Chapter 198 Family! Family! Family!
Is the layout actually based on Yingzhou Prefecture?
When Zhang Juzheng and his companions heard this, their hearts skipped a beat and they subconsciously looked up at Xu Jie, who was sitting silently in the seat above them.
They knew that Lord Xu wanted to follow the example of Lord Xinling and get involved himself, but even they didn't know the specific plan. They didn't expect that the matter would become so big, which was beyond their expectations.
Moreover, what did the Minister of Justice Xu Zhengzhi say just now? He said that Xu Ge Lao's student, Songjiang Prefecture Governor Zhang Wenyuan, hired a cargo ship to privately open a route from Yingzhou Prefecture and return to Songjiang Prefecture.
Those who understand will understand, this is a blatant allusion to Lord Xu's private smuggling of spiritual resources.
Although the matter of cultivating immortals had never been revealed to the officials of the six ministries in the court, the court did not take any particularly strict precautions against it.
It was not difficult for Li Chengwu to find out what he wanted. He exposed the matter today just to point out that the Xu Jie family was enriching themselves.
Where is Yingzhou Prefecture?
On the surface it belongs to the imperial court, but secretly it has long been tacitly acknowledged to be the property of Prince Yu and Prince Jing. However, due to the rift between the Qingliu and Yan party and the two princes, Yingzhou Prefecture is now also divided.
Although everyone knows some things, they cannot say them out loud, because if they do, there will be no way to resolve them.
But Li Chengwu is different. He is a barefoot man who is not afraid of those who wear shoes. He just brings the matter to the surface. When the emperor knows about it, he will definitely not let it go easily.
Moreover, regardless of whether the emperor knows about it or not, for the sake of the court's dignity, this matter must be investigated.
Zhang Juzheng and others knew that the matter of Yingzhou Prefecture might be Lord Xu's real intention.
He wanted to use this incident to lure Li Chengwu into the trap, and now it seems that he was successful. Li Chengwu did not give up!
Of course, what surprised Zhang Juzheng and others even more at this moment was that Zhang Wenyuan actually committed suicide a month ago, and only yesterday did Lord Xu reveal to them that he wanted to emulate Xinling Jun.
The means of this layout are indeed sophisticated!
At this moment, as Li Chengwu started to attack, the atmosphere in Wenhua Hall suddenly became tense. Everyone looked at Xu Jie, waiting for his reply.
"Zhang Wenyuan is indeed my student." Facing Li Chengwu's direct attack, Xu Jie did not panic at all, and continued to speak slowly: "At that time, the civil service was purged and there was a shortage of local officials, so I recommended him to be the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture."
"Haha," Yan Song suddenly laughed in relief, and said, "As the saying goes, one should not avoid relatives when selecting talents. Li Butang, don't think that this matter has anything to do with Shao Hu."
Yan Song smiled kindly, seemingly trying to excuse Xu Jie, but everyone present was a smart man. How could they not hear the underlying meaning in his words? He was encouraging Li Chengwu to obtain tangible evidence!
"Old fox!" Gao Gong looked at Yan Song, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
Yan Shifan, who was sitting next to Gao Gong, saw his father start to attack Xu Jie, and immediately said, "Minister Xu, if you have any evidence, please show it to us." He paused for a moment and said, "What kind of goods did Zhang Wenyuan smuggle in Yingzhou Prefecture?"
What goods were smuggled? Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng sneered in his heart, looked at the Minister of Justice Xu Zhengzhi, and said, "What the young cabinet minister said makes sense."
"Xu Bu Tang, what goods did Zhang Wenyuan smuggle?"
Gao Gong received Zhang Juzheng's signal, exchanged glances with Zhao Zhenji, and immediately said, "Yes, tell me about it!"
"Lord Yan, is it written in the case file?" Zhao Zhenji looked at Yan Song and asked.
Otherwise, why is Yan Shifan a poisonous snake? Now he is just a spectator, watching the show, afraid that things will not get out of hand.
