When Yan Shifan walked out of the Qianqing Palace, he felt relieved.
He knew very well in his heart that from now on, everything that happened during his tenure as Minister of Civil Affairs was in the past, and there was no need to mention it anymore.
"Huh~ Father is indeed right!"
Yan Shifan thought so, clenching his fists subconsciously, his face full of joy.
At this moment, he could not imagine what would happen to him if he had clung to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and not let go.
Yan Shifan tried to imagine the scene in his mind, and his whole body felt shuddering.
"It's getting late, so hurry back to the cabinet!"
I saw Yan Shifan calming down and heading towards the cabinet.
…
When Yan Shifan returned to the cabinet, except for him, everyone else in the cabinet had already arrived.
When everyone saw Yan Shifan coming back from His Majesty, they all stopped what they were doing and all looked at him, their eyes full of curiosity.
Yan Shifan turned a blind eye to everyone's gazes and just looked at Yan Song aside. After nodding slightly to him, he immediately sat back in his seat.
Seeing this situation, everyone knew that Yan Shifan had probably passed His Majesty's test, so there was no need to ask him for the specific reason.
After that, everyone retracted their gazes and returned their attention to the matters in front of them.
At this moment, Xu Jie put down the brush in his hand, turned his gaze to Yan Song aside, and raised the topic.
"Speaking of Mr. Yan Ge, when was the last time His Majesty chose a concubine?"
Yan Song heard what Xu Jie said and after thinking about it for a long time, he looked at Xu Jie with cloudy eyes and responded.
"If I remember correctly, the last time His Majesty chose a concubine was two years ago!"
"What, Mr. Xu Ge, are you trying to persuade His Majesty to choose a concubine?"
When Yan Song's words fell, everyone couldn't help but fell into silence. Who didn't know that His Majesty was now obsessed with cultivation and hoped to become an immortal one day.
Therefore, Jiajing's daily life was unusually regular. At first, he sent palace maids to collect dew from heaven and earth for drinking. For this reason, the Renyin Palace Incident broke out. In order not to leak Yuanyang, Jiajing usually stayed away from the selection of concubines and delayed it as much as possible. .
The last time he chose a concubine, it was too late. Jiajing just had to bite the bullet and agreed.
But now, Xu Jie proposed in front of everyone present that he wanted His Majesty to agree to the selection of a concubine, which made everyone present feel a little surprised.
Facing everyone's gaze, Xu Jie turned his gaze to Yan Song and responded in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty's choice of concubine is a matter of national importance. How can we keep delaying it?"
"What's more, the last time His Majesty selected a concubine was two years ago. Those qualified clan members and nobles are all watching eagerly!"
"In addition, the people are also talking about His Majesty not choosing a concubine for two years!"
In fact, everyone present knew that when an emperor chooses a concubine, in fact, many times, it is not for himself, but for the stability of the world!
The emperor's normal selection of concubines is a disguised message to all the people in the world, that is, my body is still strong, you can rest assured!
This can also deter those forces in the local area that are ready to move, so that they will not dare to act rashly.
Because of this, we can often see in history that emperors who are already too old still choose concubines with great fanfare among the people. What is the purpose? To convey such a message to the world.
After that, perhaps in order to increase his persuasiveness, Xu Jie looked worried and continued to add.
"You know, Southwest Tusi has always been uneasy!"
As soon as Xu Jie finished speaking, Gao Gong stood up and snorted coldly, then spoke.
"Hmph, the treasury is full now. If they dare to act rashly, the imperial court can dispatch an army at any time to destroy them!"
When Gao Gong's words fell, Zhang Juzheng on the side frowned. After thinking about it for a long time, he tentatively spoke.
"During the Yongle period, the imperial court abolished chieftains in some areas such as Yunnan and Guizhou, established chief envoys instead, and appointed floating officials for unified management."
"But later on, this policy gradually fell into disuse. I was thinking, should I propose to His Majesty that we should reactivate the policy from the Yongle period, abolish the local chieftains, and appoint floating officials to govern?"
When Zhang Juzheng said this, he paused for a moment and then added.
"As Mr. Xu Ge said just now, the chieftains in the southwest have always been uneasy. Although they openly surrender to the Ming Dynasty, in reality, they are no different from the vassal states of the Han Dynasty!"
