Just when Yan Song and Xu Jie thought the matter was over, Jiajing's voice without any emotion sounded in their ears.
"According to Hai Rui's previous report, Yan Shenggong is also involved in this matter. How do you think I should deal with him?"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he glanced at Yan Song and Xu Jie respectively, waiting for their answers quietly.
When Yan Song and Xu Jie heard this, their hearts suddenly thumped, and they subconsciously raised their inner vigilance to the highest level!
Immediately, after thinking about it for a long time, Yan Song stood up. After carefully considering his words, he spoke.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I think this matter should be considered in the long term. After all, this is Duke Yan. If we deal with it in a grand manner, it may be degrading. If the time comes..."
Jiajing made no comment on Yan Song's words. He just held his chin with one hand, pretending to be suddenly enlightened, and spoke to himself.
"That's right. After all, Mr. Yan Ge, your granddaughter is married to the contemporary Yan Shenggong. It is understandable that you stand up and speak for him!"
After Jiajing's words fell, Yan Song felt as if the blood in his body had been frozen. His face was pale, his whole body was trembling, and he couldn't even say a word.
Yan Song could hear the displeasure in Jiajing's words. After all, the Kong family was now found to be colluding with the local White Lotus Sect, and his granddaughter was married to the contemporary Yan Shenggong Kong Shangxian.
In any case, the in-law relationship between the Yan family and the Kong family is an unchangeable fact.
In other words, this fire is very likely to burn on his own head. The most important thing he should do now is to put aside the relationship quickly.
Yan Song quickly figured out everything behind this, and saw him kneeling straight on the ground, and hurriedly explained.
"Your Majesty, you misunderstood. The minister is not exonerating Yanshenggong from his crimes. It's just that the Kong family has an extremely high status in the eyes of scholars in the world. By then, if your majesty publicly punishes Yanshenggong, I'm afraid there will be consequences. There’s trouble!”
"It is precisely because of this consideration that Wei Chen just..."
However, before Yan Song finished speaking, he was coldly interrupted by Jiajing.
"Yan Song, do you know what you are talking about?"
"Your Majesty, I am a minister..."
Seeing this situation, Yan Song wanted to explain, but when he met Jiajing's eyes, his whole body felt like it had fallen into an ice cellar, and he had to lower his head, not daring to say another word.
Xu Jie on the side felt extremely happy when he saw Yan Song deflated. After glancing at Yan Song calmly, he said to himself.
"Haha, Yan Song, you are here too. You brought this all on yourself!"
After that, Jiajing glanced at Lu Fang who was standing beside him and gave instructions.
"Lu Fang, show them the things!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After Lu Fang responded, she rummaged through the desk and found a thick stack of files. After that, without any hesitation, Lu Fang went straight to Yan Song and Xu Jie and handed the files to Yan Song and Xu Jie. in front of the stairs.
Seeing this, Yan Song took the file from Lu Fang's hand with trembling hands and read it carefully, but soon, he was shocked by the content above.
What is recorded in the file is clearly the numerous crimes the Kong family has committed over the years!
The more Yan Song looked down, the gloomier his face became. When he saw that the Kong family had actually increased the land rent to 28% thanks to more and more people coming to submit their services, he became even more furious. Cursed.
"This damn beast will not give the people a way to survive!"
Even though Yan Songqin had been immersed in officialdom for many years and thought he was used to seeing the ugliness of human nature, he was still shocked by the contents recorded in the files.
Ordinary corrupt officials may still worry about the black hat on their heads and dare not exploit the people too harshly for fear of provoking a popular uprising.
The Kong family, on the other hand, does not have this worry at all. Relying on the name of Yan Shenggong, they do their best to exploit the people. To them, those people are just talking animals!
On the other side, Xu Jie's face didn't look good either, because what was recorded in the file greatly exceeded his expectations. For him, it seemed like it had opened the door to a new world.
After Jiajing glanced at Yan Song and Xu Jie respectively, he said in a deep voice.
"I plan to abolish the current Yan Shenggong and re-elect a new Yan Shenggong. What do you think?"
Jiajing's voice was not loud, but it was like a heavy hammer, hitting Yan Song and Xu Jie's hearts hard.
At this moment, after listening to Jiajing's words, the two of them had expressions of disbelief on their faces.
