Chapter 19: Fish on the Chopping Block, Food in the Palm
Prince Yu's Mansion.
After listening to the entire discussion in front of the emperor, Prince Yu was shocked and speechless for a long time.
After a long while, he finally spoke, in disbelief: "Father, is he really not practicing Taoism anymore?"
At this time, Prince Yu was in a very complicated mood.
On the one hand, he was happy that his father had changed his character and was willing to make concessions for the benefit of the people, as if he was going to turn over a new leaf in his later years.
On the other hand, he was a little worried that the wiser his father was, the more confusing his future would be.
For a moment, I was hesitant and didn't know whether I should be happy or nervous.
"Not yet," Gao Gong, who was straightforward and hot-tempered, shook his head, "They just said that they would stop building all the palaces, demolish the palaces that had been built, and sell the money to pay for military supplies and the Western Factory Jinyiwei."
"But I didn't say I would stop practicing Taoism from now on."
Hearing this, everyone in the hall was silent for a moment.
At this time, Zhang Juzheng hesitated for a moment and said, "From your majesty's point of view, perhaps there are other deeper plans." He glanced around at everyone and paused for a moment, "Administration of officials."
Zhang Juzheng started the conversation, and everyone's heart sank as they thought of what His Majesty had said at the beginning of the day, about rectifying the administration of officials.
To be honest, they also disagree with the rectification of the civil service administration.
When Prince Yu heard this, he didn't say anything. He just picked up the teacup silently and blew it gently.
Heat rose in front of his eyes, and an inexplicable look surged in his eyes.
To be honest, he does not agree with his father's plan to rectify the administration of officials, because the factions in the court are already clear, and the Qingliu faction is his supporter. It has not been easy for them to grow to their current level.
Once the administration of officials is rectified, it will not only be the Yan party that will be hurt, but also his own lineage.
It is okay to be severe, but there must be methods. You can't use a self-destructive method that hurts the enemy by a thousand and hurts yourself by eight hundred.
"I think that Your Majesty's proposal to rectify the administration is actually to make it easier for us to agree to reopen the Western Factory." At this time, Zhao Zhenji, who could only mute, spoke hesitantly.
Hearing this, Gao Gong, who was upright and hot-tempered, slammed the table angrily and said, almost giving a warning:
"The establishment of the Western Factory is to rectify the administration of officials!"
Zhang Juzheng stroked his smooth beard to ease Zhao Zhenji's embarrassment, "Your Majesty used Zhou Yunyi to make an excuse and proposed to rectify the administration of officials. Yan Song was unwilling to do so, so he smoothed things over."
"Your Majesty saw that the cabinet was unwilling, so he did not insist. In general, Yan Song and Your Majesty have each taken a step back."
"As for the establishment of the Western Factory," Zhang Juzheng shook his head slightly, "let's just establish it."
Hearing this, everyone nodded.
The Ming Dynasty today is not the Zhengde Dynasty.
What's the big deal about the establishment of the Western Factory? They are just a bunch of eunuchs, how can they cause any trouble?
"Hahaha." Gao Gong suddenly laughed as if he thought of something.
"Why is Su Qing laughing?" Prince Yu cast a curious look.
"I laugh at that old Yan Song who shot himself in the foot, and I laugh at that young Yan Shifan who suffered the consequences of his own actions. Haha..." Gao Gong said, laughing and venting his joy.
"Today in the palace, Taiyue originally wanted to raise funds for the anti-Japanese military forces of Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou in the southeast, so he mentioned sea transportation.
As a result, old Yan Song was shameless. Not only did he openly steal the work as a superior, he also lightly revealed the issue of military expenditure.
In the end, they were still calculating and proposing a national policy of replacing rice with mulberry trees, hoping to reap the wealth through this opportunity. However, they were easily resolved by the seven decisions made by Your Majesty.
"Humph!" Gao Gong, who was upright and hot-tempered, snorted with great pride and said, "I was eyeing Yan Shifan at the time and I immediately snatched the candidate for the supervisor."
"This time, the Yan Party will not be able to take advantage!"
"Su Qing is very clever, which is admirable." Zhang Juzheng bowed with a smile, and Prince Yu also looked at Gao Gong with approval.
"This time, if the Yan Party fails to handle it properly, it may never stand up again." Gao Gong nodded slightly at Zhang Juzheng and looked at Prince Yu.
"Yan Song will definitely use the national policy of replacing rice with mulberry to make up for the deficit. This time we have people watching him, so he won't be able to make any moves!"
"If he can make up for the deficit, the emperor will tolerate him. If he can't make up for the deficit, then he will be useless to the emperor. Next, as long as we keep a close eye on the Yan Party, great things can be accomplished!"
When Gao Gong said this, he looked at everyone, his eyes full of confidence.
As for Zhao Zhenji, who was only good at talking, he glanced at Xu Jie who looked calm and composed. Although he had some scheming in his mind, he did not show it.
