After a series of dizzying and upheaval events last year, the situation in Beijing and the imperial court has once again become as calm as before. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

The only thing that caused a little stir was a news announced shortly after the New Year, that Zuo Yunqian, the waiter of the Ministry of Works, had secretly conspired with the White Lotus Sect traitors and Mengren spies, trying to disrupt the Shangyuan Lantern Society, not to mention, and even trying to disadvantage the Son of Heaven.

Many courtiers did not believe this, not only because it was the Jinyi Guards who announced the crime, but they were known for their torture and wronging the courtiers. What's more, because this is not in line with common sense, Zuo Yunqian, who is the servant of the Ministry of Works, can almost be regarded as a very human minister, what reason does he have to do such a thing that is harmful to others and not beneficial to himself, or even mad?

It's just that as Jin Yiwei continued to bring out some evidence, such as the lanterns that made his hands and feet, such as the documents that suggested that Yang Chen should coordinate the celebration, plus Zuo Yunqian's own confession, gradually, those distrustful voices gradually disappeared.

Although there are still many doubts in the matter, many people believe that there must be Jinyiwei who has done something, but when the wood is already in the boat, who will speak for a dying person? What's more, this case is related to the two most untouchable high-voltage lines of collaborating with the enemy and the White Lotus Sect, and these officials, who have long been proficient, will naturally not put themselves in danger and suspicion for the sake of fighting injustice.

So in March, when Zuo Yunqian was beheaded and his family was sent to the distance, no one opened his mouth to cry out for him. At the same time, both inside and outside the court were attracted by another thing that was derived from this.

With Zuo Yunqian's official conviction and beheading, the vacated position of the Ministry of Labor began to be coveted by many people.

From the point of view of the entire power structure of the court, the Ministry of Industry admires the existence of the last seat in the six yamen, and it is inferior to the Ministry of Officials and Households in terms of power, and it is inferior to the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of War in terms of importance and majesty, and in terms of prestige in the minds of courtiers, it is far inferior to the Ministry of Rites of the Qing Dynasty. This can also be seen from the usual ranking above the court, when people called the six departments, will always be judged by the officials and soldiers.

But even so, the Ministry of Industry is still one of the six ministries of the DPRK and the Central Committee, and it is the largest contractor in the world, and all the project funds in various parts of the country, and even the repairs in the Forbidden City, must pass through this yamen, and its status is still not to be underestimated. Moreover, more importantly, as the largest contractor in the world, the oil and water in it are really abundant, and it is where all officials are jealous.

And as the second-in-command of the Ministry of Works, whether it is power or possible benefits, it is not something that ordinary people can imagine. Although the right to speak in the major affairs of the DPRK and China is not sufficient, the mere fact that the money is already coveted.

So when they were convinced that Zuo Yunqian was finished, many officials began to play with the idea of his position after he went. Throughout the year after the year, various forces showed their own magic and used all kinds of means to seize this position.

But the result was very unexpected, and the one who finally took over this position was Yang Chen, the former engineer of the Ministry of Engineering, who was ignored by many people!

People looked down on him because he had a solid foundation in the DPRK -- he had only been an official in Beijing for five or six years, and it was really rare to be able to sit in this position in a short period of time, so there was really no possibility of going further; What's more, because he is too young, most of the high-ranking officials at the level of the Central Hall are old people after 50, and he is only in his thirties, so how can he be on an equal footing with these high-ranking officials in terms of qualifications and ability?

But the result was so unexpected, even though many people who coveted this position tried their best and went through many ways, the result still made this silent Yang Lang come out on top.

And the reasons given by the imperial court afterwards are also very sufficient, Yang Chen has been on an errand in the Ministry of Industry since he entered Beijing, and he has always been diligent and thoughtful, and has made meritorious contributions many times. This squire of the Ministry of Works is different from Shangshu, he has to do practical things, so naturally he needs someone who is more proficient in this way to sit in this position.

As for the question of age, it is even less worth mentioning, and the imperial court has never explicitly mandated how old you can sit in a certain position. As long as it is a person who is really talented and loyal to the king, the court will make an exception for promotion and appointment.

This remark is naturally high-sounding and irrefutable, but in private, everyone can still understand what mystery is hidden in it. This Yang Langzhong, no, it's time to call him Yang Shilang, although he has no foundation, but his brother is the feared Jinyi Wei Governor Yang Zhen, obviously in this matter, Yang Dudu must have done his best.

