After Hu Zongxian finished speaking, he bowed his body and raised his confession above his head. Then Lu Fang, who had been waiting beside Jiajing, stepped forward and presented it to Jiajing.
Jiajing took the confession from Lu Fang and flipped through it. He saw that the confession recorded the testimony of Li Xuan, the river supervisor, and his godfather, the eunuch Yang Jinshui, the chief eunuch of the Weaving Bureau. It recorded in detail how the two of them They colluded together and used what means to embezzle money from the imperial court to build embankments. As for the others, they were not mentioned at all.
"Well, Hu Zongxian, you did a good job this time! If Yang Jinshui is crazy, just be crazy and tell them not to investigate further." After reading the above content, Jiajing put it aside.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" At this time, Hu Zongxian still kept his bow.
"Sit down, I came to you today because I want to ask you something."
"Your Majesty, Hu Zongxian, thank you for your grace!" After Hu Zongxian finished speaking, he sat on the seat prepared for him.
"You are the governor of Zhejiang Province, and you have been suppressing Japanese pirates in the southeast for a long time. How long do you think it will take to completely eradicate the Japanese pirates in this coastal area." Jiajing said, turned his eyes to Hu Zongxian, and asked.
"Your Majesty, although most of the main force of Japanese pirates in the southeast area have been wiped out, their strength cannot be underestimated! Most of these Japanese pirate strongholds are scattered on the sea or on unknown islands. It is difficult for our imperial army to Arrival, coupled with the empty coastal defenses, it is impossible to form an effective attack on the Japanese pirate ships."
"In addition, some aristocratic families on the southeast coast are also secretly funding these Japanese pirates, and some ordinary people who can't survive have also joined them. They have a strong tail that cannot be lost. If they are to be completely eradicated, it will take at least a year."
Hu Zongxian gave a conservative answer based on his experience in suppressing Japanese pirates in recent years and reality.
"Well, now the Municipal Shipping Department has built more than fifty ships capable of going to sea and training soldiers to go to sea to fight against Japanese pirates. I believe that given time, we should be able to achieve some results." Jiajing nodded after hearing this. , which can be regarded as an approval of the answer given by Hu Zongxian.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Hu Zongxian said sincerely in admiration after listening to Jiajing's story.
"As for the problems you mentioned earlier, just do it boldly. If you need money, I will ask the Ministry of Household Affairs to allocate it to you. If you need people, I will ask the Ministry of Personnel to allocate it to you! Those coastal aristocratic families, just watch and deal with them. Don't worry about their backs. Whoever is standing, I will support you!"
"Your Majesty, Hu Zongxian, thank you very much!" Hu Zongxian said, wanting to bow and salute.
"I wonder if Hu Aiqing would be willing to share more with me?" Jiajing's faint voice sounded like thunder in Hu Zongxian's ears.
"May I ask what your Majesty is referring to?" After hearing the emperor's words, Hu Zongxian already had some suspicions in his heart, but he did not dare to confirm it yet.
"After the Japanese pirates are wiped out along the southeast coast, you can join the cabinet."
"What? Your Majesty! This is absolutely impossible! How can my minister Hu Zongxian be qualified for such an important task because he has little talent and little knowledge? I might miss the country and the country by then, so I ask your Majesty to choose another wise man." Hu Zongxian looked shocked when he heard that the emperor wanted him to join the cabinet. Color, kneeling on the ground, could not help but refuse.
"Hu Aiqing, don't be humble. I believe that with your talents, you will be able to shoulder this important task. Besides, can you take back the words that came out of my mouth?" Jiajing turned his eyes to Hu Zongxian, with a warm smile on his face. Smiling, he asked.
"Your Majesty Hu Zongxian, obey your orders!"
Seeing that the emperor had made up his mind, Hu Zongxian no longer refused and had to accept the order.
"Okay, then I look forward to seeing Hu Aiqing in the cabinet!" Jiajing couldn't help but feel good when he saw Hu Zongxian's promise, and said loudly.
"I have to attend the cabinet meeting next, so I won't accompany you."
"Your Majesty Hu Zongxian, please retire." After Hu Zongxian finished speaking, he bowed and left.
…
Outside the Forbidden City, it was the time to go on duty. After Hu Zongxian came out from the emperor's place, he was still dazed. Being able to enter the cabinet was the dream of countless Ming Dynasty scholars! Because only when you reach that position can you fully display your ideals and ambitions. Just as Hu Zongxian was thinking about it, he happened to encounter Yan Song's sedan.
"Teacher." Hu Zongxian quickly moved out of the way and bowed.
"It's Hu Ruzhen, has His Majesty summoned you?" The sedan stopped, and Yan Song came down tremblingly with the support of a servant. He looked at the students in front of him and said softly.
"Yes, His Majesty has summoned me." Seeing the teacher's appearance, Hu Zongxian couldn't bear it, so he had to answer bravely.
"Okay... okay." Yan Song said, smiled, then shook off the servant's hand to support him, and approached Hu Zongxian.
"What did your Majesty ask you?" Yan Song walked up to Hu Zongxian, looked at him and asked.
"His Majesty asked me about the exact statement about the dam collapse, as well as some strategies for suppressing Japanese invaders in the southeast." Hu Zongxian did not want to hide his teacher, and answered truthfully.
"Well, you did a good job. I will go to court later." Yan Song said, stretched out his dry and wrinkled hand, gently touched Hu Zongxian's head, and then got on the sedan.
"Student Hu Zongxian, farewell to the teacher!" After Yan Song left, Hu Zongxian looked at the sedan chair going away and bowed in salute.
…
"Your Majesty is here!"
Outside the cabinet, a high-pitched voice sounded. Normally, this might be nothing, but today, in the eyes of the five ministers in the cabinet, it was a reminder that something had happened to them!
Jiajing took Lu Fang into the cabinet and then sat down in his seat.
"Everyone is flat, get up." Jiajing's tone was flat, with no expression on his face, making it hard to tell.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!" The five pavilion elders immediately stood up and sat down in their seats.
I don't know if it was Jiajing's illusion, but his voice was louder than usual today.
"Recently, Hu Zongxian submitted to me the inside information about the damage to the dam in Zhejiang. I wonder if any of you would like to take a look?" After Jiajing finished speaking, he winked at Lu Fang, and Lu Fang quickly followed Jiajing's instructions. He took the confession in his hand and placed it on the table.
Silence, deathly silence, the several pavilion elders were like statues, motionless, as if they had not heard Jiajing's words, while Yan Song looked like he was not sleeping.
"You didn't hear what I said, did you?" Jiajing frowned in displeasure and said.
"Since you don't want to read it, then I'll ask someone to read it to you, Lu Fang!"
"My slave, I obey." After Lu Fang said this, she came to the table, opened her confession and read it word by word.
"Last year, the imperial court built a dike. The materials originally used were fine stones, but they later received 800,000 taels of silver and replaced them with..."
Lu Fang just read word by word. Gradually, these pavilion elders who had been in despair and knew that they would inevitably die gradually regained their vitality.
What Lu Fang was reading was the confession that river supervisor Li Xuan, together with his godfather Yang Jinshui, embezzled project funds and made shoddy work, which eventually led to the collapse of the dam.
"Your Majesty, I have finished reading." After Lu Fang finished reading the confession, she returned to Jiajing's side with an expressionless face.
"Now that you've finished reading it, do you want to take a look at its contents?" Jiajing said in a calm tone, and immediately spoke after Lu Fang stood beside him.
In the end, Yan Shifan hesitated for a moment, then opened the confession and read it carefully.
