Chapter 481 New Storm
Yan Song finally stepped down from the position of Prime Minister.

Contrary to everyone's belief that he had held on to his beliefs for many years, Yan Song left the court with glory and returned to the countryside.

On the contrary, Xu Jie, the former leader of the upright court and representative of the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, left the court with his family almost broken up, and his entire family was exiled to Leizhou Prefecture.

That night.

Xu Kun, who was still attending the palace banquet outside the Wanshou Palace, was almost dumbfounded with his mouth wide open, allowing Guo Yuchuang and his men to throw him and his father out of the West Garden.

Immediately, the Jinyiwei Tiqi and Dongchang soldiers rushed into Xu's mansion and confiscated everything.

The results are certainly impressive.

The gold, jade, treasures, famous toys, calligraphy and paintings seized from the Xu Mansion alone could be worth over a million taels, not to mention the almost luxurious Xu Mansion and those items that could not be moved for the time being, which probably also amounted to no less than a million taels.

The Jinyiwei and Dongchang did not dare to stop and immediately sent people to Songjiang Prefecture, intending to thoroughly search the entire Xu family and the Sun Kehong family involved in the case.

As for how much property will be confiscated from the families related to the Xu and Sun families in Songjiang Prefecture, we will know in the future.

But in short, all the officials in the court knew it.

This trip to Songjiang Prefecture is almost completely ruined, and everyone from top to bottom will be convicted.

In the court, turmoil immediately emerged.

First, the three judicial offices, headed by the Censorate, began to impeach officials in the court who had connections with Xu Jie.

This time, the emperor did not keep the impeachment memorials from his censors, but handed them all over to the cabinet and to the new prime minister Gao Gong.

Gao Gong, who was in charge of the power to rectify the administration of officials, immediately mobilized the Jinyiwei and the Eastern Depot to join the three judicial departments in impeaching officials in the court.

For a while.

In a short period of time, countless court officials were arrested for various crimes and detained in the imperial prison, awaiting conviction.

At the same time, the impact is.

Even though Xu Jie's family had been escorted south to Leizhou Prefecture by the guards of the Imperial Household, and Xu Jie had been completely demoted to a commoner, the court once again began a wave of impeachment and criticism against Xu Jie.

The purpose of these memorials, without exception, was to sever ties with Xu Jie as soon as possible so that they could flatter themselves.

Under the general trend, people's hearts are so straightforward.

The court was about to start discussing the new policy, and had already announced it to the world through imperial edicts and official reports. For this reason, Changping Daily had also begun to publish a series of articles with opinions on the new policy.

Overall.

At present, both the officialdom and the public are still maintaining a cautious attitude towards the development of the new policy. Officials are speculating on the intentions of their superiors, and many people have been advocating that the time has come for the court to reform. However, there are also an equal number of people discussing the potential impact and damage to the current situation that will be brought about by the court's implementation of the new policy on the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

In short.

At present, the new policy has not yet become one-sided.

But this situation is destined not to last long.

Along with the memorial advocating the new policy sent to the cabinet by Hai Rui, the Right Vice-Chief Censor of the Censorate, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Northern Zhili, and the Prefect of Yingtian, it landed on the desk of Prime Minister Gao Gong.

In the court, the number of memorials advocating new policies suddenly increased, and there was a tendency for the new policies to overwhelm stability.

After all, Hai Rui is now a golden signboard.

"With Hai Rui's memorial, we can follow the emperor's will and implement the new policy more easily."

Cabinet room.

It was originally quite lively, but now only Gao Gong was talking with a smile on his face.

In his sight, there are only two people left in the cabinet, Yuan Wei and Li Chunfang.

It can be said that Gao Gong is the only one in power in the current cabinet, and his power even exceeds that of Yan Song in the past.

Li Chunfang remained silent about Gao Gong's jokes.

He had already prepared a memorial and was just waiting for an opportunity to present it to the emperor so that he could also take the opportunity to escape.

Yuan Wei was grinning, as if the current political situation had no bearing on him at all: "Now everyone says Hai Rui is a golden sign. He proposed a new policy in the memorial, and the emperor is so devoted to him. The prime minister will be able to express his thoughts freely this time."

In response to Yuan Wei's flattery, Gao Gong smiled and shook his head, then asked, "How is Grand Tutor Yan these days?"

Master Yan.

Naturally, it is Yan Song, who has finally given up his duties and is hiding in Changping Academy with all his glory.

The reason why Gao Gong asked this was naturally because Yuan Wei was the person in the cabinet who had the closest relationship with the Yan family.

Yuan Wei did not hide it, but smiled and said: "The Grand Tutor was allowed to resign this time, and he recovered from his illness immediately. His complexion looks much better than before. It's just that he played mahjong all day in the academy and didn't say a word about what happened in the court."

