Just when Lu Fang thought that the matter was over and was about to say goodbye to Jiajing and leave, Jiajing's rather calm voice sounded in his ears.
"By the way, Lu Fang, I have a letter here. You can deliver it to Hai Rui for me!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Fang immediately took the envelope from Jiajing's hand with extra respect and said respectfully.
Immediately afterwards, Jiajing seemed to suddenly remember something, and followed up with another warning.
"By the way, this letter goes the way of Jin Yiwei and must be delivered to Hai Rui as soon as possible. Do you understand?"
Seeing that Jiajing attached so much importance to the letter, Lu Fang did not dare to be negligent at all. After putting the letter away carefully, she responded in a deep voice.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely live up to your trust!"
After receiving Lu Fang's assurance, Jiajing nodded slightly and immediately responded.
"Um."
After that, Lu Fang was seen leaving Qianqing Palace with hurried steps.
…
That day, when the sky was about to completely darken, the three people in the cabinet finally completed all the matters that needed to be dealt with today.
After that, Yan Shifan was seen dragging his tired body, riding in a sedan, and returned directly to Yan's Mansion.
As soon as Yan Shifan got off the sedan, he saw Yan Song lying leisurely on a deck chair in the yard. Next to the deck chair, there was a small table with various pastries and steaming tea.
Immediately, Yan Song was seen slowly getting up from the recliner. After moving his limbs casually, he turned his eyes to Yan Shifan and asked.
"Why did you come back so late today? Are there many things going on at the cabinet?"
After Yan Shifan heard this, he came to his senses belatedly and immediately answered Yan Song's question.
"Replying to father, there is indeed a lot of business at the cabinet today, so the child has been so busy that he has not come back until now!"
When Yan Song heard this, the expression on his face did not change much. He just pointed at the exquisite pastries on the plate on the table and gave instructions.
"Try it, these are the pastries just sent from the kitchen. After all, no matter how good the pastries at home are, they can't compare to those in the palace!"
After Yan Shifan listened to Yan Song's emotion, he immediately stepped forward, picked up a piece of pastry and put it into his mouth.
After Yan Shifan finished tasting the cakes, he picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of hot tea, and drank it all in one gulp.
After that, Yan Song's rather plain voice sounded in Yan Shifan's ears: "By the way, did you three encounter anything when you were on duty in the cabinet today?"
As soon as Yan Song finished speaking, Yan Shifan responded without thinking.
"Father, to be honest, when the three of us were on duty at the cabinet today, Zhao Zhenji personally visited the cabinet!"
Hearing this, Yan Song suddenly showed suspicion on his face, glanced over Yan Shifan's body, and then asked.
"Zhao Zhenji, why is he in the cabinet? Is it possible that someone has been impeached again?"
Faced with the extremely confused expression on Yan Song's face, Yan Shifan nodded and immediately spoke.
"Well, father, your guess is correct. To be honest, the reason why Zhao Zhenji came to the cabinet today is because someone in the court wanted Shangshu to impeach Hai Rui!"
After Yan Song listened to Yan Shifan's narration, a look of enlightenment suddenly appeared on his face, he nodded, and immediately spoke.
"Hmph, I knew that Zhao Zhenji would not go to the Three Treasures Hall for anything. As long as it does not involve his actual interests, he would not bother to do anything!"
After saying this, Yan Song turned his gaze to Yan Shifan and continued to ask.
"By the way, have you found out the details of those officials who impeached Hai Rui?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Shifan thought for a moment and then immediately gave the answer: "Father, I feel that those officials who were impeached by Shangshu probably followed the orders of Duke Yansheng!"
"After so many years of management, the influence of those families in the court has long been intertwined, and their strength cannot be underestimated!"
"After all, no matter what, they are still a famous family with the title of "Four Saints and Three Sages". There are many people in the court who want to go to them to curry favor with them!"
After listening to Yan Shifan's analysis, Yan Song nodded and immediately expressed his approval to Yan Shifan.
"Well, Yan Shifan, what you said makes sense!"
When Yan Song said this, he immediately changed the topic, sneered, and then said to himself.
