Chapter 211 Storms gather in Jinling City, Yan Shifan’s heavy fatherly love!
Outside Yuxi Palace.
"I didn't expect that Xu Jie's son Xu Fan actually had such abilities. I underestimated him before..."
On the way back, Yan Shifan looked back with a sullen face, glanced at Xu Fan, who was walking alone behind everyone, and said in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, Hu Zongxian, who was standing by, couldn't help but look back at Xu Fan, sizing up the Minister of Works with curiosity in his eyes.
Of course he knew about this Minister of Works.
Of course, he had a certain understanding not only of the Ministry of Works, but also of other senior officials in the six ministries. However, the performance of Xu Fan, the Minister of Works, today was somewhat beyond his previous understanding.
Previously, in his understanding, Xu Fan was just an "honest man" who relied on the protection of his father Xu Jie, and everything else about him was unremarkable.
"Could it be that Xu Jie proposed it?" Hu Zongxian expressed his innermost guess.
"It must be him. Who else could it be? Xu Fan? Humph!" Yan Shifan looked down on the son of the former cabinet vice minister. "Xu Jie, this old fox, will not give up just like that!"
If it were in the past, if Xu Jie was kicked out of the cabinet and demoted to a prefect at this age, it could be said that he had landed smoothly. After all, as the saying goes, the higher you climb, the harder you fall!
It is absolutely impossible to crawl back, but now that I am practicing Taoism, my lifespan will be greatly increased.
Everything is possible!
Therefore, in Yan Shifan's view, the national policy of "Xianming Heavy Industry" was obviously the work of the old fox Xu Jie in order to return to the court and the cabinet!
"Dad, we finally kicked this old fox Xu Jie out of the cabinet. We must not let him come back easily. The national policy of this 'Xianming Heavy Industry' must make all our people!"
Hearing what Yan Shifan said, Hu Zongxian also looked at Yan Song.
"It doesn't matter whether Xu Jie did it or not," Yan Song said in a submissive tone. "What's important is that if the national policy of 'Xianming Heavy Industry' is successfully implemented, it will be beneficial to the court!"
"Only when the Great Ming Dynasty enters the spiritual energy era as soon as possible can we develop ourselves. Don't forget the big things for the sake of fighting for these petty gains." Yan Song said, with the help of Hu Zongxian, he stepped into the sedan chair and turned back to Yan Shifan and said:
"The meat is only this small. Once you're full, don't think about what's in the bowls of the people below you. Just focus on your own food."
After saying this, Yan Shifan no longer paid any attention to Yan Shifan and the other two and got into the sedan chair.
"What does that mean?" Looking at his father's sedan chair going away, Yan Shifan frowned and looked at Hu Zongxian, "According to what he meant, are we just going to sit back and watch the national policy of "Xianming Heavy Industry"?"
"Such a big piece of fat meat, if this is implemented, how much cultivation can this achievement earn? Are we just going to give it to others like this?"
"That's not what Lord Yan meant," Hu Zongxian gave Yan Shifan a look that said, "Don't be impatient," and then said slowly:
"Lord Yan means that our focus now should be on the development of the entire Ming Dynasty, including the various industries such as scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. As for scholars, we are already strong enough, so we need to develop agriculture, industry, commerce, and all kinds of people."
"We can delegate the responsibility of the national policy of Xianming Heavy Industry to the people below. If we do a good job, it will still be our political achievement."
"Sometimes, even if we have enough food, we still have to take care of the people below us. Otherwise, why would others follow us?"
As Hu Zongxian joined the New Party and gained the support of the Yan family, they visited each other frequently and had close contacts. Naturally, Yan Shifan's hostility towards Hu Zongxian was not as great as before.
Sometimes I can still listen to what Hu Zongxian says!
For example, now, after listening to what Hu Zongxian said, he finally reacted.
Indeed, it is not some merit or political achievement that they need to personally go out and grab. Sometimes it is left to the people below to do. If they do a good job, how can the Yan family be left out of the credit when the emperor gets it?
"If this 'Xianming Heavy Industry' is to develop, it ultimately cannot do without funding from the court. Moreover, even if the products of Xianming Heavy Industry are produced, they will eventually have to go through the Ministry of Revenue and the appointment of officials..." Yan Shifan's mind worked quickly, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth as he spoke.
