The northwest wind, which blew all night, blew the clouds in the sky to the point that there was no trace of it, and the sky was already getting brighter than halfway through.

The silent warm sedan chair fell in the doorway of Dong'an Gate, and the sedan curtain was opened, and Hu Yong whispered: "Chen and Zhang are here." He nodded quietly, "Holding Hu Yong's arm, he stepped down from the sedan chair steadily, looked at the left-hand side, but did not see their figures.

"Hehe, the adults came early." Thinking of the sound of talking behind him, Shen Mo quickly turned around, and saw two officials wearing pure white fur ear warmer winter hats with "official uniforms and cloaks on their shoulders but bright red" walking behind him. Although it was still dark and he couldn't see his face clearly, he knew that it was Chen Yiqin and Zhang Juzheng.

Shen Mo hurriedly pushed away the sedan chair man who was blocking in front of him, walked over quickly, and said loudly with his fists clenched: "Wait a long time."

"Where, where, it's just arrived." The people who came were Chen Yiqin and Zhang Juzheng, both with smiles on their faces, "Both hands are arched, but Xu is Tian'er is too cold, looking at their expressions silently, they seem to be a little stiff." He knew why, so he took two quick steps.

When the two walked four steps away from him, they "stood still, and they were about to formally salute, but they saw that Shen Mo didn't know when he was already standing on their left side" and clasped his fists with a smile on his face.

The two of them felt a little more comfortable, and hurriedly returned the salute and said, "How can adults be like this." He smiled silently and replied, "Why do you have to do this? He said loudly: "I will join the cabinet on an errand together, and we are colleagues, and you are too outside." ”

"How dare you", the smiles of the two were much more natural. Silent Fangcai's behavior seems a little strange, but it is a kind of goodwill expression, the "Ming Huidian" promulgated in the 30th year of Hongwu stipulates that all officials should be distinguished by rank and honor. The grades are similar, and when they meet, they salute, and the east and west are opposed, and "those with a slightly inferior rank live in the west." The difference in rank is two or three grades, "when we meet, the inferior is inferior." There is a four-level difference in grade, and when they meet, the humble one bows down, "His Holiness sits and receives the salute, and when there is something, he kneels to pray."

Take silence as an example, "he is now an official from the first rank" and the second rank official, the second rank official lives in the west to salute, and he retreats in the east. When meeting with the third or fourth rank official, the third or fourth rank bowed in the middle of the salute, and he answered the salute in the middle. When meeting with officials below the fifth grade, they will sit and receive their bowing ceremony. Chen Yiqin and Zhang Juzheng are both third-grade officials, and it is said that they should be the first to salute, so they will stand behind the silent sedan chair just for the convenience of saluting.

But silence will not be so arrogant, because according to convention, although the rank of colleagues is high, there is no need to be formal. So he stepped forward and didn't let them salute, but only the east and the west to salute. This shows that he has no intention of oppressing others with his rank, but with the courtesy of his colleagues......

Chen Yiqin and Zhang Juzheng were already very panicked. It is said that it is a great thing to get a long-cherished wish for many years, but it is through the central purpose" instead of pushing the "......... that the fly in the ointment is realized" or even mixed blessings. Zhang Juzheng doesn't need to say it, just say that Chen Yiqin, since the day he received the holy decree, "the whole person has been dizzy, like stepping on cotton, his heart is full of mixed tastes, and his thoughts are changing." For a while, I thought that I couldn't accept the order, and I couldn't let people poke my backbone: for a while, I felt that this time pie fell from the sky, and the opportunity to enter the cabinet was in front of me...... He has a reputation for self-knowledge, knowing that his temper is too bad and his popularity is not good, except that he has a good relationship with the emperor, "even the old people in Yudi don't get along very well, if you expect the court to push through" I'm afraid I don't know if it's going to be the year of the monkey."

When he was hesitating, Gao Gong talked to him and "revealed to him the background of this cabinet personnel adjustment...... Of course, I focused on how hard I worked to get him this opportunity. As soon as he heard that Ge Shouli and Zhao Zhenji's gang of old things were coming back next year, he understood it all at that time, and he was very grateful to Gao Gong, and he didn't mention anything, he couldn't do it, and so on.

