When the high-pitched voice fell, Gao Gong, Yan Shifan, and Zhang Juzheng looked at the Qianqing Palace so close in front of them, and their hearts were filled with hesitation.
After that, the three of them stepped onto the steps of Qianqing Palace with rather heavy steps.
After entering Qianqing Palace, the three of them knelt on the ground almost at the same time, looked at the figure sitting on the dragon chair, and said in a deep voice.
"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
When Jiajing heard this, he did not rush to ask them to get up, but after looking at them up and down, he gave the order in a leisurely manner.
"Well, everyone, get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After getting Jiajing's permission, the three of them slowly stood up from the ground.
At this moment, the three of them were extremely uneasy because they didn't know what the emperor planned to do with them next, and the unknown was often the most terrifying thing!
After that, Jiajing cleared his throat, then turned his eyes to the three of them and asked.
"I believe you all know why I came to you today, right?"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Gao Gong stood up, his face full of shame, and asked Jiajing for forgiveness.
"Your Majesty, as the Minister of Maritime and Trade, Wei Chen failed to fulfill his due responsibilities. Wei Chen really failed to trust Your Majesty. Please punish him!"
After Gao Gong finished speaking, he knelt down on the ground with a plop, lowered his head and said nothing.
Hearing this, Jiajing withdrew his gaze from Gao Gong and spoke.
"Gao Gong, of course you have the responsibility, and it is the most important responsibility. I gave you the responsibility of managing the Maritime Trade Department, but it has become like this!"
When Jiajing said this, he took the opportunity to hold Yang Zongtai's official document in his hand and said in a deep voice.
"Look at what's written here. The officials of the Maritime Trade Department are very domineering and don't care about many matters related to maritime trade. Not only that, they also use clever names to make money from those merchants!"
When Jiajing said this, he slammed the table and said in a deep voice.
"I will kill these insects one by one!"
Everyone present was shocked by the killing intent revealed in the emperor's tone, especially Yan Shifan. At this moment, he looked pale, trembling all over, and could not even stand still.
When Jiajing said this, he turned his eyes to Yan Shifan and scolded him.
"And you, Yan Shifan, when I appointed you as the Right Superintendent of Sea Trade, I gave you all the powers of personnel, promotion, assessment, etc. Look at the people you are using!"
"Can the group of insects you appointed be able to manage the many matters of maritime trade?"
Yan Shifan was suddenly frightened by this sudden reprimand, his mind went blank, and he knelt straight down.
After a while, Yan Shifan came back to his senses and said with shame.
"Your Majesty, I have really neglected these officials of the Maritime Trade Department. Your Majesty, please punish me!"
After listening to Yan Shifan's explanation, Jiajing looked away and continued.
"Yan Shifan, of course you were careless. I don't even know how you became the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs?"
When questioned, Yan Shifan did not dare to defend himself, but just lowered his head silently without saying a word.
At this moment, Yan Shifan was full of resentment towards the officials of the Maritime Trade Department who had put him in such a predicament.
"Damn it, these damn insects have caused me to get scolded by His Majesty right here!"
"Just wait for me to see how I deal with you. If I don't kill you all, my surname will no longer be Yan!"
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng on the side saw this situation and opened his mouth: "Your Majesty, I think..."
However, before Zhang Juzheng could finish his words, he was coldly interrupted by Jiajing: "And you, Zhang Juzheng, do you think you can escape from the affair?"
Zhang Juzheng was just about to argue when he saw Jiajing's cold eyes glancing at him.
Immediately, Zhang Juzheng was about to shut his mouth, and knelt on the ground together with Gao Gong and Yan Shifan, waiting for the emperor's final judgment.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the Qianqing Palace froze. On one side was the emperor who was still angry, and on the other side were the important ministers of the court who were full of shame.
At this moment, Lu Fang, who had been waiting beside Jiajing, stood up and admonished Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, I think it's best to listen to how they plan to handle this matter. After listening, it's not too late to make a decision!"
Gao Gong, Yan Shifan, and Zhang Juzheng, who were kneeling on the ground, heard this and looked at Lu Fang with gratitude in their eyes.
