Zhang Juzheng took a look at the secretary who was shaking his head and explaining the difference between "Lanye Pie" and "Wantou Pie", and had no choice but to follow Eunuch Feng into the small room.

"Just heard that Gao Huzi went home?" Feng Bao asked impatiently.

"Of course." Zhang Juzheng nodded and whispered, "The impeachment has been sent to the Imperial Household Department. You can present it to the Emperor when you return. By the way, how is His Majesty's health today?"

"It's not as comfortable as yesterday, but generally it's fine. I even played with the newly fired porcelain for a while." Feng Bao finished speaking, and said with great expectation: "I hope this time it can be final! Let Gao Huzi pack up and go back to Gaojiazhuang!"

Most of the ten crimes listed in Cao Daye's impeachment memorial came from the negative information collected by the East Factory. If Feng Bao had not hated Gao Gong so much and had kept a magnifying glass on him for a year, he would not have been able to come up with such a damaging piece of writing.

Zhang Juzheng was not as optimistic as him. He shook his head slowly and said, "It is not entirely true that Your Majesty is unaware of all the things mentioned in the impeachment memorial, right?"

"Hey, that's right..." Feng Bao nodded. He always tried to find ways to speak ill of Gao Ge Lao to the emperor in a roundabout way. As a result, he shot himself in the foot. He failed to shake Gao Huzi, but made Longqing more distant from him.

"So, if you say one more word, it would be best if you are not the one reading the memorial!" Zhang Juzheng said in a deep voice, "Otherwise, you might end up getting into trouble!"

"Oh, I'll remember that." Feng Bao wiped his sweat. If it weren't for Zhang Xianggong's reminder, he would have planned to file a complaint against Gao Huzi. "But this way, the situation will be hard to control."

"It's okay. Wait for the emperor's oral order to come out. You can have someone tell Bu Gu, and Bu Gu will find a solution." Zhang Juzheng said calmly: "Also, these lecturers in the East Palace are all Gao Gelao's people. We should not talk in Wenhua Hall in the future. It took a lot of effort to clear our relationship. We can't let Gao Gelao suspect again."

"Well, all right." Feng Bao naturally agreed to everything Zhang Xianggong said, but he was always nervous when he thought that he would not be able to talk to him the next day. He asked in a low voice: "Is Gao Huzi safe and sound?"

"He will definitely pass this test." Zhang Juzheng put his hands in his sleeves and said with a bitter smile, "He said he would go back and wait for his fate. His disciples will definitely run around all the government offices and force all the officials to submit petitions to keep him. Even Bu Gu will have to submit petitions as soon as possible, otherwise they will target me."

He glanced at Feng Bao and said, "Do you think the emperor will ignore the officials' requests to stay and agree to Gao Ge Lao's retirement?"

"Of course not, it's almost the same the other way around..." Feng Bao also figured it out and sighed sadly, "Alas, I'm so happy for nothing."

"Don't worry, your work won't be in vain." Zhang Juzheng said quietly, "Have you ever seen stone quarrying? How to cut a whole hard boulder? You need to chisel holes in it first, then wedge nails in, and then hammer it again and again. Suddenly, the whole thing will crack."

"My husband, what you mean is that we are now drilling holes and driving nails in?" Feng Bao said suddenly.

"Yes, so the first thing is to be patient, and the second is to protect yourself." Zhang Juzheng said softly: "Only in this way can we have a chance to drive in the second and third nails..."

"I see. The first nail has been driven in. We need to take a break and wait until the storm has died down before we can drive the second one in." Eunuch Feng nodded suddenly. With a clear light guiding the way, he was no longer confused.

"That's right." Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly.

In fact, this routine is not new. When Lord Xu fought Lord Yan, he did the same thing. It is natural and not shameful for an apprentice to learn from his master!

~~

The reaction of Emperor Longqing was even more extreme than Prime Minister Zhang had expected. He flew into a rage after hearing only half of the impeachment and shouted on the spot: "Cao Daye is framing the ministers and he should be demoted and transferred to a post outside the capital!"

Du Mao, the eunuch who read the memorial to the emperor, memorized it hastily. After leaving Jujing Pavilion, he did not immediately approve it according to the emperor's oral order, but reported it to Eunuch Feng first.

Feng Bao asked him to go down first, and then called his trusted eunuch Zhang Dashou, and asked him to knock on the door of Zhang Xianggong's residence at night and inform him of the emperor's oral order.

The cabinet ministers' residences were located behind the Wenyuan Pavilion. Gao Gong lived in the small courtyard that was originally occupied by Yan Song.

Zhang Juzheng lived in the place that Xu Jie had lived in before, which was just a small suite without even a yard. Moreover, it was a west-facing room, which was hot in summer and cold in winter, making it very uncomfortable.

It is unimaginable that the residence of a first-rank official in the palace is so shabby, but it is what officials all over the world flock to and desire.

Zhang Juzheng had not slept yet, and was bending over his desk, putting on his clothes and reading memorials. Yao Kuang and Zhang Dashou flashed in, and he raised his head and asked, "No one saw us, did they?"

"Don't worry, sir, the East Depot is in charge of the work." Zhang Dashou smiled confidently and quickly reported to sir, the emperor's reaction and oral instructions after hearing the memorial.

Zhang Juzheng remained silent for a long time after hearing this, and inevitably felt disappointed.

Although I had expected that the emperor would not become suspicious of Gao Ge Lao just because of an impeachment, but at least you have heard the whole impeachment, right? The last five charges are the key...

However, the emperor didn't even have the patience to listen to the end, which showed that he was not willing at all and doubted his Master Gao!

