Chapter 32: Imperial Questioning Meeting
"Swish, swish, swish!" After a brief moment of astonishment, several eyes looked at Yan Shifan in unison.
“Yan Shifan!” Gao Gong, the firepower of the Qingliu faction, also came on the field immediately and shouted angrily: “What are you doing!”
If he could still endure being pointed at in the nose and called a beast, then Gao Gong was truly not a human being.
Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji also glared at Yan Shifan angrily.
Although some things were tacitly known to each other, they did not think that Yan Shifan was a good person.
Yan Shifan must be genuine in causing trouble.
"Tell me clearly who harmed the Ming Dynasty!" Gao Gong held the memorial and pointed at Yan Shifan.
He had had enough of the humiliation. It was just a big show, wasn't it? At worst, he could catch this little chicken and beat him up today.
"Humph!" Yan Shifan sneered. Facing the sturdy Gao Gong, he showed no weakness. He took a step forward and said, "Speak?"
"You still have the nerve to ask me to speak? It's written clearly in black and white, what else do you want me to say!"
"You still have the nerve to let me speak?" Yan Shifan took the memorial in his hand and began to pace in the hall. At the same time, he opened the memorial, glanced at Xu Jie who was silent, and then said:
"In the 35th year of the Jiajing reign, the Zhou family, a wealthy local merchant in Dinghai County, Ningbo Prefecture, disregarded the laws of the imperial court and privately opened sea routes to sell Jiangnan's silk, tea, porcelain and other specialty products to Southeast Asia and Japan."
"Who is behind this Zhou family?"
Hearing this, Gao Gong's face darkened and he subconsciously looked at Xu Jie.
Yan Shifan was too lazy to argue. He came here today just to remove these Qingliu underpants and to perform a big show.
But he sang this scene willingly!
Yan Shifan walked in front of Xu Jie and sneered, "Whose territory is Ningbo Prefecture? Do I need to say more?"
"The hundreds of thousands of acres in Jiangsu and Zhejiang..."
"Yan Shifan!" Yan Song closed the memorial and said in a deep voice, "The whole world belongs to the king. The land of the Ming Dynasty is not someone else's territory. Let's discuss the matter instead of making groundless speculations!"
In the side hall, after hearing Yan Song's rebuke, Jiajing slowly put down the hammer he had raised, and his solemn expression relaxed slightly.
Yan Song, after all, is a man who knows his limits!
On this stage, everyone knows who plays what role, what to do and what to say.
Yan Song will not stop Yan Shifan, but he also has to grasp the right moment. Some things cannot be exposed.
The current situation is that the emperor and the cabinet, or to be more precise, the clean stream, have made their cards clear, but the truth is still hidden.
Even if the cards are out in the open, some things cannot be said openly, otherwise today's meeting in front of the emperor will be meaningless.
Once the truth is revealed, the relationship will be completely torn apart, and there will be no room for maneuver.
At that time, the emperor will have to conduct a thorough investigation!
Once a thorough investigation is conducted, the results will not be what any party wants to see.
Well, as for why Qingliu didn't use this to counter the emperor? That's just a joke, because no one would be so stupid.
No one who can sit in this position will do so just for the sake of prestige.
The result of your counterattack is nothing more than asking the emperor not to pursue the matter. But the emperor has no intention of pursuing the matter in the first place, so what are you countering for?
Offending the emperor for nothing? Since ancient times, those who forced the emperor to compromise, unless you succeeded in the rebellion, would always end up miserably.
And today, Yan Song has to take control of the overall situation, let Yan Shifan find faults, and Qingliu resolve them one by one.
All you need to do is control the strength so that the fire wrapped in the paper can be released perfectly without puncturing the paper!
In this way, with the tacit understanding between the king and his subjects, the play can come to a successful conclusion and the matter can be resolved satisfactorily.
"Hmph!" Yan Shifan snorted coldly after being scolded by his father. Thinking of what his father had reminded him today, that some things can be said and some cannot be said, he came to his senses and changed the subject.