"Wha...what, did I hear it correctly? Your Majesty actually wants to abolish the current Yan Shenggong and elect a new Yan Shenggong!"
Yan Song and Xu Jie thought so and looked at each other with horror on their faces.
For Yan Song and Xu Jie, everything happening now is too shocking. After all, there is no precedent for this in the past dynasties.
Later, Xu Jie on the side swallowed his saliva secretly, mustered up his courage, and warned Jiajing.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. There has never been such a precedent in all dynasties. I hope your Majesty will think twice!"
When Jiajing heard this, he glanced at Xu Jie expressionlessly, and then spoke.
"Hmph, Xu Jie, I don't know if you have ever heard of such a saying, that if virtue is not matched, there will be disaster!"
"You two, think about it carefully. Based on Kong Shangxian's current virtue, can you be worthy of the position of Duke Yan?"
"Not only that, I also heard that local officials commented on Kong Shangxian, the 64th generation grandson of Confucius and the contemporary Yan Shenggong."
When Jiajing said this, he paused for a moment and continued to add.
"Wherever the Holy Duke passes, the people are like being captured by thieves!"
At this moment, Yan Song, who was kneeling on the ground, couldn't help but feel embarrassed when he heard Jiajing's words, because he had just said this in front of Yan Shifan not long ago.
"Damn it, who on earth spread this sentence to His Majesty's ears!"
As Yan Song thought about this, his hatred for Kong Shangxian increased to a higher level. At this moment, he couldn't help but start to regret.
"Oh, if I had known earlier, I shouldn't have coveted the status of the Kong family and married my granddaughter to that Kong Shangxian. Otherwise, there wouldn't be as much trouble as we have today!"
Just as Yan Song was feeling so emotional, Jiajing's voice sounded again, bringing him back to reality.
"So, what do you two think? Should I abolish Duke Yan?"
When Yan Song and Xu Jie heard what Jiajing said, they knew very well that His Majesty's patience had been exhausted and he was giving themselves an ultimatum!
Moreover, from the beginning, His Majesty had made up his mind to abolish the current Yan Shenggong and then elect a new Yan Shenggong.
The reason why I called the two of them over was just to go through the motions and inform myself so that I could be prepared!
Thinking of this, Yan Song and Xu Jie couldn't help but have bitter smiles on their faces.
After exchanging glances, Yan Song and Xu Jie were seen kneeling on the ground. After Yan Song sorted out his words in his mind, he looked at Jiajing who was sitting on the dragon chair and asked in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, the sage, Kong Shangxian, the 64th generation grandson of Confucius and the contemporary Yanshenggong, has failed to fulfill his duties as Yanshenggong, indulged his family members, preyed on the people, was unworthy of morality, and repeatedly violated the law. I request your Majesty to abolish it and choose A new Duke Yan will be elected tomorrow!"
Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon chair, saw that Yan Song and Xu Jie had made the right choice. He nodded slightly and immediately gave instructions.
"Well, you two, get up!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After receiving Jiajing's permission, Yan Song and Xu Jie just stood up slowly from the ground. At this moment, their faces were full of panic and uneasiness.
Because what can be foreseen is that this incident will definitely shock the government and the public. In the end, it will be the two of them who are unlucky.
Thinking of his reputation in the Shilin community, which had already hit rock bottom, Yan Song sighed helplessly and said to himself silently: "Oh, don't worry if you have too many lice. No matter what, you should take care of the present first." !”
Seeing that the matter had been settled, Jiajing glanced at the two of them and immediately gave instructions.
"Okay, now that the matter has been settled, you two, go back to work!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
When Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Song and Xu Jie reacted after being stunned for a moment and hurriedly responded.
The two of them had just taken a few steps when Jiajing seemed to suddenly remember something and stopped them with words.
"By the way, there is something I forgot to tell you. Duke Yan Sheng should be on his way to the capital now!"
When Yan Song and Xu Jie heard this, they suddenly stopped and turned around. They both saw a look of shock on each other's faces.
After a moment, the two of them came to their senses, leaned down and saluted Jiajing respectfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand!"
"Um."
After that, the two of them immediately stepped forward and left Qianqing Palace without any hesitation.