Asked what goods were smuggled? How could he not know this? How could the cabinet members present not know this? No one knew what was in Yingzhou Prefecture better than them.
Asking now means that people from Li Chengwu's faction must personally reveal the "spiritual resources". This way, Xu Jie can't escape, and neither can Li Chengwu's faction. After all, the imperial court didn't tell him these things.
So, how did Li Chengwu and others know about this?
This also violates the emperor's taboo!
And precisely because they knew this clearly, Zhang Juzheng and others took action together and started the attack.
Anyway, they knew that Lord Xu was going to sacrifice himself, so they would naturally not miss any opportunity to attack Li Chengwu.
However, in Li Chengwu's eyes, the words of Yan Shifan, Zhang Juzheng and others had a deeper meaning.
"The cabinet, are they really united? The Yan thieves can actually cooperate with the Qingliu. It seems that they know I want to use them as a scapegoat, so they are so anxious. Are they forced to stand together?"
As his mind raced, Li Chengwu sneered in his heart, "You underestimate me too much!"
In Li Chengwu's view, his goal has been achieved.
He didn't need to say what the goods Zhang Wenyuan was smuggling were. He just needed to convey the words "Yingzhou Prefecture" and "smuggling" to the palace through today's Wenhua Palace meeting.
Xu Zhengzhi, who had already discussed this with Li Chengwu, naturally reacted quickly when he heard these words. He immediately said, "Unfortunately, when we were investigating, Zhang Wenyuan had already destroyed the evidence."
"Apart from finding the smuggling routes, we found nothing else. Even those familiar faces of smuggling committed suicide one after another within a month for various reasons."
"It's as if someone wants all this evidence to disappear," Xu Zhengzhi said with a serious face, "but the goose leaves its mark. As long as we work hard, we will definitely find clues."
"What exactly did Zhang Wenyuan take from Yingzhou Prefecture? Where did the stolen goods go? We need to investigate thoroughly!"
After saying this, Xu Zhengzhi bowed to Yan Song, then turned around and sat back in his seat.
"Zhang Wenyuan was the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture. He committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Should this matter be reported to the emperor?" At this time, the Minister of Personnel Wang Jingming also spoke up.
"Moreover, this is related to Yingzhou Prefecture. Important goods on the island were smuggled and divided up. Shouldn't the people involved be held accountable for this matter as well?"
"The officers and soldiers from Songjiang Prefecture to Wusongkou were totally unaware of the situation. This cannot be explained away by the excuse of dereliction of duty!"
"Lord Yan, please report this to the Emperor..."
Someone took the lead, and immediately all the senior officials of the six ministries expressed their opinions at this moment and asked to report them to the emperor.
Looking at the chaotic Wenhua Hall, Yan Song remained silent and said nothing.
Yan Shifan, who saw this scene, immediately understood what was going on. He knew that it was his turn to appear. At all times, Yan Shifan maintained a tacit understanding with his father Yan Song.
In a situation like this, if Dad doesn't speak up to resolve the problem, then he should step forward and be the bad guy.
"Hahaha, how ridiculous!" Thinking of this, Yan Shifan built up his emotions for a while, and then suddenly burst into laughter.
Yan Shifan suddenly laughed, and his voice was full of sarcasm and disdain, which immediately aroused everyone's dissatisfaction.
In the past, they would have chosen to swallow their anger in the face of Yan Shifan's provocation. However, at this moment, thinking that they were about to go to war with the cabinet, they naturally would not be afraid of any danger. The first person to speak was still the former Minister of Justice Xu Zhengzhi.
"Young Lord, if you have something to say, just say it directly. Why do you have to pretend to laugh like this?" Xu Zhengzhi said, pinching his beard lightly, and said dissatisfiedly: "The prefect of the court committed suicide out of fear of punishment for no apparent reason. Is that funny?"
"You still have the nerve to ask me why I'm laughing?" Yan Shifan immediately put away his smile, slapped the armrest of his chair, pointed at Xu Zhengzhi and said, "According to the law, if a prefect dies, the first thing to do is to report to the Provincial Administration Office!"
