My father is Jiajing

Chapter 472 Either Lose Everything or Die

When the news that the Minister of Personnel Wu Peng was going to retire and return home came out, the entire capital was shocked. Compared with this major event, the Wang Zhi case seemed not so important.

At Yan Song's house, Zhao Wenhua served Yan Song like a biological son, serving him tea and water.

Yan Song looked at Zhao Wenhua who was busy running around, and was slightly moved. "Please sit down, Wenhua."

When Zhao Wenhua heard Yan Song's voice, he packed up the towel he had just used to wipe Yan Song's face and said, "Godfather, I'm not tired."

Yan Song chuckled and lay back comfortably, his hands on the fox fur blanket on his legs, and said with emotion: "It would be great if Shifan could be half as worry-free as you are."

Zhao Wenhua listened to Yan Song's sigh and comforted him, "Godfather, Donglou is still very filial. He just has a bit of an impatient temper. He will get better slowly."

Yan Song shook his head slightly. "I don't have any extravagant hopes. I just hope he can get things done this time. Wu Peng's retirement can buy him a month, which is enough time for him to use Wang Bengu to turn the tables. If he still can't seize this opportunity, I will accept my fate."

Hearing Yan Song's words, Zhao Wenhua also envied Yan Shifan. Even if he did something wrong, his father would still clean up his mess for him. He was really envious.

But Zhao Wenhua also knew that some things could not be obtained by envy, so all he could think about now was to continue to cling to Yan Song's thigh to earn the real benefits. As for Yan Shifan, if it were not for Yan Song's relationship, Zhao Wenhua would never have taken a fancy to him.

Zhao Wenhua said, "Godfather, if His Majesty asks us to nominate a new candidate for the Minister of Personnel, who should we recommend?"

Zhao Wenhua finally asked the key to this trip. Now Zhao Wenhua has been the Minister of Works for many years and also wants to make progress.

Although Yan Song was old, often distracted, and lacked energy, his mind was as clear as a mirror. He knew that Zhao Wenhua would not visit him unless there was something important.

But Zhao Wenhua was still too young, and had no outstanding qualifications, and had never received the approval of Emperor Jiajing.

Therefore, it will be difficult for Zhao Wenhua to make progress after Wu Peng retires this time.

But Yan Song would not shatter Zhao Wenhua's expectations so obviously.

Yan Song said, "Wu Peng is retiring. Your Majesty must want to find a mature and steady minister to serve as the new Minister of Personnel. Now, looking at the six ministries, the only one who can be called mature and steady is the current Minister of Punishment, Ouyang Bijin. If Your Majesty can promote Ouyang Bijin to be the Minister of Personnel this time, I can also recommend you to be the Minister of Punishment. After you have polished your skills for a few more years, you may be able to make further progress in the future."

When Zhao Wenhua heard what Yan Song said, he became excited. Although he had ambitions, he also knew that it would not be his turn as the Minister of Works to transfer to the position of Minister of Personnel. But if he could make a move in the position of Minister of Works and get one step closer to the more powerful Ministries of Rites, Personnel, Revenue, Punishments and Military Affairs, he would be very willing to do so.

So when Zhao Wenhua heard Yan Song say that he recommended him to replace Ouyang Bijin, the Minister of Justice who might be transferred to become the new Minister of Personnel, he was still very excited. After all, Zhao Wenhua still believed that he had some advantages in age, and he felt that he could still stay in the central government for a few more years.

But in reality, Zhao Wenhua was not so lucky. It was only because Zhu Zaigui, the big moth that came from time again, stirred up the original historical ripples a little bit, which caused Zhao Wenhua's fate to change a little and he was not involved with Hu Zongxian.

Otherwise, according to the normal course of history, this unfortunate child would have died suddenly in the 36th year of Jiajing. Moreover, after his death, a Censor named Luo Jiabin impeached him for embezzling military pay for the anti-Japanese war, the amount of which was as high as more than 100,000 taels of silver.

In the historical development trajectory at that time, the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty was also terrible. Faced with such a huge corruption, Emperor Jiajing naturally hated it. No matter whether it was true or not, he had to order the confiscation of property and the recovery of stolen goods to supplement the military pay of Hu Zongxian who was fighting against the Japanese pirates in the southeast. Otherwise, if the southeast was in chaos, wouldn't it be even more difficult for the Ming Dynasty to collect taxes?
However, since Zhao Wenhua's property at the time of the house search was not enough to offset the amount of stolen money reported by Luo Jiabin, according to regulations, the money had to be compensated by his descendants who were sent to the army for compensation. As a result, this compensation lasted for decades, until the eleventh year of the Wanli period, and only half of it was compensated.

