Under the diffusion of well-intentioned people, soon, the emperor asked the cabinet to take the lead, according to the performance of various departments of the Ming Dynasty in a year, as well as the efficiency of work, the issue of year-end bonuses was completely spread.

As soon as this news came out, it quickly set off an uproar in the government and the opposition, and for those officials, this is a great thing!

Not only can you get the emperor's reward, but if you are in a high ranking department, you are likely to get the emperor's attention, and your career will be much smoother in the future.

Because of this, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty began to unconsciously pay attention to the rankings of their respective departments.

Many officials have begun to show their magical powers across the sea, and they have used their connections to find out a thing or two.

Correspondingly, few people paid attention to Zhao Zhenji's previous incident of sending people to raid the Yuan family in Jiaxing, after all, the immediate interests are real.

……

Night falls, the capital, Yanfu.

In the room, I saw Yan Shifan sitting behind the bookcase, supporting his chin with one hand, and his face was full of melancholy.

"Alas, after a long time, the result was only to set the ranking of the officials, the celebrant supervisor, and the Honglu Temple, but other than that, there was no progress, and no one was willing to give in."

"Especially that Zhang Juzheng, didn't he send the sailor to assist Hu Zongxian in suppressing the Japanese?"

"If you really want to count it, the biggest credit should be Hu Zongxian's, he Zhang Juzheng is also embarrassed to put gold on his face, and in front of everyone, Tian shamelessly said that it is just a difference in ranking, and it does not mean that there is a punishment!"

"In that case, then why shouldn't you Zhang Juzheng's military department be the last, you're really thick-skinned!"

At this moment, I only heard a slight knock on the door from outside the door, and then, I only heard the voice of the housekeeper sound outside the door: "Xiao Ge Lao, Luo Longwen, the waiter of the Ministry of Works, and Zhang Runde, the waiter of the Criminal Department, came to visit, saying that they are looking for you to discuss important matters, and they are currently waiting in the hall!" ”

When Yan Shifan heard this, after pondering for a while, he commanded: "Well, I know, I'll go over!" ”

After this, I saw Yan Shifan get up from the seat, push open the door, walk out of the room, and walk towards the hall where Yan Mansion was used to entertain guests.

……

On the other side, in the hall where the Yan Mansion is used to entertain guests.

I saw Luo Longwen put down the teacup in his hand, looked at Zhang Runde opposite, and asked, "Lord Zhang, ...... are you?"

When Zhang Runde heard this, he didn't mean to hide it, and after considering the language, he turned to speak: "Lord Luo, isn't there news in the DPRK that the cabinet will rank each department according to its performance in a year and its work efficiency?" ”

"I came this time to ask for some news from Xiaoge Lao, and in addition, I was also entrusted by someone......

When Luo Longwen heard Zhang Runde's words, a look of surprise appeared on his face, he came to visit Yan Mansion this time, and he also had the same purpose as Zhang Runde.

Just as Luo Longwen wanted to say something, he saw Yan Shifan pacing and walking in.

Seeing this, Zhang Runde and Luo Longwen hurriedly got up from their seats, leaned down, and saluted Yan Shifan respectfully: "The lower official has seen the little pavilion elder!" ”

When Yan Shifan heard this, he glanced over the two of them, waved his hand, and commanded: "Well, sit down!" ”

After this, I saw Luo Longwen turn his gaze to Yan Shifan, who was sitting on the main seat at the moment, and cautiously asked: "Little Pavilion Elder, isn't there news in the DPRK that the cabinet will rank each department according to its performance and work efficiency?" ”

"The lower official is very curious, what is the ranking of our Ministry of Industry, please ask the elder Xiaoge to reveal one or two, and when the lower official goes back, it is better to have an explanation with his subordinates, right?"

Zhang Runde, who was on the side, heard Luo Longwen's words, and a trace of envy flashed on his face.