"Then the provincial prosecutor will investigate and report to the court!"
"If the death is suspicious, it must be reported to the court. After that, the court will discuss and the cabinet will draft a vote on whether to send an imperial envoy or a censor to personally investigate the cause of death."
After saying this, Yan Shifan angrily said, "Now, let me ask you, the Ministry of Justice, are you following the rules?"
After being questioned by Yan Shifan, Xu Zhengzhi was stunned and suddenly speechless.
"Songjiang Prefecture was reorganized into Nanzhili after the government was rectified in the 41st year of Jiajing," Yan Shifan said in rapid succession, "Should the suicide of Zhang Wenyuan be reported from Nanjing?"
After saying that, Yan Shifan pointed directly at Xu Zhengzhi and said, "Tell me, what is the basis for your Ministry of Justice to conduct a private investigation?"
"In my opinion, the suspicion of Zhang Wenyuan's suicide may be due to your private investigation into his death!"
"What do you mean by investigating smuggling? Humph!" Yan Shifan sneered, "Now, there is no evidence. In my opinion, the truth is entirely up to you."
"You, you..." After being scolded by Yan Shifan, Xu Zhengzhi suddenly became angry. He pointed at Yan Shifan, his old face flushed.
Yan Shifan admitted that he might not be as good as Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and others in governing the country, and sometimes he might not even win an argument even if the other members of the Qingliu teamed up. But in a one-on-one fight, he was not afraid of anyone outside the cabinet and was guaranteed to win!
At this moment, facing Yan Shifan's continuous questioning and slandering, not to mention Xu Zhengzhi alone, even the others had a grim look on their faces.
They wanted to refute, but they didn't know where to start.
Because up to now, there has been no report from Nanjing, and the suicide of the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture was actually reported secretly by the Tongpan.
If you delve deeper into the things here, there are too many issues to be brought up and discussed.
First of all, why should the Tongpan report secretly?
Secondly, on what basis did they selfishly investigate a prefect without informing the cabinet in advance?
Investigating the prefect? This is no small matter. According to normal procedures, the emperor will also ask about it.
However, the emperor is a mysterious person, so even if someone secretly reported that Zhang Wenyuan was smuggling goods, both the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Personnel should have informed the cabinet in advance, and it would be a rule after the cabinet's discussion.
They conducted the investigation selfishly and did not follow the rules at all, so Yan Shifan naturally had ten thousand reasons to throw dirty water on them.
Good!!! After hearing what Yan Shifan said, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong secretly said "good" in their hearts.
Well, at this moment, even Gao Gong, who had always been unhappy with Yan Shifan, felt that Yan Shifan was very pleasing to the eye.
"Young Lord, are you trying to exonerate Zhang Wenyuan by saying this?" Seeing that an honest man like Xu Zhengzhi was no match for Yan Shifan, Li Chengwu, who always treated people as tough as a tough stone, spoke up.
He has always been a tough guy, isn't he just being unreasonable? Who can't do that?
"I'm trying to excuse myself?" Yan Shifan sneered. Looking at Li Chengwu in front of him, he wanted to go up and fight him. A tough guy who has been fighting for years? He was just an ant that could be crushed to death with just one finger.
"What excuse do I have?" Yan Shifan sneered and glanced at Li Chengwu. "I would like to ask, who investigated Yingzhou Prefecture, and who investigated the smuggled goods?"
"Privately investigating a local prefect, do the court still have laws and rules?"
"It's you," Yan Shifan said, staring at Li Chengwu again, "as soon as you opened your mouth, you questioned Elder Xu and used Zhang Wenyuan as an excuse to say that he was his disciple. It's hard not to suspect that the whole thing was set up by you, Li Chengwu, to target Elder Xu!"
"What the young minister said is correct. The court has its own laws and procedures," Zhang Juzheng said again. "If everyone investigates privately or slanders their superiors for some purpose, it will damage the dignity of the court. The Ministry of Justice should explain the reason."
"That's right," Gao Gong also spoke directly, "Ministry of Justice, tell me, why are you conducting a private investigation?"
