Last time, just one imperial study went to Guangdong, and all the troops above the third level in Guangdong and Guangxi were wiped out.
This time, it was the chief accompanying bachelor of the imperial study who went south to Zhejiang.
Yan Song did not rush there.
Even when the news was about to reach Zhejiang, he had not yet left.
Nowadays, he has many people to see.
Because he, Yan Song, had been dormant for so many years, in addition to being the chief accompanying bachelor of the Royal Study Room, he had an important achievement this year: the examiner of the general examination.
All of them who became Jinshi in the second year of Jiajing's reign were his disciples.
The reason is simple: since His Majesty wants to support the New Party and try to enrich the country first, the examiner for this subject must be someone from the New Party.
There are only so many people who are qualified to be examiners. Yang Tinghe could not take the post because his second son also had to take the exam.
Shi Yun, Jiang Mian, and Mao Ji have all participated in the examinations before and are not suitable to serve consecutively.
The emperor didn't seem to want to choose someone who was completely from the New Party or the Imperial Party. In the end, this good job fell to Yan Song.
Now that Yan Song is about to leave the center, there are two prominent positions left: the chief of the imperial study and another associate in the imperial study.
One can participate in national policy meetings, and the other can see the emperor from time to time.
The chief of the imperial study will probably be ranked first by Zhang Bi based on seniority. He is a fellow countryman of the emperor, so the emperor will definitely choose him first.
Then it would be great to have a bachelor in the imperial study room to accompany you!
Taking advantage of the opportunity when Yan Song was about to go to his post, many people had a very clear purpose in visiting him to say goodbye.
However, the emperor's decision came quickly: Fei Hong's nephew Fei Maozhong!
After compiling history for two years, Fei Maozhong became the most junior associate bachelor since the establishment of the Imperial Study Room. Among the previous Yan Song, Yang Shen, Wang Shouren, Zhang Bi, and Gu Dingchen, which one is not young and has been an official for many years?
Amid the suspicions of the officials in the capital, Yan Song set out south with the secret box. At this time, the decision in the capital also spread to Zhejiang.
Ouzhu has been working hard this month, running around to inspect Ningbo and Shaoxing.
He went to every disaster-stricken village and damaged families in Ningbo city, leading officials and gentry representatives to help the orphans.
When an official could do this, seeing him moved and expressed with righteous indignation that he would definitely report to the court to punish corrupt officials, the people's emotions slowly passed away.
After all, people cannot be resurrected after death. Although the government failed to arrest the Japanese pirates this time, it actually came up with money and food relief, which was a surprise.
When the news received from the Hangzhou Prefecture reached Ningbo urgently, Ou Zhu's face turned frighteningly gloomy when she returned to the Ningbo Prefecture.
"European Inspector, what should we do now?" Lu Hongwu, the prefect of Ningbo, panicked, "Such a trivial matter has been taken care of, why do we need to send the Governor of Zhejiang?"
Ouzhu was in a irritable mood.
Why send the governor of Zhejiang? Judging from the secret letter sent by Sun Xiu, this is just the result of Yang Tinghe's compromise! His original intention was to use the expedition as an excuse to completely take over the military and political affairs of the southeast, and plow the government, gentry, and wealthy households in the southeast first!
The good news is that there is a new conflict between the New Party and the Imperial Party.
The bad news is: Zhejiang Shipping Division is determined to be abolished.
Xie Changjie, Lai En, Zheng Shoujie and others will all be sent to Beijing to face charges. Yang Tinghe cannot handle the entire southeast, so can he use this matter to handle Zhejiang first?
Arriving at the Shibosi Yamen, Ryan's face was earthy, his lips were trembling as he spoke, and he couldn't even hold the tea cup steady in his hand.
He thought of Fulun, the former eunuch who guarded Guangdong, and Dong Wenzhong, the eunuch who guarded Ganzhou.
But he did not dare to commit suicide.
Xie Changjie's face was ashen and his mouth was full of bitterness: He felt that Your Majesty might as well be happy.
