Yan Song visited Jiajing late at night, which was a rare thing.
Moreover, Yan Song ignored Huang Jin's face and directly asked for a secret talk with Jiajing. This is extremely rare!
Jiajing nodded slightly, Huang Jin showed no displeasure at all, and enthusiastically poured a cup of tea for Yan Song before going to watch outside the house.
"What's the matter with my dear, keeping it so secret and solemn?"
Yan Song's expression was sad and his voice was hoarse: "Long live, Xia Yan still has an orphan alive, who was secretly rescued and adopted by someone with ulterior motives!"
"What? Daring!"
Jiajing was furious and slammed the table, causing a teacup to fall to the ground and shatter into pieces.
Jiajing's feelings for Xia Yan were once better than his feelings for Yan Song, so when they finally broke up, he was extremely cruel to Xia Yan.
It is difficult for Jiajing to trust someone. When he trusts someone, he will give that person a lot of care and privileges, just like Yan Song and Xiao Feng now.
But when he believed that someone he trusted betrayed him, his revenge would be more violent and cruel than that against ordinary courtiers. Because there is a lot of personal emotion mixed in here.
Jiajing was not an emperor who liked killing people. Like most emperors of the Ming Dynasty, he preferred dismissal, fines, and spankings.
But he killed Xia Yan, beheaded him and abandoned the city, not even leaving his body intact. This was also the only cabinet chief minister to be publicly executed in the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years.
Yu Maojian, the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, who is now being used as a carrot and hung in front of Liutai, interceded for Xia Yan at that time and argued hard. He believed that at Xia Yan's position, the death penalty was not appropriate.
Even if you take a step back and say that you really want him to die, you should give him a decent way to die, such as giving him poisonous wine or Bai Ling.
But Jiajing scolded him and insisted on his decision: behead him and abandon the market!
To what extent was Xia Yan trusted by Jiajing?
In less than a year, he was promoted from a seventh-rank official to a minister of the Ministry of Rites, a second-rank official!
Xiao Feng is Jiajing's junior brother. It took him a year and a half to rise from a seventh-grade Zhongshusheren to a second-grade Jiangnan Governor, with Yan Song pushing him behind him!
To what extent was Xia Yan protected by Jiajing?
In the process of his meteoric rise, many ministers, many censors, the chief ministers of the dynasty, and six ministers all impeached him.
Jiajing has only one principle, whoever dares to impeach Xia Yan will get out!
Xiao Feng was Jiajing's junior brother. When he was impeached, he had to defend himself. Jiajing at most helped him blow the whistle, and no one was dismissed from office because of the impeachment of Xiao Feng.
Perhaps, after executing Xia Yan, Jiajing would no longer favor anyone, including Yan Song, as he did Xia Yan.
It wasn't until Xiao Feng came back from the dead that people saw someone who was comparable to Xia Yan and was trusted and loved by Jiajing.
Xia Yan was not put to death all at once. Just like Yan Song now, he had a very thick health bar. Even if he made any mistakes, Jiajing would always be tolerant.
Dismissed from office four times and reinstated four times, Jiajing used extraordinary patience to forgive his old friend again and again and give him a chance to start over.
But character determines fate. Xia Yan's pride, Xia Yan's luxury, and Xia Yan's contempt for others finally made his thick blood bar exhausted.
So, who played a role in Xia Yan's transformation from Jiajing's first favorite to Jiajing's enemy who must be beheaded?
This is the reason why Yan Shifan is so happy. In addition to Yan Song, there are also Qiu Luan, Lu Bing, and even Tao Zhongwen on this list.
These people all played an extremely crucial role in Xia Yan's carefully planned final blow.
At that time, Zeng Xian, the governor of Shaanxi Province, requested that troops be sent to recover the Hetao area. The Hetao area had already been captured by Ada Khan.
The loss of the Hetao area directly caused the Gansu area to lose contact with the Ming Dynasty, and indirectly caused Qinghai and Uszang to be attacked by the Mongols.
Xia Yan agreed with Zeng Mian's idea and repeatedly wrote to Jiajing, hoping that Jiajing would support such a feat of regaining lost territory.
It wasn't that Jiajing didn't want to, he just felt that the timing was not good, and the court's money, food, troops and horses were not enough, so he hesitated and just let the ministers discuss it first.
Yan Song saw an opportunity and began to make plans silently.
He first delayed the Ministry of War from verifying the money and food needed for the troops and horses. This small move resulted in him not getting a clear answer every time Jiajing asked about the matter.
