After seeing Chen Huaixiu off, Zhao Hao was about to set off back to Beijing.
Jin Ke was busy preparing to build a garrison base and had already gone to Tamra Island to survey the terrain.
The typhoon season is coming, and Wang Rulong will also move the main fleet to Songyue Mountain on the other side. There, 600 Japanese laborers will work with thousands of Korean slaves to build a new port twice the size of Jeju Port.
In the past two months, there is no need to worry about the Japanese daring to launch a surprise attack, as all personnel have withdrawn from Gapa Island. After the September storm, Zhu Jue will come to set up his marine police department.
Zhao Hao still took a Wuwei boat, with two escort ships. Three ships were enough to protect his safety.
Before leaving, Wang Rulong asked for instructions on how to respond if the Hirado clan came again to ask for redemption.
Master Zhao instructed without hesitation that the Mishima pirates had committed numerous blood debts in the Ming Dynasty, and the Matsuura family was the pirates' main backer, so they must be made to pay with blood.
Want to redeem it with money? No way.
Young Master Zhao will take the ill-gotten gains of the Hirado Domain.
"Yes." Wang Rulong answered with his legs together. Then he glanced at Gao Jie, who was directing several Marines in training, and asked in a low voice, "Sir, do you really want to leave that crazy old man here?"
"Then should I take him back to the capital?" Zhao Hao glanced at him.
"No, no, that's not what I meant." Wang Rulong said hurriedly, "In fact, the old man is quite cute. He keeps shouting to bombard Hirado Castle, which makes everyone very excited."
He paused again and said, "I'm afraid if we don't take action, he will suddenly get angry. What should we do?"
Gao Jie has been in the Coast Guard for these days, and there has really been no trouble. The old man had been thinking about returning to the barracks all day, and now he finally got his wish, so he was in a good mood. He happily followed the drills, cleaned the decks, and learned to fire cannons with the gunners all day long, and his life was very fulfilling.
Before he could finish his words, they saw Gao Jie rushing over with his beloved Guandao.
"That kid, are you going to flee from the battlefield?!" Gao Jie's hair and beard stood up, glaring at Zhao Hao. "How can you, the commander-in-chief, leave your post before we even start the battle with the Japanese pirates?"
"Calm down, Zhongcheng." Young Master Zhao hurriedly explained, "A general needs to know astronomy and understand yin and yang. Zhongcheng has studied ancient and modern times, and he should know how the Mongols were defeated in their two attacks on Japan."
"We encountered a typhoon..." Gao Jie answered without hesitation.
"Yes, the typhoon season is coming soon. The area from Tamra to Kyushu is famous for its strong winds. We can't be careless." Zhao Hao sighed and told the truth:
"Our ships are either too small or they are flat-bottomed boats sailing in inland rivers and near the coast. We are most afraid of strong winds and rough waves. I can't let my brothers take this risk!"
"That's true..." Senior Chancellor stroked his needle-like beard and nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, Zhongcheng, we will definitely punish the Hirado Domain!" Zhao Hao looked toward the northeastern horizon and said firmly, "But not now. Wait until the typhoon season is over and the thousand-ton ships and more cannons we ordered arrive, then we'll go and bombard them!"
"That's right!" Wang Rulong quickly echoed from the side: "Anyway, Hirado Castle is right there, it won't run away."
"Well... okay." Gao Jie finally nodded reluctantly and said in a muffled voice: "I will use this time to train my men well, so that they can win glory for the country!"
"Yes, yes. Zhongcheng, please feel free to train." Zhao Hao would rather die than let his friends die. As long as Gao Jie can be stabilized, he doesn't care whether the security team will be in chaos.
"Now, do you understand what to do with those prisoners?" Zhao Hao finally asked Lao Wang with a smile.
"I understand. Let's let them spend their shameful lives on the construction of Jeonra Island!" Wang Rulong replied in a serious tone. He knew that the young master would never let a prisoner go back.
"Yes, this is to help them atone for their sins." Zhao Hao nodded and said, "We can educate them this way in daily life."
"Yes!" Wang Rulong responded in a deep voice.
~~
Before Zhao Hao set off, the capital was in an uproar over a piece of breaking news.
The Heavenly Official Yang Bo suddenly wrote several books in a row and resigned due to illness. Emperor Longqing pretended to keep him, but finally rewarded him generously according to the rules and ordered the Jinyiwei to escort the Heavenly Official back home.
Yang Bo's move completely stunned the officials in the capital.
Mr. Li and Mr. Chen in the cabinet were no exception.
The two were originally happy with Gao Gong's comeback, a result that could not be changed, and they could still maintain the demeanor that a university scholar should have. After all, the rule of the cabinet is that the first comers go first, and the later comers go last, and no one is allowed to jump the queue.
Even though Gao Huzi was originally the second assistant, since he had already left the cabinet, he could only be ranked behind Zhang Juzheng when he came back and could not cut in line.
Even if the Prime Minister and the Second Prime Minister join hands, no matter how much trouble the two cabinet members make, they cannot change the situation of the cabinet!
The two comforted themselves in this way.
Who would have thought that just a few days before the imperial court's recommendation on July 1, Yang Bo actually retired - it took only three days from his submission to the emperor's approval. And the successor Yang Bo recommended was Gao Gong!
If you say there is no ghost here, no one will believe it!
Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin were not fools, so they naturally knew that Yang Bo was giving up his position to Gao Gong.
Generally speaking, cabinet members who rank lower cannot compete with the first and second assistants. But if this cabinet member is also the Minister of Personnel, then the situation is completely different!
