Chapter 212 Hai Rui takes office, a truly great city for cultivating immortals
"Shifan," Yan Song shook his head at Yan Shifan's anxious look and said, "Since Shao Ting wants to go out and try his luck, we should support him."
"Dad, why are you..." Yan Shifan didn't understand. His father's expression clearly showed disapproval just now, so how could he suddenly change his expression in the blink of an eye?
"But this kid, if he goes to Nanjing, how can he fight against those old foxes? Zhang Juzheng and his men are all in Nanjing!"
In fact, what Yan Shifan wanted to say was that Yan Shaoting was the hope for the future of the Yan family. Anyone could go except him. If something went wrong, it would be absolutely unacceptable to the Yan family.
But when the words came to his lips, they turned into Yan Shaoting's inability to handle the heavy responsibility and to fight against the various forces in Nanjing. And this may be the unique fatherly love of the young cabinet minister Yan Shifan.
"Don't worry," Yan Song rarely showed his arrogance while speaking. "Since everyone knows that Shao Ting is the hope and future of our Yan family, they should also understand..."
Yan Song's eyes flashed with a fierce look, and he said: "If Shao Ting makes a mistake, in the current Ming Dynasty, no one except the royal family can bear the wrath of my Yan family."
To put it bluntly and extremely arrogantly, the Yan family has long been the number one family in the current Ming Dynasty except for the royal family.
Yan Song himself was the chief minister of the cabinet who was trusted by the emperor. With such tremendous power, who would dare to target the talented son of the Yan family?
Perhaps Xu Jie and other members of the Qingliu group dared to do so when they were still united, but now the so-called Qingliu is divided into pieces. As for the New Party in the court, it is only concerned with fighting for the right to speak in the military. Even Hu Zongxian, one of the members of the New Party, has the support of the Yan family.
Thinking of this, Yan Shifan felt relieved. Indeed, with such overwhelming power, who would dare to attack Yan Shaoting?
"Knock, knock, knock." There was a knock on the door, followed by a servant's voice, "Master, there is news from the palace."
Hearing this, Yan Song glanced at Yan Shifan, who understood, turned around, opened the door, and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Just now, news came from the palace that the Imperial Master, Qingfeng Xuanling Shouzhen Huiwu Zhenren, and Chanshuang Prajna Jinghui Mingxin Master, entered Yuxi Palace together, and then summoned Eunuch Huang and Eunuch Chen."
The servant swallowed his saliva and continued:
"The specific content of the conversation is unclear, but Eunuch Huang and Eunuch Chen were very happy when they left. Afterwards, the emperor asked the two imperial masters to have a meal in Yuxi Palace, and the emperor's laughter could be heard in Yuxi Palace."
"Go down." After listening to the servant's report, Yan Shifan waved his hand, signaling the servant to leave. After closing the door, he looked at Yan Song and said, "Dad, it seems that Huang Jin has asked Qingfeng to come forward."
"It seems that our guess is correct. If nothing unexpected happens, the five 'Earth Treasure Ships' should be allocated to Nanjing." However, Yan Shifan frowned again as he spoke.
"What's going on with Chan Shuang and Chen Hong?"
Yan Song remained silent for a moment before he slowly said, "Huang Jin is too active..."
"Dad, could it be that we guessed wrong?" At this time, Yan Shifan followed up with: "The person behind Huang Jin's instructions may not be the emperor at all, but someone else, such as Lu Fang?"
"If Lü Fang wanted to gain some benefits, then the emperor would definitely agree to it. After all, no matter what, the court will benefit in the end." Yan Shifan felt that his idea was correct as he spoke more and more quickly. He said:
"Think about it, no one in the court has proposed to the emperor about the development of Nanjing City, but this great city of immortal cultivation must be developed. At this time, Lu Fang, as the emperor's confidant, may use this as a way to break the deadlock and let Huang Jin stand out."
"And he can also make some money by the way."
"In fact, the court has been fighting for so long, and we have always overlooked one person, that is Lu Fang. Although this old man seems to have no desires and always focuses on the emperor, judging from his arrangements for his godsons, he is not completely selfless."
"For example, didn't Feng Bao and Yang Jinshui go to the residences of Prince Yu and Prince Jing and become the companions of the two princes?"