Li Chengwu was not surprised by the sudden unity and counterattack of the cabinet. He had long been prepared to completely break off relations with the cabinet. He was not afraid of making things worse, but was afraid of Xu Jie!
"Enough! Stop talking nonsense!" Li Chengwu suddenly became furious, then sneered and said, "The cabinet avoided talking about the prefect's smuggling, but now it wants to blame the Ministry of Justice?"
Li Chengwu's sudden roar made Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong stunned. What was going on with these familiar words? They seemed to see an old friend in Li Chengwu.
For a moment, everyone in the cabinet almost subconsciously cast a strange look at Yan Shifan.
Yan Shifan, who was standing aside, was suddenly yelled at using his usual "lines", and his face instantly fell.
Looking at Li Chengwu's unfriendly eyes, they suddenly became even colder.
This Li Chengwu must die! He would never allow such a madman to exist in the Ming Dynasty besides the royal family and himself!
However, at this moment, Li Chengwu didn't care about the strange looks people gave him, and he was too lazy to pay attention to them and continued to speak.
"It is true that Songjiang Prefecture was assigned to Nanzhili in the 41st year of Jiajing," Li Chengwu said, staring at Yan Shifan and said, "But have you ever thought that if the Tongpan of Songjiang Prefecture had not secretly reported it to the Ministry of Justice for investigation, this matter would never be known to anyone."
"Zhang Wenyuan is still at large," Li Chengwu paused and continued, "The six ministries really don't know what the court is planning in Yingzhou Prefecture."
"But it is an indisputable fact that Zhang Wenyuan smuggled goods from Yingzhou Prefecture to Songjiang Prefecture!"
"How can a small prefect of Songjiang Prefecture smuggle goods from Yingzhou Prefecture and then transport them all the way to the inland without any hindrance?"
"If it weren't for the officials in Yingzhou Prefecture, Nanjing, and even the officials along the way who took advantage of their power to protect him, he would have gone to extremes!" Li Chengwu almost roared at the end, "So please, cabinet, stop avoiding the important issues!"
"Minister of War, you have such great authority!" Yan Shifan turned cold, no longer addressing him as "Minister" and sneered, "According to you, Qi Jiguang and Ma Fang of Yingzhou Prefecture are enriching themselves and cooperating with Zhang Wenyuan?"
"And the official of the six ministries in Nanjing, the current governor of Zhejiang, Tang Shunzhi, is also protecting Zhang Wenyuan?" Yan Shifan said with a sneer, turned around and looked at the cabinet members behind him, and said, "Look, the Minister of War Li Chengwu is the only good person left in the Ming Dynasty?"
Zhang Juzheng and others were naturally happy to cooperate with Yan Shifan at this moment. They showed sarcastic smiles on their faces from time to time and shook their heads repeatedly.
"What?" Yan Shifan turned and looked at Li Chengwu, "In this huge Ming Dynasty, you are the only loyal, good, and wise minister?"
Yan Shifan finally saw what arrogance means today. Humph, Hai Rui is not dead yet, he is not as arrogant as you? Hai Rui didn't even dare to draw his sword towards the cabinet at the same time, who do you think you are!
"Since Young Lord has said so much, I would like to ask, how come these people were unaware of Zhang Wenyuan's smuggling?" Li Chengwu said, glancing at Yan Shifan, "Compared to the incompetent ones, I am giving them face by saying that they enriched themselves!"
"How dare you!" Seeing the other party showing a tough attitude and directly admitting it, Yan Shifan was stunned at first, and then became furious.
"Yan Shifan!" Li Chengwu also shouted, "I call you Little Cabinet Elder just to give you face. Don't take yourself too seriously. The Cabinet is just an assistant to help the Emperor handle government affairs!"
"Don't think you are above the six ministries!"
At this moment, the two sides were on the verge of a fight. Li Chengwu directly broke off relations and when he started scolding people, he even scolded the cabinet as well.
