On the second day of Yan Song's departure from Beijing, Jiajing issued an order to appoint Xu Jie as the new first assistant.

Although this news was expected, when the appointment was really announced, it still had a strong offensive power, and the court, which had been quiet for twenty years, was finally replaced.

Although Xu Jie and Yan Song are both courtiers who climbed up by writing green words and welcoming the holy will, there is no essential difference between the two. It's just that Xu Jie's becoming the new first assistant will inevitably bring a trace of expectation to the hundred officials.

It's the same for everyone, even if it's old wine in a new bottle, it is inevitable that there will be some unrealistic illusions.

Even if Xu Jie is not the ideal virtuous person in their hearts, then in any case it is better than Yan Song, who is arbitrary, blocking the way of speech, and blinding the holy hearing, right? During the reign of Yan Song, it was difficult for them to even meet the emperor, let alone be appreciated by the emperor for their talent and virtue.

It was precisely when the new prime minister came to power that many officials began to look forward to the future, and even pinned their hopes on this new minister, even if his reputation was not so good.

Xu Jie seemed to have heard the demands of the officials, and indeed showed something exciting.

On the thanksgiving recital, Xu Jie suggested to Jiajing: "The big treachery is like loyalty, and the big deception is like faith." but if you listen to it widely, you will be extremely vicious, and people will pry it on me; Affectionate and hidden, people send it to me. Therefore, the Holy Emperor and King Ming must be observed if he has words. That is, if it is not true, the small one will put it away, and the big one will be lightly blamed and tolerated, and the one who will come with a drum. ”

Although Jiajing was extremely disgusted with those officials who liked to have nothing to do, and even more tired of those words that ruined their lives at every turn, it was only in the face of the first formal invitation of the new first first assistant, and he was not easy to refuse.

In the same way, he gave a positive reply: good.

As soon as the news came out, the officials who were always paying attention to the movements of the new phase suddenly celebrated, especially the officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Six Science Corridors, who saw a ray of light.

Why is Yan Song able to act arbitrarily?

It was Yan Song who blocked the way of speech, blinded the Holy Hearing, and made their loyal words and good prescriptions for saving the country unable to reach the emperor's desk, so that their talents could not be displayed.

Now that the new minister came to power, he took the initiative to open up his speech, so that not only could their performances go straight to the emperor's desk, but also had the opportunity to be reused by the emperor.

Xu Jie's move won the strong support of many officials. This alone has thrown Yan Song off the street, and he is a virtuous new first assistant.

On the day Xu Jie officially took office, he moved to the duty room left by Yan Song, and hung a banner behind the desk: return the lord with prestige, return the ministers with government affairs, and return the public with rewards and punishments.

Just "returning the lord with Weifu" sent a very clear signal to the outside world that he was not the first assistant of Yan Song's "autocratic power", and would "return" the power to the emperor.

If Yan Song is a fierce and evil door god, then he Xu Jie is a gatekeeper who follows the rules, and the two have an immediate opinion.

According to the usual practice, the officials of the six departments all came to meet the new chief assistant.

When he saw the banner hanging on the wall, even Cai Yuncheng, the secretary of the Criminal Department, secretly swallowed and foamed, this new first assistant is really completely different from Yan Song!

Due to the emperor's resignation, many major matters are no longer discussed by the court, but can be decided by the cabinet. Some major affairs like the six of them have always been decided by Yan Song.

It's just that after Xu Jie's coming to power, he actually said that he would "return government affairs to the departments", isn't this a great "decentralization"?

Guo Pu, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Lei Li, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, and Yang Bo, the secretary of the Ministry of War, came to meet the new minister Xu Jie, and when they saw the text panel on it, they were also secretly dumbfounded.

They were originally thinking about how to get a greater right to speak, but they never expected that Xu Jie would take the initiative to delegate power, which caused them to feel a little ashamed in their hearts.

After saying some words of encouragement, the three Shangshu took their leave and left.

As soon as the three of them left, Yuan Wei walked in and asked suspiciously, "Lord Yuanfu, are you looking for me?" ”

With Yan Song's resignation, only Xu Jie and Yuan Wei remained among the ministers of the Ming Dynasty.

Yuan Wei is fifty-two years old this year, and he is a second-class jinshi in the seventeenth year of Jiajing, and he entered the officialdom as a Shujishi. Because of the writing of green words, he was favored by Rilong, and he moved to the left waiter of the Ministry of Rites, and then entered the cabinet to worship the prime minister.

Although his career is very smooth, he has not accumulated a strong network, and even his reputation is a mess, and he is still ridiculed for the solar eclipse dispute with Wu Shan.

Even when Yan Song left his post, he did not dare to hope for the position of first assistant. With his current strength, let alone competing with Xu Jie, it is already very good to be able to sit in the position of the last assistant.

Xu Jie called Yuan Wei over, and said in a serious tone: "If you do the same thing, you will be fair, and if you are public, you will be a hundred Meiji." Specialization is private, and privacy is a hundred diseases. The cabinet ministers are only you and me, and in the future, the proposed vote will be drafted by us through consultation! ”

During Yan Song's reign, everything was decided by Yan Song, and the two elders could only stand aside. For this point, Yuan Wei, who joined the cabinet last year, has a deep understanding.

At that moment, Xu Jie was willing to follow him to discuss, so that he was stunned for a while, and then the tears were almost about to fall, and he endured excitement and said, "Thank you Lord Yuanfu for cultivating!" ”

"Xu Ge is in power, a hundred times stronger than Yan Ge!"

As the news came out one by one, the hundreds of officials in the DPRK and China applauded, and some people even did not shy away from comparing the former first assistant, which already held Xu Jie high.

not only opened the way of speech, but also decentralized, which was something that Yan Song did not dare to imagine. It's just that when Xu Jie's reign, everything has changed, showing the appearance of a thriving and prosperous era.

In the rest of May, everyone has been watching the movements of the new phase.

Xu Jie, instead of proposing new policies in a big way, nor did he rush to introduce new measures, but focused on rectifying the rule of officials.

This is almost the consensus of officials all over the world. The corruption of the dynasty and the endless greed for ink are all due to the appointment of corrupt officials, as long as they are replaced by some honest officials, they can wash away the maladministration.

At Xu Jie's instructions, the officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Six Branch Corridors pointed the finger at Cai Yuncheng, the secretary of the Criminal Department, Wan Cai, the secretary of the Dali Temple, Yan Maoqing, the squire of the Criminal Department, Wan Yulong, the Shaoqing of Dachang, Hu Rulin, the right Tongzheng, Bai Qichang, the Shaoqing of Guanglu, Hu Zhi, the governor of the right imperial history and Caoyun, and Zhang Yu, the governor of Huguang, and others.

All of a sudden, there was a slight upheaval throughout the court, knowing that a storm was about to sweep in.

Xu Jie's protégé and former official are naturally celebrating with the crown, while Yan Dang's side is like a mourner. Everyone knows that the corrupt officials of the Yan Party will step down, while the honest and upright people of the Xu Party will come to power.

In this atmosphere of anxiety and joy, May of the 41st year of Jiajing quietly passed.