Seeing the calculating look on Yan Shifan's face, Hu Zongxian shook his head slightly, ignored him, and walked away.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it is the 53rd year of Jiajing.
Within two months, in addition to the "Da Ming Immortal Palace" and "Da Ming Immortal Martial Arts Department", the capital also established the "Xian Ming Armament Institute", "Xian Ming Heavy Industry Institute" and "Immortal Weapon Pavilion".
In the court, they are collectively called "One Pavilion and Two Courts". Their status in the court is superior, only because the Pavilion Master of the Immortal Artifact Pavilion and the Deans of the two courts must be immortal cultivators, and they are under the command of the Ministry of Works.
……
The tenth day of the first lunar month in the fifty-third year of the Jiajing reign.
One pavilion and two academies selected a group of immortal seedlings who had reached the first level of Qi training from the "Da Ming Immortal Palace" to teach them the methods of immortal work.
……
On March 15, the 53rd year of the Jiajing reign, the government was discussed in the Yuxi Palace.
This time the political meeting was mainly for two things. The first was to distribute immortal magic and immortal salaries to officials of the fourth rank and above in Beijing.
Since the Ming Dynasty has already announced that it has entered the Immortal Dynasty, it naturally has to act like an Immortal Dynasty. The first thing to do is to bestow immortal magic on officials above the fourth rank in the court and add immortal salaries to their original salaries.
Well, the so-called immortal fortune is naturally spiritual resources.
As soon as the news came out, the officials in the capital were naturally excited on the spot, and each of them was in high spirits.
After all, it has been more than a year, almost two years, since the imperial court announced the entry into the Immortal Dynasty, but they have not seen any immortal magic yet.
Now that the imperial court has finally agreed to open up the immortal arts to them, how can they not be happy?
Immortal magic, cultivation of immortality, longevity, who can remain calm?
The second thing, naturally, is the implementation of the national policy of "Xianming Heavy Industry".
Different from the political reform, which takes into account people's hearts, the court system, and the ripple effect on the entire body, and requires precision in every aspect, this "Xianming Heavy Industry" is only about transforming the Ming Dynasty.
It is the kind of transformation that is visible to the naked eye, so it is naturally very fast and does not require any preparation stage.
Immortal craftsmanship can be put into use as soon as it is created.
For example, the "Treasure Wheel of the Earth" that had already been researched before the imperial court announced its entry into the Immortal Dynasty was slow, but as Xu Fan's cultivation level increased, the crafting speed also increased a lot.
Even for this reason, Xu Fan continued to improve the production process of the "Earth Treasure Wheel" to ensure that other cultivators could also complete the creation.
Therefore, when that batch of immortal seedlings was transferred to the "Xianming Heavy Industry Institute", thirty aircraft were built for the court in two months.
Fifteen of them were used for the construction of the entire Shuntian Prefecture.
Ten crosses were transferred to Yingzhou Prefecture and used for the development of spiritual fields in Yingzhou Prefecture.
The last five were dialed into Nanjing to everyone's surprise.
The reason for this is that Huang Jin, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, proposed during a political discussion in Yuxi Palace that Nanjing, as a secondary capital and the capital during the reigns of Taizu and Chengzu, was of great significance and could not be ignored.
After all, everyone in the world knows that the Ming Dynasty was divided into two capitals and thirteen provinces. As the secondary capital of the Immortal Dynasty, it naturally cannot be too shabby. However, the emperor did not agree to Huang Jin's proposal immediately.
Although some things may be small, if the areas involved are too sensitive, they will naturally cause discussion among the people in the court.
For example, at this moment, in Yan Mansion.
"Huang Jin suddenly proposed to allocate five 'Earth Treasure Ships' to Nanjing City. Could this be the emperor's intention?" Yan Shifan looked at his father Yan Song, with a tentative tone in his voice.
Everyone knows that Nanjing City is very sensitive. It is the first city for cultivating immortals in the Ming Dynasty, and this is an inevitable step in the development of the Immortal Dynasty.
But Xu Jie acted on his own initiative without the emperor's consent, so he was kicked out of the cabinet and demoted to be the prefect of Yingzhou Prefecture.
The result is that everyone knows that Nanjing needs to develop, but no one is willing to take action.
If this matter were to be put forward openly for comment, would the Emperor agree or not?
