Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 57

"Hu Zongxian." Jiajing suddenly turned to Hu Zongxian.

Hu Zongxian still lowered his head slightly: "My minister is here."

Jiajing: "Do you know why the 'Heaven, Earth, Monarch, Parent, and Teacher' is enshrined on the tablet?"

Hu Zongxian was stunned for a moment, and replied: "The sky will overturn it, and the earth will carry it. The king's parents and teachers are kind enough to nurture and teach him."

Jiajing sighed: "There is another sentence, that is to take care of them. For obedient officials, sons and disciples, the emperor's parents and teachers all take care of them. There is a saying among the people in the south that there are not many cubs, but only one good cub. In the north There is also a common saying among the people, which is called protecting the calf. I hope that those in the south and the north will only take good care of their sons, and don’t even protect their unworthy descendants.”

Both Yan Song and Hu Zongxian lowered their heads.

Jiajing: "Actually, I am also a person who protects the calf. But I don't protect all calfs. If I want to protect, I only protect calfs like Hu Zongxian! Hu Zongxian, tell your mentor, what is in this box."

Hu Zongxian said in a low voice, "Yes. This box contains the account books that confiscated Shen Yishi's family wealth."

Jiajing looked at Yan Song again, and Yan Song raised his head to look at Jiajing, his eyes were full of the kind of very lonely eyes that only old people have.

Jiajing's heart suddenly softened, he stopped looking at him, and turned to Hu Zongxian: "Tell Mr. Ge, what is written in it." Hu Zongxian: "Yes. These account books are from the 21st year of Jiajing to the 40th year of Jiajing. The amount of silk money from the Weaving Bureau's Chen Yishi, which was corrupted by officials, is equivalent to the market price of silk in each year, a total of nearly 800 million taels of silver."

Jiajing asked Yan Song directly: "Mr. Ge, what do you think should be done about this matter?"

Yan Song stood up: "My lord, everyone involved in Shen Yishi's account should be dealt with immediately, and all the money corrupted by Mo Mo should be strictly pursued."

Jiajing: "It's been 20 years, and it's not so easy to pursue. The people who should take care of it immediately are Zheng Michang and He Maocai. They are all recommended by Yan Shifan."

Yan Song knelt down: "I will dismiss Yan Shifan immediately so that Zheng Michang and He Maocai can be taken down."

Jiajing fell silent, and there was silence in the monastery.

"Lu Fang." Jiajing turned to Lu Fang, "Is Yan Shifan directly involved in these account books?"

Lu Fang immediately replied: "Master, Yan Shifan is not involved in the account book."

Jiajing: "Then there is no reason to remove Yan Shifan from his position. Ask Yan Shifan to quit the cabinet first, and let him be the minister of the Ministry of Industry."

Lu Fang: "Master Shengming."

Jiajing: "Yan Shifan withdrew from the cabinet, and the others did not protect their shortcomings. Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng also withdrew. The cabinet team was adjusted. The chief assistant was the old Yan Ge, and Xu Jie took care of the actual matters, and Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin were added. .”

This is the big adjustment!Including Lu Fang, the three of them were a little surprised.

Jiajing: "Have you heard what I said?"

Hu Zongxian couldn't answer, Yan Song and Lu Fang immediately replied: "Your servant, I heard you."

Jiajing: "Then draw up an order immediately."

Lu Fang: "This slave is drafting an order."

Jiajing looked at Yan Song who was kneeling on the ground again: "Old Yan Ge."

Yan Song: "The old minister is here."

Jiajing: "After drawing up the decree, you and Lu Fang first call Xu Jie to the cabinet. Let Xu Jie announce the decree. Remember, ask those people to read the bad debts that have been transcribed first, and then announce the decree after reading the decree. Then discuss a If someone is elected to be the governor of Zhejiang, Zheng Michang and He Maocai will be arrested immediately, and Shen Yishi's property that was corrupted will be recovered."

Yan Song: "The minister takes the decree."

Jiajing's eyes turned to Hu Zongxian again: "Hu Zongxian."

"The humble minister is here." Hu Zongxian raised his head and looked at the unfathomable emperor.

Jiajing: "The war in the southeast is tight. No matter how hard you work, you have to go back today. The Japanese pirates will be wiped out this year. Ask me for whatever military use you need, and I will give it to you. You should also ask about the case in Zhejiang, and what should be investigated. , What should not be checked, and how to check, you can focus on it.”

Hu Zongxian kowtowed: "I'm going back to Zhejiang now, and everything will be done according to the emperor's holy will."

Jiajing looked at Yan Song and Lu Fang again: "We are the only ones who know about Hu Zongxian's coming to Beijing, don't spread it."

Yan Song and Lu Fang: "Your servant and servant understand."

Everything in the officialdom is regulated, how the seats are arranged, who sits where, who speaks first, and who says what, all mean that everything is normal.If a seat is moved or the order of speaking is changed, it means that there has been a change.

