I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 324 The Four Ministers Get Scolded, Shen Nian Heads to the Martial Arts Academy
Half an hour later, the cabinet was on duty.

The arguing between the ministers of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War, and the other two ministries, gradually subsided.

The argument didn't produce a result; it just exhausted all our energy.

The four of them gradually calmed down.

Regarding the selection of ministers for the two ministries, they only had the right to recommend candidates; the final decision on the selection rested with the young Wanli Emperor and Zhang Juzheng.

Winning the argument is useless.

at the same time.

The four Grand Secretaries, Yin Zhengmao, Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, and Shen Nian, had all heard the news that the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War were vying for Shen Nian to be their Minister.

This kind of competition was entirely within the expectations of Yin Zhengmao, Shen Shixing, and Wang Xijue.

After all, even they suffer from Shen Ziheng dependency in many cases.

Their perception of Shen Nian had changed to: Shen Ziheng was the expert in solving all kinds of difficult problems in the imperial court.

Upon learning of this, Shen Nian couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He preferred to go to the Ministry of War rather than the Ministry of Works.

But he was certain that the requests from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War would be rejected, and that Li Youzi and the other three would be severely reprimanded by Zhang Juzheng.

Because the Ming Dynasty could not transition from a dependence on Zhang Juzheng to a dependence on Shen Nian, the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty required the joint efforts of all civil and military officials and could not be dependent on one person.

……

After a while.

Li Youzi, Zeng Shengwu, Liang Menglong, and Wang Yi'e came before Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng looked at the four men, stroked his beard, and began to berate them.

"As department heads, instead of focusing on doing your jobs well, you're all scheming and trying to make things difficult for others so you can accomplish what you can't. I find you shameful!"

"How about I go to the Ministry of War or the Ministry of Works to be a manager? I'm sure I can complete the tasks assigned to me by the four ministers, and I guarantee that they can easily stay in their positions. I might even be able to get them into the cabinet!"

……

"Which of you wishes to resign, who wishes to step down, and who you wish to have succeed you are not up to you to decide; it is all up to His Majesty's divine judgment!"

……

"Li Youzi, based on the strength you displayed in your argument today, I will not agree to your resignation, and His Majesty certainly will not agree either!"

"Liang Menglong, what qualifications do you have to resign on behalf of Minister Fang of the Ministry of War? This is utterly disrespectful. Are you trying to kill Ziheng by doing this?"

The four men bowed deeply, not daring to utter a single word of explanation.

In their struggle to seize Shen Nian, they truly lost their composure and broke the rules.

After pausing for a moment, Zhang Juzheng looked at the four men with their heads bowed and glared at them, saying, "What are you all standing here for? Are you waiting for me to invite you to dinner? Go do what you're supposed to do. I'm going to report you to His Majesty now!"

The four men bowed to Zhang Juzheng again and then withdrew.

……

After the four men left the cabinet office, they went their separate ways in pairs, all with their backs straight.

Although he was scolded by Zhang Juzheng and might be punished by the young Wanli Emperor.

But they all felt it was worth it, because they expressed the idea that the Ministry of Works/Ministry of War needed Shen Nian. Even if the court did not consider it at the moment, by the end of the year or the beginning of next year, it would definitely pull Shen Nian out of the Ministry of Revenue and appoint him as the Minister of a certain ministry.

After all, the capable are often given more work, and Shen Nian's abilities are far too great.

Upon returning to the Ministry of War, Liang Menglong decided to immediately write to Fang Fengshi, urging him to retire as soon as possible to avoid missing a golden opportunity.

He believed that Fang Fengshi would soon submit his retirement petition for the sake of the Ministry of War's future.

……

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

Zhang Juzheng reported to the young Wanli Emperor about the competition between the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War for the position of Minister of Works.

"Your Majesty, this is a case of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War 'only caring about their own departments and disregarding the overall situation.' I have already given them a severe reprimand. Minister of War Fang Fengshi has not yet resigned, and Minister of Works Li Youzi is still able to handle official business. I have rejected his resignation memorial. I beg Your Majesty to punish them!"

“The Grand Secretary is right. These four people do deserve to be punished. Let each of them be fined one month’s salary!”

After saying this, the young Wanli bowed slightly.

“Prime Minister, since Shen Qing took up a military post, I have been gradually reducing his duties. He only needs to attend the Prince of Lu's classes three times a month. My daily lectures are mostly handed over to others, and the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue are all handled by Liu Sijie. So Shen Qing is busy with the new policies and draft proposals.”

"In fact, I intend to transfer Minister Shen away from the Ministry of Revenue, and it would be best if he could go to the Ministry of War to serve as Minister of War. I'm afraid only Minister Shen can manage the Ministry of War in a way that satisfies both me and the Grand Secretary!"

As the young Wanli Emperor spoke, he kept an eye on Zhang Juzheng's expression.

