Chapter 155 The silent young elder is particularly oppressive!
Yan Shifan never thought that he would be targeted by the Kong family and be scolded like this.
Of course, he didn't care about these abusive words. What he really cared about was that the person who was abusing him was Duke Yansheng of the Kong family.
Moreover, once this "Exhortation to Punish Yan" is issued by Duke Yansheng, all those who belong to the Confucian cultural tradition in the world will respond.
He can't hear the people in the world scolding him, and he won't care, as he thinks they are just some untouchables.
But if the Kong family scolded him, not to mention those upright officials, even many officials from his Yan family would respond.
Of course, he was not worried that the people of his Yan family would betray the father and son of the Yan family, but this would greatly reduce his prestige.
All in all, this incident was not fatal to him, but it was very disgusting.
What he cares about most now is, what will the emperor think of him if he sees this "Exhortation to Punish Yan"?
Now that the emperor has bestowed immortality on his ministers, the reward that everyone is most looking forward to is no longer those yellow and white things, but the spiritual resources necessary for cultivating immortality. Once any minister makes the emperor unhappy, his chance of becoming an immortal will be cut off from then on.
Moreover, according to what my father said, the Yan family will expand into all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the appointment of officials will have to be discussed in the cabinet.
What if the emperor has a prejudice against him because of this? Or what if the Qingliu people use this to attack him?
Everything was fine originally, for no reason, but suddenly there were some non-existent risks. The young elder's anger had reached a peak at this moment!
In the room, Yan Shifan had a gloomy face, and his whole body seemed to exude a gloomy aura.
If Yan Maoqing and Luo Longwen could see the life in Yan Shifan's sea of consciousness at this moment, they would find that the poisonous snake had stood up, with scarlet eyes and its black core constantly swallowing and spitting out.
"Young Lord," Yan Maoqing summoned up his courage and said, "The most important thing now is to respond to the letter from Duke Yansheng."
"Otherwise, all the scholars and students in the world will probably respond, which will affect my career!"
Luo Longwen on the side immediately comforted him: "Yes, yes, we must come up with a countermeasure."
"Moreover, the Kong family is very powerful. In today's era, it represents the entire Confucianism, or, or..." As he spoke, Luo Longwen's voice gradually became lower.
"Or what?" Yan Shifan raised his head fiercely and looked at Luo Longwen fiercely, "Or do you want me to swallow my anger?"
Luo Longwen, who was frightened by Yan Shifan, trembled violently and immediately closed his mouth, not daring to make another sound.
Yan Maoqing, who was standing by, did not dare to offend this gentleman at this time. He could only hold his breath and dare not breathe.
"The Kong family, Duke Yansheng..." Yan Shifan suddenly thought of something and opened the two large pieces of paper his father had given him on the table. He spread out all of them and saw the exact same manifesto.
However, the content on another piece of paper caught his attention. What was written on this piece of paper was not a manifesto to attack him, but a memorial. The content actually requested the court not to hinder his policies because of some short-sighted villains.
Although there was no explicit praise for him and no flattery, what was expressed between the lines was full support for his proposals and the policies of Yingzhou Prefecture.
Many of the contents coincide with his ideas.
Well, Yan Shifan has not yet realized that his ideas are actually his Yan family’s philosophy of governing the country.
It was also this article, which seemed to be the memorial copied by my father, that calmed Yan Shifan's anger a little. For a moment, he felt that there was someone in this world who understood his thoughts.
"Li Zhi," Yan Shifan stared at the name of the person who wrote this memorial, his eyes flickered, and he raised his head and said:
"Do you know who this Li Zhi is?"
Li Zhi? Seeing that the young minister's originally furious expression suddenly calmed down and asked about a person he had never heard of, Luo Longwen did not react, but Yan Maoqing on the side said:
"I have some impression of this Li Zhi."
"Tell me about it." Yan Shifan sat down and looked up, waiting for Yan Maoqing to tell his story.
"This man's original surname was Lin, and his given name was Zaizhi. Later, his surname was changed to Li, and his given name was Zhi. His courtesy name was Hongfu, and his pseudonym was Zhuowu," Yan Maoqing said. "He was born into a family of merchants and seafarers. His sixth-generation ancestor was a wealthy businessman in Quanzhou, who married a "Semu woman". His descendants also followed the hobbies of the ancestor and have been mixed-race for a long time."
"It was not until his great-grandfather's generation that the bloodline became legitimate..." Yan Maoqing sighed and said, "This man is a genius!"
Genius? Upon hearing this, Yan Shifan's eyes revealed a hint of interest.
He had seen many geniuses, and he wanted to hear what was so special about this Li Zhi.
