Emperor Zhu Youxiao of the Apocalypse immediately ordered all ministries: "If it is discussed, it must be obeyed, and if it is or is still lazy, it will be regarded as a void, and the official will be named and impeached." ”

Regarding Ding Shaoshi's sparse performance, the first assistant Gu Bingqian thought that it was the emperor's order to order the ministers, and he was quite displeased.

During this period, some people in the DPRK proposed to go to Yunwu Mountain in Zhejiang Province to harvest large trees and use them as repairs to repair the palace.

Yushi Zhao Yunchang impeached Shao Shi, and Shao Shi asked for retreat.

Xizong thought that Shao Shi was straightforward and fast-talking, and he kept it tactfully, but Shao Shi resigned again and three times, but the emperor was still not allowed.

At this time, there was also the imperial history Wu Yuzhong who impeached Shao Shi as a traitor, and his evil words were extreme.

Wei Zhongxian observed his words and looks, saw that Xizong admired Shao Shi, and dismissed Wu Yuzhong from his official position on the grounds that Wu Yuzhong took revenge on Shao Shi, and the court staff was one hundred.

When Shao Shi heard about this, he immediately went to Shu to ask for help for Wu, and Wu Yuzhong had been killed by a cane.

Shao Shi thought that Wu Yuzhong died unjustly, but because of Wei Zhongxian's obscenity, he felt deeply guilty, and he was speechless.

Feng Quan, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, wanted to pursue the three major doubts of the previous dynasty, one was the "palace transfer case", Guangzong died in the first year of Taichang, and Zhu Youxiao of Xizong was established. Li Xuanzhi and his confidant Wei Zhongxian, who raised him, wanted to take advantage of Xizong's young age to take control of the power and occupy the Qianqing Palace. Courtiers Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others did not let her live in the same palace with Xizong, forced her to move to the Luan Palace, and then led the prince back to the Qianqing Palace to hold the enthronement ceremony.

The second is the "Attack Case", in the 43rd year of Wanli, holding a jujube stick, he broke into the Ciqing Palace where Guangzong Zhu Changluo lived, and injured several eunuchs guarding the door. After being executed, he was introduced by the eunuchs Pang Bao and Liu Cheng under Zheng Guifei. At the time, people suspected that Zheng Guifei wanted to murder the crown prince. Shenzong and the crown prince were unwilling to pursue the case, so they killed Zhang Chayu City for the crime of mad traitor, and killed Pang Bao and Liu Cheng in the inner court.

The third is the "Red Pill Case", after Guangzong ascended the throne in the first year of Taichang, he indulged in wine and soon became seriously ill. Cui Wensheng, the eunuch who is also in charge of the imperial pharmacy, took laxatives and was seriously ill. Li Kezhuo, the Cheng of Honglu Temple, entered the red pill and claimed to be an immortal prescription, and Guangzong died after taking the medicine.

At that time, some people suspected that it was poisoned by Zheng Guifei, the favorite concubine of the Divine Sect, which caused a lot of controversy.

As a result, Cui Wensheng was sent to Nanjing, and Li Kezhuo was dispatched. When Wei Zhongxian was in power, the case was overturned, Li Kezhuo was exempted from dispatch, and Cui Wensheng was promoted to the governor of Cao Yun.

Many courtiers were dissatisfied with Wei Zhongxian's reckless behavior, and wanted to put the names of the main responsible persons in the three cases on the stele, and the cases could never be overturned.

Shao Shi was worried that this incident would cause many courtiers to be frightened, and tried his best to discourage him from acting rashly, so that this suggestion could not be implemented.

The Manchurian soldiers invaded Shanhaiguan, and the soldiers at the gate were paid less, and Xizong was ready to issue an order to send his ministers to take command and set up a new management agency to be responsible for the salaries of the Qing soldiers.

Shao Shi and the ministers thought it was inappropriate, and they revealed it secretly as above, stating that there were four reasons.

