"After I have finished speaking, do you have any other opinions on this?"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he looked around and asked unhurriedly.
Everyone knew that the emperor was just going through the motions and asking everyone questions as usual.
Therefore, everyone present remained silent, lowered their heads, and said nothing.
Seeing this, Jiajing looked away, nodded, and immediately gave instructions.
"Since everyone has no objections, I announce that from now on, Zhang Juzheng, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Yan Shifan, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, will be granted the title of Grand Scholar of the Wenhua Palace. They will enter the Meridian Gate and be assigned to the Wenyuan Pavilion!"
After Jiajing's words fell, Zhang Juzheng and Yan Shifan on the side prostrated themselves on the ground and said in unison: "Thank you so much, Your Majesty, for your grace. Long live my emperor!"
When Jiajing heard this, he glanced at Zhang Juzheng and Yan Shifan respectively, and then gave instructions.
"Well, I hope you can stay true to your original intention and do more things that benefit the people, do you understand?"
"I will obey His Majesty's teachings!"
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng's heart was not as peaceful as it seemed on the surface, because when His Majesty was reading his name just now, his name was ranked in front of Yan Shifan's.
In other words, in the cabinet based on seniority, although Zhang Juzheng and Yan Shifan are both cabinet assistants, Zhang Juzheng's qualifications are actually higher than Yan Shifan's.
Above Zhang Juzheng, there are three people, Yan Song, Xu Jie and Gao Gong. Only these three became official successively, and it was Zhang Juzheng's turn to take the position of chief minister of the cabinet.
Just when Zhang Juzheng was stunned, Jiajing's voice sounded in their ears again: "Well, everyone, get up!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After receiving Jiajing's permission, Zhang Juzheng and Yan Shifan stood up from the ground one after another. At this moment, their eyes had a look that they had never seen before.
After all, they are now the real cabinet group assistants. On weekdays, when Liubu Hall officials encounter them, they have to respectfully get out of the way and call them "Pavilion Elder"!
After that, Jiajing looked back and said in a deep voice: "Now, we should discuss how to deal with the White Lotus Sect in Shandong. If you have any ideas, just put them forward!"
Yan Song and Xu Jie both knew very well that His Majesty was extremely concerned about this matter. If they could handle it beautifully, they would surely win His Majesty's favor.
Therefore, as soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Xu Jie stepped forward and gave his own advice: "Your Majesty, I believe that the Shandong area has a long tradition of believing in the White Lotus Sect."
"As early as the Yongle and Hongwu years, the local White Lotus Sect often incited the people to rise up and start revolts. In order to suppress them, the imperial court spent a lot of energy and even almost shook the imperial rule!"
When Xu Jie said this, he paused and suddenly raised his tone: "Your Majesty, I feel that the White Lotus Sect must not be neglected, and the imperial court must take a heavy blow!"
"Therefore, Wei Chen proposes to dispatch soldiers from the surrounding guards to launch a large-scale purge in the local area, giving a heavy blow to the believers of the White Lotus Sect and completely killing them in the cradle!"
As soon as Xu Jie finished speaking, Yan Song on the side keenly sensed something was wrong, and turned to advise Jiajing: "Your Majesty, I feel that even though the effect of Mr. Xu Ge's measure is immediate, if it is not mastered well, The degree of this may lead to a civil uprising by then, so I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"
After Xu Jie heard what Yan Song said, he couldn't help but reprimanded him: "Old Yan Ge's words are wrong. Those people, from the moment they believe in the White Lotus Sect, they are no longer the people of our Ming Dynasty! "
"They are unruly people, insects, and rebels who may be incited to cause trouble at any time. Do we need to be benevolent and righteous in dealing with these people?"
When Xu Jie said this, the look in Xu Jie's eyes suddenly dimmed, and he immediately said to himself: "Your Majesty, when I was serving in Nanzhili, I was lucky enough to capture several people who believed in the White Lotus Sect. .”
"They were all deceived. Not only did they donate all their property to the White Lotus Sect, but some even donated their wives and daughters to the White Lotus Sect."
"Later, the government learned about the location of their stronghold from the mouths of these people who believed in the White Lotus Sect. The ministers also found out after the fact that when the government sent officers to the stronghold to capture the remnants of the White Lotus Sect, they were in a secret room. , countless female corpses with mutilated flesh and blood were discovered.”
When Xu Jie said this, his face was full of pain, and he immediately said: "All this is just because the leader of the White Lotus Sect likes to torture. Among the female corpses, the youngest is only ten years old."
"Since then, I have secretly made up my mind to completely eradicate the White Lotus Sect so that it will no longer poison the people of the Ming Dynasty!"
After Xu Jie's words fell, the entire Qianqing Palace fell into silence. For a long time, no one spoke.
After a while, Gao Gong stood up and asked Jiajing: "Your Majesty, I would like to ask you to send soldiers to encircle and suppress the White Lotus Sect!"
After Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng also stood up and asked: "Your Majesty, I would like to ask you to send soldiers to encircle and suppress the White Lotus Sect!"
At this moment, Yan Song on the side, after thinking for a long time, put forward a compromise suggestion: "Your Majesty, why not send a minister to the local area to inquire about the situation first, and then dispatch the army after the situation is clearly understood. How about wiping them all out?"
"In this way, innocent people can be screened out and accidental injuries can be reduced to the greatest extent possible."
After listening to Yan Song's proposal, Jiajing rubbed the dragon head carved on the dragon chair with his hand and began to weigh the pros and cons.
After a long time, Jiajing came back to his senses and gave instructions.
"Well, in that case, let's follow Mr. Yan Ge's method first!"
"Xu Jie, what do you think?"
When Xu Jie heard this, he immediately nodded and responded respectfully.
"Your Majesty, I have no objection to this!"
Seeing that this proposal was approved by both parties, Jiajing glanced at Yan Song and Xu Jie respectively and said slowly.
"In that case, do you have any recommendations?"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Song and Xu Jie glanced at each other, and they couldn't help but secretly increase their vigilance, because the main event was coming, and as long as they could send their own people there, no matter what, they could barely get a share of the credit.
If you can get things done, you can also gain the emperor's favor.
After that, Xu Jie was the first to speak and asked Jiajing: "Your Majesty, I would like to recommend Wang Ting, the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue, to supervise this matter!"
After hearing the candidates recommended by Xu Jie, Jiajing thought for a moment and said slowly: "Well, this Wang Ting is pretty good. He is also smart and capable in his daily work. Not bad, not bad!"
After Xu Jie finished speaking, Yan Song stood up and asked Jiajing: "Your Majesty, I would like to recommend Zhang Runde, the Minister of Punishment, to supervise this matter!"
After hearing the candidates recommended by Yan Song, Jiajing couldn't help but frowned and turned to ask.
"I heard that the Ministry of Punishment is quite busy with affairs. Can Zhang Runde be spared?"
After hearing Jiajing's words, Yan Song immediately assured him without changing his expression: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I can guarantee that I will never delay the affairs of the Ministry of Justice!"
While Jiajing was still hesitating, Zhang Juzheng, who had been silent since before, stood up and suggested to Jiajing: "Your Majesty, I would like to recommend Shi Hairui, the left deputy governor of the Inspectorate, to supervise this matter. thing!"
(End of chapter)
