The night is as cool as water. The Forbidden City is brightly lit, the stars are twinkling in the sky, the thin clouds are hazy, and a cold moon is half-hidden. In the temple of unknown places, there are occasionally one or two distant and deep Buddhist bells, which add to the seclusion and mystery of the capital.

The lights were still on in the East Warm Pavilion, and Emperor Wanli sat on the hoarded dragon chair with a sinking face, still without the intention of changing clothes and going to bed.

He had been insomnia for some days, and retrospectively, since the day he left Beijing in silence, the emperor began to sleep and eat restlessly. I was absent-minded about what I was doing every day, waiting for Zhang Whale's news, but I waited until the fleet was missing, and there was no news.

Wanli hoped that this was Zhang Whale and they succeeded, but before receiving the secret report, the stone in his heart could not land.

However, two months have passed, and there is still no news. The ships sent had searched the entire route, even the waters of Korea and Japan, but there was still no trace of the fleet, and finally the officers and soldiers of Tianjin Wei picked up a large piece of painted carved wood on the seashore, which was identified by the craftsmen of the shipyard as part of the eaves of the platform of Shen Taifu's car.

This seems to show that the fleet had an accident at sea, but Chinese was used to seeing people alive and corpses when they died...... Wanli can be regarded as having realized the entanglement of his ancestors.

In fact, at this juncture, Wanli already believes that Shen Mo was buried at the bottom of the sea, and it seems that the Heavenly Father helped him collect this demon. But the ministers refused to believe it, they said that the scope of the search was too small, and asked the imperial court to send ships to Japan, to Luzon, and even to Europa to search carefully. Is this a repeat of Zheng He's trip to the West? Wanli had a mocking smile on the corner of his mouth, he thought that this was those dog slaves, who couldn't accept the death of their master, panicked like a lost dog, and were deceiving themselves.

For a generation of powerful ministers to end up like this, Wanli was deeply happy, but always felt unreal...... This mountain, which has been crushing over his head since he was a child, is pouring down so quickly and too brittle, as if it were just a mirage.

In any case, the nightmare is over, the east is white, and the day is dawning...... The next day was the day of the regular dynasty, and he didn't sleep all night, but the Wanli Emperor was in good spirits on the 1st, and he put on his crown and badge clothes early, and came to the Zhongji Hall on a jade chariot. In the first two years, the emperor was reluctant to go to court, because he didn't want to be a deaf person's ears one by one. Now that he has turned over and been liberated, he naturally holds his breath and wants to prove to the people of the world that he can govern this country well without silence! No, it will definitely be better governed!

At three o'clock, the time of the dynasty came, with the sound of three whips, the officials quickly finished their shifts, knelt down at the foot of the imperial steps, and shouted long live from the mountain, Emperor Wanli sat high, everyone in front of him was so small, he finally felt that he was the master of this Jinluan Palace! It is the master of the trillions of people in Kyushu!

When the emperor was ordered to get up, the master of ceremonies and eunuchs sang: "If there is something to play early, there is nothing to retreat from the court...... according to the series of performances, the cabinet should take the lead, and then the yamen such as the officials, the soldiers, the criminal workers, the Metropolitan Inspectorate, and the Dali Temple will be arranged in turn. So the eyes of all the ministers looked at the new cabinet chief assistant Zhang Siwei.

Scholar Zhang can be described as proud, although there were a little twists and turns, but he still successfully ascended to the throne of the first assistant. After Shen Mo left, he should be replaced by him as usual, but several ministers of ministries and courts jointly signed a letter, saying that Zhang Jiangling's service was imminent, and asked the court to reinstate Zhang Juzheng and return to Beijing. Although he didn't say what he was going to do when he went back to Beijing, everyone understood that this was for Zhang Siwei to have fun.

Fed up with the minister's dictatorship, Wanli was very willing to find an evenly matched partner for Zhang Siwei, so he issued an order to restore Zhang Juzheng.

In that room, Zhang Juzheng couldn't wait for a long time, but the officialdom talked about decency, how could the emperor call back, wouldn't it seem too anxious? So as usual, he wrote a letter of thanks and refused, and then the emperor rose again, and he refused again, as long as the emperor issued an order for the third time, he could do it.

Who knew that he waited left and right, but he couldn't wait for the emperor's third holy decree, Zhang Juzheng, who had already drunk the candied wine of the officials and gentry in his hometown and was ready to return to Beijing to take office, became a laughing stock...... Zhang Juzheng vomited blood depressedly. After many days, he found out that it was the haunting case of the abolition of Liao, and it was brought up again.

The so-called 'abolition of Liao' was poked out in the sixth year of Wanli, but after being silently and coldly treated, people gradually forgot about it. This time, the first to turn over this old account was not the concubine of the Liao King, nor the officials of the court, but Hong Jing, the son of the late Hong Chaoxuan, the servant of the Criminal Department, who wrote to impeach the former deputy capital Yu Shi Laokan adhering to Zhang Juzheng's intentions, and forced his father to death during the Longqing period.

Playing the words and weeping blood, demanding that the makers of unjust cases be punished, caused a lot of shock, but Wanli Xu remembered the grace of Juzheng's enlightenment in the past, and did not order a strict investigation, but only dismissed Lao Kan, who had been reappointed as the governor of Sichuan. However, he jumped out of a Yunnan Provincial Imperial History Yang Keli and impeached 'University scholar Zhang Juzheng for occupying the first land of the abandoned Liao Mansion'!

It is still an abolition of the Liao case, but the angle of attack has changed, and the severity has increased several times. Wanli finally issued an order for the legal department to review the file at that time to see if there were any inaccuracies.