"In the past, these tricks they played would have been easy to succeed. After all, not many officials were willing to offend them. It would be okay to turn a blind eye to this matter!"
"What a coincidence, they happened to meet Hai Rui. Hai Rui can't tolerate a grain of salt in his eyes. He really knows how to get to the bottom of it. What's more, he rushed to Shandong this time. Following His Majesty’s will!”
"Hmph, even if they try to compete with His Majesty, they will die without even knowing how!"
When Yan Song said this, his face was full of contempt, and his tone was full of ridicule for these families.
Yan Shifan on the side suddenly realized it after listening to Yan Song's analysis. He immediately plucked up the courage and confirmed it to Yan Song.
"Father, what you mean is that His Majesty will soon take action against those major families?"
After Yan Song heard Yan Shifan's words, an unusually determined look suddenly appeared on his face, and he responded in a deep voice.
"Well, that's right, His Majesty will definitely take action against these big families!"
When Yan Song said this, he paused for a moment, looked away from Yan Shifan, and said quietly.
"Moreover, the fate of these major families is not much better than those of the families that participated in coastal smuggling!"
When Yan Shifan heard this, he shuddered involuntarily. An extremely palpitating feeling emerged in his heart, and his breathing became rapid.
Because what happened to those smuggling families along the coast was that His Majesty personally ordered that Hu Zongxian mobilized elite soldiers to confiscate their homes and exterminate all their families, with heads rolling and blood flowing like rivers!
"Is it possible that the tragic situation from the beginning will happen again?"
Yan Shifan thought so and met Yan Song's eyes directly.
But soon, he read the answer to this question from Yan Song's eyes: "It's all true, Your Majesty will really do this!"
After getting the exact answer from Yan Song, Yan Shifan found it difficult to accept it for a while: "After all, no matter what, it is still a family with the title of "Four Saints and Three Sages"!"
While Yan Shifan was still thinking about this idea, while heaven and man were fighting over this idea, Yan Song's voice without any emotion sounded in his ears.
"Yan Shifan, please remember that in our Ming Dynasty, there will always be only one sun, Your Majesty!"
"We must not disobey His Majesty's wishes. If one day, His Majesty finds that we are no longer useful, then our Yan family will eventually end up with the same fate as them!"
After Yan Song finished speaking, he added decisively.
"No, no, our fate is much worse than theirs!"
After Yan Shifan listened to Yan Song's reminder, he was silent for a long time, and then responded in a deep voice: "Yes, father, the child knows!"
Seeing that Yan Shifan had listened to his words, Yan Song nodded with satisfaction, and then said silently to himself.
"After all, I have dreamed about this scene before. My Yan family was ransacked, you were taken to the market and beheaded, and I, Yan Song, begged for food in the tomb, and eventually died of poverty and illness!"
After that, Yan Shifan's anxious voice sounded in Yan Song's ears again.
"By the way, father, what should we do next?"
After hearing this, Yan Song turned around, glanced at Yan Shifan, and after thinking about it for a moment, he immediately gave instructions.
"It's very simple. We just need to get the things on hand done right now. As for other things, we don't need to participate at all. Do you understand?"
When Yan Shifan heard this, a sincere expression appeared on his face, he lowered his head and responded respectfully.
"Yes, father, the child knows!"
Hearing this, Yan Song took his eyes away from Yan Shifan and turned to speak.
"Okay, you've been tired for a long day, so you'd better go back to your room and rest!"
"Yes, father!"
After Yan Shifan responded, he turned around and left without stopping at all.
…
At the same time, in Shandong, Jinan Prefecture, in the government office.
Ever since Hai Rui had interrogated all the captured Zeng clan members in Jiaxiang County, he had followed the information he got from them without stopping and destroyed many White Lotus sect strongholds and captured many White Lotus sect members. High-rise.
Immediately, more secrets were learned from the mouths of these White Lotus Sect senior officials.
At this moment, Hai Rui, Shandong Governor Cao Feng, Dudu Commander Zhang Yuan, and Jin Yiwei Baihu Guan Rui gathered together to discuss the next response.
