Those Things in the Ming Dynasty Part 4 Whitewashing the Peace _ Chapter 21 Dawn
painful bystander
No matter how Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei ended up, they finally had a glorious moment. However, for Xu Jie, his life was shrouded in darkness from beginning to end. Yang Jisheng died, Tang Shunzhi left, and the scene of betrayal and separation once again happened
After Yan Song appeared, his subordinates all looked for other ways out. No one wanted to rely on him because no one wanted to go against Yan Song.
What caused him the most pain was undoubtedly the Wang Shizhen incident.
Wang Shizhen was included in Yan Song's blacklist. In fact, this talented man had not offended Yan Shoufu. Everything was just because after Yang Jisheng died, he helped the poor classmate collect the body and cried loudly.
It was just helping someone collect the body, and just crying bitterly. Don’t you even have this right?
For Yan Song, the answer is yes, those who resist will be punished, and those who sympathize with the rebels will also be punished. He targeted Wang Shizhen.
But Wang Shizhen was smart. He was very careful and did not leave any clues to Yan Song. But Yan Shoufu finally found a breakthrough - his father.
Coincidentally, at this time, Wang Shizhen's father, Wang Yan, had problems at work and was dismissed from his post for questioning. Originally, this was a big or small matter, but because of his son's problems, Yan Song intervened and actually asked the question.
Death penalty.
Wang Shizhen panicked. He abandoned all his dignity and position, immediately left his job and rushed to the capital, heading straight to Yan Song's home, because he knew that everything was in the hands of this man, including his father's life and death.
This one-shot technique has been used for some years. Lu Bing has used it, Yan Song has used it, and now Wang Shizhen, but unfortunately, this time he is not working with Xia Yan, but with Yan Song.
Wang Shizhen knelt at Yan Song's door, kowtowing and begging for mercy day and night, and crying bitterly. Yan Song seemed to be moved and met him personally, saying on the spot that there was no need to worry about this matter. I, Yan Song, am here, your father.
Of course it's okay.
Wang Shizhen believed what he said, but after a while, not only did he not see his father released from prison, his colleagues in the Criminal Department also told him that Yan Song had urged them several times to quickly close the case and kill Wang Yan.
Wang Shizhen was stunned, but he had no other way. After thinking about it, he decided to use the last method, a method that many people refused to use even to death.
The next day, Wang Shizhen and his younger brother were unable to kneel down in front of the court officials on their way to court. They kept kowtowing to the civil and military officials who were going to court until their faces were covered with blood, hoping that they could help and say a kind word.
Let his father go.
However no one paid attention to them.
So Wang Shizhen made a move that saddened countless scholars. He knelt on the ground and slapped himself in the face. He cried while slapping until his face became red and swollen. He kept shouting, hoping that someone would be kind enough to find out and help them save their father.
Still no one paid attention to them.
Everyone saw this tragic scene, but no one said a word, because after all, people like Yang Jisheng were in the minority.
So a month later, Wang Yan was killed, and Wang Shizhen was devastated, but could do nothing.
Yan Song won again, but he did not expect that this was actually the second stupid thing he had done after the Yang Jisheng incident. Because Wang Shizhen was a person who could never be offended.
You must know that although this brother Wang is not a high official, he is a great talent. He is a leader in the literary world and has great social influence. It is said that no matter who is praised by him, his reputation will rise. Any calligraphy and painting antiques will be
When he said yes, everyone thought it was really good. In today's terms, he was a person with the right to speak, so Yan Song was in trouble.
If he can lift people up, he can also knock them down. In the following decades, in addition to his personal literary creation, his main work was focused on scolding Yan Song. He once wrote a book called "The Biography of Shou Fu"
, the article criticizes Yan Song. Because of his versatile talents, he is a three-dimensional star in the literary world. In addition to writing books, he is also good at writing poems and plays. Of course, Yan Song is indispensable in this article, such as the famous "Fengming Ji", which was
Later generations have sung it for hundreds of years, and it has endured for a long time, and Yan Song was ranked alongside Cao Cao and gloriously became the representative figure of the white-faced traitor.
Because of his deep hatred for Yan Song, there are some distortions of the facts in his book, but in my opinion, this seems understandable compared with everything he has lost and the pain he has suffered.