If he agrees, it means that Xu Jie was right. Doesn't that make the emperor look a little stingy? If he disagrees, the first immortal cultivation pilot project of the Ming Dynasty has already started. If he chooses another place, wouldn't it be a waste of resources?
If it were ordinary money, the current finances of the Ming Dynasty would allow it to be squandered at will, but if it were a large city for cultivating immortals, the current spiritual resources would simply not support doing so.
Therefore, Huang Jin's sudden proposal to remove the "Treasure Wheel of the Earth" from Nanjing City was obviously intended to develop Nanjing as a great city for cultivating immortals.
Behind Huang Jin is Lu Fang, and behind Lu Fang is the emperor. To put it bluntly, Huang Jin's actions today are the emperor's intention?
"In fact, whether Nanjing, a great city for cultivating immortals, can develop does not focus on whether it involves the emperor and Xu Jie's past affairs." Yan Song did not speak, but Yan Shaoting was the first to speak.
Today's Yan Shaoting has become more mature and stable, and under Yan Song's deliberate training, he has been allowed to speak freely.
Although Yan Shifan's son looked ugly on the surface, he was still very pleased with him in his heart.
Therefore, when he saw Yan Shaoting speaking, he did not feel embarrassed, but instead looked over.
"Father," Yan Shaoting nodded to Yan Shifan and said, "For our Yan family, the key is admission!"
"Enter?" Hearing this, Yan Shifan seemed to be thinking about something, but still did not speak. He just looked at his son Yan Shaoting quietly.
"Father is now the Minister of Revenue, and the salaries of officials are also allocated by the Ministry of Revenue. But are the immortal salaries also taken into consideration?" However, what Yan Shifan did not expect was that Yan Shaoting's thoughts were too jumpy. He changed the subject and jumped directly to the salaries of court officials, especially mentioning the "immortal salaries" of the officials of the Immortal Dynasty.
"Why are you asking this?" Yan Shifan frowned, but still said, "The immortal salary system has basically been perfected. Immortal salary is distributed according to rank. For fourth-rank officials, whether they are regular fourth-rank officials or junior fourth-rank officials, they are uniformly paid 10 taels of spiritual rice, 10 jars of spiritual wine, and 8 taels of spiritual tea per month."
"A third-rank official gets 15 taels of spiritual rice, 20 jars of spiritual wine, and 1 jin of spiritual tea per month. A second-rank official gets 20 taels of spiritual rice, 30 jars of spiritual wine, and 2 jin of spiritual tea per month. A first-rank official gets 30 taels of spiritual rice, 40 jars of spiritual wine, and 3 jin of spiritual tea per month, as well as some elixirs, etc...."
Of course, although Yan Shifan said this, only he himself knew in his heart that this was just a superficial blessing.
Officials' salaries also come from other sources, such as rewards during festivals and holidays, and some officials will also be rewarded for outstanding political achievements, especially when they have made significant achievements in their service.
This rule was even distributed to all officials below the fourth rank. As long as someone made a contribution, they could obtain immortal skills and immortal salaries. Even if they were not officials in the capital and did not have the fourth rank, they could still have a chance to obtain immortal skills.
As for other immortal rewards, such as the commander-in-chief of the five armies, the admirals of the three camps, the cabinet, the Imperial Household Department, etc., the immortal rewards of these people are even greater.
The purpose of the imperial court is to let all officials know that the higher up you are in the social hierarchy, the more resources you have, and to be an official you have to climb up.
How to climb up? Political achievements! In this way, the enthusiasm of all officials in the entire Ming Dynasty will be fully mobilized, and the Ming Dynasty will prosper!
"Xianlu is so exciting," Yan Shaoting sighed, "No matter what happens to Nanjing City, and whether the emperor wants to develop it, we must enter Nanjing City and make arrangements in advance!"
"I heard that 30,000 copies of immortal techniques were circulated in Nanjing City back then, right?" Yan Shaoting had an indescribable unique temperament when he spoke. He looked at his father Yan Shifan and inexplicably had an inquiring attitude. Yan Shifan also subconsciously said:
"Yes, that list is also in the hands of my Yan family..." As he said this, Yan Shifan suddenly came to his senses and realized that Yan Shaoting had just imitated his tone and it didn't seem like he was talking to him.
"Shifan, listen to what Shaoting has to say." Seeing that his son was about to show off again, Yan Song directly "suppressed" him.
