After the Emperor's visit to the Zhang family, Zhang Juzheng left the capital three days later. The mighty procession once again shocked the Daming court.
The Imperial Bodyguard carried a plaque to clear the way. On it were four large words written by the Emperor himself: Dedicate myself to the country!
The carriage given by the Emperor was even more grand, making people's eyes burn with envy.
Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.
Zhu Yijun was still standing in front of the twelve screens. When he saw Zhang Jing and Xu De come in, he smiled and asked, "He's gone?"
"Imperial Majesty, Minister Zhang has left the capital!" Zhang Jing replied.
Zhu Yijun looked at Xu De and asked, "Have the people from the inner factory been arranged?"
"Yes, Imperial Majesty, everything has been arranged!"
Xu De also agreed and said respectfully, "There are many people in the procession. There are also people from the inner factory watching along the way. They will definitely protect Minister Zhang's safety along the way."
Zhu Yijun nodded and waved his hand. Then, the two of them left the room.
Glancing at Liu Seol who was standing behind him, Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Do you know what is the easiest word to write, but also the most difficult word to write?"
"I don't know." Liu Seol shook her head and said with a smile.
"Human!"
Zhu Yijun said lightly, "Human is easy to write. It's just a stroke, but the word 'human' is difficult to write.
Because human is complicated. At different times, in different places, and even in different weather, people are different. "
Although Liu Seol didn't know why Zhu Yijun said this, she could see that Zhu Yijun was depressed.
Zhu Yijun smiled and reached out to touch Liu Seol's hair, saying, "I am going to get married. I originally wanted to give you an identity, but then I thought that you are too special. You have been with me for so long, and giving you an identity is not good for you."
If he still let Liu Seol serve him after his wedding, then Liu Seol would definitely be a target in the harem.
Even if he gave Liu Seol an identity, it would probably be the same. Zhu Yijun didn't want anything bad to happen to Liu Seol.
"When the time comes, I will send you to the Empress's side. You have been in the palace for a long time and know the things in the palace very well. You are also a good person. If you serve the Empress, I will be reassured," Zhu Yijun said to Liu Seol with a smile.
"In a few years, I will give you an identity."
"This servant thanks Your Majesty!" Liu Seol quickly bowed to express her gratitude. She still had a faint smile on her face, and her expression didn't change at all.
Others didn't know, but Zhu Yijun knew that his Empress was a thirteen-year-old girl. Thinking about this, Zhu Yijun felt a headache.
He wasn't a lolicon, but this wasn't the main point. The main point was that he couldn't do it.
If it was someone from this era, it would be fine, but everyone in the future knew that it was inevitable to do it to such a young loli.
In history, his Empress had multiple miscarriages and had no children.
Zhu Yijun didn't need to think to know that it was related to sexual intercourse too early. It had to be known that there were no contraceptive methods in this era.
A thirteen-year-old girl was at the critical stage of the formation of personality and character. Even if people in this era matured early, she couldn't have the mind of an adult.
Zhu Yijun might not care about other people, but not the Empress!
Sending Liu Seol to the Empress' side was also for the Empress' own good. With Liu Seol by her side, she could also help her.
After Zhang Juzheng left, the most important matter in the imperial court was Zhu Yijun's wedding. The two Empress Dowagers in the palace were very concerned about this matter, and the entire imperial court was busy with this matter.
Zhu Yijun wanted to see Yu Dayou, and if possible, find a chance to go to the Warrior Battalion and the Four Guards Battalion to take a look.
After all, Yu Dayou had gone to the Four Guards Battalion and the Warrior Battalion for a period of time. Zhu Yijun also wanted to see the results. It had to be known that other than the Four Guards Battalion and the Warrior Battalion, Daming still had three other battalions, and that was the focus of Zhu Yijun's attention.
This morning, Zhu Yijun woke up early to attend morning court. This was the first morning court after Zhang Juzheng's departure, and Zhu Yijun had to attend.
After tidying up with the help of Liu Seol, Zhu Yijun went to attend morning court.
Originally, Zhu Yijun thought that this was just a simple morning court, and was prepared to see Yu Dayou after the morning court. He didn't expect that something would happen during the morning court.
After Zhang Jing shouted, "If there's anything, report it early. If there's nothing, dismiss.", Imperial Messenger Peng Chang stood up and said loudly, "This subject, Peng Chang, has a memorial. This subject accuses the Minister of War, Wang Chonggu, of bribing officials, colluding with the Tartars, and relaxing the borders to facilitate the enemy. This is a heinous crime."
Hearing Peng Chang's words, Zhu Yijun was stunned. How did this come about?
He turned his head to look at Wang Chonggu. It could be said that Wang Chonggu was a strong supporter of Zhang Juzheng's reforms. In the case of Zhang Juzheng's love stealing incident, he had also submitted a memorial in favor of it. It was just that he wasn't as conspicuous. How did he get impeached just like that?
Peng Chang then began to list out Wang Chonggu's crimes, starting with him bribing people to get promoted.
Although he didn't say who Wang Chonggu bribed, even a fool could tell that the target was Zhang Juzheng.
Zhu Yijun sat on the Dragon Throne and listened quietly. This was an impeachment of Wang Chonggu, but the target was Zhang Juzheng. Or it could be said that it was a test.
