Yan Song's voice was not loud, but it was like a heavy hammer, hitting Yan Shifan's heart hard.
Only then did Yan Shifan realize where King Yu had lost.
After that, Yan Shifan seemed to have thought of something. After hesitating for a long time, he mustered up the courage and lowered his voice.
"Father, do you mean that His Majesty has placed all his hopes on the child in the belly of Imperial Concubine Shen?"
"But, His Majesty is now over fifty years old. If the time comes..."
Yan Song on the side couldn't help but frowned when he heard this and interrupted coldly.
"Idiot, are you allowed to discuss this matter?"
When Yan Shifan heard this, a look of panic suddenly appeared on his face, and he immediately knelt on the ground with a thump and said in a deep voice.
"Father, the child was careless and said something wrong. Please punish me!"
Seeing this, Yan Song gave Yan Shifan an unusually cold glance and warned him.
"I don't want to hear such bastard words from you a second time. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!"
"Yes, father, the child knows!"
When Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, his face showed gratitude and he immediately responded.
"Well, get up!"
"Yes, father!"
After Yan Shifan got up from the ground, Yan Song's voice without any emotion sounded in his ears again.
"Before this, I got news from the Taiyuan Hospital. If nothing happens, the child in the belly of Imperial Concubine Shen will be born in September!"
"What!"
When Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, his pupils suddenly shrank, and his face was full of disbelief.
After that, Yan Shifan came to his senses, turned his gaze to Yan Song, and cautiously asked: "Father...Father, why doesn't the child know about this?"
When Yan Song heard this, he glanced at Yan Shifan rather flatly, and explained unhurriedly.
"The reason is very simple, because your father and I have been the chief minister of the cabinet for twenty years!"
Yan Shifan was speechless for a moment after hearing the reason given by Yan Song.
"Yes, after all, dad has been the chief minister of the cabinet for twenty years. So many officials in the court have to watch his face, let alone getting the imperial concubine from the Taiyuan Hospital. News of labor!”
"Hey, I don't know when I will be as majestic as dad?"
Yan Shifan thought so and quickly came back to his senses. At this moment, there was a hint of yearning in his eyes when he looked at Yan Song.
Yan Song did not notice Yan Shifan's burning eyes, but changed the topic and continued to add.
"At present, the strategic focus of the imperial court is mainly on the reform of the land in the southwest. If everything goes well, it will only take up to two months to suppress the local chieftains in Bozhou!"
"If the Imperial Concubine Shen gives birth to a son, it will be a double happiness for His Majesty!"
Yan Shifan on the side heard this and immediately stood up and confirmed to Yan Song.
"Father, are you so confident in Feng Yue, the governor of Huguang who is in charge of commanding the troops this time?"
Hearing this, Yan Song glanced at Yan Shifan and then spoke.
"Although this Feng Yue is slightly inferior to Hu Zongxian in marching and fighting, don't forget that no one in the court knows the chieftains in the southwest better than him, let alone the fierce general Shi Bangxian under his command. !”
"There is a saying that if you know yourself and your enemy, you will never be in danger. Now the imperial court has given him such great support as Feng Yue. Not only is he provided with enough food, wages and weapons, but even the new weapons that have just been produced by the Arms Department have been shipped to him!"
When Yan Song said this, he took his eyes away from Yan Shifan and continued.
"If he can't even defeat this, then there is no need for him, Feng Yue, the governor of Huguang, to continue to be in power!"
"Father is right!"
After listening to Yan Song's analysis, Yan Shifan on the side immediately lowered his head and said sincerely.
Immediately, Yan Song seemed to suddenly remember. After clearing his throat, he looked at Yan Shifan and asked.
"By the way, Yan Shifan, how did you go about the matter I asked you before?"
"As far as my father is concerned, the boy has already given the order, and the person responsible for repairing the dam has already been found!"
When Yan Shifan heard the words, he immediately responded without thinking.
After Yan Song listened to Yan Shifan's report, he may have felt a little uneasy, so he followed up with another instruction.
"Well, remember not to be careless about this matter. If the flood season comes and the embankment cannot withstand the impact and collapses, your father and I will probably have our heads fall to the ground!"
"Yes, father, I understand that the officials I'm looking for this time are all smart and capable people, and there will definitely be no problems!"
When Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, he immediately looked stern, patted his chest and assured Yan Song.
After hearing this, Yan Song nodded slightly and gave instructions.
"Well, it's getting late, you should go back and rest quickly!"
"Yes, father!"
After that, Yan Shifan did not stay in the study for too long, but left directly.
After Yan Shifan left the study, Yan Song stood up from his seat tremblingly, came to the desk and sat down.
The orange candlelight reflected his figure. At this moment, in his mind, the words Yan Shifan said before appeared from time to time.
I don’t know how much time passed, but Yan Song came back to his senses and muttered silently to himself.
"Oh, yes, His Majesty is already over fifty years old now, but why doesn't His Majesty look like he is in his fifties at all?"
"Not only are there not many wrinkles on my face, my hair is not even white. What is going on?"
…
On the other side, Zhang Juzheng is located in his mansion in the capital.
After the banquet, Zhang Juzheng took a sedan chair directly back to his residence in the capital without stopping at all.
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng was wearing single clothes. In front of him, there was an opened book and a steaming teacup.
The room was filled with orange candlelight. While Zhang Juzheng was sipping tea, he carefully reviewed in his mind everything that happened at the banquet today.
"Hmph, this Yan Shifan is really stupid. Doesn't he know that Prince Yu wants to get rid of the father and son and get rid of them, so he actually licks his face and goes to please Prince Yu?"
"The reason why King Yu performed so well at the banquet today must be because of Xu Jie's advice!"
"By the way, why did Your Majesty ask Prince Yu to host this banquet? Is it for deliberate consideration or simply because it is troublesome?"
Just when Zhang Juzheng was about to follow this train of thought and continue thinking, a sudden chill hit him, making him shiver uncontrollably.
"Forget it, let's think about it slowly after we go to bed, so as not to catch a cold!"
Zhang Juzheng thought so, and immediately blew out the candles in the room, casually put the coat he had taken off earlier on his body, lit a candle, and returned to his residence.
After Zhang Juzheng lay on the bed, the previous question still lingered in his mind for a long time.
"Why does Your Majesty ask Prince Yu to host this banquet?"
"Assuming that Your Majesty wants to take this opportunity to test King Yu, is King Yu's performance today qualified in His Majesty's eyes?"
Zhang Juzheng thought about it for a long time but never got an answer. However, just when he was about to fall asleep, a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in his mind. Immediately, he suddenly sat up from the bed and murmured to himself.
"I know, I know!"
"Although King Yu performed very well throughout the banquet, this is not what His Majesty wants to see. What Your Majesty wants to see is clearly King Yu's ability to handle problems independently!"
"Your Majesty is so talented and wise, so how could you not see that Xu Jie is the one behind this?"
"Because of this, King Yu will never have the chance to become the crown prince and inherit the throne!"
When Zhang Juzheng thought of this, his face was full of joy, because as long as King Yu never had the chance to ascend to the throne, he would not have to worry about being liquidated after King Yu ascended the throne.
After thinking about all this, Zhang Juzheng suddenly felt relieved physically and mentally. The burden that had been accumulated in his heart was also relieved, and he fell into a deep sleep immediately.
…
The night passed in the blink of an eye, and in the early morning, outside the cabinet.
Xu stepped off the sedan chair and looked at the cabinet close at hand, feeling particularly comfortable.
Because under his guidance, not only did King Yu perform perfectly at the banquet hosting the Rakshasa mission, but he also caught Yan Song's handle.
Last night, when Xu Jie finished the banquet and returned to his mansion in the capital in a sedan chair, Wang Ting, the right minister of Hube, came to visit secretly and told him a big news.
That is, the Ministry of Industry where Yan Shifan is currently is sending people to secretly build and strengthen the dams near the Yellow River.
When Xu Jie learned the news from Wang Ting, he couldn't help but have a look of shock on his face.
But when Xu Jie thought about it carefully in his mind, after selecting the person responsible for building the dam, the shock on his face disappeared.
The people who were responsible for building the dams near the Yellow River were Zhao Wenhua and Yan Maoqing, while the river supervisor was Li Xuan. Xu Jie was not surprised at all when these three people got together to do anything.
"Hmph, Yan Song, you have committed the sin yourself, and now you want to secretly make up for it. It's too late. Let's see how I handle you later!"