But these were just the infamies behind his back, and had no impact on Yan Song, who was active and active at the time. He still ate and slept, and had good bones and good health.
Xu Jie, who witnessed all this with his own eyes, was shocked. He did not expect that Yan Song would be so vicious and torture a sympathizer like this. As a veteran political gangster, he deserved his reputation.
As an upgraded version of gangsters, political gangsters are very special, and the biggest difference between them is that gangsters mix with the underworld, and after hacking people to death, they will be punished and sent to jail, while political gangsters mix with the court, and after beating people to death, they will then kill them all.
Cutting off the roots.
Xu Jie knew this very well, and he knew even more that it was far from the time to deal with this terrible person, so when he walked past Wang Shizhen who had slapped himself, he did not stop, let alone step forward, because he knew
, in front of this powerful force, pleading or anger have no effect at all.
Gathering strength and waiting for the opportunity, he believed that he would eventually win the final victory.
And something happened not long after that convinced Xu Jie that he had chosen the only correct strategy.
During these years, Xu Jie continued to be promoted and received awards, so that he once thought that he had gained all the trust of Jiajing. However, one day, this beautiful dream was ruthlessly broken.
That day, Xu Jie and Yan Song went into Xiyuan to report government affairs to the emperor. After that, Xu Jie was about to turn around and leave, but was surprised to find that Yan Song didn't move, as if he was waiting for something. So he began to slow down.
So next he saw this scene. Jiajing took out the five-color zhizhi (a raw material for refining medicine) and handed it to Yan Song, but did not say anything. Yan Song just accepted it, then looked at Xu Jie proudly and walked away.
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Facing everything in front of him, Xu Jie was extremely embarrassed. He began to feel that in front of these two people, he was just an outsider.
The Emperor was clever enough to break the embarrassing silence:
"As a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, you should care about government affairs and not do things like refining elixirs."
Jiajing finished this sentence with a smile, but Xu Jie felt an unprecedented fear in his smile.
Since Xia Yan's death, Xu Jie has been cautious, timid, endured hardships and flattery, just to keep progressing in this political pyramid, climbing up to the highest peak, gaining the emperor's trust, in order to realize his ambitions, in addition to
Get rid of the person he hates so much.
After years of hard work, he arrived at this position, only one step away from his final goal, Yan Song. However, at this moment, he realized that this step was almost insurmountable.
Since Yan Song entered the cabinet in the 21st year of Jiajing, he has spent nearly twenty years with the emperor. Jiajing has become accustomed to Yan Song, his speech and behavior, and his careful service. They are no longer just
Lord and minister, or friends in a certain sense.
And the scene of tacit understanding between them also told Xu Jie that maybe the emperor was willing to promote him, maybe the emperor was willing to let him do things, but the emperor did not really trust him. In the heart of the emperor, he was just a clerk, absolutely.
Can't be compared with Yan Song.
This is the truth of the matter, and this is the source of Yan Song's powerful strength. Xu Jie was desperate, but he had no way of turning back, so he bent his knees again and knelt down to salute the emperor:
"I am willing to refine medicine for the Emperor, and I hope the Emperor will give me your permission!"
Principles are not important, nor is dignity. Whether it is the Jade Emperor, the Supreme Lord, Tathagata Buddha, or Christ Jesus, as long as you believe in it, I will no longer object, because I want to survive and persist until the last moment.
I will continue to be patient until one day in the future, I personally put a rope around the neck of that heinous person and make him pay with blood!
So in the days that followed, Xu Jie did several things. First, he betrothed his granddaughter to Yan Song's grandson as a concubine. Secondly, in cabinet affairs, he no longer paid attention to specific events. In everything, Yan Song followed his lead and Yan Song did not.
He never made a decision. In the end, he gave up his Shanghai registered residence and transferred his registered residence to Jiangxi in the name of avoiding Japanese pirates, thus becoming Yan Song's hometown.
Yan Song is by no means a person who trusts others easily, especially a guy with a criminal record like Xu Jie, but these moves are too cruel. After several years of observation, he found that Xu Jie did not have any abnormality, so for the first time in his life, he
Start letting your guard down for once.
There seems to be no need to be too embarrassed for such an extremely obedient and obedient subordinate, so Yan Song changed his attitude towards Xu Jie, no longer worried about him, and was on guard against him day and night. Although he still did not trust this old enemy, at least he
For now, Xu Cifu is no longer his enemy.