At this moment, the three of them had the same idea in their minds, that is, after this matter was over, they must find an opportunity to repay Lu Fang for her life-saving grace.
After listening to Lu Fang's advice, Jiajing looked away, thought about it for a moment, and nodded.
Immediately, Jiajing turned his gaze back to Gao Gong and others who were kneeling on the ground, and said loudly.
"Forget it, since Eunuch Lu has come forward to intercede for you, then I will be lenient and tell you how you plan to handle this matter!"
After hearing this, the three people felt as if they had been granted amnesty, and immediately rushed to describe their thoughts to Jiajing.
The first one to speak was Yan Shifan, still kneeling on the ground and raising his head to plead with Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, I feel that the behavior of this group of insects is too bad. At present, sea trade is a national policy. By doing this, they clearly do not take the national policy of the imperial court into consideration!"
"This group of insects is the most despicable kind of insect. They always only have their own interests in their hearts!"
"And in order to protect their own interests from being infringed, they even sold out the country and put hundreds of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty into dire straits. How could an insect like this be let go so easily?"
When Yan Shifan said this, his face was full of solemnity and he spoke word by word.
"Therefore, Wei Chen believes that they should all be executed to serve as a warning to others!"
Jiajing did not comment on Yan Shifan's words, but turned his gaze to Gao Gong aside and asked.
"Gao Gong, what do you think?"
Hearing this, Gao Gong immediately responded without thinking: "Your Majesty, I think what Mr. Xiaoge said is very reasonable. This kind of insect should be punished with the cruelest punishment!"
When Gao Gong said this, he paused for a moment and continued: "Therefore, I agree with Mr. Xiao Ge's proposal and ask your majesty to kill all those insects!"
After listening to Yan Shifan and Gao Gong respectively, Jiajing turned his eyes to Zhang Juzheng, raised his eyebrows, and asked.
"Zhang Juzheng, what about you, how do you plan to handle this matter?"
"Do you want to execute them all like Gao Gong and Yan Shifan?"
Zhang Juzheng saw Jiajing's eyes falling on him, and after thinking about it for a moment, he said firmly.
"Your Majesty, I feel that what Mr. Gaoge and Mr. Xiaoge just said makes sense. We must not be lenient with this kind of insect!"
"Therefore, I would like to ask Your Majesty to order all these insects to be put to death, so as to give our Ming Dynasty a bright future!"
After Zhang Juzheng, Yan Shifan and Gao Gong also asked Jiajing.
"Please Your Majesty, please put these insects to death and give me a bright future!"
When Jiajing heard this, he looked away from the three of them and spoke unhurriedly.
"Well, in that case, it's settled!"
When Jiajing said this, he turned his gaze to the three people and gave instructions.
"After we come down, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will issue a notice to remove all the officials from the Maritime Trade Department in Quanzhou, and then escort them to the capital to wait for disposal!"
"In addition, select some honest and capable officials to serve in the Maritime Trade Department in Quanzhou. If this happens again, you can come to see me!"
The three people did not dare to show any slightness to this and responded in succession.
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
Just when Yan Shifan thought that the matter was over, Gao Gong stood up and asked Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, I really don't trust you. If you don't punish me, I will have trouble sleeping and eating!"
Seeing this situation, Zhang Juzheng and Yan Shifan on the side also made up their minds and asked Jiajing in unison.
"Your Majesty, please punish me!"
When Jiajing heard this, he frowned slightly. After pondering for a moment, he immediately spoke.
"In that case, let's fine him half a year's salary as punishment!"
When the three of them heard this, expressions of gratitude suddenly appeared on their faces, and they responded in unison.
"Thank you for your grace!"
Seeing that the matter had come to an end, Jiajing showed an impatient look on his face, waved his hand, and issued an order to expel the guests.
"Okay, what are you guys supposed to do? Go ahead!"
"As ordered, Your Majesty, I will leave!"
After that, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Yan Shifan left the Qianqing Palace one after another.