I heard Yuan Wei describe it this way.

Even Gao Gong, who now sits firmly in the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet and possesses all the power in his own hands, couldn't help feeling a little envious.

As a minister, one should first look at the power in his hands when he is in power.

Secondly, isn’t it just to see the days after retirement?

Just like himself now, although he is the prime minister of the dynasty, he still has to ask Yan Song about his attitude on the new policy.

But he is just hiding in the academy playing mahjong all day long.

I'm jealous.

"bump!"

"Hooray!"

While Gao Gong, the newly appointed Prime Minister, was still envious, there was a private room in Changping Academy.

Yan Song, who had retired, was full of energy, none of the sickly look he had at the beginning of the new year when he kept asking for resignation. He smashed the mahjong pieces in his hand on the table with great vigor, and then looked at Nie Bao, Wang Ji and Qian Dehong in front of him with wide eyes.

Master Yan stretched out his hands, his face flushed.

"Pay your money!"

The three old masters had no choice but to throw the last few copper coins in their table pockets in front of Master Yan in anger.

Wang Ji pursed his lips angrily, crossed his arms, and lay back: "No more money! No more playing! I won't play with you anymore, your luck is so bad!"

Mr. Wang was throwing tantrums like a child.

Lu Wenyan watched her grandfather win money with a smile on her face, and stepped forward to offer Master Wang a cup of tea: "Grandfather is free now, so naturally his luck is good. If the old master really doesn't play cards with grandfather, no one in this academy will dare to sit at the table with you, and then we will be short of one person again."

These words really touched Mr. Wang's heart.

Wang Ji was not so angry anymore, but he still leaned back in his chair with his hands folded, unwilling to look at Master Yan.

Nie Bao smiled and said, "It is said that he is free from worries, but the Grand Master is one of the Three Dukes. Even if Wei Zhong retires this time, how can the court ignore his opinions on the new policy? After all, it was Wei Zhong's retreat that made the new policy possible."

Qian Dehong also echoed, "Gao Suqing is now the Prime Minister, and although he has achieved what he wanted, I think he still has to wait for Wei Zhong to speak on the new policy."

Seeing the three old masters discussing, Lu Wenyan glanced sideways at her own grandfather.

Yan Song just smiled and counted the copper coins in front of him. When he saw that no one was talking, he narrowed his eyes and said, "New policies have always been a big deal, involving all parties. Although the court is now discussing it, can the people below really give up the benefits in their hands? We still have to wait for opposition to appear in the court and resolve this matter before the new policy can really be implemented."

With many years of experience, Yan Song is well aware that although the court is now discussing new policies, there is still a long way to go before they are implemented.

as predicted.

Just as Yan Song finished speaking.

There were footsteps outside.

The pace was fast, somewhat anxious and messy.

Everyone turned to look at the door.

Then Xu Wei walked in.

Xu Wei entered and bowed, "Grand Master, three old masters, something has happened in the court."

Hearing Xu Wei's words, several people looked at Yan Song.

He really guessed it right. Lu Wenyan smiled and quietly left the private room.

Things in the court were not something she could easily interfere in. Although the Yan family was very indulgent towards her, what she really had to do was to manage the inner chambers and the family business.

In the court, the Yan family, young and old, are in charge.

After Lu Wenyan left.

Wang Ji then turned back to look at Xu Wei, frowned and asked: "But the voices opposing the new policy have emerged?"

Xu Wei nodded, and then said: "Not only are they opposed, but the two capitals and thirteen provinces have all submitted memorials to the capital, saying that if the court rashly implements new policies, it will definitely cause changes in the local areas and stir up unrest among the people. By then, if the new policies have not yet been implemented, I am afraid that chaos will break out in various places."

Yan Song snorted.

Nie Bao looked at Old Yantou and whispered, "He is trying to use the local area as a threat to slow down the court's new policy."

"Would Weizhong like to publish the article in the Changping newspaper?"

This question was asked by Qian Dehong.

Yan Song shook his head, then smiled slightly: "It's just local opposition, what's the point?"

Although he said this, Yan Song still felt a little worried in his heart.

How long has it been?

As soon as the imperial court announced the new policy to the local governments through imperial edicts and official reports, it immediately aroused local opposition.

Those who oppose the new policy must have other tricks up their sleeves.

Xu Wei asked quietly: "Should we send a letter to Nanjing to let the guests know about this matter so that we can provide support in Jiangnan."

Wang Ji immediately said, "Jiangnan is good! If there are some actions over there to support them, it can also ease the current opposition to the new policy."

Yan Song asked, "How are the officials from Nanjing who came to Beijing before the New Year being dealt with now?"

This refers to the officials from various departments in Nanjing who were forcibly taken to Beijing by Gao Hanwen.

