It was already April of the seventh year of Wanli when Zhao Hao received the news that Sebastian had arrived safely in Yongxia City.
He hasn't appeared in more than a year, so let's take a brief look back:
At the end of the fifth year of Wanli, he resolved the love affair scandal of his father-in-law in Beijing and pushed his father into the cabinet.
But he couldn't just give up right away. After helping his father get on the horse, he had to see him off for a while. So after the 10th anniversary meeting on Jeju Island, he returned to the capital to celebrate the New Year. Then, until March of the sixth year of the Wanli reign, he stayed in the capital to help his father learn how to be a good university scholar.
In the spring of the sixth year of the Wanli reign, the biggest event was the wedding of Emperor Wanli. On the eve of the emperor's wedding, Empress Dowager Li retired to the Cining Palace and issued an imperial decree to end her regency.
But she was still worried about her sixteen-year-old son, so she still did not allow Wanli to rule the country, and completely transferred the responsibility of guardianship of the emperor to Zhang Juzheng.
For this reason, she issued a special decree to Zhang Juzheng:
'The Emperor's wedding is coming soon. I have to return to the palace. I can't stay and take care of the Emperor as I did before. I am worried that the Emperor will not be as diligent as before and have great virtue. I am deeply worried about this. You are entrusted by the Emperor and have the responsibility of being a teacher and guardian. This is different from others. Now I am here to tell you that you must accept the Emperor's teachings day and night to help him be virtuous. You will be trusted by the Emperor and the people will always rely on you. You should respectfully accept this.'
Therefore, after the love affair and the emperor's wedding, Zhang Xianggong's power was not weakened, but strengthened. He is now not only the regent of a country, but also the guardian of the emperor. It is not an exaggeration to call him "the father of the emperor".
When Wanli got married, Zhang Xianggong should have recused himself according to the rules, and he also submitted a petition to request to be excused. However, Empress Dowager Li specially ordered him to wear auspicious clothes during the ceremony and preside over the wedding for her student.
At the grand wedding ceremony celebrated by all nations, Zhang Juzheng was so pleased that he wept as he watched the young emperor who had ascended the throne at a young age grow up, establish his empress, and become a heroic young emperor. He was more pleased than seeing his own son get married.
Because all the effort he put into all his sons combined is far less than what he put into the emperor alone!
After the wedding, Mr. Zhang filed a series of petitions requesting leave to return home to bury his father as agreed before.
It was not until the third book that the emperor approved his request, but in the end he only gave him half a year's leave.
~~
On March 13th, Mr. Zhang was finally able to set off.
Before leaving, he went to the Qianqing Palace to bid farewell to the newlywed emperor.
"Sir, please come closer." Wanli ordered from the throne.
Zhang Juzheng moved forward a few steps. Wanli looked at Mr. Zhang, who had been his assistant for many years. His beautiful beard had turned white and he looked more than ten years older than before he had lost his love.
Although he felt relieved, he was reluctant to leave and said, "Take care on your journey, sir, and don't be too sad when you get home. Go soon and come back soon. My mother and I are looking forward to your return day and night."
Zhang Juzheng was so moved that he fell to the ground sobbing and bursting into tears.
"Sir, please don't be sad..." Wanli also said sadly: "I have a lot to say to you, sir. Seeing you sad, I am choked with tears and can't speak."
Because Mr. Zhang was in mourning and could not be kept for dinner, Wanli asked the eunuchs to divide half of the daily imperial meal and put it in a food box to send back to Zhang Juzheng.
Empress Dowager Li also sent her brother to give Juzheng a hu of golden beans as a reward for his journey. She also conveyed the Empress Dowager's oral instructions:
'After you leave, the emperor will have no one to rely on. Since you are reluctant to leave the emperor, come early after finishing your family affairs, and don't wait for others to rush you.'
After thanking his father-in-law and leaving the palace, Zhang Xianggong set out to leave the capital. Zhao Hao, the half-son, had to go to Jiangling with him. He saw the prestige of his father-in-law at the height of his power.
