Chapter 47: Gengwu Hour, Rat Evil North
On the seventh day of the third month in the fortieth year of the Jiajing reign, it was the time of Jisi.
In the study of the Yan Mansion, Yan Song, who was already dressed neatly, sat upright on the couch, seemingly in a daze.
He held an imperial calendar with the seal of the Imperial Observatory in his hand and looked straight ahead, seemingly in deep thought.
"Dad?" At this time, Yan Shifan, who was still wearing a silk robe, was slightly startled when he saw the state of his father Yan Song. He stepped forward and asked with concern: "Is there anything wrong?"
Yan Song raised his eyelids, looked at his son Yan Shifan, and asked suddenly: "Do you remember your father's zodiac sign?"
"Of course I remember that." Hearing his father actually asking him about his zodiac sign, Yan Shifan said without hesitation, "You are born in the year of the rat."
"Why are you asking this out of the blue?" As he spoke, Yan Shifan came over and sat down next to Yan Song, picked up the teapot on the small table on the couch, and prepared to pour himself tea.
"What time was the meeting in the palace yesterday?"
"Noon, what's wrong?" Yan Shifan paused for a moment, then continued to pour tea.
"On the seventh day of the third month, at the Gengwu hour, the Rat Evil is in the north. I just realized it." After putting down the imperial calendar, Yan Song sat on the couch with his hands in his pockets, his legs crossed, and looked up at the dark sky outside the window, not knowing what he was thinking.
"Huh?" Yan Shifan was also stunned when he heard this, and paused when he was about to bring the teacup to his mouth.
He naturally knew the meaning of "Gengwu hour, Chongshuobei".
Yan Shifan's reaction was not slow. After thinking about the time to go to the palace to discuss government affairs, he put down his teacup and grabbed the imperial calendar.
His eyes glanced over the complicated information recorded and focused on the auspicious and inauspicious times.
Sure enough, I saw the words "Gengwu hour, Chongshuobei".
"Dad, are you saying that the emperor has other intentions?" Yan Shifan frowned and looked at his father, saying, "Maybe there is no other intention. Wasn't the emperor's decree to enter the palace at noon last time?"
As Yan Shifan was speaking, he saw his father turning around and looking at him.
"This is a different time," Yan Song said, turning back, "It seems that I am getting old. I only understood it after seeing the imperial calendar..."
"Last time, the decree was not announced a day in advance. There is no real winner between us and Qingliu. The winner is the emperor."
"The emperor knows everything. He knows that we were the ones who instigated the incident, and he also knows that we are the winners. Humph..." As he said this, Yan Song chuckled and turned to look at his son with a meaningful smile.
"Father, is the Emperor warning us?" Yan Shifan was shocked. "What should we do? Should we... kill Hai Rui?"
As he spoke, his voice became extremely low.
"People born in the Year of the Rat will be affected at this time and should not make any major decisions or actions," Yan Song ignored Yan Shifan, "The North is a sign that my garrisoning of troops and promoting agriculture in the border areas will suffer setbacks."
"Two meanings," Yan Song said, looking at Yan Shifan with a smile that became more intense and full of meaning, and asked, "Guess what your majesty wants to tell us."
"You say." Yan Shifan's expression became serious.
"First," Yan Song raised a finger, "If I decide to continue with my current actions, then the national policy of stationing troops to promote agriculture mentioned earlier may not be the responsibility of my Yan family."
Hearing this, Yan Shifan's pupils shrank and his breathing became heavier.
The national policy of stationing troops to promote agriculture was born out of tacit understanding between the emperor and his father.
The emperor wants to restore the Wei Suo system. The Yan family has been hollowed out by the emperor, and he needs to cut the meat of the gentry behind the Qingliu to gain weight. This is a business deal between the emperor and his ministers that is well known to everyone with a discerning eye.
If the national policy of stationing troops to promote agriculture does not fall on the Yan family, it would be a heavy blow to them.
With this blow, at the very least, the national policy will be handed over to the Qingliu, while their Yan family and the people below are still in the same boat and sticking together for warmth.
If the case is serious and is handed over to other members of the Yan family, the prestige of the Yan family will collapse directly, and they may even not be needed by the emperor.
In other words, the emperor can support a Yan family at any time.
Although their Yan family is the one who understands the emperor the best, they can understand one thing from the last "multiple choice question": the emperor wants an attitude of absolute obedience, without the slightest sign of disobedience!
The reason why the Yan family has its current status is because of obedience. If the Yan family is not obedient, then there is no need for them to exist.
The Emperor is most comfortable and accustomed to using the Yan family, but he is not incapable of making a decision to replace them.
"Second," Yan Song ignored the change in Yan Shifan's expression and continued, "If we suspend all current actions in the southeast, then our national policy in the north will be frustrated."
"Hmm?" Upon hearing the results of these two meanings, Yan Shifan's eyelids twitched and he said, "Why are they all frustrated?"
