My father is Jiajing

Chapter 523 The Ten Sins of the Yan Family

The Jinyiwei Yamen was also a Yamen with a long history in the Ming Dynasty. It first appeared during the Hongwu Emperor period and was a special spy agency designed for Zhu Yuanzhang to monitor all officials. Its most explosive achievements were the sensational Hu Weiyong case and the Lan Yu case.

But after these two major cases, Zhu Yuanzhang, either because he was too old to lift a knife or because he had become kinder, actually wanted to disband the Jinyiwei and burned all of the Jinyiwei's torture instruments in front of all the officials to show his determination not to use spies to kill people anymore, but to govern the Ming Dynasty with upright laws.

The result is obvious. It is okay for Zhu Yuanzhang to give up his martial arts. After all, his power is still accumulating. No one dares to take Zhu Yuanzhang, this old dragon, lightly.

But when the cute little Jianwen ascended the throne, he was at a loss, thinking that he could do whatever he wanted as he was the emperor and could get rid of all the uncles who threatened his power and status.

But sometimes, some things are not done as cleanly and elegantly as those done by the Jinyiwei in Zhu Yuanzhang's era, and can even be said to be extremely rough.

Not only did he force Prince of Xiang Zhu Bo to commit suicide by burning himself, but he also gave him the evil posthumous name of "Li".

Doesn't this clearly show that they are determined to fight to the death with all their uncles?
Therefore, his extremely crude action of reducing the power of the princes naturally forced the Prince of Yan to rebel, and also forced all his uncles to stand idly by, and finally ended up with him self-immolating and disappearing.

Unlike him, his fourth uncle is much more particular.

Not only did he firmly grasp the military power in his hands, but he also revived the Jinyiwei agents who had lost their functions. In the following 10 to 20 years, the Jinyiwei of the Yongle Dynasty not only helped Zhu Di complete the purge of Jianwen's old ministers, but also continued Jianwen's policy of reducing the power of the princes, and brought all the brothers and nephews into obedience.

From this we can see that the Jinyiwei's sharp knife can be used but cannot be absent.

Therefore, in the later development of the dynasty, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty not only continued to retain the Jinyiwei, but also established secret agencies such as the East Factory and the West Factory on its basis. Its purpose was obvious, which was to consolidate the stability of imperial power.

Even if the emperor did not go to work every day, he did not have to worry about any ministers rebelling.

To put it bluntly, secret agencies like the Jinyiwei played a vital role in maintaining such a good and stable system between the monarch and his subjects.

It is like a sword hanging over the heads of all ministers. If it is not used, nothing will happen. But if it is used, all ministers will be killed!

Therefore, under this circumstance, the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, no matter how powerful their personal power was, still could not replicate the legends of the powerful ministers of the previous dynasty. The fundamental reason was that the checks and balances model designed by the Ming Dynasty was too advanced.

Huang Jin brought Prince Jing Zhu Zaizhen to the Jinyiwei Yamen. Today, all the commanders, assistant commanders, captains, and deputy captains of the North and South Pacification Divisions of the Jinyiwei in Beijing were present.

They also received an imperial edict today to welcome and greet the new commander of the Jinyiwei in the yamen, so at this time, these commanders-in-chief, commander-in-chief, captains, and deputy captains were all very curious about who was so lucky to take over the position of commander of the Jinyiwei.

At the same time, they couldn't help but fantasize in their hearts that someone with high enough status and power would come to serve as their new leader.

Otherwise, they will have to serve as subordinates of the East Factory in the future.

From this we can see that the current Jinyiwei people are also very concerned about their future status and situation.

After all, when Lu Bing was in office, they were all very proud and could act like big brothers in front of the East Factory. But after Lu Bing died, their status plummeted. Now, if any East Factory boss comes to talk to them, they have to bow and scrape.

Otherwise, these useless eunuchs would definitely take advantage of their proximity to the emperor to make things difficult for them.

Therefore, these Jinyiwei leaders were extremely eager to have another person like Lu Bing to be their leader.

However, even if they thought so, they knew that in today's capital or even in the Ming Dynasty, even if they looked at the whole world, there would not be another Commander Lu.

So now all they can pray for is that the newly appointed commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard can have a better relationship with the Eastern Depot and make things easier for them.

Otherwise, not only will I have to endure the anger of my superiors, but also those stubborn eunuchs in the East Factory. Life will be unbearable.

Soon these people saw Huang Jin and a young man in fancy clothes walking in together, and following their peripheral vision, Huang Jin seemed to be one step behind, which made these Jinyiwei leaders curious.

