"Uncle, that Su Ze refused." A young man who was somewhat similar to Yan Maoqing reported Su Ze's refusal to Yan Maoqing.
Yan Maoqing did not raise his eyes, but said lightly: "I know."
"Uncle! This Su Ze is too arrogant! He is just an official, but he dares to refuse your request!"
Yan Maoqing didn't know if he had done too many bad things and had no children. This nephew of the same family was named Yan Lubai, and he had been working beside Yan Maoqing.
Logically speaking, Yan Lubai should be adopted as Yan Maoqing's son and become Yan Maoqing's heir.
However, Yan Maoqing has not continued to prostitute her nephew for free.
Yan Lubai has been working with Yan Maoqing for nearly ten years, but he has not received any benefits from Yan Maoqing.
Even his own sons and nephews were exploited, and Yan Maoqing was worthy of being a corrupt official whose name would go down in history.
Yan Maoqing was not as angry as his nephew. He raised his head and said:
"No need, I'm testing Su Ze this time to test Eunuch Tao's attitude. Since Su Ze is like this, Eunuch Tao's attitude is obvious."
Yan Lubai looked at his uncle doubtfully.
Yan Maoqing looked at his nephew and couldn't help but frown. He had been reluctant to accept Yan Lubai as his stepson because this nephew was too stupid.
You can't even see such a simple thing. Let alone participate in a political struggle at the level of party struggle, I'm afraid Yan Lubai won't even be able to serve as a county magistrate.
However, Yan Lubai was already the most accomplished nephew among the younger generation of the Yan family. Yan Maoqing could only sigh in her heart again and explained:
"Su Ze is just an official, but behind him stands Eunuch Tao."
"I have investigated and found that when Eunuch Tao entered Fujian to mint coins, Su Ze worked for him. The new navy army was prepared by Eunuch Tao, and he is Eunuch Tao's man."
"Su Ze's attitude represents Eunuch Tao's attitude. If Eunuch Tao is determined to defect to our strict party, Su Ze will not dare to refuse to train the troupe for Mr. Ge. But now Eunuch Tao is not ready to defect to us. Su Ze naturally hardened his back and flatly rejected us."
Yan Lubai finally understood, and he quickly asked: "What should we do?"
Yan Maoqing covered his face and said: "Check the accounts of the Shipping Department carefully and carefully, but just looking at the account books, you probably won't find much of a problem."
Yan Lubai had an innocent expression again. Yan Maoqing was almost speechless. He could only continue to explain:
"The account books of the Shipping Department are to be sent to the palace and to the Ministry of Accounts. No matter how courageous Eunuch Tao is, the accounts must be smooth and it will be difficult to find problems."
"If you want to find a problem, look for it in the Ryukyu envoy!"
"Envoy to Ryukyu?"
Yan Maoqing said: "Last year, the silk traded by Fuzhou Shipping Department amounted to half a million taels of silver. How could a mere Ryukyu country eat so much silk? These silks must have flowed to Japanese merchants and Nanyang Westerners. Gone in."
"As long as we find evidence that Ryukyu merchants were transiting and trading with Japan, we can say that Eunuch Tao was in contact with Japan, and the case will be easier to handle."
Yan Lubai's eyes lit up. Sure enough, his uncle was really smart!
"What about Su Ze?"
Yan Maoqing picked up the "Surprise" in his hand and said: "Go and collect the newspapers from these years, and then look for the books published by Su Ze to see if he has any rebellious remarks."
"Back then, Su Ze went to Beijing to rescue Yu Dayou and gave lectures at Lingji Palace. From observing his remarks, he should have inherited his knowledge from Wang Gen, King Taizhou."
"This king of Taizhou has a lot of knowledge that is disobedient to the emperor. As long as he catches these remarks, he can be reported to the court, saying that he is disobedient to the saint's words, and his crown (honor) will be removed."