Of course, he did this in a methodical way, just to make things worse. What if he didn't follow the rules? As long as he could prove that the Xu Jie family was smuggling and plotting to obtain resources from Yingzhou Prefecture.
If the matter was exposed, Xu Jie would have to withdraw, and he himself had the Five Military Commands behind him, so what was there to fear? As for Xu Jie? Would the emperor care about a political loser?
The five military commanders behind him had already told him all this.
After replacing the cabinet, there are still six ministries, and the Ming Dynasty will become better and better. The emperor has people to use, so why would he care about a few ministers?
It can be said that everything he did was based on his understanding of the emperor.
Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense and Yan Shifan couldn't help but take action, Yan Song coughed lightly and finally spoke.
"There is no such thing as embezzlement in the imperial court. Even if there is, there must be evidence. As for loyal ministers, wise ministers, and good ministers, they are never the same person. Everyone in the Ming Dynasty is a good minister of the emperor."
As Yan Song spoke, the cultural store, which had been in chaos, finally quieted down.
Yan Song first denied Li Chengwu's claim of embezzlement, then denied everyone's idea of reporting it to Jiajing, and then, without waiting for everyone to speak, he continued:
"Your Majesty, please do not disturb us too much..." He glanced at Li Chengwu and the people from the six ministries, and said:
"Since there are doubts about the death of the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, the court should immediately send an imperial envoy to Songjiang Prefecture to conduct a thorough investigation." "The Inspectorate should also send a censor to supervise the entire process, and at the same time, let the three judicial departments in Nanjing conduct a thorough investigation."
"As for the smuggling case," Yan Song said, pausing for a moment before saying, "The smuggling route, from Fuzhou to Wenzhou and then to Hangzhou, is under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Zhejiang. Why not order Hai Rui, the prefect of Ningbo Prefecture, to conduct a thorough investigation."
It has to be said that Yan Song's arrangement is very meaningful.
The old foxes present immediately sensed a hint of conspiracy.
First of all, the imperial court sent people from the Inspectorate. Zhang Tingrui, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Inspectorate, was a complete supporter of Li Chengwu.
This is clearly giving Li Chengwu an opportunity!
As for Nanjing, it is only under the jurisdiction of the capital, but don’t forget that the power of the Governor-General of Zhejiang covers Nanjing.
Everyone knows that Nanjing is a "cold place", and Tang Shunzhi is nominally a member of the Yan Party. Are the officials in Nanjing secretly connected with Tang Shunzhi? Or are they themselves members of the Yan Party?
In an instant, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji all realized that the old fox Yan Song had ruled out the possibility of their faction's involvement and was very likely to take action against them!
Li Chengwu naturally sensed a conspiracy, but what he saw was that Yan Song was going to help Xu Jie.
After all, if Xu Jie fell, then it would be his turn to face himself and others. Combined with Yan Shifan’s behavior just now, it was obvious that the cabinet had to unite.
However, Yan Song's decision was reasonable, and he couldn't say anything, after all, the Inspectorate was his.
The other imperial envoy was someone like Hai Rui. Thinking of Hai Rui, Li Chengwu felt a little relieved.
Hai Rui is the sword in the emperor's hand. Once he moves, it means absolute justice and impartiality.
As for Nanjing, after thinking about it, Li Chengwu finally didn't take it seriously. It was just a "cold stove".
Even if the officials there were from Yan Song's faction, so what? Could they still do something under the noses of the Censor-in-Chief and Hai Rui?
Besides, he was afraid that the cabinet would do something tricky!
His purpose was to dig up the truth and make a big fuss about it, and he even had a backup plan for this.
This time, Xu Jie will definitely be dealt with!
"I have no objection." Li Chengwu said, bowed to Yan Song, then smiled provocatively at Yan Shifan, turned around and sat back.
"Let me tell you another thing," Yan Song followed up, saying, "Engagers from various countries may come to Beijing to pay homage in a month. The Ministry of Rites must make arrangements and preparations in advance..."
After a tense period, the cabinet and the six ministries resumed their normal political discussions.
However, no one cared about the so-called audience of various countries. The Ministry of Rites was simply responsible for arranging it and it ended hastily.