Although he had sent off Zhang Juzheng grandly before Zhang Juzheng left, there were still people who didn't want to give up.
"The Tartars are ambitious and cannot be trusted. When Lord Wang was the governor of Shanxi and Shaanxi, he treated the Tartars very well. Moreover, the Tartars plundered to the west. Lord Wang allowed the Tartars to expand their territory to the west and strengthen themselves."
"This subject heard that the Tartars have a female chieftain named Sanniangzi. She is exceptionally beautiful and has a good relationship with Lord Wang."
"This subject accuses Lord Wang of bribing officials and colluding with the Tartars. Emperor, please issue a decree to punish him."
Zhu Yijun glanced at Peng Chang. Was this a show of strength to him?
However, he still turned his head to look at Wang Chonggu. He saw that the old man was choking with anger. His face was flushed red and he was glaring at Peng Chang.
After Peng Chang, a few more people stood out. All of them were impeaching Wang Chonggu.
Zhu Yijun sighed. This was really killing several birds with one stone!
They were testing his attitude towards Zhang Juzheng. While Zhang Juzheng wasn't around, they were trying to overthrow Wang Chonggu. At the same time, they were trying to show their strength to the little Emperor.
They were talking about serious matters. He couldn't possibly drag them over and beat them with a cane!
"Regarding this matter, you can write a detailed memorial to the throne. Wang, you can also write a memorial to defend yourself!"
After the court was dismissed, Zhu Yijun walked back with a bitter smile on his face. They were really impatient!
Attacking Wang Chonggu was, in fact, attacking one of the current policies of the Daming, which was: Tribute!
To put it bluntly, it was to establish a trade market at the border. At that time, there was a group of officials in the imperial court who opposed to establishing a trade market with the Daming, saying that it was a sign of weakness.
The one who strongly supported this policy of Wang Chonggu was Zhang Juzheng. Due to Zhang Juzheng's strong support and coordinated planning, Wang Chonggu was able to smoothly implement the good neighborly policy at the border fortress. He established a trade market near Datong and Xuanfu.
At that time, there was a time limit of one month every year. The Mongolians could use gold, silver, horses, and fur to exchange with the Han people for silk, cloth, iron pots, iron cauldrons, and other goods.
Now, these people were targeting Wang Chonggu, and at the same time, they were accusing him of his actions towards the Tartars. Their goal was simple, it was this policy.
Zhu Yijun's eyes narrowed. He thought of a person, and this person was Zhang Siwei.
In the past, Zhu Yijun had seen a saying, "The Jin Party started with Zhang Siwei."
In fact, during Wanli's generation, the Daming's faction officially started to form. From the Qi, Zhe and Chu faction to the Donglin faction, they were basically all formed during Wanli's generation.
It was also in this era that the fierce struggle between the parties appeared.
Fundamentally speaking, there was no difference between the Qi, Zhe and Chu faction and the Donglin faction. They were all protecting the interests of the landlords and aristocrats.
However, their interests were not unified. From the start of the competition, their interests could not be unified.
In the imperial court, they fought for the right to speak, hoping to gain more benefits for themselves.
Zhang Siwei was a typical example. Zhang Siwei's Zhang family were Jin merchants, and they were the representatives of the Jin Party.
After Zhang Juzheng's death, Zhang Siwei attacked Zhang Juzheng without restraint. At the same time, he started to settle accounts with Zhang Juzheng and abolished the new law. This showed that Zhang Siwei was also against the new law reform.
Although he did not speak at this time in the cabinet, it was only because of Zhang Juzheng's power.
In fact, the aristocrats and landlords of various places were basically against Zhang Juzheng's reform. After all, if they took out their hidden land and were removed from office, it would not benefit them at all.
This was the same for the Qi, Zhe and Chu faction and Donglin faction.
The interests of the Jin merchants lay in the border trade. This would never change. Later on, when the Daming and the Jurchens went to war, they were the ones who smuggled and became the Eight Great Imperial Merchants of the Qing Dynasty.
Zhu Yijun felt that if he discussed this matter with Zhang Siwei, he might be able to get something out of it.
Memorials to impeach Wang Chonggu were quickly sent in. A dozen memorials did not seem like much, but Zhu Yijun believed that if they were not dealt with in time, this would only be the beginning.
Wang Chonggu's memorials were also quickly sent in. Other than the memorials to defend himself, there was also a memorials to resign.
Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu's memorials and sighed. He knew of Wang Chonggu's contributions. The peace that the Daming's western borders had now was directly related to Wang Chonggu's strategies.
Regardless of whether it was his trade policies or his military policies, they were all proven to be effective.
Looking at the memorials to impeach Wang Chonggu, Zhu Yijun was now filled with disgust for the Imperial Censors who heard of the memorials.
These people only had their mouths to say, but you could not punish them severely. After all, this was their responsibility.
There was a problem with the Daming's supervision system. This was Zhu Yijun's most practical thought.
If you wanted to punish the Imperial Censors, it would damage the supervision system and also damage the honest officials. But if you did not punish them, they would really be unbridled.
For all sorts of purposes, they used all sorts of fancy impeachments. They really did not tire of it.
"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Zhang is here!" Zhang Jing came in to report. Seeing Zhu Yijun nod, he turned and left.