The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1566 A Wolf's Gaze and Arrogance
Zhang Juzheng was Xu Jie's student, so at this point he still had to protect Xu Jie. In any case, he could not possibly agree to investigate Xu Jie's family's land holdings.

Wang Yan has been bringing this up for three years. Whenever he holds a large meeting with Xu Jie, he clamors to investigate Xu Jie's family's land holdings, which is met with opposition from everyone.

The investigation and inspection of fields in Songjiang Prefecture became a mere formality, unlike the thorough investigations conducted elsewhere. Even the hometowns of all those present—Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, and Chen Yiqin—were not fully investigated.

Of course, as the highest leadership of the Ming Dynasty, they had to set an example, and the number of people they investigated was higher than before. But it was definitely not an accurate number, which is why it was said that the investigation was not complete.

To be honest, they're a large family, and their opinions on these matters vary. It's only because Wang Yan is so powerful that they're afraid of being relentlessly attacked, so they've given up some money. And they're still complaining? What more do you want from me?

Knowing what is right and wrong, yet mistaking wrong for right, to the point of not knowing right from wrong, taking what is good for oneself as right and what is bad for oneself as wrong. This is the despicable disease of the ruling class.

However, on the other hand, the ruled class isn't much better off; they just don't hold power. A significant portion of them are just as despicable as the officials, resorting to shamelessness, cheating, feigning ignorance, and shirking responsibility.

The atmosphere inside the room was tense. The other officials working in the Wenyuan Pavilion didn't dare to breathe, hiding in corners to minimize their presence, and all pretending to be very busy.

Wang Yan sat there with a smile: "Old Zhang, you don't need to be so indignant. Your hometown will be investigated anyway. It's just a matter of time. Let me be more explicit. I'm thirty-five years old this year, and I've survived more than forty attacks, yet I'm still unharmed. Who knows, you guys might have been involved in those forty-odd attacks..."

"you……"

"Don't try to deny it, I don't believe you." Wang Yan waved his hand and continued, "No matter what, I will definitely outlive you. If you can't kick me off the stage or kill me, then I will still investigate your family's land and population."

You're all smart people; you should understand this. What's the point of hiding it for a few more years? You're not thinking of making more money, are you? Don't worry, starting from the 51st year of Jiajing's reign, you'll have to make up for any number of years you're short. Even a single copper coin short—you'll see if I dare to bankrupt you. As for those who cause trouble, you'll see if I dare to shut down your households…”

Anyone can put on a show of sarcasm.

"Outrageous!" Gao Gong slammed his fist on the table in anger. "Wang Yan, are you even human? How could you say such a thing in a place like this? I'm going to report you to His Majesty!"

"Don't get so angry. You're getting on in years; you need to cultivate your character and not get angry so easily." Wang Yan chuckled, completely unconcerned. "Old Gao, I'm only telling you the truth out of respect. Why deceive yourself? If I stop talking, wouldn't things be different? You're in power now, but there will be times when you're not. His Majesty protects you, but there will be times when he doesn't."

To put it more bluntly, even if you wanted to kick me out, you would never be able to do so in this lifetime. Unlike you, I have lived a life of integrity, loyal to His Majesty, loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and loyal to the people of the Ming Dynasty. I only do things that are beneficial to His Majesty, the Ming Dynasty, and the people. I am the most honest person. Even after you are dead, I will still be here working for His Majesty, for the Ming Dynasty, and for the people.

"You dare to yell at me now? You'll regret it later. I'll teach that old bastard Xu Jie a lesson first, set an example for you, and let you see what I mean. I'll also teach your whole family, and all those who follow you, a lesson they won't forget—they're all so arrogant, lawless, and utterly despicable."

“Wang Yan, you should know that the one who started this practice will have no descendants.” Zhang Juzheng stared at Wang Yan with wide eyes.

“I have descendants. Over the years, I have given birth to more than twenty children, sixteen of whom are sons.”

Seeing Zhang Juzheng's eyes blazing with anger, Wang Yan laughed heartily, "Old Zhang, don't always say one thing and do another. You're always shouting about serving the country and the people, but it's all for your own selfish desires."

The campaign to clear out the fields, inspect the ports, and collect commercial taxes appeared to have been implemented throughout the entire Ming Dynasty, resulting in a significant increase in land and population. But was it thorough? I think it wasn't enough, far from it. You yourselves are all aware of these matters, and you've received various requests and favors, asking your subordinates to show leniency.