Today's cabinet makes people immediately sensitive to changes.Yan Song still sat in the middle seat, Lu Fang sat on his left, Xu Jie sat on his right, all of these were still the same.However, Yan Shifan, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng no longer divided their seats into two rows as in the past, but set up a big table on the side, and placed three chairs side by side in front of the table, allowing the three of them to sit together and sit on the table. The bills that Jiajing read the night before were also filled on the board.

But people tend to think about the benefits of these changes, and Yan Shifan thought that this arrangement of seats was for the convenience of them to look at the accounts together.Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng even believed that this was a sign that Yan Shifan was about to leave the cabinet, and no one thought that they would leave the cabinet together today!
The three people sitting on it were silent, and the three people reading the accounts were even more silent. The atmosphere was unusually dull.

The more I looked at the account, the more surprised I became, and there was a difference in the surprise.Yan Shifan's face was sweating more and more, although Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng had serious faces, their eyes couldn't suppress the excitement.

"Bastard!" Yan Shifan slapped the long case abruptly, which surprised everyone.

Yan Shifan's sweaty face was flushed at this moment: "Greedy ink harms the country! These bastards have killed us all!"

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng still kept their eyes down, ignoring his criticism.

Lu Fang looked at Yan Song, Yan Song's eyes were full of desolation, and he turned to Xu Jie.

After Xu Jie spoke, he no longer called him Xiaoge Lao, but called him by his own name: "Brother Donglou, this is a cabinet meeting, pay attention to manners."

Yan Shifan: "Things have become like this, what's the use of being polite?"

Xu Jie: "Then what should we do according to Brother Donglou's wishes?"

Yan Shifan: "Take people! Pursue stolen goods! Arrest Zheng Michang and He Maocai immediately!"

Xu Jie: "How to catch it? Who to send to catch it?"

Yan Shifan raised his head and looked at Yan Song and Lu Fang: "Father, Mr. Lu, I recommend Luo Longwen or Yan Maoqing to be the governor of Zhejiang to handle this case."

Yan Song slowly closed his eyes, Lu Fang didn't look at Yan Shifan, Yan Shifan was startled, and could only look at Xu Jie.

Xu Jie: "If I remember correctly, Zheng Michang was recommended by Luo Longwen to Mr. Xiaoge at that time, and He Maocai was recommended by Yan Maoqing to Mr. Xiaoge. Brother Donglou, do you think sending these two people to take over as the governor of Zhejiang can handle this case well? ?"

"Xu Ge is always a bright mirror!" Gao Gong answered loudly, "The state affairs have been hindered by these people so far, are we going to make mistakes again and again today! I suggest that Tan Lun be the acting governor of Zhejiang to investigate and handle this case."

"You are the one who overwhelmed the whole ship with one blow!" Yan Shifan roared again, "Zheng Michang is Zheng Michang, and He Maocai is He Maocai. If we find out who recommended them, then they are still officials appointed by the emperor. Is the emperor going to pursue it too!"

"Shut up!" Yan Song shouted at him sharply, then turned to Lu Fang, "Eunuch Lu, let Mr. Xu Ge announce the decree."

"Okay." Lu Fang took out the imperial decree from her sleeve and handed it to Xu Jie.

Not only Yan Shifan, but also Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng were surprised that there was already an order.

Of course Xu Jie already knew that there was a decree, and he also knew that there were three people leaving the court this time, so when he stood up to receive the imperial decree, he slowed down his movements as much as possible, and his voice was dull: "There is a decree, Yan Shifan, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng are kneeling and listening. decree!"

Yan Shifan, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng quickly walked from the front of the case to the middle of the hall and knelt down.

Xu Jie read slowly: "Following the fate of heaven, the emperor's edict said: The cabinet is in charge of the center of the country, accepting my will from above, leading hundreds of officials below, the national destiny of the Kyushu, and the livelihood of billions of people. Any of them should be able to live up to the trust of the country. ! There are cabinet members Yan Shifan, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng who are always impetuous in discussing politics and handling affairs, and attacking each other to hinder state affairs..."

After reading this, Yan Shifan was stunned, Gao Gong was stunned, and Zhang Juzheng was also stunned.

At this moment, seeing the following content, Xu Jie was also stunned, staring at the imperial decree in a daze, and then slowly looked at Yan Song.

Yan Song has closed his eyes again.

Xu Jie looked at Lu Fang again, but Lu Fang looked outside the door.

Xu Jie was very confused, but the imperial decree had to be read, so he had to continue reading, but his voice was very slow and low: "... I listened to Yan Song and Xu Jie's advice to remove Yan Shifan, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng from the cabinet .”

Yan Shifan, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng all raised their heads, and all looked at Xu Jie!

Xu Jie could only look at the imperial decree, and then read it with difficulty: "The three should return to the headquarters and still hold their original positions. The cabinet is still headed by Yan Song, and Xu Jie is actually in charge of it. Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin will be transferred to the cabinet to serve as replacement cabinet members. Qin this."

There was silence.

Yan Song couldn't be silent anymore, he opened his eyes and looked at the three people kneeling there: "Yan Shifan, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng lead the order to thank you."

Yan Shifan, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng all kowtowed: "The minister leads the decree to thank you."

(End of this chapter)