"I request your Majesty to investigate this matter thoroughly!"
In the cabinet, the five cabinet ministers all knelt down and begged Jiajing.
"Huh, I don't believe it anymore. Your cabinet didn't notice at all before this?" Jiajing said coldly, looking at the many ministers kneeling on the ground.
"Your Majesty, we are indeed not very clear about the situation in Gansu! The officials who were previously sent to Gansu for supervision either colluded with the local officials after taking office, or they found various reasons to be transferred away from Gansu. Over time, they became No one wants to go to Gansu." Xu Jie, the second assistant to the cabinet, was the first to stand up and excuse everyone.
"Your Majesty, what Mr. Xu Ge said is true. At that time, the focus of the imperial court was shifted to the extermination of the Japanese pirates in the southeast. It really could not take care of a small Gansu." After Xu Jie spoke, Yan Song also spoke up.
"Is the governor of Gansu still Wang Jien?" Jiajing looked at Yan Song and Xu Jie and asked.
"Your Majesty, Wang Jien has been serving as governor of Gansu since the 36th year of Jiajing, and his position has not been changed so far." Yan Song recalled for a moment and replied.
"Okay, let your cabinet write a letter asking Wang Jien to return to Beijing to report on his work."
"May I ask Your Majesty, what reason should I use?"
"Why don't you use me to tell you? Just find something related to disaster relief."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Oh, by the way, the Gansu disaster relief funds will be redistributed at a discount, and at the same time, people will be sent to Gansu to investigate! If the opinions above and below are exactly the same, Wang Jien should be dealt with." Jiajing seemed to suddenly remember something, and tightened his voice. Then added.
"Yes." Yan Song and Xu Jie looked at each other and bowed to accept the order.
None of these people who have been ups and downs in officialdom for decades, experienced hardships, and escaped countless open and secret arrows, and finally became a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion and successfully entered the cabinet. They all know very well that His Majesty's move is not to find out. What, but to see what the current situation in Gansu is like.
It would be fine if the officials from top to bottom of Gansu had different opinions. If they had the same opinions, it would mean that the whole of Gansu had been managed by Wang Jien and become a monolith. He, the governor of Gansu, would inevitably die! During this process, His Majesty will definitely send Jin Yiwei to verify in secret.
"This Wang Jien is probably dead!"
Everyone was thinking this in their hearts. Even if no one was willing to serve as supervisory officials in Gansu, as the elders, they had their own intelligence system and were well aware of what they were doing in Gansu.
It's just that this Wang Jien is very good at getting things done, and he shows a lot of filial piety. Both Yan Dang and Qingliu have taken money from him, so everyone turns a blind eye to him.
Now that the matter has been accidentally exposed, and the emperor is also concerned about it, it is time to consider how to get out of it.
Just as everyone was thinking about how to deal with it, Jiajing spoke up and turned to Yan Song and Xu Jie: "I'll leave this matter to you two!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Yan Song and Xu Jie said in response.
…
After the cabinet meeting, Xu Jie and Yan Song summoned their officials respectively and told them to deal with the relevant evidence and cut them off from the officials in Gansu. After these matters were dealt with, the chief minister and the second minister The two bosses took the lead and selected several smart and capable officials to rush to Gansu to investigate.
Along with the people sent by the imperial court to investigate Gansu, there was also a transfer order for Wang Jien to return to Beijing to report on his duties.
Night, Yan Mansion.
After Yan Shifan sorted out the criminal record files related to the clan, he knocked on Yan Song's door.
"Father, are you there? The files have been sorted out."
"come in."
Yan Shifan pushed the door open and saw Yan Song wearing reading glasses and holding a telescope in his hand, observing the ground with relish.
"Father, what are you looking at?"
Yan Shifan put the compiled files aside and asked curiously.
"Shh, keep your voice down, I'm looking at the ants on the ground?" Yan Song said and threw a few grains of rice on the ground.
"What's so good about this ant?" Yan Shifan muttered, then walked to his father Yan Song, squatted down, and followed his father's example, observing carefully.
"Is there a lot of knowledge here? Look at this ant, although it is so small in size, it can move things several times larger than itself. Isn't there an old saying that a thousand-mile embankment breaks down in an ant nest?"
"Do you have any insights?" Yan Song, perhaps tired of looking, put the telescope aside and took off his reading glasses.
"Father, what you mean is that we should be like ants, working together sincerely and concentrating our efforts on big things?" Yan Shifan said, showing the files he had compiled to Yan Song for inspection.
"Wrong, what I mean is that His Majesty wants to crush us to death, just like crushing an ant!" Yan Song said, pouring out the boiling water that had just been replaced in the teacup.
In an instant, the ant that had been struggling to carry the food was scalded to death by the boiling water. After struggling twice, it stopped moving.
"We must maintain awe of His Majesty at all times. Everything we have is given by His Majesty. Otherwise, our fate will be the same as these ants." After Yan Song finished speaking, he picked up the file compiled by Yan Shifan and read it. .
Yan Shifan looked at the dead ants on the ground and didn't know what he was thinking. After a long time, he said, "I know, kid."
"It's good to know. By the way, how has the public opinion in the capital been guided recently?"
"Haier has already arranged people in various academies, tea stalls, and even the Imperial College in the capital in advance. The people have long been very dissatisfied with the behavior of those clans, and they don't even need anyone to provoke them."
"Okay, take this back and polish it a little, and I will formally present it to His Majesty tomorrow!"
Yan Shifan took the file from Yan Song's hand and looked at his father's trembling appearance and couldn't help but feel worried: "Why don't I mention this matter to His Majesty tomorrow?"
"No, you don't have enough weight. I have to raise this matter! I, Yan Song, have been the chief minister of the cabinet for more than 20 years. What big storms have I not seen?"
"Don't worry, His Majesty is our most solid backing!" Seeing that his son was still a little worried, Yan Song added immediately.
"Okay, I'll go back and polish it right now. You can rest early."
"Um."
…
Late at night, the Forbidden City, Manna Palace.
Jiajing did not choose to stay in the Yangxin Palace tonight, but went straight to the Ganlu Palace where the imperial concubine Shen lived.
"Come, let me listen?" Jiajing took Shen, who was busy making tea for him, into his arms and chuckled.
"Your Majesty, I am still making tea for you! Don't worry." Mrs. Shen lay down in Jiajing's arms, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"Okay, okay, let's make the tea first!" Jiajing looked at Shen who was slumped in his arms with a playful expression and said softly.
"Your Majesty!" Mrs. Shen said coquettishly, but she was unwilling to leave.
"No matter who wants to plead with me through you these days, just ignore it, you know?" Jiajing rubbed Shen's little hand and whispered.
"Is Your Majesty planning to do something earth-shattering?" Shen lay in Jiajing's arms and kept drawing circles on his chest with her fingers.
"Yes, it's a big deal." Jiajing nodded and looked into the distance.
"How big is it?"
"It's big!"
"Then your Majesty must be careful!" Shen's face was full of worry.
"Don't worry, I am the emperor, no one dares to do anything to me! I just don't want you to get involved."
The two of them just hugged each other, saying nothing all night long.