Since we can’t talk about land issues, let’s talk about business!
"The Shen family, who specializes in the spice and jewelry trade in Jinjiang County, Quanzhou Prefecture, also imports spices and gems from overseas through private shipping, and then sells them domestically..."
"The smuggled goods are worth tens of thousands of taels of silver every year. Where are the tax records?"
"This behavior is a blatant provocation to the law of the country!"
Having said that, Yan Shifan did not wait for anyone else to speak, but continued flipping through the memorial and began to report the evidence he had found.
"Beginning in the 34th year of the Jiajing reign, the Shen family privately opened a shipping company to import spices and gemstones from Southeast Asia each year, valued at about 8,000 taels of silver, and the undeclared smuggled goods were valued at about 4,000 taels of silver."
"There are also records of cooperation between the Zhou family and the Shen family."
"Since the 37th year of Jiajing, the Zhou family has provided shipping services to the Shen family, helping them smuggle spices and gemstones, and taking 10% of the profits!"
"In three years, the cumulative profit was three thousand taels of silver."
"And it is recorded in black and white here..." As he spoke, Yan Shifan came to Xu Jie and snatched the memorial with a snap. He stared at Xu Jie's gaze and said in a cold voice:
"The transaction between Lord Xu's family and the Zhou family."
"It is clearly stated above that from the 35th year of Jiajing to the 39th year of Jiajing, the Xu Jie family imported overseas goods worth about 10,000 taels of silver through the Zhou family's shipping services."
"Legal declarations only account for less than half of the total, while the other half is suspected of smuggling!"
"Master Xu, please explain!"
This is clearly written in the memorial, and it is an account that must be settled.
Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng knew it was time for him to take action.
"Young Lord, we should all be cautious about the transaction between the Zhou family and the Shen family."
"National laws are like mountains and cannot be violated. However, it is not appropriate to draw conclusions prematurely before the truth is found out."
"Lord Xu has always been honest and incorruptible, and everyone in the court has seen it. He may not be personally involved in family affairs." Zhang Juzheng said in a gentle tone, "Perhaps he does not know all the twists and turns."
The purpose of today is to question and defend myself.
(Note: There was no "questioning system" in the modern sense in ancient times, but similar concepts did exist, such as court discussions, which served the purpose of creation and used questioning.)
Therefore, the Qingliu faction must put in utmost effort to deal with all the questions raised by Yan Shifan.
In fact, from a rational point of view, they would rather Yan Shifan asked more detailed, more specific, and more harsh questions.
In an instant, a thought flashed through his mind and Zhang Juzheng continued to speak.
"To resolve this doubt, I suggest setting up a special review team, composed of impartial and selfless people in the court, to thoroughly investigate this matter." "The entire process will be supervised by Eunuch Chen Hong from the Western Factory!" As he said this, Zhang Juzheng bowed to Chen Hong.
"Hmph!" Chen Hong sneered in his heart, thinking that Zhang Juzheng was flattering and trying to please him.
Zhang Juzheng naturally had no idea what Chen Hong was thinking, so he continued speaking in an orderly manner.
“Not only should we investigate the smuggling activities of the Zhou and Shen families, but we should also carefully examine the transaction records between the Xu family and the Zhou family to ensure that every record can stand up to scrutiny!”
"If there are any criminals, they will be severely punished according to the law."
Hearing this, Jiajing in the temple curled up the corner of his mouth into a smile, and swung the bronze chime with his hand, causing it to make a sound, which was considered a promise.
It also set a direction for their next performance. By the way, they will dig deeper into the aspects of money and businessmen.
When Yan Shifan heard the voice, he immediately shut up.
"Shaohu," Yan Song said seamlessly, "What do you think about this matter?"
"Just do as Taiyue said." Xu Jie nodded slightly.
Although Taiyue is also Zhang Juzheng's nickname, given the close relationship between the two, it is naturally not meant as a veiled irony.