"In the court, this old man Lu Fang is called the ancestor. He has a lot of children and grandchildren. Even if the concubines in the palace give birth to princes in the future, he can arrange one for each of them."
"No matter who the final crown prince is, this old man will be invincible!"
"It's not impossible," Yan Song raised his drooping eyelids, then shook his head, and said in a submissive tone, "But no matter what the incident is, as long as my Yan family enters the scene, Nanjing City will definitely be infinitely magnified and attract the attention of countless people."
March 17, the 53rd year of the Jiajing reign.
The decision made during the Yuxi Palace meeting on this day was destined to be extraordinary.
The first was Huang Jin’s proposal on March 15 to send five additional “Earth Treasure Ships” to Nanjing City, which was approved.
Secondly, Yan Shifan, a junior cabinet minister who also served as the Minister of Revenue, proposed to bestow immortal magic upon officials of the fourth rank and above in Beijing, and at the same time increase immortal salary to their original salaries to be used for the officials' cultivation of immortality.
Finally, the chief minister of the cabinet, Yan Song, proposed that the Ming Dynasty had now entered the Immortal Dynasty, and military expenses and the salaries of officials all required spiritual resources. Yingzhou Prefecture alone was not enough to support them, so he requested the court to set up another Ming "Spiritual Warehouse" in Nanjing City.
Not surprisingly, this move was approved by Jiajing. Not only that, Jiajing decided to lay an eighth-grade spiritual vein in Nanjing City, hoping that Nanjing City would become the second "spiritual warehouse" of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, incidentally, Yingzhou Prefecture, the "first spiritual warehouse", was also granted an eighth-grade spiritual vein.
Then, Jiajing transferred Hai Rui to Ningbo Prefecture as the prefect, and appointed him as the chief of Nanjing City Garrison, an official of the second rank.
Afterwards, Yan Song asked Jiajing for a favor and recommended his grandson Yan Shaoting, who is now the Southern Pacification Envoy of the Jinyiwei, to serve in the Nanjing Garrison.
Because Lu Bing revitalized the Jinyiwei, the internal power of the Jinyiwei has also undergone major changes.
Now, the commander of the Jinyiwei is Lu Bing himself, and the commander-in-chief is Zhu Xixiao, the descendant of Dongping King Zhu Neng, the son of Chengguo Duke Zhu Feng, and the brother of Dingxiang King Zhu Xizhong! As for the commander-in-chief, it is Lu Bing's son, Lu Yi, who has now reached the third level of Qi training!
Therefore, in the 39th year of Jiajing, Yan Shaoting, who served as a captain of the Jinyiwei due to his ancestors' influence, was promoted to a higher level after so many years. He is now the Southern Pacification Envoy of the Jinyiwei, an official of the fourth rank.
He couldn't even become the Pacification Commissioner of the Northern Pacification Office, but could only be the Southern Pacification Commissioner, which was responsible for supervising logistics within the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Of course, this is naturally also because after Yan Shaoting practiced Taoism, he was trained by Yan Song and had no interest in official affairs. Otherwise, with the power of the Yan family, Yan Shaoting would have been promoted step by step long ago.
Although the Nanjing Garrison Officer was only a sixth-rank official, it was a very useful position.
The experience in the Liaison Office was mainly responsible for handling the internal documents, archives, and legal cases of the Liaison Office.
Sitting in this position would just suit Yan Shaoting's wishes, helping the family to select and collect those wild potential immortal seedlings.
Jiajing would naturally not be stingy in giving face to Yan Song's request and recommendation.
As the news came out, all parties started talking about it, and all of a sudden everyone's eyes were focused on Nanjing City!
The results of the Yuxi Palace's political meeting that day were also sent from the capital to all parts of the Ming Dynasty along with the falcons that soared into the sky.
Yan Mansion, in the study.
"It's too dangerous!" Yan Shifan stood up and paced in the hall, "The emperor actually decided to lay a spiritual vein for Nanjing City!"
"In this case, how will the government and the public view our Yan family?" Yan Shifan said quickly, "The original proposal to build a 'spiritual warehouse' in Nanjing City was eye-catching enough. Everyone will think that it is our Yan family that is 'revitalizing' this dead city of Nanjing."