"Li Zhi lost his mother at a young age. He studied with his father and made rapid progress in his studies..." Yan Maoqing is worthy of being Yan Song's godson and a talented person admired by the young cabinet minister Yan Shifan. He can be regarded as a mobile "knowledge reserve" with extraordinary insights.
"Li Zhi was stubborn since childhood, good at independent thinking, not bound by Confucianism, and was a heretic since childhood."
"This person is addicted to alcohol. Every time he gets drunk, he makes some crazy remarks and criticizes the imperial court's decrees. This person disdains the agricultural national policy since ancient times, praises the achievements of merchants, and advocates utilitarian values!"
(Note: In order to serve the plot, this book provides some embellishment on Li Zhi's preferences and personality. This book does not represent the character's personality or disposition in official history, so please do not take it seriously.)
"This person," Yan Maoqing said, frowning as if he was considering, "Well, people who like him think that he has an outstanding personality, yearns for freedom, and is a great talent with great personal charm."
"Those who dislike him think that although he is talented, he behaves improperly, has bad character, and is an extremely selfish and heartless person."
As Yan Maoqing told his story, Yan Shifan gradually became interested. How could there be such a weird person in this world?
Moreover, he was very familiar with Yan Maoqing. Being adopted as his father's godson and becoming his father's confidant, he could be said to be a pampered and arrogant person.
It is indeed rare to find someone who can make him remember and say such words. It is obvious that Li Zhi is not an ordinary person.
"This man yearns for freedom. For the sake of freedom, he is unwilling to be an official even though he has the talent of a child prodigy!" Yan Maoqing said with a smile, "He once said that he has no ambition to be an official and he does not like to be controlled by others."
"Even compared to him, Zhang Gelao, who is also a child prodigy, is far inferior to him in my opinion!"
Hearing this, Yan Shifan chuckled and did not comment.
Although he did not like Zhang Juzheng's political views, he felt that it was an exaggeration to say that Li Zhi was better than Zhang Juzheng.
Seeing the young minister like this, Yan Maoqing did not express his opinion and continued to talk about everything about Li Zhi.
"..."
As time passed, the night deepened.
After hearing everything about Li Zhi, Yan Shifan looked at the memorial in his hand, with an inexplicable gleam in his eyes.
"At the age of twelve, he was able to write The Old Farmer and Old Gardener, which criticized Confucius, and he was born in a business family..." Yan Shifan took a deep breath and said, "This person should be used by me!"
Hearing Yan Shifan say this, Yan Maoqing and Luo Longwen were both stunned, and then looked at each other with urgency in their eyes.
And there was a hint of resentment in Luo Longwen's eyes when he looked at Yan Maoqing, as if to say, why are you bragging about nothing?
Now, there is one more person by the side of the young minister. What will we have to do with each other in the future?
"Young Lord, I think this person might be able to be used against the Kong family." At this time, Luo Longwen's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, "This person has always criticized the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and has disdained Confucianism and Legalism."
"If we regard it as a weapon against the Kong family, then we can give the Duke of Yan Sheng a taste of his own medicine."
Well, Luo Longwen also had his own little plans in mind for this action. It was obvious that the young cabinet minister admired this man named Li Zhi very much, and he even admired him more than the two of them.
This gave him an unprecedented sense of crisis. If he used Li Zhi to fight against the Kong family, if he could defeat them, that would be fine. If not, he could use the Kong family to suppress this potential opponent.
"The Kong family..." After hearing Luo Longwen's thoughts, Yan Shifan did not say much. He just looked at the "Exhortation to Punish Yan" on the table, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.
Obviously he wouldn't let the Kong family go so easily.
……
Yingzhou Prefecture.
The former residence of the Tokugawa family had now become Wang Chonggu's temporary residence.
In a house, Wang Chonggu, who was nearly 50 years old and had a resolute face, was sitting face to face with Ma Fang, who was 46 years old, five years younger than him.
Compared to Wang Chonggu's seriousness, who had developed a graceful demeanor due to his former position as a high-ranking official in the Ministry of War, Ma Fang, a brave general who had led troops for many years, seemed a bit rough and unruly.
"Burp," Ma Fang burped after three rounds of drinking, threw a bottle aside, and cursed: "This Japanese wine is really tasteless, like cat urine."
As he spoke, he picked up a piece of sashimi, dipped it in the sauce, put it in his mouth, smacked his lips and said, "Don't mention it, this thing the Japanese eat is pretty good. What's it called..."
"They call this sashimi?" Ma Fang said, picking up another piece and putting it into her mouth, chewing it, while mumbling: "Oh, no poking, no poking..."