After all, with Yan Shifan's temperament, he would never sit idly by and watch the Ministry of Industry become the last place, besides, it really can't be done, and Yan Ge is still there!

Yan Shifan took in the expression on Luo Longwen's face, and after thinking for a while, he sighed helplessly, and then said: "Although this matter is led by the cabinet, there are many involved, so the ranking is currently inconclusive!" ”

Then, I saw Yan Shifan's words change sharply, and he continued to add: "However, I can tell you some gossip, the six departments are here, the officials are in the first place, the twelve supervisors are in the first place, the celebrant is in the first place, the five temples are in the first place, and the Honglu Temple is in the first place!" ”

When Yan Shifan's words fell, I saw that the faces of Luo Longwen and Zhang Runde were full of shock that could not be concealed.

But on second thought, this ranking is very reasonable.

After all, in the six ministries of the Ming Dynasty, the officials are firmly in charge of the personnel appointment of officials, and their power is extremely heavy.

In addition, not long ago, under the leadership of Hu Zongxian, the secretary of the ministry, he successfully completed the triennial plan of the imperial court and won the emperor's reward.

As for the celebrant supervisor's side, not to mention more, you must know that the eunuch Lu Fang, who is the master of ceremonies, is known as the "inner minister", the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty, who dares not to give him a little thin face?

In addition, the Honglu Temple also made a lot of contributions because of the reception of the Rakshasa delegation that visited the Ming Dynasty.

After listening to the news revealed by Yan Shifan, Zhang Runde knew that there should be no results in the ranking of various departments in a short period of time.

There is no other reason, and there are so many things to worry about.

After learning the news from Yan Shifan's mouth, Zhang Runde and Luo Longwen did not stay for too long, but said goodbye and left.

……

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

At this moment, Jiajing was sitting cross-legged on the futon, his eyes seemed to be closed, and Jiajing at this time had fallen into a meditative state.

With the deepening of the meditation state, Jiajing's breathing became more and more even, and the aura escaping from the air was also absorbed by Jiajing in the process.

After these spiritual qi are absorbed into Jiajing's body, they will circulate in Jiajing's body for a week through the limbs and hundreds of remains, and then rush into the cyclone in the dantian like a mud cow entering the sea.

And in this process of vomiting, Jiajing's strength is also slowly growing, and the breath of the whole person has become more and more unfathomable and unpredictable.

At this time, Jiajing is like a bottomless spring.

Time passed slowly, I don't know how long it was, I saw Jiajing withdraw from the cultivation state and slowly get up from the futon.

After roughly perceiving the situation of the body, I saw Jiajing's face calm, and he said to himself silently: "Thick accumulation, water drops and stones, I only need to cultivate without moving, guard against arrogance and rashness, and one day I will be able to break through the bottleneck and successfully reach the foundation building period!" ”

After Jiajing finished speaking, he unconsciously clenched his fists, and his face was full of determination.

Not long after this, I saw Lu Fang walking quietly and entering the Qianqing Palace.

After entering the Qianqing Palace, Lu Fang did not hesitate at all, and immediately came to Jiajing, leaned down, and reported respectfully.

"Your Majesty, what you expected was right, now the Manchu Dynasty is paying attention to the rankings of various departments, and no one cares about the incident of the Yuan family in Jiaxing!"

After Jiajing learned the news from Lu Fang's mouth, he nodded, and then commanded: "Well, I know, if there is any news at that time, report it to me immediately!" ”

When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, he immediately lowered his head and replied in a deep voice: "Obey, Your Majesty!" ”

Lu Fang knew very well in his heart that the emperor was planning to take advantage of the incident of the Yuan family in Jiaxing to test the direction of the wind in the court.

And the final result is completely expected.

The reaction of the government and the opposition to this matter was extremely fierce, and some people even wanted to take the risk and impeach Zhao Zhenji, but because of Zhao Zhenji's status as a feudal official, they had to give up.