After the three people left the Qianqing Palace, their faces were full of expressions of surviving the disaster. When they came back to their senses, they realized belatedly that their clothes had already been soaked with cold sweat.
After Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Yan Shifan returned to the cabinet, Yan Shifan did not hesitate at all and immediately began to liquidate. He planned to follow Jiajing's instructions and in the name of the Ministry of Personnel, first dismiss all these people from their posts, and then slowly take care of things. .
Thinking of the possible fate of that group of people, Yan Shifan felt quite happy, and a cruel smile appeared on his face.
After Yan Shifan finished drafting the notice, he looked at a personal name on it and muttered to himself silently.
"You damn insects, you are all to blame for all this. You'd better wash your necks quickly and prepare to die!"
"I, Yan Shifan, will definitely make you regret coming to this world!"
When Yan Shifan came to his senses, he immediately called his subordinates and gave instructions.
"Notify this notice immediately in the name of the Ministry of Officials, and don't let anyone involved in it go!"
Upon hearing this, the subordinate official immediately took the notice from Yan Shifan's hands respectfully and responded.
"Yes, Mr. Xiaoge!"
…
Since the first shipment of grain arrived from Fujian, all subsequent grains were delivered within the next few days and were transported to granaries for storage.
After the grain storage was completed, the government finally set an exact date, and today is the day to distribute relief grain to those mulberry farmers.
Early in the morning, Hu Zongxian summoned everyone to the meeting hall of the Governor's Mansion to discuss the next strategy and how to distribute relief grains.
Hu Zongxian sat at the top. After looking around, he turned his gaze to Zheng Michang and asked.
"How much food is there in the granary now?"
Hearing this, Zheng Michang immediately responded without hesitation: "Your Majesty, the grain shipped from Fujian totals eighteen thousand dan, plus the remaining five thousand dan of grain in the granary, the total amount is two thousand dan." Thirteen thousand stones!”
Hearing this, Hu Zongxian nodded incomprehensibly, his eyes full of relief: "Okay, okay, with these 23,000 stones of food, you don't have to worry about food anymore.
"When the mulberry seedlings mature in another two months, everything will be no longer a problem!"
Hu Zongxian's words made everyone present cheer, especially Gao Hanwen.
Ever since Gao Hanwen was sent to Zhejiang by Yan Shifan to help convert rice into mulberry, he has encountered countless difficulties in the process, and now he can finally see the results!
"After the conversion from rice to mulberry is completed, I don't know if I will still be working in Zhejiang, or will I be transferred back to the capital?"
Gao Hanwen thought as he supported his chin with one hand.
At this moment, Hu Zongxian retracted his gaze, and then warned: "Although we have enough food as support now, we still cannot take it lightly. We must pay more attention to the safety of this food!"
As soon as Hu Zongxian finished speaking, Ma Ningyuan stood up and assured Hu Zongxian.
"Don't worry, teacher, the grains have been stored separately by the students, and each granary is heavily guarded. No one can get close!"
After hearing Ma Ningyuan's assurance, Hu Zongxian nodded and immediately gave instructions.
"Okay, let's leave it at that for today. I still have things to deal with. I'll leave it to you to distribute relief grains to Sannong!"
As soon as Hu Zongxian finished speaking, everyone present immediately responded.
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
After that, everyone left the meeting hall one after another, and Hu Zongxian also came to the study. He wanted to tell Yan Song the news.
Hu Zongxian spread out his pen and paper and started writing a letter.
"Teacher, student Hu Zongxian, now there is enough food in Zhejiang to support the conversion of rice into mulberry. You don't have to worry. Besides..."
After the last word fell, Hu Zongxian put the brush in his hand back to its original position. After carefully checking it several times to confirm that there were no errors or omissions, and after the ink was dry, Hu Zongxian put it into an envelope.
Immediately, Hu Zongxian called his subordinates and gave instructions.
"Send this letter to the teacher as soon as possible!"
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
Upon hearing this, the subordinate took the envelope from Hu Zongxian's hand quite solemnly and responded in a deep voice.
(End of chapter)
