Chapter 49: Draw Your Sword
There were only two people sitting in the hall.
One is Jiajing sitting on the throne above, and the other is the cabinet minister Yan Song sitting next to the stove below.
At this time, Yan Song lowered his head silently, his eyelids drooped, and he looked drowsy.
As more and more eyes were cast at him, Zhang Juzheng remained calm on the surface, but his mind was in a state of rapid change.
Everyone present understood that although the emperor seemed to be blaming them, he was actually expressing his dissatisfaction with their failure to hand over the money.
Next, my answer was not to defend Hai Rui, but to show the emperor that I and others had no ulterior motives.
Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng spoke.
"No one is more wise and intelligent than the emperor!" Zhang Juzheng did not rush to defend himself, but instead offered a plagiarized flattery, "I recommend Hai Rui because of his noble character and unswerving loyalty."
Yan Shifan, who was standing by, glared at him and wanted to bite him.
This Zhang Juzheng with thick eyebrows and big eyes looks like a graceful and elegant gentleman, but unexpectedly he is also a flatterer!
This bunch of Qingliu just likes to act like whores and put themselves on the spot!
Zhang Juzheng was naturally unaware of Yan Shifan's dissatisfaction and continued talking to himself.
"In the past, Duke Zhou spit out his food to feed his guests, and the whole nation was at peace with him. Today, Hai Rui is no less capable than him."
Duke Zhou spits out food to feed the people and brings them back to the country? Zhang Juzheng wasn't afraid of his tongue being blown away by the strong wind... Yan Shifan's eyes were filled with disdain.
"I firmly believe that Hai Rui has always been fair and selfless during his trip to the southeast..." Zhang Juzheng paused slightly, then changed the subject and began to explain.
"However, a thorough investigation of a case is not achieved in a day."
"As the old saying goes: governing a large country is like cooking a small fish. I think the same is true for investigating a case. You need to be patient and meticulous to get to the bottom of it."
"Hai Rui should follow this principle when investigating a case, and strive to have solid evidence at every step to avoid making a wrong judgment. As for the specific circumstances, I dare not speculate rashly, so as not to mislead His Majesty."
Everyone nodded slightly after hearing these words spoken in the officialdom, but everyone understood that this was not what the emperor wanted.
Zhang Juzheng's words were indeed comforting. Everyone understood that this thorough investigation of smuggling in the southeast was an unspoken deal between the emperor and his subjects, but it could not be said explicitly.
At this time, when the emperor holds you accountable, you have to speak officially from the perspective of being held accountable.
Whether you are defending yourself or Hai Rui, you must have the magnanimity and tolerance of a superior.
Your Majesty has said before that the monarch and his subjects are one family. Is Hai Rui a family member? Of course, as family members, we should understand each other.
"I recommend Hai Rui because he is known for his integrity and uprightness, and is also known as 'Hai Bijia'. He is not afraid of power. I am sure that he will benefit the people if he serves as an official. He is indeed a good talent in my opinion."
These words gave a positive answer to the emperor's apparent question, and the meaning was very clear: I was the one who recommended Hai Rui, I understand him, I trust him, he is a talent, and my judgment is not wrong!
Seeing Zhang Juzheng was so sure and decisive, and making decisions so decisively, Jiajing felt relaxed. He changed to a more comfortable sitting position and listened quietly to Zhang Juzheng.
These words are indeed comforting.
He likes this kind of person now!
The Ming Dynasty has a promising future and what it needs are people who can get things done and make decisions. Zhang Juzheng is such a talent.
The relaxed look on Jiajing's face naturally caught the signal from everyone who was good at observing people's expressions.
Invisibly, the tense atmosphere that had been sensed in the hall before seemed to dissipate a lot as Zhang Juzheng spoke.
Zhang Juzheng spoke in official language to reassure the emperor, then vouched for Hai Rui and cleverly and roundaboutly answered the emperor's question about mediocre talent. The next step was naturally to complain!
They were looking forward to today's political meeting, in order to quickly resolve the case in the southeast that has now gotten out of their control.
The matter has become so serious, everyone knows who the culprit is, including the emperor: it is the Yan Party.
In order to slow down the pace of themselves and others and prevent them from taking charge of the policy of stationing troops and promoting agriculture in the border areas, they are creating obstacles here.
Today, we must bring out the Yan party no matter what!
If you don't let us live an easy life, then we'll all just give up and let the Holy Lord decide everything!
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng's momentum also changed, and he was about to draw his sword!
