It had started snowing in the morning, and this was the first snowfall of the year. The snowflakes weren't heavy, but they seemed to be falling for a long time.
Zhu Yijun held down Empress Wang, who was about to get up, and said with a smile, "Don't get up. Rest more. It's snowing outside. If you get up, it won't be good if you catch a cold!" As he said this, Zhu Yijun kissed Empress Wang's forehead.
Hiding under the quilt, Empress Wang blushed slightly and looked at Zhu Yijun in a daze.
"Sleep well!" Zhu Yijun patted her with a smile, and then asked someone to help him put on his clothes.
After breakfast, Zhu Yijun came to the front of the hall in a large cloak. The Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and the Ministers of the Six Departments were all waiting here.
They had received the news yesterday that the Imperial Court was going to recommend a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet today, so the atmosphere in the hall was a bit heavy.
Everyone present knew that the Emperor was going to recommend Hai Rui to be a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and they also knew how the matter ended.
Originally, everyone thought that this matter was over. After all, the Emperor had only done it on a whim and didn't continue to pay attention to this matter.
Now that this matter was suddenly brought up, it was obviously not a coincidence.
Everyone knew what was going on. This was a struggle between the First and Second Ministers of the Cabinet.
Although the whole matter seemed to be caused by the cultivation silver, in reality, it had been going on for a long time.
Ever since the death of Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Siwei was unwilling to be a puppet First Minister and wanted to take power.
However, there were many factions within the Jiangling Sect, and Zhang Siwei's experience and reputation couldn't subdue these people.
Whether it was the Minister of Personnel Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Works Zeng Shengwu, or even the Minister of War Wu Dui, none of them liked Zhang Siwei.
Not to mention the stubborn Minister of Justice Yan Qing. This made it impossible for Zhang Siwei to extend his arms and legs.
In the Cabinet, Ding Pancheng followed Shen Shixing blindly, which made Zhang Siwei feel even more pressured.
With the issue of the soldier's silver, it was the perfect time for Zhang Siwei to make trouble. Ever since the Emperor decreed that Zhang Siwei's student, Li Zhi, was promoted, Zhang Siwei's reputation soared.
The number of people waving flags and shouting war cries behind Zhang Siwei suddenly increased, especially those who opposed Zhang Juzheng before.
Previously, these people were against clearing the accounts of the fields, but now, they were suddenly in favor of the soldier's silver. They changed so quickly that they didn't have any moral integrity at all.
As the second minister of the cabinet, Shen Shixing seemed to have turned into a conservative. Although Yu Youding and Pan Cheng supported him, it seemed that their momentum was not as strong as Zhang Siwei's side.
The most important thing was that the emperor was the one who proposed the pension money. Shen Shixing didn't have the confidence to oppose the emperor.
The Minister of the Six Ministries, Yan Qing, had expressed his support, but the others had yet to express their views. Their attitudes were a mystery.
No matter how one looked at it, today's court discussion was definitely not a simple one. It might decide the direction of the court in the future.
When Zhu Yijun stepped into the hall, the atmosphere became even more solemn. Zhu Yijun walked in expressionlessly. His gaze swept across the faces of the officials present, and then he said, "Today's court discussion is about the election of the Cabinet Grand Secretary. Everyone, please speak!"
"Your Majesty, I recommend Chen Zhao, the Imperial Censor of the Left of the Imperial Censorate. Ever since the case of the Arsenal Department appeared in the Ministry of War, I felt that there was a problem with the court's supervision.
The Arsenal Department was such a big case, but no one discovered it or investigated it. "
"To prevent such a thing from happening in the future, I think it's appropriate to let Chen Zhao, the Imperial Censor of the Left of the Imperial Censorate, enter the Cabinet."
As soon as Zhang Siwei said this, everyone, including Zhu Yijun, was stunned. Zhang Siwei had actually recommended Chen Zhao. This raised the level of the whole matter, directly raising the level of the candidates to the Nine Ministers.
However, this was not the key point. The key point was how Chen Zhao got together with Zhang Siwei. This was the key point!
Zhu Yijun glanced at Zhang Siwei. This old guy was indeed not simple. He had tricked Shen Shixing just like that. Shen Shixing probably did not have a good candidate.
It seemed that Shen Shixing could not defeat Zhang Siwei not only because of the difference in status!
At this time, Shen Shixing also did not expect Zhang Siwei to recommend Chen Zhao, nor did he expect Chen Zhao and Zhang Siwei to be together.
However, Shen Shixing also knew that if he did not offer something at this time, he would probably be in trouble. Shen Shixing was originally worried about the tacit understanding between Zhang Siwei and the Emperor. Now, he was even more worried. After all, Chen Zhao entering the Cabinet was justifiable!
"I recommend Zhang Xueyan, the Minister of Revenue!"
Shen Shixing gritted his teeth and directly brought up Zhang Xueyan, the Minister of Revenue. In fact, the most suitable person to suppress Chen Zhao was Yan Qing, the Minister of Justice.
However, Yan Qing had already agreed to the nurturing silver, so Shen Shixing naturally could not recommend him.
"The Ministry of Revenue is an important government office of the imperial court. The imperial court has just had a surplus in the past two years. It is reasonable for the Minister of Revenue to enter the Cabinet.