Where did the suspicious nature of a supreme ruler go? Shouldn't an emperor be suspicious of everyone? He is almost 40 years old, why is he still as childish as he was back then? Can't he be more mature?

Alas... this nail was driven in so well that it can hardly be called a success!

"Husband, husband?" Seeing Zhang Juzheng sitting there as if in meditation, Zhang Dashou finally could not help but call out softly.

"Oh." Zhang Xianggong finally came back to his senses and said after a moment's hesitation, "Tell Eunuch Feng that our three arrows fired simultaneously this time did not hurt Elder Gao... He should temporarily stop and not act rashly again."

"Yeah." Zhang Dashou quickly agreed.

"But don't let him lose heart, everything is still under control." Zhang Juzheng encouraged his allies again, "The ministers can't see the emperor again, we still have room for maneuver, let them think what we want them to think!"

Zhang Dashou was secretly shocked when he heard this, thinking, isn't this the same trick we eunuchs often play? Mr. Zhang is really humble.

"Well, erase the words 'this fellow framed the ministers' and 'will' in the oral order, and change it to 'Cao Daye made false statements and lost his post'." Then Zhang Juzheng said in a deep voice: "Tell Eunuch Feng that this will protect Cao Daye. More importantly, let outsiders think that the emperor is not too angry about this matter, so that we can achieve our goal this time."

"Yes." Zhang Dashou quickly wrote it down, and smiled with deep admiration: "Anyway, the emperor's mind is not very clear now, and he forgets what he said. I'm afraid he doesn't even remember the original words."

"Yes." Zhang Juzheng nodded, but his face looked a little ugly. It was not his intention to use such a despicable method. But the difference in strength between the enemy and us was too great, so he had to do everything he could.

Alas, it’s all because the emperor woke up at the wrong time...

Zhang Juzheng also instructed Zhang Dashou to tell Feng Bao that if there were any memorials impeaching him and Feng Bao during this period, they should be kept in the palace and must not be reported until the storm was over.

Otherwise, it would have very likely turned into a cabinet crisis like the one in the first year of Longqing - originally, Qi Kang, a disciple of Gao Gong, impeached Lord Xu, but because Lord Xu resolutely resigned, stayed indoors, and looked heartbroken, it aroused emotions in the court and the public.

The censors were especially surprised that Gao Gong dared to use the media to counterattack Xu Ge Lao, and thought it was a provocation to the Paw Patrol! So the six secretaries and thirteen imperial censors gathered at the palace, cursing Qi Kang for being instigated by Gao Gong to frame their beloved Xu Ge Lao! They successfully turned the situation into a multiple-choice question of "choose one between Gao Gong and Xu Jie", forcing all officials to take sides, and then put pressure on the emperor.

As a result, Emperor Longqing had to reluctantly agree to Gao Gong's retirement in order to retain the popular supporter Xu.

As a witness to the cabinet turmoil, Zhang Juzheng was well aware of the horror of public opinion. What he was most worried about at the moment was that he would repeat Gao Gong's mistake and be forced to choose between the two by Han Ji and his gang of bastards.

So the most important thing now is to avoid being caught up in this storm.

As soon as Zhang Dashou left, he solemnly instructed Yao Kuang, "Go out and tell the three provinces tomorrow morning to suspend the subsequent attacks..."

This is all we can do for now. There is no effect if we do it again. It will just be a waste of chess pieces.

"Ah..." Zhang Juzheng sighed depressedly, smoked a cigarette to adjust his mood, then took out a blank notebook and began to write a memorial to retain Lord Gao.

He could write eight official documents in one meal, and he could finish them instantly. Moreover, he did not need to check or copy them, and there would not be a single mistake in the words...

After writing this memorial, Zhang Juzheng wrote another petition and handed it to Yao Kuang, saying, "Send it to the residence of Lord Gao tomorrow!"

"Yes." Yao Kuang responded in a deep voice.

~~

The next day, Shichang Street was crowded with official sedan chairs, and high-ranking officials from the court came to express their condolences to Lord Gao.

However, the door of Gao's mansion was closed tightly, with the words "registered" posted on it. Since Lord Gao was at home waiting for punishment, he naturally refused to see anyone.

No way.

At this time, all his confidants and disciples entered through the back door to listen to Gao Ge Lao's instructions.

When Gao Gong entered the study to meet his followers, they were shocked to find that his back, which used to be straight, had become a little hunched overnight. The more obvious change was his face, which was exhausted and without any sharpness.

No one expected that Cao Daye's impeachment would have such a huge impact on him!

In fact, Gao Ge Lao was not too worried about the emperor's opinion. In his view, he and Longqing had a deep relationship and it was not allowed to be provoked.

What really hurt him were the ten charges listed in the impeachment. Gao Gong knew very well that some of those charges were unfounded, some were exaggerated, but there were also some that he could not deny.

For example, the birthday party last year, or sweeping all his political opponents into the trash...

He didn't feel it when he was doing these things, but when people pointed them out and compared him to Yan Song afterwards, it was a huge blow to Gao. He had to reflect on whether he was really going down the same path as Yan Song.

He was even more terrified because he didn't know how many people in the court and the public saw him in this way. Could it be that in the eyes of the officials and the people, he was not as wise a chancellor as those around him praised him to be, a rare and rare prime minister in a century?

But is he a 'powerful traitor' as Cao Daye and Liu Fenyong said?

When he thought of this, Gao Ge Lao couldn't sleep all night and felt very uncomfortable.

ps. Grandpa Yuan will live forever!

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