In the mourning hall in the front yard of the prime minister's residence, a huge word "甸" was particularly eye-catching.

In front of the mourning hall, there was an offering table with three kinds of sacrificial animals on it, incense and candles burning brightly, and a pure gold butter lamp that burned forever.

Densely packed mourning couplets and funeral banners were hung on both sides of the mourning hall, signed by either the Great Nine Ministers or the Dukes. There were only two exceptions: one was presented by the whole family of Li Wei, the Marquis of Wuqing, the father of the empress dowager; the other was presented by Zhao Liben and his son Zhao Shouzheng. They were also displayed in the hall in a dignified manner.

Eunuch Feng read out the imperial edict to retain the old lord and also presented a mourning banner - with the words "The country has lost an old virtuous man, his virtue will be remembered forever" written in his own handwriting. Then he knelt respectfully in front of the altar, kowtowed and mourned for the old lord.

"Hurry up and help Mr. Shuanglin in to serve tea." Zhang Juzheng ordered Sixiu in a hoarse voice. The father and son had white silk tied on their heads, and their voices were already hoarse from crying.

When distinguished guests come to pay their respects, they cannot be allowed to leave directly; they must be brought in and served tea, which is considered polite.

Zhang Juzheng also went in to talk with the help of You Qi.

Li Yihe, Zeng Shengwu and Wang Zhuan looked at each other, and the former also moved his fat body and followed in.

After the host and the guest sat down, Feng Bao could not wait to ask Zhang Juzheng: "Taiyue has also heard the imperial edict. What should I do to the Empress and the Emperor?"

"Alas..." In just half a day, Zhang Juzheng looked haggard, and his beard, which had never been messy, was now in disarray. He sighed and said, "Yongting, I understand the intentions of you, the Queen Mother, and the Emperor. How can Bu Gu be at ease with this mess? But the Prime Minister is the teacher of all officials, and all officials are the teachers who educate the people. If I don't fulfill my responsibility to my deceased father, not only will I be unable to get over this, but I will also be unable to face all officials and the people of the world."

"Isn't there a precedent?" Feng Bao brought out the story he had found at the last minute. "Back then, Yang Rong, Jin Youzi, Yang Pu, Wang Wen, Li Xian..."

"Yes, there is a tradition of Grand Secretaries being reinstated based on personal feelings. The most recent one was Liu Mianhua, who escaped from mourning twice." Li Yihe interrupted, "But since Yang Tinghe, the tide has turned."

"Oh? Is that so?" Feng Bao couldn't help but feel ashamed. He didn't expect this to happen.

"It's like this." Zhang Juzheng said in a gloomy voice, "In the tenth year of Zhengde, Yang Wenzhong asked to go to the funeral of his father. Wuzong refused at first, but he finally agreed after three requests. Soon after, he was reinstated and declined three times before he was finally allowed. The cabinet ministers who were able to complete the funeral of their parents began with Tinghe..."

Although Emperor Zhengde was absurd, he was very sober and knew that the country could not do without Yang Tinghe, so he did not allow him to mourn his father. After Yang Tinghe insisted again and again, he reluctantly agreed. Soon he wanted to reinstate him early, but Yang probably wanted to live a few more years and did not want to continue to be angry with Zhengde, so he resolutely refused to reinstate him early. He stayed at home for 27 months before returning to Beijing at the urging of Zhengde.

At that time, the Yang family controlled the discourse power of public opinion. As a result, a group of young officials headed by his son promoted him as a moral role model who was not obsessed with power and was both loyal and filial, and a model of a grand scholar!

Liu Mianhua, who has already retired, was severely criticized as a negative example of someone who clings to power and is shameless.

In addition, starting from the Jiajing period, the tendency of moralizing political issues became more and more serious. The privilege of the cabinet ministers to be reinstated based on personal feelings also disappeared from Yang Tinghe onwards.

Feng Bao only knew one side of the story, and seeing that he had made a fool of himself, he could not help but whispered apologetically, "I was just being too clever."

Zhang Juzheng waved his hand and said, "You have good intentions too."

Li Yihe also echoed, "That's right, it's nothing. It's not right for the emperor not to persuade you to stay. Didn't Lord Zhengde persuade Yang Tinghe to stay three times?"

As he said this, he looked at Zhang Juzheng deeply and said, "The key is what you think, sir."

In fact, before they came, several of Zhang's confidants had already discussed how to deal with this sudden and severe situation. In the end, they all agreed that they should try to ask Zhang Xianggong to take the love, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

But they just found out their father was gone, so they didn't dare to say these words. Feng Bao took the lead, and Li Yihe followed suit decisively.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng had calmed down by now. How could he not be calm in the face of the biggest crisis in his official career?

Of course, he wanted to do the same as Yang Tinghe, and come back after 27 months of mourning. But now was not the Zhengde period, when all the ministers were united and fought the emperor in harmony, and no one could threaten Old Yang's existence. He could just stay at home and write without worrying about the mountains and rivers changing and things and people changing when he came back.

But when is this time? The smoke of the brutal cabinet battle during the Longqing Dynasty has not yet dissipated. Xu Ge Lao, Gao Ge Lao, Guo Ge Lao, Chen Ge Lao, Zhao Ge Lao, Li Ge Lao, and Yin Ge Lao are all still alive, and none of them left the cabinet happily. Many of these people are young and strong, and have many followers in the court. If any of them came back in the past three years, I would be very upset.

Even if the emperor still remembers the old days and wants to make himself the prime minister again, it would be extremely difficult for him to be as autocratic as he is now because of the senior elders' restraint.

Zhang Juzheng had experienced countless battles and conflicts, and had achieved his current position by chance over the past thirty years. How could he risk losing it?