"Now, once the 'Spiritual Warehouse' proposal comes out, everyone will label Nanjing City as my Yan family."
"Spiritual veins are being laid. Do you know what this means?" Yan Shifan stepped forward quickly while speaking, slapping his palm with the back of his hand. "Dad, the spiritual veins in the capital are only of the seventh grade, and Nanjing is of the eighth grade!"
"Nanjing City is now completely alive. If there is any trouble in the future, it will be blamed on my Yan family."
"Did you see that? Today in Yuxi Palace, Prince Yu and Prince Jing looked as if they had seen a piece of fat meat!"
"As for Zhang Juzheng and the other two in Nanjing, they must be laughing to death by now!"
"There are good and bad people here. If there is a mistake, they can make it up at will, but the blame will fall on the Yan family. When the time comes, the government and the opposition will unite to impeach us, and our Yan family will be completely passive!"
"Dad, this move was too careless!"
As Yan Shifan's angry voice fell, the hall suddenly became quiet.
On the side, Yan Shaoting said nothing, and Yan Song was still hunched over, looking at the documents on the table. After a moment, he slowly put down the documents in his hand and said slowly:
"In the 41st year of the reign of Emperor Jiajing, Hai Rui opposed the Emperor's decree to confer the title of Immortal Official on all members of the cabinet, and was demoted to Ningbo Prefecture."
Seeing his father suddenly bring up old matters, Yan Shifan frowned, but did not interrupt. Instead, he listened patiently.
"Hai Rui was demoted to Ningbo Prefecture because Yingzhou Prefecture was the first "spiritual warehouse" of the Ming Dynasty at that time. It was required to provide a steady supply of spiritual resources for the Ming Dynasty to enter the Immortal Dynasty in the future. At that time, Prince Yu and Prince Jing, as well as my Yan family and Qingliu, were competing for it."
"Hai Rui stationed in Ningbo Prefecture to balance the struggles among various forces."
Yan Shifan naturally remembered these things. At that time, they were tricked by Xu Jie and made a wrong judgment. If it were not for Hai Rui's checks and balances in Ningbo Prefecture, the Yan family would have been defeated in that fight.
(Note: See Chapter 133 for details.)
"Now, the power in the cabinet has been reshuffled. Xu Jie was defeated and demoted to Yingzhou Prefecture. The emperor gave him the hope of returning to the cabinet. His purpose is to take back the 'spiritual warehouse' of Yingzhou Prefecture to the imperial court."
"Xu Jie can naturally see the emperor's purpose," Yan Song said, his tone slightly pausing, "and therefore, Yingzhou Prefecture is doomed to have no hope for us to fight..."
"Now, Prince Yu, Prince Jing, all members of the New Party, even the Five Military Governors, and all officials in the two capitals and thirteen provinces, are in urgent need of a spiritual warehouse for everyone to practice!"
"The city of Nanjing is like a huge blood cow. Everyone is a mosquito. Everyone has to lie on it and drink its blood..."
"Hai Rui's existence is to balance the forces of all parties, to prevent one party from going too far, and to prevent the other party from going too hungry."
"Similarly, this blood cow was raised by my Yan family for the emperor and the court. These mosquitoes may not care about its life or death, but my Yan family must care, and therefore..."
"Therefore, we can cooperate with Hai Rui!" At this time, Yan Shaoting took over the conversation, his eyes shining, and said: "Hai Rui was the chief of the Nanjing Garrison, so my grandfather let me be the officer of the Garrison."
"The Nanjing Garrison is responsible for managing and guarding the palace and the capital, dispatching supply affairs for the route, and managing all palace affairs," Yan Song nodded. "In addition, there are also various military forces such as the Nanjing Garrison, the Coordinating Garrison, the Garrison Eunuchs, and the Counselor's Office, as well as the Five Military Commander's Office..."
"My Yan family has never intervened in these forces," Yan Song shook his head slightly and said, "They are mainly the military forces in Nanjing, and they are all the meritorious officials who have been passed down since the time of Emperor Chengzu."
Although Yan Song's words were subtle, Yan Shifan and Yan Shaoting could both hear that these meritorious officials looked down on the Yan family.
In addition, the imperial court was heavily involved with the military, and the Yan family never extended their hands to military power, so naturally they would not be taken seriously by these people.
