry of Civil Affairs is Hai Rui. The general secretary is Zuo Tongzheng. Let's discuss it. Can we discuss it?"

After Li Chunfang and others arrived, they handed the official documents to Chen Yiqin and passed them on. After everyone had read them, he spoke.

Chen Yiqin, Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde naturally expressed no objections. They were secretly manipulating this matter. At this time, if they objected verbally, they would be in trouble.

Isn't the purpose of doing so much and recommending through official documents just to avoid attracting Zhang Juzheng's attention?

Therefore, after they expressed their opinions, all three of them looked at Zhang Juzheng.

And Zhang Juzheng is also thinking about this.

Speaking of which, although the position of governor Yingtian is important and he is considered a capital official, it is still released to outsiders and has limited influence on the court.

Zhang Juzheng really wanted to find someone from his own faction to take up the post, but when it came to dredging rivers and constructing water conservancy projects, he seemed to lack such experts.

He didn't think about Songjiang Mansion, and he didn't realize that this matter was actually aimed at Xu Jie, because Wei Guangde and others did it too covertly, so it was not easy to detect.

Moreover, regarding the current relationship between Hai Rui and Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng did not realize that Hai Rui would be unfavorable to his teacher Xu Jie in the past.

After all, when he saved Hai Rui's life, Xu Jie, as the chief minister of the cabinet, was at the forefront.

In fact, at the moment, except for the fact that Wei Guangde is an outlier, and I remember that Hai Rui pointed the finger at Xu Jie after arriving in Jiangnan, any official in the capital, especially those who are old in the officialdom, would never have thought of what would happen. This is how "repaying kindness with hatred" comes about.

Although Wei Guangde reminded Hai Rui that Hai Rui had a selfless side, in fact Chen Yiqin only regarded this move as a casual move and did not give much hope.

It would be normal if Zhang Juzheng couldn't see it, but it would be abnormal if he really realized it.

Chen Yiqin, Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde did not object. Zhang Juzheng just thought about it and felt that there was really no one to recommend, so he nodded simply.

"Hai Rui went to Jiangnan to serve as governor of Yingtian. What position would the Metropolitan Procuratorate give him?"

What Zhang Juzheng was thinking about was the identity issue when he was sent out.

Hai Rui is currently a fourth-rank official, corresponding to the title of Imperial Censor of the Imperial Procuratorate. However, Governor Yingtian only has a fourth-rank official position, which looks a bit shabby.

Among the governors of the Ming Dynasty, the first governor must be Shuntian Mansion. In the past, he was always a high-ranking governor, and his title would often reach the second rank, which is the same level as the monk.

However, according to the system of the Ming Dynasty, the governor should be a temporary official position, and he must return to the capital after completing the task, so there is no clear grade.

What rank a governor is, depends on what title he holds.

For example, if you hold the title of Censor of the Capital City, you will be a fourth-rank governor; if you hold the title of Deputy Censor of the Capital City or Shilang, you will naturally be a third-rank governor; and if you hold the title of Shangshu, you will be a second-rank governor.

It was only the Qing Dynasty after the Ming Dynasty that the ranks of governors were set from the second grade, so for later generations, the grades of governors in the Ming Dynasty were sometimes very confusing. One moment, there was a fourth-grade governor, and then there was a third-grade governor or even more. Big, at a loss.

"Zuo Tongzheng is of the fourth rank, so naturally he should be the censor of Qiandu."

When Yin Shizhen heard what Zhang Juzheng said, he directly expressed his opinion.

To be honest, he didn't like the person he recommended. After all, Hai Rui was a civil servant, but now his official position had reached a height that many Jinshi could not reach in their lifetime.

I don't know why Zhang Juzheng asked this question. Maybe it was due to his caution all his life. He was just testing it to see if Hai Qingtian, who was always known as upright, had also taken refuge with others.

Hearing that Yin Shizhen had no intention of upgrading Hai Rui, Zhang Juzheng nodded, indicating that he agreed with what he said.

Zhang Juzheng and Yin Shizhen both expressed their opinions, and Wei Guangde also said: "Although Hai Rui has done a good job in the General Affairs Department, his merits are not enough to be promoted. Ying Tian, ​​the governor of Qiandu, is also feasible.

After he manages the rivers south of the Yangtze River, he can then upgrade his level to convince others. "

"Master Chief, what do you think?"

The three cabinet ministers all expressed their opinions, and Chen Yiqin turned to ask Li Chunfang, the first assistant.

"That's what you mean too?"

Li Chunfang looked at Chen Yiqin and asked.

Chen Yiqin nodded.

"Let him be the undermatched one. First let him be the censor of Qiandu and the governor of Yingtian Shifu.

As for the grade, once the rivers and water conservancy are under control, I will ask Your Majesty for promotion. "

Seeing that everyone was unanimous, Li Chunfang naturally had no other ideas, so she decided on Hai Rui's grade.

It should be said that Hai Rui was only transferred this time and not promoted.

However, being transferred from the idle General Administration Department to Yingtian Governor was actually a promotion in the eyes of the official circles, a big promotion.

Governor Yingtian is an actual official, not a position with little power like Zuo Tongzheng.

The cabinet reached an agreement, and the draft memorial was sent to the Supervisor of Rites that afternoon, waiting for Emperor Longqing's approval.

When approaching the San Yamen, Chen Yiqin and Yin Shizhen came to Wei Guangde's room.

They came here, naturally invited by Wei Guangde, although they didn't know what it was about.

"This was just sent this afternoon. Jiangxi's summary of the whip method in the past six months."

Wei Guangde handed the memorial to Chen Yiqin, and after reading it, he circulated it to Yin Shizhen.

"Shaloan, what do you mean?"

Chen Yiqin saw that Yin Shizhen had finished reading, so he asked.

"At the beginning of the year, there were memorials from Zhejiang and other places, and they also hoped to restore a whipping method. I wonder if Brother Yifu still remembers it."

Chen Yiqin nodded, "Zhejiang has used this method to collect taxes all year round, but His Majesty ordered it to stop, so those places had to give up this method.

Knowing that Jiangxi has been restored, they will naturally report it, hoping that the court will allow them to restore the original law. "

"Yes, I saw this memorial today and plan to publish it in the imperial newspaper."

Wei Guangde said.

"Publish in the residence? What's so difficult about this? It's not just a matter of words."

Before Yin Shizhen could react, Chen Yiqin pointed at Wei Guangde and said with a smile: "You, you, really, then wait until Hai Rui receives the order and publish it in the newspaper to let him know.

In fact, he is in the General Affairs Department, and may have known about this matter one step earlier than you and me. "