When Wang Wenyan came out of Wang An's residence in Wicker Hutong in an excited mood, when the head of the court, Ye Xianggao, had just arrived at the Xinuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace under the guidance of the eunuch.

Qianqing Palace is the main hall of the emperor, although Wanli has been living in Zheng Guifei's Yikun Palace on weekdays, and never goes to court, but every year will still receive important ministers, especially the ministers.

The place where the ministers are met every time is set in stone, fixed in the Xinuan Pavilion, and there is also a nickname here, called the Palace of Nourishing the Heart.

At this time, it had been three days since the Guanmen Army Mutiny, and in these three days, Ye Xianggao asked to see the emperor several times, but there was no news.

His cabinet office was surrounded by officials every day, asking him for his first assistant to take the charter. Li Hualong, the secretary of the military department, was so anxious that he almost dragged him to knock on the palace.

Wang Xiangqian, the governor of Jiliao, and Li Bing, the governor of Liaodong, had already sent a message to Beijing on the military mutiny, but the imperial court had not been able to come up with a specific plan for dealing with it so far.

In this way, not only the six ministries and nine Qings were dissatisfied, but Kedao was even more uproar. People in the three parties, who have always been at odds with the Donglin Party, even spread rumors, saying that Ye Xianggao accepted bribes from Gao Huai, so they delayed doing so. Some people from the three parties even ran to the cabinet to scold, and almost pointed at his Fuqing minister's nose and scolded.

Ye Xianggao endured all of this, and if he didn't bear it, he would make a big plan, because in his opinion, the closing of the military mutiny was important, but there was one thing more urgent than this matter.

Solving this big thing, everything else is a small section.

Fortunately, in addition to the annoying things, there is still good news. That is, the rebel army in Shanhaiguan has never raised the anti-flag, and has also opened the ban, and now the flood road and trade road inside and outside the pass have been opened.

It is said that this is because the emperor sent people to Shanhaiguan without telling the foreign court.

News came from the palace that the emperor sent the Zheng family.

Ye Xianggao is very vigilant, for a long time, the Zheng family has never interfered in major affairs of the court except for making a fuss about the demon book and thinking about the transposition of the country. But now, the Zheng family suddenly inserted a lever in the military mutiny, what is An's mind?

Ye Xianggao can't be unguarded, as the first assistant, he thinks not only about the interests of the party, but also about the interests of the country. At present, the country has been decided, as long as the East Palace is alive and well, when the emperor dies, the overall situation will be determined, and there is no need for extraneous branches.

On the contrary, as long as the East Palace is peaceful, no matter how much she Zheng Guifei is favored by the emperor, no matter how much trouble she makes, she will end up gloomily.

But it can't be guarded against, the Zheng family can't take the right road, and they want to come out of some crooked ways.

Years of official career have allowed Ye Xianggao to keenly link the Zheng family's closure with recruiting military hearts, although this matter seems impossible, but some things, the more impossible the more possible, the more likely it is.

With the support of the army, it is difficult to guarantee who will be the emperor.

In view of this, Ye Xianggao wrote letters to Wang Xiangqian, the governor of Jiliao, and Li Bing, the governor of Liaodong, respectively, and asked someone to send them quickly.

This is also a precautionary measure, Li Chengliang's place, Ye Xianggao did not send someone to deliver the letter, because he knew that the military mutiny at the end of the door was inseparable from this old commander.

Now, the imperial court wants to make big things small, and he Li Chengliang wants to do the same.

On the issue of how to look at Gao Huai, Ye Xianggao is confident, and Li Chengliang has the same opinion as him.

So, it's enough to have this consensus.

………..

When Ye Xianggao arrived, Wanli didn't know why he was delayed and hadn't come over yet.

Helpless, Ye Xianggao had to wait in the pavilion, he didn't come empty-handed, he had a book in his sleeve, which he had written last night.

Ye Xianggao is 51 years old this year, he is a native of Fuqing, Fujian, and a jinshi in the eleventh year of Wanli. When his mother gave birth to him, it was during the chaos of Fujian, and Ye Xianggao's mother, Lin, gave birth to Ye Xianggao in a broken toilet on the side of the road on the way to escape, so his milk name was "toilet boy". It is not a miracle that a poor child who was born in a toilet has become the first assistant of the dynasty today.

