Wei Bao didn't think about being friends with the emperor, after all, the other party could ask for his life at any time, so he didn't have the basis to be friends.

Therefore, it can only be the emperor who regards the ministers as friends, and it is difficult for anyone in the world to regard the emperor who is supreme in the monarchy as a friend, and he does not have a foundation.

There is another very important reason why Zhu Youxiao likes to be with Wei Bao.

Wei Bao was bold, and when he was with Zhu Youxiao in private, he dared to talk about the past emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty, just like Wei Bao bluntly said about Li Chengliang and Ji Liao's successive governors today.

"Wei Aiqing, do you think I am a failure? It has been almost six years since we ascended the throne, nothing has been accomplished, the state politics of the Ming Dynasty have deteriorated, the common people in many places have been displaced, and the slaves have come to commit several times a year. Zhu You proofread Wei Baodao.

Wei Bao said: "Your Majesty, don't blame yourself, it's not Your Majesty's fault, it's also Wanliye's business to be wrong!" ”

Wei Bao said, and glanced at the emperor, as well as the Kebaba standing next to the emperor, and several palace maids and eunuchs who accompanied him.

Everyone was shocked and secretly wondered, I'm afraid only Wei Bao dared to say this.

Wei Bao hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Weichen has lost his words again. ”

Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "It's okay, it's okay, I let the eunuchs withdraw the records, there are no outsiders here, they are all people around me, if you have anything to say, it doesn't hurt to say anything, I love to listen to Aiqing say something about the previous dynasty, and I have no way of knowing, and it is impossible for the emperors to say this to me." I want to learn from the previous dynasties to correct my mistakes. ”

Wei Bao smiled: "Then the minister will talk about it, if you say the wrong thing, Your Majesty should listen to a joke." ”

Zhu Youxiao smiled: "Look at what you are scared of, it was I who made you do it, it's okay." ”

1614, the forty-second year of Wanli.

Li Zicheng was only 8 years old this year, and it was 30 years before Chongzhen hanged himself on the coal mountain.

And the former cabinet chief assistant Shen Shixing has retired to Suzhou for 23 years, and he is exactly 80 years old.

His student, Emperor Wanli, sent a birthday gift from Beijing for this purpose.

Wanli, who has not seen him for many years, has not forgotten his teacher.

Teacher Shen was moved to tears, but at the same time, he returned the gift, leaving only the holy decree.

And said that as a teacher and former first assistant, he could only watch the court relax, the people's wealth was exhausted, the emperor's eldest son could not go out of the cabinet to study, and a large number of official positions were vacant and unfilled, so he really had no face to accept such a gift.

This kind of euphemistic accusation of yin and yang weirdness has long been numb to the old fritter Wanli, who is in his fifties.

It is said that there was some confusion, but Lao Tzu was like that.

Two months later, Shen Shixing died.

I wonder if the teacher and student have ever reflected on what step this tragedy started to go wrong?

1582, the tenth year of Wanli.

Thirty-two years ago, another teacher of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng, the first assistant of the cabinet, died.

At that time, Wanli was still a diligent emperor and a good student of Teacher Zhang.

Zhang Juzheng successfully followed the Confucian classics and cultivated Wanli into a young and promising young man with noble character and love to read and learn.

Zhang Juzheng's death was relatively sudden, and Wanli who lost Mr. Zhang was also very sad.

However, the grief-stricken Wanli Emperor faced the first thing that the civil officials launched wave after wave of counteroffensives against Zhang Juzheng's corruption and power.

Wanli was a very bright student and worked hard.

Since he was a child, he insisted on getting up before dawn, and before sunrise, he had to wait for the officials' morning court outside the main hall, with very few interruptions.

Wanli was able to read at the age of five, but this is probably a traditional Chinese algorithm.

According to the algorithm of later generations, if you count the age of one, it may be that the Wanli Emperor was only 4 years old and could already read and write.

So from a very young age, Wanli needed to review dozens of chapters every day, ranging from a few pages to dozens of pages each.

His "big companion", the eunuch Feng Baohui, instructed him to make instructions with a red pen according to Mr. Zhang's "vote draft".

At first, you only need to write a few "I know", and then leave the rest to Feng Bao to write on his behalf.

As he grew older, Wanli began to think about some things on his own, but he always admired and trusted Mr. Zhang.

In addition to this, Wanli, who is a teenager, has to study a bunch of teachers' lessons every day and complete homework.

Then, on the second day, you need to memorize the scriptures and histories you learned yesterday.

And there was no break during the recess, and there would be eunuchs to play the folds for the emperor to continue to review.

Zhang Juzheng strictly followed the Confucian classics and hoped to build Wanli into a monarch who met Confucian standards.

