A century-old family that runs through the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 150 Ningbo, Yan Keng passed away

The Yan family's ancestral hall is actually not in the city, and some of their "old houses" are also outside the city.

But with Yan Keng's status, if he didn't live in the city, then no one in this prefecture, from the prefect to the magistrate of Yin County, would have a good night's sleep.

When they were still quite far away from Fucheng, Yan Keng and his party met the team that came to greet them.

After all, the Duke of Northern Chen and the Duke of South Vietnam are the two prides of the Yan family. Although the one in the north is essentially a branch of the family, Yan Keng's reputation has to be bowed down even by the clan.

The leader was a young man who was Yan Ya's concubine.

This is also the method that the Yue government has implemented in recent years to control its hometown in Ningbo, that is, each generation sends a bastard to the hometown to preside over it, but still obeys Nanjing's orders.

"Is your health okay, brother?" Yan Keng asked after the young man saw the ceremony.

"Uncle, everything is fine with my father. In recent years, my father has gradually handed over the affairs of the house to his elder brother. He rests peacefully and is in good health." The young man responded respectfully.

Yan Ya is five years older than Yan Keng, but he has already started to practice the Huang-Lao method more than ten years ago. He eats lightly and takes good care of himself. In addition, there are not many things in Nanjing, so that the elder brother , but he looks younger than his younger brother.

However, the Duke of Yue may not be willing to do this.

After all, he is also a man with big plans.

An eagle with broken wings and trapped in a cage may live for many years, but to him, it is not as good as soaring into the sky for a moment.

Naturally, Yan Keng understood his brother's ambition, but with the timing, what could he do?

He sighed secretly, waved his hand, and signaled the team to set off.

The team slowly moved towards Fucheng, and the young man got into the carriage and talked with Yan Keng.

"The city is basically under our control. The business in the city has been completely controlled by us. The people's food, clothing, housing and transportation are all provided by the family's shops."

"Other aristocratic families in the mansion have either moved their entire clan, or they have married into our clan and become a subsidiary clan of our clan."

"The prefects and county magistrates who came from the prefecture basically accepted thousands of taels of silver knowingly and no longer paid attention to what we did. Even if they wanted to bully the people, we would stop them.

"Before, there was a corrupt official who did evil, oppressed the people, and colluded with the officials of the third department, so that the people had no way to appeal. In the end, they found us, but the family acted on their behalf and sued Nanjing to have him imprisoned."

"There was another one, but he was loyal and capable. He didn't accept any money and was unwilling to cooperate with us. He insisted on including us under his management. Nanjing transferred him away with just a flick of a finger."

"Seeing that he was fairly honest as an official, my eldest brother didn't treat him badly and arranged for him to be the prefect of Southern Zhili. That was the most comfortable place in the Ming Dynasty."

Yan Keng nodded slightly.

To be honest, the towns under the Yan family's rule are much better off than the people in the city. For them, being ruled by the Ming Dynasty is really not as good as being under the rule of the family.

But this is undoubtedly a bit of a blow to Yan Keng, who has exhausted his talents to govern the world and try to create a prosperous Ming Dynasty.

After all, the prosperous age created by all efforts did not completely make the people happy.

He thought with some frustration.

Even if he can control the court in Beijing, what is the use of this to the entire world?He issued many edicts, but still failed to create the prosperous world he imagined.

Ugh.

With a slight sigh, Yan Keng shook his head. He was no longer the chief minister of the cabinet, so why did he think so much?

Seeing that he was a little depressed, the young man guessed his intentions as soon as his eyes rolled. He suddenly opened the window of the carriage and said softly:

"Uncle, listen."

I saw people crowding both sides of the avenue. They stared curiously at the long motorcade and asked each other who the big shot was.

When they learned that this was Chen Guogong's team from the Yan family, a voice immediately came from the crowd:
"It's King Jingping's second son, Mr. Chen Guogong!"

"Lord Chen Guogong has a long life!"

"May the good man Chen Guogong be blessed by God!"

"Prince Jingping has always protected the Yan family..."

"Baby, mother, take the baby and come see Chen Guogong!"

"That's what a real man should be like!" The voice came into his ears, making Yan Keng a little stunned and a little relieved.

The young man also made timely explanations:

"You cared about the people in Beijing, purged the officials, and promulgated many policies to benefit the people. These policies also spread to the south. Everyone spread the word and they are very grateful to you."

"You reduced taxes and corvees, Nanping Luchuan, and provided relief to the victims, so that the people would not be invaded by bandits and annihilated by natural disasters."

"You sent officials to patrol the area, so that officials in recent years no longer dare to act as recklessly as before. Everyone has lived a better life than before."

"Just like the former Marquis Zhuge Wu, you assisted the emperor and brought order to the world."

"Everyone says,"

"The Ming Dynasty is lucky to have you!"

Yan Keng listened, and the haze in his heart gradually dissipated.

Finally, some people still remember what he did, and his hard work in Beijing was finally not in vain.

Looking around, both sides of the street are full of wine shops and teahouses. The people are neatly dressed. Even though they are not very wealthy, their faces are rosy and they have smiles on their faces. It can be seen that at least they have no worries about food and clothing, and there is still hope for life.

Although he did not achieve the governance described by the ancient sages, his decades of hard work were worth it.

"Okay, that's great..."

His eye sockets were a little moist.

……

In the blink of an eye, several months have passed.

Yan Keng stood in the courtyard, the breeze blew through his gray hair and ruffled his overlapping wrinkles.

He reached out and took the fallen leaves.

It’s autumn already, the season when everything dies...

He sighed softly.

At this time of year, human life is as fleeting as falling leaves.

In October of the seventh year of Zhengtong, Empress Dowager Zhang passed away.

In the same year, Chen Su, no, died seriously in Nanyang. During his lifetime, he rejected the suggestion of his subordinates to let his son take the throne, insisting that the mainland clan should send someone to succeed the governor of Luzon.

Leave a will:

"My bones must be buried in the ancestral land of Yin County."

Yan Keng could only sigh after hearing the news.

He coughed twice, and the body of Chen Guogong became more and more stooped.

Perhaps, only my father can escape the erosion of these years...

Although his life has been wonderful enough, he has no regrets in his eyes.

Live forever, live forever.

In November of the ninth year of Zhengtong, Yan Keng passed away suddenly in his hometown in Ningbo.

The orthodox emperor was very sad. According to historical records: "The emperor mourned and quit the court for ten days."

谥：
Zhongwu.

　Thanks to "Reader 1504435735196188672" and "Feng Xuxu" for the reward, thank you two big guys, thank you!

　　It’s too late today, so I’ll add an update for the two big guys tomorrow!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)