Although Yan Song had been mentally prepared before this, the development of things still greatly exceeded his expectations.
In just three days, Jinyiwei and Dongchang were like hyenas that smelled blood. They launched one after another and began to kill them.
The civil and military officials throughout the dynasty were in panic all day long, fearing that it would be their turn next.
No one knew why Jin Yiwei and Dongchang were dispatched, but those who were involved, without exception, met an extremely tragic end.
Early morning, Yan Mansion.
In the hall, Yan Song was holding a bowl of thick porridge and drinking it slowly.
The table was filled with all kinds of dishes, but Yan Song had no intention of using his chopsticks at this time. He didn't even touch his favorite Liuxinju pickles.
Everything that had happened recently flashed in his mind like a slideshow.
"Three days ago, His Majesty personally sent people to Zhao Zhenji's house with many rewards. Then, Jin Yiwei and Dongchang were dispatched. Combined with the previous incident of Zhao Zhenji leading troops to surround the Weaving Bureau..."
"Well, it seems that Zhao Zhenji discovered something and reported it to His Majesty truthfully. Only in this way can everything make sense!"
Thinking of this, Yan Song's face was filled with determination.
"But what did Zhao Zhenji find out that made His Majesty pay so much attention to it that he even hesitated to dispatch Jin Yiwei and Dongchang at the same time?"
At this moment, a rush of footsteps came from outside the door, interrupting Yan Song's thoughts.
Not long after, Yan Shifan hurried in, with a look of eagerness on his face. He came to Yan Song and respectfully reported: "Father...Father, didn't you ask your son to investigate this news before?"
"The child has some features now!"
Hearing this, Yan Song suddenly stood up from his seat, stared at Yan Shifan's face with his turbid eyes, and asked: "Quickly, tell me quickly, what is the reason?"
After Yan Song finished speaking, Yan Shifan organized the words in his mind, and then he told everything he knew about the situation.
"Father, right now, the news I got is that when Zhao Zhenji led his troops to surround the Weaving Bureau, he accidentally found two account books from the secret compartment of the room of Pang Qian, the eunuch in charge of the Weaving Bureau!"
"These two account books, one is an open account and the other is a secret account, and the difference between them is a full hundred thousand pieces of silk!"
When Yan Song heard this, a look of shock flashed across his face. Then, he came back to his senses, looked in the direction of Yan Shifan, and confirmed: "What, one hundred thousand pieces of silk!"
Facing Yan Song's slightly puzzled gaze, Yan Shifan nodded and responded decisively: "Yes, father!"
After learning the news from Yan Shifan, a look of surprise appeared on Yan Song's face. He sat back on the chair and murmured to himself: "I see, no wonder..."
Since the imperial court lifted the maritime ban and vigorously launched foreign trade, the prices of silk, tea, porcelain and other commodities have been rising.
Among them, the price of silk has increased most significantly. At this time in previous years, a piece of silk sold to Western countries could only be sold for ten taels of silver. Nowadays, a piece of silk can be sold for a high price of fifteen taels of silver.
In other words, this case involved at least 1.5 million taels of silver!
"This Pang Qian has a really big appetite. It's a pity that he stuffed himself to death!"
After Yan Song finished sighing, he picked up the tea cup on the table, took a sip, and said to himself: "Before the end of the year, the court still has to complete the five hundred thousand pieces of silk that Yang Jinshui negotiated with those foreign merchants. Where’s the order!”
"How dare you attack the silk stocked in the weaving bureau at this time? What a complete idiot!"
Yan Shifan on the side heard Yan Song's words and felt the same way, and echoed: "Father is right. Who doesn't know that His Majesty values maritime trade the most, yet he dares to do so at this time..."
After Yan Song understood the whole story, he suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment, and even his appetite improved a lot.
Then, Yan Song looked away from Yan Shifan, waved his hand, and said: "Let's eat, we have to go on duty later!"
After saying that, Yan Song picked up the bowl of thick porridge on the table and drank it. Yan Shifan on the side saw this and took the bowl of thick porridge from the maid on the side.
For the next period of time, neither father nor son spoke, and they just focused on the food on the table.
After breakfast, Yan Song, Yan Shifan and his son got on the sedan that had been prepared and headed towards the Forbidden City.
…
Forbidden City, outside the cabinet.
"Father, please slow down!"
"Um."
After the sedan Yan Song was riding in stopped, Yan Shifan stepped forward and carefully helped Yan Song down from the sedan.
After getting off the sedan, the father and son walked slowly towards the direction of the cabinet.