Seeing Zhang Juzheng's expressionless face, he quickly added, "Of course, even if we were to appoint Minister Shen to take charge of the Ministry of War, we should follow the rules and wait until Minister Fang retires before discussing it, rather than following the requests of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue!"

Zhang Juzheng nodded in satisfaction.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. The Ministry of Revenue is stable now, with Grand Secretary Yin in charge, so there won't be any problems. Based on Ziheng's abilities, he can indeed go to the Ministry of War, but... but... let's wait until the end of the year to talk about it!"

The young Wanli Emperor nodded excitedly.

Emperor Wanli hoped that Shen Nian could serve as Minister of War.

Because after Shen Nian takes office, he will not only be able to further reform the military system, but also be able to keep military power in his own hands.

Zhang Juzheng actually hoped that Shen Nian would serve as Minister of War.

This position not only allows Shen Nian to have more say in the court and in handling military affairs in the nine border regions, and to have power like his in the future, but it can also prevent the young Wanli Emperor from doing some reckless things.

……

October 15th, near noon.

Emperor Wanli issued an edict stating that Li Youzi, Zeng Shengwu, Liang Menglong, and Wang Yi'e, four cabinet members, had behaved improperly, and each was fined one month's salary.

at the same time.

Emperor Wanli refuted the memorial of Li Youzi, the Minister of Works, requesting his retirement, and ordered the imperial physician to examine him. As long as he was not incontinent, he had to remain at his post.

Officials in all government offices in the capital knew the real reason why the four men were guilty of “disrespectful conduct by the cabinet.”

All the officials were incredibly envious of Shen Nian.

An official who has achieved this level of success has already made a name for himself in history. It's only a matter of time before Shen Nian becomes the Grand Secretary.

……

In the following days, everything in the imperial court remained the same.

Shen Nian found that after becoming a martial arts instructor, she was much more relaxed than before.

For memorials requiring cabinet review, Zhang Juzheng would distribute some concerning military affairs or new policies to Shen Nian, while the rest of the regular memorials were mostly handed over to Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue, who were in their prime at the time. Meanwhile, Shen Nian would check on the duties of the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Revenue every ten days, and there were basically no specific matters that required his attention.

As for daily lectures, Shen Nian's workload is halved compared to before, especially last year.

Shen Nian had a feeling that the imperial court would transfer him to the Ministry of War or the Ministry of Works as Minister at the end of the year or the beginning of next year.

……

October 20th, near noon.

The Director of the Maritime Trade Office of Guangzhou Port and the Eunuch of the Maritime Trade Office jointly submitted a memorial stating that due to the implementation of the order to open the sea to silver, several overseas countries, tribes, and some individual merchant caravans came to the waters of Guangzhou, intending to go to the capital to pay homage to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and to conclude some official trade contracts with the Ming court.

Upon seeing this memorial, Zhang Juzheng immediately summoned the four Grand Secretaries, including Shen Nian, together.

Cabinet office, second floor front hall.

Zhang Juzheng spoke first: "With the implementation of the Maritime Trade Opening Decree, many overseas merchants have come to know that our Great Ming Dynasty is rich in resources and lacks silver, so they want to do business with the court. Not only in Guangzhou Port, but also in Ningbo Port, Quanzhou Port, and Zhangzhou Yue Port, the number of overseas merchants has increased several times over..."

Following that, Yin Zhengmao continued, "These overseas merchants can be divided into two types. One type is speculative small merchants, including some who call themselves envoys of the country or tribe. Their purpose in coming to pay homage to His Majesty is to exchange their 'three walnuts and two dates' for several carriages of gifts from us through tribute, as well as to obtain a merchant status recognized by the court, and then do business with private merchants. Their ultimate goal is to make more money!"

"Another type is the big merchants who want to expand their business. They feel that the number of private merchants going overseas is currently limited, so they want to do business directly with the court to reduce risks and ensure stable profits."

Yin Zhengmao paused for a moment before expressing his thoughts.

"I believe that allowing overseas merchants to come to the capital to pay homage to His Majesty would definitely increase the national treasury's revenue, but it would also reduce the income of private merchants. The fundamental purpose of our implementation of the 'Opening the Seas and Introducing Silver' decree is to facilitate the circulation of silver among the people. I think it is not advisable for the court to participate too much in overseas trade at present, otherwise it will reduce the enthusiasm of private merchants going to sea. The prospects for maritime trade are very promising, and the court does not need to rush to make this quick money. It only needs to control the maritime trade tax."

"I second that!" Wang Xijue said decisively.

“I second that opinion as well. However, these overseas merchants are showing such enthusiasm that turning them away would be beneath our status as a celestial empire and a nation of etiquette!” Shen Shixing said with concern.