"The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the tax collection of the land in the world. Having the Minister of Revenue in the Cabinet will be beneficial for the subsequent settlement of land accounts and the collection of taxes."
Zhu Yijun looked at Shen Shixing again and sighed inwardly. These old foxes were not easy to deal with.
Shen Shixing was clearly telling him that settling accounts, land, and collecting taxes all had to rely on the Ministry of Revenue.
Even the nurturing silver that was about to be introduced could not be separated from the Ministry of Revenue, so it was better to let the Minister of Revenue enter the Cabinet!
However, in Shen Shixing's words, he did not mention the nurturing silver at all. He was extremely cunning.
Zhu Yijun glanced at Shen Shixing and then at Zhang Siwei. There was a hint of playfulness on his face. Let the Ministry of Revenue and the local officials continue to collect taxes?
Zhu Yijun felt that unless he was out of his mind, he would definitely not do such a thing.
If they did not make a separate tax office, would they honestly collect taxes?
Since they were going to collect taxes from all the farmers and the gentry as one, they had to separate the tax collection yamen.
"I recommend Zeng Shengwu, the Minister of Works!"
To everyone's surprise, Wang Guoguang, the Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel, spoke at this moment.
Wang Guoguang was the Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel. Although the Minister of Official Personnel was not a part of the Cabinet, the Minister of Official Personnel was known as the Heavenly Official. He had a high status and great power. Except for the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and the Vice Minister of the Cabinet, no one could compare with him.
Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Three candidates, right?
Let's have a public discussion! "
Entering the public discussion meant that Zhu Yijun had agreed with the three candidates. The next process was to announce the three candidates and accept the supervision of the officials. At this time, if the officials felt that the three candidates were not suitable, they could submit a memorial to impeach them.
If there was no big problem, the Emperor could choose one of the three candidates to be the Cabinet Grand Secretary.
The seemingly peaceful, but actually full of intrigue and intrigue had ended. However, everyone knew that the next step was the key. Basically, it was time for them to play the game of finding fault with each other.
They would attack each other's people, looking for each other's flaws and weaknesses. It would be best if they could defeat each other.
After the public discussion, Ceng Shengwu came to Wang Guoguang's side and bowed. "Thank you, Minister, for your guidance!"
Glaring at Shen Shixing, Wang Guoguang said in a bad mood, "Don't give me that. Can't you see that these two people are really angry?
I just can't stand them making a ruckus. What's there to make a ruckus about? "
Ceng Shengwu sighed. Zhang Siwei wanted power, but Shen Shixing didn't want Zhang Siwei to do so. This was the crux of the conflict.
As for the soldier's silver, Zhang Siwei could support the Emperor without any bottom line. However, Shen Shixing still had his concerns. After all, the Jiangling Faction was spread all over the world. Everyone knew how much land they had.
Zhang Siwei quickly got close to the original opposition because he realized that he couldn't get full support from within the Jiangling Faction. He couldn't achieve his goal of monopolizing power.
With the support of the opposition, Zhang Siwei became even more unscrupulous. After all, Zhang Siwei's Zhang family was a big salt merchant.
He could get support from the salt merchants, including the Jin merchants and Hui merchants, as well as many big merchants in Jiangnan.
These people didn't care too much about the land tax. To them, it was just a small amount.
Being in a higher position and gaining the right to speak had more benefits, especially when the salt case was still ongoing.
This also allowed Zhang Siwei to get unprecedented support. Countless people were waving flags and cheering for him, paving the way for him to take power.
Of course, there were also people who wanted to push their own people into a higher position. For example, they wanted to enter the cabinet or the six ministries.
The Jiangling Faction was different. Most of them were traditional gentry. They paid particular attention to farming and studying.
If one wanted to farm and study, one had to have land. The big landlords were these people.
Including Xu Jie, who had risked his life to take the land, they were all traditional gentry.
Although they also had a certain amount of business, land was their foundation.
The soldier's silver policy had completely ignited the flames of war. Now, it was time to see how the flames of war would spread.
Glancing at Wang Guoguang, Ceng Shengwu said, "Minister, what do you plan to do?"
"What do you mean?"
Wang Guoguang glanced at Ceng Shengwu and said with a smile, "You are a very boring person, just like Zhang Juzheng. How can there be so many things to do? Do what you want to do."
Looking at Wang Guoguang's back, Ceng Shengwu could only smile bitterly. With Wang Guoguang's qualifications, he had to listen to whatever he had to say.
Turning back to look at the palace, Ceng Shengwu sighed and walked out of the palace, stepping on the snow on the ground.
Zhu Yijun returned to the palace. Seeing that Xu De was already there, he smiled and said, "You came at the right time. I asked you to prepare to split the land. Are you ready?" As he spoke, Zhu Yijun looked at Xu De with a very serious gaze.
"In reply to the Imperial Majesty, I'm ready!"
Xu De said, "The number two in the inner court have all been transferred out. Following them are number four, as well as a few capable people. They will be at Your Majesty's disposal at any time."
Zhu Yijun nodded and said with a smile, "Very good. Let them find a place first and make preparations. It won't take long."
"Yes, Imperial Majesty!" Xu De replied respectfully.
Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "You have done well. Enter the Department of Rites!
I originally wanted to promote both you and Chen Ju to the position of Bingbi, but I didn't have the time to talk to you these past few days. "