"Fortunately, Yingde is now the governor of Zhejiang, and Ruzhen is a new military elite. Nanzhili is still within his jurisdiction, so my Yan family won't be too passive."
"Shaoting," Yan Song said with a solemn expression. He looked at his grandson Yan Shaoting and said solemnly, "I believe you also understand that once you go to Nanjing, the help that the Yan family can provide you will be minimal."
"Everything depends on you. This is also the most important experience for you!"
Looking at his grandfather Yan Song's face, Yan Shaoting also looked serious and said solemnly: "Grandpa, don't worry, your grandson knows what to do!"
"Good!" Seeing Yan Shaoting remain calm in the face of such a complicated situation in Nanjing, Yan Song also showed a gratified smile on his face and said:
"Remember, when you get to Nanjing, if you encounter any problems, you can get in touch with Hai Rui more often. From the perspective of interests, he and my Yan family are on the same side this time!"
"Yes!" Yan Shaoting bowed.
"Whoosh!" The falcon cut through the sky, flew down, and landed in the back hall of the prefectural government office in Yin County, Ningbo Prefecture. "The 'official falcon' of the imperial court." Wang Yongji was still holding a letter in his hand when he saw a majestic and majestic gray and white falcon with a collar around its neck falling down.
"Go ahead." Hai Rui took the letter from the "official falcon" and patted the falcon's head. After the falcon left, he opened the letter and read it. After a moment, Hai Rui smiled and said, "No surprises, Nanjing City Garrison, Garrison! Mingshou, you are the deputy garrison commander."
"Congratulations, Brother Gangfeng, for returning to the second rank!" Wang Yongji bowed with a smile.
"Congratulations," Hai Rui also smiled and bowed, saying:
"You were Zhan Shi of Prince Yu's Mansion, a third-rank official, and now you are the deputy governor, also a third-rank official!"
"Oh," Wang Yongji sighed when he heard this, and said, "From the 41st year of Jiajing to the 53rd year of Jiajing, I have lived in Ningbo Prefecture for twelve years. I have become accustomed to the comfort."
"Who in the government and the public doesn't know this now? Nanjing is in turmoil, and you are the commander of the Nanjing Garrison. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that you are here to be the stabilizing force!"
"Xu Jie is now in charge of Yingzhou Prefecture. In order to develop his political achievements, he returned to the cabinet and eliminated all the remaining forces."
"Your 'sea-stabilizing needle' is no longer useful in Ningbo Prefecture, so you should naturally move it to Nanjing."
"As for me, I am obviously the eyes and ears and knife that Prince Yu arranged for you." As he spoke, Wang Yongji showed a bitter smile, looked out the window, and said, "If possible, I would rather stay in Ningbo Prefecture and be a stable fifth-rank Tongzhi."
Seeing Wang Yongji's dejected look, Hai Rui frowned and said, "You have just entered the immortal path. Just because you have been living comfortably in Ningbo Prefecture for twelve years, has your willpower been worn out?"
"When you go there, you will encounter a turbulent time, with all kinds of people competing with each other. How can you handle such a big responsibility if you are so depressed?" Hai Rui said with a stern tone, "If you can't cheer up, I will immediately submit a petition to the court and request a replacement!"
"This way, at least you can be safe for the rest of your life. You won't get involved in a fight and end up dead, and lose a close friend in vain!"
"...Brother Gangfeng, you!" Wang Yongji was stunned for a moment after hearing Hai Rui's harsh words. Then he suddenly laughed and hit Hai Rui on the shoulder, shaking his head and saying, "Since ancient times, scholars have been lonely. Can't I be sentimental?"
"Don't worry, the future of immortality is still waiting for me. How could I fall down in a small city like Nanjing..."
"Master, Madam Wang sent a letter saying that the young master fell from a tree and asked Master Wang to go back quickly." Before Wang Yongji finished his words, a servant came trotting in.
"Brother Gangfeng, let's not talk about it for now." Hearing his son fall from the tree, Wang Yongji didn't bother to say anything else and hurried out, "How is the injury? Have you called a doctor..."
Looking at Wang Yongji's hurried back, Hai Rui frowned slightly. After twelve years of exile, it was the first time he discovered that even though this good friend of his was cultivating immortals, for some reason, he no longer had the same spirit as before.
