Gao Gong gave himself three days off in a row, neither to defend himself, nor to look at things, except to stay at home and make a "pending investigation" appearance, there was no expression.

The protégés of the high arch were also very quiet, as if they suddenly didn't know their own teachers, and they were busy with their own affairs, without the slightest intention of rolling up their sleeves and slacking off the debate.

Liu Fenyong and Cao Dayun felt that this situation was simply tormenting, as if they knew that they were going to be beaten, but they didn't know where the other party would beat, and the whole person was in a state of high tension. After just three days, these two people actually lost a circle, creating a new era of weight loss.

The people who can't hold back are not only Liu Fenyong and Cao Dayu, the emperor can't hold back, and he has continuously issued edicts to appease, please Gao Gong out and look at things - but there is a trouble here, that is, if the emperor requires Gao Gong to come out and look at things, he usually needs to deal with Liu and Cao first, but according to the convention, Gao Gong must first defend himself, so that the emperor can choose to believe the ministers according to the self-defense statement, and then dispose of Liu and Cao.

In other words, if Gao Gong does not defend himself and locks himself in his home, then the emperor will be frozen. But it is not appropriate to issue an edict to urge Gao Gong to defend himself, because as I said before, generally only if the emperor is extremely angry and seriously dissatisfied with the auxiliary minister, he will issue an order to take responsibility and ask the auxiliary minister to defend himself.

In the end, it was still Emperor Longqing, since he couldn't hold back and his face was not important, he successively sent Chen Hong, Feng Bao and Meng Chong to the Gao University Scholar's Mansion to ask Gao Gong to defend himself - in this way, the nature is different, not an order, but a request.

On the fourth day, Gao Gong finally gave the emperor face and defended himself.

"Ministers are virtuous, they are wrongly responsible, and they have no money to serve their duties, so that people will speak, lead to guilt, and dare to argue! But among them, there are those who are righteous and famous, and they dare not be unclear.

In the previous month, the Holy Communion was violated, and the minister and the same official Zhang Juzheng were in the court day and night, relatively hesitant, until they abandoned sleeping and eating, and waited until the Holy Communion was safe, and they returned home. The marriage ceremony between the minister and Cao Jin, the servant of the criminal department, is also after the Eucharist, and the sun and moon can be pressed.

The East Palace lectures, although the cabinet ministers have the responsibility of promoting, and the attendants are left and right, the ceremony is not contained, and the Ministry of Rites has not asked for the title, which is unprecedented and unprecedented. The ministers did not dare to enter the service without permission, and their hearts were not at ease, so they had a request to knock once every five days, covering the things that did not exist in the old days, and not reducing all the things in the old days, and the examples of such things can be true.

I replied smoothly, and Chen Shi and Zhang Juzheng always planned for the emperor, praised its success, and served the country with less courtiers. Both repeatedly rewarded Wen Lun, re-given the shade, the ministers and other words, did not dare to take its credit, and now it is said that the minister's credit is his own, this Shengming insight also.

Since the emperor summoned the ministers to return to the cabinet, and in charge of affairs, the ministers are worried that the power is too heavy, fearing that it will lead to danger, and the resignation of the last year is exempted, are not invited, and they are more praised, the ministers are grateful and flattering, and strive to engage in it. These are all about the righteous, and the minister would like to say that this is actually the case.

The ministers are clumsy and self-controlled, quite able to be clean, selfless and selfless, and a piece of paper does not enter, this move is a gentleman, and the people of the world know it. The deputy envoy Dong Wencai has deep prestige, and he is recommended by the ministers to participate in politics, and the bureaucrats must carefully choose the people who are old and mature, and the squire Lu Tiaoyang is the emperor's daily official and does not dare to move.

The waiter Zhang Siwei's prestige corresponds, and he is the minister and Zhang Juzheng are promoted as the waiter officials, which is said to be Wencai to give 600 gold and 4 dimensions to 800 gold.

In the fourth year of Longqing, the minister Lu reviewed the record, and saw that the words of Lu Kai Prison did not agree with the law, and he planned to have a word, and the following year, the law department planned to be a reserved, and the minister had nothing to do.

The minister's family is poor, and it is still like a cloth cloth, everyone has seen it, and it has not been robbed, so what is the basis for the so-called robbery of hundreds of thousands of gold?

These are all under the name of the festival, and the minister hereby states that this is actually the case. As for other accusations, the loyalty and hypocrisy of seeking the country with the ministers, the respect and neglect of the deacons, the public and private affairs of the use of the abandonment, and the existence of private grievances are all obvious to the people, and the world has its own public discussion, and the ministers have no room to say it. However, the minister's strength is not enough to win the weight, and the light is not enough to convince people. ”

This self-defense not only refuted all the items of Cao Dayu's impeachment one by one, but also finally came to the conclusion that "the minister's power is not enough to win the weight, and the hope is not enough to convince the people.