I think we've done a good job. The land and population figures we've found are higher than you expected. This achievement is enough to be recorded in history books. The situation in the Ming Dynasty has also eased, right?
But this whole thing was fought for with my life, against all of you. Without my life-or-death struggle, it wouldn't have even gotten off the ground. Xu Jie stepped down, and apparently retired successfully? You're all singing his praises. What the hell does that have to do with you? You're just dragging me down.

When we attacked the powerful states in the southeast, you refused to allocate funds, and after we subdued them, you pleaded for their lives. When we attacked the Tartars, your people were embezzling funds, and you even sent a bunch of incompetent fools to my ranks.

And what about Xuanda and other places? Don't you know what kind of people they are? After the battle, you sing praises as if you were the ones who won. What does it have to do with you? Those were won by the soldiers, and they were supported by the taxes paid by the people of our Great Ming!
When taxes are increased on the people, it's a real hardship for them. But once you're forced to take money from your own pockets, you start making excuses. Those who started this, will they have no descendants? Bullshit! You're the ones who are born without an anus.

I'm making this clear today: I will collect all your taxes, and no one will escape. The Ming Dynasty needs a thorough investigation, and it starts with you!

"Don't you respect His Majesty? A thorough investigation? Do you think you can call the shots in this Ming Dynasty?" Gao Gong laughed in anger.

"Your Majesty was renowned for your wisdom even before ascending the throne. You must know who truly cares for the Ming Dynasty and how to make it so." Wang Yan bowed towards the West Garden. "Naturally, you will make the right choices. Only by navigating the turbulent waters can one truly appreciate the pillars of the state. You treacherous ministers will be punished one day."

Chen Yiqin said, "Wang Yan, we are all officials in the same court, but we have different political views. Why must we be at odds and fight to the death?"

"Why didn't you speak up when I was attacked?" Wang Yan glanced at him. "No need to kill me forty times. Tomorrow I'll arrange for someone to kill you four times first, and then you can come and tell me all this."
Gentlemen, every single incident has a record. I don't believe you truly know nothing and weren't involved in anything. And don't clamor for me to produce evidence. We're all standing here; who gets things done based on evidence?

"I have this suggestion. You write it down as a memorial and let the Grand Secretaries discuss it. Let's see if these selfless Grand Secretaries, who are always clamoring for reform and change, are willing to make any changes to their own system."

Wang Yan casually pointed to an official in the cabinet and asked him to write a memorial in his name. When Wang Yan pointed at the official and Zhang Juzheng and others looked over, the official was so startled that he started trembling.

"What are you afraid of?" Wang Yan walked over and patted his back lightly. "They are cabinet ministers, but I am not? They hold high positions and have great power, but I have no power? What's there to be afraid of? It's just writing a memorial, what's the big deal? Write it now!"
Furthermore, I instruct the historians to record today's events clearly, including the causes, process, and outcome, so that future generations can see what kind of people these are. It's unreasonable to only record the officials impeaching me for corruption and bribery, without mentioning how they disregarded national policy for their own selfish interests.”

Wang Yan wasn't lying at all. The historians who compiled the history of this dynasty were really keen on digging dirt on Wang Yan. Those bastards devoted a considerable amount of space to him in their precious historical records, and they're still updating it.

Others simply mention the date and the person impeached. But Wang Yan goes so far as to meticulously copy every impeachment memorial and list every single person of significant influence to highlight just how hated he is…

These people are wicked; they deliberately try to antagonize Wang Yan, hoping he'll eliminate them. Wang Yan, of course, wouldn't do such a thing; he always presents solid evidence when he punishes someone. So, after sending some people to work according to standard procedure, no one dared to oppose him anymore, though they continued to slander him. To counter this, Wang Yan, who had also developed a passion for history, publicly announced that he would compile a private history of his lifetime and actually hired a large group of people to do it. The main focus was on those who were compiling history for the country, specifically targeting them…

He kept a record of all these people's dirty laundry. Whoever these people praised, he would write down their dirty laundry. It was basically a mutual attack. It was quite a spectacle every day.

"Yes, Your Excellency." The official nodded repeatedly, glanced at Zhang Juzheng and the others who were furious, and sat down at the table to begin writing.

Gao Gong's tone softened considerably: "Wang Yan, you understand the principle that haste makes waste."

"I am not sure."

Seeing Gao Gong's deathly pale face, Wang Yan said, "All I know is that you have been in power for so many years and have accomplished nothing. The opportunity I risked my life to completely reform the Ming Dynasty has been taken away by you."

"What if we force them to rebel..."