"...Alas." With a light sigh, Hai Rui stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the sky, not knowing what he was thinking. At this moment, footsteps were heard behind him, and his wife Wang walked in.
"I heard everything." Upon hearing this, Hai Rui turned around and looked at her appearance and temperament. With the nourishment of spiritual objects and the beginning of her cultivation, she became more and more outstanding, just like a gentle and noble wife. He smiled and stretched out his hand to embrace her in his arms, saying in a deep voice:
"The imperial court has already issued an appointment, and I'm the governor of Nanjing. I'm a second-rank official, and I want you to follow me and wander around..."
"I'm used to it." Wang leaned her face against Hai Rui's chest and whispered, "But I like the twelve years I spent in Yin County even more."
"You have lived a peaceful life for twelve years. You smile more often. You don't have to worry about the court anymore. You have close friends around you. You have changed a lot, becoming more..." As she spoke, Wang raised her head to meet Hai Rui's puzzled gaze. Suddenly, she smiled and said gently:
“It’s become more humane…”
Seeing Hai Rui's surprised look, Wang smiled and then said with concern, "In the past, you would not have petitioned the court to revoke the order just for your own personal feelings. Because you know that as long as you ask the emperor for a request, he will definitely agree!"
"I like you as a human being, but I am also afraid of you."
After hearing Wang's words, Hai Rui was startled at first, but then he smiled nonchalantly, hugged his wife, and said, "That's because the Ming Dynasty is getting better and better. With the Emperor here, I'm not alone!"
This time, Wang didn't say anything, but just leaned in Hai Rui's arms and deeply sniffed the scent of her husband.
The mother-in-law said that my husband is a man who will do great things, and I am just a little woman who speaks based on her intuition. Whatever my husband says, that is what it is. I hope the emperor will bless me and be more tolerant of my husband for his hard work.
……
Nanjing City, Zhao Mansion.
"Good!" At this moment, after receiving the court's news and appointment, even Zhang Juzheng, who was always gentle and modest, couldn't help but let out a low cry, "The emperor is going to grant me a spiritual vein!"
"Moreover, it is an eighth-grade spiritual vein, and the capital is only seventh-grade. In this way, Nanjing, the immortal cultivation city, can be 'alive'."
"Haha." Gao Gong also smiled and pinched his beard, saying, "I never thought that one day we would be able to benefit from Yan Song's influence."
"In this way, everyone will focus on the Yan family. If Nanjing City is well managed, it can be our credit. If it is not well managed, or if there is chaos, someone will impeach us."
"Only officials above the fourth rank in the capital can obtain immortality skills and immortality benefits. Haha, this was arranged by Yan Shifan himself," Gao Gong said with a sneer on his face. "Everyone wants to pull down their superiors and climb up. After all, the higher the rank, the more immortality benefits they get."
"As for us, we can go all out in Nanjing!"
"We still can't be careless." At this time, Zhao Zhenji also restrained his smile and said, "Don't forget, what we can realize, Yan Song must have also thought of it, but he still took the risk and responsibility to pull a spiritual vein for the fairy city of Nanjing."
"Then Nanjing City must be profitable for the Yan family."
"I remember Xu Jie once told me," Zhang Juzheng, stroking his beard, restrained his smile and said, "Yan Song did not touch the military power. The Yan family presided over the reform and developed the new Imperial College."
"And over the years, the Yan family has indeed been supporting people from all walks of life, especially those involved in agriculture, industry and commerce."
"The Yan family is going to penetrate all walks of life in Ming Dynasty and turn the family into a towering tree with its roots deeply rooted in Ming Dynasty."
"If we want to develop all walks of life, especially in the future Immortal Dynasty, we cannot do without the people at the bottom. For example, Yan Song proposed to open the second 'Spiritual Warehouse' in the Ming Dynasty, which requires a large number of spiritual fields."
"What about the others? Will there be any merchant families cultivating immortality in the future? Will there be any medical families cultivating immortality?" As he spoke, Zhang Juzheng's eyes flashed and he said, "The Yan family's goal is those 30,000 immortal seedlings!"