The enemy is no longer, but has become a servant.
In the cabinet at that time, Yan Song had the final say on everything. Even if someone found Xu Jie, he never made his own decision. He always said that he would ask his superiors for instructions. According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, there was no clear agreement among cabinet bachelors.
Who has the final say in terms of hierarchy depends on the individual. Therefore, although Zhang Cong was only a cabinet member back then, he was more powerful than the chief minister.
And now Xu Jie has been promoted from the first rank to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the second minister of the cabinet. He actually doesn't even fart when things happen. Gradually, he begins to be despised by people, ridiculing him for his incompetence and being as cowardly as a mouse.
So not long after, Zou Yinglong, the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, came to the door.
His face was full of anger, and when he saw Xu Jie, he raised his voice and said loudly:
"Master Shangshu sits at home every day. He must not know what is being said about you outside!"
Zou Yinglong, courtesy name Yunqing, was a Jinshi in the 35th year of Jiajing reign (1556), and was the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate at that time. In the near future, he will become a very important figure.
As a newly promoted official, the reason why he was able to gain the trust of the veteran politician Xu Jie and become his direct descendant was that, in addition to his integrity and dislike of Yan Song, the more important reason was that he was a loyal disciple of Wang Xue.
Since he was from the same sect, he naturally talked about everything. He told Lord Cifu angrily that many ministers outside were ridiculing him for being timid and afraid of getting into trouble, for obeying orders, and that he was just a concubine of Yan Song!
At that time, this sentence was probably the most vicious of all curse words. In the past, Zhuge Liang used this trick to provoke Sima Yi to fight.
According to Zou Yinglong's idea, Xu Jie should have been furious and jumped up after hearing this. However, what he saw was a man who was still smiling and calm.
So he became angry again:
"Your Excellency is turning a deaf ear to this, don't you remember Yang Jisheng anymore?!"
When this question came out of his mouth, Zou Yinglong was horrified to find that the smiling and kind gentleman suddenly disappeared, replaced by a man with a murderous look on his face.
"I haven't forgotten it," Xu Jie replied to his scolding in a very cold tone, "I haven't forgotten it for a moment."
Wait only because it is worth it, endure only because it is explosive, and have faith that the opportunity that belongs to us will eventually come.
Odds of winning
In this way, Xu Jie continued to be timid in the humiliation and ridicule, continued to obey orders, continued to wait, and accumulated strength in silence, until one day, he made a judgment.
In March of the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing (1558), an unusual thing happened.
Give it to Wu Shi
Later, Dong Chuance and Zhang Chong, the chief officers of the Ministry of Punishment, wrote letters one after another to impeach Yan Song for committing corruption and harming the country. In the Ming Dynasty, impeachment was a common occurrence, and there seemed to be nothing surprising about it. But the problem was that things were not as simple as they seemed.
First of all, these three people submitted letters on the same day. If there is no premeditation, it is difficult for people to believe it. Since Yang Jisheng's death, most of those who impeached Yan Song have not had a good end, and fewer and fewer people dare to get into trouble. These three people
This dear friend suddenly became so bold. If he was not stimulated, he was naturally ordered to do so.
As for who instigated it, you only need to check their files to find the answer: Dong Chuance is a fellow villager of Xu Jie, Wu Shilai, and Zhang Chong are both Xu Jie's disciples. Any idiot can know who is responsible.
Yan Song felt that he had been deceived. He realized that this was a blow carefully arranged by Xu Jie, but he was worthy of being a top political expert. He immediately came up with a countermeasure. On the one hand, he wrote to the emperor and asked for retirement, but secretly secretly revealed that he was behind the scenes.
There must be someone behind the scenes.
This was a carefully planned response, because Yan Song knew very well that the emperor was not afraid of anything but conspiracy and cliques, and he would definitely order an investigation.
Sure enough, Jiajing quickly ordered the three men to be imprisoned and tortured to make them reveal the mastermind. However, these three brothers dared to impeach Yan Song, so they were naturally prepared. They were beaten to death by the Jin Yiwei, but they were beaten.
They refused to die. The case could not be investigated, so we had to assume that they had a clear understanding and acted consciously, so they were all sent to the army.