First, he examined the past and the present, speculated on the benefits and disadvantages, and sent his ministers to sit on the front line of the border gates, and there were almost no successes, but there were many disasters. Because the ministers are close ministers of the emperor, they speak on behalf of the emperor, every word and deed, who dares not to listen to the generals in front, and the generals revolve around them as soon as the ministers arrive, distracting the generals' energy and having no time to plan strategies and tactics.

Second, the emperor will not send those who are not talented, and those who are a little talented often make random remarks at the beginning of getting off the bus.

Xiong Tingbi, the governor of Liaodong, advocated defending the front, while Wang Huazhen, the governor of Liaodong, advocated war, and the envoys were not familiar with the terrain and the previous battle situation, whose views did they support? Who is responsible for the loss of the war?

Third, it is not uncommon for discord between culture and literature and between culture and military to lead to defeat in war.

Now the discord between the generals and officials has objectively existed.

Now send envoys to the front, and the envoys will become "relying on the middle".

Wenchen and military generals must express their rights and wrongs to each other, and if they cannot distinguish between right and wrong and easily express their positions, they will deepen contradictions at least and cause internal strife at worst.

Since there are such drawbacks, why did the emperor send his ministers to sit in Shanhaiguan?

Fourth, it is a good thing to clear the salaries of the soldiers, but how much can be paid in the event of an emergency? And how much supply and how many guards will be added to the addition of a yamen, this is a small number of advantages and many disadvantages. Sparse on.

The edict sent by Xizong to sit in Shanhaiguan has been drafted and is ready to be issued.

After reading Shao Shi and the secret revelations of the ministers, he felt that his words were reasonable, and ordered the issuance of the edict to be suspended.

A few days later, at the instigation of Wei Zhongxian, Gu Bingqian and others, Xizong issued an order to arrest the Donglin Party members and wipe them out, and the court was boiling.

Shao Shi's words to dissuade him had no effect, so he couldn't get sick.

As a result, Yang Lian, the left deputy capital of the imperial history, Zuo Guangdou, Huang Zunsu, the imperial historian, and Zhou Shunchang, the anthoralist of writers, were brutally killed.

At this time, the Praetorian Guards arrested people indiscriminately in Suzhou, arousing the anger of the people, and Gu Bingqian thought that it was a disorderly party and should be suppressed strongly.

Shao Shi thought that the attack should not be too wide, Gu Bingqian listened to his suggestion, and only punished the leader, and all those who coerced were forgiven.

In April of this year, Xizong Jin Shaoshi Shaobao and Prince Taibao, changed the household department to Shangshu, Wuyingdian University Scholar, Yin Yizi Jinyi Wei Deputy Thousand Households Hereditary, reinstated silver coins to sit on the python, according to the new title to respond.

After receiving the order, Shao Shi immediately resigned and thanked Shu.

Although Ding Shaoshi has been an official for nearly 20 years, he has only been in office for about 10 years.

He is cautious, loyal to the country, and for the stability of the country, he dares and is good at speaking out to the emperor; He is always at ease, lives in harmony with his colleagues, regards his fellow countrymen as confidants, and cares for them in many ways.

Respect for relatives and friends, and love for uncles and brothers.

During the eight years of mourning and sick leave at home, he used his salary to repair embankments and piers for the township party, built three pagodas, strengthened Shuikou, established a village to support future education, and tried his best to support and mediate the difficulties and contradictions between the families, and everyone praised him for his virtue.

"Lord Wei, you tell me the truth, you want to open the treaty port, you want to control all the sailors of the Ming Dynasty, what do you want to do? Do you want to cultivate your own power and become a local powerful faction with enough military power to confront the imperial court? Ding Shaoshi asked.