"In other words, they can start a rebellion at any time. In addition, they often clash with other chieftains. For example, in the 23rd year of Jiajing, Yang Lie, the governor of Bozhou, went to Shuixi , requesting Guizhou Xuanwei envoy An Waquan to return the body of his father Yang Xiang."
"Later, An Waquan asked Yang Lie to return the shisha and Tianwang areas before returning the body of his father Yang Xiang. Yang Lie agreed on the surface, but after getting the body of his father Yang Xiang, he said nothing about the matter. carry."
"After that, many wars broke out between the two sides in order to compete for these two places, leaving only ten houses and nine empty houses in the area, and the people were in dire straits. Later, under the suppression of Governor Feng Yue, the wars between the two sides were calmed down."
After Zhang Juzheng's words fell, everyone present realized the necessity of reactivating the policy of the Yongle period, abolishing local chieftains, and using floating officials for governance.
Immediately, after Yan Song and Xu Jie looked at each other, they looked at Zhang Juzheng at the same time and gave instructions.
"Zhang Juzheng, can you record everything you just said?"
Zhang Juzheng saw that his proposal was taken seriously by Yan Song and Xu Jie, and he immediately nodded and responded.
"Yeah, sure!"
After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he laid out his pen and paper and wrote down everything he had just said.
After the ink on the paper was completely dry, Zhang Juzheng respectfully handed the paper full of writing to Yan Song and Xu Jie.
Immediately, Yan Song stretched out his skinny hand and took the paper from Zhang Juzheng's hand quite solemnly.
After taking the paper from Zhang Juzheng's hand, Yan Song did not hesitate at all. He immediately put on his reading glasses and began to meticulously browse the contents recorded on it.
Soon, Yan Song browsed through all the contents above. After confirming that there were no errors or omissions, Yan Song nodded incomprehensibly, and immediately handed the paper in his hand to Xu Jie who was standing aside.
After Xu Jie took the paper from Yan Song's hand, he quickly began to browse it without any hesitation.
After Xu Jie confirmed the contents on the paper, he slowly stood up from his seat, looked around, and said in a deep voice.
"This matter is of great importance, and it can affect the whole body. It is far beyond the ability of one or two people to handle it. I propose that all of us in the cabinet go to the Qianqing Palace to meet His Majesty. What do you think?"
"Mr. Xu Ge is right, this matter must be handled by the entire cabinet!"
"Well, that makes sense!"
When Xu Jie finished speaking, Gao Gong and Yan Shifan stood up and spoke in agreement.
Zhang Juzheng did not speak, but just nodded. In this way, he showed his attitude.
Seeing that no one raised any objections to this, Xu Jie calmed down and said in a deep voice: "Since everyone has no objections to this, let's set off now without further ado!"
After that, everyone quickly set foot on the road to Qianqing Palace without much hesitation.
…
At this moment, in the Qianqing Palace, Lu Fang came to Jiajing's side with silent steps, leaned down, and reported respectfully.
"Your Majesty, everything has been dealt with. Tomorrow at the latest, the impeachment of Xiaoge Lao Yan Shifan will be settled soon!"
After listening to Lu Fang's report, Jiajing nodded and immediately responded.
"Well, I know!"
After Yan Shifan left the Qianqing Palace, Jiajing ordered Lu Fang to send someone to deal with the matter. Since the goal has been achieved, there is no need to hold on to him anymore!
At this moment, the guiding eunuch hurried in and reported respectfully.
"Your Majesty, the cabinet is outside asking for an audience. They say they have something important to report!"
As soon as the eunuch guide finished speaking, a look of horror suddenly appeared on Lu Fang's face beside him, and he said to himself.
"What is going on? Why did Yan Shifan just return to the cabinet, and everyone in the cabinet came to see His Majesty? Could it be..."
At this moment, countless ridiculous ideas appeared in his mind, but he rejected them one by one.
Just when Lu Fang was wondering about this, Jiajing's rather calm voice sounded in Lu Fang's ears.
"Well, I know, let them come in and see me!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After receiving Jiajing's instructions, the guiding eunuch immediately bowed and saluted, then turned and left Qianqing Palace.