If Jiajing hadn't come forward at this time and used the year-end bonus to divert the attention of the government and the opposition, I'm afraid things would have gotten out of control now.

"It seems that now His Majesty has realized that the inventory of acres of land and the suppression of land cannot be achieved overnight, and the resistance encountered in the middle is unimaginable."

"If I want to promote this, I must have a person like Zhang Xuan, who is determined to reform and move forward!"

Thinking of this, Lu Fang began to search for suitable candidates in his mind.

"Yan Song is already old, he doesn't have the energy and determination to promote this matter."

"Not to mention Xu Jie, the family behind him occupies almost half of the fertile land in Songjiang Mansion, how could he do such a thing that harms his own interests?"

"Gao Gong is the teacher of His Royal Highness King Yu, he is usually upright and quite talented, although he is a little short-tempered, but it doesn't matter, besides, he himself has the ability and enough city government to shoulder this burden!"

"As for Zhang Juzheng, this person is ambitious, clever and intelligent, and capable, and he is quite sophisticated in terms of human feelings, but it is still early for him to sit in the position of the first assistant of the cabinet, and he still has to boil away Yan Song, Xu Jie, and Gao Gong in front of him before he can sit on that chair!"

"Fortunately, the current Zhang Juzheng is only thirty-six years old, and he has time."

Among these people, Lu Fang is the most optimistic about Zhang Juzheng, you must know that Lu Fang's title of "internal minister" is not for nothing.

No matter what is going on in the government and the opposition, it can't hide from his eyes.

He knew that Zhang Juzheng had always taken Zhang Xuan as an idol, and who Zhang Xuan was, was an existence that His Majesty respected.

During his term of office, he was not afraid of the gossip and attacks and insults of the DPRK and the central government, and he was determined to carry out reforms, reform corruption, clean up the farmland, and vigorously rectify the official system.

"Zhang Juzheng, let's stay up a little longer, this chair of the first assistant of the cabinet, sooner or later it will be your turn to sit!"

After this, I saw Lu Fang restrain his mind and wait respectfully in front of Jiajing, as if nothing had happened.

……

Late at night, Zhang Juzheng's mansion in the capital.

Since Zhang Jingxiu's illness, Zhang Juzheng has also realized his debt to his family, and since then, he has always found time to spend time with his wife and children.

In the study, the orange candle flame faintly reflected Zhang Juzheng's figure.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng was sitting behind the bookcase, and in front of him, there was an unknown book.

It's just that Zhang Juzheng's attention was not on the book in front of him, but he supported his chin with one hand, looking thoughtful.

"Recently, Zhao Zhenji sent people to raid the Yuan family in Jiaxing, which caused a stir in the government and the opposition, and many people believe that this is His Majesty's plan to take this as an opportunity to check the acres of land and curb land annexation."

"But the result of the matter was beyond everyone's expectations, His Majesty not only never mentioned this matter, but also asked the cabinet to take the lead, according to the performance and efficiency of each department in the past year, the ranking, and then according to the ranking, to issue the year-end bonus!"

"What is the purpose of Your Majesty's move?"

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng took the teacup soaked in wolfberry water on the side and took a sip.

After drinking the wolfberry water, Zhang Juzheng felt a lot more energetic, and then, I saw him change his posture and start thinking about this matter again.

"What is known now is that Zhao Zhenji's purpose of going to Zhejiang to serve this time is not as simple as it seems, you know, although Zhao Zhenji is supervising the imperial history, but before this, he has no experience in governing the place."

"Besides, I remember that the candidates proposed by Elder Yan Ge and Elder Xu Ge to His Majesty were all rejected by His Majesty!"

"You must know that the candidates recommended by Elder Yan Ge and Elder Xu Ge are all extremely suitable, what does Your Majesty value about Zhao Zhenji, so he asked him to go to Zhejiang to take over Hu Zongxian's class?"