A real man can live without his father and mother, but he cannot live without power for a day. Moreover, it is at the critical period of reform, on the eve of the launch of the nationwide land survey...

But the consequences of taking away the love are too serious. The so-called moral integrity and talent, the moral integrity comes first, officials lose their moral foothold, often invite fierce attacks from political enemies. In the Liu Tai case last year, he vaguely sensed the hostility of the civil service group towards him. If he mourned for his father, wouldn't it just give them a golden opportunity to attack?

So even though Mr. Zhang "didn't want to leave", he "couldn't open his mouth".

But he couldn't tell lies or empty words in front of his confidants and allies, so silence was the best answer.

The flower hall fell into silence so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Feng Bao and Li Yihe could read Zhang Xianggong's thoughts and worries from the air.

"I think this matter is beyond the lord's control. The emperor is young, and the world cannot live without the lord for a day. How can the lord bear to leave the emperor and go back to observe the mourning period?" Li Youzi said:

"The Wanli Restoration was created by you, my husband. If you go, who will take over this situation? Lord Xu is 75 years old, and Gao Huzi has a grudge against us, so they can't come back. Lu Diaoyang is just a sidekick. Zhang Siwei may have some talent, but he has been out of office for too long and has no reputation. Your husband's relative, Minister Zhao, is popular and the most trustworthy, but his qualifications are too poor. Besides, who else in the court can be trusted?"

In fact, there are many people he can trust, but he deliberately doesn't say it and pretends they don't exist.

"Yes, this is a situation where you must stay." Feng Bao also nodded quickly and said, "The Empress Dowager has told the Emperor that even if you submit a hundred resignations, it will not be approved!"

"Alas..." Zhang Juzheng sighed in distress, "You are roasting Bu Gu on the fire..."

Feng Bao and Li Yihe looked at each other and understood.

"Sir, you are an extraordinary man. You should do extraordinary things and not care about the world's praise or criticism!" Li Yihe bowed.

"We will beat him with a stick in the court and see who dares to say anything!" Feng Bao also said viciously.

After hearing what Feng Bao said, Zhang Xianggong frowned slightly and said, "The caning in the court will only backfire. It should not be used unless it is absolutely necessary. Let's submit a letter first and see how the government and the public react..."

"Yes." Li Yihe nodded and said, "We will arrange it tomorrow."

~~

After Zhao Hao finished smoking the box of cigarettes in Kaiping, he ordered his men to prepare horses and rush back to Beijing.

Fortunately, the Lugouqiao Company had a strong transportation network in Beizhi, with a carriage station every 20 kilometers for transfers. Mr. Zhao and his party changed horses but not people, and arrived in Tongzhou that night.

Mr. Zhao's crotch was scratched after being tossed on horseback for most of the day. After he got off the horse, Gao Wu, who had just finished his wedding leave, and a guard carried him into the house.

"Hey, what's going on?" As soon as he entered the room, he heard Zhao Liben's familiar voice teasing, "Hemorrhoids flaring up?"

"Grandpa, I don't have hemorrhoids." Young Master Zhao couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Why are you here? Are you not going to compete?"

"The sky has fallen down, why are you still comparing your ass?" Zhao Liben asked Gao Wu to put him on the kang, then took the ointment and drove them out, wanting to apply the ointment to Zhao Hao.

"I'll do it myself later." Young Master Zhao quickly stopped the old man from pulling down his pants. "Little brother is shy."

"I've been playing it since I was a kid. There's nothing to be ashamed of." Zhao Liben rolled his eyes but still put the porcelain vase on the table on the kang.

"You were too young then, but now you've become a successful person." Young Master Zhao laughed, then he leaned back on the kang quilt with his hips split like a woman giving birth. "Grandpa, are you here for my father-in-law's matter?"

"Isn't that nonsense?" Zhao Liben lit a water pipe with an oil lamp and said, "I think this is a great opportunity for your father to take the throne. Prime Minister Zhang has been in mourning for three years, and there must be someone reliable to watch over him in the court. Your father is an honest man, and his qualifications are barely enough. It's not too unusual for Prime Minister Zhang to push him into the cabinet during this extraordinary period."

"Grandpa, you really have the guts to think like that." Zhao Hao couldn't help but smile bitterly, "My father has only been an official for ten years, and he's already thinking about becoming a prime minister?"

"So what? Yang Shiqi entered the cabinet only four years after he started his career." Zhao Liben puffed on his cigarette and said indifferently.

"Could the cabinet back then be the same as it is now?" Zhao Hao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"As long as Mr. Zhang is willing, it doesn't make any difference!" Zhao Liben said in a chuckle, "Didn't my dear grandson always say that only by daring to think and act can we seize the opportunities of history! Besides, even if your father joins the cabinet, he will just be a decoration to occupy a position, so there is no need to worry that he is not competent. Isn't it better to join the cabinet early and gain experience than to do nothing in the Ministry of Rites and waste all your energy on that old woman?"

As he said this, he blew smoke rings at Zhao Hao and said, "Don't you want to be a real little cabinet minister?"

"Okay..." Zhao Hao nodded, but to be honest, he was not very enthusiastic about his father joining the cabinet. He felt that it would be best if he just paid tribute on time and coordinated with the Jiangnan Gang to cooperate with his father-in-law.

In this way, he would have his father-in-law as a protective umbrella, and he would not have to be too involved in the affairs of the court, so he could concentrate on the three major revolutions and the great immigration.

If his father really joined the cabinet, he would not be able to stand by and watch like he is now. That would not be a good thing for him and the group...

ps. It’s gone tonight.