Shen Nian smiled and said, “Simple! For any overseas merchants who are still anchored in our ports at the end of the year, have the local government invite them ashore, provide them with a unified reception, let them experience our Spring Festival atmosphere, and treat those who consider Ming Dynasty merchants as friends as we would like to be friends with them. In addition, I suggest that we give special consideration to some overseas merchants who are friendly to the Ming Dynasty. For example, we can allow some overseas merchants to settle in some cities of our dynasty, open shops, and even intermarry. We should also incorporate some of their good qualities.”

“Ziheng is right! This is not a cultural or commercial war, but an exchange of goods and services, a way to understand each other. The Ming Dynasty needs friends overseas!” Zhang Juzheng said.

Thus, the decision was made amidst the laughter of the five cabinet ministers.

This move truly demonstrates that the imperial court does not compete with the people for profit; this move will enable the silver in the Ming Dynasty to increase and circulate in more regions.

Silver can only be considered money when it is constantly in circulation.

……

October 25th, early morning.

The sky is slightly bright.

Shen Nian was traveling by carriage on her way to the cabinet.

The temperature in Beijing has dropped sharply in the past two days.

The trees lining the street lost almost all their leaves in just two or three days.

Many people who set up stalls on the street in the morning have already changed into cotton-padded clothes, and mutton soup and mutton offal soup have become the first choice for breakfast for many merchants and scholars.

After entering the Cabinet office.

Immediately, a clerk brought hot water and towels for Shen Nian to wipe his hands and face.

As soon as Shen Nian sat down, hot tea and snacks were immediately served to him.

This is the treatment a cabinet minister receives.

They don't need to worry about food, clothing, shelter, or transportation, and can always be in the most comfortable state. Of course, the mental pressure is not something that ordinary people can bear.

Every draft bill could determine the fate of many people, and the slightest mistake could affect the destiny of the Ming Dynasty.

Today, Shen Nian doesn't have many memorials to deal with.

However, he still needed to read through all the political documents that Wang Jia, the secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, had just compiled.

Later, Wang Jia will hand over the selected local tabloids to Shen Nian.

The contents of these tabloids mostly represented public opinion and contained the views of many scholars and intellectuals. Shen Nian would read them all, regardless of whether they were extreme or not.

Many of his strategies and ideas came from the content of these tabloids.

In addition, after reading these, Shen Nian also needs to organize the teaching plans for martial arts lectures.

The higher the position, the stricter the requirements are for Shen Nian to meet himself.

Whether it's his martial arts lecture lesson plan or his daily lecture lesson plan, any one of them can be used as a model teaching material for daily lectures and martial arts lectures.

Around noon, the sunlight was slightly warm.

After reading the contents of the local tabloid, Shen Nian was about to stand up and walk around.

Wang Jia, a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat, strode in.

"Grand Secretary Shen, half an hour ago, His Majesty went to the Jingwu Academy in the suburbs of the capital. He left in a hurry, as if something important had happened. The eunuchs in the palace said that His Majesty had internal affairs to attend to at the Jingwu Academy and would return at dusk, but they did not specify what those affairs were. Grand Secretary Zhang would like you to know the details."

"Internal affairs?" Shen Nian frowned slightly.

The young Wanli Emperor's daily schedule is determined at least three days in advance, and today he has no plans to inspect the Jingwu Academy.

At present, Jingwu Academy is not under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet and the Six Ministries, but is directly under the control of the young Wanli Emperor (Chief Instructor).

The main executive managers are Zhang Rong, Liang Menglong, and Shen Nian (the three vice chief instructors).

If anything unexpected were to happen, the young Wanli Emperor should have sent Shen Nian and the other two instead of handling it himself.

Zhang Juzheng was not in a position to interfere in the affairs of the Jingwu Academy, but the actions of the young Wanli Emperor were somewhat unconventional, so he wanted Shen Nian to investigate the situation.

Shen Nian looked at Wang Jia.

"Go quickly to the Duke of England and Minister Liang of the Ministry of War, and ask them what happened at the Jingwu Academy and why His Majesty suddenly went there. If they don't know or are not at the yamen, then I will go to the Jingwu Academy myself."

"Yes!" Wang Jia replied.

……

About half an hour later, Wang Jia arrived in front of Shen Nian.

"Your Excellency, the Duke of Yingguo also rushed to the Jingwu Academy about fifteen minutes after His Majesty went there, but did not explain the reason to his subordinates. As for Minister Liang of the Ministry of War, he was completely unaware of this matter and had no idea that His Majesty and the Duke of Yingguo had gone to the Jingwu Academy."

"If His Majesty is to invite the Duke of England, shouldn't he also invite me and Minister Liang? Something's strange!"

Shen Nian sensed that something was wrong.

Although the young Wanli Emperor had the authority to go to the Jingwu Academy temporarily, it was strange that he did not explain the reason and left in such a hurry.

Shen Nian thought for a moment and said to Wang Jia, "Quickly prepare the carriage. I need to go to the Jingwu Academy immediately and bring Minister Liang along!"

"Yes, Your Excellency!" Wang Jia strode out of the duty room.

(End of this chapter)