Yan Lubai immediately said excitedly: "My nephew, go and do it now!"
Seeing his nephew going out, Yan Maoqing lowered his eyes again and suddenly sighed.
"Why!"
In the Zhejiang Governor's Mansion, Hu Zongxian also sighed heavily.
Xu Wei strode in and said with a joyful face: "Bu Tang! No matter how successful Taizhou is, it has already achieved four victories in four battles! This General Yu Zongyuan recommended by Su Rulin is really a famous general in the world!"
When Hu Zongxian heard the news, there was no expression on his face. Xu Wei asked quickly:
"Hu Butang, what's going on?"
Hu Zongxian sighed again. He stepped back and said to Xu Wei, his confidant:
"I still remember that last month, Yan Maoqing went south to Fujian and stayed in my house for half a day."
Xu Wei nodded. Yan Maoqing went south to Fujian and naturally had to pass through Zhejiang.
Yan Maoqing once lived in Hu Zongxian's house for half a day and had secret conversations for a long time.
However, Hu Zongxian did not tell Xu Wei the content of the secret conversation, and Xu Wei almost forgot about it.
Hu Zongxian said: "What Yan Maoqing brought is a message from the grace minister."
The grace Hu Zongxian was talking about was naturally Yan Song.
Xu Wei also became serious. Yan Song was Hu Zongxian's biggest supporter in the court, and Yan Song's secret message must be very important.
I only heard Hu Zongxian say: "Enxiang told me: 'The Ming Dynasty cannot live without Southeast, and Southeast cannot live without Hu Zongxian. The Japanese pirates cannot be suppressed, nor can they be completely suppressed. If Hu Zongxian is in Southeast for one day, I, Yan Song, will not be able to defeat him.'"
Xu Wei was shocked when he heard this.
Since the beginning of this spring, the Japanese rebellion in Zhejiang and South Zhili has been quelled a lot.
Yu Zongyuan led his troops in four battles and four victories in Taizhou, Zhejiang. The largest Japanese pirate group in Zhejiang has been defeated.
Hu Zongxian also established a series of outposts in the coastal areas of Zhejiang to rectify Zhejiang's maritime garrison. From the perspective of Zhejiang's efforts to quell Japanese aggression, the Japanese rebellion in Zhejiang is about to be quelled.
But Xu Wei understood what Yan Song asked Yan Maoqing to bring to Hu Zongxian, and he immediately said:
"The imperial court wants to tighten the rules? No, it is His Majesty who wants to tighten the rules!"
After a long time, Hu Zongxian nodded and said: "What Xu Wenchang said is absolutely true. En Xiang must have felt that His Majesty is going to take action."
Xu Wei paced back and forth. Although he failed to pass the imperial examination, he was well versed in the ways of the world.
"Yan Ge Lao Bingguo has been in the country for 20 years and is the person who knows His Majesty best. He said that Your Majesty wants to change Yan, which is definitely not groundless."
Hu Zongxian nodded and said: "Ever since I entered Zhejiang, I have been very supportive of the anti-Japanese war. If I suddenly say this this year, it seems that the trend of the court has changed."
Hu Zongxian had complicated emotions. He was a person who wanted to do things. In order to lead the anti-Japanese war, he did not hesitate to frame Zhang Jing and Li Tianchong, and submitted a letter of surrender to the strict party to seek a future.
Since presiding over Zhejiang's anti-Japanese war, Hu Zongxian has been able to abandon Yu Dayou in order to protect himself and quickly put the blame on Yu Dayou.
Logically speaking, this is a villain.
However, when Hu Zongxian was in Zhejiang, he devoted all his efforts to fighting against Japanese invaders. Zhejiang's fight against Japanese invaders was indeed effective. Nowadays, Japanese pirates in Zhejiang and South Zhili are almost extinct.
But just when Hu Zongxian was about to complete his work, Yan Song actually brought such a letter.
Even Xu Wei was confused.
