After Yan Song listened to Yan Shifan's narration, the expression on his face did not change much, and he immediately spoke with emotion.
"It seems that His Majesty took action!"
After that, Yan Song looked away from Yan Shifan and reminded him.
"Why are you still standing there? Why don't you come over and eat together? Don't forget, today is the day for cabinet discussions!"
"Yes, father, the child knows!"
As soon as the words fell, Yan Shifan sat down on a seat not far from Yan Song, and took the thick porridge that had been served from the maid on the side.
For the next period of time, neither father nor son spoke, and they just focused on the dishes on the table.
…
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.
In the early morning, Jiajing put on his robes under the care of his personal eunuch, and Lu Fang walked in with silent steps at a fixed time as usual.
As soon as Lu Fang entered Qianqing Palace, he knelt on the ground respectfully and said softly.
"Slave, please see Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the robe had been put on, Jiajing waved his hand to signal the personal eunuch to leave, then turned his eyes to Lu Fang and gave instructions.
"Well, get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After getting Jiajing's permission, Lu Fang slowly stood up from the ground.
Then, without waiting for Jiajing to ask, Lu Fang took out a thick booklet from his arms, respectfully presented it to Jiajing, and said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, I have already taken care of what you told me earlier!"
"The names recorded in this booklet are all those officials who had previously submitted a memorial to impeach Jiangxi Governor Cao Shunhe!"
"In addition, the numbers under the names refer to the property that the slaves confiscated from their homes!"
After listening to Lu Fang's explanation, Jiajing took the booklet from Lu Fang's hand. After flipping through a few pages, he lost interest and turned to Lu Fang to ask.
"How much money was confiscated from their homes in total?"
After hearing this, Lu Fang thought about it for a moment and responded: "Your Majesty, I have confiscated a total of 3.22 million taels of silver from their home!"
After Jiajing got the specific number, he put the booklet aside casually and spoke words of encouragement.
"Well, Lu Fang, you did a good job on this matter!"
When Lu Fang heard this, she lowered her head, a look of humility appeared on her face, and said respectfully.
"It is my greatest honor to be able to share your Majesty's worries!"
After Jiajing heard this, he looked away from Lu Fang and immediately gave instructions.
"I have always been good at punishing people. I said before that you can keep part of the confiscated money..."
Jiajing did not say the rest clearly. He knew that Lu Fang understood what he meant.
The development of the matter did not go beyond Jiajing's expectation. As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Lu Fang immediately responded: "Your Majesty, I have retained part of it according to your previous instructions!"
Jiajing felt relieved after receiving Lu Fang's exact answer.
Then, Jiajing changed the topic and asked Lu Fang about Feng Bao's situation.
"By the way, Lu Fang, didn't I ask you to give Feng Bao a message for me and ask him to learn more from Huang Jin? How is the current situation?"
When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, an imperceptible gloom suddenly flashed in her eyes, and she responded respectfully.
"Your Majesty, before this, I have followed your instructions and brought the words to Feng Bao intact. After that, he followed Huang Jin almost step by step and learned a lot, and he gained a lot!"
"This slave can assure you that he will never make such a low-level mistake as last time again!"
"Um."
After hearing what Lu Fang said, Jiajing did not make any comment, but responded in a subtle way.
Just when Lu Fang was still guessing in her mind, Jiajing suddenly mentioned Feng Bao’s intention, Jiajing’s plain voice sounded in Lu Fang’s ears: “It’s almost time, come with me!”
Upon hearing this, Lu Fang immediately suppressed the chaotic thoughts in her heart and responded respectfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After that, Lu Fang followed Jiajing step by step and headed in the direction of the cabinet.
…
In the cabinet, Yan Song and others were still taking advantage of the free time before the emperor officially arrived to process the memorials submitted by the six ministries.
Yan Song put the finished memorial aside, turned his gaze to Xu Jie, and said with a smile.
"Mr. Xu Ge, do you know that a big event happened recently?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Jie put down the half-finished memorandum in his hand, even though he had already suspected it, and asked with an interested look.