Not long after, under the guidance of the guiding eunuch, the five members of the cabinet stepped into the Qianqing Palace.
Immediately afterwards, under the leadership of Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, everyone knelt on the ground and said in unison.
"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
Seeing this situation, Jiajing glanced at everyone one by one and immediately gave instructions.
"Well, you guys, all get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After getting Jiajing's permission, everyone got up from the ground one after another.
Immediately, Jiajing turned his gaze to Yan Song and asked with interest.
"Yan Song, you came here with the cabinet. Do you have anything to report to me?"
When Yan Song heard what Jiajing said, he immediately leaned down and responded respectfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I do have something important to report this time!"
"Oh, tell me, what happened again in the court?"
When Jiajing heard this, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and immediately asked Yan Song.
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Song was seen kneeling on the ground tremblingly, begging Jiajing.
"To be honest, Your Majesty, the ministers came here because they wanted to ask Your Majesty to choose a concubine among the people. Secondly, they wanted to petition the imperial court to gradually abolish the chieftains, restore the policy of the Yongle period, and use floating officials to govern. !”
After Yan Song finished speaking, he took the paper that had been sorted by Zhang Juzheng from Xu Jie's hand and raised it high above his head.
Seeing this situation, Lu Fang didn't wait for Jiajing's instructions, and immediately stepped forward, took the paper full of writing from Yan Song's hand, and handed it to Jiajing.
"His Majesty!"
"Um."
Jiajing nodded imperceptibly, then took the paper from Lu Fang's hand and began to read it carefully.
The content recorded on the paper is exactly what Zhang Juzheng mentioned in the cabinet earlier about the shortcomings of the chieftain policy currently implemented by the court and the necessity of appointing exiled officials to govern. In addition, Bozhou Xuanwei was also used. Let Yang Lie's deeds serve as an example.
Soon, Jiajing finished browsing the contents recorded on the paper. After that, Jiajing put the paper aside, nodded slightly, and gave instructions.
"Well, that makes sense. I also think it is necessary to abolish the local chieftains and replace them with official officials!"
"By the way, who suggested this?"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he glanced at several people one by one and confirmed.
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Xu Jie stood up and reported respectfully.
"Your Majesty, this was proposed by Zhang Juzheng!"
Zhang Juzheng on the side heard the words, a look of humility appeared on his face, and he lowered his head immediately.
"Well, Zhang Juzheng, you have done a good job in this matter, and you are worthy of being my loyal minister!"
After Jiajing said this, he turned his eyes to Zhang Juzheng, his face full of approval.
"Your Majesty is serious. This policy has been implemented as early as the Yongle period. Now, the minister is just bringing it up again!"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Zhang Juzheng on the side followed him modestly.
After that, Jiajing looked around, then faced everyone and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Well, I've approved the matter of reforming the land and returning it to rural areas. You guys should go back and think about it carefully. We'll discuss it again at the next cabinet meeting!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the emperor's approval was obtained for his conversion, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but look at where Zhang Juzheng was, with a hint of envy in their eyes.
"This Zhang Juzheng's future is bound to be limitless. After I step down, the position of chief minister of the cabinet will be his sooner or later!"
Yan Song looked at where Zhang Juzheng was and thought so.
Seeing that the matter had been settled, Jiajing waved his hand quite casually and issued an order to expel everyone.
"Okay, if nothing happens next, please leave!"
When Xu Jie heard what Jiajing said, he clenched his teeth and his face was full of confusion.
Because since the beginning, Jiajing has not expressed his attitude towards the selection of the concubine: "In other words, His Majesty wants to fool him!"
After hesitating for a long time, Xu Jie's eyes gradually became firm, and he turned his eyes to Jiajing and said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for your boldness. The matter of choosing a concubine is related to the foundation of the country. The last time you selected a concubine was already two years ago. Those qualified clan members and nobles..."
When Jiajing heard what Xu Jie said, he waved his hand nonchalantly and said something to stop him.
"Well, I know, I will consider this matter carefully next!"
Seeing this situation, Xu Jie could only respond: "Yes, your majesty. I hope your majesty will give more thought to the matter of choosing a concubine in order to calm the hearts of the people in the world!"
(End of chapter)