In order to avoid suspicion, the cabinet ministers were not allowed to participate in the imperial recommendation. However, the imperial recommendation was presided over by the Minister of Personnel, so when the time came, they could only watch Gao Gong perform a one-man show.
Not to mention, the Minister of Personnel can directly appoint and dismiss officials below the fourth rank without consulting the cabinet.
How many officials above the fourth rank were there in the Ming Dynasty?
It can be said that 99% of the officials in the Ming Dynasty had their official hats in the hands of Gao Huzi.
How can we fight him? Even the Prime Minister can't beat him...
Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin are at their wits' end. They want to report someone for cheating, but they don't know where to get the report.
Go and cry to Emperor Longqing, this is what the emperor wanted, okay?
Cheating! Oh my god, this is so unfair! Is there no one to stop it?
"Zhang Taiyue, stop pretending! This is all your fault." Chen Yiqin was fed up with Zhang Juzheng, who was also surprised, and asked him angrily, "What? You dare not admit it?"
Zhang Juzheng heard this, the surprise on his face faded, replaced by a serious expression: "Nanchong Gong, please be careful with your words. Who do you mean by 'we'? What good things have I done?"
"Come on, stop putting a green onion in your pig's nose and pretending to be an elephant!" Chen Yiqin asked angrily, "Don't you know the convention that 'the Minister of Personnel is not allowed to join the cabinet'? You keep saying that you want to strengthen the discipline, but you are the first to break the rules! What kind of discipline are you strengthening? The one that killed Xie Jin?"
"You're getting more and more outrageous." Zhang Juzheng was shaking with anger, but the other party was his deputy and also his teacher, so he could only endure it.
"Alright, alright, Lord Songgu, calm down." Li Chunfang gave a fake advice, and then could not wait to accuse Zhang Juzheng, "Taiyue, I am not saying anything bad to you, but this is a very unwise move. You want to reinstate Gao Xinzheng, fine, I will not stop you. But how can you let him take on the post of Minister of Personnel as well? Why has the country followed this unwritten rule for 200 years? It is to prevent the Minister of Personnel from monopolizing power and becoming the de facto prime minister."
"I personally don't care about fame and gain, so I'm not afraid of being overshadowed by him." He sighed and said dejectedly:
"But Lord Xinzheng has always been a man of quick revenge. He must be holding a grudge against the previous situation where the whole court was hostile. After taking on the role of Heavenly Official, he will definitely use his power to exact revenge. I am worried that the political situation will be greatly overturned, and the stability that has been restored with great difficulty will be destroyed in an instant."
"Mr. Yuan has a point, but I am not aware of the situation and don't know what to do." Zhang Juzheng retorted sternly, bowed hastily, and left the cabinet.
"Look at him, he runs faster than a rabbit, but he still refuses to admit it." Chen Yiqin pointed at Zhang Juzheng's back and spat, "Even if he dares to take responsibility for his actions, he is still a real villain. Bah, disgusting!"
"That's enough. It's useless to scold till dawn." Li Chunfang rubbed his face in frustration and said, "Let's think about what to do."
"What should we do? Just let it go!" Chen Yiqin snorted unhappily and sat down in his seat.
In fact, there is nothing to think about. The two wanted to reverse the situation, either to make Gao Gong only the Minister of Personnel, or to make Gao Gong only the Grand Secretary.
But a simple arithmetic problem is that the combined votes of the Shanxi Gang, Henan Gang, Huguang Gang and Jiangnan Gang are enough to make any of their efforts in vain.
After much thought, the two scholars sadly discovered that they had no way to stop all this from happening...
"Alas..." Chen Yiqin tried to hold back, but couldn't help but sighed: "Prime Minister, you made a mistake. If you had known this, why did you choose sides in the matter of the grain transport?"
All these sudden changes were actually caused by Zhao Hao's trip to Henan. In his opinion, the reason why Zhao Hao went to Henan was largely because Li Chunfang supported the grain transport.
"What's the point of saying this now?" Li Chunfang waved her hands in frustration and said, "Forget it. If it rains, it will. If my mother wants to get married, let her do whatever she wants."
"Okay." Seeing that the main character had fallen apart, what else did Chen Yiqin have to say? He spread his hands and said, "Then wait for Gao Huzi's return to the hometown group."
~~
Meanwhile, Zhang Juzheng left the cabinet and went straight out of the palace.
As soon as the sedan chair left the palace gate, he opened the curtain and said to You Qi who was following outside: "Please come over to my house for a chat, Mr. Shao."
After saying this, he lowered the curtain of the sedan chair and sat there with a gloomy face.
Others may not believe it, but Yang Bo did this suddenly without consulting him.
This made him feel very uncomfortable.
It’s not that he couldn’t accept Gao Gong serving as a cabinet minister and also as a celestial official.
Instead, he treated Gao Gong with a sincere heart, and in order to help him make a comeback, he even did not hesitate to stab his mentor in the back.
Such a big thing, but Gao Gong didn't even inform me and just did it quietly?
Is this the attitude of treating yourself as a comrade or a close friend? Even if you are an ally with common interests, you can't play it this way!
Only then did he realize that in Gao Huzi's heart, Lao Xier's status was far higher than his own.
This is totally like treating yourself as someone's younger brother!
Bu Gu's body was very depressed, and his hair curled up silently. He suddenly sighed deeply and called You Qi, "Forget it, don't go."
If he wanted to communicate, he would have said it a long time ago. If he didn't come, it means he didn't intend to talk to him. Why bother asking him questions again?
ps. Second update, please give me your monthly vote!
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