Before the father and son took a few steps out, they heard Xu Jie's voice not far behind them: "I've seen Mr. Yan Ge!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Song immediately turned around, looked up and down the Xu steps with cloudy eyes, and then responded slowly: "Oh, it's Mr. Xu Ge!"
After that, Xu Jie took three steps and then two steps to keep up with Yan Song and his son.
Afterwards, Xu Jie and Yan Song walked side by side, and the two sides chatted at random, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
Yan Shifan had already wisely stepped aside, lowered his head, followed the two of them closely, and responded from time to time.
"By the way, Mr. Yan Ge, have the officials previously sent to Nanzhili to investigate Yan Maoqing's case set out?"
Just when the two of them were still a few steps away from the steps of the cabinet, Xu Jie looked away from Yan Song and asked this question without hesitation.
Yan Song heard this and after recalling it for a long time, he responded: "If I remember correctly, they set off early this morning!"
After Xu Jie learned the news from Yan Song, he nodded, with a hint of envy on his face, and sighed: "Oh, I am lucky to be able to leave the capital, a place of right and wrong, at this time! "
Yan Song took in the expression on Xu Jie's face. After pondering for a moment, he said, "What Mr. Xu Ge said is true. People in the court are panicking right now, but Jinyiwei and Dongchang are..."
When Yan Song said this, he suddenly stopped talking as if he suddenly realized something.
After that, Yan Song looked around and saw that there was no one around, then he looked in the direction of Xu Jie and lowered his voice.
"Mr. Xu Ge, to be honest, I got some gossip, which is said to be related to this incident!"
"Oh, what's the news?"
Hearing this, Xu Jie couldn't help but have a look of interest on his face. He looked in the direction of Yan Song and asked.
"The reason why His Majesty sent Jinyiwei and Dongchang at the same time is said to be related to the Weaving Bureau. The news I got is that someone brought the matter of an open account and a secret account from the Weaving Bureau to the table!"
"And there is a difference of 100,000 pieces of silk, so His Majesty just sent Jin Yiwei and Dongchang..."
Before Yan Song finished speaking, Xu Jie's face was full of shock. He subconsciously looked at Yan Song and said in a voiceless voice: "What, one hundred thousand pieces of silk!"
Facing Xu Jie's shocked gaze, Yan Song nodded imperceptibly and said slowly: "Mr. Xu Ge, you heard right, it's one hundred thousand pieces of silk!"
When Yan Song said this, he paused for a moment and continued: "If we estimate it based on the market price, it involves at least 1.5 million taels of silver!"
When Xu Jie heard this, a look of surprise appeared on his face. He lowered his head and murmured to himself: "This is 1.5 million taels of silver. No wonder His Majesty would..."
In Xu Jie's view, the current weaving bureau is nothing more than the emperor's money bag.
When the treasury was in deficit previously, in addition to maintaining its own operations, most of the profits earned by the Weaving Bureau were turned over to the treasury to fill the deficit.
At present, the treasury is full, so most of the surplus of the Weaving Bureau is sent to the emperor's internal funds.
If the water flows slowly, even if the emperor notices it, he will turn a blind eye.
But there are people who have such a big appetite that they want to become fat in one go, and dare to swallow a hundred thousand pieces of silk at once!
The result of this was to offend the emperor, so everyone involved would die!
Then, Xu Jie suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his heart, looked in the direction of Yan Song, and said slowly: "This news from Mr. Yan Ge is really a big help!"
"In this way, the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty no longer have to live in fear and fear!"
When Yan Song heard this, he just narrowed his eyes and immediately ended the topic: "Mr. Xu Ge, it's getting late, let's go in!"
When Yan Song finished speaking, Xu Jie responded in an incomprehensible voice, and then stepped into the cabinet.
…
With the help of interested people, the inside story that the emperor sent Jin Yiwei and Dongchang to implicate the case was quickly spread.
As soon as this news came out, the government and the public were first shocked by the boldness of the Weaving Bureau. After that, the hearts of the civil and military officials in the court finally fell away.
Once you know the danger, you can avoid it, and those officials who were once associated with the Weaving Bureau hastily began to distance themselves from the relationship and looked for support everywhere in order to protect themselves.
For this reason, many more officials gathered at the gate of Yan's Mansion than before.
"Sir, we're here!"
A soft call from outside the sedan brought Gao Hanwen back to reality. Then, Gao Hanwen opened the curtain of the sedan and looked at the all-too-familiar Yan Mansion in front of him.
The decoration of Yan's Mansion was the same as the last time he came here, and there was not much change. However, the janitor at the door seemed to have changed. On the bright red door, there was a plaque with gilt decorations on it. The font reads Yanfu.