No matter what kind of mood they had, when Zhang Juzheng and Chen Yiqin met, they all felt sympathy, "They knew that the other party came so early" just to wait for the arrival of the other. Although he entered the cabinet on the same day, he was already a prince from the first product, the Taibao, and the Ministry of Rites, and more importantly, "the people entered the cabinet through the court push" and the difference between them, although not as big as the difference between the non-commissioned officer and the Kegong officer. But people will withdraw from it in the future, as long as it is not outrageous, and they don't dare to say that he doesn't know the words, otherwise it will mean that everyone has no eyes, for fear of ruining the seeds of Tingtui. And the two of them have not been pushed by the court, after entering the cabinet, they have to work diligently, hold the eggs and cross the bridge, and the bureaucrats will also look for him, once there is something wrong, they will definitely rise up and attack him, and if it is not, it must be regarded as ten points, so as to prove that the eyes of the masses are bright, and it will not work without the court's push. There are so many unevenness, can the two of them be happy when they see Shen Mo? That's what a ghost is called.

Of course, Shen Mo didn't want to make the two hate each other on the first day, so he behaved very politely and insisted on seeing each other on an equal footing, just to quietly remove the awkwardness in each other's hearts...... Of course it's not that easy," but at least the two of them looked at him more pleasantly.

The three of them greeted each other so much, politely and humbly said a few words, and walked together in the direction of the noon gate, although they walked side by side, but Shen Mo was in the center, Chen Yiqin was on the left, Zhang Juzheng was on the right, and they also let Shen Mo walk in front a little, which is naturally the rule of officialdom...... Although it is a little boring, outsiders can know the relationship between them at a glance, so there is no room for error. If you are wrong in this regard, sometimes even a bad review of the Ministry of Officials, the harm to Shi Tu is still greater: 11111111, 1111, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Today was the first day for the three new cabinet members to arrive at the cabinet, and the day before, the cabinet sent Si Naorou to their house to inform them of today's itinerary. The door of the Great Inner Palace is open in winter, and the cabinet is working on time, Xu Jie asked the three of them to come to the cabinet during this time to hold a brief welcome ceremony.

The three of them came to the noon gate, and there was no morning court today, so the ministers were not allowed to enter the Forbidden City. But there are two yamen exceptions, one is the cabinet and the other is the six branch corridors. This is because the 18 yamen of the imperial court are all located outside the Great Interior, but only the cabinet and the offices of the six departments are located in the Forbidden City.

As soon as you enter the noon gate, turn right to the Huiji Gate, which is the cabinet; Turn left is the Guiji Gate, which is the corridor of the six branches, which also shows the status of the six branches"............ Of course, this is off-topic.

Yesterday, the cabinet had already sent a value card, "so as soon as the gatekeeper interrogated, the three of them showed their value cards, which were also divided into three, six, nine and so on" The highest class is ivory, and only cabinet scholars can get it. The six branches are silver, and the rest of the cabinet is bronze. The latter two have to be reported at the noon gate before they can be released.

As soon as they saw that the three adults were holding the highest ivory cards, the soldiers knew that they were the three newly promoted elders, and hurriedly handed back the waist cards respectfully and let them go out, and the eunuch on duty at noon also ran out of the house, and greeted the three of them diligently, and wanted to show them the way.

It's not that the three of them don't know the way, so naturally they won't use him, but think about the past, they had to report first, and then Si Zhilang came out to lead the way, so that they could enter the cabinet once" Now they can finally be unimpeded, and they no longer have to look up to this highest administrative body in the Ming Dynasty. Although they are all ancient wells with no waves, it would be hypocritical to say that they are not excited in their hearts.

Chen Yiqin and Zhang Juzheng felt that this choice was right, even if they were scolded for a while, it was indeed worth it.

Huiji Gate is in the southeast corner of the imperial city, and when they enter the noon gate, they turn the corner to "When they arrived, they saw Gao Gong, Guo Pu, Li Chunfang, with a dozen or so Si Zhilang" were already waiting there, and Shen Shixing and Yu Youding were among them, but at this time they could only pretend to be unfamiliar.

The three of them hurriedly took a few steps forward, saluted the second assistant and the two seniors, and bowed the three politely in return; Si Zhilang also greeted the elders of the new pavilion "The three of them also returned the salute politely, and under the leadership of Gao Gong, Yuguan entered the Huiji Gate.