There was no sign of anything unusual in Xu Jie's expression. At this time, Xu Jie, Lord Xu, had already returned to his previous state.
He saw the play clearly and knew that the emperor would attack him first and then set the tone for the "stage".
After resolving the issue of dealings between Xu Jie's family and merchants, Yan Shifan then faced off against all the upright officials alone in the hall.
Faced with Yan Shifan's harsh, tricky, even yelling, scolding and sarcastic questioning, the Qingliu faction carefully defended themselves.
Whenever someone is questioned and defends himself, another person will come forward to propose a solution.
So, take turns!
The snow outside Yuxi Palace was falling heavier and heavier.
Time was constantly passing by, and in the blink of an eye, it had darkened.
Soon, the evening drum sounded and the lights were turned on in the palace.
For the entire day, the bronze chimes rang again and again in the main hall of Yuxi Palace, and Yan Shifan and Qingliu engaged in a verbal battle.
The eunuch Silijian on the side was writing furiously, responsible for recording all the details of this meeting before the emperor.
Today's Yan Shifan's fighting power is exceptionally strong. He seems to have become the messenger of justice, judging the darkness of the Ming Dynasty.
Xu Jie and others who have always claimed to be upright are now the corrupt officials on trial, as if they are the unforgivable evildoers!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The night watch drum at the palace gate sounded, and it was already the third watch in the night.
The main hall of Yuxi Palace was brightly lit.
At this point, the questioning meeting in Yuxi Palace was coming to an end.
A side hall, in a sacred place.
Jiajing slowly opened his eyes.
That's about it now.
There are twelve memorials, which record two things: land annexation and collusion between officials and businessmen!
However, the issue of land annexation does not seem to be a problem at first glance, and there is no need to bring it up publicly.
Yan Song was indeed an old fox, and he knew which parts of the memorial were to be shown and which were to be discussed.
So when Yan Shifan mentioned territory for the first time, and saw that he would inevitably talk about land annexation if he continued, and he was about to ring the bronze bell to warn, Yan Song also reacted immediately.
The sentence "All under heaven belongs to the king" warned Yan Shifan, who immediately stopped. It was obvious that this was something Yan Song had reminded him of long ago.
From then on, as long as Yan Shifan could not be controlled, Yan Song would restrain him.
In the end, the entire questioning before the emperor focused on one issue, that is, collusion between officials and businessmen.
The people most deeply involved behind the scenes are the gentry and powerful families.
Everyone knows that once the depth reaches this point, it is enough and we cannot go any further.
As for the land annexation issue recorded in it, everyone tacitly agreed not to mention it even once.
Because this thing cannot be mentioned, and if it is mentioned, there will be no room for maneuver.
Like now, it’s good.
It turns out that all the problems were caused by those businessmen who were full of deceit, dishonest, and willing to sell out the country for profit. They were the ones framing the loyal and good people?
Confiscate the house, you must confiscated the house!
Moreover, giving up some merchants will not hurt your bones and muscles, and can still meet your own requirements. This is the best solution!
As for how much to copy, that depends on filling it out manually.
As for how much to fill in? This is a "survival strategy question."
No matter how to answer, he believes that people will give the wisest answer to the question of survival, especially those who have answered the question incorrectly once.
They will definitely give themselves a satisfactory number.
At this time, in the main hall, Yan Shifan seemed to have unlimited energy. He was still attacking the Qingliu faction with firepower and making sarcastic remarks.
Jiajing swung his hand, and the hammer hit the bronze cymbal, making a buzzing "clang" sound, and then he stood up and walked towards the main hall.
"The true art of Lan Ke is so amazing that it can make you reach the peak of your powers. One game can bring back the spring of time."
"Since you emerge from the cave, you will be invincible. You will be able to spare others and spare others."
As the faint voice rang out, everyone in the cabinet and the Imperial Household Department knelt down one after another, shouting "Long live the emperor!" at the same time.
The clear streamers who heard this voice suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
The matter is finally settled!
"..."
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(End of this chapter)