"I don't want to talk about this topic, I said absolutely not, Lord Ding, do you believe it?" Wei Bao said: "If all the Daming Water Division is incorporated together, the army can be further reduced, and now the number of soldiers in the Daming Water Division is 100,000, which is still the number after I took the initiative to cut half of the Denglai Water Division!" Otherwise, it's going to be more. Once the troops are united, the strength can be strengthened, and the salaries of the soldiers can be reduced, isn't it the best of both worlds? As for the opening of the treaty port, it has a certain impact on the landlords, but it must be beneficial to the common people and the Ming court! I believe you can all figure this out. As for me personally, please take a look at this notebook. ”

Wei Bao said, and directly took it to Gu Bingqian, and asked Gu Bingqian to show Ding Shaoshi the book presented by name.

Ding Shaoshi looked at it again, "You ask Your Majesty to appoint the Minister of Yamen, the Governor of Haiphong?" Don't you want to be the Governor of Haiphong? At present, the Yamen of the Governor of Haiphong has not set up a governor, which is equivalent to you being in charge, and this is the yamen that many people are jealous of. ”

Ding Shaoshi looked at Wei Bao puzzled.

Wei Bao smiled slightly: "I naturally want to be the governor of the Yamen, the governor of coastal defense, and it is hypocritical not to want to." But compared to Daming Sheji, my personal promotion is nothing, even if I go home now because I am sick, I will not go out of the mountain for ten or eight years, and in another ten years, I will only be twenty-five years old, no problem, I am still a marquis, I am still a member of the Ming Dynasty, and before the age of thirty, I can enter the cabinet with my eyes closed. ”

Ding Shaoshi nodded, Wei Bao said well, "In this way, Lord Wei is really selfless and thinks about the Ming court, which is really admirable!" Then why aren't you named? ”

"I intend to have Shousuke-sama named and present it to His Majesty in the name of Shousuke-sama." Wei Bao laughed.

Ding Shaoshi was stunned, and immediately understood Wei Bao's intentions, and smiled, "Do you think Lord Shoufu would do such a thing?" This is to bear the infamy of the people of the world! What ruler does not have many acres of land in his house? As long as the sea is opened, the grain, gold and silver from outside come in, and there are more people doing business in the Ming Dynasty, it will definitely have an impact on the people who have acres of land. ”

Wei Bao smiled and nodded, it seems that these well-educated Hongru are not nerds, and they know everything.

"If Shousuke-sama refuses to help, I'll forget it and ignore this matter, because I'm a soft-spoken person." Wei Bao said: "I heard that Your Majesty was worried about the vacancy of this year's huge military salary, so I thought about helping the imperial court. The purpose of the offer has been achieved, and if you do too much, it is easy to arouse suspicion. ”

"This matter will definitely cause criticism. If I present it to His Majesty, some people will oppose it. If the person on the other end presents it to His Majesty, the Donglin officials will definitely oppose it, don't think that you control the Dali Temple and the Duchayuan, and control the Yanguan can dominate the audio-visual. Ding Shaoshi said: "Lord Wei, personally, I approve of you doing this, I think this is a good method, and the benefits to Daming outweigh the disadvantages." ”

Wei Bao understood that what Ding Shaoshi said was referring to the eunuchs, but it was inconvenient to say it here.

"Thank you, Lord Ding! I really didn't expect you to be so magnanimous. Wei Bao said.

"I also know that sometimes both sides oppose purely for the sake of opposition, and a lot of things are delayed, but don't think that we are all people who don't understand anything." Ding Shaoshi said: "Okay, in this matter, if the lord can let Shoufu play His Majesty, I will secretly help you." ”

"Thank you, Lord Ding." Wei Bao thanked again and saluted Ding Shaoshi.

Gu Bingqian and the others arrived soon.

Wei Bao said goodbye to Ding Shaoshi, and asked Gu Bingqian to give him a little time to talk to Gu Bingqian alone.

After Gu Bingqian agreed, Wei Bao explained a little to Wei Guangwei, Huang Liji and Feng Quan, saying that they would know what was going on later.

