The atmosphere in the cabinet was tense. Zhao Zhenji had an arrogant attitude towards the young Zhang Juzheng, and often treated him with blank eyes, thinking that Zhang Juzheng was too young to be competent for military affairs. Although Zhang Juzheng was young, he knew the frontier military well, and he watched Zhao Zhenji's conceit with a cold eye and laughed secretly. At this moment, a man burst into the cabinet and broke the tension. His attitude towards Cho Jung-gil is extremely arrogant, as if he wants to show his true authority to Cho Jeong-gil. Zhang Juzheng looked at this person with a complicated look in his eyes, could he be the one who could subdue Zhao Zhenji? Where will the power struggle in the cabinet go?
Zhao Zhenji entered the cabinet arrogantly and domineeringly
Early one morning in August 1569, the Forbidden City's cabinet door was slammed open, and a small, ruddy-faced old man paced in. He was shy, his head held high, and his expression was arrogant. This person is none other than Cho Jung-gil, the new cabinet scholar.
Zhao Zhenji was born into a scholarly family, and he loved to read since he was a child, and it is said that he could read an entire book every day, and when he was in conversation, he could not let go of the volume, and the content of the newly read books was all loaded into his mind. He was a junior in 1535, older than anyone in the cabinet, and the oldest.
After Zhu Zae-yong succeeded to the throne, he was very appreciative of Zhao Zhenji's "living dictionary", so he canonized him as a cabinet scholar in August 1569. When Zhao Zhenji first entered the cabinet, he had an arrogant attitude towards Zhang Juzheng and other young bachelors, and often called Zhang Juzheng "Zhang Zi", similar to the current "Xiao Zhang". Whenever Zhang Juzheng asked him a question, he first rolled his eyes, then snorted two puffs of nose, and finally said: "Alas, Fei Er young man explained. ＂
Zhao Zhenji was extremely conceited about his talents, and when he entered the cabinet, he proudly said that he would do his best to rectify state affairs. Soon after, the Xuanda Military Region reported that Altan Khan intended to attack Jizhou. Zhu Zaiyuan asked the cabinet to discuss countermeasures, and Zhao Zhenji was not ashamed, bluntly saying that Altan Khan would attack Jizhou, and he would immediately increase troops and food support.
Zhang Juzheng cautiously asked for the basis, and Zhao Zhenji gave him a blank look, not saying the basis, just being stubborn. Seeing this, Chen Yiqin suggested listening to Zhang Juzheng's opinion, after all, Zhang Juzheng specializes in military affairs and communicates closely with the military department.
Zhao Zhenji was very dissatisfied with Chen Yiqin's dissent, believing that Zhang Juzheng was young and ignorant. Chen Yiqin argued on the basis of reason, pointing out that Zhang Juzheng joined the cabinet earlier than Zhao Zhenji, and that he had worked closely with the Ministry of War for three years and had a thorough understanding of military affairs. Zhao Zhenji's face changed slightly, and Li Chunfang hurriedly signaled Chen Yiqin to stop.
In fact, Zhang Juzheng was indeed a military expert in the Ming Dynasty. He once presided over the dispatch of two famous generals, Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang, to the north to train troops, and held a large military parade in the suburbs to show Altan Khan the strength of the Ming army, making him daunting. Zhang Juzheng knew Altan Khan's strategy and tactics well, so he naturally did not believe that Altan Khan would easily attack Jizhou.
However, Zhao Zhenji didn't know anything about military affairs, so he became extremely busy, increasing troops and food in Jizhou, working every day until sunset and moonrise, thinking that he was the mainstay of the empire. A month later, Altan Khan was silent, Zhao Zhenji was depressed, and Zhang Juzheng watched coldly, sighing and sneering.
Zhao Zhenji keenly sensed Zhang Juzheng's ridicule, and said to him: "I said Xiao Zhang, this military, you should pay more attention in the future, since you have talent in this area, you should make good use of it, don't waste it." Zhang Juzheng looked at him with a complicated look in his eyes.
Zhao Zhenji said again: "You don't want to get involved in other things, the cabinet has me, ah, and Li Shoufu." Zhang Juzheng was deeply disgusted by Zhao Zhenji's incompetence in dominating the cabinet, and secretly hoped that someone would kick him away.