Although it was not the first time they had come, they must not be familiar with the layout of the cabinet, so Gao Gong introduced the three of them: "At the beginning of the establishment of the cabinet, the venue was very small, and three or four cabinet ministers were crammed into one room to work. After repeated expansions, it became what it is today. As he spoke, he pointed to a flying corner in the middle of the eaves and said to the magnificent palace: "This is Wenyuan Pavilion, and our cabinet ministers are all here." Then he pointed to a small building on the east side of Wenyuan Pavilion and said: "This is the Imperial Room" He pointed to another small building on the west side of Wenyuan Pavilion, which was far away from the Imperial Pavilion, and said: "That is the Imperial Room." All the edicts and edicts prepared by the cabinet ministers are reviewed by these two rooms, and the original copy is "handed over to the emperor for treasure, and then issued by him." ”

Shen Mo and the others were all from Hanlin, so they naturally knew that all kinds of instructions, orders, official documents and other documents issued by the emperor in the name of the emperor in the empire were drafted by the cabinet, and these two rooms were the secretarial institutions that assisted the cabinet in performing its duties. Among them, the office of the secretary of the imperial chamber is prepared, and the edicts, edicts, edicts, books, treasures, kings, sermons, tablets and inscriptions are revealed, etc., as well as a confidential document, and the base book of the royal palace. The Imperial Office of the Commander of the Imperial Office "legislated the official edict, and translated the edict, and the four Yi came to reveal the post, the military department's discipline, the survey of the bottom book, and so on.

"But you don't want to have these two rooms to save you trouble." Gao Gong said with a big smile: "We are waiting for the emperor to manage the Qiankun Imperial Kyushu, all the documents" except for the routine letters occasionally written by the shepherd, the rest are drafted by the cabinet ministers themselves, even the first assistant is no exception, and has never asked two rooms to do it on his behalf. After a pause, his gaze swept over the three people: "I think that coming to the cabinet is for prestige, then it is a big mistake, it is a hundred times harder here than you were in the ministry before." If you don't have the hard work and dedication to yourself, I advise you to go back as soon as possible. ”

The three of them promised to get down, but they couldn't help but slander in their hearts, this tall beard is really difficult to get done, and they can't wait to get off the horse! Besides, you shouldn't say this, but what do you want Shousuke to say when you're done? Repeat again?

Gao Gong was unaware of it, and introduced the layout of the cabinet to them with great interest: "The south of Wenyuan Pavilion was originally an empty space, but later due to the increasing power of the cabinet, more and more people are needed, and there is not enough place in Wenyuan Pavilion. During Yan Fenyi's tenure as the first assistant, three major roll sheds were built there, and all the assistant subordinate officials of the cabinet moved there. Further south, is the "ancient and modern collection library", where the grass please Zhu Hanlin, the treasure please Zhu Ran Mansion, the left coupon and the survey book "return to the ancient and modern collection library. "That is, the archives of the Cabinet.

一,一"一"一,一,一"一,一"一,一,一"

After introducing the general layout of the cabinet, Gao Gong took them into the Wenyuan Pavilion, and after the front hall was a circle of verandahs, facing the hall "The four sets of duty rooms of the cabinet ministers are on the left and right sides, when the original four cabinet ministers were a radish and a pit, but now there are three more people, so they naturally have to be rearranged." Except for the one in Shousuke, the rest had to live for two people, so the doors of the three suites were opened, and there were handymen cleaning up in the room*, apparently rearranging the position.

"There are four suites here, and the first assistant lives in one, and the six of us can only live in three suites together." Gao Gong said: "I live with Lao Guo in one set, and you can discuss the remaining two sets." ”

As soon as I thought of living with an old man often in the future, Shen Mo felt a chill, and the faces of the other two were also a little green, no matter how bad everyone was, they were all deputy ministerial-level cadres who had independent courtyards, "What kind of living room, confidential room, clerical room, bedroom, small kitchen are all available, like the Ministry of Rites, which has few people, and Shen Mo, who is a scholar, even has a small garden." Now with a lot of hard work, it is easy for the carp to jump over the dragon gate, why instead of the sea and the sky, there is a feeling of falling into the gutter?

"The temporary conditions are difficult, and this is all due to historical reasons." At the beginning of the establishment of the cabinet, it was only the emperor's secretarial body, and it was only later that it continued to expand its power and became the pivotal point of the administration. Gao Gong also felt that he couldn't hold it on his face, and said busily: "But don't worry, I am discussing with Shoufu to ask the emperor to come over to the open space north of Wenyuan Pavilion and "build an independent duty room for everyone......"