Although Yan Song was not too satisfied with this result, it was acceptable. In his opinion, he successfully repelled Xu Jie's attack and won the victory.
However, Yan Song ignored one question: With Xu Jie's IQ, he should know that this kind of impeachment would have no results, so why would he do such a unnecessary thing?
So the answer is: he's wrong.
The real winner is not him, but Xu Jie, because this is not an attack, but a test, and Xu Jie has achieved his goal.
Not long ago, he found Wu Shilai, Dong Chuance and Zhang Chong, arranged for them to write a letter of impeachment, and explained to them in advance that this was an impeachment that was bound to fail, and that they might face the consequences of removal from office, exile, or even beheading.
.
The three people agreed without hesitation because of the exact same beliefs and goals.
As expected, the impeachment was invalid and they were sent to the frontier. However, this was only the side that Yan Song saw. He did not know the other outcome of the matter.
Jiajing was impatient. Although he would not punish Yan Song for impeachment, he had to wipe his ass for many years and deal with official documents scolding him. As recorded in some history books: "Although I stayed with him to comfort him,
Naturally, I am a little tired of Song."
Moreover, Yan Song also ignored such a detail: with Jiajing's cleverness, even if there was no evidence, he naturally knew that this impeachment was instigated by Xu Jie. Although he made a show of arresting three people and imprisoning them, he was still treated leniently in the end.
, the matter was dispatched. If he wanted to deal with Xu Jie, he could just find any excuse, without any evidence.
This is a dangerous signal. It means that Xu Jie's status in the emperor's mind has improved. It means that when Xu Jie and Yan Song have a conflict, the emperor's protection will no longer belong to only one person.
The cunning Yan Song only saw the part that was beneficial to him, but Xu Jie already understood everything. He knew clearly that although the time for decisive victory had not come yet, it was no longer far away.
Having said that, he still caused a big trouble. Xu Jie immediately took a leave of absence, hid at home and thanked guests behind closed doors. He continued to be Zhuangzi's son - pretending to be Zhuang's grandson. He didn't see anyone and didn't care about anything.
Xu Jie started waiting again, because opportunities always appeared while waiting. Two years later, when he heard the news of that person's death, he began to cheer up again, because his intuition told him that the opportunity had come to the door.
Lu Bing died in November of the 39th year of Jiajing (1560). This extremely smart and manipulative agent passed away. Throughout his life, we can probably give him this evaluation - cowardice.
Born in a famous family, he studied the words of sages since he was a child. He knew that Yan Song was a bad person and knew that he had done many bad things, but he still cooperated with the bad people and was still complicit. He had covered Shen Lian, protected King Yu, and helped Yu Dayou
, the so-called "many people have been saved, and the scholar-bureaucrats have made sacrifices, but they have never framed a single person", and the so-called "there is no stinginess in dealing with good people", are by no means arbitrary evaluations.
However, he was still cowardly. In the face of darkness, he did not dare to break up or rise up to resist. What made him feel weakest most was probably the Li Mo incident.
Li Mo was Lu Bing's teacher. When he presided over the martial arts competition, he admired Lu Bing very much and specially promoted him. The two became master and apprentice and established a very deep friendship.
Li Mo is an upright person, and he is also a bit stubborn, so when he was the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he had an irreconcilable conflict with Yan Song. No matter how others were afraid of Yan Song, he never bought the chief minister's advice.
Account. So when he presided over the examination and asked the questions himself, Yan Song found a flaw that put him to death.
In that examination, Li Mo asked a question like this: "Han Wu and Tang Xian prospered with their heroes, but they were defeated by bandits in the later years." This seems to be an ordinary historical discussion topic, but there is no
what is the problem.
However, thousands of years of history tell us that one thing, whether a person has a problem or not, the key lies in who sees it and how to see it. If you offend the wrong person at the wrong time, it will naturally be your fault.
Yan Song then used the magic power of association to move, and revealed that Li Mo came up with this topic because he wanted to allude to the current emperor. Although these two things seemed to be completely unrelated, after Mr. Yan's unremitting efforts and bewitchment, Li Mo finally
He was imprisoned by the emperor and later died in prison without any explanation. His methods were extremely cruel.
However, in the face of all this, Lu Bing remained silent. He watched helplessly as his teacher was put into a cell and tortured to death cruelly, but he did not dare to stand up or resist Yan Song.