At this time, many officials who specially came to visit gathered at the door of Yan's mansion.
Then, Gao Hanwen turned his gaze away, lowered the sedan curtain, and walked out of the sedan.
At this moment, Gao Hanwen's face was full of excitement and expectation.
Because not long ago, Yan Shifan specially ordered someone to invite him to the Yan Mansion.
Before that, Gao Hanwen had already received the news that Ma Ningyuan bore all the blame alone and did not implicate anyone.
In this way, the previous accusations against him, Gao Hanwen, would be dismissed.
After Gao Hanwen got off the sedan, he attracted the attention of most people present.
Gao Hanwen didn't pay attention to the eyes that were looking at him. He only saw him coming to the doorkeeper. After stating his identity and purpose of coming, the boy quickly went in to report.
Soon after, the housekeeper of Yan Mansion came out of the side door and welcomed Gao Hanwen in.
After Gao Hanwen entered Yan's Mansion, those gathered at the door began to speculate on his identity.
"Who is this man? Judging from his clothes, he doesn't look like a high-ranking official. How could he enter Yan's Mansion so easily?"
"Don't you know, this is Xiaoge Lao's student!"
"What, he is Gao Hanwen!"
"This Gao Hanwen is not an ordinary person. He was previously recommended by Mr. Xiaoge to measure fields in Zhejiang and participated in many matters of converting rice into mulberry. Now that the conversion from rice to mulberry has been completed, this person's future future will be immeasurable!"
"Hiss, you are really a terrible person!"
Gao Hanwen naturally had no way of knowing what those people were talking about outside the door. After entering Yan's mansion, he was led by the housekeeper to wait outside Yan Shifan's room.
"Mr. Xiao Ge, your student Gao Hanwen is here!"
"Well, I understand, let him in!"
After the words fell, only Yan Shifan's room came with such a voice.
Then, Gao Hanwen opened the door of the room and walked in.
At this time, Yan Shifan was playing with a bunch of drawings on the desk. Seeing this, Gao Hanwen immediately waited aside with great caution.
Then, Yan Shifan put the drawings in his hands aside, waved to Gao Hanwen, and then said: "Hanwen, you are here, come and help me as a teacher!"
"is teacher!"
Upon hearing this, Gao Hanwen immediately stepped forward to help Yan Shifan sort out the drawings.
…
After finishing sorting out the drawings on the desk, Gao Hanwen looked away, mustered up the courage, and asked Yan Shifan: "Old...teacher, these drawings are..."
After Yan Shifan heard this, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeves and then responded: "These are the drawings of the steam engine. When His Majesty was teaching in the Imperial College..."
Before Gao Hanwen could respond, Yan Shifan seemed to suddenly remember something, stopped talking abruptly, waved his hand, and then said: "That's right, you were still measuring fields in Zhejiang, no. It’s normal to know!”
When Yan Shifan finished speaking, Gao Hanwen shook his head incomprehensibly, and then said: "To be honest, teacher, students still have some understanding of this aspect. Is this something proposed by His Majesty?"
"It is said that the steam engine after passing through it can be used to weave cloth. In this way, my Ming Dynasty can produce more silk!"
Yan Shifan took in the expression on Gao Hanwen's face, nodded, and continued to add: "Well, that's right, for this reason, His Majesty also allocated a large amount of money to develop steam engines!"
Afterwards, Yan Shifan sighed helplessly and continued: "Well, unfortunately, the current research and development progress of steam engines is very slow. The steam engines produced are not only inefficient, but also extremely prone to explosion!"
"For this reason, the Ministry of Industry is also having a headache. They are currently organizing a large number of craftsmen to make improvements!"
Seeing that the topic was getting further and further away, Yan Shifan immediately chose to bring it back on track. Then, he pointed to the empty seat beside him and ordered: "Sit down!"
"Thank you teacher!"
When Gao Hanwen heard this, he didn't refuse and walked straight down to the empty seat beside him.
Seeing this, Yan Shifan nodded and sat directly on the empty seat beside him. After looking Gao Hanwen up and down, his face was filled with relief and he said slowly: "The teacher asked you to come here this time because there is one thing." I have to tell you the matter with my own mouth!”
"As the teacher said before, the impeachment against you is completely false. Not long ago, the court obtained Ma Ningyuan's confession, in which Ma Ningyuan admitted all his guilt!"
When Gao Hanwen heard Yan Shifan's words, he couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in his heart.
After all, when there was no evidence to prove his innocence, his teacher Yan Shifan unconditionally chose to believe in him.
