The scene in the cabinet was the same as usual. From time to time, subordinate officials would enter the cabinet with memorials as tall as a person in their arms.
At this moment, there was an extremely busy scene in the cabinet.
Yan Song and others were all paying special attention to the memorials in front of them.
"How come the cabinet affairs are so busy today!"
Yan Shifan said this and immediately put aside the completed memorial in his hand.
No one had time to pay attention to Yan Shifan's complaints. At this moment, they just wanted to finish the matters at hand as soon as possible.
"Hey, this is the memorial submitted by Song Yiwang. Could it be that the distribution of land to the landless people in Shandong has been completed..."
With these doubts in mind, Gao Gong opened the memorial in his hand, signed by Song Yiwang, and read the contents with great concentration.
After a long time, when Gao Gong finished browsing the contents of the memorial in his hand, a smile couldn't help but appear on his face, and he could be seen stroking his beard gently, his face full of relief.
"Okay, okay, haha, this Song Yiwang did a good job!"
After hearing this, everyone subconsciously stopped their movements and looked at Gao Gong, their faces full of curiosity.
"Mr. Gao Ge, you just mentioned Song Yiwang. Could it be said that Song Yiwang has completed the tasks assigned to him by the court?"
Zhang Juzheng took a panoramic view of the expression on Gao Gong's face, took the lead and asked Gao Gong.
Facing the extremely curious looks on everyone's faces, Gao Gong cleared his throat and said in a deep voice.
"Well, that's right. Song Yiwang mentioned in his memorial that the 365,600 acres of land he had received earlier from those aristocratic families and wealthy gentry had been distributed with the full cooperation of Shandong Governor Cao Feng. Most of it!"
"In half a month at most, the remaining land will be distributed to the people who have no land!"
After hearing what Gao Gong said, Xu Jie's face was filled with a smile that couldn't be concealed.
"Huh, from beginning to end, I, Xu Jie, was the one who pushed this matter. Now that the matter is done, I must take the first share of the credit!"
Xu Jie thought so, then he immediately turned his gaze to Gao Gong aside and spoke.
"Show it to me!"
"Yes, Mr. Xu Ge!"
Xu Jie took the memorial from Gao Gong's hand and began to read the contents with concentration.
After Xu Jie confirmed that the content of the memorial was exactly the same as what Gao Gong had described earlier, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Immediately, Xu Jie put the memorial in his hand aside and sighed to himself.
"This is a great thing. With land in the hands of the people, life will be easier!"
At this moment, a subordinate official hurriedly walked in. After entering the cabinet, he subconsciously looked in the direction of Yan Song and Xu Jie, leaned down and said respectfully.
"Sir, Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu is outside asking for an audience!"
When Yan Song and Xu Jie heard this, they couldn't help but have a look of surprise on their faces. Immediately, after the two exchanged glances, Yan Song stood up and gave the order.
"Well, hurry up and invite Eunuch Lu in!"
"Yes, Mr. Yan Ge!"
After receiving Yan Song's specific instructions, the subordinate official turned around and left without any hesitation.
Not long after, under the guidance of the former subordinate, Lu Fang walked in at a leisurely pace.
Afterwards, when everyone saw this situation, they all stood up from their seats and saluted Lu Fang respectfully.
"I've met Eunuch Lu!"
"You don't have to be so polite. His Majesty asked our family to come over and tell everyone that just now, Kong Shangxian's younger brother Kong Shangtan has officially succeeded Yan Shenggong!"
Seeing this situation, Lu Fang looked around and spoke slowly.
There is no doubt that Lu Fang's words caused an uproar at the scene. At this moment, the faces of everyone in the cabinet were filled with incredible looks.
The person who was most severely affected by this news was undoubtedly Yan Shifan. He had not forgotten that he had turned away Kong Shangxian, who came to Yan Mansion for help!
At present, Kong Shangxian's younger brother Kong Shangtan is taking over Yan Shenggong's position. Will he take revenge for personal gain when the time comes?
After Yan Shifan was lost for a long time, he finally came back to his senses, looked at Lu Fang's location, and confirmed with her.
"Eunuch Lu, are what you just said true?"
"Well, that's right!"
When Lu Fang heard this, a look of surprise appeared on her face. She glanced at Yan Shifan and responded.