"Not only that, Your Majesty also gave Zhao Zhenji the right to cut first and then play, even if it is to keep the raw silk in Sang Nong's hands, Your Majesty does not have to give Zhao Zhenji the right to cut first and then play, you know, as the governor of Zhejiang, Zhao Zhenji has military power in his hands!"

"In other words, in addition to this, there are more important things that need to be done by Zhao Zhenji, and it is also a major event that may need to be used, the power to cut first and then play......"

Just when Zhang Juzheng was in distress about this, he only heard a slight knock on the door, and then, only Wang's slightly worried voice sounded: "Husband, it's so late, haven't you slept yet?" ”

When Zhang Juzheng heard this, he suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his heart, and commanded: "Come in!" ”

When the words fell, I heard a 'squeak', and the door of the room was pushed open, only to see Wang himself walking in with a tray, and there were still some pastries on the tray.

"Husband, the concubine saw that you hadn't slept so late, so she took it upon herself to make some pastries!"

"Well, let's put it there first!"

Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng glanced at Wang, pointed to the table in front of him with his finger, and commanded.

"Husband, is there anything troublesome?"

After placing the tray in his hand on the table in front of Zhang Juzheng, Wang sat down not far from Zhang Juzheng and asked with a worried face.

"It's okay, it's just that there are some things I can't figure out!"

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he shook his head, picked up a piece of pastry from the tray and put it in his mouth.

"The things in the officialdom, the concubine doesn't understand, if the husband encounters any troubles, you might as well talk to the concubine, national affairs are important, but the husband should also take care of his body is not ......"

"Well, I know, it's not too early, you go back and rest first, I'll go over later!"

When Zhang Juzheng heard Wang's words, he couldn't help but feel a warm current in his heart.

Then, I saw him nod, looked in the direction where the Wang clan was, and commanded.

"That husband, take care of your body!"

After Wang finished speaking, he reluctantly left the room.

……

After Wang left, he saw Zhang Juzheng retract his gaze and began to continue thinking about the previous matter.

"What is the matter, you need to use the right to cut first and then play, I have sent someone to check, there is no grudge between Zhao Zhenji and the Yuan family in Jiaxing, since this is the case, then why will Zhao Zhenji bite it to death, is it for silver, or something else?"

Almost at the same time, Zhang Juzheng denied his conjecture: "No, Zhao Zhenji is from a Shujishi, and his future is immeasurable, so he will definitely not act rashly because of a little scattered silver taels......"

Then, a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in Zhang Juzheng's mind, and a question that he had ignored resurfaced in his mind.

"By the way, maybe Zhao Zhenji was instructed by His Majesty, you must know that Zhao Zhenji's crime for Jiaxing Yuan Jia'an is to secretly possess weapons and intend to rebel, and this crime, anyone with a discerning eye can see that it is a crime that he wants to add to it, and he is deliberately framed!"

"With Zhao Zhenji's city government, it is naturally impossible to make such a mistake, this is more like a warning, I remember that this Jiaxing Yuan family annexed nearly 200,000 acres of land......"

"In the end, it's still about land annexation!"

Thinking of this, I saw Zhang Juzheng shaking his head and muttering to himself silently.

"In this way, that is to say, those conjectures in the court before are correct, Your Majesty really intends to inventory the acres of land and suppress land annexation!"

"And the matter of the Yuan family in Jiaxing is nothing more than an attempt made by His Majesty, it is to throw stones to ask for directions, His Majesty wants to take this opportunity to see how the DPRK and China will react, so he secretly instructed Zhao Zhenji to send someone to copy the Yuan family's home in Jiaxing, and also deliberately exposed the flaws, so that the DPRK and the Central Government will notice!"

"However, the outcome of the matter is not optimistic, and the reaction of the government and the opposition to this matter is very fierce."

"Your Majesty saw that this matter could not be implemented for the time being, so he asked the cabinet to come forward and rank each department according to its performance and efficiency in the past year, and divert the attention of the government and the opposition by issuing year-end bonuses!"