The emperor waited for three days for this self-defense, so he reacted very quickly, Gao Gong went up in the morning, and the emperor's condolence edict came down at noon: "Qing Zhongqing is cautious, I know it well." Those who speak falsely have been punished, and it is advisable to assist the government with peace of mind and rely on the vice-minister. No resignation is allowed. ”

The emperor said that "those who speak falsely have been punished", which is really not a joke, because before Gao Gong's self-defense, the emperor had already written the disposal of Liu Fenyong and Cao Dayu.

"Liu Fenyong said in vain and demoted to foreign office."

"Cao Dayu's gang is trapping auxiliary ministers, and he is demoted to a foreign post, and he should be punished severely!"

Feng Bao took these two edicts, felt a little uneasy, and hurriedly rushed to the cabinet to discuss with Zhang Juzheng - after Gao Gong closed the door, the cabinet is now Guo Pu and Zhang Juzheng take turns to draft votes, and today it happens that Zhang Juzheng is writing.

Zhang Juzheng got the emperor's edict, but he didn't have any expression on his face, and he didn't look like Feng Bao was panicked, but comforted: "Feng Gong doesn't have to worry, the emperor's move is just the proper meaning of the question." ”

Feng Bao breathed a sigh of relief, but his face was still grim, and he paced a few steps hurriedly, and said, "What should be the meaning of the question?" Zhang Ge Lao, Liu Fenyong also gave it back, the emperor only accused him of lying and demoting foreign appointments, we can also make proper arrangements to prevent him from suffering too much. But what about Cao Dayu? Look at the tone of the emperor's edict, 'this guy' has come out! is not only a demotion, but also a 'You Si should be dealt with strictly', who is Yousi? Officials! The official department is a high-arched yamen! The emperor didn't say how much it would fall, can't this be done to the end? This man is a waste—if he were an ordinary person, he would be wasted, but he is your apprentice! ”

Zhang Juzheng smiled, waved his hand and said, "It's just a temporary setback, don't worry." Besides, the risk of him doing this, I have a pre-talk with him. ”

Feng Bao spat out a turbid breath and said helplessly: "Even if he can think about the overall situation and not have any complaints because of this, what should outsiders think when they see it?" ”

Zhang Juzheng pondered a little this time before he said: "After all, the emperor's edict is just an edict, and the official decree is still the head and end of the cabinet, and it is enough to remove the emperor's momentary words." ”

Feng Bao's face became serious and asked, "How to change it?" ”

Zhang Juzheng said: "Cao Dayu spoke in vain and was demoted to a foreign office. ”

Feng Bao frowned, a little hesitant: "If the emperor knows......

"It doesn't matter, this is the intention of the Holy Will, it was the responsibility of the cabinet, the focus of this edict is still to demote Cao Dayu to a foreign post, and I haven't changed this disposition, even if the emperor knows, it won't happen."

Feng Bao reluctantly accepted this statement and said, "Since Zhang Ge has this responsibility, Feng doesn't have much to say, so let's do so." He paused, then frowned again: "Why is the saint of the tall beard so deeply unshaken? ”

Zhang Juzheng's eyes jumped twice, and he said in a deep voice: "There is always a time when the world changes." ”

This sentence reminded Feng Bao, Feng Bao looked left and right a few times, and said in a low voice: "The emperor has been in a bad mood these days, and his food has decreased a little. ”

Zhang Juzheng's eyes moved, and he said: "The misfortune of this world is also ...... How sick is the emperor? ”

Feng Bao said with some annoyance: "The emperor has replaced a group of close attendants, and I haven't been able to grasp the specific situation, but you don't have to worry, I guess not only my people have been replaced, but also the people installed by Meng Chong, Chen Hong and others have also been replaced." Now everyone is afraid that they will all have black eyes in the Qianqing Palace...... I'm thinking about trying to win over the people of the Qianqing Palace, and it will take a little time. ”

Zhang Juzheng frowned and asked, "Don't you know anything about the situation?" Is it aggravated or relieved? ”

Feng Bao sneered: "After such an eventful time, how can the emperor's condition be alleviated?" Besides, although the emperor has replaced a batch of chamberlains in the Qianqing Palace, he can't say that he will replace those imperial doctors, right? ”

Zhang Juzheng's eyes lit up: "Feng Gongyou ...... Reach a consensus with a certain doctor? He was going to say, "Feng Gongyou has bought a certain imperial doctor?" But when the words came to his lips, he woke up again and changed his words.

Feng Bao was not so cautious, waved his hand and said: "The imperial doctor can't buy it, if they have a problem in this kind of thing, it is the crime of the nine clans, I am thinking of a way above the people around the imperial doctors-at least one thing is certain, the amount of the emperor's medicine has increased." ”

Zhang Juzheng was overjoyed, his face became more and more serious, and he nodded: "The country depends on the monarch, as courtiers, we should pray for the emperor day and night, but if the society is unlucky, the emperor really has a case...... We need to be prepared. ”

Feng Bao's eyes flashed, and he nodded: "I came today to discuss with the elder of the pavilion. He paused for a moment and said, "I have something to tell Ge Lao: Dongchang has found out that the soap produced by Jinghua Soap Factory was sent to Liaodong by Xue Cheng under the command of Kaiping Zhongtunwei. ”

Zhang Juzheng is good at officialdom and scheming, and he doesn't know much about these business things, so he frowned and said, "So what? ”

Feng Bao smiled and said, "Elder Ge, Jinghua soap has huge profits, you know this, right?" ”

Of course, Zhang Juzheng knows that the Guoshi soap produced by Jinghua Soap Factory is also being used by him.