After the court was dismissed, the six ministries, the Dali Temple, the Inspectorate, the Hanlin Academy and others split into two groups. One group followed Li Chengwu, and the other group remained neutral and left.
In the wind and snow, Yan Shifan supported Yan Song and walked at the back.
"Dad, why did you ask me to come out and rescue Xu Jie?" Yan Shifan asked after looking at Xu Jie who was walking with Zhang Juzheng and others in front of him.
"Do you remember the letter from last night?" Yan Song said, thinking about what happened last night.
Hearing this, Yan Shifan was startled, and then he said, "Isn't it the falcon that sent the message?" Then, as if he had thought of something, he lowered his voice and suddenly said, "Is it Xu Jie?"
"That's right," Yan Song took a deep breath and told Yan Shifan everything that happened last night. "Last night, Xu Jie came to my house and handed the letter to me personally."
Hearing this, Yan Shifan was stunned, but he quickly suppressed his surprise.
After all, in the 48th year of Jiajing, my father's cultivation had reached the first level of Qi training. Now it is the 50th year of Jiajing, and in two years he has reached the threshold of the second level of Qi training. It is estimated that he will be able to break through in another month or two.
As for his father Yan Song, he enjoyed all the resources, so he would naturally practice faster. The same was true for Xu Jie.
Therefore, with Xu Jie's cultivation level, it was not surprising that he entered the Lingtian courtyard of the Yan Mansion quietly.
What he was more concerned about now was that Xu Jie had suddenly come to visit his father last night and gave him a letter. What was his purpose? Did he and his father reach some kind of consensus?
"Xu Jie asked me to help him." Sure enough, Yan Shifan didn't have time to think about it, and Yan Song spoke immediately.
"Help him? Did you agree?" Yan Shifan frowned, with a somewhat dissatisfied tone.
He is not stupid. He has made rapid progress in recent years. From the fact that his father didn't say anything just now and asked him to help Xu Jie out, combined with what his father said just now, it is not difficult to guess that he obviously agreed.
"Dad, didn't we agree that when Qingliu and Li Chengwu are both defeated in the fight, we will accept their power completely. In this way, my Yan family can take the opportunity to grow stronger..." Yan Shifan reminded his father Yan Song of what he had planned with him.
"You said that there will be many princes in the court in the future. Zhang Juzheng and his people and the princes they support are a new faction."
"So, there is no need to worry that the Emperor will dislike my Yan family's dominance. How come you suddenly..."
"Heh," Yan Song chuckled at Yan Shifan's dissatisfied expression, glanced at his son, and said slowly, "He gave too much, I couldn't refuse."
"Him?" Hearing his father say that, he was annoyed, and a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes, and then he said:
"If it was Xu Jie and his family in the past, perhaps they could say something like this, but what right does Xu Jie have now?"
"Don't forget that he has been abandoned by Prince Yu, and because of what he did back then, no official in the court will dare to follow him. So what if he supports a prince?"
"A prince who does not have a strong support behind him will ultimately have no chance of becoming the crown prince."
"Have you been fooled by him?" Yan Shifan said, looking at his father Yan Song with suspicion.
"You also said that Xu Jie could sell out the gentry families behind him once, so why can't he sell them again?" Yan Song's tone was submissive, but his words made Yan Shifan even more confused.
But this time, Yan Song did not let Yan Shifan ask any more questions, but started talking directly.
"Xu Jie knows that my purpose is to gather the remaining forces after Qingliu and Li Chengwu were both defeated, but we will also lose some people in the process..."
Yan Song said with a hint of emotion in his tone, "Xu Jie is planning to fight to the death and cut off the firewood from under the cauldron!"
"According to his plan, he used Zhang Wenyuan's incident as bait to lure Li Chengwu to bite the hook, and then sacrificed himself in exchange for a mutual loss with Li Chengwu."
"This is to preserve the Qingliu faction's influence in the court."
"In this way, the court officials that Li Chengwu has worked so hard to win over will naturally be accepted by Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Zhao Zhenji and others. Of course, we think so too."