"European Inspector, didn't you say that the imperial court will not punish severely? The Shipping Department has been abolished. This..." Zheng Shoujie was frightened, "Japanese pirates are so bold, and our Shipping Department has no soldiers, how can they punish us for our crimes?" ?”
"It's not that you are guilty, but the quarrel between the DPRK and China has hurt Zhejiang!" Ouzhu said with some sadness and indignation, "I have been running around for days to provide compensation, but it is all in vain! I will speak out and honestly, and the Municipal Shipping Company cannot be abolished!"
"Can the situation be turned around now?" Ryan had a glimmer of hope.
"Unlock Qiandu!" Ou Zhu saluted Xie Changjie, "Now that Mr. Yang Ge is enforcing new laws and acting domineering in the court, he is really too worried! First, he ordered Jieqiandu to clear the land in Guangdong, and then ordered Yang Yongxiu to visit the gentry in Guangdong to ask for help. Juan, Mr. Yangge is used to making drastic changes to show off his power! But how can Zhejiang, a heavily taxed city, do the same thing? Zhejiang’s annual income is inseparable from the profits of the shipping department, and the food and clothing of thousands of people depend on it. You are an old minister of Qiandi, so I hope you will After you enter the capital, you will tell His Majesty directly!"
Xie Changjie looked at him silently: So what should I do to find a turning point in your desperate situation?
If they are all sent to Beijing for questioning, how can I participate in the Zhejiang Bureau?
The last sentence is a bit interesting. Why do you mention that I am an old minister of Qiandi?
"Xie Qiandu, you are promoted by the Municipal Shipping Bureau, you must say something for our Municipal Shipping Bureau!" Ryan begged him with a tearful voice, "Guangdong implemented the new law and the Municipal Shipping Bureau was not abolished, why is Zhejiang still doing so? Do you want to abolish it first?"
Ouzhu stared at him: "The imperial court has decreed to escort you to the capital, so why not follow me to Hangzhou first?"
The news has spread like wildfire. On the surface, everything is business as usual in Hangzhou Mansion, but the owners of many well-known people's homes are already emotionally shattered.
"The Shipping Department is going to be abolished. What about the silk that the Weaving Bureau wants? What about the porcelain that the Shipping Department wants? I have been saving the goods for three years just for this year!"
In the past ten years or so, the Japanese mission has been coming every three years, and many people have become accustomed to this rhythm.
"Yes, Eunuch Liu, didn't you say that Sidao Kanhe will continue to trade as usual? According to your instructions, I have rushed to add looms, hired people, and collected a lot of raw silk!"
In the south, there are three weaving bureaus in Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou. At this time, Liu Zhong of the Hangzhou Manufacturing Bureau looked very impatient: "Why are you so anxious? Did you lose the goods that His Majesty asked you to prepare for his wedding last year? How can those Japanese barbarians live without the good things from our heaven? This time, what about Xu Wa? After smashing the business and running back, maybe in the second half of the year I will kidnap the person and send him back to plead guilty, but then it will be the same as usual? The cloth will not rot in your hands!"
"Eunuch Liu, I'm afraid it will really be abolished in the future!"
Liu Zhong raised his voice: "Even if the Shipping Department is abolished, will the palace and the court still ask for goods every year? Don't come to our house to make trouble! Our family is doing things according to the orders of the palace. How much does the Ministry of Rites require? Our family will prepare as much as the palace requires! Why, you still want our family to be the master of His Majesty and the court? Get back here! The noise is making our family upset!"
After blasting away these people, Liu Zhong showed real concern.
If Shibosi was to be punished, would that guy Ryan be talking nonsense?
Liu Zhong paced back and forth in the room, and then called his godson: "Go to the feudal lord's office!"
In the Chief Envoy Si Yamen, Sun Xiu, who will soon change from the number one person in Zhejiang to the number two person in charge, is reading a letter.
This letter came from Sichuan, and Sun Xiu read it very seriously.
So the news of Liu Zhong's invitation came in, and he only asked him to sit down for a while and go over immediately.
But after putting down the letter, he had not left yet.