Originally, Wei Guangwei, Huang Liji and Feng Quan felt that Wei Bao had something to do behind their backs, and they were a little unhappy, but Wei Bao explained, and several people hurriedly said that it didn't matter.

Gu Bingqian knew what Wei Bao was looking for, and when he arrived at his duty room, he first said: "Lord wants to talk about the opening of treaty ports and the unification of sailors in the Ming Dynasty, right?" ”

Wei Bao smiled and nodded: "Lord Shoufu is powerful, and he can't hide anything from Lord Shoufu." ”

"It's useless to ask me about this, whether I agree or not, it's not about the overall situation, it's impossible, do you understand? First of all, the sailors are scattered in various places, so as to facilitate mutual checks and balances, so as to avoid a situation where one family dominates. Secondly, how is it possible to open so many treaty ports? Everywhere there are acres of land, will not all of them regard you as a mortal enemy? His Majesty and the Nine Thousand Years Old will not agree. Gu Bingqian said.

"I would like to ask Lord Shousuke to name and help him play this recital to His Majesty. If Shousuke-sama refuses, then I haven't mentioned it. Wei Bao said, and showed Gu Bingqian the notebook he had written last night.

Gu Bingqian's eyes widened in surprise, looking at Wei Bao like a ghost, and suspiciously took the transcript handed over by Wei Bao and looked at it, which was no different from what Wei Bao said yesterday, "You asked me to name and let me play the court?" Isn't it tantamount to making me bear the infamy of the world? How did you come up with this and think I'm stupid? ”

"Shousuke-sama has been wronged, how dare I think Shousuke-sama is stupid? Lord Shousuke is my guide in the officialdom, and he is half of my teacher. Wei Bao said: "I asked Lord Shoufu to play the court and present it to His Majesty, because I want to leave the beauty of leaving a name in history to Lord Shoufu!" It is very clear in my recital that I ask Your Majesty to appoint a senior member to the post of Governor of Haiphong Yamen, and this person is certainly not someone who already has the Governor of Haiphong Yamen, so it is definitely not me. I do all this for the sake of the court, for the sake of His Majesty, and I am selfless. Therefore, if Lord Shoufu presents it to His Majesty, the people of the world will also look at Lord Shoufu in this way, is it important to be admired by all the people, or is it important to be infamous by some landowners? I believe that with the superb wisdom of Lord Shousuke, he will be able to figure it out immediately. ”

Gu Bingqian smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Sir, I know that your eloquence is good, and you can say that you are alive when you die, but it is really useless to put it here for me." It is impossible for the old man to do this kind of thing, and this kind of opportunity to leave a name in history, the old man does not need. The minister who proposed that Long Qingye open the Moon Harbor at the beginning, did he leave a good name? ”

Wei Bao saw that Gu Bingqian's attitude was resolute, and he was not in a hurry, so he said indifferently: "Since this is the case, then let me not say it." ”

Gu Bingqian was a little unhappy, but you have already told me about this, as long as you have done it, you may be known, didn't you throw the fireball into my arms?

Wait until Your Majesty and the Nine Thousand Years Old know the whole story of this matter, and you can't resent me for not wanting to contribute to the court?

"You shouldn't tell me this, you have to play, you play it yourself, okay? The old man promises to support, this is always okay, right? Gu Bingqian said helplessly.

"It's not that I'm afraid of being infamous, but it's useless for me to play, and I've only had a few days of officialdom qualifications? This matter will definitely cause a backlash from the Donglin Party, and I don't have the ability to call on people to support me, and a large group of Donglin Party will impeach me again, even if I am fine, this plan will definitely be aborted. Wei Bao said.

Gu Bingqian felt that Wei Bao's analysis was very reasonable, but he still waved his hand again and again: "I will never be named." If you don't think you have enough weight, you can ask your father-in-law to play. Your father-in-law has more weight than me. ”

"I've thought about it, in that case, Your Majesty and Grandpa Wei may not necessarily agree." Wei Bao said: "It's very likely that the Donglin Party will approve, and that will be a miscarriage." ”

Gu Bingqian felt that Wei Bao's use of the word miscarriage was quite funny, but he couldn't laugh, but he refused to agree.

