On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the first thing the people want to do is naturally to pay New Year's greetings to the elders, and the first thing the ministers want to do is to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year in the sixth year of Jiajing, as soon as the sky was brightened, there were officials who came to the noon gate to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor, and some officials who were in a hurry to go back to pay New Year's greetings to Shangguan or their father-in-law left in a hurry, but a small part of them stayed, gathered there and whispered, looking at the blue-green official uniforms, which were obviously officials below the fifth grade.

It is no wonder that the smaller the official position, the farther away from the center of power, the more closed the news, so once something big happens in the court, these petty officials are often the last to learn, but the first step to grasp the news can undoubtedly effectively avoid evil, so the little people are particularly keen to find out inside information. For example, retail investors who speculate in stocks like to brush up on the gossip on the forum, if they happen to meet a "big investor" who appears, they immediately rush to the big fart, nothing more than to dig up some inside information, and then buy in advance to make a price limit or something.

Speaking of "big households", big households immediately appeared, only to see a carriage stopped in front of the noon gate, an official in a scarlet robe got off the carriage, this person was born with sparse eyebrows, straight nose and mouth, it was the left waiter of the Ministry of Rites, and Xia Yan, a bachelor of Hanlin.

Xia Yan got out of the carriage, went straight to the noon gate and bowed, bowed to the emperor in the palace, and then planned to leave, but as soon as he turned around and walked a few steps, he was surrounded by a group of officials.

"Happy New Year, Lord Xia!" A group of petty officials surrounded Xia Yan and saluted the New Year with a smile.

Xia Yan is honest and outspoken, dignified, knowledgeable, and writes good articles, the key is that he never forms a gang, so he is very reused by Jiajing. However, as the so-called gold is not enough, no one is perfect, Xia Yan's temperament is relatively arrogant, and ordinary people can't enter his eyes, so his popularity in the court is not very good, at this time, he was surrounded by a group of officials to pay New Year's greetings, even he himself felt a little surprised, slightly arched his hand as a return gift, and said lightly: "Happy New Year, colleagues!" ”

Seeing that Xia Shilang was not as straightforward as usual, an official boldly asked: "It is reported that I defeated the left wing a few days ago and completely unified the Tatars, and the Tatar Great Khan Da Tai Xun died, and Da Tai Xun's brother Mentu fled into our Ming Dynasty's Gubeikou Guancheng, dare to ask Lord Xia, can this matter be taken seriously?" ”

Xia Yan's eyebrows suddenly furrowed, and he asked in a deep voice, "Who are you listening to?" ”

The officials glanced at each other, looking at Xia Yan's expression, they didn't seem to know about it, and the official who took the lead said curtly: "The lower officials are just rumors, I don't know whether it's true or not, so I asked Lord Xia for verification." ”

Xia Yan's brows furrowed even deeper, in fact, he really didn't know about this matter, the eight-hundred-mile rush was sent last night, and it was still very early, Jiajing didn't have time to convene the minister to discuss this matter, plus Xia Yan's popularity in the court was not very good, so no one told him.

Just when the atmosphere was a little awkward, another carriage drove outside the noon gate, and a scarlet-robed official stepped down from the car, who was the secretary of the ministry.

Fang Xianfu, cousin Shuxian, a native of Nanhai, Guangzhou, Guangdong, and a Jinshi in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi, is just the opposite of Xia Yan, this person is good at dancing with long sleeves, and is very popular in the DPRK. Strictly speaking, Fang Xianfu actually belongs to the upstart faction, when the "Great Rites Discussion" was in an uproar, he supported Zhang Zhang, but his performance was relatively mild, and later Zhang Xuan and Gui Cao fell, and the upstart faction was almost purged, and Fang Xianfu was not only spared, but now he has also become a secretary of the ministry, which shows that this person is indeed very good at mixing, and he is a sleek character who is left and right.

Fang Xianfu's appearance, the officials who were originally around Xia Yan took the opportunity to confess, and then hula surrounded him, and greeted Fang Xianfu one after another.

Fang Xianfu is in his forties, like most southerners, relatively short, he strokes his beard and smiles in return, which makes people feel like a spring breeze.

Xia Yan looked down on the sleek and sophisticated Fang Xianfu in his heart, thinking that this person had average ability, and he would only have a relationship with the mud all day long, and he had no achievements in governance, so he was really not worthy of the post of secretary of the ministry, so he did not come forward to salute, but went straight to the carriage and left.

Fang Xianfu couldn't help but be angry when he saw Xia Yan being so rude, but he didn't show it, and still greeted the officials around him as usual, but he didn't see Xia Yan.

"It is reported that a few days ago, I had defeated the left wing and unified the entire Tartary, Kuden Khan Da Tai Xun was killed, and Da Tai Xun's brother Mentu has now fled into the Gubeikou Pass City, dare to ask Fang Shangshu, can this news be true?" After greeting him, the official who took the lead took the opportunity to inquire again.

Fang Xianfu's eyes flashed, and he nodded and said: "The news is true, the emperor has ordered the military department to transfer troops to reinforce Gubeikou, and at the same time sent Jinyi Wei to Gubeikou to welcome Mentu into Beijing." ”

"Hey, it seems that the emperor intends to send troops to the Northern Expedition!"

