Songjiang Mansion!

These three words kept tumbling in Gao Gong's heart.

He suddenly understood why Zhang Juzheng told him about Xu Jie of Songjiang Mansion as soon as he went out this morning.

I also suddenly understood what the last sentence, "If you fight for power regardless of the situation of the government, doesn't mean you have the intention to usurp" is what it refers to.

It turns out... I was all prepared for this moment.

What a great Zhang Juzheng.

It turns out that at that time, he acted like a winner, demonstrating and warning in advance.

I'm afraid that last night, he joined forces with Li Shi, Feng Bao and Li Jin to control the Queen Mother Chen.

Today, together with the emperor, they used the imperial edict to force him.

Gao Gong held the edict and was silent for a long time.

Neither did I receive the order to express my gratitude, nor did I say that I was not obeying the order.

At this moment, the field was completely silent.

They all looked towards the high arch.

Gao Gongwu looked at the edict in his hand and laughed at himself.

Honor, oh, what an honor.

Shangzhu Kingdom was often granted a title when it was founded, but that was because the Yuan Dynasty was old and the official status was not yet determined.

It's not a good thing after that.

When Shizong wanted to grant Yan Song the title of Zhuguo, Yan Song declined, saying, "There is no second supreme, and it is not appropriate for a minister to be called a superior." Shizong was "overjoyed and agreed to his resignation."

It can be said that these words set the tone for the Shangzhu Kingdom. Only dead people can be granted the title - dead people in the official career are also counted.

Looking back further, the last person to seal the Zhu Kingdom was Xia Yan. It is self-evident what his fate will be.

Not to mention being knighted.

How many civil servants were ennobled in the Ming Dynasty?

When Emperor Shizong offered Yang Tinghe, Jiang Mian, and Mao Ji the title of count, all three of them refused.

Why? To civil servants, titles are shit, and it feels disgusting to step on them.

Avoiding nobility is the norm for civil servants!

As the saying goes, if you follow the trends and advance with others, you will be a famous official.

But if this is the case, if you are too impatient to make progress, even if you break the talisman and receive a title, it will be a rare opportunity for civil servants, and your reputation and hopes will be lost because of it, and it will inevitably be deprived of it.

All in all, a title is a small matter, but a lack of integrity is a big deal.

To put it bluntly, he may not care much about reputation, but if he receives this title, can he still stay in the position of chief minister?

Being knighted means ending one's official career.

The purpose of this set of rewards is to frame him up and make him admit defeat and resign.

But seeing through it is difficult to deal with it easily, this is almost a conspiracy.

Can he refuse because of his high arch?

A simple reward is fine, but there is an ulterior motive in this edict.

Don’t you, Gao Gong, keep saying that you are for the sake of the world and the government?

Now that you have failed, not only have you not been held accountable, but you have also been given an opportunity to continue to serve the court and serve the world. Should you obey or not?

If you don't follow it, no one will believe those high-sounding but heartfelt reasons in the previous struggle for power.

Since it's not about fighting for power in the court, then why should it be that it's not about tampering?

If the chief minister usurps the throne, his disciples will be devastated.

This is naked coercion.

In fact, after realizing that he lost, Gao Gong was prepared.

In severe cases, the body dies and the path disappears; in severe cases, the person returns home at a gallop.

But Zhang Juzheng has now done things even better.

He wanted nothing more than his own life, but he wanted to clear his name after his death, his disciples were old friends, and the Ming Dynasty came to threaten him.

He really has a cruel heart.

Gao Gong pinched the edict, his knuckles turned white, and there was no movement for a long time.

Seeing that the chief assistant did not move for a long time, everyone held their breath and concentrated.

It seemed that what he held in his hand was not only the edict, but also the breath of the courtier.

Almost everyone understood that once Gao Gong refused this decree, it would be a fatal disaster.

It's not just Gao Gong himself.

It is unknown how many people will be implicated.

The courtiers were all looking forward to Gao Gong accepting this edict, even his disciples were no exception - except for Gao Gong's stubborn temper, others would only think it was a favor.

Time passes by.

Gao Gong still stood on the spot, speechless.

Zhu Yijun looked at Gao Gong patiently.

Will Gao Gong accept it?

Not to mention ten percent, but ninety-nine percent.

The only exception is that Gao Gong did not care about the kindness of the late emperor, his reputation after his death, the fate of his disciples and former officials, and the life and death of his children.

Oh yes, they don’t even care about the stability of the DPRK.

Only Gao Gong would reject this decree and die generously.

But Zhu Yijun didn't think that Gao Gong's character would be transformed in this short period of time. After all, human nature is still a social attribute.

Since a decree in history could drive him home, there will be no exception now.

Just as he was thinking about it, Gao Gong finally made some movement.

He slowly bowed down and said, "This edict has not been drafted yet."

"The rewards and promotions given by others can be revised later, but the rewards given to me and Mr. Zhang Ge probably cannot be faked by others."

"Your Majesty might as well go to the cabinet with you, and wait for the vote to be made up before you can accept the decree in person."

All the officials looked at each other, wondering what the fuss was about.

Is this a case of stubborn resistance, or is it simply a matter of nostalgia?

On the contrary, the person involved understood it.

Zhu Yijun looked at Gao Gong with a complicated expression.

Gao Gong's words were based on the fact that he was about to step down.

Once Gao Gong retires from his position and Zhang Juzheng becomes the first assistant, how can he draft votes for the edict to reward him? It is outrageous.

The same is true for high-gong titles.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng can make up for other people's votes later.

But for these two edicts, the procedures must be completed.

In other words, Gao Gong promised to become an official.

I finally bowed my head.

However, I wanted to take advantage of the last chance to ask for a duel.

After Zhu Yijun thought about it clearly, he nodded slowly: "Qing Laocheng's prudent words should be treated as such."

In fact, now that the situation has been decided, Gao Gong's decision will be the same no matter what.

As long as the courtiers are rewarded and Gao Gong's party members can clearly see that the two palaces and most of the courtiers are standing together, Gao Gong's downfall is doomed whether he accepts the order or not.

But Zhu Yijun still sold this face.

Because, he originally planned to summon Gao Gong one last time.

Now it's almost the same thing.

At this moment, Zhang Juzheng suddenly came out and said: "In that case, I will also go to the cabinet."

Zhu Yijun glanced at this guy.

Are you worried that Gao Gong has reached some tacit agreement with him that is detrimental to him?

He remained noncommittal and waited for the high arch to block him back.
To be continued...