It stands to reason that since Xu Wei was from Zhejiang, he naturally wholeheartedly supported the fight against Japanese aggression.
However, he had followed Hu Zongxian for many years and was already tied to Hu Zongxian and the Southeast Anti-Japanese War. Yan Song's letter made Xu Wei very entangled.
"What do you think, Bendou?"
Hu Zongxian said confused: "I don't know."
Hu Zongxian stood up, looked out the window and said: "It is my long-cherished wish to fight against the Japanese. Since entering Zhejiang, you and I have been working hard and sleeping all day and night just to fight against the Japanese. Now we are just about to do it, but Enxiang tells me to pull back." , how can I be willing to do so."
"The Japanese people in Zhejiang are suffering. The people of Zhejiang are suffering. Changing rice to mulberry and destroying dikes and flooding fields have already caused the people of Zhejiang to suffer too much. Do they have to suffer more because of the fight between the two parties in the court? "
Hu Zongxian looked at Xu Wei and said: "Chang Wen, when I personally sent Ma Ningyuan to Beijing in the prison car, I once told him that he had not read the saint's book and was not suitable to be an official. It was me who promoted him and harmed him."
"But now I ask, have I understood the saint's book?"
Xu Wei was silent for a long time and said: "I understand, is the department confused?"
Hu Zongxian nodded and said: "Of all the officials in the Ming Dynasty, none of them have read the books of saints. Why is the court like this?"
Xu Wei suddenly understood Hu Zongxian.
Under the banner of anti-Japanese war, the methods and power tactics used by Hu Zongxian can still be explained by "contingency".
In other words, the things he did like being a fool, fawning over Yan Song, and helping the Yan Party change rice into mulberry trees can all be covered up under the banner of "for the sake of resisting Japanese aggression."
This big flag is Hu Zongxian's fig leaf and the last moral high ground in his heart.
"I am fighting against the Japanese. All these are just means."
But now Yan Song's letter can be said to have completely torn this banner, and almost caused the belief of Hu Zongxian, a minister who was determined to resist the Japanese, to collapse.
In order to protect himself, he deliberately encouraged the Japanese pirates to respect themselves and let the Japanese pirates go. So what has Hu Zongxian been doing all these years?
Xu Wei was confused for a long time, and then said: "Hu Butang, why don't you write a letter and ask Su Rulin."
"Su Rulin?"
Hu Zongxian was stunned for a moment. He thought of the young man he had seen on Fang Wanghai's boat. Over the years, Su Ze's reputation in Zhejiang had become higher and higher, and he was already considered a great master of Confucianism.
Xu Wei nodded and said: "I think Su Rulin's knowledge over the years has become a sect of his own, and he has become a generation of Confucianism. He should be able to answer the questions of the ministry."
Hu Zongxian was stunned for a moment, Xu Wei seemed to be right.
Among today's Confucian masters, only Su Ze continues to teach new knowledge and his influence continues to expand.
Yangming's theory of mind has become an empty metaphysics, and the Taizhou school has become deviant. However, Su Ze's theory of moral ethics of the four peoples has become more and more popular due to the rapid development of industry and commerce in Zhejiang.
Even most academies in Zhejiang are teaching Su Ze's knowledge.
But Hu Zongxian still had doubts and said: "Chaoguan Hall?"
Xu Wei cupped his hands and said, "I think Su Rulin won't mind this matter. Or let Xu go to Fujian in person and ask Su Rulin for his opinion."
Hu Zongxian nodded and said: "Then there will be Lao Wenchang!"
Just when Xu Wei set off from Hangzhou and headed south to Fujian, the situation in the capital really changed.
The censor of the Qingliu faction impeached Yan Shifan for five illegal acts and killed three, causing a sensation in the government and the public.
The imperial censor impeached Yan Shifan for secretly misappropriating construction materials to build his own house, and also used money from the treasury of the Ministry of Industry to build his own ancestral tombs.