However, Ye Xianggao's career was not smooth, and after winning the Jinshi, he was awarded the post of Shu Jishi and served as the editor of the Hanlin Academy. Later, because the emperor opened a large mine to supervise the tax envoy, he was opposed by the superiors and was sent to Nanjing to serve as the right attendant of the Ministry of Rites.

Nanjing's official positions are all idle, Ye Gaoxiang stayed in Nanjing for ten years, and finally survived to Beijing Guozi Priest Zhou Yin Zhishi, according to his talent and qualifications, Ye Xianggao took over undoubtedly, but he was rejected by the leader of the Zhejiang Party, Shen, who was the first assistant at the time.

Ye Xianggao was repeatedly frustrated and disheartened in his career, and asked for Zhishi many times, but he could not get permission. The year before last, the first assistant Shen Cheng and the second assistant Shen Li were successively appointed because of the "demon book case", and Zhu Geng was the only one in the cabinet. Zhu Geng didn't go to work behind closed doors, there was no way, Wanli had to order the foreign court to push and supplement the cabinet ministers, so Ye Xianggaocai entered the cabinet with Yu Shenxing and Li Tingji.

Zhu Geng and Yu Shenxing died one after another, and Li Tingji did not serve as a director, and now he is even more resigned, so the cabinet affairs are only presided over by Ye Xianggao, so he is called "Duxiang" inside and outside the court.

Because of his perennial position in Nanjing, Ye Xianggao had a close relationship with the Donglin Party members, and he was even more close friends with Gu Xiancheng. The same unwillingness and expectations for the future made Ye Xianggao the backbone of the Donglin Party, and after he entered the cabinet as the sole minister, he became the leader of the Donglin Party. The prestige in the party is heavy, and he is no longer weak Li Sancai, another cadre.

Last month, after Ye Xianggao's struggle, Li Sancai was finally able to enter Beijing as the head of the household, and now Li Sancai is rushing to the way of the Beijing teacher.

Ye Xianggao has already decided that after Li Sancai takes office, he will mobilize the strength of all his colleagues in the party to promote the approval of the additional cabinet ministers, so that Li Sancai can enter the cabinet to assist him. In the future, after he becomes a leader, the government will be completely taken over by Li Sancai, so that no matter how conspiratorial and intriguing the traitors of the three parties are, they will always not be able to turn the sky upside down.

Ye Xianggao is an old man in the pavilion, and he is alone, he will not stand in the warm pavilion, and there are already eunuchs who have moved the brocade stool for him to sit down, and he has brought fragrant tea.

Ye Xianggao was sipping fragrant tea while waiting quietly.

Since he entered the cabinet, there have only been a handful of people who have seen the emperor, not because he didn't want to see him, but because the emperor didn't see him.

Three days ago, after learning of the military mutiny, Ye Xianggao wanted to go to the palace to face the king overnight, but unfortunately he was blocked. In the next few days, he asked to meet the emperor every day, but the emperor did not move at all.

Today, the Emperor is finally willing to see him.

Ye Xianggao cheered up and was ready to take advantage of this rare opportunity to deal with the tricky things in his hands.

Finally, the emperor, who had difficulty moving, finally stepped into the warm pavilion with the support of the internal supervisor.

"I've been waiting for a long time."

Wanli saw that Ye Xianggao was about to get up and salute, and hurriedly signaled to be exempted, and after sitting on the royal chair, he handed Ye Xianggao a few letters that had already been approved by the celebrant and the inner supervisor.

Ye Xianggao glanced at it roughly, and it was all the notes about the disaster situation in various places that had been handed over by the General Administration Secretary recently.

"Your Majesty, the haze is haze day by day, and there is no rain all year round, from Gyeonggi to the east and west of the mountains, the north and south of the river, and as for Xishu, many places are seriously affected. According to the local songs, there have been several counties in which they have been displaced and starved, so that they can't bear to hear or see it. He begged His Majesty to pardon the stricken land for several years so that the victims could rebuild their homes. ”

"I'm approved, the specific affairs cabinet has drawn up a charter, and I don't have to hand it over, just send it down and ask the local government to dispose of it." Wanli has never been ambiguous about disaster relief, otherwise he would not have approved these disaster letters alone.