"Oh, there have been a lot of things happening in the capital recently. I don't know what major event Mr. Yan Ge is referring to?"
Yan Song took in the expression on Xu Jie's face and immediately explained in a leisurely manner.
"Not long ago, the Jinyi Guards were dispatched. It is said that many officials were arrested!"
When Yan Song said this, he sighed with regret, as if he was regretting something.
"Oh, I don't know what the reason for Jin Yiwei's dispatch is. It would be bad if a good person is wrongly accused!"
"Mr. Xu Ge, are you right?"
How could Xu Jie not hear the sarcasm in Yan Song's words? He quickly looked away and cursed secretly in his heart.
"This Yan Song is really hateful. Just wait, you won't be able to laugh anymore!"
Although Xu Jie was very unhappy with Yan Song's behavior, he couldn't show it on the surface.
Therefore, shortly after Yan Song finished speaking, Xu Jie had to force a smile and speak in agreement.
"Yes, I don't know what the reason for Jin Yiwei's dispatch is. As Mr. Yan Ge said just now, it would be bad if a good person is wrongly accused!"
In this way, with the deliberate promotion of both parties, the atmosphere in the cabinet quickly became harmonious, and everyone chatted casually.
At this moment, a high-pitched voice was heard from outside the cabinet: "Your Majesty is here!"
When everyone saw this, they quickly stopped chatting, and then, led by Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, they all knelt on the ground, waiting for the emperor's arrival.
Not long after, Jiajing was seen entering the cabinet with steady steps, while Lu Fang followed Jiajing step by step as usual.
Immediately afterwards, under the leadership of Yan Song, everyone spoke in unison.
"I bow to your Majesty, long live my emperor!"
After Jiajing sat down in his own seat, he glanced at the five people kneeling on the ground, waved his hand, and immediately gave instructions.
"Well, you all get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After receiving Jiajing's permission, everyone slowly stood up from the ground and sat down in their respective positions.
After that, Jiajing glanced at Lu Fang beside him, who quickly signaled, stood up and said in a deep voice.
"There are three main things to be discussed in this cabinet meeting. One is to send a large army to suppress the rebellion in the tribe on behalf of Zhasak Tuhan. The second is to compile books, and the third is to publish a newspaper issued by the imperial court."
After listening to Lu Fang's narration, everyone except Yan Song couldn't help but become confused.
"Compiling books, is it possible that His Majesty is about to officially start translating that book called Science?"
Just when everyone was confused, Jiajing knocked on the jade rock next to him, which also meant that this cabinet meeting had officially begun!
After that, Jiajing looked around at everyone and spoke slowly.
"The first thing is to send a large army to suppress the rebellion in the tribe on behalf of Zhasak Tuhan. If you have any suggestions, just say it!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Song stood up and spoke immediately.
"Your Majesty, I think we should be on guard against this Zasak Tuhan!"
When Jiajing heard Yan Song's words, a hint of curiosity appeared on his face, and he asked immediately.
"Keep talking!"
After getting Jiajing's permission, Yan Song organized the words in his mind before continuing.
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen feels that since our Ming Dynasty has gradually shifted its strategic focus from the original southeastern coastal area to the north, the way we do things should also change."
"The strength of the Japanese pirates who used to be entrenched in the southeastern coastal area is at best on the same level as bandits!"
"As long as the imperial court can provide strong support in terms of food, wages and ordnance, it is only a matter of time before these Japanese pirates are eradicated!"
"And now our Ming Dynasty is about to face off against the Tatars, who are well-established and extremely powerful in combat. These Tatars are extremely tenacious in fighting will and are good at riding and shooting. My Ming Dynasty's cavalry cannot take advantage of them. Too cheap."
"Right now, although my Ming Dynasty won a great victory in the battle with Zasaktu Khan of the Chahar tribe not long ago and captured him, we still cannot take it lightly!"
"Therefore, Wei Chen feels that I, the Ming Dynasty, should still be on guard against this Zasak Tuhan!"
As soon as Yan Song finished speaking, Xu Jie on the side immediately raised an objection.