Seeing him nodding, Feng Bao continued: "Although the specific profit of Jinghua soap is unknown, it must be huge, and with such a huge profit, Gao Pragmatic kid is willing to hand over the distribution rights of the entire Liaodong to Xue Cheng. ”

Zhang Juzheng faintly understood what Feng Bao meant, and asked, "What is the origin of this Xue Cheng?" ”

Feng Bao smiled: "The elder of the Good Sect Pavilion knows that this person is the younger brother of Xue Gan, the Marquis of Yangwu. ”

Zhang Juzheng's eyes immediately lit up.

When Feng Bao saw this, his smile was even bigger, and he said: "The people of Dongchang followed the vine and found that the money that Xue Cheng made in it, but he didn't leave much, and most of it should have been transferred back to the Yangwu Marquis Mansion of Jingshi." ”

"Oh? Feng Gong, please continue. Zhang Juzheng calmed his breath.

"But the silver was not sent directly to the Yangwu Marquis Mansion, but to a courtyard of the Yangwu Marquis Mansion—that place was owned by the eldest son of the Yangwu Marquis, Xue Gang." Feng Bao smiled and added: "This Xue Gong is quite good friends with many noble children in Beijing, but that's not the key, the key is that he and Gao Shishi seem to have a good relationship, and there are some contacts between the two of them." ”

Zhang Juzheng frowned and thought for a while, and asked, "Is there anything else?" ”

"Yes." Feng Bao said in a deep voice: "Dongchang continued to investigate, and found that Gao Shishi was not only closely related to Xue Gong, but also those sons of nobles in Beijing, and even many children of civil officials, had connections with him. I doubt it...... This is not what Gao pragmatic himself meant, I am afraid that it was instructed by Gao Gong. ”

Zhang Juzheng didn't speak for a while, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I thought something was wrong." Feng Gong, I understand what you mean, you mean that the Gao family used the profits of Jinghua soap to win over the nobles and even some civil ministers in Beijing, but according to my understanding of Gao Ge Lao, he probably disdains to do this, so this matter is not necessarily instructed by Gao Ge Lao, but more like Gao Cheng did it himself. ”

Feng Bao frowned and said, "Gao Pragmatic did it himself?" Even if it is, but it makes no difference, when there is a chance to investigate, the two uncles and nephews of the Gao family are always grasshoppers on a rope. ”

Zhang Juzheng understood what he meant, and Feng Bao's implication was that as long as there was an opportunity to pursue this matter, he would push this matter to Gao Gong's head, after all, Gao Pragmatic's age was here, and saying that such a big thing was just his own idea, and without Gao Gong's permission, how many people in the world would believe it?

He nodded inwardly, thinking that this was also a solution. But there are two issues to be resolved in this matter, the first is how deeply the nobles and civil ministers are involved in this matter, and if he and Feng Bao pursue this matter, how strong will these people revolt; The second is how wide the scope of this matter is, if the involvement is too wide, it will be very troublesome to investigate, even if he joins forces with Feng Bao and finds a suitable opportunity, it is impossible to take down the nobles of Jingzhong and a large number of civil servants in one fell swoop - that is more serious than the death of the emperor, and it will be a big mess.

You must know that even if the emperor dies, as long as the crown prince is well, then he will succeed to the throne directly, and under the premise that the capital is not chaotic, this matter is very appropriate.

But if you wipe out all the nobles of the Beijing Division, no one will dare to try this kind of thing, and the ghost knows how big a problem will be - theoretically, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in the Beijing camp are all placed under the names of these nobles, even if the shortage is actually serious, but there are at least a dozen or two hundred thousand people, if there is so much chaos, no one can hold it.

In addition, some Wenchen was also implicated, so it was even more impossible to estimate the consequences.

Thinking about it like this, Zhang Juzheng had to seek stability and asked: "Who are implicated and how deep is the degree of involvement, Feng Gong please find out more clearly...... Feng Gong also knew that although those nobles were not usually of much serious use, after all, they were resting with the country, and if they cried and detained the palace together, it would be troublesome. ”

Feng Bao's heart tightened when he heard this, of course he knew that the nobles were crying together to detain the palace, and a peak civil official like Zhang Juzheng might not care too much about the power of the nobles, but he was an eunuch, so he would definitely not dare to fight with the nobles. In the final analysis, Xungui is the emperor's hands, feet and arms, and the eunuch is just a domestic slave, how can it be compared?

Cutting off his arms for a house slave? No fool would choose that.

Although Feng Bao refused to believe that Gao Pragmatic could buy all the nobles in Jingzhong, the danger of this kind of thing was indeed too great, Zhang Juzheng's worry was not unreasonable, he had to nod and said: "What the elder said is very true, I will go and ask the little cubs below to work harder to understand the matter thoroughly, and then make a plan." ”