Seeing Emperor Kenna's own opinion, Ye Xianggao was overjoyed, and said busily: "Your Majesty, there has always been chaos in the world, all because of the depression of human feelings. Today's depression is abnormal, and there must be abnormal changes. The Taoist official is known as the way of speech, not only the eyes and ears of the imperial court, but also the throat. If the throat is congested, there is no food or drink. Today, the official will impeach the article and will not report it. The minister thinks that if he continues like this for a long time, his words will be stopped, which is not a blessing for the country. ”

Ye Xianggao wanted to take the opportunity to persuade the emperor to speak up, encourage the department to be sparse, and make a sparse reply, instead of ignoring it as before.

As a result, Wanli fell silent after hearing this.

Ye Xianggao sighed in his heart, knowing that the emperor's prejudice against Kedao was too heavy, and it was difficult to change it for a while. He said no more, and said in a hurry to do another major event: "Your Majesty, in the past, when the prince entered the domain, the maximum amount of land was only 4,000 hectares, but now the blessing of the king is ten times, but even so, Your Majesty will not let the blessed king return to the country, and the minister is afraid that Your Majesty will lose his trust in the world." ”

Wanli was stunned for a moment, but he didn't expect Ye Xianggao to talk about the matter of King Fu giving land. He frowned, waved his hand and said: "There are 40,000 hectares of the ancestral system, and I can't follow the ancestral system." ”

Unexpectedly, Ye Xianggao said: "Your Majesty, the minister has checked, and there is no such thing in the ancestral system." ”

“…….”

Wanli was suddenly very embarrassed, and his face was a little red.

"Your Majesty, since ancient times, the founding or inheritance of the family must follow reason and peace in order to last for a long time. Zheng Zhuang Gong loves Uncle Duan, and Empress Dowager Dou loves King Liang Xiao, both of whom are given large fiefs to seal the country, but what is the ending of these two? ”

Ye Xianggao persuaded him with good words, he always thought that the emperor gave too much farmland to King Fu. Although he has vigorously urged the household department and the local government to do a good job in the affairs of Fuwang Zhuang, until now, it has not yet exceeded half of it. Therefore, he wondered if he could advise him to reduce the number of fields in King Fu's farm.

Wanli understood what Ye Xianggao meant, he pondered for a moment and asked, "What does Xianggong think?" ”

Ye Xianggao hurriedly said: "The minister thought that His Majesty had decreed a reduction of 10,000 hectares, and His Royal Highness King Fu would resign by another 10,000 hectares." ”

After hearing this, Wanli was very unhappy, and said unhappily: "Mr. is doing his best for the East Palace, can you patronize King Fu a little?" ”

Ye Xiang Gao Zhengse said: "This is exactly what the old minister is doing his best to think about King Fu. In the past, people said that long live a thousand years old, or that my generation can live to be 100 years old, but that is all nonsense. Now the emperor is nearly fifty years old, and he still loves King Fu, if King Fu takes advantage of this time to enter the domain, the gift is double, and the treasures in the palace are like a mountain, and he can choose at will. As the saying goes, there are unforeseen circumstances in the sky, in case of a time of failure, King Fu may not even be able to get his due share, so in this way, the old minister for the sake of King Fu Why not, can he say that he does not do his best? ”

"I have already made an order, King Fu knows, the concubine knows, and everyone in the world knows that now it is difficult for a strong man to change his will." Wanli didn't want to reduce the Zhuang Tian given to King Fu, because he felt that his father was too sorry for his son.

"If that's the case," Ye Xianggao paused for a moment, and said categorically: "Then please ask Your Majesty to issue an order for King Fu to return to the country." ”

"This..."Wanli suddenly stood up, very shocked, "How can this work!" ”

"Your Majesty, the country of vassal kings, how can the ancestral system be violated?" Ye Xianggao looked non-negotiable. He is the first assistant, the major affairs of the court need to be maintained by him, and the emperor's major affairs also need his first assistant's nod, if he does not cooperate, to say something ugly, the emperor will not be able to play.