In the hall, Hai Rui looked around and then spoke slowly.
"To be honest, before this, I never expected that the matter would be so serious!"
Cao Feng, the governor of Shandong who was sitting at the top, couldn't help but lower his head when he heard this, with a look of shame on his face.
Not long ago, Hai Rui submitted all the confessions and related evidence of the White Lotus Sect's senior officials to the Shandong Governor Cao Feng.
After reading these evidences, Cao Feng's long-standing suspicion was confirmed: "The reason why the local White Lotus Sect is raging is because of the tacit approval of these wealthy gentry and aristocratic families!"
After all, the White Lotus Sect has taken care of all the dirty work. They just need to wait for the benefits.
After those people were tricked into joining the White Lotus Sect, they tried their best to get them to sell all their property and devote themselves wholeheartedly to the White Lotus Sect.
After squeezing out every last drop of oil and water from their bodies, kick them away and go to find new victims elsewhere.
There are even some families that do not let go of the people who have been squeezed out of their wealth. Those who can farm will be taken as tenants, those who only need to eat will be given as long as they can survive starvation, and those who are healthy will be taken as caretakers. He has been a family dog for generations.
If it doesn't work, sell the person to the mine and finally make a fortune!
Although Cao Feng had been aware of it before, he had always turned a blind eye to this kind of thing, as long as it didn't go too far!
In his opinion, as long as these aristocratic families can cooperate with him during his term of office and not cause too much trouble for him, it will be enough for him to spend his term in peace and stability.
When the time comes to transfer back to the capital, everything here will have nothing to do with you!
But the development of the matter was far beyond Cao Feng's expectation. He originally thought that those wealthy families just wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to annex more land.
But when he learned from the evidence submitted by Hai Rui that some aristocratic families had begun to hire retired school officers, secretly train servants, and even had weapons hidden in their homes, he instantly understood the seriousness of the matter.
Although in the short term, these behaviors are nothing, and can be justified as preventing bandits and guarding homes and homes.
But these are extraordinary times. First, the Zeng family, one of the "Four Saints and Three Sages," was found to be related to the White Lotus Sect. Secondly, Shi Hairui, the left deputy capital censor sent by the imperial court to investigate the case, has already provided relevant evidence. , submitted into his own hands.
It happened that at this time, those aristocratic families were found to have hidden weapons and trained their servants in various ways. I want to ask, what do you want to do? Do you want to rebel?
Cao Feng knew very well that Hai Rui, who was sent by the imperial court to investigate the case this time, did not have the name of an imperial envoy, but he was actually an imperial envoy!
Not to mention anything else, just because His Majesty was able to send the Royal Guards to assist Hai Rui in investigating the case, it can be seen how seriously His Majesty takes this matter!
At this moment, Cao Feng's face was extremely gloomy and he said to himself.
"These damn guys only want to annex land, but they actually dare to hide weapons and train servants. Is this something you can do?"
"If this matter is brought to light, I, Cao, will not be able to keep this black gauze hat on my head. If I am not accused by His Majesty, it will be a good end!"
"If that's the case, then you can't blame me!"
Cao Feng thought so, a cold and stern look flashed in his eyes.
Immediately, he came back to his senses, turned his gaze to Hai Rui aside, and asked respectfully.
"Sir, if that's the case, what should we do with them next?"
When Hai Rui heard Cao Feng's words, he pondered for a moment before giving his response.
"According to the confessions of the captured White Lotus Sect executives, in addition to the Zeng family, many other families among the "Four Saints and Three Sages" are also involved!"
When Hai Rui said this, he couldn't help but sneered and said to himself: "Humph, the Meng family, the Zeng family, the Yan family, the Bu family, the Min family, and the Ran family, you guys are riding on the heads of the common people. This powerful cancer cannot escape even a single person!"
At this moment, Cao Feng's slightly embarrassed voice sounded again: "Sir, what did Yan Shenggong say?"
Upon hearing this, Hai Rui glanced at Cao Feng and said coldly.
"Before this, I wrote a letter to Your Majesty, informing you all about the situation here. I believe you will get a reply soon!" (End of Chapter)