This is the first time that Yan Song and his son were impeached after Yang Jisheng's death.
But this time the palace's reaction shocked Yan Song, Yan Shifan and his son.
The last time Yang Jisheng impeached Yan Song and Yan Shifan, the emperor immediately dismissed the memorial and asked the Jin Yiwei to arrest Yang Jisheng and imprison him.
But this time the emperor just kept the memorial and directly replied "no report".
When the emperor receives a memorial from a minister, he usually replies "reported", which is equivalent to the leader signing "read" on the document.
If the emperor rejects it, it means that the emperor is not satisfied with the content of the memorial.
But "not reporting" means a lot. It means that the emperor has read the memorial but has not made any statement.
This is different from the meaning of "staying in the middle but not sending out".
To keep the memorial but not publish it means that the memorial was sent to the emperor, and the emperor withdrew the memorial. This is equivalent to later generations sending a document to the leader. The leader said to put the document down and look at it again, indicating that there is still room for discussion on the memorial.
The attitude of "not reporting" is even more ambiguous than staying in China and not being issued. This is something that has never happened since Party Yan came to power.
Even the Qingliu people were frightened by Emperor Jiajing's strange attitude this time. Qingliu's censor did not continue to write a memorial to impeach Yan Shifan.
In Prince Yu's palace, the lights are brightly lit.
King Yu looked at the two lecturers Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng and asked with an expectant expression:
"Two masters, it's time to stop being strict!"
Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng fell silent.
"For the first time, my father did not report the impeachment memorial against Yan Shifan, nor did he punish the censor who impeached him. Isn't this a sign of turning against Yan?"
Zhang Juzheng looked at Prince Yu and couldn't help but sigh. This prince was too politically "holy as before".
In order to prevent Prince Yu from doing stupid things, Zhang Juzheng could only say: "Your Majesty, it's not yet time to relax the rule."
"why is that?"
Gao Gong had a quick temper, so he stopped beating around the bush and said directly:
"Now that the Japanese rebellion in the southeast has not been settled, and the rice has been converted into mulberry, it has not yet been turned into silk and sold, so His Majesty still wants to use Yan Song and his son."
King Yu finally understood and sat down slumped.
Gao Gong said: "The key to reducing the severity lies in Hu Zongxian."
"Hu Zongxian?"
Gao Gong said: "Hu Zongxian is fighting against the Japanese in Zhejiang, and there is still a Japanese pirate gang of 5,000 people near Taizhou in Zhejiang that is causing trouble. As long as there is good news in Taizhou, the Yan Party will fall."
King Yu stood up again, but Zhang Juzheng poured cold water on him: "What if Hu Zongxian wants to encourage the bandits to respect themselves?"
King Yu was stunned again and looked at Gao Gong.
Gao Gong said: "That's what I'm worried about. Uncle, I want you to go to Zhejiang."
"Zhejiang?"
"On behalf of the prince, persuade Hu Zongxian to go ahead anyway!"
On Chuanshi Island, Su Ze once again received an invitation from Qi Jiguang to jointly fight against Japanese pirates.
Su Ze said to Lin Mojun: "We've come just in time. The new navy army needs a battle to clear the sea routes!"
Lin Mojun looked at Su Ze and asked, "Aren't you afraid that the birds in the imperial court will use up their good bows and hide their good bows?"
Su Ze smiled and said: "Afraid, why should I be afraid? I am not the court's lackey. What can the court do to deal with me?"
"Resisting the Japanese is the overall situation. To fight within, we must pacify the outside. We must first destroy the Japanese pirates, and then revitalize the Jinyang army!"
He Qiao was respected by Emperor Wu, and he said to Qiao: "The east palace seems to have become more advanced, please go and see." He also asked what happened. The answer: "The crown prince's holy nature is as good as ever." ps: This prince is Emperor Hui of Jin Dynasty
(End of chapter)
