"Uh..." The two old Pans were stunned for a moment, then they understood and laughed, "What a spotless white lotus! Isn't that exactly the state of our Prime Minister right now?"

He thought that using such harsh words to describe Gao Huzi, it was obvious that this guy had accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction towards Gao Gong.

"What a pity! Even though Lord Zhao risked his life, he still couldn't bring down Gao Huzi. What he got in return for self-destruction was the emperor's edict that allowed him to retire and return home in a hurry." Pan Jixun naturally sympathized with Zhao Zhenji, who had a similar experience to him. He sighed and said:

"Lord Zhao saw that even though he had given everything, it was still no match for Gao Gong's one finger. He was completely hopeless and could only thank the emperor sadly. He took the bus arranged by the emperor and went back to his hometown to hug his grandson."

"But the emperor tried to persuade Gao Gong to stay with him and refused to agree to his resignation. Not only did he want him to continue to be the chief minister, but he also wanted him to continue to be in charge of the Ministry of Personnel!" Looking at the back of the "Petition for Heaven's Grace to Dismiss Him to Preserve the Integrity of an Official", the Emperor Longqing wrote in red: "You are loyal and diligent in assisting the government, and you are fair in selecting officials. I rely on you. How can you ask for resignation due to suspicion? You should leave immediately and serve with peace of mind. I will not allow you to resign."

Pan Jixun could not help but said indignantly: "I really don't understand what kind of drug Gao Gong gave to the emperor to make him favor him to this extent!"

"What's so hard to understand?" Zhao Hao said calmly, "Is the world peaceful now? Is the country at peace? Do the people have enough food? Is the treasury full?"

After hearing Mr. Zhao's four soul-searching questions, the two old men immediately understood.

Not to mention the friendship they shared during their time in the palace, Gao has accomplished more in the past year since his reinstatement than his predecessor did in ten years. No matter who becomes emperor, he would be reluctant to part with such a loyal and invincible minister, right?

Besides, it is far from the time to be abandoned.

Moreover, the top-level design of the Ming Dynasty perfectly avoided the emergence of powerful ministers like Yi Yin and Huo Guang who could depose and enthrone the emperor. The trick was to not give any forces the opportunity to be independent of the imperial power. This was true for the princes, military generals, nobles, and even eunuchs and civil officials.

No matter how powerful the cabinet chief minister was, he was exercising power in the name of the emperor. The emperor could be indifferent to affairs for many years, but he could be forced to retire with a single imperial edict. This was how Yan Song and Xu Jie were both terminated. Therefore, Longqing was not worried that Gao Gong would become too powerful to be removed. In fact, Gao Gong's arrogant and domineering behavior, which made him make countless enemies, made the emperor feel more at ease.

To even say something too conspiratorial, who knows whether Gao Gong deliberately used this method to protect himself after learning the lesson of Yan Song and Xu Jie forming cliques out of favor and being feared by the emperor?

Zhao Hao originally thought that was not like Gao Gong's style, but after listening to his self-defense, he suddenly realized that he had underestimated Gao Gong. Whether he was rough and straightforward or a saintly and pure woman, it was just one of the faces Gao Gong put on according to the needs.

Maybe I’ll see more of his faces in the future.

It seems that those who play tactics have dirty hearts, and those who can become prime ministers have even dirtier hearts.

~~

"Now my noble classmate is the Prime Minister and the Astronomical Official. He has tremendous power. He can be said to be the number one person in the country in the past 200 years!" Pan Zhongxian said sourly. They all passed the imperial examination in the same year and entered the Hanlin Academy together. His ranking was even higher than that of Lao Gao, but their circumstances now are very different. How can one not sigh?

"Yeah, let's not provoke him if we can." Zhao Hao said timidly. Anyway, he didn't dare to provoke Gao Huzi.

"This situation of breaking the rules won't last too long." Pan Jixun took a sip of his wine and said, "I heard that Yang Bo is preparing to come out of retirement."

After Li Chunfang retired, Gao Gong took over as the Prime Minister. According to the rule that the Prime Minister could not concurrently hold the position of the Imperial Secretary, he requested several times for Yang Bo to take charge of the Ministry of Personnel. Especially after being attacked by Zhao Zhenji's self-explosion, he was even more determined to give up the Ministry of Personnel.

Emperor Longqing did as he wished and issued an edict to reinstate Yang Bo. However, old man Yang had just retired for more than a year, so how could he accept the order immediately? That would be too undignified. Naturally, he had to perform the drama of refusing three times before he could "helplessly" accept the order and return to Beijing.

All in all, the whole process will be completed around June or July.

In everyone's view, the day Yang Bo returned to the capital was the day he would take charge of the Ministry of Personnel again. Therefore, officials including Zhang Juzheng temporarily tolerated Gao Gong's current extraordinary power allocation.

However, Zhao Hao knew that after Yang Bo returned to Beijing, he would unexpectedly express his willingness to go to the Ministry of War. The Ministry of Personnel should and must still be under the control of Lord Gao, otherwise it would affect the good situation of the Longqing New Deal.

As for the rule that the Prime Minister cannot concurrently serve as the Minister of Personnel, it is also very simple. The old wily Yang Bo said that he could be the Minister of Personnel - not a title like Zhang Juzheng, but a real Minister of Personnel, to temporarily take charge of the Ministry of War.

The Ministry of Personnel was temporarily managed by the Prime Minister. This not only did not violate the rule of not holding concurrent posts, but also allowed Gao Gelao to continue to manage the Ministry of Personnel.

Longqing readily agreed, and throughout Longqing's reign, Gao Gong took on the responsibilities of both the Cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel, and was in an unparalleled position.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem of Wushuang is that it is short-lived. It is better to stack the hegemony for a long time like Zhang idol...

