Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 19: The Prime Minister Meets the Three Ministers
In March in Beijing, willows are swaying in the wind, elm seeds are blooming green, the spring sunshine is warm, and a gust of spring breeze blows by, bringing with it a scattering of peach blossoms.

The earth is reviving, the grass is growing and the birds are singing. The streets are crowded with people, almost blocking them.

Just after morning that day, two cannon shots were heard.

Four Jinyiwei generals, riding on red date horses, wearing flying fish uniforms and holding huge golden pumpkin axes, rode out and led more than a hundred guards on both sides to protect a sedan chair with an apricot-blossom yellow roof that was carried by thirty-two people.

Before the sedan chair arrived, the guards in front began to drive away the people.

As soon as the people saw the sedan chair, they knew that the Prime Minister had arrived.

In the entire capital, his sedan chair was the most special. There were thirty-two of them, each with a study, toilet, and dining room.

Like a small room.

Thirty-two people carried it, and it didn't shake at all. There was no difference between inside and outside.

Inside the sedan, Zhang Juzheng sat in front of a desk, his old face as gloomy as water.

After more than a month of recuperation, his health had improved. Now was the time for him to show his talents and implement his new policies.

But seven days ago, an imperial edict from the emperor caught him off guard.

During the ten years of the Wanli reign, the emperor never issued an edict. Unexpectedly, the two of them fell out over money.

The imperial edict was extremely damaging to the authority of the Prime Minister. As soon as the emperor issued an imperial edict, those scoundrels could not sit still.

There were those who acted secretly, those who openly submitted petitions to test the waters, and those who gathered in groups of three or five, cursing themselves while drunk.

Zhang Juzheng was not too panicked about this.

After more than 20 years of ups and downs in the officialdom, he has long developed the habit of remaining calm even when faced with a huge crisis.

Now, he first had to figure out whether the imperial edict was the emperor's intention or Empress Dowager Li's intention.

But a month ago, he twice rejected the Queen Mother's father, Wuqing Earl Li Wei.

If by any chance, Wuqingbo Li Wei whispered something in the Empress Dowager's ear, it would be very bad for him.

He knew very well that without Feng Bao and Empress Dowager Li, he would never have been able to do things so smoothly. For a moment, he even regretted not appeasing Wuqing Earl Li Wei.

But it was only a flash.

Zhang Juzheng was not the kind of person who was afraid of both wolves in front and tigers behind. Since things had already happened, he would just move forward and face it.

Thinking about this, the sedan stopped in front of the Forbidden City, Zhang Juzheng got off the warm sedan and walked in. After walking for about two quarters of an hour, Zhang Juzheng arrived at the cabinet duty room in the southeast corner of the Meridian Gate.

This was his first time on duty since the beginning of spring.

Before he entered, three cabinet ministers already knew that Zhang Juzheng was coming, so they lined up to welcome him.

From left to right they are Zhang Siwei, Grand Secretary of Jianji Palace, Shen Shixing, Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, and Yu Youding, Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace.

According to the Ming Dynasty system, there can be a maximum of six cabinet ministers.

In addition to the four palace grand secretaries, there are also the Wenyuan Pavilion and the Dongge Grand Secretaries.

In the previous dynasty, although the chief minister of the cabinet had great power, several cabinet ministers also had some power, and each of them was in charge of a number of affairs.

Zhang Juzheng was different. When he was the prime minister, he had the final say in the cabinet.

The rest of the cabinet ministers became like deaf ears - decorations!
For this, Beijing even made up a jingle.

"The Great Nine Ministers have their own Great Nine Nines, the Small Nine Ministers have their own Small Nine Nines, the Eighteen Yamen open to the south, and the court officials follow the Prime Minister."

Zhang Juzheng stepped forward, bowed to the three of them, and then invited them into the duty room.