A mysterious figure suddenly appears
On a rainy day in the last month of 1568, the Forbidden City's cabinet gate was suddenly slammed open, and the entire Forbidden City seemed to be shaken. I saw a tall middle-aged man with a resolute face striding in.
He first walked to Chen Yiqin's desk and nodded to Chen Yiqin, Chen Yiqin's mouth opened wide when he saw this, obviously surprised by the arrival of this person. He then came to Zhao Zhenji's desk, but glanced at Zhao Zhenji coldly, and he didn't even have the etiquette of nodding. Zhao Zhenji recognized him at a glance, and a sneer of disdain appeared on his face.
The man continued to move forward, came to Li Chunfang's desk, and shouted, "Li Gong, long time no see." Li Chunfang was so startled by his arrival that she woke up from her meditation, and was about to turn back, but only saw his back.
In the end, this person came to Zhang Juzheng's desk and actually stopped, as if it was the first time in his life that he stopped. He knocked on Zhang Juzheng's table, and Zhang Juzheng looked up and saw a mean smile.
This person is the old Gao Gong of the former cabinet who was expelled from Beijing by Xu Jie. Gao Gong was originally Zhu Zaiyuan's teacher, and his status was second only to Taishi Xu Jie. However, due to his arbitrariness and greed, he was finally attacked by Xu Jie and was dismissed and exiled.
After Gao Gong left the capital, he has been holding a grudge and planning an opportunity for revenge. Now that Zhu Zaiyuan has succeeded to the throne for three years, and Xu Jie has also died, Gao Gong has finally waited for this opportunity. He secretly befriended some ministers of the DPRK and China, and made full preparations for re-entering the cabinet.
Gao Gong has always looked at Zhang Juzheng differently, thinking that this young man is extremely talented and will definitely make great achievements in the future. Therefore, he showed unprecedented respect for Zhang Juzheng's arrival.
At the same time, Gao Gong's attitude towards Zhao Zhenji was extremely arrogant, as if he wanted to show his true authority to this new bachelor. Zhao Zhenji has been conceited for a long time, and when he saw Gao Gong so arrogant, he was naturally very dissatisfied.
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng looked at Gao Gong's mean smiling face, and his eyes were complicated and difficult to understand. He secretly hoped that maybe this old fox Gao Gong was the one who could subdue Zhao Zhenji. Will the power struggle in the cabinet be reshuffled by the arrival of the high arch?
The power struggle is heating up
Gao Gong's re-entry into the cabinet was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Zhao Zhenji. Although Zhao Zhenji is a new bachelor, he thinks very highly of himself and is very dissatisfied with the arrival of Gao Gong. The two soon became tense and-for-tat in the cabinet hall.
One day, Zhao Zhenji shouted in the cabinet hall, demanding that the frontier troops be increased to prevent the attack of Altan Khan. Gao Gong sneered, and sneered in public: "Zhao Gong, do you know the military situation in the frontier? Have you ever inspected the front line?"
Zhao Zhenji was angered by Gao Gong's questioning, his face turned red, and he pointed at Gao Gong and scolded: "You old fox, you dare to fake a tiger here! I, Zhao, have been reading since I was a child, and I am well-read, so I am naturally familiar with military affairs!"
Gao Gong laughed, not taking Zhao Zhenji seriously at all: "Reading? That's a nerd's trick! A real military strategist still needs to go to the battlefield and observe the situation." Have you ever done that?"
Zhao Zhenji was embarrassed by Gao Gong's questioning, and trembled with anger, but he was speechless. Zhang Juzheng watched all this from the sidelines and sneered secretly. He knew that although Gao Gong's wrists were ruthless, he did have insight into military affairs.
Gao Gong saw that Zhao Zhenji was embarrassed, and he was even more proud, and turned to Zhang Juzheng and said: "Zhang Gong, what do you think? What is the situation in the frontier, we will wait and see." ＂
Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Chen Zeng personally led the army to inspect the frontier and inspected the deployment of Altan Khan's troops on the spot. Altan Khan, though cunning, will never attack lightly, unless our army is empty. ＂
Gao Gong nodded, agreeing with Zhang Juzheng's analysis. Seeing this, Zhao Zhenji was greatly annoyed, and immediately angrily reprimanded Zhang Juzheng: "You kid who doesn't know the height of the sky, you dare to be arrogant here! I am so clever, but you are talking wildly!"