After Sun Xiu frowned and thought for a while, he even picked up the letter again and read it carefully. Then he lit the letter paper and waited until it was almost burned out before putting it into the pen washer beside it.
It wasn't until he went to the side to wash his face and wipe his hands that he opened his arms and had someone help him tidy up his official uniform and sideburns.
After putting on his official hat and walking to the outside room where he summoned the officials, he smiled and said to Liu Zhong, "Manager Liu, I've thanked you for your long service."
Although Liu Zhong has a special status, he will not neglect Sun Xiu: "I don't dare. Fantai and Beijing are going to send a governor to Zhejiang. What I heard about the situation is not quite right."
Listening to the directness of his words, one could tell that the two of them had quite a good relationship before.
Sun Xiu sighed: "When such an incident happened in Zhejiang, it is natural for His Majesty to be furious."
"...His Majesty is going to abolish the Shipping Department. I, the Weaving Bureau, used to ask them to prepare silk as usual, but now they are all going to the Weaving Bureau to make trouble with me." He looked at Sun Xiu and asked meaningfully, "What's this? What can we do next?”
Sun Xiu smiled: "Don't worry about the future, it's the past..."
Liu Zhong's heart skipped a beat when he heard these words.
Everyone has a share in the past. That's why Liu Zhongcai was worried whether the governor would be another Zhang Fuking, and whether Zhejiang would be another Guangdong.
But Sun Xiu was smiling again.
"Hey, Fantai, please stop being so secretive."
Liu Zhong scolded him, and Sun Xiu felt a little scared.
"Mr. Liu, please be patient. The governor has not arrived yet. Yan Futai is a very pleasant place in Jiangxi. I heard that I will take a trip back to Jiangxi before coming here, so there is no rush."
Liu Zhong thought about the meaning of his words, and then gave up: "Fantai, are you saying there is still time to make preparations?"
"Preparations have to be made." Sun Xiu responded to him, "After all, Zhejiang doesn't even have a governor's office, so it has to be renovated somewhere. Manager Liu, why don't you go and ask who are willing to help? two."
Liu Zhong looked at him strangely: At this moment, are you asking those wealthy households for donations?
Sun Xiu just said: "Yan Futai is not in a hurry to come to Zhejiang, that is to see if Zhejiang understands the court. Zhejiang is not as good as Guangdong. In the past year, it could only hand over 400,000 stone grain and 100,000 taels of silver. Now the court is everywhere. When it comes to money, Zhejiang cannot be messed up easily. Looking at Yan Futai's schedule, I'm afraid he won't be able to arrive in Zhejiang until the harvest."
"……I still do not get it."
Sun Xiu had no other expression on his face and could only whisper: "Manager Liu, there are some things that I can't say. You might as well ask Eunuch Liang for advice."
So Liu Zhong had no choice but to go to the guarding eunuch Liang Yao.
Sun Xiu waited for him to go out and shook his head, and then solemnly ordered: "Go and invite Hu Zhitai over!"
…
Yan Song was indeed walking south leisurely.
As for him wanting to take a detour back to his hometown, Yang Tinghe couldn't say anything.
Han Chuang has studied hard for so many years, and today he finally became a high-ranking member of the party. What happened to returning home in glory?
He thought about it on the way.
Wang Shouren's father died of illness in March last year, and he, Ding You, had been asking Ding You to wait until July next year before he could resume his official career.
Yan Song returned to Jiangxi because he knew that the tax and labor situation in Jiangxi was no worse than that in South Zhili and Zhejiang.
Because Jiangxi is also a province with a large number of imperial examinations.
Over the years, how many families of officials and gentry has Jiangxi accumulated?
Now that he has become a governor through the imperial study room, when he returns to the capital, he will probably only be a minister or cabinet minister.
Three steps at most.
Yang Ting and the others were unwilling to be forced to become the new party. Everyone knew how difficult it was in the fifth year of Jiajing.
And Yan Song knew very well how determined the emperor was in wanting to reform and become rich and powerful. In order to stabilize in that huge wave, Yan Song could no longer just stay in the imperial study and be a close minister.