Wanli is a little anxious, the cabinet is Ye Xianggao alone, if Ye Xianggao falls out with him again, who will take care of this government for him.

"Next winter is the Queen Mother's seventieth birthday, King Fu should stay to celebrate her birthday, I see, for the time being, King Fu will not be called to return to the domain, and it will be postponed to the year after tomorrow." Wanli played a cautious eye, if it is hard, it will be soft, even if he, the emperor, has no face and is embarrassed, he can keep his voice down.

Regarding the emperor's small abacus, Ye Xianggao's heart was as clear as a mirror, he was unmoved, and insisted: "King Fu Jinke can celebrate his birthday in advance and return to the vassal kingdom as scheduled in the spring of next year." ”

"You don't have to be in such a hurry, right? I am really reluctant to let these sons go. Wanli was very uneasy, looking at Ye Xianggao's eyes a little pitiful.

"It has long been rumored in the outer court that His Majesty intends to leave King Fu in the name of He Shou. If Your Majesty really does this, the court will be uneasy, and if the Queen Mother hears about it, she will be unhappy in her heart; Besides, the emperor's younger brother King Lu is now living in a foreign domain, and the Queen Mother misses it very much, King Lu can't come, why is King Fu here? Ye Xianggao's words were very sharp, which made Wanli unspeakable.

"As long as Your Majesty can determine the date of King Fu's return, the ministers will always have something to say to the courtiers. But in this case, what the minister asked before, Your Majesty should think twice. Ye Xianggao said very calmly.

"Then let's do it."

Wanli felt that he had fallen into Ye Xianggao's trap, but he had to stretch his neck into this set again. Otherwise, Ye Xianggao led the foreign dynasty to force himself to return to the country, and it would be bad.

Ye Xianggao nodded slightly, firstly, he could cut off half of King Fu's farmland, and secondly, he could determine the date of his return to China.

As long as King Fu leaves Jingshi, there will be nothing to do in the East Palace!

The emperor agreed to his request so readily, and Ye Xianggao was very satisfied.

Wanli secretly scolded Fuqing Xianggong in his heart for being as cunning as rumored, but he couldn't say it, after all, the prince must be the ancestor of the country, and he insisted on not doing it. And giving King Fu 40,000 hectares of farmland at one time is really unreasonable.

"Is there anything else to do, if not, I have something to do..."Wanli said.

Ye Xianggao said: "The minister still has something to do." ”

Wanli was stunned for a moment, and said, "That is the prime minister and said." ”

"This is the minister's recital, please Your Majesty!"

After Ye Xianggao finished speaking, he took out the copy of the note from his sleeve and handed it to the inner supervisor, who respectfully presented it again. Wanli took a look at it, and the name was a few words big - "Public Invitation to Impeach Liaodong Mine Supervisor"

"Your Majesty, since Gao Huai was the tax supervisor of Liaodong Mine, he has..." Ye Xiang Gao Zheng was about to complain about Gao Huai's crimes, but he didn't expect Wanli to interrupt him with a wave of his hand, and then said to him: "I have already decided, call Gao Huai back." ”

Ye Xianggao was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed: "So, His Majesty the Liaodong Mine Supervisor is finally willing to withdraw?" ”

Wanli shook his head: "Xianggong misunderstood, I just asked Gao Huai to come back, the tax supervisor of Liaodong Mine, not for the time being." ”

"This..."Ye Xianggao hesitated, and he wanted to persuade the emperor to completely dismiss the Liaodong Mine Tax Inspector.

Wanli stared at him and said slowly: "Xianggong, I have already responded to a few major events for you, so you can't approve me one or two?" ”

Ye Xianggao hesitated for a moment, several major events have been completed today, and Gao Huai is also approved, according to the emperor's consistent character, it is really rare, it is better not to persecute again. Otherwise, the emperor would turn his face and retract his previous promise, which would be even more troublesome.

After all, once upon a time, emperors often broke their promises.

Ye Xianggao didn't dare to take this risk, so he stopped squeaking.

Wanli nodded lightly and said, "There is a small matter, and Minister Lao asked him to do it below." I want to make a person a scholar and ask him to take a look at Liaodong on my behalf. ”

"Who?" Ye Xianggao asked.

"Wei Liangchen."