Looking at Ma Fang's expression, Wang Chonggu shook his head slightly, picked up a thin piece of sashimi, and said, "This is called fish sashimi!"
"These Japanese people learned the dietary methods from the Tang Dynasty and thought that they could become their own just by changing the name. How shameless!"
"Fish sashimi?" Ma Fang was stunned, and then said angrily: "Damn it, I was wondering why it tastes so good, it turns out to be a delicacy from the Central Plains. I thought the Japanese were not without merit after all."
"An evil clan!" Ma Fang said with a gloomy face.
"Your Highness Prince Yu wrote me a letter." At this time, Wang Chonggu suddenly spoke.
Hearing this, Ma Fang, who was cursing, was stunned and said, "Your Highness Prince Yu, what did you say?" As he spoke, he was suddenly stunned again and said, "No, shouldn't it be given to Tang Shuai?"
General Tang conquered Yingzhou Prefecture. The court appointed Tang Shunzhi as the Grand Marshal of the Eastern Expedition and Hu Zongxian as the Grand Marshal of Pacification of the West.
"It's a secret letter between you and me." Wang Chonggu said directly without keeping the secret.
"What do you mean?" Looking at Wang Chonggu's serious face, Ma Fang seemed to realize that things might not be that simple and might involve some things in the court.
Although he led troops to fight at the border all year round, it did not mean that he was unaware of some struggles in the court.
Especially as the emperor is getting older, everyone knows that he will pass away one day, but the emperor has not yet decided on the candidate for the crown prince.
The current emperor has only two sons, Prince Yu and Prince Jing. The dispute between the Qingliu and Yandang is actually a reflection of the dispute between these two princes over the throne.
Now that His Royal Highness Prince Yu has written to Wang Chonggu, could it be that he wants to win over Wang Chonggu?
"Hiss, but that's not right..." Suddenly, Ma Fang became confused again.
If he remembered correctly, Wang Chonggu was a direct descendant of the Qingliu faction. Why would His Royal Highness Prince Yu want to win him over?
It is understandable that this letter did not reach Tang Shuai. After all, although Tang Shuai is an upright person and his brothers are convinced of his integrity, he was promoted by the Yan Party after all, and the stigma on him is bound to remain indelible.
But Wang Chonggu was not like that. He was a staunch member of Prince Yu's party. He went to Datong only because of the strong recommendation of Qingliu's loyalists.
For a moment, Ma Fang was a little confused. Could it be that it was not an attempt to win over someone, but something else?
"I won't tell you the contents of the letter." Seeing Ma Fang trying to understand the twists and turns in the letter, Wang Chonggu knew that he was not a sly person, so he simply said:
"The meaning is very clear. His Highness wants me to be loyal to him." He paused and pointed at Ma Fang, saying, "Of course, and you too!"
"Me?!" Ma Fang was stunned, but then waved her hands, bowed, sat up straight, leaned forward, and said, "Brother Xuefu, wait a minute, I'm a little confused..."
"You represent the Qingliu faction, right?" Ma Fang said, "Although I am not very clear about the factions in the court, I also know that you were the one who was strongly supported by the Qingliu faction."
"Now everyone in the officialdom knows that the person supported by Qingliu is His Royal Highness Prince Yu. If that's the case, why would His Royal Highness write to you to win you over? Isn't this a waste of time?"
As she spoke, Ma Fang blinked, looking as if she didn't understand.
Looking at Ma Fang's expression, Wang Chonggu was silent for a moment, then said, "This matter is too complicated to explain. It involves the future development of the court and some matters concerning the future of military honors."
Wang Chonggu said, shook his head and said:
"It's better not to say these. You will understand in the future. In fact, His Royal Highness Prince Yu and I have already contacted each other. I am afraid that the cabinet situation will change drastically in the near future. You and I must make preparations early."
"I don't understand," Ma Fang simply shook his head, "But no matter what, Xu Ge, Zhang Ge, Gao Ge and Zhao Ge are all the leaders of the Qingliu faction now. They must support Your Highness..."
"What if they no longer support us?" Ma Fang was interrupted by Wang Chonggu before she could finish her words.
"What, what?!" Hearing this, Ma Fang was stunned for a moment, then took a breath and stared.
What did I hear? Is this something I can hear? Suddenly, Ma Fang realized belatedly that since he knew so much, was he destined to board Prince Yu's ship?
"No, that's impossible." Ma Fang swallowed her saliva, forced a smile, and said, "If they don't support His Royal Highness Prince Yu, who else can they support? Could it be His Royal Highness Prince Jing?"
