"I called you here today just to see Hai Rui's memorial!"
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the table next to him and said: "We have been reading this memorial back and forth for half the night. To be honest, I have been reading the history books of all dynasties for more than a hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, including the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty and even the Yuan Dynasty.
I have never seen such a crazy bureaucrat!"
"We heard that the Xin'an River embankment was built just last year, costing the court 1.8 million taels of silver."
"Haha... This year, in order to convert rice into mulberry, we directly destroyed dikes and flooded the fields, bought ordinary people's fields at a low price, planted mulberry and raised silkworms, and earned the money of 500,000 bolts of silk. Then I want to ask you, what are you doing with this money?
What?"
"Repair the Xin'an River embankment?"
"Plop!" Yan Song and Xu Jie, who had just sat down, knelt down again after hearing this.
Something is wrong, something is very wrong with the emperor today.
They have served Emperor Jiajing for more than twenty years, and they know very well that this emperor does not like to explain everything directly, but will give you riddles, poems, etc. for you to guess on your own.
If you guessed it right, if it's done, you'll win my heart and I'll be promoted to a higher position.
If it doesn't work out, there's nothing you can do about it. Whether it's dismissal from office or losing your position or beheading and confiscating your property has nothing to do with me. I'm just giving you a riddle. It's because you think too much.
In short, you don't want me to take the blame for this.
I have the final right to interpret these lantern riddles, calligraphy and paintings passed down.
But today's Emperor Jiajing no longer talked about Taoism, Qingci, poetry and paintings in the clouds and mountains, but went straight to the subject and directly laid out all the interests behind the Zhejiang Xin'an River embankment breach case on the table.
.
They had never seen Emperor Jiajing like this before, and they were even caught off guard for a moment.
I had already prepared a draft in my mind, and all the dialogue routines I had prepared were stuck in my throat for a while, and I couldn't say even half a sentence.
"Don't be stunned, get up and read Hai Rui's memorial carefully!" Zhu Yuanzhang reminded.
Only then did the two cabinet ministers react and quickly got up to read the memorial.
Especially Yan Song, the bad premonition in his heart became stronger and stronger. It was Yan Shifan who destroyed the embankment and flooded the fields. How could he, a father, not know.
Originally, he had already made the stakes clear to Emperor Jiajing through political games.
Tell Jiajing that Yan Shifan did this to raise money for Hu Zongxian, who was fighting against the Japanese in the southeast. If this case was revealed, not only Yan Shifan but also himself would be overthrown, and even Hu Zongxian, who suppressed the matter in the first place, would also follow.
Bad luck.
Will we still continue to fight against Japanese aggression in the Southeast?
Your Majesty, do you still need someone to govern this world?
I originally thought that the emperor would endure the humiliation and suppress this case for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, but he did not expect that this memorial would be so openly placed in front of himself and Xu Jie today.
"Is it true that the emperor is willing to take his own life even if the Ming Dynasty is full of wars?"
"Is this still the Jiajing Emperor who was well versed in political balance?" Yan Song felt for the first time that things were beyond his control.
On the opposite side, Xu Jie's psychological changes were exactly the opposite.
He understood that now that Hai Rui's memorial had been laid out on the table, it meant that the emperor was about to start to tighten his grip, which was great news for him.
Then many things can start to be deployed.
The two of them were feeling huge waves in their hearts, but their faces were calm. Even though Yan Song knew that after reading the memorial, Yan Shifan and himself were almost certain to die, but he still looked calm at this moment.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the faces of these two bachelors with great interest and admired their palaces very much.
These two people were able to stand out in the fierce political struggle during the Jiajing period and remain standing for 20 to 30 years, which is indeed some ability.
This Qi-nurturing skill alone is no weaker than that of Li Shanchang and others in the early Ming Dynasty.
Thanks to the emergence of Confucianism and Taoism, Yan Song, who is 81 years old this year, still looks old and dying, but at least he is not deaf or blind.
So he quickly saw the key.
As he expected, Yan Shifan's name appeared in it, and there were even letters as evidence.
In an instant, Yan Song's eyes widened, his face showed shock, and he knelt down in front of Zhu Yuanzhang with a thud.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty." He burst into tears and burst into tears.
"This old man is pretending again!"
"It's a pity that there's no point in pretending this time!" Xu Jie next to him felt a flash of joy in his heart, but his face also looked distressed. He sighed heavily and knelt down next to Yan Song.
At the same time, he had already begun to plan in his mind how to make a big fuss out of this matter and completely wipe out the strict party.
"What are you guilty of?"
However, Zhu Yuanzhang's next words suddenly made Xu Jie feel confused again.
"The guilty one is Yan Shifan, not you Yan Song!"
Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at Xu Jie and said solemnly: "Bring Yan Shifan up!"
Soon a group of royal guards came in, holding down a middle-aged man with disheveled hair.
The person who came was none other than Yan Shifan, who looked like he had been pulled directly out of the bed.
Moreover, his body was stained with blood, and he had obviously been interrogated by surprise.
Seeing this scene, Yan Song's heart suddenly twitched.
"Yan Shifan, tell me, was it Yan Song who ordered you to destroy the embankments and flood the fields?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
"I am the one who did it. If you don't do my father's business, you can kill or behead him as you please!"
"But Your Majesty, please think carefully. I am doing this to change the national policy of rice into mulberry. It is for the sake of this country and for you, Your Majesty."
"Can't you see how many people in the entire Ming Dynasty are sincerely working for you?"