Jiajing felt guilty, and even the Ministry of War had difficulty calculating the war requirements. This shows that the winning rate of this battle is not high.
Once defeated, the consequences will be serious and one's monastic career will be greatly disrupted, so it is better to maintain the status quo!
At this time, Zeng Mian, who was focused on the expedition, discovered that his commander-in-chief, Qiu Luan, the Marquis of Xianning, was corrupt, so he captured him directly and escorted him back to Beijing.
Yan Song immediately seized the opportunity and visited Qiu Luan in prison, asking Qiu Luan to accuse Zeng Mian of not reporting the defeat, embezzling military pay, and bribing Xia Yan to conceal the crime.
Qiu Luan embezzled a huge amount of money, which was a crime of losing one's head at the time. He risked his life and formed an alliance with Yan Song. A piece of complaint was handed over to Jiajing.
After all, Qiu Luan had contributed a lot during the ceremony, so he still had the right to voice his grievances. After Jiajing read the complaint, he thought of how Zeng Mian and Xia Yan kept forcing him to fight, and he immediately believed half of it.
This matter involves two top officials, the governor of Shaanxi and the chief minister of the cabinet, and it is definitely not something that the ordinary legal department can investigate. Jiajing chose his most trusted Jin Yiwei to investigate the matter thoroughly.
As a result, Lu Bing asked Jin Yiwei to arrest Zeng Mian, interrogate him in the imperial prison for half a month, and then told Jiajing that Zeng Mian admitted it and everything Qiu Luan said was true.
is that true? No one knows because it was a confession from prison. But no one dared not believe it, because those words came from Lu Bing’s mouth!
But no one knew that Lu Bing had been caught by Xia Yan doing something illegal. He knelt in front of Xia Yan for half an hour before gaining Xia Yan's forgiveness.
Xia Yan was arrested and sent to prison, waiting for Jiajing's final verdict. Jiajing was furious, but he still hadn't decided whether to kill Xia Yan.
Maybe, in his heart, there is still a little doubt, and maybe when the anger gradually subsides, the doubt will become more obvious.
Then there will be strange phenomena coming from the sky, and guest stars will disturb the moon. Tao Zhongwen told Jiajing that this was a disagreement between the emperor and his ministers, and the opposites were in conflict. It was a sign of the anger of heaven, and a decision needed to be made as soon as possible.
Since the king and his ministers were in conflict, they must have killed the ministers to protect the king. Xia Yan's last glimmer of hope was finally cut off. Behead and abandon the market.
Maybe Xia Yan didn't know until his death that Yan Song, whom he once looked down upon with his nose, would set up such a dead end step by step.
Let everyone who Xia Yan had offended secretly push him all the way to the guillotine.
Is Xia Yan a good person? I'm afraid it's hard to say that. It is difficult for a good person to create a miracle like his rocket rise.
As he strode to become the first minister of the cabinet, he must have stepped on the bodies of many political opponents. Among these political opponents, there are many good people and honest officials.
He lived a luxurious life and was extremely arrogant. No matter who he was, he didn't look down on him. Later, even Jiajing didn't even give him face, and he was extremely arrogant.
He found out about Lu Bing's illegal activities and forced Lu Bing to kneel down and beg for mercy; he found out about Yan Song and his son's illegal activities and forced Yan Song and his son to kneel down and beg for mercy twice.
Then he let them go, as if his majesty was more important than the law.
In order to express his closeness to the important ministers of the cabinet, Jiajing is said to have personally knitted three fragrant leaf crowns, wore one for himself, and shared one with his two friends, Xia Yan and Yan Song.
Yan Song put it on solemnly and covered it with gauze to show his cherishment. Xia Yan didn't wear it even once, and Jiajing became depressed and asked Xia Yan why he didn't wear it.
Xia Yan said calmly: "I am a scholar, is that thing worn by scholars?"
The implication is that I am an atheist, and your religious behavior is very low, and you are not worthy of being compared with us scholars.
It can be imagined that Jiajing's face must have been beaten red and swollen at that time, and he stared blankly at Xia Yan walking away, alone and messy in the wind.
Jiajing is not intolerant of atheists, such as Hai Rui. He also accused Jiajing of practicing Taoism as nonsense, and Jiajing did not do anything to him.
Many ministers are against Jiajing's Taoism. You are against Jiajing's practice. I am cultivating mine. As long as you don't go too far, I won't bother to care about you.