Before the words fell, I heard a low cough from someone at the door of the main hall, and everyone hurriedly saluted in unison: "See the first one!" Gao Gong had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

Xu Jie looked at Zhang Juzheng, but he didn't show dissatisfaction, so he said to everyone kindly: "What are you doing there with the cold pestle outside?" Come on in. ”

Gao Gong was silent, the scene suddenly became solemn, and everyone was calm and walked into the main hall with solemn steps. Xu Jie first led the incense and kowtow in front of the statue of the Holy Master, and then Xu Jie sat down behind the big case under the statue of the saint and accepted everyone's greetings. Looking at Gao Gong, although he and Xu Jie's strength are like fire and water, he still has to obediently give Xu Jie's deep influence every day, and said silently, Isn't this adding fuel to the fire?

After getting up, Xu Jie waved his hand and returned to the halls on both sides, and only he and the six ministers were left in the main hall.

"Sit down." Xu Jieduan sat on the right seat, and there was no need to pretend like Gao Gong, this son had enough power.

"Whoa." Everyone answered, and Gao Gong walked to the first carved mahogany chair on the left and sat down, and the bookcase in front of him was "slightly wider than the rest of the people's long cases, on which were placed the four treasures of the study, and a stack of concertographs, as well as personal belongings such as teacups and reading glasses."

Guo Pu sat opposite the high arch. Li Chunfang sat down at the bottom of the high arch, and the remaining three looked at each other, and sat down opposite Li Chunfang in silence. Chen Yiqin walked to Li Chunfang's head and sat down, "There is still the last chair, Zhang Juzheng has no choice, so he can only accompany the last seat."

The seven cabinet members are all present, just like their seating order, they are the first assistant Xu Jie, the second assistant Gao Gong, Guo Pu, Li Chunfang, Shen Mo, Chen Yiqin, and Zhang Juzheng. In fact, this is also the order of their entry into the cabinet, which is not trivial and insurmountable. Of course, Gao Gong, Guo Pu, and Li Chunfang entered the cabinet in one day; Shen Mo, Chen Yiqin, and Zhang Juzheng entered the cabinet one day, how are they ranked? Naturally, there is also a set of methods: first, first than qualifications, whoever enters the department earlier is the senior; If you are a jinshi in the same place, then it is compared to the word rank before entering the cabinet, you are a scholar, I am a squire, then you are the eldest brother, I am the younger brother: if everyone is still at the same level, then it is compared to the age, and it can't be born on the same day and month in the same year, right? Even if he is a day older, he is the eldest brother of a child...... For example, among them, Li Chunfang is a student of Chen Yiqin, but he is in front of him, for no other reason, he just entered the cabinet early.

But it's not so rigid, for example, Gao, Guo, and Li, respectively, are the Jinshi of Jiajing's 20th, 14th, and 26th years, and it is said that Guo Pu should be the second assistant, but he is willing to let Xian, and he has not affected others, and no one has anything to say: Another example is "Shen, Chen, and Zhang, respectively, Jiajing's thirty-five, twenty, and twenty-six years of Jinshi, and it is said that it should be Chen, Zhang, and Shen's order to "But the people's Shen Mo is pushed into the cabinet by Ting" They have not pushed, so they can only go to the back row. Of course, they insisted on insisting, and they could also compete with Shen Mo, but they had no choice but to rely on the congenital deficiencies of Zhongzhi to enter the cabinet, and the waist was not hard, "I am embarrassed to mention this stubble."

Sit down, and your ranking in the cabinet will be settled. In the future, the power of the cabinet will alternate, and according to this ranking, the first one will be the first assistant, the next one will be the second assistant, and the rest of the latter can only be the followers.

Only wait for the previous one to hang up...... Regardless of the various reasons, "anyway, I left the cabinet, and the latter can move forward one place." Of course, you have the ability, and it's okay for people to give up their position to you when they are in power, but who works hard not to be the first assistant? If you don't have to, how can you give up your position?

Therefore, the gap in the cabinet is either too large, "the hierarchy is strict, and the pool is stagnant; Either everyone is ambitious and wants to take the position, then you have to arch the people in front of you, there must be a fierce struggle, and you live and die.

Unfortunately, this cabinet seems to be the latter......