"You can kill my head and kill the nine members of my Yan family, but I want to see who can help you get so much money to build a palace and practice Taoism." Yan Shifan squinted his face.
He said ferociously.
"Yan Shifan, shut up!" Yan Song shouted sternly next to him.
In an instant, Yan Shifan, who was talking, really shut his mouth and couldn't say a word.
This is a kind of Confucianism called careful speech. Once you master it, you can speak shockingly and have your voice spread thousands of miles away. You can also silence the world with one word and make everyone within the scope of your Confucianism silent.
.
"Haha!" Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled and did not stop Yan Song. Instead, he turned his head and glanced at the real Emperor Jiajing who was as quiet as a chicken next to him. That look made Emperor Jiajing's spine shiver and made him feel slightly guilty.
He waved his hand, and Yan Shifan was immediately taken down by Jin Yiwei.
"Yan Shifan has confessed to the things he committed. According to our thinking, Ling Chi will naturally be punished."
"But for the sake of Mr. Yan Ge who has worked hard for the Ming Dynasty for twenty years, I won't kill him. Let's lock him in Zhao Prison and sentence him to life imprisonment!"
Zhu Yuanzhang turned to look at Yan Song and Xu Jie: "What do the two elders think of this solution?"
"Your Majesty, your Majesty!" Both of them were a little surprised and uncertain at the moment. They didn't know what kind of medicine Zhu Yuanzhang was selling in the gourd, so naturally they could only wait and see what happened.
"This case involves a lot!"
"It also has something to do with the Manufacturing Bureau!"
"Now that the chief culprit, Yan Shifan, has been arrested and brought to justice, naturally all the kiddies below will also be caught!"
"Yan Song, we have to leave this matter to you with full authority. Go to Zhejiang in person. Your people are there. You should know better than us who should be killed and who should not be killed!"
Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "Let's talk openly with you!"
"What we want is people who can do things. We can tolerate such people who are greedy for money. After all, the current environment is like this, but the bottom line of being an official must be maintained. If you are the kind of idiot who does nothing but only embezzles, give it to him.
Let’s kill them all.”
"In a word, when you go, you must sort out the officialdom in Zhejiang for us. We will promote Hai Rui to be the envoy of Zhejiang, giving him full power to assist you."
"Don't be afraid that something will go wrong. If something goes wrong, we will solve it for you."
"Your mission is to sort out Zhejiang. As long as you complete it, you will still be the chief assistant when you come back. Do you understand?"
"It's different!"
“The style of doing things is completely different!”
"This kind of upright and ruthless, iron-blooded, handling style that does not hesitate to destroy fish and fish, as well as a vigorous and resolute approach that almost makes people breathless and oppressive, can never be the current Holy Emperor!"
"Today's Holy Emperor has always focused on balance and stability. To put it bluntly, he just muddles along. How could he make the decision just now that is likely to cause civil unrest in Zhejiang!"
Yan Song knelt on the ground, narrowed his eyes slightly, and quietly moved the energy into his eyes to look at Emperor Jiajing.
A golden dragon coiled around the opponent.
This is the imperial body-protecting dragon aura. With this dragon aura, the identity of the Jiajing Emperor in front of him is unmistakable.
But why did His Majesty seem to be a different person after just one night?
Yan Song's mind was filled with thoughts.
He naturally understood the meaning of Zhu Yuanzhang's words.
Go to Zhejiang and use this major case to straighten out the officialdom. Then Yan Shifan in Zhao Prison will be able to live, and he can even continue to be the chief minister of the cabinet. There is even a possibility of rescuing Yan Shifan in the future.
If he didn't go or didn't work hard, Yan Shifan would probably die miserably, and even he and the entire Yan family behind him would have to be buried with him.
"Can he resist?"
This idea did not appear in Yan Song's mind at all. The emergence of Confucianism and Taoism talents in cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world gave them power beyond mortals, but at the same time it was also a shackle.
Especially for scholars like them who entered the court as officials, if they had the idea of betraying the Ming Dynasty, their realm would immediately fall. At that time, there would be no other evidence of crime, and Emperor Jiajing would kill him for this alone.
"Do you dare to ask the emperor about the national policy of changing rice to mulberry?" Yan Song asked carefully.
"pause!"
“Didn’t Hu Zongxian’s military supplies for the frontline fight against the Japanese be given to Zhao Zhenji?”
"Let him go all out to do this!" Zhu Yuanzhang said solemnly.
"But we have one thing, no one can hinder him!"
"If we find out and you, Yan Song, dare to make a fuss about this, we will kill all nine of your tribes, do you understand?" Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes slightly.
"And Xu Jie, we can tell you clearly now that from now on there will be no strict party or clean party. We only want officials who can do things, not just talk."
"As long as you can accomplish something and compare with Yan Song, shall we make you the chief assistant?"
"If you only want to fight for power and hinder your opponents from behind, then you'd better pray that we don't find out, otherwise we will kill every one we find...!"
Xu Jie and Yan Song left Xiyuan with solemn faces.
When they walked out of Xiyuan, the two of them looked at each other, and both had a premonition that the world of Ming Dynasty was really about to change.
No matter what the problem was with Emperor Jiajing sitting inside, his behavior had completely changed.
The entire Ming Dynasty will soon be affected by the change in the personality of this supreme ruler, and this impact is likely to be earth-shattering.
"Old Yan Ge, let's go slowly..." Xu Jie and Yan Song did not have any conversation about this matter. After they left Xiyuan, they nodded politely and went their separate ways.
The weather is about to change, and everyone is so preoccupied at the moment that there is no time for any small talk or testing!