Before Chen Yiqin could finish speaking, Wang Yan waved his hand and said, "Do you dare to rebel? At that time, the southeast was subdued, the Tatars were half-dead, Liaodong was stable, and the four barbarians dared not provoke us. Shuntian Prefecture had already been thoroughly investigated under my supervision. Apart from these, it's nothing more than Shandong... Shaanxi... and other places."

The 100,000-strong Beijing garrison is idle all day. Tell me, who dares to rebel? Who can rebel? Forget the past, right now, at this very moment, Grand Secretary Chen, tell me, who do you think will rebel? I'll immediately petition His Majesty to send a large army to raze their family graves to the ground. And look at Old Zhang, he's not saying a word.”

Wang Yan expressed his approval to the silent Zhang Juzheng, saying, "Back then, Old Zhang agreed to a thorough reform, but that old geezer Xu Jie blocked it. Now that Xu Jie is gone, Old Zhang, do you think we should start over on things that weren't done well?"

After watching the official finish writing and wipe the still-wet ink with a silk cloth, Wang Yan picked it up and placed it in front of Zhang Juzheng.

The silent Zhang Juzheng looked left and right, and finally sat down, picked up a brush, wrote his opinions on a slip of paper, and then pasted it onto the memorial.

"Lao Gao?"

"Humph!"

Despite his dissatisfaction with Wang Yan's attitude, Gao Gong still wrote a note agreeing to the matter.

All three agreed, and Chen Yiqin, who had only served in the Prince's residence before joining the cabinet, naturally had no room for objection. Or rather, even if he were the Grand Secretary and the vote was three to one, he couldn't forcefully push it through. Not all Grand Secretaries are like Yan Song.

"Are you satisfied now?" Gao Gong threw his pen on the table and stared at Wang Yan. "Do you think you've grown too powerful? Since the late emperor passed away, you can no longer hide your true nature and have started to seize power? What, do you want to be a powerful minister? How about I, the Grand Secretary, let you be the one?"

"Do you think I can't do it? I suppose you all know what the late emperor said to me in jest: 'Back then it was back then, now it is now.' Who doesn't have a few capable men under their command?"

Wang Yan scoffed and said sarcastically, "Saying I'm seizing power and acting like a powerful minister, Grand Secretary Gao, I remember you weren't this arrogant before. Back when I protected Hu Zongxian, you even came to remind me. Now that Xu Jie has stepped down and the late emperor has passed away, you haven't even been Grand Secretary for a few days, and you're already showing your Grand Secretary temper?"
Recently, I have heard many rumors about Grand Secretary Gao, saying that he abuses his power to retaliate, excludes good people, eliminates dissidents, promotes relatives, fellow villagers, protégés and former officials, and accepts bribes.

"Your favorite thing to do is to get the Censorate to submit impeachments. To be honest, I've never done that before. I'll make the arrangements today, get people ready, and we'll start impeaching you tomorrow. What do you think, Grand Secretary Gao?"

"You speak so openly and honestly, I'll impeach you first, you don't need to impeach me." Gao Gong was trembling with anger.

"You people are all hypocrites. When others impeach me, you pretend you don't know anything and even appease them. Now that I'm speaking out, before I've even done anything, I'm already guilty? Can't I even speak up?"

Then I'll draft another memorial, and we'll summon the Censors, the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review to add another article to the Great Ming Code, making even speaking a mistake. Come, write it now.”

Wang Yan then pointed to the previous official, who obediently began to write...

Zhang Juzheng's lips twitched at the sight, and Gao Gong was so angry that he pointed at Wang Yan with his eyes blazing with fury, wishing he could burn Wang Yan to death.

Just as tensions were about to rise, someone walked in, talking.

"Hey, are you gentlemen practicing your eyesight?"

"There's nothing I can do, the old man won't admit he's getting old, his eyes are practically dry but he's still glaring at people." Wang Yan grinned, showing no trace of the dignity of a Grand Secretary, acting like a rogue, which made Gao Gong grit his teeth in anger.

Wang Yan greeted Feng Bao, "What brings Eunuch Feng here?"

"It's just that Grand Secretary Wang left in a hurry, and the master had some things he didn't tell us. Since I happened to be passing by, the master sent me to find Grand Secretary Wang. The three grand secretaries are busy. Grand Secretary Wang, please come to your Ministry of Revenue."

“Old Gao, if I were you, I’d go and kowtow to His Majesty right now. His Majesty saved your life! If I had waited any longer, I’m afraid you would have been furious. That would have set a precedent for our Great Ming Dynasty, and you would have made me look like a great villain in the history books, really…”

Wang Yan, his face contorted with grief, bowed towards the direction of the West Garden, crying out, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

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