Under the leadership of his attendants, Lu Fang walked into the cabinet at a leisurely pace, with a warm smile on his face.
"I've met Eunuch Lu." Yan Song and Gao Gong got down from their chairs and saluted Lu Fang.
"Please get up quickly, please, two pavilion elders. There won't be any need between us." Lu Fang said and helped the two old men back to their seats.
"I came here this time mainly to follow His Majesty's order to invite the two elders to discuss matters in Yangxin Hall."
"Since it is His Majesty's will, we will go now!"
Among the two, Xu Jie was the first to talk. He happened to have a memorial that he had not yet participated in. Yan Song, who was standing by him, looked like an old god was present, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
"Mr. Yan Ge? Mr. Yan Ge?" Seeing that Yan Song didn't answer, Xu Jie couldn't help but remind him.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I have these problems when I get older. Please forgive me, Eunuch Lu." Yan Song's cloudy eyes rolled, as if he was waking up from a dream.
"Old Yan Ge has worked hard for the country and has worked so hard. I don't dare." Lu Fang quickly comforted him.
"Please, you two, please come with me." After Lu Fang finished speaking, he walked at the front, followed closely by Yan Song and Xu Jie.
"I will let the two pavilion elders know everything about today's matter in advance. It has something to do with Tao Zhongwen."
Just when he was about to walk out of the cabinet door, Lu Fang suddenly turned around and lowered his voice to remind him.
Hearing Lu Fang mention Tao Zhongwen, both Xu Jie and Yan Song knew very well that Jin Yiwei did not cover up his actions last night, but neither Yan Dang nor Qingliu could figure it out. The emperor was superstitious about cultivating immortals and wanted to live forever, and that Tao Zhongwen happened to be the one who made elixirs for His Majesty.
On weekdays, even the two pavilion elders were a bit weak in front of him. How come they were suddenly taken away by Jin Yiwei? Moreover, the leader of the team is still the leader of the Jin Yiwei, which makes it even more confusing.
During such a brainstorm, Yan Song and Xu Jie came to the place where Jiajing currently lives, the Yangxin Hall.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Yan Ge and Mr. Xu Ge are already here." After Lu Fang brought the people there, he went straight to Jiajing and stood next to him.
"Your Majesty, Xu Jie (Yan Song), has met you!"
"Please get up, two pavilion elders. Come and offer a seat for the pavilion elders!" As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, an attendant brought chairs and covered them with thick heating pads.
"Do you two know why I came to you?"
Jiajing turned his back, looked at the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall leisurely, and asked.
"Your Majesty, I don't know!" Yan Song cupped his hands and spoke first.
"You two, take a look." Jiajing finished speaking and pointed to the account book on the table.
Lu Fang understood and handed the account book to Yan Song and Xu Jie.
Yan Song and Xu Jie put on their reading glasses and began to read the contents of the account books carefully.
"Your Majesty, this and this! What a blessing to my Ming Dynasty."
Xu Jie read the contents of the ledger and shouted excitedly. The ledger recorded the property that Jinyiwei had seized from the homes of Tao Zhongwen and his alchemists. The total amount of silver was 3,865,221. Two, in addition there are some land deeds to the house.
"My lord, congratulations to your majesty, this money is really timely! With this money, not only can the salary of the frontline soldiers be solved, but the Longevity Palace where you lived before can also be renovated."
Yan Song took off his reading glasses and his tone was full of joy.
"The house will not be repaired for the time being. Let's repair it when there is more money!" Jiajing's plain voice sounded.
"The people are the most valuable, the country is the second most important thing, and the king is the least important. Your Majesty is diligent and loves the people, putting the world first before himself. He is truly a sage today. Please accept my obeisance!" Yan Song tremblingly bowed to the ground.
"Mr. Yan Ge, please get up quickly. Our Ming Dynasty still needs you, the pillars of the Ming Dynasty. If you are exhausted, where can I find such a dedicated chief minister of the cabinet?" Jiajing looked at Yan Song with a bit of anger on his face. Help up.
"Then may I ask what your Majesty plans to use this money for?" Xu Jie asked from the side.
"I am going to put all this money into the national treasury to prepare for emergencies."
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"The national situation is difficult. There are Tatars in the north, Japanese pirates in the southeast, and floods, droughts, floods, and locusts are coming one after another. The burden on you two is very heavy!"