Finally, when the young man in gorgeous clothes and Huang Jin arrived at the lobby of the Jinyiwei Yamen, these people finally saw clearly who the visitors were!
They never expected that the person coming was actually His Royal Highness Prince Jing!

This was really unexpected, but the Jinyiwei leaders present did not dare to think that their new big brother was Prince Jing, but were wondering whether Prince Jing came here to announce the imperial edict?
So at this moment, the leaders of the Jinyiwei also bowed to Zhu Zaizhen and Huang Jin with doubts in their minds.

"Your humble servants are here to greet the prince and the eunuch!"

Prince Jing and Huang Jin stood at the first seat in the center of the hall. Behind them was the spiritual totem of the Jinyiwei Yamen - the statue of Yue Wumu!
This statue of Yue Fei has been hung in the main hall of the Jinyiwei Yamen and the Dongchang Yamen since the Hongwu Dynasty. It is a totem that all Jinyiwei personnel and Dongchang spies must worship upon entering the Yamen.

The intention is to hope that they can be as loyal to their country as Yue Wumu and defend the Ming Dynasty!

However, the act of this secret service agency worshipping Yue Fei is a bit like the underworld worshipping Guan Gong in later generations, which always makes things feel a bit strange.

But that's not important!
Huang Jin spoke for Zhu Zaizhen, "Everyone get up."

The leaders of the Imperial Guards immediately stood up and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Eunuch!"

Then they stood upright in their respective positions, waiting for instructions from Huang Jin and Zhu Zaizhen.

Huang Jin bowed slightly to Zhu Zaizhen and said, "Your Majesty, I will announce your decree."

Zhu Zaizhen nodded solemnly, "Please, eunuch."

Then Zhu Zaizhen took two steps back and stood under Huang Jin.

Huang Jin took out the imperial edict from his arms.

Officially announced: "The imperial edict has arrived!"

Zhu Zaizhen and the other leaders of the Imperial Guard bowed and said, "We, your Highness, wish you the best of health."

Huang Jin replied on behalf of Tian Hui: "I am fine."

Huang Jin then opened the imperial edict and began to read: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, decrees: King Jing is a man of honest character and modest conduct. I hereby appoint King Jing as the special envoy of the Imperial Guard, responsible for all matters of the Imperial Guard. I hope that you can assist King Jing in managing the affairs of the Imperial Guard with all your heart and soul. I decree this!"

As soon as Huang Jin finished reading out this short decree, the Jinyiwei leaders present looked at each other in disbelief. If they had not been receiving an imperial decree and needed to maintain etiquette, they would probably have started discussing the authenticity of the matter.

Huang Jin also took in all the changes and expressions of the crowd, because he had been so shocked at the beginning.

But now Huang Jin has already accepted this result, so he seems unusually calm.

Huang Jin said to Zhu Zaizhen: "Your Majesty, please accept the order."

When Zhu Zaizhen heard Huang Jin's voice, he also quickly took action, "Your son Zhu Zaizhen accepts the order!"

After hearing what Zhu Zaizhen said, the other leaders of the Jinyiwei immediately followed suit and said, "We will receive your order!"

Huang Jin handed the imperial edict to Zhu Zaizhen, who respectfully took it and placed it on the table behind him. He then stood at the first seat in the center of the Jinyiwei Hall again.

At this time, Huang Jin also quietly stepped back two steps and no longer stood beside Zhu Zaizhen to steal the limelight.

After seeing this scene, the leaders of the Imperial Guards immediately bowed sensibly: "Your humble servants pay their respects to His Majesty!"

Zhu Zaizhen looked at the movements of the people bowing and couldn't help but take a deep breath. He had spent a lot of time in the Beijing Martial Arts Hall over the years, so he was very familiar with the etiquette of the Jinyiwei.

Therefore, when facing these people's greetings, Zhu Zaizhen did not feel nervous or stage fright. He raised his hand slightly and said, "Please stand up, everyone. From now on, we are a family. As the special envoy of the Jinyiwei, you can directly inform me of anything you have in the future."

"I will not hide any instructions from you. I hope you can all be as dedicated as you were when Earl Zhongcheng was alive, and live up to the reputation of the Jinyiwei!"

Upon hearing this, the Jinyiwei bowed again and said, "We will follow your instructions, Your Majesty."

At this time, after experiencing this sudden surprise, the Jinyiweis couldn't help but feel happy.

Although it was the first time since the founding of the Ming Dynasty that a prince served as a special envoy of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the existence of this level would definitely make them no longer have to be so cautious and worry about being suppressed by the eunuchs of the Eastern Depot in the future.

After all, he is a prince, and his status and reputation are there. Even if we don't give them face, we have to give King Jing some face.