Eunuch Feng represented the Emperor and the Empress Dowager and went to the suburbs to see them off. All the ministers, civil officials and military officials also went out to the suburbs to see them off.
Along the way, in addition to the eunuchs and Jinyiwei who were ordered to escort Yuan Fu back home, Qi Jiguang, the general of Jizhen, also sent one hundred musketeers and one hundred archers to escort him.
Wherever he went, the roads were paved with yellow earth and the streets were sprinkled with clean water. Civil and military officials came out in full force to offer sacrifices to welcome and see him off. Officials knelt on the ground and cried to the sky, as if they had lost their parents. It was really ugly. Even the princes of various places came to the border to welcome and see him off, presenting gifts and offerings together. No one dared to neglect them.
Zhang Xianggong only accepted offerings along the way and returned all the gifts, except for the "Ruyi Zhai" given to him by Qian Pu, the prefect of Zhending.
Because Zhang Xianglu had to deal with state affairs on the road and could not waste time. He also had severe hemorrhoids, which might relapse if he sat in an ordinary sedan chair for a long time. So Qian Pu spent a huge amount of money to build a "Ruyi Zhai" for him with a study, bedroom and bathroom.
The Ruyizhai has an area of nearly 50 square meters, which is like a small apartment. It is not pulled by oxen or horses, but carried by 32 strong sedan bearers, and the speed is surprisingly not slow at all.
~~
After crossing the Yellow River and passing through Zhengzhou, Zhang Juzheng specifically ordered Ruyizhai to take a detour to Xinzheng to visit his former close comrade-in-arms Gao Gong.
Zhao Hao remembered that in another time and space, Lao Gao was already very ill and could only come out to greet him with the help of his nephew.
So Zhang Xianggong's visit did not have a good effect. In Gao Huzi's opinion, Zhang was sitting in a big house with 36 bearers just to show off to him. Therefore, when he held Zhang's hand and looked at him in tears, he was speechless. As soon as Zhang Xianggong left, he started to write materials to discredit him...
But this time, Zhang and Gao met a little differently. First of all, Lao Gao looked good, not sick, and looked much younger than he was six years ago.
Mr. Zhang was very curious and asked how Brother Suqing managed to keep himself in such good condition.
Lao Gao couldn't help feeling shy and didn't know how to explain. Then he saw a little boy of about five or six years old running out from behind, hugging Lao Gao's legs and saying coquettishly: "Dad, I want to ride a big horse..."
"Hey, okay, ride the big horse, ride the big horse." Gao Gong lifted the little boy up high and placed him on his neck, with a doting look on his face, completely different from before.
"Dad, I want to ride a big horse too." Then another little girl of two or three years old ran out...
"Line up, line up. Daddy only has one neck." The boy made a face at his sister.
Gao Gong had no choice but to pick up his weeping daughter and coax her with candy. Then he said to Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Hao self-mockingly:
"Other people enjoy playing with their grandchildren, but I, Lao Gao, have become the one enjoying playing with my son. It's simply a joke."
Zhang Xianggong wanted to talk to Lao Gao about state affairs, but he changed his mind when he saw this and said with a smile, "Good food is never too late. Brother Suqing has devoted all his efforts to the country, and he deserves to enjoy the blessings in the future."
“Hahahaha…” Gao Gong burst into laughter. As if he remembered something, he said to his son on his neck, “Wuben, why don’t you come down and kowtow to your uncle Zhang.”
"Focus on the basics..." When Zhang Juzheng heard this name, he knew that Gao Xianggong wanted to reassure him. He would not compete for anything anymore...
Gao Huzi was injured as an official and did not want his son, who he had finally married, to go back to that dangerous place.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be a landlord who just eats and waits for death?
~~
Mr. Zhang stayed in Gaojiazhuang for one night, preparing to set off the next day.
Zhao Hao asked the old housekeeper Gao Fu to take him to the Gao family's ancestral tomb to kowtow to the old man of the Gao family.
