The reason why Xu Jie was so angry was because he was afraid that the whole thing would eventually involve him.
As a typical representative of the gentry, Xu Jie should be opposed to the integrated grain payment policy proposed by Jiajing.
In recent years, as Xu Jie's official position has been promoted one after another, his family has also taken advantage of this opportunity to annex land. Nearly half of the land in Songjiang Mansion is occupied by Xu Jie's family. Therefore, there is another " Known as "Xu Bancheng"!
Xu Jie's family not only annexed land on a large scale, but also owned an extremely large number of looms and hired a large number of workers to produce silk for them.
In addition, Xu Jie, as a gentry, had the privilege of not having to pay taxes. Therefore, the Xu family quickly accumulated an extremely considerable wealth. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as being as rich as the country.
Xu Jie also strictly prohibited these behaviors within the family at first, but later, as time went by, and the family members often sent people to persuade them, Xu Jie gave up and turned a blind eye to it. .
Generally speaking, a large family like the Xu family has its own business in the capital in order to obtain first-hand information.
After learning that the emperor was about to implement the policy of integrating grain payments between officials and gentry, Xu Jie's family immediately panicked. Therefore, they often sent people to Xu Jie's place to inquire about information in order to make countermeasures.
Xu Jie was quite fed up with the attitude of these tribesmen, but he had to bite the bullet and receive them.
"Master, your clan brother Xu Ren has come to visit and is waiting in the waiting room!"
While Xu Jie was stunned, a servant entered the room and respectfully reported to Xu Jie.
When Xu Jie heard this, he became furious, slammed the table and cursed angrily.
"These idiots are still running towards me now, are they risking their lives?"
"Damn it, sooner or later I will be killed by these idiots!"
After Xu Jie vented his anger, he immediately turned his eyes to the previous slave and said coldly.
"Go and tell him that I haven't been feeling well lately and I won't see anyone!"
"Tell them not to come to me again for a while!"
When the servant heard this, he immediately responded respectfully.
"Yes, sir, I will relay your words to your clan brother."
Xu Jie was seen stroking his forehead with his hand, waving his hand impatiently, and then gave instructions.
"Okay, okay, go ahead!"
After the servant responded, he turned and left, quickly came to the waiting room, and relayed Xu Jie's words exactly to Xu Jie's clan brother Xu Ren.
After Xu Ren listened to what the slave relayed to him, a look of disappointment appeared on his face, and he immediately said,
"Since Xu Jie doesn't want to see us, let's leave first!"
After Xu Ren finished speaking, he left the waiting room with several children of the Xu family without making any stop.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they walked out of Xu's house, they were stopped by the Jin Yiwei who had been waiting here.
Seeing that the person who came was not kind, Xu Ren couldn't help but frowned, and then said in a deep voice.
"What are you going to do? I'm Xu..."
However, Xu Ren was coldly interrupted before he finished speaking.
"I don't care who it is, even if the King of Heaven comes today, he still has to come with us!"
Then the leading Jin Yiwei waved his hand suddenly and gave instructions to the subordinates beside him.
"Take them all away!"
"yes!"
As soon as the words fell, Xu Ren and several children of the Xu family were controlled by the Jinyi guards who swarmed up like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, and were taken to the prison.
"What are you going to do? We are the Xu family...ah!"
"Shut up, you!"
…
Capital City, Yan Mansion.
After Yan Song returned home from the Yangxin Palace, he locked himself in the study and saw no one.
"how's it going?"
Yan Shifan turned his eyes to the housekeeper beside him, his face full of worry.
The butler didn't say anything, just shook his head.
"Oh, I'd better go there myself!"
After Yan Shifan finished speaking, he shook his head, walked to the study room, and knocked on the door.
"Father, father?"
There was no response in the room, and then Yan Shifan gritted his teeth and pushed the door straight in.
In the study room, Yan Song was sorting out the books in the room alone, looking quite lonely. When he saw Yan Shifan coming in, he put the books in his hands aside and asked immediately.
"What are you here for?"
Seeing this situation, Yan Shifan carefully considered his words before answering carefully.
"Father, when you came back from His Majesty, you locked yourself in your room. The child was worried..."
Before Yan Shifan finished speaking, he was coldly interrupted by Yan Song.
"What are you worried about? Are you worried that I will die?"
When Yan Shifan heard this, he immediately panicked and quickly explained.
"Father...Father, that's not the case. I'm just worried about your health. After all, you have just recovered from your illness."
After Yan Shifan finished speaking, he came to Yan Song and sorted the books in the room with him.
For the next period of time, neither father nor son said a word.
Time passed slowly like this. Finally, the books in the study were sorted out. Yan Song picked up the teapot on the table and poured a cup of tea for himself and Yan Shifan each.
Then, Yan Song pointed to the empty seat beside him and immediately gave instructions.
"sit!"
Yan Shifan did not refuse and sat down on his seat, picked up the tea cup and drank all the tea in one gulp.
Seeing that Yan Song was in a much better mood, Yan Shifan dared to muster up the courage to ask Yan Song.
"Father, what happened?"
When Yan Song heard this, he looked away from Yan Shifan, sighed, and explained.
"In the palace examination held not long ago, some students blatantly opposed His Majesty's policy of integrating government and gentry payment of grain in the examination papers. After His Majesty learned about this, he was very angry and ordered me to investigate the matter!"
"Not only that, His Majesty also ordered Jin Yiwei and Dongchang to be dispatched at the same time, and they were implicated in many cases, with countless victims."
"Look, after this incident, in their eyes, our Yan family will be the executioners who help His Majesty to persecute Shilin!"
After Yan Song finished speaking, he smiled miserably, his tone full of helplessness.
After listening to Yan Song's narration, Yan Shifan also fell into silence. For a long time, Yan Shifan had a firm look on his face, clenched his fists, and spoke word by word.
"It doesn't matter if we have a bad reputation, we just need to follow His Majesty's footsteps closely!"
…
Forbidden City, Hall of Nourishing Heart.
At this moment, Lu Fang was seen stepping into the Yangxin Hall and reporting to Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, the Jin Yiwei captured Xu Ren, his clan brother, at the door of Xu Jie's house, the second assistant to the cabinet!"
When Jiajing heard this, his face was full of curiosity, and he immediately asked Lu Fang.
"Oh, why did his clan brother come to him at this time?"
"Could it be that Xu Jie is also involved in this matter?"
After hearing this, Lu Fang carefully gave her suggestions to Jiajing after thinking about it for a moment.
"Your Majesty, would you like Xu Jie to come over?"
After Jiajing heard this, he nodded and accepted Lu Fang's suggestion. After a moment of pause, he gave instructions to Lu Fang.
"Well, let's do this. You send someone to Xu Jie's house to inform him of this matter, and then ask him to come over to see me!"
When Lu Fang heard this, she immediately suppressed her inner thoughts and responded in a deep voice.
"As ordered, Your Majesty, I will send someone right now!"
(End of chapter)