"What's so surprising about this, the emperor has long had the heart of the Northern Expedition to the Tatars, the Tartars were too arrogant last year, the soldiers surrounded my Ming capital, burned, killed and looted, and did all kinds of evil, it was time to retaliate with a tooth for a tooth and teach them a lesson!"

"Lord Zhang's words are wrong, the so-called soldier's murder weapon is also, the saint has to use it as a last resort, and the sword and soldier will inevitably be ruined, and the people will suffer. I have only just improved in the past few years, and I must not use my sword again. ”

"What Master Li said is extremely true, seizing the opportunity to recuperate is the king, and it is bitter cold outside, even if it is defeated, what is the use? What's more, the Tatar cavalry came and went like the wind, and even if they were driven away temporarily, they would soon come back again, and the Northern Expedition would be nothing but a futile move. ”

A number of officials talked a lot, although there were hawks who supported the Northern Expedition, but there were obviously more doves who opposed the sending of troops. Fang Xianfu didn't interject, just smiled and made a gesture of a listener.

Seeing this, the officials argued even harder, Fang Xianfu is a secretary of the ministry, in charge of the assessment and promotion of hundreds of officials, and leaving a good impression in front of him is obviously very beneficial to his career.

Just as everyone was arguing, Fang Xianfu's eyes suddenly lit up, separated everyone, and walked towards a carriage that had just stopped. At this time, I saw the curtain of the carriage lifted, and a young man wearing a python robe and jade belt walked out of it, born with red lips and white teeth, handsome and extraordinary, and his demeanor was calm, it was Xu Jin, the Duke of Yasukuni.

"Happy New Year!" Fang Xianfu approached and bowed to Xu Jin.

Xu Jin didn't have a very good impression of this Fang Shangshu, and quietly replied, "Lord Fang has a good New Year." ”

Other officials also took the opportunity to surround and salute Xu Jin, and now although Xu Jin has retreated to the second line, he is still very prestigious in the court, not to mention that he is deeply favored by the emperor, so no one dares to slack off.

After the officials finished saluting Xu Jin, Fang Xianfu coughed lightly and said: "Last night, Gubeikou sent an eight-hundred-mile expedited, it is reported that I have killed the Tatar Great Khan Da Lai Sun, and has ascended the throne in the Chahar Khan Court, and Da Tai Xun's brother Mentu escaped the pursuit and fled into the Gubeikou Guancheng, presumably the Yasukuni Gong already knows, right?" ”

"My lord just knew!" Xu Jin said indifferently.

In fact, Jiajing, who was gearing up, had sent someone to inform Xu Jin of the good news last night, but this news was not good news for Xu Jin, he originally thought that I would have to work for at least a year and a half, and the greater the internal friction, the better, but I seemed to be very lucky, and I easily took Chahar so quickly, and the actual loss was not big, which was definitely not a good thing for the Ming army that was about to go on a northern expedition.

At this time, an official boldly asked: "It is reported that the emperor has ordered the Jinyi guard to go to Gubeikou to welcome Mentu into Beijing, does the Duke of Yasukuni think that the emperor is planning to send troops to the Northern Expedition?" ”

Xu Jin frowned imperceptibly, and scolded: "As a courtier, An dares to speculate on the holy will, you just need to do your duty and do your duty." ”

The questioning official's face immediately turned red as purple, and he repeatedly confessed his guilt. Xu Jin no longer paid attention to the officials, walked straight to the noon gate and bowed to the emperor to greet the emperor, and then boarded the car and left.

The official who was reprimanded by Xu Jin just now snorted coldly and said unconvinced: "The Duke of Yasukuni must have supported the emperor's Northern Expedition. ”

Immediately, another official answered in a strange manner: "Needless to say, if the emperor sends troops to the Northern Expedition, it must be the Duke of Yasukuni who is in charge, such an excellent opportunity for meritorious service, how can this son not support it." ”

"Exactly, let's see, if the emperor summons the Duke of Yasukuni to participate in the court meeting, the Duke of Yasukuni will definitely do his best to support the Northern Expedition."

An official immediately arched his hand at Fang Xianfu, and said in a righteous and awe-inspiring manner: "It is not the work of Renjun to be reckless, and sending troops to the Northern Expedition is just a move to work the people and lose money. ”

"Bah, your Excellency means that it is the traitor who advocates sending troops?" A hawkish official snapped back.

For a while, the officials of the two factions with different opinions fought again, and almost rolled up their sleeves to fight.

Fang Xianfu coughed lightly, stroked his beard and said: "Don't be impatient, everyone, we are all colleagues, but we just disagree, and we can't speak ill of each other, which hurts each other's harmony." The emperor is a wise lord, and he will definitely listen to the words of the hundred officials and handle this matter properly. ”

When the officials of the two factions heard this, they secretly said that the old fox said that they didn't say it, but everyone echoed it, after all, if they don't agree, it is equivalent to saying that the emperor is not wise and is a faint king, who dares not to agree?