Seeing that the emperor's attitude had loosened, the relatives of the Liao king, who had been grudging for many years, also began to mobilize. The indomitable second concubine Wang, who earned for a long time and did not return to the country, lived in the capital, which was convenient at this time, and soon played a book, asking for an investigation of the crime of 'the great traitor Zhang Juzheng' who designed to frame the prince, forcibly occupy the prince's tomb, occupy the property, and encroach on the royal family. The purpose of this book is to comprehensively overturn the Liao case. There is also a special mention in it, that is: The wealth of the Liao Wang's family is "Jinbao Wanji, and he is all in the main house." ’

The courage of this Liao king's side concubine to take revenge is indeed commendable. Her recital also hit the key points everywhere. Because of his own experience, Emperor Wanli attached great importance to the authority of the imperial family, and hated anything that bullied the Zhu family. Besides, there is a problem brought out of the mother's womb...... As long as money is mentioned, Wanli's eyes will light up.

The grandson of this mason has an incomprehensible love for gold and silver, so when he heard Princess Liao say this, his heart swelled with infinite greed, and the poor friendship between teachers and students was washed clean. sent the recital to the cabinet, Zhang Siwei naturally would not be polite, he was "deeply concerned", and the ticket was intended to be "handed over to the Department of Justice for strict investigation", and the holy decree that had already been prepared to restore Zhang Juzheng was naturally left indefinitely...... A series of combination punches made Zhang Juzheng directly lose his spell, to say that no one is making trouble in it, and three-year-old children don't believe it.

But he has been in the field for many years, and he can only write to Zhang Xianggong of Puzhou angrily, wishing him to assist the Holy Son of Heaven for hundreds of millions of years...... After a lot of hardships, he finally pressed the two mountains of the past under him, but Zhang Siwei was still very calm, knowing that it was not yet time to see the small mountains, he had to make persistent efforts and be sure. Under the gaze of hundreds of officials, he came out and said: "Your Majesty, it has been three months since Mrs. Shen disappeared at sea, although we all hope for a miracle to appear, but in fact, everyone knows that a miracle cannot happen." In fact, the people of the world have long been paying tribute to Mrs. Shen in private, but the court has not issued an edict for a long time, which inevitably makes the government and the opposition have different opinions, for the sake of righteousness, Jing Fuyan, and more importantly, in order to let Mrs. Shen rest in peace as soon as possible. Weichen proposed that the imperial court should issue an obituary, solemnly manage the funeral, and show mercy to the Shen family......"

This was discussed by the two in advance, Wanli naturally had no objection, and when Zhang Siwei finished playing, he said: "What do you think of Aiqing?" ”

"The minister thinks it's not appropriate......," Lu Shusheng, a scholar, said: "Wechen heard that the sea is boundless, and there are often fleets blown down by the wind to the depths of the ocean, and then turned back in a year and a half. This kind of thing is not uncommon. In case the funeral is also held, and the nickname is given, but Lord Taifu's ship comes back again, won't the court become a laughing stock at that time? ”

Lu Shusheng's words aroused everyone's approval, and several scholars, as well as ministers of ministries and institutes, also expressed their positions, saying that this matter should not be so hasty, and before confirming life and death, the imperial court should still try its best to find it, and should not draw conclusions too early.

"The sea is reckless, and how many people will never return." Some people also objected: "Could it be that the imperial court also learns from the village women and fools and makes the stone of the long-waiting husband?" Besides, the wreckage of the ship has been found, which is already very strong evidence. ”

"It's just a cornice, not even a deck." More people shook their heads and said: "It can only mean that it was blown away in the wind and waves, but it can't mean that the ship was destroyed and people died!" ”

The officials argued, but the majority opposed to drawing conclusions now, and the ministers above the fourth rank were even more one-sidedly opposed.

This situation made Wanli's face very ugly, he glanced at Zhang Siwei, who also had an ugly face, and said in a muffled voice: "It makes sense, it's really early to draw conclusions now, but if there is no news forever, will it be hung like this forever?" You have to set a time limit. ”

So the ministers began to quote the scriptures, some from the "Zhou Li" to find a basis, some from the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" to move the dogma, and some from some only heard of their names, did not see the text of the ancient books to turn allusions, one by one, such as a number of treasures, if you do not have the support of the ancients, are embarrassed to speak.

Emperor Wanli can be regarded as having read a lot of books, but compared to the ministers in the court, there is still no place to interject at all, and as a result, he has been sulking early in the morning, and he has not discussed a result.

After the court, he asked Zhang Siwei to be called to Dongnuan Pavilion, and scolded bitterly: "Didn't you say that the officials are all rudders when they see the wind, who will offend the emperor for a dead silence?" As it turned out, there are a lot of people! ”

"The emperor is ......angry," Zhang Siwei said slowly: "The minister didn't expect that there would be so many people who were still infatuated and still attached to Shen Ge Lao. ”

"Hmph......" Wanli snorted disdainfully: "I see that they haven't woken up yet, I have to let them wake up!" "What the emperor said is very true." Zhang Siwei said in a deep voice: "If you want to create a new atmosphere, the first thing is to get the imperial court rid of the influence of silence. That Shen Jiangnan's body had left this world, but his shadow still shrouded this court. The civil and military officials in the court were all recommended by him, so these people were lucky and expected him to come back. How can a person with this kind of thinking still be loyal to the emperor and fulfill his duties? Fortunately, the emperor is helped, and next year will be the year of Jingcha, so I just took this opportunity to sort out the courtiers. As he spoke, he lowered his voice and said, "The emperor might as well take the next one now."