But Xia Yan is different. His path to prosperity has a lot to do with Jiajing Taoism itself. You must know that before Yan Song, Xia Yan was the number one master of Qingci in the Ming Dynasty!
Why does Jiajing like Xia Yan so much? In addition to Xia Yan always supporting him politically in the early days, it was also because Xia Yanqing wrote good poems!
What is Qingci? It was a talisman used by Taoist monks to report to heaven or recruit divine generals when they were cultivating. It was written with a red pen on ivy paper.
Because these are words and sentences that are meant to communicate with God, they must be written with great literary talent so that God is willing to listen.
Just like writing an essay when you were a kid, if you only wrote about helping the old lady cross the street, but the study committee member wrote "I am old, and people are old," the teacher must think you are a scumbag.
So to be honest, Xia Yan, while helping Jiajing create a large number of literary and artistic poems, also said that he was an atheist and despised Jiajing's religious beliefs.
So is Xia Yan a bad person? That can never be said. Because behind his many flaws, he is still one of the first assistants of the Ming Dynasty who has been affirmed by history.
When Xia Yan was an official, he dared to impeach Huangzhuang for occupying the people's fields, which led to Jiajing's decree to return the fields to the people.
Jiajing promoted the brother of the personal maid of his biological mother, the empress, to a royal guard through the back door, but was also impeached and dismissed by Xia Yan.
When Xia Yan was in power, he advocated limiting the power of eunuchs and imperial guards. Although it was out of consideration for the interests of the civil service group, it was also an extremely bold act during the Jiajing Dynasty.
When Xia Yan was in power, he rectified the administration of officials very severely. He believes that it is not enough to simply dismiss corrupt officials, but they must also punish them.
For this reason, he asked people to write many short essays, chasing after the corrupt officials who were dismissed from office, and publicizing them all the way, so that even when the corrupt officials returned to their hometowns, they would be ruined and completely dead in society.
Before Xia Yan, the official autumn evaluation was in vain. After Xia Yan took office, he paid close attention to the evaluation and eliminated mediocre, lazy and stupid officials.
Xia Yan attached great importance to border defense and developed the military's combat capabilities, and was especially concerned about the defense lines in Xuanda, Gansu and other places. This is why he later firmly supported Zeng Mian in regaining the Loop and eventually died in this matter.
Therefore, based on the above information, according to Mr. Lu Xun, Xia Yan should be a warrior with flaws, while Yan Song is a fly without flaws.
Jiajing did not publicly punish Xia Yan's entire family, but in fact, Xia Yan still did not leave a single descendant. Because Jiajing asked Jin Yiwei to take action, in fact, he was killing everyone in the family.
Who dares to secretly hide Xia Yan's descendants? On the surface, it is not illegal, but it is a naked challenge to Jiajing's authority.
Jiajing seemed to see a person with a vague face pointing at his nose and laughing at him, his movements were extremely arrogant.
The emperor wanted all of him to die, but I let him keep one. What can you do to me? So what if you are the emperor?
"Fetch me Lu Bing! Let him enter the palace immediately!"
Lu Bing was summoned to the palace late at night. He thought about many possibilities along the way, even considering his recent behavior, which was not very good and he went to a brothel twice more.
But when Jiajing asked him why Xia Yan still had descendants living in the world, Lu Bing was stunned and shook his head in denial.
"It's impossible, long live. I personally took people there to raid Xia Yan's home, and no one left alive.
There was only one daughter, who had already married into the Wu family. Long Live Grace made it clear that there was no need to be implicated. Everyone named Xia died after their homes were ransacked. "
Yan Song said calmly: "Master Lu, does Xia Yan have a granddaughter?"
Lu Bing nodded: "There is a granddaughter who is only three or four years old, but before Xia Yan's incident happened, she was abducted by traffickers when she was shopping for lanterns.
Xia Yan reported the case to Shuntian Mansion at that time, and Shuntian Mansion also asked the Jinyi Health Association to investigate, but there were no clues. Could it be that you are talking about her? "
Yan Song looked at Jiajing: "Long live, I just said that Mr. Lu cannot bend the law for personal gain, so that's what happened.
However, it is incredible that the granddaughter of the dignified chief minister of the cabinet could be kidnapped on the street by human traffickers and never found again! "
Jiajing looked at Lu Bing, and Lu Bing smiled bitterly and said: "Long live, in normal times, let alone the chief minister of the cabinet, even a child of a minister's family would not be abducted by human traffickers.