Respect the way of heaven, imitate the ancestors, always cultivate your own behavior, and restrain your desires.

The specific government affairs are handled by Mr. Zhang himself.

Zhang Juzheng hopes that with his own hard work, coupled with the morally perfect emperor he has created, he can unite the gentlemen and pursue a prosperous dream together.

And this well-intentioned dream was finally shattered.

Zhang Juzheng personally taught this emperor through the ages, but unexpectedly became the emperor who did not go to court for the longest time in Chinese history.

Under Mr. Zhang's nine springs, he was slapped with a resounding slap.

1585, the thirteenth year of Wanli.

Three years after Zhang Juzheng's death, Hai Rui received a call from the imperial court.

Zhang Juzheng didn't like Hai Rui, and Hai Rui had already left his job for fifteen years at this time.

The seventy-two-year-old Hai Rui was in very poor health, but he did not hesitate to drag his elderly body to take office.

Hai Rui, who was still able to eat, was still in love, criticized the current situation, pointed out the crisis of the people, and proposed that the imperial court fight corruption, punish the law strictly, and restore the ancestral system of "peeling the skin and grass" of corrupt officials during the Hongwu period.

Such remarks were naturally impeached by other civil officials, and Hai Rui also submitted seven consecutive resignations because of this matter, but each time he was retained by Wanli.

Hai Jui was a moral model who strictly followed the Confucian classics, was upright, and did not rub any sand in his eyes.

At this time, although Hai Rui is still fierce, he is no longer young.

Two years later, the national idol Hai Rui died, and it is said that every family hangs white, and the street is ten miles long.

Wanli is a monarch who has grown up in a new era.

At that time, the party struggle of the Jiajing period had just ended, and after the excesses of the Longqing years, the civil officials thought that they had learned the lessons of Zhengde and Jiajing, and had succeeded in teaching the emperor to be a benevolent and easily controllable mascot.

Wanli, the little emperor after Longqing, now has virtuous ministers like Zhang Juzheng by his side, famous generals like Qi Jiguang at the border, and idols like Hai Rui among the people.

I thought it was a new era of carrying on the past and forging ahead into the future.

Zhang Juzheng, plus Qi Jiguang, plus Hai Rui, plus Wanli when he was young, these people don't want to say the dynasty, they are all absolute luxury lineups in the entire history of China.

Not to mention that there are first-class or quasi-first-class characters like Shen Shixing and Li Chengliang, who grasp a lot of them.

One generation, two generations of the "Wanli Prosperous Age" dream, including Wanli's own dream of prosperity, but under the struggle of so many big bulls, it was finally shattered.

Emperor Wanli could not recover the decline of the entire late Ming Dynasty. I'm afraid I can't do it better if I were someone else.

So it's hard to say whose responsibility it is.

People are always accustomed to expecting a savior, a wise man and a sage, hoping that once such a person comes, the Yellow River will be washed and the heavens and the earth will be clear.

So it is natural to attribute the prosperous times to the credit of a few emperors, and the troubled times to the responsibility of a few traitorous ministers.

But more often than not, it's actually the result of more people's choices.

History is not written by any one person, but by several generations.

"So Weichen said that His Majesty's decision-making is very pragmatic, pragmatic is good, it is correct! Daming really needs to accumulate strength first and rectify internal affairs, only the internal health is strong, and a handful of anti-thieves outside are not enough for my Daming's boundless divine power to fight, such as crushing ants! Wei Bao said.

Zhu Youxiao was overjoyed when he heard this, he originally heard Wei Bao criticize his grandfather and secretly praised Zhang Juzheng, and he was a little unhappy, but he immediately became happy.

"Aiqing really thinks so?" Zhu Youxiao said.

"Well, Wechen never does something vain in front of His Majesty, no matter whether His Majesty is happy or not, as long as Wechen feels good for His Majesty and Da Ming, Wechen will tell Your Majesty." Wei Bao said sincerely, sometimes, Wei Bao himself can't tell whether he is telling the truth or a lie.

Not to mention, Zhu Youxiao was really moved by Wei Bao, "Aiqing, what I lack is to hear the truth, not to mention, you are still so talented, every time I listen to your words, I benefit a lot." ”

"Wechen just begs Your Majesty to believe in Wechen one day, don't punish Wechen, just let Wechen go home, just let Wechen go home, just let Wechen all the official titles are fine, Wechen actually likes to be a little common man who has no quarrel with the world and doesn't think about anything, Wechen wants to farm in the mountains, play carpenter work in the free, and raise a few chickens and ducklings. Your Majesty said last time that it was the marriage of the micro-minister, do you remember? If His Majesty goes to Weichen's house, he can taste the wheat noodles grown by Weichen's parents. Wei Bao said.