When I return to Jiangxi, I will first lay the groundwork for Wang Shouren. When you arrive in Zhejiang, you should also look for Wang Shouren more often.
Perhaps, His Majesty's three principles of heaven, matter, and man will be one of the keys to breaking the situation.
After he arrived at Nanzhili, he was delayed again while passing through Nanjing City.
It was already late July, and there were four major happy events in the capital.
The first thing that the common people loved to see was that the Zhang brothers were beheaded. As for how many relatives and conservative gentry discussed His Majesty's attack on Queen Mother Zhang's brother, that is another matter. What's more, because His Majesty had intended to save their lives, Yang Tinghe insisted on forcing the Emperor to raise the butcher's knife.
The second thing is something that both the New Party and the Imperial Party like to hear. The Queen is also pregnant, and His Majesty is expecting a legitimate son.
The third happy event was the wedding of the current eldest princess. The new party was very happy. The emperor and the party leader were related by marriage.
The fourth happy event, everyone is happy to hear about it: Guangdong brings prisoners to Beijing.
The long queue of prison cars was filled with strange-looking Westerners. The cannons pulled by horses were thick and long on the carts. There were also cart after cart of boxes that seemed to be filled with treasures.
The Ministry of Rites arranged a grand ceremony for this purpose, and also dedicated it to the Jie Tai Temple.
The onlookers watched the excitement, but they were not very polite.
"Let me say that in the future, catching the Tatar leader will be worth such a big deal. Winning these small countries like savages is really nothing to boast about."
"...Hush! What nonsense are you talking about? I think their cannons are quite powerful."
"What's so great about it? The last time I went to Liangxiang and Jingying to test the cannon, it almost made me pee in my crotch from twenty miles away."
"...Are you bragging or are you underestimating yourself?"
Alfonso felt very humiliated. His neck was stuck in the prison car, and he could see the disdain and ridicule in the eyes of these Orientals.
Cunning Oriental! He was so disrespectful of etiquette and spent so much money and energy preparing the banquet and deceiving them!
In the palace, the one who is favored now is Wen Suyun.
"What do you want to see? How do you want to see it? You can't come to the harem, so you still want to run to the front court?" Zhu Houcong was getting dressed in the backyard of Yangxin Hall, "You are Concubine Shu, Shu!"
"Isn't it okay to nourish the heart?" Wen Suyun whispered, "No, I will hide behind the screen and take a look quietly, just one look!"
Zhu Houcong looked at her expectant look and shook his head: "Is it because the queen has no one to care about you now that she is raising the baby, so you have to push your limits? Then go back to your Changle Palace today."
"...I know I was wrong."
Zhu Houcong glanced at her angrily.
I kind of like her naughty energy and vitality, but I also find her a bit annoying after getting to know her.
Zhu Houcong sent her back to Changle Palace and began to go out.
In addition to Yang Ting and others who wanted to show off the achievements of the "New Law", Zhu Houcong was more interested in Alfonso, a higher-level Portuguese general in the East, as well as the many craftsmen and Western creations sent to Beijing by Zhang Fujing.
I heard that there is a small table clock. I wonder if the craftsmen can try to improve it into a smaller mechanical pocket watch.
According to Zhu Houcong's own understanding, precision mechanical instruments represent the research and utilization of many scientific principles, as well as the advancement of technology.
Just as he had already participated in the improvement of guns and artillery by the War and Arms Bureau under his own "inspiration" and request.
And the desk clock seems to use the pendulum principle of gravity, right?
The new law has already been taken care of by Yang Ting and others. Zhu Houcong needs to come up with some sufficiently convincing tools as an opportunity to formally propose the three principles of heaven, matter and man.
In the most imposing Fengtian Hall, Alfonso was escorted up and forced to kneel before the Emperor of the East.
Zhu Houcong smiled as soon as he opened his mouth: "I heard that you brought your wife and daughter with you. With only seventeen ships, you are so confident in opening the gate of the Ming Dynasty and reoccupying Tuen Mun Island?"
(End of chapter)
