Chapter 478 The Show is About to Begin
If we say that Yan Song had previously submitted petitions repeatedly to beg for his remains, it would still be hard to understand what his intention was.

So tonight we are here by the Taiye Lake in Xiyuan.

When Yan Song, the Prime Minister of the Empire, knelt down and begged, it was clear what he wanted to do.

It is called resignation, but in fact it is asking for a new job.

Everyone was shocked.

Yan Song continued, "I hope that the wise ruler of the holy dynasty will follow the aspirations of our ancestors, revitalize the country and benefit the people. How can we revitalize the country and benefit the people? I think that we should put the new policy first. Get rid of the accumulated abuses, rectify the corrupt officials, clean up the court, and unite the people. Then reassure the people of the world, let the tillers have their land, and there will be no more hungry and homeless people in the world. However, looking around the two capitals and thirteen provinces in the world today, the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer."

"The Holy Dynasty has been in existence for two hundred years, and the poor have almost no houses to shelter them, no clothes to keep them warm, and no rice or wheat to fill their stomachs. In the two capitals and thirteen provinces, when disasters occur, there are scenes of empty houses for hundreds of miles, and bones on the road that no one picks up. The people's homes are broken, and the land is barren for thousands of miles. Hundreds of families' fields are all owned by one family for their own selfish interests."

"The rich are always rich. A family with 100 mu of land is considered a wealthy family. They have deep cellars and high granaries, and they have countless rice and wheat grains. Once a disaster strikes, ordinary people will be displaced, but these wealthy families can use their stored grain to buy up land at a low price. As a result, the wealthy families become richer and less worried about ordinary disasters. In fact, whenever a disaster strikes, the poor will wail and the rich will smile and welcome it."

"Now that the country has been in existence for 200 years, if in time all the farmland in the world is occupied by the rich, how can the millions of people cultivate the land? This old minister has read through the history books and found that the great changes at the end of each dynasty were all caused by the long-standing grievances of the people. They were all landless refugees. Once someone with ambitions instigated them, they would immediately become rioters and capture local prefectures and counties, and even tens of thousands of rioters would invade the imperial city."

"This is indeed the time for reform. We should clean up the accumulated abuses, enrich the people, crack down on encroachments, and strictly enforce the law. We will surely usher in a new era for the holy dynasty and usher in a prosperous era for generations to come!"

By the Taiye Lake, Yan Song launched a lengthy debate in public. The core of the debate was naturally to compare various aspects to illustrate that the time had come for the Ming Dynasty to undergo reforms.

Yan Song spoke sincerely, looking up at the emperor in front of him with a moved expression: "Your Majesty, I have been in the court for decades and served Your Majesty for forty years. I am too old to be used. However, at this sincere moment, the country is full of wise men, why don't we start a new policy and get rid of the old? The people of the holy dynasty are in their millions, how can they be reduced to the selfish interests of a few useless villains? I am useless, so I am willing to use my body to set the first stone of the new policy of the holy monarch, and I humbly ask for Your Majesty's approval!"

at last.

After speaking, Yan Song bowed to the ground again.

Yan Shifan frowned and carefully supported the old man.

There was silence.

Everyone knows that the Yan family is no longer the same as before.

But only today did people truly understand a problem.

What is a loyal minister?

The answer is at hand.

Yan Song, who was prostrating himself on the ground, was the answer to the question.

This is a loyal minister!
This guy is called a loyal minister!

Xu Jie's face was gloomy and dark, his eyes flashing with ferocity and anger. If it wasn't for the fact that it was late at night, there were countless people blocking the view, and everyone's attention was focused on Yan Song, they would definitely be able to see the distorted face of Master Xu.

At this moment, there was only one word, hatred, in Xu Jie's heart.

Regardless of what the emperor's final decision would be, Yan Song's persuasion for the new policy was just a public performance in his eyes. After Yan Song made this statement in public, the next cabinet ministers of the Ming Dynasty would become extremely difficult to deal with.

If you do nothing, you will surely be scolded as a corpse.

If they did not make changes to the court and the country, they would inevitably be seen as conservatives who were against reform. In other words, they would be treacherous officials who did not want to see the country get better.

In the future, at least ten years from today.

Whoever comes to power in the cabinet must clearly indicate that he or she is a reformist.

otherwise……

Didn’t you see that on the Lantern Festival in the 45th year of the Jiajing reign, the Prime Minister Yan Song knelt down and begged for his remains, wanting to use his remaining body as the first stepping stone for the country’s new policies?

Can you, the latecomer, be better than Yan Song?
Then the problem returns to reality.