Therefore, although he knew right from wrong and had good thoughts, although he was majestic and powerful, he was awarded the title of Taibao (first grade) and Shaofu (first grade), and he was the only recipient of the title of Three Dukes and Three Gus in the Ming Dynasty (Grand Master)
, the Taifu and the Taibao are collectively called the Three Dukes, the Young Master, the Young Master, and the Shaobao are collectively called the Three Gus. In the entire Ming Dynasty, no one except Lu Bing had both), but he was still a complete coward.
For Xu Jie, this man's death is really a great thing, because although Lu Bing was a decent person, he was an important ally of Yan Song. This man was very shrewd. If he wanted to deal with Yan Song, he would have to be better than him.
Guan. As Yan Shifan said, if you get two of the three, you will be invincible in the world.
Now that Lu Bing is dead, Xu Jie has lost a powerful opponent, but he still can't get any help. Yang Bo is still alive, and he still hates Yan Song extremely, but this man is unwilling and unable to get involved.
Come in because he has a unique hobby - fighting.
Zhang Juzheng later said that one of the people he admired most was Yang Bo. The reason why this man is famous is that he is both civilized and military, wise and courageous. He not only served as the Minister of National Defense (Minister of War), but also served as the Minister of Personnel in the future.
(Minister of the Ministry of Official Affairs), with such cross-professional development, he can be described as a compound talent.
His most outstanding performance was in the thirty-third year of Jiajing (1554), when the Tatars launched an army of more than 100,000 to invade Jizhou. When the news came, the border troops were very frightened and thought they were going to be doomed. However, Yang Bo was very calm and kept calm every day.
He rolled up his blanket and made a bunk on the wall on the Gubeikou city wall. He fell asleep soundly. Even when he woke up, he would not go down. He stayed on the city wall to supervise the battle. If he did not go down, others would not dare to go down. They stayed here all day long.
I felt sorry for the Mongols, who fought continuously for four days and four nights without even touching the base of the wall, so they had to withdraw.
Shortly after the war, in recognition of his meritorious service, Jiajing promoted him to ministerial-level censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and concurrently as minister of the Ministry of War. After that, he served as governor-general of Xuanda. The reason why such an outstanding person did not enter the imperial court was that every day
In addition to his love of war and his indifference to politics, he also owes thanks to Comrade Yan Song for his support at the border.
Due to Yan Shifan's reminder, Yan Song was extremely wary of this person. Every time Jiajing thought of Yang Bo and prepared to call him back, Uncle Yan either said that he was not in good health or that the border was too busy and he could not leave. Just like that, Yang Bo
Bo had been stationed on the frontier of the motherland for more than ten years, and even if he wanted to help Xu Jie, he couldn't.
And Gao Gong is even more cunning. He neither fights nor relies. He waits every day to attend the memorial service of Comrade Jiajing, and then overnight he becomes a slave and becomes his master.
But he was low-key, but he still attracted the attention of Yan Shifan. Although this person had a very bad character, his vision was really accurate. As time went by, he gradually discovered Gao Gong's talents and intentions, so he came to the door.
, and get straight to the point:
"I heard that His Royal Highness Prince Yu has always been dissatisfied with my father (Yan Song). Is it true?"
This was a life-threatening sentence. Facing Yan Shifan's question, Gao Gong showed extraordinary reaction ability. He calmly answered:
"This is a myth. Yan Shoufu is the pillar of the country. Prince Yu has been with the emperor for many years and has always been very courteous to Lord Yan. The rumors cannot be believed."
This sentence was a combination of kindness and power. First, I said that I will not offend you, and then I said that I am not easy to mess with. King Yu is King Yu after all. You'd better be smarter. Yan Shifan naturally understood and left after chatting for a while. Gao Gong
But he knew very well that this man suddenly came to visit and showed off his knife as soon as they met, and it was not just to satisfy his appetite. So he sent someone to give Yan Shifan a generous gift, and this settled the matter.
In Gao Gong's view, if you save King Yu, you will save everything. Whether Xu Jie dies or lives is none of his business.
Zhang Juzheng would like to get involved, but now he is only the vice-president of the Central University, only a sixth-rank official. If the government catches a lot of people like him, it is really useless.