Although Xu Jie had roughly guessed the truth of the matter, he had no intention of reporting the matter to Jiajing.
Because the crows in the world are as black as black, they have done this kind of thing before. If Yan Song gets anxious and makes the matter bigger, then everyone will not be able to eat and walk around!
After all, if we were to follow the laws of the Ming Dynasty, everyone would be taken to Caishikou to be beheaded!
While Xu Jie was still racking his brains to think about how to deal with Yan Song next, he accidentally caught a glimpse of Yan Song's sedan out of the corner of his eye.
Seeing this, Xu Jie immediately calmed down, and after Yan Song's sedan stopped, he immediately went up to meet him.
"Mr. Yan Ge, are you here so early?"
"Oh, it's Mr. Xu Ge. There have been a lot of things recently, so I had to come over early!"
Yan Song saw that the person coming was Xu Jie. After being stunned for a moment, he immediately responded with a smile.
After that, Yan Song and Xu Jie walked side by side, chatting from time to time.
When the two of them reached the steps outside the cabinet, Xu Jie suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Yan Song with a half-smile.
"Mr. Yan Ge, there is a false rumor circulating in the court recently. I wonder if you know about it?"
"Oh, please ask Mr. Xu Ge to speak out!"
Hearing Xu Jie's words, Yan Song secretly increased his vigilance. He immediately put on a look of interest and asked.
Xu Jie took in the expression on Yan Song's face, chuckled, and then said slowly.
"I heard that there seems to be something wrong with the dam on the other side of the Yellow River. Do you know about this, Mr. Yange?"
When Yan Song heard this, his pupils suddenly shrank. Although the expression on his face did not change, at this moment, his heart was already filled with shock.
"Damn it, where did Xu Jie get the news? Could it be that someone in the middle leaked the news?"
Xu Jie looked at the surprised Yan Song in front of him, and couldn't help but feel a flash of joy in his eyes. After that, he lowered his eyes and said silently to himself.
"Yan Song, Yan Song, you have today too!"
After the initial panic, Yan Song quickly realized that if Xu Jie planned to report this matter to His Majesty, then there was no need for him to remind himself!
What's more, his Xu Jie's butt is also not clean, and he does things like this often.
In other words, Xu Jie wanted to take this opportunity to gain chips from his own hands.
"Damn Xu Jie, you actually took advantage of this matter... how despicable!"
Yan Song thought so, his face full of gloom, and then he forced himself to calm down, turned his gaze to Xu Jie, and spoke unhurriedly.
"Mr. Xu Ge, to be honest, I didn't know about this matter before this, but thank you to Mr. Xu Ge for reminding me, I will deal with it!"
Yan Song's words, in Xu Jie's opinion, have other meanings: "Stop talking nonsense. If you want anything, just ask for it!"
Hearing this, Xu Jie thought for a moment and then spoke unhurriedly.
"Mr. Yan Ge, not long ago, His Majesty allocated 9.65 million taels of silver to repair and strengthen the dam, right?"
As soon as Xu Jie finished speaking, Yan Song keenly understood what Xu Jie wanted to express: "As compensation for covering up this matter, please hand over your share!"
"This damn Xu Jie has such a big appetite!"
After that, Yan Song organized the words in his mind and immediately spoke.
"Well, Mr. Xu Ge is right. Not long ago, His Majesty asked your Ministry of Revenue to allocate 9.65 million taels of silver to strengthen the dam."
"Excluding the four and a half million taels of silver spent, there are still five million taels of silver left!"
When Xu Jie heard Yan Song's words, he nodded slightly, and then he put on an expression of indignation and said in a deep voice.
"Well, these bastards spend all day doing nothing, so spreading these rumors is quite exciting!"
After that, Xu Jie turned his eyes to Yan Song and spoke comforting words.
"You don't have to worry, Mr. Yan Ge. I will handle the rumors well and won't let these rumors disturb you. I'll trouble you, Mr. Yan Ge, for the rest!"
"Where, where, Xu Ge's old words are serious!"
After Yan Song heard what Xu Jie said, he immediately nodded slightly to Xu Jie and then spoke.
"It's getting late, Mr. Yan Ge, let's go in!"
"Um."
(End of chapter)