Seeing Yan Shifan's behavior, everyone else more or less recalled that not long ago, when Kong Shangxian went to Yan Mansion for help, he was turned away.
"Hmph, Yan Song, you're asking for trouble. Why did you make things so ugly in the first place? You didn't even let anyone in through the gate of your Yan Mansion!"
"Anyway, Kong Shangtan is also Yan Shenggong now. His appeal among the scholars is beyond what you, Yan Song, can imagine. I want to see how bad your reputation among the scholars can be. Get to the point!"
Xu Jie thought so and glanced at Yan Song calmly, the gloating expression on his face disappeared in a flash.
Time passed by slowly. I don’t know how long it had passed, but Yan Song was the first to speak, breaking the calm.
"Eunuch Lu, your Majesty means that our cabinet will draft a formal edict?"
When Lu Fang heard Yan Song's words, she nodded slightly and responded.
"Well, that's right, Mr. Yan Ge, that's what your Majesty means!"
After receiving Lu Fang's confirmation, Yan Song couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief and immediately responded.
"Well, I have a problem with you, Eunuch Lu. Could you please tell His Majesty that the cabinet will definitely get it done as soon as possible!"
"Since the words have been brought, our family will not stay here any longer!"
Seeing that the purpose of her trip had been achieved, Lu Fang withdrew her gaze from Yan Song and said this.
"Eunuch Lu, walk slowly!"
"Um."
When Lu Fang heard this, she just responded in a subtle way and immediately walked away.
After Lu Fang left, Yan Song summoned his subordinates and asked them to prepare paper and pen. Then he went back to the desk and wrote on the paper.
The Emperor of Fengtian carried the order, and the edict said: "After Confucius, he was praised by his titles for generations to come, but he came far away... It should be changed to King Wenxuan of the Supreme Saint, and Kong Shangtan, the sixty-fourth generation grandson, to be the Duke of Yansheng!"
After the last word fell, Yan Song put the brush aside. After repeatedly confirming that there were no mistakes or omissions, Yan Song breathed a sigh of relief.
Later, after the ink on the paper was dry, Yan Song called his subordinates and gave these instructions.
"After the copy is completed, send it to the Supervisor of Ceremonies for sealing!"
"Yes, Mr. Yan Ge!"
The subordinate official did not dare to neglect Yan Song's instructions at all. He carefully put away the rice paper and quickly left the cabinet.
Xu Jie, who was on the side, witnessed the whole process and looked back rather reluctantly, saying with emotion.
"Humph, this Yan Song is not a very good person, but he has good handwriting!"
…
When everyone finally finished dealing with the backlog of memorials in the cabinet, the sky gradually dimmed, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the steps outside the cabinet, which looked quite artistic.
At this moment, Yan Song, Yan Shifan and his son were seen walking slowly towards the place where the sedan chair was parked, one behind the other.
"Father, what should we do next? Kong Shangtan is Kong Shangxian's younger brother. If the time comes..."
Yan Shifan was seen taking three steps at a time to keep up with Yan Song, his face full of worry.
When Yan Song heard this, the expression on his face did not change. He just glanced at Yan Shifan quite indifferently and then gave instructions.
"It doesn't matter. When you go back later, you can send someone to invite this Kong Shangtan to your house for a talk!"
When Yan Song said this, he changed the topic and continued to add.
"Hmph, he still has to thank us. If it weren't for us, would Kong Shangtan be able to sit in the position of Duke Yansheng so securely?"
"Father, what do you mean..."
Yan Shifan had a thoughtful expression on his face after hearing Yan Song's words.
Seeing this situation, Yan Song suddenly stopped, turned around, and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Okay, don't be stunned, go back quickly!"
"Yes, father!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Shifan had no choice but to suppress all the thoughts in his mind for the time being, and followed Yan Song step by step.
On the other side, inside the ceremonial prison.
The subordinate official who had finished copying the contents on the rice paper rushed to the Supervisor of Ceremonies without stopping.
"Eunuch Lu, here is the official edict drafted by the cabinet!"
"Well, let's put it there first, we will use it for printing later!"
Hearing this, Lu Fang nodded slightly and immediately gave instructions.
"Yes, Eunuch Lu, I will resign now!"
After the subordinate official left, Lu Fang stepped forward and browsed the contents, only to see what was written above.