So after many twists and turns, Xu Jie finally saw the situation clearly again: there was no reliable helper around him, and in front of him, there was the most terrifying enemy-Yan Shifan.
hint
After so many years of dealing with him, Xu Jie has seen very clearly that the reason why Yan Song has been able to flourish and thrive is only because of Yan Shifan.
Although Mr. Yan is a lame man and has one eye, he is really smart. He knows all the things in the officialdom, whether they are explicit or hidden rules. His position in the imperial court is Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Industry and Shang Bao Si.
Cheng, the Ministry of Industry is responsible for engineering projects, while Shang Bao is in charge of confidential matters. Yan Shifan is roughly equivalent to the deputy minister of the Ministry of Construction and the director of the confidential affairs department.
These two positions are the fattest jobs in the imperial court. Let Yan Shifan do this job, which is to let the weasel watch the chickens. And his grasp of conspiracy and people's hearts has reached the pinnacle of human wisdom. Want to be in front of him
Playing tricks can only be a trick.
For example, a river governor at that time was ordered to repair the Huaihe River. The court allocated 100,000 taels of silver. This brother wanted to get some, so he spent 50,000 taels to complete the project. He kept 30,000 taels for himself, and the rest was naturally given to Yan.
Deputy Minister.
However, after Yan Shifan received the money, he still called him to his house and asked him to hand over the remaining money. The governor pretended to be confused and said that the balance was only so much and that he really had no money.
So Chief Yan got angry, and when he saw that the other party was being dishonest, he immediately started to fight:
"Don't be smart, you still have at least thirty thousand taels in hand!"
The governor was shocked when he heard this, so he had no choice but to confess honestly and hand over the remaining money. Comrade Yan Shifan was kind enough to leave some for him.
The oil and water were dug away, but the question has not yet been solved. Yan Shifan did not observe on the spot, so how did he know how much money he made?
Seeing that the other party obeyed obediently, Yan Shifan helped him solve his mystery. He took
He produced a performance appraisal form and told the other party proudly that it was this form that told him. It turned out that this man paid special attention and observed carefully every time he reviewed the river defense project. Over time, he concluded a pattern: In fact, this has always been the case
, the imperial court always has more than enough money to build river embankments. As long as half is used, the assessment results will be qualified. If 70% is used, the assessment will definitely be excellent.
The assessment of this project was only qualified, so he concluded that the other party had eaten half of it.
Regarding corruption, Yan Shifan gave full play to his scientific spirit of meticulousness and seeking truth from facts, and he was able to know what he was doing and not panic. For a person to be as shrewd as he is, it is really the ultimate.
But in Xu Jie's eyes, these were just tricks. What really frightened him was Yan Shifan's other special ability.
Emperor Jiajing was a very smart man. He was not only difficult to fool, but also difficult to serve. He would often do some unexpected things just to prevent his ministers from seeing his thoughts. Since he began to practice Taoism and Xuanxuan, he became even more difficult to serve.
He is elusive and never takes the initiative to reveal his intentions, often leaving the ministers around him at a loss as to what to do.
Because when giving orders to the minister, he used a special method-passing a note.
This is not cheating, nor is it just to ask someone to go to the movies at night. In fact, it is an extremely dangerous and strange political method.
The reason why it is said to be weird is because the notes written by Jiajing, even if they were written as notices and posted on the street, would have nothing to do with it, because what was written on the notes was not specific matters, but code words.
These code words are either a few words or a sentence, which may seem inconspicuous, but within these code words, Jiajing's true intention is hidden.
The reason why it is said to be dangerous is that these notes are often only written to a few ministers in the cabinet to convey one's attitude. But if you are not smart enough and do not understand the mystery in the note in time, the Emperor supports your objection.
If the emperor advances and you retreat, you will be in big trouble.
But the problem is that the only standard answer to these so-called code words is only in Jiajing's own hands. If you don't understand it and don't understand it, although he won't blame you, he knows in his heart that you are not smart enough and cannot be reused.
He believes that only by adopting this method can all people be effectively controlled.
But he was wrong. He was not the only smart person in the world. Yan Shifan should also be counted, and his special ability was to decipher code words.
In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing (1555), after Zhang Jing was dismissed, Zhao Wenhua wanted Hu Zongxian, who had just become governor, to replace him as governor. This was a very important personnel appointment, so the memorial was sent for a long time without any response.