Xu Wei immediately replied: "Except for a few individuals who were indeed guilty of serious crimes and were brought to justice by Gao Gong, the rest were at most fined and returned to their posts. They have all left Beijing and returned to the south."

The house fell silent.

After a while.

Yan Song then spoke up, "Tell Shao Ting that he is here in Nanjing to do his job according to the imperial order, and he should just take care of his job. Xu Jie has fallen, but when will the land occupied by the gentry and wealthy families in the twelve prefectures in Jiangnan be returned to the people? Tell him not to forget his job, and why he came south this time."

After finishing speaking.

Yan Song had already piled up the mahjong tiles in front of him into a Great Wall, and threw three money bags in front of Nie Bao, Wang Ji, and Qian Dehong.

"Nothing to do today."

"A few more laps."

The three old masters looked at each other and agreed that what Yan Weizhong said was correct.

Since I have nothing to do, I might as well play a few more rounds of mahjong.

Soon the sound of mahjong could be heard again in the room.

Xu Wei stood behind the few people, looked at them silently, and carefully pondered Yan Song's words. He felt that this was probably the most important thing to do at the moment, so he quietly took his leave, left the house, and went to the Public Security Bureau to write a letter and send it to Jiangnan.

……

Nanjing.

West Garden.

It has been raining more and more frequently in Nanjing recently.

It doesn't feel like spring rain is as precious as oil. It's just that there is too much of it that it seems worthless.

The rain was falling continuously, hitting the ground and seeping into the soil, then evaporating into wisps of mist, faintly covering the ground.

"Everywhere is wet, and my clothes are never dry!"

Zhang Juzheng cursed impatiently, denouncing the rainy season in the south of the Yangtze River.

Wang Xijue could never return to Beijing, so Yan Shaoting, in his capacity as an imperial envoy, asked the court to keep him in Nanjing and work by his side.

He opened a letter that had just been sent from the capital and handed it to the teacher.

Yan Shaoting lowered his head to read it, and soon smiled and said: "The letter from home, the court is discussing new policies this time, but my father asked me to behave myself and do my current job of clearing the land in the twelve prefectures of Jiangnan."

"This is serious business."

Zhang Juzheng took a sip of hot tea and exhaled: "It's useless to discuss the new policy now. It's nothing more than one side supporting and the other opposing, waiting for a big advantage to be suppressed by the other side. It would be bad for us to intervene at this time. It's better to do the job in Jiangnan first."

Yan Shaoting glanced at Zhang Juzheng and said, "You are not in a hurry now."

"What's the point of being anxious? Didn't Hai Rui submit a memorial to the emperor to support the new policy? He is now a popular figure in the court. Didn't he get involved in controversy after submitting the memorial?"

Zhang Juzheng seemed to be holding back an inexplicable anger today, and spoke very harshly.

Wang Xijue glanced at the Minister of the Maritime Governorate, then looked at his own teacher.

"How about asking Imperial Censor Gao to come out?"

He probed quietly.

Zhang Juzheng immediately slammed the table and said, "Kill! Let Gao Hanwen kill all the gentry and wealthy families in Jiangnan, and our mission will be done!"

Yan Shaoting kept staring at Zhang Juzheng and asked in a low voice: "Did you hear any sound? Or did you notice anything unusual?"

He didn't believe that someone like Zhang Juzheng would get so angry for no reason.

Seeing Yan Shaoting asking this, the anger on Zhang Juzheng's face eased a little.

He spat, with a disgusted expression on his face: "It's not that I heard any noise or anything unusual, but those who are against the new policy are going to cause some big trouble. By then, people like you and me will not be able to avoid it even if we want to stay out of it temporarily."

As he spoke, Zhang Juzheng's temples were throbbing violently.

Yan Shaoting frowned: "What is going to happen?"

Zhang Juzheng took the teacup, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, then put the cup on the table and looked straight at Yan Shaoting.

"If we support the new policy, half of the people in the world will oppose it."

"Now that the court has begun to discuss the issue, these people know that arguing is useless, so they are ready to change direction to block the court from implementing the new policy..."

Wang Xijue nodded and said, "Isn't this what they are doing now?"

Zhang Juzheng looked back at Wang Xijue, nodded and shook his head: "That's right, but they probably want to completely block the loophole of the new policy now."

Yan Shaoting raised his eyebrows and his eyes flashed suddenly.

After a long hesitation, Yan Shaoting finally spoke slowly.

"Are they planning to attack and slander the Emperor?"

Zhang Juzheng sneered.

"exactly!"

"They are going to make a big fuss and completely suppress the Emperor's desire for a new policy!"

There was a bang.

In the sky that was already overcast, a loud thunder suddenly came from the thick clouds.

The wind also became stronger.

seem.

A bigger storm is coming.

…………

Monthly PassMonthly Pass
(End of this chapter)