Gao Jie also passed away last year at the age of 76.
When Gao Gong heard about it, he actually took him there personally.
Zhao Hao placed the offerings in front of Gao Jie's tombstone, lit incense, and kowtowed four times. He then slowly stood up, looked at the grave behind the tombstone, and sighed deeply.
The heroic figure of Mr. Gao wielding the big Guandao is still vivid in my mind, but he has become an ancient man now...
Gao Gong stood behind him, looking at Zhao Hao's profile for a long time, and then said in a deep voice: "Thank you."
"Why do you say that, Mr. Xuan?" Zhao Hao was stunned.
"Just because I don't say it doesn't mean I don't know. Without you, my elder brother wouldn't have lived to this age. I would still be an old bachelor." Gao Gong looked at Zhao Hao deeply and said, "Forget about having both sons and daughters. I'm afraid there's no trace of them left now..."
Zhao Hao then realized that he was talking about the case of Minister Wang in the early years of the Wanli period.
It was the first month of the first year of the Wanli reign. An unemployed vagrant named Wang Dachen sneaked into the Qianqing Palace in the clothes of an eunuch and unexpectedly saw Emperor Wanli. He was discovered by the guards, arrested and imprisoned.
Feng Bao bribed the minister to falsely accuse Gao Gong and Chen Hong of plotting treason because they hated the emperor. The latter used his disciples to send him to the palace and let him assassinate the emperor.
After obtaining the false confession, Feng Bao sent the imperial guards to surround Gao Gong's house and capture Gao's servants to extract confessions, intending to obtain evidence of Gao Gong's crimes. He also placed Gao Gong under house arrest, causing panic among the people, and Gao Gong also believed that a disaster was imminent.
But after a few days, the imperial guards withdrew. It was said that Eunuch Feng had found out that Minister Wang had falsely accused the elders. At that time, people in Beijing said that it was Minister Zhang who stopped Feng Bao.
Gao Gong knew Zhang Juzheng well enough to know that he might not be willing to speak for him. He had finally knocked his political enemy to the ground, and it was time to give him two more blows to keep him from getting up. Why would he let him go at this time?
It was not until several years later that Gao Gong heard that it was Master Zhao who rushed to the capital overnight and urged Prime Minister Zhang to persuade Minister Wang that not only would he fail to pin the blame on Gao Gong in the case, but he would end up losing more than he gained.
At that time, there were still many old ministers in the court, such as Yang Bo, Ge Shouli, and Zhu Heng, so Prime Minister Zhang could not cover the sky with one hand. Sure enough, the next day after Zhao Hao persuaded, these old men came to the Prime Minister's residence to plead for mercy, saying that a minister like Gao Gong would never do such a stupid thing. Zhang Juzheng saw that the people's hearts were indeed as his son-in-law said, and finally persuaded Feng Bao.
Of course, Zhao Hao also tried his best, and only then did Eunuch Feng let go of Lao Gao, who was already powerless to fight back, and only sent Chen Hong to the Jing Army to humiliate him...
Therefore, the case of Minister Wang, which had a far-reaching impact in another time and space, did not cause any waves at this time and place, but it was over.
As long as Gao Gong didn't mention it, Zhao Hao had forgotten about it.
He couldn't help but smile and said, "Mr. Xuan, you are too kind. I didn't help much. It's just that good people should be rewarded."
"Hey, sir, no matter what you say, I, Gao Gong, will accept your kindness." Gao Gong bowed to him and said, "Zhao Liben is so lucky to have a grandson like you!"
"Oh, yes. What's the grudge between you two? Can you tell me about it?" Zhao Hao asked curiously.
"No!" Gao Gong said firmly.
"Then can Mr. Xuan let go of the grudge with my father-in-law?" Zhao Hao made a feint and asked the real question.
"This..." Gao Gong stroked his beard and looked at Zhao Hao in shock. He thought, how do you know I want to discredit him?