Hearing this, Yan Shifan nodded.
"But now, Xu Jie plans to use Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Zhao Zhenji and others to exchange for himself!" Yan Song said in a low voice.
What?! Hearing this, Yan Shifan was stunned.
"Xu Jie will drag Li Chengwu, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Zhao Zhenji and all the others, use this incident with Zhang Wenyuan as an introduction, and then make things worse in Nanjing, and then..."
As he spoke, Yan Song's voice became increasingly low, almost inaudible in the wind and snow.
"Then, the Emperor will definitely cut it off with one stroke!"
"Hiss!" Upon hearing this, Yan Shifan couldn't help but take a breath of the slightly cool wind and snow, staring, and whispered:
"Anger the emperor? What is Xu Jie going to do?"
"Drawing the Emperor into this? Isn't Xu Jie afraid of death?" As he spoke, Yan Shifan couldn't help but reveal a trace of worry on his face, and asked, "Isn't this too risky?"
Too crazy! Yan Shifan looked at his father in front of him and thought of Xu Jie. He felt that these two old men were going crazy.
For the sake of profit, has he reached a point of madness? He even dared to drag the emperor into the game?!
Are you really not afraid of angering the emperor, and then overturning the table? Then you will lose everything.
"Isn't it enough for the emperor to join the game?" Yan Song looked at Yan Shifan, who looked frightened, and shook his head slightly, "Don't worry, the emperor only cares about the benefits. As long as the benefits are enough, the emperor will be happy to join the game."
After comforting Yan Shifan, Yan Song continued, "According to Xu Jie's idea, after this incident is over, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, and Zhao Zhenji will all be kicked out of the cabinet!"
"And he will prepare a great gift for the court and the emperor." When talking about the great gift, Yan Song looked at Yan Shifan and said:
"Shifan, this great gift is to make the Ming Dynasty truly enter the Immortal Dynasty. You must hurry up. This year is the 50th year of Jiajing, the 51st year, less than two years!"
"By then, this great gift will be all he can rely on to stay in the cabinet and not be purged!"
"And everything depends on whether the emperor is willing to keep him!"
"He is also gambling, a huge gamble. If he succeeds, he will be saved from the desperate situation. If he fails, he and the Xu family will never be able to recover."
"And my Yan family can take over all the factions in the court, and even leave Xu Jie behind, which will be more helpful to us."
"Xu Jie wants to use all the power of the Qingliu to cooperate with my Yan family in exchange for his position in the cabinet! After all, as long as he is still in the cabinet, or the cabinet's deputy assistant, there is a glimmer of hope!"
At this point, Yan Song revealed Xu Jie's plan to Yan Shifan.
After hearing this, Yan Shifan took a deep breath and subconsciously looked at Xu Jie and others who were already walking away in the distance. For the first time, he said in an admiring tone, "Old Xu is a ruthless man!"
"From then on, his friendship with Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, and Zhao Zhenji was completely gone!"
"We may even become enemies forever." Yan Shifan said with some complexity, "Dad, do you think it's worth it for him to do this?"
"Alas!" Hearing his son asking himself whether Xu Jie's actions were worth it, Yan Song raised his eyelids, looked at the snow mist that blurred his vision, and sighed, "For the Xu family, it's worth it!"
"He is fighting for that glimmer of hope!"
Listening to his father's slightly emotional and even empathetic words, Yan Shifan was stunned, and then asked: "Dad, what's wrong with you?"
"Xu Fan's achievements made him see no hope!" Yan Song sighed, "A copy of the Records of Immortal Craftsmen and Natural History is not enough to allow Xu Fan to enter the cabinet, or even to make the Xu family worry-free."
"And he himself," Having said this, Yan Song looked at Yan Shifan again and said, "Shifan, do you really think that people like us have a chance to break through to the foundation-building stage?"
"Of course..." Upon hearing this, Yan Shifan opened his mouth subconsciously to express his affirmation, but then he was suddenly stunned.