The reason why Xu Jie was so angry was that Yan Song's words had almost blocked his way back to the cabinet.

Everyone knows that the Xu family is now caught up in the impeachment storm, and Xu Banfu's joking remarks have spread throughout the world.

What would it mean if I could return to the cabinet?
At least it means that the emperor allowed the annexation of the whole country to run rampant.

But the emperor would never do such a thing.

As for the officials in the court, no matter what shameful things they did secretly, at least on the surface they were all good people and loyal ministers who abided by the law.

A sigh.

Xu Jie wished he could push Yan Song, who was kneeling on the ground, into the Taiye Lake not far away and drown him alive.

Yan Song, who had become the core figure tonight, knelt on the ground, but his heart was very calm.

For him and the Yan family, this step was something they had to take.

He was the Prime Minister of the dynasty, and the Yan family was now among the honorable officials, with a hereditary title of Earl of Changping. It could be said that the Yan family had long been in a high position.

At this time, since the emperor had the idea and desire for new policies, the Yan family naturally had to express its opinion.

An elderly prime minister persuaded the emperor to reform the country by resigning, which was a very good breakthrough point.

For both the Prime Minister and the Emperor, this was an operation that could be advanced or retreated, and would be recorded in history. At least this time, the history books would have to write down a good story about the harmony between the monarch and his subjects, and the mutual benefit of each other.

As for myself, I would like to resign this time and retire.

This is also true for Yan Song.

Regardless of whether the emperor agreed or not, Yan Song really didn't want to continue working in the court.

With such energy, I might as well live in the Changping Academy which is being expanded, and read my old articles and scriptures. Maybe one day I can become a saint like Mr. Yangming.

Even if you can't become a saint, you can still enjoy your old age in the academy with your grandchildren.

Isn't it countless times more enjoyable than thinking about intrigues and deceptions in the court all day long?

Besides, he has been in the court for decades, and now it is time for the younger generations to show their talents and compete with each other in the court.

As the saying goes, a country is determined by its ministers; a culture is determined by its people.

The era that belongs to you is rapidly fading away, and the customs and figures of that era have also begun to pass away one by one. Why should you continue to occupy your position just because you have lived long enough?

Naturally, others could not see what Yan Song was really thinking.

Gao Gong, Yuan Wei and Li Chunfang, the three people closest to the emperor and Yan Song, all looked surprised, but their thoughts were completely different.

Yuan Wei was a little surprised, but apart from being surprised, he had no other thoughts, it was very pure.

Li Chunfang was still thinking about the issue of cabinet ranking.

The Prime Minister resigned and the Second Prime Minister was no longer in office, so Gao Gong was the Prime Minister and Yuan Wei was the Second Prime Minister.

But Yuan Wei's personality is usually one of non-competitiveness and non-attachment, so does he have to face Gao Gong?

When Li Chunfang thought of Gao Gong's stubborn character, which was no less stubborn than Hai Rui's, and his even more explosive temper, he felt that it would be better if he did not stay in the cabinet.

It would be better for me to find an opportunity to quit and run away.

Li Chunfang felt that he could work under either Yan Song or Xu Jie as the Prime Minister. But if it was Gao Gong, that would definitely be impossible. In his mind, this matter was not negotiable at all.

Only Gao Gong.

Only Gao Gong had the most complicated thoughts at this moment.

On one hand, as long as Yan Song's resignation is approved, he can immediately become the prime minister of the dynasty. On the other hand, Yan Song proposed a new policy to reform the country and benefit hundreds of millions of people.

If Yan Song leaves the court, will he be able to control the court that is beginning to reform?
Gao Gong was confident that as long as he occupied the position of Prime Minister, the problems inside and outside the court would eventually be solved. But it would require him to spend countless energy and time, and the time spent would likely lead to some things going wrong. What if Yan Song stayed in the court and remained in the position of Prime Minister?
Gao Gong's eyes turned.

Judging from the situation in the past two years, plus the fact that Yan Song has resigned repeatedly and expressed his intentions tonight, Yan Song is a living signboard of the new policies. As long as he is there, there is no need for him to step forward to solve many problems of the new policies.

Then you can devote all your energy and time to specific reform measures.

In this way, he would be able to gain more power as the second assistant of the cabinet, and would not be subject to the shocks and oppositions from all sides after becoming the first assistant.

Isn’t this more comfortable than becoming the prime minister directly?

After making up his mind, Gao Gong looked at Yan Song again with a bright look in his eyes.

In this fleeting moment, before anyone can speak.

Gao Gong became the first person to speak out.