It was only at this time that Zhang Juzheng reacted in hindsight that since the emperor's plan to issue year-end bonuses to various departments of the Ming Dynasty spread, few people in the government and the opposition mentioned the incident of the Yuan family in Jiaxing.

"Perhaps, His Majesty sent Zhao Zhenji to Zhejiang in order to secretly investigate the land annexation and prepare for the next reform!"

"Hey, I really didn't expect that Your Majesty would make such a plan in secret, what a decisive decision, Your Majesty Shengming!"

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but be amazed by the emperor's determination.

After thinking about all this, Zhang Juzheng only felt comfortable, and a heavy burden was relieved in his heart, and even the whole person was a lot more relaxed.

After that, I saw Zhang Juzheng walking out of the study and looking at the night outside.

At this time, it was getting late, and a bright moon hung in the sky, and the bright moonlight was sprinkled on the ground through the clouds.

After stopping for a moment, I saw Zhang Juzheng retract his gaze, subconsciously clenched his fists, and said to himself silently: "Your Majesty, although you can rest assured, when Weichen sits in the position of the first assistant of the cabinet, he will definitely do his best to implement reforms, just like Zhang Xuan and Zhang Ge in the past!" ”

……

It has been a while since Gao Hanwen came to Banzhou from the capital to serve as a scholar and govern Huangping and Baitian Xuegong.

Although before this, Gao Hanwen had already learned about the local situation in Banzhou from his teacher Yan Shifan, and was mentally prepared.

But when he came to Banshu, he found that the situation here was even worse than he had expected.

As Yan Shifan said to him, Banzhou is a place of thousands of miles, the mountains and rivers are treacherous, there are many ethnic groups, and there are constant vendettas against each other.

During the period when Gao Hanwen came to Banzhou to take office, he saw no less than five conflicts.

Although the local Tusi family has been completely eradicated by the imperial court, and many places have also been governed by the officials sent by the imperial court, the local people in Banzhou are fierce and prone to conflict if they are not careful.

Although the local government has a lot of headaches about this, there is nothing too good to do but do its best to resolve the dispute as much as possible.

During this time, Gao Hanwen also got acquainted with a lot of clansmen and noble children who came to Banzhou to serve, and had a very happy conversation with Zhang Yuangong, the son of the British Duke Zhang Rong, and introduced each other as confidants.

Gao Hanwen originally thought that these sons and daughters of the clans and nobles who came to Banzhou to serve were nothing more than to come to hang up a post, boil up their qualifications, and when the time came, they would return to the capital to take up important positions.

But the facts greatly surprised him, these clans and noble sons who came to Banzhou to serve all started from the most basic official positions.

Among them, some of them became county governors and assisted the county magistrate in managing county affairs, while others entered the army and started from inspection.

Gao Hanwen clearly remembers that Zhang Yuangong's eyebrows fluttered to show off to him, and he personally participated in cracking a case.

Although that case was not a big case, the pride on Zhang Yuangong's face at the beginning still touched Gao Hanwen deeply.

At this moment, in the study, I saw Gao Hanwen spread out the pen and paper and wrote a letter to Yan Shifan.

"Teacher, student Gao Hanwen, long time greetings, the teacher has been in good health recently, it has been a while since the student came to Banju to take up his post, and during this time, the things he has seen have deeply touched the student.

"Banzhou, just like you said before, teacher, the place is thousands of miles, the people are fierce, there are many nationalities, there are many contradictions between various nationalities, and there are constant vendettas between each other, teacher, you have entrusted the important task of educating the people to the students, and the students are extremely grateful!"

"In addition, students got to know many children of clans and nobles who came to Banshu to serve here......"

When the last word fell, Gao Hanwen breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately, he saw him put the brush in his hand aside.

After the ink on the paper dried, I saw Gao Hanwen put it in an envelope, called his subordinates, and commanded: "Send this letter to the capital and hand it over to the teacher!" ”

"Yes, sir!" (End of chapter)