.
Suddenly one day, Yan Song received a note written to him by Jiajing, with only six words written on it:
Xian is like speed, so what should we do?
Yan Song thought about it and understood the meaning. Xian naturally refers to Hu Zongxian. The meaning of this sentence is that Hu Zongxian seems to have risen too fast. What do you think should be done?
So he was about to say a few more words for Hu Zongxian, suggesting that cadres should be promoted out of the norm, and wrote a memorial. Just before he was about to send it in, Yan Shifan came over and knew the whole story, and then he laughed.
"You are wrong," Yan Shifan said proudly, "That is not what the emperor meant."
He told his father that the word "yi" did not mean "should", but meant Yang Yi.
Yang Yi, then the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing, had rich political experience. For Jiajing, he was much more reliable than the stupid Hu Zongxian. So what the emperor really meant was that Hu Zongxian was promoted too fast. What do you think of Yang Yi?
Although this was a question, Yan Song knew very well that it did not represent a question, but an attitude, so he immediately wrote a letter recommending Yang Yi to take over as governor.
This is just one of Comrade Jiajing's many riddles. Since he studied hard since he was a child and is very knowledgeable, he often uses allusions and uncommon words on his notes. Therefore, only someone who is as knowledgeable and intelligent as him can solve these secret words.
There is no doubt that Yan Shifan meets this almost harsh condition.
So in the days that followed, Yan Song was always able to cater to the emperor's intentions at the first time, and gradually became an indispensable person in Jiajing.
Yan Shifan was very conceited about this unique expertise. Like Comrade Jiajing, he believed that he was unique, so he also made the same mistake.
In fact, he is not the only one who can crack the code. There is at least one other person in this world who has the same ability. Unfortunately, this person is Xu Jie.
Xu Jie once encountered the same situation. On the piece of paper that belonged to him, there were these words written: How about good teeth and virtue?
When he saw these six words, Xu Jie was so scared that he lost his wits. The so-called teeth in the sentence refer to age, so the meaning of this sentence is, does your virtue match your age?
From another perspective, it can also be translated like this: How can you be so virtuous at your age?
Generally speaking, if you don't want to deal with someone, you will never say such a thing. But after a brief panic, Xu Jie calmed down. He carefully analyzed these six words again and found the correct answer with his wisdom.
: The so-called virtue does not refer to virtue, but refers to Ouyang De.
Ouyang De was the Minister of Rites at the time, so the real meaning of this sentence is, who is older, you or Ouyang De?
In this way, Xu Jie became the second codebreaker and thus consolidated his position. However, Yan Shifan did not know all this.
But Xu Jie, who was in the dark, had nothing to do. The problem was obvious. To solve Yan Song, Yan Shifan must be eliminated. However, Yan Shifan was too smart and had no loopholes to exploit.
Unable to advance or retreat, this intellectual competition once again reached a deadlock. However, while he was bored and waiting, an accidental event occurred, which completely changed the balance of power between the two sides.
In November of the 40th year of the Jiajing reign (1561), due to inadequate firefighting work, a fire broke out in the palace. It was a coincidence that the Yongshou Palace in Xiyuan, the emperor's bedroom, was burned down.
Now Comrade Jiajing was homeless and had to move to Yuxi Palace temporarily. It would not be a problem if it lasted like this for a long time, so he found Yan Song and asked about the reconstruction.
I don’t know if Comrade Yan Song took the wrong medicine that day. He owns several houses, so he doesn’t care about his leader’s life or death, so he casually said something like this:
"The construction of the three main halls has just been completed, and there is not enough material left. Your Majesty can temporarily move to the Nangong Palace."
This is courting death. Even if you suggest that he live in a work shed, it is better than letting him go to Nangong. The so-called Nangong is the place where Zhu Qizhen, Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, lived. He was imprisoned there by his younger brother and spent a very unforgettable time.
time.
Everyone is well aware of this period of history, but Lord Yan actually suggested that Jiajing live in that unique cell in order to make things better. I really don’t know what he thought.
Sure enough, the emperor got angry and glared at Yan Song. At this time, Xu Jie, who was watching with cold eyes, realized that the opportunity he had been waiting for for a long time had arrived, and he immediately stood up:
"Your Majesty is temporarily staying in the side hall, which is damp and cramped. I can't bear it. Although the three main halls have just been completed, according to my estimation, the remaining materials are enough to rebuild the Yongshou Palace, which will be completed in three months."