After sitting down with the courtesy of host and guest, Zhang Juzheng turned sideways and looked at Zhang Siwei. He was three years younger than Zhang Juzheng, but because he was well maintained, he looked like he was just in his fifties.

This Jinshi who passed the imperial examination in the 34th year of the Jiajing reign was born into a distinguished family. His uncle was the famous governor of the three frontiers, Wang Chonggu, and his father was a big salt merchant in Shanxi. Therefore, he was able to thrive in the officialdom.

Seeing Zhang Juzheng's gaze shifted towards him, Zhang Siwei stood up quickly and said, "Prime Minister, I think that the national treasury and the private treasury should not be mixed up. The emperor has combined the public and private treasuries, which is not in accordance with the ancestral system. I have already written a memorial and am ready to advise the emperor on this matter."

As he spoke, he took out a memorial and handed it to Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng took it, glanced at it, and put it on the table.

He glanced at the three of them and said loudly: "In fact, compared to the eight million taels of silver in Taicang, these one hundred thousand taels of silver are nothing."

"We must not set a bad precedent. Once the emperor gets a taste of the sweetness, then every order will be issued without going through the cabinet. What use will we cabinet ministers have?"

"The Prime Minister has a broad view and hit the nail on the head." The three of them stood up together and replied, "We are willing to join the Prime Minister in writing a letter to persuade the Emperor."

Zhang Juzheng waved his hand, motioning for them to sit down, and then took out a memorial that he had written long ago from his arms.

A few people took it, signed their names on it, and handed it back.

Just at this moment, a minor official walked into the house.

"What do you want?" Zhang Juzheng asked

"Prime Minister, Censor Yao wants to see you for something. He is waiting in the duty room next door."

Yao Kuang?

Zhang Juzheng was slightly disturbed and told the man, "Tell Yao Kuang to wait there. I will be there later."

The clerk on duty bowed and walked back.

Inside the house, Zhang Juzheng said to the three people: "At this critical moment, I hope you three will act with caution and do not disappoint the emperor and the empress dowager's earnest hopes."

The three of them nodded in agreement.

After talking for another twenty minutes, the three cabinet ministers left.

Zhang Juzheng stood up, pushed the door and went to the rest area.

Inside the room, Yao Kuang immediately stood up. Zhang Juzheng waved his hand to signal him to sit down and asked directly: "What's the matter? Just say it directly."

Yao Kuang wiped the sweat from his forehead and took out a memorial.

"I, Zhao Ning, the Imperial Censor of Nanjing, kowtow to Your Majesty: 'A few days ago, I observed the sky at night and found that the moon was eclipsed by a celestial dog. This must be the work of a powerful official. It is a warning from the heavens. I humbly hope that Your Majesty will put the Ming Dynasty first, get rid of the powerful official, and restore peace to the Ming Dynasty.'"

After Zhang Juzheng finished reading, his face turned dark.

He happened to be born in the year of the dog, so this was quite disadvantageous to him.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Juzheng looked at Yao Kuang and asked, "What do the emperor and the queen mother mean?"

Yao Kuang shook his head and said quickly, "This was sent by Eunuch Feng. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager didn't have time to read it. After the Prime Minister has read it, I have to send it to the Imperial Household Department."

"I hope the Prime Minister can make a decision soon."

Zhang Juzheng was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed and said, "I have an impression of this man. He was a Jinshi in the 44th year of Jiajing, and the chief examiner of that subject was Gao Gong. But Gao Gong has passed away, and I didn't expect this man to jump out now."

"I think it's probably for fame." Yao Kuang said indignantly, "These poor scholars boast about sacrificing their lives for justice and are proud of being beaten with sticks. The more you care about it, the more excited they become."

"That's good to know." Zhang Juzheng glanced at Yao Kuang.

"What does the Prime Minister mean?" Yao Kuang confirmed.

"Just ignore it and let the emperor make the decision himself." Zhang Juzheng looked calm.

(End of this chapter)