"The emperor is old, and one day his time will come..." Ma Fang said, lip-syncing, but the meaning was clear, and then continued: "They don't support His Royal Highness Prince Yu. If the Yan Party wins, then they will definitely be liquidated..."
"The deadline has come?" Hearing Ma Fang's words, Wang Chonggu uttered an inexplicable snort of laughter, then raised his head and said in a faint voice: "If so, that day will not come..."
"What if the emperor gives birth to many children in the future? Will the choice of the crown prince be someone in the future?"
“Uh, hahahaha…” Seeing Wang Chonggu’s expression, Ma Fang was stunned at first, then burst into laughter and said, “Brother Xuefu, what nonsense are you talking about?”
"Even if the emperor takes a concubine in the future and gives birth to a prince, how old will the child be? How long have the two princes been trying to manage it?"
"How can the candidate for the crown prince be chosen from the future little princes? You must have been drunk by the cat urine of this Japanese and started talking nonsense. It's absolutely impossible!"
Ma Fang said this, shaking her head repeatedly, then she picked up a piece of sashimi with chopsticks and put it into her mouth in a relaxed manner.
"In the 40th year of Jiajing's reign, the battle of Yinshan was fought and annihilated. Has De Xin heard about it?" Wang Chonggu looked at Ma Fang who didn't believe it. Thinking of the order of His Royal Highness Prince Yu and the rewards, he had already made a decision in his heart.
"Of course, hum..." Ma Fang said, humming and laughing, "It was because of that battle that you, Brother Xuefu, were recorded by historians as the 'lucky general' of the Ming Dynasty, hum..."
"Gulp," Ma Fang swallowed the fish in his mouth, took another sip of wine, and said, "That battle was full of legends. The Yinshan Mountain collapsed. What a spectacular scene..."
"By the way, I heard that you saw an immortal standing in the air that day, but later the Imperial Astronomical Observatory said that it was an anomaly. Brother Xuefu, did you really see that immortal anomaly?"
"That was not a vision." Wang Chonggu said solemnly, "That day, he was a real immortal!"
"Hmm?" Hearing Wang Chonggu say this, Ma Fang was stunned and was about to laugh, but the latter just stared at him without saying a word, which made him a little scared, and then he said hesitantly:
"No, it won't, right?"
"All the tens of thousands of soldiers who served in Datong have been dispersed and transferred to various places over the years."
"And I, the commander of the troops in that battle, and several of my lieutenants, were all severely warned by the cabinet. In this battle, have you seen those generals you were familiar with in Datong?"
When Ma Fang heard what Wang Chonggu said, she was stunned for a moment before she reacted.
Indeed, he was the general of Datong at first, but when the national policy of "stationing troops to promote agriculture" was implemented, he was transferred to Ningxia as governor. As for those deputy generals he had trained, they stayed.
But this time, when elite troops were drawn from Datong, Wang Chonggu, the general of Datong, did not have a single familiar deputy general by his side.
Of course, it is also possible that he stayed in Datong. After all, someone needs to be stationed at the border. But now that Wang Chonggu has specifically mentioned this, it is not the case...
Thinking of what Ma Fang had just said, that the emperor would have other princes and was not in a hurry to appoint a crown prince, Ma Fang's breathing suddenly stagnated, his eyes widened, and he said:
"Are you trying to say that there really is an immortal in the Ming Dynasty? And this immortal also helped the Ming Dynasty to agree to Altan's army?"
“Not only that,” Ma Fang said, taking a deep breath, “but the emperor is also likely to embark on the path of immortality?!”
"Not only the emperor," Wang Chonggu said solemnly, "your two highnesses and all the elders in the cabinet have already embarked on the path of immortality!"
"Boom!" As soon as these words came out, Ma Fang's brain went blank, and she felt that her "worldview" of decades had collapsed.
Everything is fine, we are all mortals, and now you suddenly tell me that the emperor and the elders in the cabinet have started to practice cultivation?
Ma Fang felt that he must have drunk too much Japanese cat urine, so he must be dreaming now.
Cultivating immortals, becoming immortals? Immortality? How is this possible? This is simply incomprehensible!
Suddenly, he thought of the world-shaking vision that occurred in the firmament of the Ming Dynasty not long ago.
Although the Imperial Observatory stepped in promptly and said that it was because the heavens were pleased with the coming of the Ming Dynasty's prosperity and had sent down auspicious signs to appease the people, many people still firmly believed that there were immortals and gods in the world.
But he didn't take it seriously. He thought it was just a strange phenomenon in the sky, or a mirage. He had seen this kind of thing at the border before, so it was nothing surprising.
But now, someone told him that everything was true and that there really were immortals in this world. This had a huge impact on his worldview.