Of course, this is a later story.

Oh yes, there is one more thing to say. It was because of Yang Bo's decision that Tan Lun did not become the Minister of War, and Yu Dayou's self-recommendation, which was not afraid of exposing his privacy, naturally fell through. He could only helplessly serve as the commander-in-chief of Fujian.

~~

"In a word, let's do our own things first." Zhao Hao was full and said in high spirits: "Chaozhou is an important part of our plan to rebuild the Maritime Silk Road. This time in Chaozhou, I felt the vitality and toughness of this place that has not been poisoned by the weak and frivolous atmosphere of Jiangnan. I am more and more convinced that the Ming Dynasty needs Lingnan people who still maintain the Tang style and Han bones to awaken their dormant bloodiness!"

"Oh?" The two old Pans were surprised that Zhao Hao praised Lingnan people so highly. But on second thought, it was reasonable.

The Chaozhou defense battle was the best proof of this. Even if Mr. Zhao led the troops himself and his men commanded and coordinated well, without the Chaozhou people's bravery and fearlessness, they would never be able to stop Zeng Yiben's army.

The reasons for this are, firstly, the imperial court was far away and failed to tame the people of Lingnan; secondly, there were many people and little land in Lingnan, and the living conditions of the people were poor. In order to protect the living space of their own tribe, fighting became commonplace. This made them develop a fearless character.

However, the spirit of the Han and Tang dynasties was not just about bravery and fighting, but also about the pioneering spirit of daring to travel thousands of miles to seek a title!

What the people of Lingnan lack the least is the spirit of adventure. Just look at the hometowns of those sea lords, pirates and sea merchants, and you will know that what they said is true.

What is even more shocking is that apart from those desperate criminals, ordinary people also generally have the courage to face the ocean which is more dangerous than the desert.

Since the Tang and Song dynasties, they have started to go to Southeast Asia on a small scale to do business and settle down. Although the seven voyages to the West during this dynasty had limited impact on the north of Lingnan, it marked the beginning of the large-scale voyages of Fujian and Guangdong people to Southeast Asia!

Those Chinese who had settled down and done business in Luzon, Borneo, Sumatra, Champa, Malacca and even the east coast of India in the early years, took advantage of the power exerted by Zheng He's fleet, quickly made friends with the local rulers, and gained extremely high status and various privileges.

Some even directly used the throne of the Celestial Empire to directly ascend to the position of local rulers. For example, the Governor-General's Office of Luzon and the Xuanwei Office of Jiugang during the Yongle period were both established by Fujianese and Cantonese who went to Southeast Asia.

When these people were in high positions and even ruled a region, they began to recruit people from the same clan and hometown to share the wealth... or to keep the wealth together. So the people of the Ming Dynasty began to go to Southeast Asia and even the West on a large scale!

However, when Zheng He died in the fifth year of Xuande, the huge fleet was disbanded on the spot, and the imperial court stopped sailing to the West forever. The Han regime in Southeast Asia lost its support and eventually collapsed one by one under the counterattack of the indigenous regime. The Ming Dynasty's territorial expansion in Southeast Asia also came to an abrupt halt.

However, the pace of the people of Fujian and Guangdong moving to Southeast Asia was not affected. They had tasted the sweetness of Southeast Asia, where the resources were abundant, the land was fertile, and the vast area was unowned, and the locals generally had low IQs. How could they give up this hot land?

Therefore, for two hundred years, the spontaneous migration of people to Southeast Asia never stopped.

"There is a goose on the top of the sky,

My younger brother married my mother and my elder brother didn't.

My younger brother calls me uncle.

Uncle listened helplessly.

Pack your bags and go to Siam..."

Almost all Chaozhou people grew up listening to this cradle song of going to Southeast Asia, and then quite a number of them packed up and went to Southeast Asia as the song said.

Moreover, after two hundred years and generations of unremitting efforts, the reason why people from Fujian and Guangdong go to Southeast Asia is no longer just because of the pressure of life. Instead, it is a way for men to strive for progress and stand out.

Just like the Huizhou people would go to various parts of the country to do business when they grow up, the Chaozhou people would go to Southeast Asia to make a fortune when they grow up. Then they would return the wealth they earned to China, build large-scale buildings in their hometown, purchase industries, and wait for their return to their hometown when they are old.

That is why Chaozhou, a poor place, has so many magnificent mansions and courtyards that are as magnificent as imperial palaces. The limited natural economy and weak commodity economy alone cannot support it.

"I heard that almost every Chaozhou family has children who go to Southeast Asia." As a senior executive of the group, Pan Zhongxian naturally understood where Mr. Zhao's eyes were. He said in disbelief, "Then Shu Tongpan told me that although the total population of Chaozhou Prefecture is less than one million, there are more than one million Chaozhou people overseas. It is said that Zhangzhou is almost the same. The world is so big that there are all kinds of things."

"There's nothing to be surprised about!" Zhao Hao waved his hand and said, "A thousand years ago in the Tang Dynasty, we built a very mature Guangdong Tonghai Yi Road! That is the origin of what I call the 'Maritime Silk Road'. Our ancestors have long proved that it is not difficult to sail directly to the West, and it is not a foolish dream to obtain wealth from Southeast Asia and the West. Sima Qian said, 'The world is bustling with people coming for profit, and the world is bustling with people going for profit.' Therefore, it is normal for the people of Fujian and Guangdong to go to Southeast Asia. It is abnormal for us to make a fuss!"

He said with a look of pain on his face, "How ridiculous, shameful, and pathetic!"

ps. To celebrate the great news that school will start on March 1st, I have decided to post three updates in three consecutive days. This alone cannot express how relaxed, happy and relieved I am at this moment!