"Your Majesty, what Yan Ge said is wrong. We just signed a contract with Zasak Tuhan not long ago, and now we are changing our minds. When the time comes, where will the majesty of our heavenly kingdom be?"
"If this matter spreads out, which country in the future will dare to trust me, the Ming Dynasty, and will dare to sign a contract with us?"
After Yan Song listened to Xu Jie's rebuttal, he just spoke unhurriedly.
"Hmph, as the old saying goes, those who are not of my race must have different minds!"
"How can we talk about benevolence and righteousness with these barbarians? When the butcher's knives in their hands are swung at the people of the Ming Dynasty, are you going to use the benevolence and righteousness in your mouth to influence them?"
When Yan Song said this, he turned his gaze to Jiajing and said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, I feel that barbarians fear power but not virtue!"
"Therefore, only by making these barbarians feel a deep-seated fear of our Ming Dynasty can we make them settle down and never dare to invade our Ming Dynasty's borders again!"
"As for what Elder Xu Ge mentioned just now, there is no need to worry about the matter being leaked out!"
Jiajing saw Yan Song's confident look and couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, Mr. Yan Ge, do you have a way to solve this matter?"
When Yan Song heard this, he immediately showed a respectful look on his face. After thinking about it for a moment, he responded: "Your Majesty, all we need to do is kill all the people in the Chahar tribe. Otherwise, no one will know about this." Yet?"
'Hiss~' After Yan Song's words fell, everyone present couldn't help but take a breath. Even Yan Shifan looked at Yan Song in shock. No one expected that Yan Song would put forward such an extreme proposal.
But then I thought about it, and it seemed that what Yan Song said was quite reasonable. If all we had to do was kill everyone, wouldn't no one know about it?
Jiajing did not comment on Yan Song's proposal. In his opinion, this was a step that could only be implemented as a last resort. Immediately, Jiajing turned his eyes to Zhang Juzheng and asked.
"Zhang Juzheng, what do you think of this matter?"
Zhang Juzheng saw that the eyes of everyone present fell on him. After thinking for a moment, he responded: "Your Majesty, I feel that what Mr. Yan Ge and Mr. Xu Ge just said have their own reasons. reason!"
When Zhang Juzheng said this, he paused for a moment and continued.
"Weichen feels that what Mr. Yan Ge said just now is very reasonable, that is, people who are not of my race must have different minds!"
"Although Zasak Tuhan has signed a contract with my Ming Dynasty, I, my Ming Dynasty, still need to be on guard against him and not trust him too much to avoid the danger of raising tigers!"
"And what Mr. Xu Ge said just now is not unreasonable. If this matter spreads, it will have a great impact on the reputation and image of our country, so we should act with caution!"
Yan Song and Xu Jie, who had been arguing before, felt much more relaxed after hearing Zhang Juzheng's words.
Immediately afterwards, a thought emerged in their minds at the same time: "Well, this Zhang Juzheng is quite good. With time, he should be able to sit in his position!"
After that, Zhang Juzheng looked in the direction of Jiajing and spoke.
"Your Majesty, this is what I think. Why don't we take advantage of this opportunity to quell the tribal rebellion for Zasak Tuhan and cut off his wings so that he does not have enough strength to resist my Ming Dynasty!"
"If he wants to secure his position as the Tatar Khan, he must rely on Ming Dynasty. In this way, not only can he achieve the purpose of preventing him, but it will also not have a big impact on the reputation and image of Ming Dynasty."
After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, Gao Gong, who had been silent at the side, also stood up and spoke in agreement.
"Your Majesty, I think this strategy is feasible!"
After Gao Gong, Yan Shifan also stood up and said respectfully.
"Your Majesty, I think this matter is very feasible!"
Jiajing didn't think about it for long before making the final decision: "Well, yes, this matter is settled!"
When Jiajing said this, he turned his eyes to Yan Song and gave instructions.
"When you get down later, in the name of the cabinet, write a letter to Governor Yang Xuan of Jiliao to inform him of this resolution and let him prepare in advance!"
When Yan Song heard this, he immediately looked stern and said in a deep voice.
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
(End of chapter)