At that time, some people could not stand it anymore and felt that it was too inhumane for the court to treat a dead person like this for decades, so they wrote a memorial to Emperor Wanli, asking him to let it go.

But who was Emperor Wanli? Although he did not cultivate immortality, his obsession with gold and silver was definitely the highest among all the emperors. Emperor Wanli followed the teachings of Emperor Jiajing and insisted that Zhao Wenhua's descendants continue to pay compensation, either all of it or all of them died, anyway, not a penny less!

Therefore, in the original historical line, Zhao Wenhua was such an unlucky guy that he could not live to the present 39th year of Jiajing. Now, due to the deviation of history, he did not participate in the historical process of the Southeast Anti-Japanese War, which indirectly changed his fate and allowed him to live a few more years.

This made him have the illusion and fantasy that he could go further, but was it possible? You have to know that Zhao Wenhua couldn't get along with Yan Shifan at all. If he only relied on the aging Yan Song, he wouldn't be able to help him much. Even if he could help him for a while, it wouldn't last too long.

But Zhao Wenhua didn't care about these. As long as he could make progress, he would be satisfied even if he could only work for a few months, let alone a short period of time.

Zhao Wenhua said excitedly: "Thank you godfather for your cultivation."

Yan Song laughed and said, "This is all your own ability. In the future, you must help Shifan more and persuade him not to act on impulse."

Zhao Wenhua said: "My son will definitely follow the instructions of his godfather and will stand together with Donglou."

After serving Yan Song and letting him rest, Zhao Wenhua left Yan's house in high spirits. However, after leaving, he did not follow Yan Song's teachings and expectations and continue to help Yan Shifan.

Zhao Wenhua also knew that once Yan Song grew old to the point where he was disliked by Emperor Jiajing, those of them who were close to Yan Shifan would not end up well.

So what Zhao Wenhua was thinking at this time was that after the result of the recommendation for the Minister of Personnel was out, he would have to find a way to jump ship. He could not continue to follow Yan Shifan, this stubborn and self-willed fool, all the way to the end.

Moreover, Zhao Wenhua is not a stupid man. Yan Kuan did not tell him the truth last time, but later Zhao Wenhua learned about Yan Shifan's scolding through other information channels in Yan Shifan's mansion.

Zhao Wenhua was also very angry about this matter. He wanted to find Yan Shifan with good intentions to discuss and plan the matter of Prince Yu reopening his mansion, but not only did he not get in, he was also scolded by Yan Shifan. This was something that his uncle could tolerate but his aunt could not.

So now Zhao Wenhua is also feeling very angry, and he wants to find a way to teach Yan Shifan a lesson!
Look at this second-generation rich man who only relies on his father. Without his help, how capable would he be?

This side of Prince Yu’s Mansion.

When Zhu Zaigui heard that Wu Peng was going to retire, he was not too surprised, because Wu Peng was originally a lackey who followed Yan Shifan's lead.

During his years in the Ministry of Personnel, all officials were promoted and demoted according to Yan Shifan's orders. No one dared to act on his own and he was just filling the position. People both at home and abroad despised him.

Therefore, Zhu Zaigui never took him seriously. After all, Zhu Zaigui did not have to go through the Ministry of Personnel to promote and appoint people. It was either the special decree of Emperor Jiajing, or the arrangement within the Special District Office or the Ming Federal Reserve. There was no need to compete with the Ministry of Personnel.

Now that Wu Peng was going to retire, although Zhu Zaigui could not understand the deep meaning of it for a while, he could not help but imagine the next candidate for the Minister of Personnel. If the next Minister of Personnel could be someone he trusted, then it would be a great thing.

So just before Huang Jin arrived, Zhu Zaigui was already planning the appointment of the new Minister of Personnel.

After Zhu Zaigui thought for a long time, he felt that the only person he could use was Gao Gong.

Moreover, after the New Year, the chairman of the Ming Federal Reserve will be replaced, and Gao Gong will have to be reassigned at that time. If Gao Gong can be promoted to the position of Minister of Personnel in one go this time, then things will be very easy to handle in the future.

Therefore, at this time Zhu Zaigui no longer avoided suspicion as he had done before. After all, the focus of the capital had now shifted to the selection of the new Minister of Personnel, and naturally, Wang Zhi, the little Karami, was no longer so valued.

After Zhu Zaigui thought about this, he felt that there was no time to lose, so he immediately asked Meng Chong to go and find Gao Gong to come to the mansion to pay him a visit.