"I will be so cruel to Your Majesty that I will fight to the death!"
"Okay, I asked the two elders to come here today just for this matter. I hope you will not disappoint my expectations!" After Jiajing finished speaking, he waved his hand, intending to let the two of them go back.
At this moment, Xu Jie suddenly took a step forward, knelt on the ground, took out the memorial from his sleeves, raised it high above his head, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have this memorial!"
Yan Song on the side was about to leave when he heard Xu Jie's words and suddenly turned around.
"I impeached the eunuch Feng Bao of the East Factory, framed Zhongliang, and blocked the way of speech! Last night, the eunuchs saw the snow falling, and they came one after another to celebrate His Majesty. However, they were intercepted by Feng Bao on the way, and ordered his evil servants to They used wooden clubs to beat them to death, and numerous people were injured, including an old man in his fifties and sixty-six years, and were brutally beaten to death."
"Your Majesty, please make the decision!" Xu Jie's tone was sad, his head buried deep in the ground, and when he raised his head again, tears were already flowing down his face.
Lu Fang, who had been standing next to him like a wooden figure, suddenly changed his expression, then lowered his head, not daring to speak.
"Oh, there is such a thing?"
Jiajing took the memorial from Xu Jie with a puzzled look on his face. After taking a cursory look at the contents, he patted the table angrily.
"This is really unreasonable. Go and call Feng Bao over to confront me!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After a while, Feng Bao was taken to the Yangxin Hall. After seeing the people in the room clearly, Feng Bao fell to his knees with a pale face.
"Feng Bao, let me ask you, did you stop a group of public officials outside the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City last night?"
Jiajing Gujing looked at Feng Bao calmly and asked.
"Your Majesty, your servant did stop them, but..."
Feng Bao said, his eyes unconsciously drifting in Lu Fang's direction.
"Just what? Keep talking!"
"Your Majesty, it was already the curfew time in the Forbidden City, and I had no choice but to stop the ministers. I first tried to persuade them with good words, and advised them to follow the normal procedures. If there is a memorial, it will be submitted to the cabinet first, and then to the Supervisor of Ceremonies. After approval, I will naturally submit it to His Majesty."
"Perhaps your lords were too eager to celebrate His Majesty and ignored the slave's suggestion. Later, instigated by a few people with ulterior motives, they began to attack the city gate and even snatched the weapons of the captain of the imperial army. The slave had no choice but to give the order. …”
"Come here, call the captain of the Forbidden Army." Jiajing ordered to the guard on the side.
Soon, the captain of the Forbidden Army came to the Yangxin Hall.
"Your Majesty!" The captain of the Forbidden Army immediately knelt down and saluted.
"Did you hear everything Feng Bao said just now?"
"Your Majesty, all my subordinates have heard it. I am willing to guarantee with my life that it is completely true!"
"Well, then you can go down." Jiajing waved his hand, and the captain of the Forbidden Army left as if he had been granted amnesty.
"Mr. Xu Ge, did you hear everything just now?" Jiajing's voice without emotion or anger reached Xu Jie's ears.
"Your Majesty, I have all heard it. The reason why those officials are so excited must be instigated by people with ulterior motives. When I go back, I will investigate carefully and find out these worms that are causing harm to the country and the people!"
"I deeply comfort Mr. Xu Ge for his loyalty to the country." Jiajing helped Xu Jie up and patted him on the shoulder to encourage him.
Then Jiajing looked at Feng Bao, who was still kneeling on the ground, with a cold face: "Feng Bao, the eunuch of the East Factory, was not secretive and accidentally harmed Zhongliang. Come here, pull him down for me and give him twenty lashes!"
"Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
Soon, Feng Bao was pulled away by the soldiers who poured into the palace, and his begging for mercy gradually faded away.
"Your Majesty, please leave!"
Xu Jie bowed his hand to Jiajing, and Yan Song, who had watched the whole farce, also came to his senses and said goodbye to Jiajing together.
"This Xu Jie set up a stage to sing an opera with me. He sang Xiang Zhuang's sword dance, which was meant for Pei Gong." After Xu Jie and Yan Song walked away, Jiajing chuckled and sat back on the dragon chair again. Thinking.
Jiajing rubbed the carved dragon head on the dragon chair and said to Lu Fang beside him: "Don't reward him openly, reward him secretly."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Lu Fang bowed and responded.