After walking out of the Qianqing Palace, Yan Song and Xu Jie subconsciously turned around and glanced back at the Qianqing Palace behind them, with expressions of lingering fear on their faces.
Originally, they thought that His Majesty came to them early in the morning just to discuss the use of the 80 million taels of silver that was about to be accounted for. No one expected that His Majesty would actually mention the abolition of Duke Yan to them in person!
And judging from His Majesty’s current attitude, this matter is already a done deal and there is absolutely no possibility of change!
Then, after Yan Song cleared his throat, he turned his gaze to Xu Jie who was aside, and took the lead in provoking the topic: "Ahem, Mr. Xu Ge, do you think His Majesty will really abolish Duke Yansheng?"
When Xu Jie heard Yan Song's words, he glanced at him strangely and responded without thinking.
"This is natural. As long as His Majesty decides to do something, no matter how many difficulties and obstacles there are in the way, he cannot resist his pace!"
"This is true for lifting the sea ban, and it is even more true for reducing clan expenses and promoting the integration of government and gentry tax payments. Mr. Yan Ge, could it be said that after all these years, you still haven't figured out His Majesty's temper?"
After Xu Jie finished speaking, Yan Song couldn't help but fall into deep thought. In his opinion, what Xu Jie said was not unreasonable.
"Alas, it seems that the abolition of Yan Shenggong will be put on the agenda soon!"
Yan Song thought so, and a feeling of powerlessness suddenly emerged in his heart. After that, he came back to his senses and walked ahead in the direction of the cabinet.
Xu Jie looked at Yan Song's leaving figure with a look of gloating on his face. After looking back, he said silently to himself.
"Hmph, Yan Song, I want to see how you get through this!"
Xu Jie thought so, and immediately followed Yan Song's pace in three steps and two steps at a time. When he reached Yan Song, a smile appeared on his face and he suggested to Yan Song.
"Mr. Yan Ge, we might as well think about how much money it will cost to repair and strengthen those old dams!"
…
After Yan Song and Xu Jie returned to the cabinet, their expressions were as usual and they began to deal with the affairs at hand.
But Yan Shifan was still keenly aware of something wrong behind this, because since Yan Song came back from Qianqing Palace, he had been in a state of absent-mindedness. When reviewing the memorials, he also made several mistakes in a row.
Although Yan Shifan was very curious about this, because he was currently in the cabinet and there were many people with mixed eyes, it was difficult to ask Yan Song for the specific reason.
Therefore, Yan Shifan had no choice but to suppress all his inner curiosity.
After finally reaching the lower duty hour, Yan Song and Yan Shifan, father and son, left the cabinet one step ahead of everyone else.
The father and son walked together towards the place where the sedan chair was parked.
Along the way, Yan Shifan looked at Yan Song's thoughtful look, and finally couldn't restrain his curiosity. He mustered up the courage to ask Yan Song cautiously.
"Father...Father, did something happen?"
After Yan Song heard Yan Shifan's words, he immediately came back to his senses. He just glanced at Yan Shifan calmly and said slowly.
"This is not the place to talk. Let's talk when we get back!"
"Yes, father!"
When Yan Shifan heard this, he couldn't help but pay more attention to this matter, because in his impression, Yan Song had never shown such a solemn expression.
Afterwards, the father and son got on the sedan and marched towards Yan's Mansion.
…
On the other side, in the cabinet.
When Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong finished sorting out the memorials, they saw Xu Jie waiting at the door.
Ever since the last time Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong left in Prince Yu's Mansion because they could not accept Xu Jie's behavior, they had not spoken to each other much since then, and their relationship had become very delicate.
Since that day, neither Zhang Juzheng nor Gao Gong had been to Prince Yu's Mansion for a long time.
How could the two of them fail to see Xu Jie's intention? Then, Zhang Juzheng took a step forward, came to Xu Jie and asked.
"By the way, it's time to go off duty. Why don't Mr. Xu Ge leave?"
"I'm looking for you today because I need your help with something!"
Facing the puzzled looks of Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong, Xu Jie calmly explained after finishing the words in his mind.
"Don't worry, it's not what happened before. By the way, when Yan Song and I go to Qianqing Palace today, Your Majesty will..."
It’s the last day, readers, can you give me a monthly pass? O_o
(End of chapter)