Then, I felt my scalp tingling, and I stood in the wind and snow. My lips trembled subconsciously, and my whole body was cold!
"Haha," looking at the stunned Yan Shifan, Yan Song smiled comfortingly and kindly, raised his hand to wipe the snow off his son's shoulders, patted his shoulders again, and said:
"Don't be afraid. It's not too late to understand now."
Yes, Yan Shifan understood, he understood everything.
Why was Xu Jie so cruel that he was willing to step on the corpses of Zhang Juzheng and others to rise to power?
Because Xu Jie didn't have much hope of breaking through the foundation-building stage before his lifespan ran out!
The future is long, but there is no one in the Xu family who can shoulder the responsibility of leading the family to prosperity.
So he has to try his best, even at the cost of giving up most of his life's efforts, and start over again, just to continue the family line!
He must stay in the capital and in the cabinet. Only by staying can he have more opportunities and wait until the day when his life runs out to pave the way for his family!
Similarly, his father Yan Song was the same. He worked hard for the "innovation" he proposed, constantly cultivating himself, and then cultivating Shao Ting, all for the sake of the family.
Because Dad was just like Xu Jie, he would not see the day of breaking through the foundation-building stage. The only thing they could do now was to do everything they could to pave the way for the family while they were still alive.
"Dad..." After a long while, Yan Shifan came back to his senses. He turned around and looked at his father, whose face had become rosy but whose hair was gray and full of wrinkles. His voice was a little hoarse.
"Shifan, look at how strong the snow and wind are. Do you still remember what your father asked you on the night of the first imperial meeting?" At this time, Yan Song raised his hand, and Yan Shifan hurriedly supported his father.
Hearing his father's serious question, Yan Shifan was startled, and then subconsciously turned around to look in the direction of the snowy and foggy West Garden.
That night, it was snowy and foggy. He and his father stood outside the Yuxi Palace and looked back at the Yuxi Palace.
The old man asked him if he could see clearly, and he replied that the snow was too heavy and he couldn't see clearly. The old man could only sigh at that time.
Afterwards, he figured out that it was his father who was hesitating and could no longer see through the emperor.
"Now, look again, don't look back!" At this time, Yan Song's voice sounded again. He squinted his old eyes, looked at the snowy fog, and the whiteness between the sky and the earth, and said, "Can you see clearly?"
Hearing this, Yan Shifan looked forward.
The snow and fog were thick and everything was white. At this moment, Yan Shifan felt his palm being held by an old, shriveled, but warm hand, and his father's generous and encouraging voice rang in his ears.
"Don't be afraid, look boldly and look carefully!"
"...Dad." Yan Shifan opened his mouth, and felt a warm current flowing through his heart. His nose felt a little sour, and he said, "I see it clearly. My son sees it clearly. I see it very carefully. I see it clearly!"
He knew that his father was asking himself whether he could see the future path of the family clearly and whether he could walk it well.
At this moment, Yan Shifan also felt his father's encouragement and his determination to pave the way for the entire family.
At this moment, for the sake of his father, himself, and the future of the entire Yan family, he must see clearly and walk carefully.
"Haha." Yan Song smiled kindly, patted the back of Yan Shifan's hand gently, and said: "The sun, moon, mountains and rivers will last forever, the Ming Dynasty will last forever, and your majesty will last forever. My son, don't cry, don't be afraid..."
"As long as you listen carefully to His Majesty and remember why our Yan family exists, the road to cultivating an immortal family will be smooth!"
"Let's go back, the snow is getting heavy..." Yan Song said. Yan Shifan took a deep breath and said nothing more. He supported his father silently and walked steadily towards the distance step by step.
"..."
I originally thought that today's chapter would be the beginning of the Immortal Dynasty, but it seems that it will be tomorrow. Fortunately, the Mortal Dynasty has also reached its final stage, and the Ming Dynasty will officially enter the Immortal Dynasty in the next chapter~~~
Also, what do you think? When announcing the Xian Dynasty, should we give it a new era name? Or should we continue to use Jiajing?
(End of this chapter)