However, although Xia Yan was still in power at the time, Long Live ordered him to take away his title and return the seal. The Xia family building is about to collapse, and people are in panic and chaos.
It's really not surprising that the servants didn't keep an eye on any children at this time. The child is rarely seen, and the Xia family doesn't even have a portrait, so it is very difficult to find him.
Besides, this was a little girl, so it wasn't an important matter, so it was left to nothing at that time. "
Jiajing said coldly: "If it's a coincidence, let's forget it. I'm afraid it was done intentionally. I personally issued an order that Xia Yan's crime is unpardonable, and the whole family will be arrested with royal guards.
Having said this, there are still people who dare to openly sing the opposite and engage in such actions. Not only do they not take me seriously, but they also have the intention to overturn the verdict! "
As soon as these words came out, Lu Bing could no longer be vague. He gritted his teeth and bowed.
"Long live the wise man, I think it is the Chief Assistant who got the news about the girl, and I asked the Chief Assistant to inform him. I will lead people to arrest her immediately to avoid future troubles."
Jiajing stared at Lu Bing for a moment, and his expression gradually softened, apparently believing that this matter was not Lu Bing's fault.
Jiajing can be forgiven for making mistakes at work, and Jiajing can be forgiven for taking bribes and perverting the law, but betraying yourself is absolutely not allowed.
The deeper his feelings for Lu Bing are, the more ruthless he will be when he discovers the betrayal. Xia Yan was beheaded and abandoned in the market, and his clan was wiped out invisibly. Lu Bing, at least three clans must be wiped out.
"Yan Song said that Xiaodong from the World View is Xia Yan's granddaughter!"
Lu Bing was taken aback. He suddenly looked up at Yan Song and asked suddenly.
"Master Chief Assistant, where did you get this news?"
This question is actually the biggest loophole faced by Yan Songlai in filing a complaint, because he can never say that the Miao priest hired by his son asked the question through mind poison, that is, he is seeking death.
So before he came, he discussed it repeatedly with his son and came up with a reasonable explanation.
"It's a coincidence that there is a servant in my house who once worked as a servant in Xia Yan's house. He went to the World Temple to burn incense and met Xiaodong.
Although it had been several years, he was very familiar with Xiaodong's appearance, so he secretly inquired while Xiaodong was collecting herbs in the back mountain.
Xiaodong admitted that she was Xia Yan's granddaughter and had a jade pendant as proof! The servant told the old minister when he came back.
When the old minister heard this, he was shocked. He felt that this woman was going around and hiding in the capital. He suddenly felt that this matter was not simple, so he asked to see her late at night! "
Lu Bing was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, is this kid stupid? If a former servant asks you, do you dare to admit it? How did you survive for so many years?
But when Yan Song said this, he would never dare to refute or express doubt at this time. He had to be more active than Yan Song to show his mood of making up for the situation.
"Long live, if that's the case, I will immediately bring people to arrest Xiaodong for interrogation and search for physical evidence!"
Just as Jiajing was about to nod, Yan Song already spoke in an understatement.
"Master Lu, the Taoist temple is Xiao Feng's territory. If you go to his Taoist temple to arrest people, I'm afraid he won't agree!"
Lu Bing gritted his teeth and said nothing. He never mentioned the word worldview because he didn't want to involve Xiao Feng. But it seemed that Yan Song had been prepared and would never let Xiao Feng stay out of the matter.
"Master Chief Assistant, the Taoist Temple is a foreign place, and the Wansui Temple is inscribed by Long live himself. It is indeed inappropriate to arrest people without authorization. Naturally, I want to inform Xiao Feng."
Yan Song immediately turned to Jiajing: "Long live, Xia Yan has been in power for more than ten years, and his disciples and former officials are all over the court. When Xia Yan was convicted, there was a lot of discussion in the court.
In this matter, I am afraid that Xia Yanyu's party is causing trouble and has the intention of overturning the case. Even if Xiao Feng doesn't know Xiaodong's life experience, doesn't the Second Temple Master who adopted Xiaodong also know? "
This sentence was so cruel that Lu Bing lowered his head and sighed in his heart. Jiajing sat quietly, as if in trance. After a long time, he spoke slowly.
"Lu Bing, send someone to bring Xiao Feng to Xiyuan. You take people directly to the World Temple, arrest Xiaodong and the second temple master, and put them in prison!"