Zhang Juzheng was not angry, but smiled faintly: "Zhao Gong is high-minded, but what the minister said is actually from the mouth of the famous generals Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang in the Ming Dynasty." The two generals were holding heavy troops and were guarding the frontier, so they naturally understood the movements of Altan Khan. ＂
Zhao Zhenji was dumbfounded by Zhang Juzheng's words, and Gao Gong smiled secretly on the side. He knew that Zhang Juzheng was indeed an expert in the military field of the Ming Dynasty and knew the situation in the frontier well.
Since then, two obvious forces have formed in the cabinet. On one side are old-fashioned schools such as Zhao Zhenji and Li Chunfang, and on the other side are upstarts such as Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng. The two sides frequently quarreled over the military plan, and the struggle for power became increasingly fierce.
Although Zhang Juzheng is young, he is quite appreciated by Gao Gong. Gao Gong once said to Zhang Juzheng in private: "Zhang Gong, although you are young, you are better than me and other old people. In the future, the government must be entrusted to young people like you. ＂
Zhang Juzheng was flattered and replied humbly: "The teacher praised it falsely. The minister is young and ignorant, and he really does not deserve your honor. Gao Gong smiled and shook his head: "You are too humble." I look at people, and I have my own fire. ＂
In this way, under the support of Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng's position in the cabinet became increasingly important, in stark contrast to the old school such as Zhao Zhenji. The power map of the cabinet is quietly being reshuffled.
Zhang Juzheng finally got ahead
The struggle for cabinet power lasted for months, and Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng's side finally gained the upper hand. One day, Zhu Zaiyuan convened a meeting of cabinet ministers to discuss the military plan for the frontier.
At the meeting, Zhao Zhenji once again vigorously advocated the idea of increasing troops in Jizhou, believing that only in this way could the offensive of Altan Khan be contained. Gao Gong immediately retorted, pointing out that Zhao Zhenji's approach was tantamount to throwing himself into a net, which would arouse Altan Khan's vigilance.
Zhao Zhenji was upright and asked Gao Gong loudly: "What do you have to say? Do you know about the military situation in the frontier?" Gao Gong smiled indifferently, and turned to look at Zhang Juzheng: "Zhang Gong, can you make a statement for Your Majesty?"
Zhang Juzheng said respectfully: "Chen Zeng personally led the army to inspect the frontier and inspected the deployment of Altan Khan's troops on the spot. Although Altan Khan is cunning, he also knows that the military strength of our dynasty should not be underestimated. The ministers have transferred the famous generals Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang to the frontier, and they are holding heavy troops and are guarding important places. ＂
"Moreover, not long ago, we held a huge military parade on the outskirts of Beijing to show Altan Khan the strength of our army. Naturally, Altan Khan would not act rashly. Zhang Juzheng continued.
Zhu Zaiyuan listened to Zhang Juzheng's analysis, and couldn't help but nod and praise: "I really didn't look away, Zhang Gong is indeed a military expert." Subsequently, Zhu Zaiyuan announced in public that Zhao Zhenji would be removed from his cabinet post and ordered Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng to take charge of the military plan.
Zhao Zhenji was so angry that he was angry, but he was helpless. Gao Gong was triumphant and gave Zhang Juzheng a thumbs up, obviously looking at this young man differently.
Since then, Zhang Juzheng's position in the cabinet has become increasingly important, and he has become the core figure in charge of the military plan. With his outstanding military talent, he was highly appreciated and reused by Zhu Zaiyuan.
Soon after, Zhang Juzheng began to carry out a large-scale reorganization and transfer of the frontier army. He personally led his army to inspect the towns, inspect the training of the army, and learn about the latest movements of Altan Khan.
With the assistance of famous generals such as Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang, Zhang Juzheng quickly put the frontier army in order. He also personally presided over several large-scale military parades to show Altan Khan the strength of the Ming army.
With Zhang Juzheng's presiding, the situation on the frontier gradually stabilized, and Altan Khan's offensive attempt was completely stifled. Zhu Zaiyuan greatly appreciated Zhang Juzheng's talents, and soon promoted him to the first assistant of the cabinet, in charge of the government, the military and the state.
In this way, Zhang Juzheng finally relied on his outstanding military talent and Gao Gong's promotion to get ahead in the cabinet power struggle and start the peak of his career. His outstanding achievements in military affairs made great contributions to the national defense and security of the Ming Dynasty.