Doesn't this mean the same thing?
Anyway, my Yan family is doomed, right?
"Just like last time, Your Majesty has given another multiple-choice question." Yan Song said, looking at Yan Shifan and encouragingly:
"Shifan, tell me your answer."
Hearing this, Yan Shifan pondered for a long time, then raised his head and said, "If there is no second choice, I will definitely choose the first one."
"But now both results are the same, I can't guess."
"Same as last time." Seeing that Yan Shifan couldn't answer, Yan Song was not dissatisfied and said gently: "Both are answers, but only one meets your majesty's expectations."
"Which one!" Yan Shifan looked at his father expectantly. As long as his father was there, he was not afraid of anything. For so many years, his father had never made a mistake in trying to figure out the emperor's intentions and guessing the emperor's answers.
"Master, it's noon." At this time, the butler's voice came from outside the door. It turned out that it was time to enter the palace.
"Your Majesty wants me to choose the first one and continue all operations in the southeast." Yan Song did not keep the secret and told his son directly.
Continue to kill Hai Rui? Continue to hold on to Qingliu? Yan Shifan was stunned as he looked at his father's back, who had already walked to the door.
Is this what the emperor meant? The emperor wants the Yan family to go against him?
"Dad, I can't see clearly, I really can't see clearly." Looking at Yan Song's back, Yan Shifan was very upset.
He couldn't imagine that just a moment of time spent in the palace discussing state affairs could have such a profound meaning.
He really wanted to say, was he overthinking it?
But everything seems to have a traceable path.
He knew that the emperor would not let anyone off lightly when he took action, but he could not see clearly what the emperor was doing.
But my father seems to have seen it clearly?
I understood the emperor's intention. We had never met or spoken to each other, but just during the time he went to the palace to discuss government affairs, we understood each other tacitly?
"Shifan is gone." Yan Song turned around and looked at his son, whose arrogance and self-confidence were suddenly gone, and sighed in his heart.
He really wanted to tell Yan Shifan that, in fact, he had become increasingly unable to see the emperor clearly since the last questioning meeting, just like this time.
If he had not flipped through the book on a whim and glanced at the imperial calendar, he might not have realized the questions of this exam.
Although he couldn't see clearly, he knew how to survive. That was to find his own position and goal.
Think what the emperor thinks. Think what the emperor wants.
Everything starts from the consideration of the emperor.
So what does the emperor want most now? It can be seen from the Weisuo system that the emperor wants to restore the Weisuo system, and the biggest obstacle on this road is the land annexed by the gentry and big families.
If he insists on holding on to the affairs of the southeast, he will position himself as a ferocious and vicious dog raised by the emperor, and will bite the clean stream to death.
In this way, a large piece of fat meat can be torn off for the emperor.
And this is the key point that the emperor will not take action unless he does, but will not let go of it lightly once he takes action. It is also the only light that guides him to avoid getting lost in the fog and survive well.
"Hai Rui's uncontrollable sword, Qing Feng's deep meaning in going to the southeast... these are not what I need to worry about..."
"I just need to continue to be the vicious dog that His Majesty keeps, biting whoever he tells me to bite, and be absolutely obedient, and I will be able to survive!"
"I used to be able to figure out all of His Majesty's moves and was qualified to sit across from him at the chessboard, but things are different now."
“I can see the starting point and the end point, but I can’t see what happens in between.”
"It's like a powerful cannon, you know where it starts and where it ends, but the arc of the fire is complex and confusing.
It will make all my preparations in vain..."
"Swish, swish, swish." It was the seventh day of March, the day after Grain Rain, but the sky in Daming was still unusually cold with rain and snow.
The cold rain was mixed with salt-like snow, and when the wind blew it, it hit my face, making it wet, cold and painful.
Outside the gate of Yuxi Palace, several sedan chairs were parked in the wind and rain.
Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and others were holding umbrellas and waiting quietly. Each of them had a frown on his face and looked like he had a lot on his mind.
"Here they come." Zhang Juzheng reminded, and everyone looked towards the sedan chairs of Yan Song and Yan Shifan.
"All the ministers are here." Lv Fang also came out with a smile, looked at Yan Song and greeted him with a smile: "Mr. Yan."
"Eunuch Lu." Yan Song nodded with a smile.
"Everyone is here, so let's go in quickly. The emperor sympathizes with you ministers and has ordered people to prepare ginseng soup to dispel the cold early on." Lu Fang smiled and invited everyone to go into the palace.
"Your Majesty is compassionate, but we, the ministers, are unable to share your worries. We are truly ashamed." Yan Song shook his head and sighed as he spoke.
Qingliu and others followed behind him, each with a blank expression on their face.
Yan Shifan thought about the conversation he had with his father today and was not in the mood to make any sarcastic remarks. He just followed behind in silence.
A group of people, each with their own thoughts, came to the foot of the palace, put down their umbrellas, took off their wet fur robes, and came to the main hall of Yuxi Palace.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