He walked up to the emperor with great momentum, then knelt on the ground half a step behind Yan Song.

Gao Gong also clasped his hands together and bowed, shouting in his loud voice: "Your Majesty, I second the motion! The Holy Dynasty has been in existence for 200 years, and the Holy Emperor is on the throne today. For the sake of the ancestors, the country, and the people of the world, I humbly request the Emperor to make new policies!"

Once the first person takes the lead and agrees with Yan Song, there will immediately be a second one.

However, many people want to be the second one tonight.

Almost at the same time.

The Minister of Personnel Guo Pu and the Minister of Revenue Gao Yao knelt on the ground without any delay.

"Your Majesty, I humbly ask you to introduce new policies to benefit the country!"

Then came the Minister of Works Lei Li, the Minister of War Yang Bo, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Ouyang Bijin, and the Minister of Public Security Hu Ruolin, who all knelt down to express their support for the new policy.

At this point, basically all the nine ministers in the court have expressed their attitudes.

Jiajing looked at Yan Song deeply, then retracted his gaze and looked around at everyone present.

True.

The Prime Minister is an excellent Prime Minister.

Over the years, Jiajing firmly believed that Yan Song was the best prime minister he had ever met.

We cannot let our loyal ministers feel disheartened.

Jiajing sighed slightly in his heart.

As for the nine ministers in front of them requesting new policies, it has become a very common thing.

Because just now, following the emperor's gaze around.

Most of the civil and military officials gathered by the Taiye Lake have already knelt down.

This is the cabinet.

After Gao Gong knelt down, Yuan Wei also knelt down and bowed.

Then only Li Chunfang was left.

The nine ministers in the court were headed by the Minister of Rites Yan Ne. There were also many people who did not join the team kneeling on the ground to request the new policy.

There was a sneer on Jiajing's lips.

The so-called new policy has always been nothing more than an excuse and a pretext.

Whether these officials agree or disagree with the new policy does not mean that they have any opinion on it. For example, if Yan Song opposes the new policy today, it is very likely that Yan Ne will firmly support it.

There don't seem to be so many new and old discussions in the court.

The core issue is actually just the division of interests in the world.

Now, a group of people headed by Prime Minister Yan Song believe that the country’s original interest distribution system can no longer be used, so a new interest distribution system is needed to maintain the current situation and world stability. Of course, it is also necessary to allow their supporters to participate in the distribution of interests.

People like Xu Jie, Yan Ne and others are naturally the beneficiaries of the original interest distribution system, so they will naturally oppose it.

Under everyone's gaze.

Jiajing spoke slowly: "You are all my right-hand men. How can I not accept this sincere advice? However, the country is responsible for the care of millions of people, and I cannot make a decision on my own. This matter should be discussed by the officials of the court. I will open the way for them to speak freely. Once the way for them to speak is smooth and the voices of the court are harmonious, I will make a decision."

The emperor did not immediately agree, nor did he refuse. Instead, he asked the court to begin discussing the new policy.

This is the most normal and expected result.

Of course, the emperor also had his own little thoughts involved.

The implementation of new policies by the country is a matter of great importance, so naturally all officials in the court will discuss it. At the same time, he also needs as many officials as possible to submit memorials to express their support for the new policies.

In this way, there will be less resistance when the new policy is implemented, and if something goes wrong, since all the civil and military officials in the court agreed with the new policy in the first place, everyone will have to take the blame together.

This is routine operation and is perfectly normal.

Yan Song also knew in his heart that even if the emperor wanted a new policy, it would be impossible for him to make a decision so quickly, and the formalities had to be gone through.

Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to cooperate so many times after the beginning of the year.

"but……"

However, at this moment, Jiajing suddenly changed the subject, and his tone was so erratic that it was hard to understand.

"I have also handed over the new policy to the court officials for discussion."

"But there is another matter that I have been puzzled about for a long time. I wonder who among you, my dear ministers, can help me to share my worries?"

As he spoke, Jiajing glanced at the people in front of him with an ambiguous look.

At this time, Lu Fang also appeared in front of everyone with a memorial in his hand.

Jiajing glanced sideways, smiled slightly, and waved his hand to point.

"here!"

"Right here, someone submitted a memorial to me years ago."

"That was a good scolding to me!"

"Today, I would like you to take a look at this memorial for me. How should I respond to it?"

After saying this, Jiajing ignored the ministers who were present with doubts on their faces and walked back to the Wanshou Palace.

in the crowd.

Hai Rui, Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Northern Zhili, and Governor of Yingtian.

The corners of his mouth slightly raised.

The show is about to begin!

…………

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(End of this chapter)