After Emperor Wanli came to power, everything changed.
All the officials in the court were scared out of their wits. They did not dare to slack off in the implementation of the decree!
Because under the authorization of the little Emperor, the Cabinet and the East Chamber went on a killing spree. Thirty-two officials above the fifth rank were killed, and more than three thousand were sent to the border.
Under such high pressure, who would dare to commit a crime and steal money?
Recently, the chief assistant of the cabinet had been looking everywhere for signs of corruption. If he caught them, he would probably directly throw them into the Ministry of Justice for questioning.
Everyone knew that Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng weren't joking anymore. If they caught any corruption, they would definitely die.
For a time, the state institutions of the Ming Empire were operating quickly, and the implementation of various decrees was as smooth as flowing water.
Many officials had long seen through it. The cabinet was 100% in support of the little Emperor. For the sake of the Ming Empire, they did not hesitate to offend their colleagues and act as villains.
During this period of time, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng had received a lot of infamy. Many officials secretly called Gao Gong the butcher and Zhang Juzheng the chief assistant of the family.
This was because Zhang Juzheng was in charge of looting corrupt officials and had registered all the silver, land deeds, and jewelry into the national treasury.
The reason why the anti-corruption campaign was carried out so smoothly this time was mainly because of the cooperation of the East Hall. The corrupt officials 'corruption had nowhere to hide.
This was the original intention of the East Chamber. However, the later descendants did not make good use of the East Chamber, and the East Chamber became a eunuch party that brought disaster to the court…
……
After Zhu Yijun took a nap and ate some dessert, he asked Feng Bao to summon Hai Rui into the palace.
At this time, Hai Rui was having a drink at Yang Bo's house.
Gao Yi was also present. Since Gao Yi's house caught fire, he had been staying in Yang Bo's house. Yang Bo was also an elder of the three dynasties. His illustrious reputation was only above Gao Gong, not below him.
Yang Bo was already sixty-six years old this year, and his movements were already somewhat inconvenient. A few days ago, when he was in court, his legs went weak and he almost fell.
Yang Bo was six years older than Hai Rui. When the two of them were officials, Hai Rui had received Yang Bo's favor many times. In Hai Rui's eyes, Yang Bo was both a teacher and a friend.
Yang Bo's body was not well. He was prepared to resign, but when he saw the situation in the court change, he was worried.
Yang Bo was not afraid of a rebellion because the cabinet would naturally deal with it. Yang Bo was afraid that the cabinet would take advantage of the Emperor's young age…
"Brother Yang, if you say that other emperors are easily restrained by powerful officials, then I have nothing to say. But our current Emperor is not ordinary. Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng can't cause any trouble in the hands of the little Emperor…" Gao Yi laughed.
"I hope so."
" Brother, you have to be careful with your words and actions. Don't go against Gao Gong. He is now the head of the cabinet. If you don't go against him, you will suffer..." Yang Bo reminded Hai Rui.
Everyone knew that Hai Rui and Gao Gong did not get along. Everyone knew that the young emperor had restored Hai Rui's position to suppress Gao Gong.
Gao Gong was also well-informed, but he didn't dare to say anything. No matter how young the Emperor was, he was still the Emperor…
"Of course I know, but I don't have eyes for sand. If Gao Gong is suspected of overstepping his authority, I will definitely take him down.”As soon as Hai Rui finished speaking, Feng Bao, the eunuch from the East Wing, walked in.
"Aiyo, who is Hai Qingtian going to read?”
"I'll join whoever oversteps the emperor!”
Hai Rui didn't even look at Feng Bao. Hai Rui looked down on eunuchs, so they didn't care about Feng Bao at all.
Gao Yi sighed. It was understandable that Hai Rui had been ostracized by the officials due to their strange temper.
Feng Bao took out the imperial edict and read it aloud,"The Emperor has decreed: Xuan Hairui will immediately enter the palace to see His Majesty! Hai Rui has received the order!"
"I accept the decree!" Hai Rui kowtowed and accepted the edict.
Yang Bo and Gao Gong were stunned.