"What is your majesty's real purpose?" Xu Jie raised his head and looked out the window. "Yan Song, have you noticed?"
Xu Jie is worthy of being the second-in-command of the Cabinet. Everything that happened in the hall today gave him the feeling that His Majesty was confident and had a clear purpose.
It now seems that the rectification of civil service administration is just a cover. It seems that the purpose of reopening the Western Factory and expanding the Jinyiwei has been achieved. His Majesty is no longer concerned about the affairs of Xuanxiu and the palace has not been built.
For a moment, I seemed to have a feeling of being free from desires, but I always felt that something was wrong.
This indescribable feeling of unrest made him very uneasy.
Xu Jie's worries were actually the same as Yan Song's. Yan Song was also deep in thought at this time.
Yan's house. In the study.
"These beasts!" Yan Shifan walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, cursing.
"Okay, okay, very good!"
"Take my bowl and smash my pot!"
"Ha! Let these beasts stir the pot! If the Ming Dynasty is destroyed, I will just risk my life with them."
"I want to see if they can cover up the Ming Dynasty with one hand!"
Yan Song did not fall asleep this time.
He raised his head and glanced at his son who seemed crazy, mad and talking nonsense, then lowered his head silently and looked at the second volume of "Donggu Zhuiyan" that His Majesty had talked about today in his hand.
His eyes were lowered, but there was an inexplicable look in them.
In front of him, Yan Shifan was walking back and forth, cursing incessantly, but it seemed that it had no effect on him at all.
"Dad!" Seeing that his father was still unmoved, Yan Shifan anxiously patted his palms with the back of his hands.
"As the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, you were tricked in front of so many people. Don't you have anything to say?"
Hearing this, Yan Song looked up at Yan Shifan and said, "I don't have your strength and energy, so I can't scold you."
"You!" Hearing this, Yan Shifan choked on the spot, then threw his sleeves in hatred and said angrily:
"When did our Yan family get bullied like this?"
"And the Emperor!" Yan Shifan said, pointing to the top of his head excitedly, "Has he forgotten the great contributions made by my Yan family? Even if there are no contributions, there must be hard work!"
"But I just don't understand why it is our Yan family that did the most, but in the end we are the ones who are wronged?"
"Your Majesty, he..."
"Yan Shifan!"
Yan Shifan was about to say something, but was interrupted by Yan Song's loud shout, "Don't speak ill of the emperor!"
"Dad, can't I even complain a few words?" Yan Shifan bent over and glared at his father, "Are you really going to suffocate me to death?"
Yan Song put down the book in his hand and spoke slowly.
"Originally, I wanted to make some money from 'changing rice to mulberry' and use the money to make up for the deficits of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue."
"As long as this is accomplished, the emperor will know that my Yan family can continue to protect him from the wind and rain."
"But the emperor obviously has a detailed understanding of all affairs in the southeast."
"He knows everything my Yan family has done."
"The national policy of replacing rice with mulberry trees is indeed beneficial to the country and the people.
I am not making a fuss. If we follow what the emperor said, the Ming treasury will be filled sooner or later. If we move too fast, it will turn our national policy into a bad one."
"When the idea of replacing rice with mulberry trees was first proposed, I was most worried about the Qingliu faction headed by Prince Yu."
"They want to bring down my Yan family, so they will try every possible means to undermine this national policy and make it impossible to make up for the deficit."
"They will definitely tamper with this matter and sabotage it."
"Once the deficit cannot be made up, the emperor will have no choice but to use his own money to save the country! At that time, my Yan family will be useless to the emperor, and the Yan family will naturally fall."
"However, what I didn't expect was that His Majesty would use seven auxiliary policies to control and set the tone of national policy in just a few words."
After hearing what his father said, Yan Shifan finally understood.
After knowing the pros and cons, he couldn't help but feel panicked for a moment.
"Dad, you mean that His Majesty won't let me make up for the deficit? You want my Yan family to fall? His Majesty wants to take action against us?!"
After analyzing it this way, isn’t it?
Once the deficit is exposed, the Yan family will be completely finished!
"At first, I thought so too," Yan Song stood up tremblingly, and Yan Shifan hurriedly supported him, "but today, His Majesty accepted our kindness and accepted Qingfeng."
“This can be seen as comforting us.”
"Is it possible to appease us first, and then..." Yan Shifan cast an inquiring look at Yan Song.
Yan Song opened the window and looked at the heavy snow, then turned his head to look at his son. "Even if the Yan family is gone, there are still clean officials, and the court will not be in chaos. The emperor wants to kill us, is it necessary to go through so much trouble?"
"Then what does the emperor mean?"
"A fish on the chopping block is in the palm of your hand," Yan Song sighed as he looked at the heavy snow. "Just wait, the result will come out soon. As long as the emperor still needs us, he will show us a way out."
There is another sentence that Yan Song did not say, "At that time, the emperor's true purpose will be known."
"..."
(End of this chapter)