"Forget it, I won't tell anyone about it." Wei Bao said and was about to tear up the notebook.

"Hey, what are you doing? Don't tear it up. Gu Bingqian said: "If you ask Wei Guangwei, Huang Liji and Feng Quan what they mean, they are willing to play, and it is okay." ”

In fact, Gu Bingqian also hopes to find a way to solve the huge salary gap, if at this time, the Beijing camp and the border army are short of salary at the same time, the situation is very bad, there are already signs of civil uprising in various places, and if a large group of people from the army are allowed to join the civil uprising, the flame of the civil uprising will definitely burn more and more vigorously, and it will shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

As the first assistant, he will definitely be responsible for these things at that time, and he is likely to become the one who carries the black pot.

"This book,It can only be submitted by Lord Shoufu.,No one else has that weight.。 Wei Bao said: "Otherwise, I didn't say it." ”

Gu Bingqian sighed heavily, "Aren't you embarrassing me?" ”

Gu Bingqian said, went and called Wei Guangwei, Huang Liji and Feng Quan to his duty room, and showed Wei Bao's recital to the three of them, "Now Lord Wei has asked me to name and report to Your Majesty in the name, what do you think?" ”

All four of them are eunuch ministers, they are in the same cabinet, and they belong to a community with a shared future.

Wei Guangwei, Huang Liji, and Feng Quan all looked at Wei Bao in surprise, since Wei Bao brought it up at the wine table last night, they had written down this matter, originally thinking that Wei Bao would independently submit the book to His Majesty, so they just didn't know anything.

But I didn't expect Wei Bao to be so powerful, he would actually grab the first assistant-sama's playbook, isn't this looking for the shoufu-sama as a scapegoat?

Da Ming has not heard of any subordinate who can catch the precedent of Lord Shoufu as a scapegoat.

Gu Bingqian frowned deeply, very uneasy.

In fact, Gu Bingqian can't say how capable he is, he can't say how decisive he is, and he can't even be regarded as a hardcore eunuch.

Gu Bingqian was a Jinshi in the twenty-third year of Wanli (1595 AD), successively served as an editor, and was tired of the right attendant of the Ministry of Rites.

In the first year of the Apocalypse, he was in charge of the affairs of the Zhan Minister.

In the second year, Wei Zhongxian took power, and he took the lead in attaching himself, and was called "mediocre and shameless" in history.

In the third year of the Apocalypse, he was also a scholar of Dongge University and joined the aircraft service.

In the first month of the fifth year, Jin Shaofu, the prince and the prince, and the secretary of the Ministry of Shangshu, and rebuilt the Jidian University Scholar. In September, he was promoted to a young master.

After Ye Xianggao and Han Yi were dismissed, he succeeded him as the first assistant.

Gu Bingqian drafted the holy decree and obeyed Wei Zhongxian's will in everything.

Previously, he falsely preached the holy decree to punish the chief examiner Wang Qianxue, and drafted the holy decree to kill Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others.

Only Zhou Shunchang, Li Yingsheng and others were thrown into the imperial prison, and Gu Bingqian asked them to be handed over to the Department of Justice to prevent them from dying illegally.

The people of the time said: "I heard that Gu Bingqian of Kunshan is the prime minister of the country, and Yan Xiangguo is also." ”

He also served as the president of the "Three Dynasties Classics".

The eunuch went out to guard, Gu Bingqian wrote an edict to the emperor, and then asked Ding Shaoshi to stop the matter.

There is a slight contradiction between the two events. Now that Feng Quan has entered the cabinet, they are fighting day and night with the party, and the group of small people also support one side.

Gu Bingqian was uneasy and repeatedly asked for retirement.

It can be seen that Gu Bingqian is actually unwilling to be this hot Shoufu Lord.