"I haven't forgotten, it's not too cold, and Aiqing has a lot of official business, and when the spring flowers bloom, I will call Aiqing to Shanhaiguan, I want to go to Aiqing's house to have a look, and I will personally marry Aiqing." Zhu Youxiao hurriedly said: "Aiqing, I trust you the most, you ask Mrs. Fengsheng, I often praise you." Don't be discouraged, I still expect you to work hard and lead the hundred officials to lead the Ming Dynasty on the road to prosperity! In my opinion, Aiqing's talent is no worse than Zhang Juzheng. Aiqing don't say anything about going home, why do you always want to go home when you're young? ”

Zhu Youxiao said, in order to show his love for Wei Bao, he hurriedly said to Ke Baba: "Mrs. Fengsheng, hurry up and let people pass the decree to Qin Tianjian, let them quickly check a zodiac auspicious sunrise, see which day is good in March and April, and I will personally go to Liaoxi to preside over the marriage for Wei Aiqing at that time." ”

Kebaba immediately agreed, reminding: "I'm afraid I want the birthday of Lord Wei and the woman Lord Wei wants to marry." ”

"Oh, yes," Zhu Youxiao said to Wei Bao with a smile: "Wei Aiqing, the woman you want to marry is called Zhao Jinfeng, right?" I remember. ”

"That's right, Weichen boasted in front of my mother-in-law, saying that His Majesty could officiate the marriage, and my mother-in-law agreed to marry her daughter to me. Otherwise, she is reluctant to make her daughter a child for me. Wei Bao laughed.

Zhu Youxiao laughed when he heard this: "Okay! In Daming, I am afraid that only Wei Aiqing has this honor, and I have to preside over the concubine myself. ”

Wei Bao was taken aback when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Weichen ate the bear's heart and leopard gall, that is, to mention it to Your Majesty, if Your Majesty thinks it is inappropriate, forget it." ”

"Hey, Wei Aiqing, you, just see me too much, when did I feel inappropriate?" Zhu Youxiao patted Wei Bao's shoulder, "In front of me, don't be cautious, I don't care what you Wei Aiqing said or did, I won't blame you, I believe Wei Aiqing!" Quick, quickly hand over the eight characters of your birthday to Mrs. Fengsheng, and ask her to take it to Qintianjian for you to check. ”

Wei Bao nodded, and handed over the eight characters of his and Zhao Jinfeng's birthdays to Kebaba.

The reason why Wei Bao remembered Zhao Jinfeng's birthday was because he had actually found someone to check it and kept it with him.

After Kebaba left, Wei Bao said to Zhu Youxiao: "Your Majesty, Weichen has actually submitted his resignation, has Your Majesty seen it?" ”

Wei Bao's resignation, Zhu Youxiao knew about it, these are all major events, and Wei Zhongxian didn't dare to hide it from Zhu Youxiao at all.

Zhu Youxiao was stunned, he didn't expect Wei Bao to mention this matter? Didn't they promise to let you take charge of the affairs of the Governor of Haiphong's yamen?

At this time, Zhu Youxiao was a little unhappy, and felt that Wei Bao was a little pampered and arrogant.

Didn't I already say that you are still too young, I will correct you in two years, and you can become a governor at the age of eighteen, and the governor is an authentic official, isn't it enough?

Wei Bao deliberately raised this question, and Wei Bao also knew that such a mention might cause the emperor to be unhappy.

But I can't help but mention it, because I did submit my resignation, and it is unlikely that the emperor will not know!

If you don't mention this stubble, it is very likely to become an obstacle between yourself and the emperor.

"I haven't been here yet, I haven't seen it yet." Zhu Youxiao lied.

Although it is said that the king has no jokes, no one can do anything if the emperor wants to lie.

Wei Bao didn't say anything, Wei Bao had an inside line in the palace, and he actually knew the emperor's general movements and thoughts.

"Weichen is still not very suitable for officialdom, maybe he is too young, many times he is frizzy, he can't help but be angry, he is easy to offend people, and he wants to point out something if he is not used to it. His Majesty can tolerate the micro-ministers, but others may not. Wei Bao said: "Weichen is cowardly, not only afraid that one day he will cause trouble and embarrass His Majesty, but also afraid that he will be impeached and killed one day." ”

Zhu Youxiao smiled and patted Wei Bao's shoulder: "Aiqing, you are indeed too young, I know, you must have been impeached a while ago, which made you disheartened, this is a common thing, not to mention you, those ministers and civil officials, often go to the book to teach me to do this and that, if I go to my heart, I will be angry to death, don't go to my heart." Since you started your career, you have done several things very well. ”