"...Dad!" The young cabinet minister who was about to lose his temper suddenly became furious, but after seeing the unquestionable look in his father's eyes, he could only glare at his son Yan Shaoting hatefully.
"Scholars, farmers, merchants, artisans, all walks of life, all kinds of people, all kinds of occupations..." Yan Shaoting, a young man as humble as jade and with extraordinary bearing, had completely entered the state at this time, pacing in the hall with his hands behind his back.
"Let me give you an example," Yan Shaoting said after a moment's hesitation, "Let's not talk about scholars, let's take 'farmers' for example...Nowadays, apart from a few spiritual fields in the capital, which are allocated to the three major camps and the Xianwu Division, as well as the ranches where my good Yan family cultivates spiritual beasts for the court, the only large-scale spiritual fields in the Ming Dynasty are in Yingzhou Prefecture."
"In the final analysis, all the spiritual resources needed to support the operation of the Immortal Dynasty, the distribution of immortal salaries, the three major camps, the Immortal Martial Arts Department, and spiritual beast feed, etc., will be delivered by Yingzhou Prefecture."
"In the future, the Ming Dynasty will certainly have to open other 'spiritual warehouses'. Since my Yan family is determined to infiltrate various industries in advance and cultivate roots for the big tree of the family, why not enter Nanjing City?"
"For example, our Yan family will take those 20,000 immortal arts masters and their families as our own, and let them cultivate spiritual fields exclusively for the Yan family, or even engage in businesses related to immortal cultivation?"
As soon as Yan Shaoting finished speaking, Yan Shifan fell into a brief silence.
"Shao Ting!" At this time, Yan Song behind the desk suddenly laughed, waved his hand and threw a bundle of scrolls to his grandson Yan Shao Ting.
At this moment, Yan Song smiled like a naive old man, his eyes full of joy for his grandson.
"Hua La!" Yan Shaoting opened the scroll and looked at the spider web map of the 20,000 immortal arts in Yingtian Prefecture. A smile appeared on his handsome and confident face, and he said:
"Jiangning County, Daoxiang Village, Li's family; Jiangning County, Zhuyuan Village, Wang's family; Jurong County, Yaogu Village, Zhou's family; Liyang County, Zhao's family; Jiangpu County, Yixing Village, Liangqu..."
"From the moment these people obtained the immortal method, they were destined to become an immortal cultivation family in the future!"
"My Yan family wants all these people!" Yan Shaoting said with a gleam in his eyes.
Looking at his grandson's domineering back as he held the scroll in his hand, Yan Song had a bright smile on his face and his eyes were full of doting.
"Humph!" Yan Shifan suddenly sneered and said, "What do you think the development of the immortal cultivation family in Nanjing City depends on? Relying on them to be self-reliant and self-reliant? Boy, you are too naive!"
"The spiritual field requires the emperor's grace!"
"Huang Jin allocated five 'Earth Treasure Ships' to Nanjing because he had a legitimate reason..." However, before Yan Shifan finished speaking, Yan Shaoting followed up with:
“Why can’t we have a legitimate reason?”
"Nanjing City is of great significance as the secondary capital, and the 10,000 immortal seedlings are legitimately registered."
"These people were born and raised in Nanjing. They are just the product of the sinner Xu Jie's selfish plot."
"The court is compassionate and your majesty is benevolent. Why can't you give your people a chance to show the magnanimity of our Ming Dynasty?" Yan Shaoting looked at his stunned father Yan Shifan and said:
"The people's hearts are with you, Your Majesty, don't refuse it, right?"
"Using these 10,000 registered immortal seedlings as an excuse, let the emperor grant spiritual fields to Nanjing City. Then Nanjing City, a great city for cultivating immortals, can become the second 'spiritual warehouse' of the imperial court!"
"Everything is for the emperor and the court. Isn't it me, Yan Jiading?" After saying that, Yan Shaoting took a deep breath and said, "In fact, the emperor is not willing to give up Nanjing, the great city of immortal cultivation."
"Just like what Huang Jin Huang did, as long as there is a suitable reason and as long as it can save face, most people will agree."
"...Hahaha." Yan Shaoting had just finished speaking when Yan Song suddenly burst into a hearty and gratified laugh, "Shaoting, my grandson, is truly a rare talent in our Yan family!"
After a burst of laughter, Yan Song took a deep breath and said seriously: “I will enter the palace tomorrow, and let my Yan family do something for the court and the emperor in the name of greed for spiritual resources!”
