The situation in the court is both clear and confusing.

The bright side is that everyone has to deal with Guo Dan, which is a consensus.

But everyone's purpose in dealing with Guo Dan is different.

Everyone has a private account in their hearts.

As the chief aide to Guo Dan, Aunt Xu naturally had to understand the matter clearly, so she invited Fang Fengshi to Yunxia Temple.

"Shangshu Fang, I'm here today because I want to ask about the tariff reform." Aunt Xu was straight to the point because there was not much time left.

"I am also trying to talk to the lay Buddhist about this."

Fang Fengshi stroked his beard and asked, "Is there any reason for Guo Dan telling you about it?"

"I said it, but it's very subjective." Aunt Xu nodded and said to Fang Fengshi what Guo Dan told her again.

Fang Fengshi nodded and said, "It's roughly the case. This is because of Guo Dan's remarks in Kaifeng Prefecture, which caused uneasiness and even fear of the ministers in the court. They originally thought that Kaifeng Prefecture was Guo Dan's tomb, but they never thought that Guo Dan would use his private academy to restore Kaifeng Prefecture.

And they became more and more powerful, and they made such remarks that were unfavorable to Confucianism. At that time, they jointly submitted a press conference to impeach Guo Dan, but they were suppressed by His Majesty. If His Majesty supports the Scholar Academy, it would shake the foundation of Confucianism and the entire Scholar. Now they eliminated Guo Dan quickly, and for this, they would not hesitate to let go of their prejudices with each other and jointly deal with Guo Dan."

Although Wanli's resignation of Guantuzhi failed to impeach Guo Dan, Guo Dan's remarks really scared them, and they could not give up.

Because if Guo Dan’s remarks are amplified, it is a subversive idea.

Nowadays, people live in virtue and for a long time, so many of them can live in the temple. However, if they live in the ability, they may become the chief minister, and many people who are already above may retreat.

There are many scholars and officials in the sects, and their prestige will also be severely hit.

As for the struggle between them and the cabinet, if they take a step back, even if they die, a group of people will be repaired immediately. It is like leaves falling down and new buds appearing on the branches, which will not hurt the roots. But once Guo Dan's remarks become mainstream, their roots will be dug.

These two evils are the least!

Aunt Xu frowned and said, "So they supported Liu Zongcheng's tariff reform this time to deal with Guo Dan?"

Fang Fengshi pondered for a little while, and asked without answering, "Can the layman know the content of the tax reform?"

Aunt Xu nodded and said, "But I think that although this method may benefit the country and the people, it is just a drop in the bucket for the current situation in the Ming Dynasty. However, if you use this as a medicine guide, you may have a great achievement."

"The layman is really extremely talented!" Fang Fengshi smiled and nodded, "I also thought that Wang Jiaping and Wang Xijue thought so. If you want to change, the first thing is to strengthen the power of the cabinet. Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve something. Shen Shixing's previous failure has proved this."

At the beginning, Shen Shixing also wanted to reform, but he thought that Zhang Juzheng's approach would not work, so he switched to a gentle method, but the result was that he failed to strengthen, so he didn't even have the chance to start, so later, he began to seek stability, just keep it steady.

This is a big problem with the cabinet system. If there is no power in hand, they are just a group of small secretaries who help the emperor with advice, but they have no power in hand. Some people say that the cabinet can reject the emperor's proposal to prove that the cabinet has great power. In fact, it is not the case. The cabinet can reject the emperor's proposal, but the emperor has the twenty-four supervisors and the Jinyiwei, which involves military power, finance, administration and justice, and can completely act beyond the cabinet.

In history, all civil and military officials in the dynasty opposed Wanli's mining tax, but the result was that it was the same as not opposing it.

And the more you get involved, the more messy it becomes.

But the cabinet will never be able to surpass the emperor. Without the emperor's nod, they will not be able to do anything. The system of the Ming Dynasty was to make the emperor highly centralized.

If the cabinet wants to make a difference, the first thing is to strengthen its own power.

"but."

Fang Fengshi said again: "But this may be very unfavorable to Guo Dan."

Aunt Xu shook her head and said, "I don't think so. The reason why the cabinet can unite the court is because of Guo Dan's existence. If Guo Dan is gone, it will be very unfavorable to the cabinet. A relatively powerful Guo Dan may not be a bad thing for the cabinet."

Fang Fengshi was a little stunned, pondered for a while, and said, "So do you think the cabinet will secretly help Guo Dan?"

Aunt Xu smiled and said, "With Guo Dan's ability, he doesn't need their help. As long as they handle it impartially, they... may need Guo Dan's help very much."