Hai Rui also started to wonder.
Although Hai Rui was famous, his position was not high and he had been dismissed from his post many times. Now, not only did the Emperor want him to return to the capital to be an official, but he also wanted to meet him personally. This made Hai Rui feel fear and trepidation.
He really didn't know what he did to be able to gain the Emperor's favor.
Feng Bao turned around and walked out. When he was about to leave, he turned to look at Hai Rui and saw them eating a few mouthfuls of food and a few mouthfuls of steamed buns.
"Alright, stop eating. Hurry up and enter the palace with me.”
……
In Zhang Juzheng's residence.
Zhang Juzheng sat there in silence after handling a few documents.
Originally, he had already received the Empress Dowager's decree that he could become the Emperor's teacher and teach the little Emperor.
However, this news sank into the sea not long after it was conveyed.
If he couldn't become the Emperor's teacher, he could only be a secondary assistant in the cabinet forever…
Zhang Juzheng was ambitious. How could he be below others for a long time?
However, Zhang Juzheng had no choice. He originally wanted to use Feng Bao's power to overthrow Gao Gong, but Feng Bao suddenly changed into a different person. He actually became loyal, and his loyalty was only to the little Emperor.
Zhang Juzheng didn't know what had happened between Feng Bao and the little emperor, but he knew that Feng Bao must be afraid.
From the looks of it, he could only continue to lay low and wait for an opportunity…
……
In Gao Gong's residence, many ministers of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War were gathered, and everyone was talking at once.
" Hai Rui is definitely going to go against the pavilion elder this time. The pavilion elder will find an excuse to dismiss him so that he doesn't have to come here and cause trouble..."
"Yeah, that stubborn temper dares to say anything, and he doesn't listen to advice…"
Gao Gong turned around and scolded everyone,""What do you know? Hai Rui was reinstated by the Emperor back then, how can I demote them just like that?”
Although Gao Gong was the chief of the cabinet, he had never forgotten his identity.
Even though Hai Rui didn't get along with him, they were still honest and upright.
" From today onwards, if anyone dares to mention Hai Rui, don't blame me for turning against you. I asked you to come here to discuss the Mongolian resistance, not to stir up trouble!”
"Yes, I am. Yes."
"Now that the autumn harvest is imminent, Da Tong Prefecture is an important granary. The Mongol Empire will definitely covet it. Therefore, we must also guard against the Mongol Empire's invasion to the south…Tell me, how should we guard against it?”Gao Gong said.
Gao Gong had already received a secret report that the Horqin Tribe of the Mongol Empire was ready to invade the south during the autumn harvest…
"Elder, the commander of the Ji Prefecture is currently training in Ji Town. He can help defend Da Tong!”
"No, Jizhou Town is one of the Nine Towns and is extremely important. General Qi guarding Shanhai Pass is extremely important. If Shanhai Pass's defense is lax and is occupied by outsiders, the capital will be in danger!”
"Why don't we let Li Chengliang from Liaodong attack the rear of Horqin and surround Wei to save Zhao…"
"No! Liaodong was far away from Horqin tribe. If they were attacked, Liaodong would be in danger!”
It was noisy in Gao Gong's mansion.
"Grand Secretary Gao, if we follow my suggestion, why don't we give Ma Gui 300,000 taels of silver and let him recruit soldiers and purchase more Foerang cannons. If the defense is tight, the Horqin Division will definitely not dare to invade.”
Gao Gong nodded and said," We can only do this now. We can mobilize troops from other places to quench our thirst. I only hope that Ma Gui will not disappoint the Emperor. I will draft a memorial and allocate 300,000 taels to Datong Prefecture. We must ensure the autumn harvest of Datong Prefecture…This is related to the rations of millions of people…"
The granary of Da Tong Prefecture had already been raided by the Mongols. With the remaining grain, Da Tong Prefecture had survived the first calamity. However, there was not much left of the remaining grain. All the officials and citizens of Da Tong Prefecture were waiting for the autumn harvest…
If the autumn harvest was plundered by the Mongolians again, there would be a famine in Da Tong Prefecture!
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