In fact, only the Yan family is most suitable to do this.
Yan Song asked the emperor for help, just as he had proposed the two national policies of "changing rice to mulberry" and "stationing troops to promote agriculture".
On the surface, they all made money for themselves in the name of the court. In fact, the court was the one that benefited in the end. What did the Yan family gain? They catered to the emperor's preferences and won the emperor's favor. As long as they did things well, the emperor would not be stingy in giving benefits to the Yan family.
Now, just follow the same method and it works every time!
“Hmph!” Although he was very pleased in his heart, Yan Shifan, a young cabinet minister who had been strong all his life and believed that the emperor was the eldest, the sky was second, the earth was third, and he was the fourth, would never admit it. He could only snort coldly to express his dissatisfaction as a father being outdone by his son.
Seeing this, Yan Shaoting, who knew his father Yan Shifan very well, smiled and ignored it. Instead, his eyes flickered a few times and he didn't know.
"Grandpa," Yan Shaoting suddenly spoke again at this time, "Grandson has a favor to ask..."
Hearing this, Yan Song and Yan Shifan looked at Yan Shaoting in surprise, not understanding what he wanted to ask for.
You should know that in the Yan family, Yan Shaoting is very sensible. He seldom makes requests to Yan Song, and he behaves so seriously.
For a moment, both of them became serious and waited for Yan Shaoting to speak.
Unknowingly, Yan Shaoting's status in the Yan family has become comparable to that of his father Yan Shifan.
"My grandson also wants to go to Nanjing!" Yan Shaoting took a deep breath and said solemnly.
"No!" However, as soon as he finished speaking, he was sternly rejected by Yan Shifan!
Even his grandfather Yan Song, who had always doted on him, frowned and remained silent at this moment, obviously agreeing with Yan Shifan's firm refusal.
"Boy, don't think that you can turn the world upside down just because you have made some constructive suggestions and have your own political judgments!"
After flatly rejecting his son Yan Shaoting's proposal, Yan Shifan stood up, took a few steps forward, and said sternly: "Do you know where Nanjing City is? It is the most sensitive place in the Ming Dynasty now!"
"Nanjing City, as the first city of immortal cultivation in the Ming Dynasty, do you know how many eyes are staring at it?"
"Especially for my Yan family. A tall tree attracts the wind. Once the old man's proposal is approved by the emperor, it means that Nanjing City will become the second 'spiritual warehouse' of the Ming Dynasty." As he spoke, Yan Shifan revealed a sneer on his face. "Do you think you are the only one who can think of it?"
"Prince Yu, Prince Jing, Hu Zongxian, Yu Dayou, Wang Chonggu, and others couldn't think of this?"
"Not to mention, Nanjing City is now ruled by capable people, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji, what kind of people are they?" Yan Shifan stared at his son Yan Shaoting and said sternly: "One move can affect the whole body. When the storm gathers in Nanjing City, what a scene it will be like?"
"Have you ever thought about that?"
"The current Nanjing City is a 'dead city'! Whether it is the emperor, the officials in Nanjing City, the six ministries in the court, or even the entire Ming Dynasty, everyone is watching," Yan Shifan took a deep breath and said in a hoarse voice:
"Everyone is waiting for someone to "activate" it. If you go, you will be a living target placed by my Yan family in Nanjing. Boy, do you want me to be restrained by others, huh?"
The whole hall was filled with Yan Shifan's angry roars.
But the young cabinet minister Yan Shifan, who had a ferocious face and was shouting at the top of his lungs at this moment, made Yan Shaoting feel warm in his heart.
He is a genius of the Yan family. Under Yan Song's dedicated training, he is very good at official politics and controlling people's hearts.
He was the perfect work that Yan Song put everything into creating when he thought he could not see the way to immortality. He was also extremely sensitive to human nature and emotions, and naturally felt the heavy, mountain-like fatherly love hidden in his father's words.
Of course, even Yan Song, looking at his son Yan Shifan, had a flash of surprise in his eyes at this moment.
How do others evaluate Yan Shifan?
This guy doesn't have some of the best things in human nature. Yan Song also thought so before. But at this moment, he realized that this guy is still a "human".
"Haha!" Yan Song couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"What are you laughing at? Say something!" Yan Shifan became angry when he heard his father's laughter.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