After thinking about this, those officials did not dare to talk more. Everyone knows who Jinyiwei wants to target, and how cruel his methods are. For such a terrible existence, it is better to stay away.

And soon, some rumors secretly appeared, saying that Zuo Yunqian would end up like this, just because he blocked Yang Chen's way forward. In addition, in the ensuing competition for the position of the Ministry of Works, Yang Dudu also met with several important courtiers, and it is said that he took some things on the spot to show several adults, and then they agreed to Yang Zhen's request, thus supporting Yang Chen to sit in the position of the Ministry of Works.

Of course, these are just circulating in private, but they can't be put on the table, whether they are true or not, but no one can tell. People only know one fact, and the status of the two Yang brothers in the court is becoming more and more consolidated.

As a result, since March, many people have begun to secretly join their hands and listen to them. Since the reputation of the Governor of Jinyi Wei is not so good, let's get closer to the squire of the Ministry of Works. Gradually, there are also some available people around Yang Chen, maybe after a few years of experience and development, he Yang Shilang can really have a world of his own above the court.

And this is exactly what Yang Zhen wants to see when he does all this.

As he spent more time in the court, the more he realized the limitations of his ability as the governor of the brocade guard. Although his authority was so great that many courtiers wanted to sell his face, there were very few times when he could actually speak. Only by relying on a close relationship with the Son of Heaven can we make a difference.

But this is clearly not enough. Whether it is for their own future or for the long-term peace and stability of the Ming Dynasty, his two brothers need to have a greater say. And the position of the Ministry of Works, although the power is not too great, is already among the high-ranking officials, and he can say a few words in the court. So getting him is an imperative step.

Others look at this position mostly to enrich their own pockets, but the Yang brothers are interested in the position itself. So when Yang Chen sat in the position of squire and someone began to stare at him with a cautious attitude, he was fearless. This may be the so-called desirelessness.

After that, Yang Chen used practical actions to show that he was indeed the most suitable person for the position of the waiter of the Ministry of Works.

At the turn of spring and summer of that year, the Yellow River regenerated its troubles. Naturally, the imperial court wanted to send people to deal with the river troubles.

As a result, Yang Chen, the new waiter of the Ministry of Works, showed his ability to control water far beyond ordinary people, not only dispatching suitable people to the local water control area in a short period of time, but also rushing over in person.

Under his personal and central command, the flood, which almost flooded a state city, was completely contained, and the casualties were far smaller than the previous disasters.

After seeing Yang Shilang's skills, the officials in the DPRK and China who were still discussing and were dissatisfied with this finally stopped. After all, not everyone can dare to take risks in the face of such a disaster. You know, this is not only a danger of controlling the water in the local area, but if you don't succeed in going, you will be drowned in the saliva of those officials who only talk and don't do anything.

With just this action, the noise in the court completely disappeared, and Yang Chen finally sat down in the position of the squire of the Ministry of Works in July.

Of course, when he came back, he was not less complained by Yang Zhen. After all, the risk of doing so is too great, and although this time it succeeds, no one can guarantee that there will be no accidents.

Directly let Yang Chen promise not to make claims in the future, and Yang Zhen, the younger brother, can be regarded as stopping.

After the position of the squire of the Ministry of Works was completely decided, the court returned to the appearance of the previous two years. While there may be occasional reassignments, the overall framework remains the same.

At the same time, after the adjustment of these personnel, the prestige of the Son of Heaven gradually increased. This is very different from the original historical trend.

Originally, Wanli in history, because he was suppressed by Zhang Juzheng since he was a child, finally boiled him to death to vent his anger, which made his status in the eyes of the courtiers not too high. This is also one of the reasons for the subsequent series of farces.

But now, Zhang Ju was driven out of the court by the Son of Heaven himself, and the enhancement of Wanli's imperial power alone was beyond the estimation of the time. Therefore, when the emperor made a decision on something, the courtiers reacted much less than in history, and as long as it did not affect their status and did not violate the general principles, they would comply.

However, Wanli didn't know that once he wanted to make Concubine Zheng Guifei's unconceived son the crown prince, these courtiers would oppose Lian Lian again as before. Fortunately, he is still young now, and there is still time to consolidate his authority, and these courtiers will slowly consume it.

In this calm or slightly calm situation, time slowly moved forward, and in the blink of an eye, it came to the autumn of this year.

When both inside and outside the court felt that such a dull day would go on forever, the arrival of a fast horse changed all this, and the monarchs and ministers and the people of the court were shocked for a long time......