In addition, Yan Shifan was also kind to him. If it weren't for Yan Shifan's recommendation, Gao Hanwen would not have entered the official career so smoothly. He might still be in a corner, struggling to qualify.
Just when Gao Hanwen was about to say something, he heard a "squeak" and the door to the room was pushed open.
Later, two servants came in and brought a cup of hot tea to Yan Shifan and Gao Hanwen.
"Try it, this is a newly arrived tea!"
Seeing this situation, Yan Shifan waved his hand and said to Gao Hanwen.
"Um."
After hearing this, Gao Hanwen had no choice but to pick up the tea cup and sip the tea in the cup.
"Well, that's really good tea!"
After putting down the tea cup, Gao Hanwen's eyes lit up and he praised.
Yan Shifan nodded when he heard the words, put the teacup in his hand aside, and said slowly: "When I come down later, I will send someone to deliver some to your house!"
"Teacher, this...this..."
When Gao Hanwen heard what Yan Shifan said, he subconsciously wanted to refuse, but before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Yan Shifan: "Okay, why do we still have to pay attention to these things between master and disciple?"
Then, Yan Shifan looked in the direction of Gao Hanwen and continued to ask: "By the way, when do you plan to set off?"
When Yan Shifan finished his words, Gao Hanwen lowered his head and said without hesitation: "Reply to the teacher, the student plans to leave in two days!"
Hearing this, Yan Shifan made no comment. He just nodded slightly and said categorically: "Well, I'll see you off as a teacher when the time comes!"
Facing Yan Shifan's kindness, Gao Hanwen had no intention of rejecting it. He knew that with Yan Shifan's offer, the trouble he might encounter in the future would be much less.
Immediately, Gao Hanwen came back to his senses, nodded, and said in response: "Well, I'll bother the teacher then!"
After that, Gao Hanwen and Yan Shifan chatted for a long time. Later, seeing that it was getting late, Gao Hanwen got up and left.
Yan Shifan looked at Gao Hanwen's leaving back, lowered his head, and said silently to himself: "Hanwen, I hope you won't blame the teacher in the future!"
…
On the other side, Zhejiang, inside the largest restaurant in Hangzhou City.
"It's already this time, why hasn't Lao Zheng come over yet? Could it be that something happened on the way and delayed him?"
In the room, He Maocai looked away from the dishes on the table in front of him, picked up the wine glass on the table, and drank the wine in one gulp.
After that, I heard a burst of footsteps, the door of the room was pushed open, and Zheng Michang walked in dusty.
Seeing this situation, He Maocai showed some blame on his face. He looked in the direction of Zheng Michang and asked, "Old Zheng, why are you here at this time? Didn't we make an appointment early in the morning?"
Hearing this, Zheng Michang had a look of helplessness on his face. He shook his head and explained: "There is no way. The imperial court's triennial plan is coming soon. If something goes wrong at this time, everything will be in trouble." It’s all over!”
"In addition, not long ago, the imperial court issued a notice exempting people from taxes for one year. It is a busy time now!"
He Maocai heard what Zheng Michang said, and after pouring him a glass of wine, he consoled him: "What are you afraid of? The Governor is now the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Even for the sake of having worked together before, he will show his favor! "
Hearing this, Zheng Michang took the wine glass from He Maocai's hand, raised his head, drank it all in one gulp, and then said, "What if the Governor is now the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs? Hold the fire, be careful, don't fall down!"
When Zheng Michang said this, he seemed to suddenly remember something. He looked in the direction of He Maocai and asked, "By the way, what did the governor give you?"
He Maocai heard this, and after pondering for a moment, he finally said: "The governor gave me an above-average rating. If nothing else, I will still serve as the inspector of Zhejiang!"
When He Maocai finished speaking, a look of confusion appeared on Zheng Michang's face. He looked away from He Maocai and said slowly: "It seems that my evaluation is probably above average!"
"The governor has just been transferred to Zhejiang not long ago, and he is still unfamiliar with many things. We are still needed for the time being!"
Then, He Maocai picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, put it into his mouth, and tasted it carefully.
After that, He Maocai put down his chopsticks and continued to complain.
"It's better for those Beijing officials. They have an assessment every six years, and most of the time, it's just a formality. Unlike us, whenever there is any trouble from above, we have to follow along!"
"If you're not careful, you won't be able to keep this black gauze hat on your head!"
After hearing He Maocai's complaint, Zheng Michang felt the same way. He nodded and said in agreement: "Yes, that's why I thought that one day I could be transferred to the capital!" ( End of this chapter)
