The rise of the poor

Lord Zhu is not Zhu Wan! The tricks you use on Zhu Wan won't work on Lord Zhu!

Huang Jin stood aside, eyes downcast and seemingly oblivious to his own thoughts. While he might not be as knowledgeable about the political situation as the officials in the outer court, no one in the outer court could match his understanding of the Jiajing Emperor.

Lord Zhu is deeply trusted by the Emperor. His Majesty trusts and appreciates him greatly, and Lord Zhu himself lives up to expectations, repaying the Emperor's trust and appreciation with one victory after another in suppressing the Japanese pirates. This makes the Emperor trust and appreciate Lord Zhu even more.

It can be said that the relationship between Lord Zhu and His Majesty is now unbreakable and indestructible.

Even if Lord Zhu were to commit a crime, His Majesty would still protect him.

"If even someone as meritorious as Zhu, who has contributed to the suppression of the Japanese pirates, is to be punished based on mere rumors, then who will be there to quell the Japanese pirate threat for me in the future?!"

The Jiajing Emperor threw the last memorial impeaching Zhu Ping'an at his feet, sneered, and said impatiently.

"From now on, any memorials impeaching Zhu should not be sent to me. They should all be kept in the palace and not issued."

"Investigate all these memorials impeaching that boy Zhu at your feet. Why are they all impeaching a minister who has repeatedly made meritorious contributions in suppressing the Japanese pirates? Is it because they think that boy Zhu has suppressed too many Japanese pirates too quickly? Or is it because they think my appetite has been better these past few days? What are their intentions? Investigate whether there is any instigation behind this!"

The Jiajing Emperor gave an order to Huang Jin.

"As the True Lord commands."

Huang Jin accepted the decree, bowed, and retreated. He was slightly surprised. The emperor's order for him to investigate the officials who impeached Zhu Ping'an was within his expectations, since the emperor had already ordered him to investigate the memorial impeaching Zhu Ping'an. However, the last sentence, asking him to investigate whether there were any instigators behind these people who impeached Zhu Ping'an, was beyond Huang Jin's expectations.

Huang Jin could guess who was behind these officials without even investigating—it was none other than Yan's faction.

Back when Yang Jisheng was being investigated, Yan Shifan had already threatened to take down Zhu Ping'an.

Huang Jin was well aware of the intricate relationships among the officials in the outer court. In the past few days, the officials who impeached Zhu Ping'an had all had roundabout connections with the Yan Party, and two of them were even members of the Yan Party.

Investigate who's behind this?
Grand Secretary Yan is still a favorite of the Emperor, and no one in the inner or outer court can compare to him.

In terms of wisdom and understanding, even ten Junior Zhus combined couldn't compare to Grand Secretary Yan.

How can we investigate who is behind this?
To say they weren't instructed to do it?!

No, absolutely not! His Majesty is wise and powerful, and he cannot tolerate any injustice. He cannot be fooled.

Huang Jin was momentarily at a loss.

After leaving the main hall, Huang Jin glanced around and suddenly spotted a small eunuch's door, his eyes lighting up.

This eunuch is close to Yan's faction. We can use him to pass on the news of investigating and impeaching Zhu Ping'an to Yan's faction, to make a warning to them. You all know what the Emperor means, right? You can no longer instigate people to impeach Zhu Ping'an. Zhu Ping'an should be able to focus on eliminating the Japanese pirates and should not be hindered anymore!
Furthermore, since His Majesty wants to investigate the mastermind behind this, you must cooperate and bring forward a high-ranking mastermind.

This is also His Majesty's way of giving you a warning.

Having made up his mind, Huang Jin regained his composure, beckoned over three eunuchs, one of whom was the young eunuch.

Huang Jin summoned them, quietly assigned them tasks, and then returned to the main hall to continue serving Emperor Jiajing.

At this moment, Emperor Jiajing began to peruse another stack of memorials, all of which were impeachments against Zhang Jing. This stack was much thicker than the one for Zhu Ping'an.

"This is a memorial submitted by Zhao Wenhua, impeaching Zhang Jing for cowardice against the Japanese pirates, his waste of funds and suffering for the people, allowing the pirates to miss their opportunity, and his passive avoidance of battle. He intends to wait for the Japanese pirates to escape before attacking the remaining pirates to claim credit. His intentions are despicable." Emperor Jiajing read through the memorial, narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at Huang Jin, and asked softly, "Huang Ban, what do you think of this?"

Upon hearing the Jiajing Emperor's inquiry, Huang Jin couldn't help but smile wryly. "Your Majesty," he said, "this old servant believes that Zhang Jing, as the Governor-General in charge of Jiangnan, is of great importance. Whether what Zhao Wenhua reported is true or not, we still need to investigate further before we can make a judgment."

Huang Jin's words were, in a way, meaningless. To determine whether something is true or false, one must conduct an investigation.

Actually, it's not Huang Jin's fault. He really couldn't speak on matters that concerned the overall political situation. Not to mention offending people, if he was afraid of offending people, he might as well quit his job and go back to retire. However, if he judged right and wrong wrongly, his position in the Jiajing Emperor's heart would be in jeopardy.

It's not so easy to judge right and wrong. Sometimes what is right now may be wrong in the future, and sometimes what is right now may also be right in the future. But in terms of the consequences and benefits, it's better to be wrong than right. It's really hard to judge right and wrong.

In addition, Emperor Taizu once erected a sign prohibiting eunuchs from interfering in politics.

He had to dodge the question.

"How long has Zhang Jing been in office?" the Jiajing Emperor asked again.

“Zhang Jing has been in office for eleven months now.” Huang Jin gave a specific number right away. This was his skill. He was well-versed in personnel changes in the outer court and major events in the country, so that he could answer accurately when Emperor Jiajing asked him questions. This was also the reason why he had a position by Emperor Jiajing’s side.

"It's been almost a year." Emperor Jiajing nodded slightly.

After hearing Emperor Jiajing's words, Huang Jin understood what the emperor meant: it had been a year, and Zhang Jing still hadn't made any progress.

Emperor Jiajing placed high hopes on Zhang Jing, appointing him as governor-general, who was in charge of almost the entire Jiangnan region. He also granted Zhang the power to collect grain and military supplies at his discretion, intercept taxes from the imperial court, and make military appointments and commands—powers unprecedented in the dynasty.

The Emperor has delegated such great authority, clearly intending to quickly quell the Japanese pirate threat in Jiangnan. However, nearly a year has passed, and Zhang Jing has yet to achieve any results.

His Majesty is getting anxious.

"How long has Zhu been serving as the governor of Zhejiang?" the Jiajing Emperor asked again.

“Less than three months,” Huang Jin replied.

"Zhao Wenhua said that after the sea sacrifice, he urged Zhang Jing no less than ten times to send troops to suppress the Japanese pirates, but Zhang Jing hesitated to take action; Zhao Wenhua only urged Zhu Ping'an twice, and Zhu Ping'an sent troops to southern Zhejiang and won many victories." Emperor Jiajing said slowly while looking at the memorial.

Zhao Wenhua used Zhu Ping'an as a contrast in his memorial, and the contrast was striking.

"Who is on duty today?" Emperor Jiajing asked again.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the person in charge of duty today is Grand Secretary Yan Song," Huang Jin replied.

"Yes, Weizhong, give the memorial to Weizhong later and let them discuss it." Emperor Jiajing handed the memorial to Huang Jin and instructed him.

"As you command," Huang Jin ordered. (End of Chapter)