After meeting Meng Chong and learning that Zhu Zaigui had summoned him, Gao Gong did not hesitate at all and immediately followed Meng Chong to Prince Yu's mansion.

When Zhu Zaiqi saw Gao Gong, whom he hadn't seen for almost a month, he smiled warmly, "Mr. Gao, you have worked hard during this period."

Gao Gong heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Zhu Zaigui was safe and sound, and that Zhu Zaigui did not seem to be disturbed by the confinement.

Gao Gong bowed to Zhu Zaigui excitedly and said, "My Lord, how are you?"

Zhu Zaigui stood up and came over to support Gao Gong's arm, "The king is fine. Meng Chong, serve tea!"

Zhu Zaigui then instructed Meng Chong to serve tea to Gao Gong. When Meng Chong brought the tea, Zhu Zaigui took Gao Gong to sit in the tea room separated from the study.

Zhu Zaigui said, "Mr. Gao, please have some tea."

After Gao Gong thanked Zhu Zaigui, he picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Zhu Zaigui asked, "There have been so many things happening in Beijing recently. What do you think, Mr. Gao?"

When Gao Gong heard Zhu Zaigui's question, he immediately thought and replied: "I think this is a delaying tactic of the Yan Party. They want to use the matter of Minister Wu's retirement to divert attention, so as to convict Wang Zhi and then blame the prince."

Zhu Zaigui smiled and said, "These issues are not worth worrying about. Whether they can hold me responsible or not does not depend on what these people say or do, but on Your Majesty."

"If Your Majesty believes that I did not interfere in the Wang Zhi case, then no matter how much they say, it is just their wishful thinking."

"So, we don't need to worry about this matter. Now we should consider the candidate for the new Minister of Personnel after Wu Peng. This is the top priority."

When Gao Gong heard what Zhu Zaigui said, he felt relieved. The fact that Prince Yu could say such words showed that Zhu Zaigui was certain of Emperor Jiajing's intentions.

Since Emperor Jiajing has already made his choice in his mind, what happens next is just a formality.

No matter how much Yan Shifan and the others jump around, they are nothing but Monkey King in the hands of Buddha. In the end, they will be suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain.

"What does the prince think about this?"

Gao Gong couldn't understand Zhu Zaigui's thoughts at the moment, so he didn't beat around the bush and asked the question in his mind directly. He wanted to know what Zhu Zaigui thought of the new Minister of Personnel after Wu Peng.

Zhu Zai's fingers tapped lightly on the table, and then said, "If my guess is correct, the person that Lord Yan wants to promote should be the current Minister of Justice Ouyang Bijin. I wonder what Lord Xu thinks?"

When Gao Gong heard Zhu Zaigui's words, he was also shocked.

It is indeed very likely that the Yan Party will nominate Ouyang Bijin as the next Minister of Personnel, but Gao Gong is really unclear about the situation on Xu Jie's side.

Because in Gao Gong's impression, although Xu Jie was mature and capable of planning for the country, he was too cautious and careful, so he certainly did not dare to go against the Yan Party.

So at this moment Gao Gong couldn't help but frowned, and said silently: "I think Lord Xu should not have any ideas."

Zhu Zaigui laughed and said, "If there is none, then there is none. It is really difficult for Xu Jie to be so cautious as an official. But just because he didn't have one doesn't mean I don't have one. I want to recommend someone to fight for it and see if a miracle can happen."

As soon as Zhu Zaigui finished speaking, Gao Gong couldn't help but look horrified, "Your Highness, this cannot be done! If you directly recommend a candidate, it may be seen as interfering in government affairs. What if it causes His Majesty's dislike?"

Zhu Zaigui smiled and said, "It's okay. Although I was previously confined to reflect on my actions, my status as regent has not removed the emperor's order. Logically speaking, I have the right to inquire about the affairs of the court."

"And now that His Majesty has issued an order to lift my confinement and reopen my palace, as the regent, what's the problem with me recommending a candidate for the chancellor?"

Gao Gong listened to what Zhu Zaigui said, but he was still nervous. After all, the Shangshu to be recommended this time was not an ordinary Shangshu, but the Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel.

This is an important position in the imperial court that controls the promotions of most people in the Ming Dynasty. How could it be possible for a prince who is not even the crown prince to interfere?
Moreover, in other imperial courts, not even the crown prince could hold such a sensitive position, let alone Zhu Zaigui now.

Therefore, Gao Gong was still very scared.

Gao Gong quickly advised: "Your Highness, please do not be careless. This matter is of great importance. Be patient and you will have peace of mind. Take a step back and you will have a bright future. Do not rush for a moment's pleasure."

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Asking for a monthly ticket~
(End of this chapter)