The Emperor of Fengtian carried the order, and the edict said: "After Confucius, he was praised by his titles for generations to come, but he came far away... It should be changed to King Wenxuan of the Supreme Saint, and Kong Shangtan, the sixty-fourth generation grandson, to be the Duke of Yansheng!"
Lu Fang read through the above content word for word, and read it silently in her heart. After confirming that there were no errors or omissions, she felt relieved.
After that, Lu Fang summoned a eunuch and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Go get the big seal!"
"Yes, Eunuch Lu!"
Not long after, I saw an eunuch walking into the ceremonial office holding a square wooden box made of rosewood.
The square wooden box looked old, with some of the paint on it peeling off. On the surface of the wooden box, there were many complicated patterns carved on it, as well as a vivid nine-clawed dragon that was about to hold the sun and the moon in its mouth.
Immediately, Lu Fang stepped forward, carefully opened the wooden box, and took out a jade seal. The jade seal in Lu Fang's hand was made of white stone, four inches in diameter, with a dragon seal and the words "Emperor's Treasure" engraved on it.
After that, Lu Fang slowly stepped forward, placed the jade seal in his hand on the cinnabar ink that had been prepared, and then covered the jade seal in his hand with great solemnity.
After doing this, Lu Fang carefully put the jade seal back into its original position and turned to give instructions to the eunuch.
"Return the big seal to Shang Baojian!"
"Yes, Eunuch Lu!"
After the eunuch left, Lu Fang looked at the printed edict in front of him. He couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief and said silently to himself.
"The next thing that needs to be done is to show this edict to His Majesty!"
After that, Lu Fang didn't hesitate at all, and immediately took the edict and hurried to Qianqing Palace.
…
In the Qianqing Palace, at this moment, Lu Fang respectfully handed the edict in his hand to Jiajing, then turned and spoke.
"Your Majesty, here is the edict conferring Kong Shangtan as the new Duke Yansheng. Please take a look at it!"
"Um."
Seeing this, Jiajing responded with a subtle response and took the edict from Lu Fang's hand.
"After Confucius, he was praised with titles for generations to come, but he came far away... It should be changed to King Wenxuan of the Supreme Saint, and Kong Shangtan, the sixty-fourth generation grandson, to be Duke Yansheng!"
Jiajing quickly browsed through all the contents of the edict. Immediately, he put the edict aside and asked.
"Lu Fang, if I guess correctly, this should be written by Yan Song, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, this edict was indeed drafted by Senior Yan Ge!"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Lu Fang responded without thinking.
After receiving Lu Fang's exact answer, Jiajing nodded slightly and spoke to himself.
"This Kong Shangtan is Kong Shangxian's younger brother. You know, when Kong Shangxian came to the capital to ask for help from Yan Song, Yan Song didn't even let him in through the gate of Yan Mansion!"
"Right now, Kong Shangtan is inheriting Yan Shenggong, and I don't know how he will view this matter?"
Lu Fang heard the implications of Jiajing's words. After thinking about it for a moment, she came back to her senses and cautiously suggested to Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, do you want me to send someone to keep an eye on them?"
"Well, go ahead. If you have any news, let me know as soon as possible!"
When Jiajing heard what Lu Fang said, he nodded and gave the order.
"As ordered, Your Majesty, I will definitely handle this matter properly!"
When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, she immediately leaned down and responded in a deep voice.
Just when Lu Fang was about to leave, Jiajing's Gujing Wubo voice sounded in his ears.
"By the way, let's officially issue this edict later!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After that, the sealed edict was quickly read aloud on the tower of the Forbidden City by specialized officials with extremely complicated etiquette, to express the intention of announcing to the world.
After the edict was promulgated and the Ministry of Rites accepted it and made several copies, the edict drafted by the cabinet was officially announced to the outside world.
Soon, the civil and military officials in the court also heard from various channels the news that Kong Shangtan, Kong Shangxian's younger brother, had successfully succeeded Yan Shenggong. As a result, the entire capital was undercurrent.
"Quickly, send someone to find out what Yan Shengping likes during the day, and prepare a big gift for me to send over!"
"Quickly, send this invitation to the place where Yan Shenggong is currently staying without delay!"
"Go and inquire immediately to see if Yan Shenggong is married. Go quickly!"
(End of chapter)