"In addition, Hai Rui also had Zhang Ziming, the censor recommended by the young minister, by his side, who supervised the entire process and participated in the investigation."
"This man is just like Hai Rui, both are loyal and upright. He is always very meticulous in investigating cases, even more so than Hai Rui." "I believe that Hai Rui and his men will be able to clear up everything!"
Good! After saying this, Gao Gong, who was straightforward and hot-tempered, was immediately delighted, clenching his fists until they were hard.
He admired Zhang Juzheng's spirit of drawing the sword!
These days, he has had enough of the Yan Party's behind-the-scenes tricks. During several cabinet meetings, Yan Shifan made sarcastic remarks in both open and covert ways, and kept harping on the issues in the southeast.
Although he was also dissatisfied with what the Xu family had done in the southeast, he was labeled as a clean official.
Moreover, they are all Prince Yu's men. They rise and fall together. Due to their positions, they absolutely cannot set up their own faction at this time.
When he heard Zhang Juzheng pointing out that the matter in the southeast was caused by Yan Shifan's men, it could be said that he had vented their anger for them. How could he not be happy?
To put it bluntly, today's accountability meeting is a continuation of the results of the last questioning meeting, and everyone still understands it tacitly.
When Zhang Juzheng mentioned Zhang Ziming, he was actually making a complaint.
The foreshadowing finally exploded at this moment. Hai Rui? The talent I recommended, our people, I understand!
We have always been dedicated to serving Your Majesty and our loyalty is evident, but some people, such as Zhang Ziming, may not be so loyal.
Isn't it just a matter of tearing each other apart and starting a war? Then let's tear each other apart. Isn't this the trick that your Yan Party has been using on us in the southeast? Then let's just talk about it in front of the emperor today!
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present had different expressions.
The eunuch Lu Fang stood with his hands hanging down, while Huang Jin, who had not yet moved, looked down with an unidentified look as if he was thinking about something.
Well, he could only feel that the atmosphere in the palace seemed to have changed again, but why did it change again? I don't understand, I don't understand!
Xu Jie lowered his head and eyes, and his thoughts could not be seen. Zhao Zhenji did not even breathe a word and tried his best to reduce his presence.
But in his heart, he couldn't help but secretly applaud Zhang Juzheng for taking the initiative to draw his sword this time.
"Okay, okay, this is a declaration of war against me, so come on! Do you think I, Yan Shifan, am afraid of you?" Seeing that this was almost a blatant statement that he was delaying in secret and did not want Hai Rui to clear the case and was filing a complaint against Zhang Juzheng, Yan Shifan also became angry.
You draw your sword, okay, okay, let's start a war, right? Okay! I'm going to tear your pretty face into pieces today.
Yan Shifan stared at Zhang Juzheng fiercely, like a vicious dog with drooling and bloody mouth.
Although he didn't know what the emperor's purpose was when his father asked them to continue targeting Qingliu, he believed in his father's judgment.
A smile appeared in Jiajing's eyes when he noticed the atmosphere in the hall.
"Yan Shifan," Jiajing said, "Zhang Juzheng mentioned this Zhang Ziming. What do you want to say?"
The atmosphere was already at this point, and Jiajing added fuel to the fire.
I have set up the stage for you, please don't let me down.
"Shifan, let's start..." Yan Song raised his eyelids, without looking at anyone, and said silently in his heart.
At this point, the situation was developing in the direction that the emperor wanted. All Yan Shifan had to do next was open fire and cause trouble.
In the previous imperial questioning meeting, the emperor's purpose was very direct and pure, which was just for money, and his request was very simple.
In order to cover up the truth and leave room for maneuver, the issue of land annexation was not mentioned in the twelve memorials. But this time, it was different.
The branch of the Yan family he represented had escaped and had also obtained the lucrative job of "stationing troops to promote agriculture". They had firmly stood on the side of the emperor. The balance between the three parties was broken, two against one!
The advantage now lies with the emperor!
And Qingliu was also about to escape and ascend to heaven.
But who was it that made them make the mistake, use the wrong person, and give me the opportunity?
Things got out of hand and out of control.
So much so that the emperor had to come forward to help them settle the matter. Okay, the emperor agreed to help you settle the matter, but that is another price. The emperor will definitely not let go easily.
These upright people did not realize that what the emperor wanted was not money, but the land held by the gentry families in the southeast.
And their Yan family is the vicious dogs in the hands of the emperor!
"..."
(End of this chapter)