Hearing this, Jiajing suddenly became elated. He praised Xu Jie repeatedly and gave him full authority to handle the matter. The atmosphere in the court was filled with joy.
At that moment, Yan Song, who was left aside, trembled. He looked at Xu Jie beside him with fearful eyes. Only then did he realize that for more than ten years, he had never taken this person seriously, nor had he ever taken it seriously.
He didn't realize how terrible this man was, but now he finally understood, but it was too late.
After more than ten years of patience, Xu Jie finally gained the upper hand for the first time. He looked at Yan Song's aging and slow back, and his heart was filled with joy. For more than ten years, in this court, Yan Song had used all his tricks to trick people.
After completing his conspiracy, he killed innocent people one after another. As a bystander, he witnessed all the tragedies and learned all the tactics.
Yan Song, you taught me this. Now, I will give back to you everything I learned from you!
The so-called house leak happened when it rained all night. Just when Yan Song was worried about the house problem, another blow also hit him.
His wife passed away. They had been together for decades and the relationship between husband and wife was very deep. Therefore, for Yan Song, this was a very painful bad news. However, what he did not expect was that the matter was much more serious. Behind the bad news, there was a
A devastating disaster.
According to the practice of the Ming Dynasty, when the mother dies, the son must observe mourning. This important responsibility must naturally be borne by Yan Shifan, but in this way, Yan Song will be in trouble, because the Qing Ci was written by Yan Shifan, and the idea came from Yan Shifan, and the son should go to the mourning
, the job is over. He can neither decipher Jiajing's code words nor cope with the complicated situation.
As a result, Jiajing's trust in him continued to decrease, but his appreciation for Xu Jie increased day by day. The people who were in the middle of the court also changed their families one after another. Yan Dang's strength was greatly weakened. For the first time since he became the chief minister, he felt that he was so powerful.
Fragile.
If this continues, destruction is only a matter of time, but as a cunning figure who has been in politics for more than 40 years, he will never be willing to die. In order to protect himself and turn defeat into victory, he finally came up with a way.
One day not long after, after finishing his shift in Xiyuan, Yan Song took the initiative to find Xu Jie, expressed that he wanted to treat him to a meal, and implored him to come.
Xu Jie arrived as promised, exchanged a few words with each other and started eating. However, just halfway through the meal, Yan Song suddenly stopped, called out his whole family, stood in front of Xu Jie, and suddenly took the lead and knelt down, and then took dozens of mouthfuls.
People were kneeling in darkness.
Before Xu Jie could react, Yan Song said in an extremely plaintive tone:
"I am already old and I won't live much longer. I ask you to take care of these unworthy descendants of mine."
Facing this junior, this enemy who had been against him for more than ten years, Yan Song knelt down without hesitation. In fact, he was reluctant, but he also knew very well that in the current situation where the enemy was strong and we were weak, he had to swallow his anger.
Accumulate strength, and this is the only way to paralyze the opponent.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Xu Jie fell into thinking. Everything in front of him seemed very familiar.
I remembered that it was fifteen years ago when Yan Song and Yan Shifan knelt in front of Xia Yan, begging him to be more generous and promising that they would change their past.
It was three years ago that Wang Shizhen knelt in front of Yan Song, with tears streaming down his face, crying all over the place, begging him to let his father go. Yan Song kindly helped him up and promised to try his best to rescue him.
So he immediately stepped forward to pull Yan Song up and made a clear statement:
"Don't worry, Chief Assistant, everything is taken care of by me."
Yan Song, are you finally scared? Do you finally want to quit?
But it's too late. This is a game that cannot be given up. For your greed and interests, you killed Xia Yan, Shen Lian, and Yang Jisheng. You abandoned the people who groaned under the iron heel of Anda. You harmed
Many innocent people have died and all the rules of the game have been broken. Now it is impossible for you to stop.
It is not a game, but a cruel gamble. You cannot quit until you lose all the wealth you have won here, as well as your capital. Because what I want to take away is not your throne as chief minister.
, not even your life, but everything you have.
Kindness and integrity alone will not help you. I will defeat you in my own way.