"It seems that I am right," Zhao Zhenji nodded, then smiled and said, "But it doesn't matter. Regardless of whether the Yan family wants to covet the 30,000 immortal seedlings, for us, as long as we develop them, they will be our political achievements." After that, Zhao Zhenji looked at Gao Gong and said:
"Mr. Su, how is your relationship with the Nanjing garrisons developing? Are they willing to cooperate with us?"
Because of its special status, the city of Nanjing was nominally in Southern Zhili and governed by the Governor-General of Zhejiang, Tang Shunzhi. But in reality, the ones who really held power were a group of powerful officials in the various garrisons and the garrison offices.
As for the six ministers, although they, like the garrisons and the governors of the garrison, are all of the second rank, in terms of power, the six ministers can only be regarded as sinecure positions.
However, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji, as former cabinet ministers, also had many students and former officials.
After entering Nanjing City, the three of them established their own network of contacts and quickly started chatting with the garrison and the various garrisons.
Except for the eunuchs, all the other garrisons in Nanjing City were descendants of the meritorious families of the Ming Dynasty. These people looked down on treacherous ministers like Yan Song, but were willing to make friends with Zhang Juzheng and others.
In addition, these three people are all immortal cultivators, and they are the second batch of immortal cultivators in the Ming Dynasty with extremely high cultivation levels. Their families have a lot of resources. Since these people have obtained the immortal methods but have no resources, they naturally set their sights on these three people.
As a result, the two sides quickly reached an agreement.
For example, the Nanjing Counselor of Mechanical Engineering was an official position with real power, similar to that of the garrisons, and was usually held by the Minister of War. Although Gao Gong was appointed by the court, he would be excluded if he could not integrate into the circle.
And now, Gao Gong has become an indispensable figure in the powerful circle in Nanjing.
"Don't worry. The magic of these people is not legitimate. The court has never given them an explanation. With our endorsement and resources, they can't wait to get on the same boat with us."
Gao Gong said with a confident smile.
"Also, don't forget to have the Ministry of Works prepare. Once the five 'Earth Treasure Ships' arrive, we will start repairing the roads, moving mountains to make way, and widening and reorganizing the canals!"
"These are all solid political achievements. We cannot let them go..."
"As for cultivating immortality," Zhao Zhenji paused for a moment and said, "Starting tomorrow, the plan will be officially implemented."
"In addition to the 30,000 immortal seedlings, continue to reveal the immortal methods to other people in Yingtian Prefecture. When the spiritual veins of Nanjing City are planted, there will be no shortage of spiritual resources. We just have to wait for the first immortal cultivation city in the Daming Immortal Dynasty to prosper!"
"it is good!"
……
Early April, the fifty-third year of the Jiajing reign.
Hai Rui officially took office as the Nanjing Garrison Commander, and stayed behind!
In the same month, Yan Shaoting, grandson of Yan Song and son of Yan Shifan, took office as the officer of the Liushou Division.
……
May 15th, the fifty-third year of the Jiajing reign.
Jiajing laid an eighth-grade spiritual vein in Nanjing City. Nanjing City, the first city for cultivating immortals in the Ming Dynasty, was officially "revitalized", and abundant spiritual energy covered the entire Nanjing City.
The 10,000 immortal seedlings who first obtained the immortal methods and were officially registered by the court were told that they could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to practice.
As for the families that had obtained the immortal methods and scattered throughout the Yingtian Prefecture, counties and villages, they were suddenly sponsored with spiritual objects by a mysterious person and officially began to join the ranks of immortal cultivation.
But one thing they all have in common is that each of these families is very secretive about the matter of cultivating immortals, for fear that others would find out.
But what they didn't know was that every move of their family had long been under the watchful eyes of various forces in Nanjing City.
In short, in June of the fifty-third year of Jiajing's reign, Nanjing City became a veritable city for cultivating immortals!
"..."
Note 1: In the th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, a garrison was set up in Zhongdu. In the th year of Jiajing, a garrison was also set up in Jingzhou. It is uncertain whether there was a garrison in Nanjing City. It was set up to serve the plot.
Note 2: As the secondary capital, the highest authority in Nanjing City, responsible for military and political affairs, should be the "Nanjing Garrison Office Meeting", but to serve the plot, this book establishes the Liaison Office to separate government affairs from military affairs.
(End of this chapter)