If one day, the existence of immortals was announced to the world, what would the scene be like then? He did not dare to think about it, nor could he imagine it.
"De Xin," just as Ma Fang was in a daze, Wang Chonggu's solemn and serious voice sounded again, making him look up suddenly.
"You, don't want to cultivate immortality? Don't you want to embark on the immortal path and live forever?" Wang Chonggu said, leaning forward slightly, staring at Ma Fang solemnly, and said in a deep voice: "Come on, join Prince Yu's camp!"
"In the future, the Ming Dynasty will be an opportunity for us generals to realize our ambitions. We will join His Royal Highness Prince Yu's camp and give him our full support..."
"We can also obtain immortality!"
"Gulp!" As Wang Chonggu's voice sounded, Ma Fang couldn't help but swallow her saliva, and her eyes turned red.
Cultivating immortality, who can refuse? Who doesn't want to be an immortal?!
"Don't you want your family tree to be rewritten starting from your generation? Don't you want your family to develop into a family of immortals? Elders in the cabinet, the process has already begun!"
"Are you willing to fall behind?"
"Brother Xuefu!" Finally, Ma Fang suddenly spoke, and then he clasped his fists and said, "Please tell His Royal Highness Prince Yu that I, Ma Fang, am willing to serve you loyally, as you think highly of me!"
Ma Fang was a pure military general, who ate meat and drank wine with gusto, fought in hundreds of battles and died on the battlefield. His display of desires was very pure and without any twists and turns.
Now that he has the magic to gain immortality, he will seize it firmly and will never miss it!
Seeing that Ma Fang agreed, Wang Chonggu felt relieved and a smile appeared on his face.
He already knew from Prince Yu that there would be a place for military honors in the future cabinet.
Now, His Royal Highness Prince Jing is also striving for military honors and cultivating new confidants. This is their chance!
Never let it go!
Wang Chonggu had a good idea. While he was trying to win over Ma Fang, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, both under Hu Zongxian, also began to spy on him. They were also choosing whether to be loyal.
Invisibly, a storm is brewing that will cause a drastic change in the court structure due to the dispute between the two crown princes.
……
Noon the next day.
The sky was gloomy, and a message came from the palace, summoning the two kings and the cabinet to discuss state affairs at Yuxi Palace today.
Outside the walls of the Western Garden Palace, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and others had been waiting here early.
Although there is some estrangement between Prince Yu and them now, everyone still respects Prince Yu.
Although it is said that the emperor may not have a concubine in the future, after all, Prince Yu and Prince Jing are still the most powerful at present. Therefore, the two sides still maintain a superficial cooperative relationship with each other.
But after the crack was torn open by Hai Rui, it would only get bigger and bigger, not smaller.
"Hahaha," Gao Gong suddenly laughed, "Duke Yansheng is so righteous. Have you all read the manifesto against Yan?"
Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng and others all smiled slightly.
"Of course I saw it. Yan Shifan probably didn't sleep the whole night after Duke Yansheng took action."
At this time, Zhao Zhenji also spoke up, "It just so happens that we can bring up this matter in front of the emperor during today's meeting."
"Even the Duke of Yansheng has spoken out, saying that Yan Shifan's actions are too offensive to the harmony of nature and inhumane. Therefore, we still need to be cautious about the Japanese in Yingzhou Prefecture."
"Here they come." At this time, Zhang Juzheng looked at the sedan chair of Yan's father and son in the distance and suddenly spoke.
"Hmph!" Gao Gong sneered, already impatient to see Yan Shifan's expression.
Duke Yansheng represents the Confucian school! This manifesto has probably spread all over the world. Let's see what Yan Shifan can do.
Yan Song came out of the sedan chair and exchanged pleasantries with Xu Jie and others as usual, while Yan Shifan served on the side.
Soon, Prince Yu and Prince Jing arrived, and they all entered the West Garden together and headed towards Yuxi Palace.
Gao Gong also spoke of Duke Yansheng's "Exhortation to Punish Yan" at the right time, and his words were full of provocation.
However, what surprised Gao Gong was that Yan Shifan had no expression on his face. This was in stark contrast to his usual explosive barrel-like style, and everyone was puzzled.
Unconsciously, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji looked at each other and frowned.
Abnormal, too abnormal!
Unconsciously, several people suddenly had an idea, that is, this young elder was so calm and composed, and he actually had an inexplicable aura. For a moment, several people became alert.
Prevent Yan Shifan from using his ultimate trick!
Today, the silent young elder is particularly terrifying, and the sense of oppression is particularly strong!
"..."
(End of this chapter)