......

On the morning of the next day, Aunt Xu came to Yinuoya Store on time.

"Laby Mr., you are here. Your Majesty has just sent someone to inform me to attend tomorrow's court meeting. What should I do?"

When Guo Dan saw Aunt Xu coming, he immediately stood up and said.

Since he has returned, Wanli does not intend to delay it anymore and issuing an order to hold a court meeting tomorrow to discuss the tariffs.

Aunt Xu said in surprise: "Do you have no solution?"

Guo Dan sighed: "I have also been studying Liu Zongcheng's tax system these two days. It is undeniable that what he said makes sense. I can only try my best to refute it, but I cannot ensure that I will succeed. The best way is to divide them so that your Majesty can make the decision for me."

Aunt Xu nodded and said, "I have been searching for news recently. In fact, it is not difficult to differentiate them."

Guo Dan said, "Looking Master, please tell me."

Aunt Xu said: "As far as I know, the purpose of them being united is to deal with you, but if you collapse, they will naturally not be united, so as long as you can bear very large losses, they will be self-defeating."

Guo Dan rolled his eyes and said, "I can't afford this. I have to pay taxes. If the taxes cannot be paid, I will die. Moreover, our Yashang Company is a shareholding system. Once this share falls, I will be half of it. This method cannot be done, and it is not my style to sit and wait for death."

Aunt Xu said: "Then you can only live by putting yourself in death."

"How do you say this?" Guo Dan said in confusion.

Aunt Xu said: "Although this method was proposed by Liu Zongcheng, the reformists led by the cabinet in the court were the reformists, but the power of the conservatives in the court was also very powerful. It was just because of you that they united together.

It can be seen that at present, in the hearts of the ministers, your threat has exceeded the cabinet, and the reason may be because of your remarks in Kaifeng Prefecture. In other words, if you can make the threat of the cabinet surpass you, they will naturally fight again."

"I understand this." Guo Dan nodded and asked again: "But how can I let the cabinet threat exceed me?"

Aunt Xu said: "Only when the power of the cabinet is increased, other ministers will feel afraid. Then the first step is to help the cabinet strengthen its power."

"Wow---!"

Guo Dan said in shock: "Can I help me?"

Aunt Xu nodded and said, "You can help you at the forefront of this storm."

Guo Dan hurriedly asked, "How do you say this?"

Aunt Xu said: "I told you before that Wang Jiaping and Wang Xijue are not likely to target you as a businessman. I thought they might want to lend you to unite the court and implement reforms. But a large number of people are specifically for dealing with you.

And you have also mentioned your concerns. Although this method is good, they will definitely use this as a reason to target you and limit you. In other words, what you are worried about is the potential contradiction between them."

"I see."

Guo Dan nodded thoughtfully and said, "The cabinet mainly wants to implement reforms and solve the current drawbacks. If this method fails, it will obviously not meet their original intentions, but if it is deliberately targeted me, it will obviously fail. As long as I support the cabinet, they will naturally fall apart."

Aunt Xu smiled and said, "Why do you support the cabinet?"

Guo Dan was stunned and said, "Yes! Why should I support the cabinet?"

Aunt Xu shook her head and said, "You still don't understand what I mean. Their unity is because of you, and unity is very beneficial to the cabinet. The more they are united, the power of the cabinet will be strengthened.

How to make them more united? Only when you are stronger and scare them, the more united they will naturally be. When the power of the cabinet reaches a certain level, the threat to conservatives will naturally exceed you, and then they will fall apart."

Guo Dan frowned and said, "Why do I feel a little cautious when I hear it? The more united they are, the faster I die?"

Aunt Xu smiled and said, "You have not committed any crime, and you have Your Majesty protecting you, so they cannot take your life. Now you are fighting for money, don't reason with them in the court tomorrow. Just express your concerns and accuse them of being incompetent and impossible to do this well.

Even ask them to assure His Majesty that they will enforce the law impartially, rather than deliberately targeting Wei Hui Mansion and targeting you.

In this way, they will inevitably be more united, but only at this moment, problems will follow one after another. If they execute properly, your losses will not be great. If the cabinet benefits, the conservatives will become the biggest losers, and they will not be able to continue to cooperate.

But if they target you specifically, it will become meaningless to the cabinet. They are just swords in the hands of others. The cabinet will not agree. The conflicts will still erupt, and tariff reforms will end in failure. Then when you strike back, they will all become the biggest losers and you will become the biggest winners."
Chapter completed!