So after thinking about it this way, the leaders of the Jinyiwei suddenly became enlightened and no longer worried that they would be suppressed by the Eastern Depot in the future.

Huang Jin saw that Zhu Zaizhen's primary and secondary positions in the Jinyiwei had been determined, so he smiled and bowed to Zhu Zaizhen: "Your Highness is now the Jinyiwei's special envoy. I have completed my mission and will take my leave now."

When Zhu Zaizhen heard Huang Jin's words, he immediately said to Huang Jin, "Thank you for your hard work, eunuch. Please take care."

After saying that, Zhu Zaizhen also walked two steps towards Huang Jin, then stopped and watched Huang Jin's back disappear in the Jinyiwei Yamen.

After Huang Jin left, the lobby of the Jinyiwei Yamen suddenly became lively.

These leaders could not help but bow to Zhu Zaizhen excitedly again and again. They all looked very happy, as if it was New Year's Day.

Zhu Zaizhen looked at these people with happy smiles on their faces and a smile also appeared on his face.

At this time, Shen Lian, who was the assistant of Jinyiwei last night, also stood up. He was also considered an outlier in Jinyiwei.

Because he was a civil servant before, and also a county magistrate, he was later appreciated by Lu Bing, the commander of the Jinyiwei at that time, and was transferred from the civil servant system to the Jinyiwei to serve as an experienced person.

Moreover, during his tenure, he was often treated specially by Lu Bing. For example, when Lu Bing visited the house of his relative Yan Shifan, he would take him with him.

However, Shen Lian was a well-educated and upright person. He could not stand Yan Shifan's behavior of abusing guests at the dinner table, so he stood up and confronted Yan Shifan in front of him.

Therefore, Yan Shifan hated him to the core and thought about killing him, but unfortunately Lu Bing was behind him, so Yan Shifan was a little cautious when dealing with Shen Lian.

In addition, the sudden emergence of Zhu Zaigui later reversed the outcome of the Gengxu Incident in the 29th year of Jiajing, which was supposed to make Emperor Jiajing lose face.

Therefore, Shen Lian's fate changed accordingly. He was not killed in the 36th year of Jiajing, so he was promoted to the position of Jinyiwei's assistant.

Shen Lian stood up at this time not for any other reason, but to continue what he had failed to accomplish before and continue to confront Yan Song and Yan Shifan and their family.

Shen Lian bowed and said, "I, Shen Lian, greet Your Majesty!"

Zhu Zaizhen watched Shen Lian come out, and then watched Shen Lian greet him. He glanced at the other people and saw that they also seemed unaware of the situation.

Zhu Zaizhen replied: "What's the matter, Mr. Shen?"

Shen Lian said: "I have something important to tell Your Majesty, I hope Your Majesty will approve of what I have to say."

Zhu Zaizhen didn't know what Shen Lian was going to say, so at this time Zhu Zaizhen could only reply: "Shen Chen, tell me everything. I will allow you to say it."

Then Shen Lian took out a thick document from his sleeve. From the wrinkles on the document and the slightly hairy edges, it was obvious that the document had been in Shen Lian's sleeve for a long time.

Shen Lian held up the document in his hand and said, "This is the evidence of the Yan Party's crimes that I have collected over the years. Your Majesty, please read it!"

After that, Shen Lian handed the document to Zhu Zaizhen, and at the same time, Shen Lian said: "I want to state the ten major crimes of Yan Song and Yan Shifan, father and son!"

Then Shen Lian began his speech:

"The Grand Secretary Yan Song is a man of extreme greed and a foolish heart. When the ruler was worried and his ministers were humiliated, he did not invite wise men to consult him for advice, but only planned and acted according to his own wishes with his son Shifan."

"He discouraged loyal counselors in many ways, and flattered people in many ways. He sold bribes and positions, and sought favors to win over customers. When the court rewarded a person, he said, 'I rewarded him'; when it punished a person, he said, 'I punish him'. Everyone followed Yan's likes and dislikes, but they did not know the court's grace and power. How could they bear to say anything?"

"Let me just mention the most serious of the crimes."

"Accepting bribes from generals and stirring up trouble on the border is one of them."

"Accepting gifts from the kings and doing everything in secret is the second."

"He seized power in the Ministry of Personnel, and even the petty officials in the prefectures and counties were bribed, which led to a serious breakdown of the government. This is the third reason."

"The annual regulations for the governors and magistrates have led to the officials passing the money to each other, and the wealth of the people has been reduced day by day. This is the fourth."

"Secretly control the censors so that they dare not speak out directly. This is the fifth."

"If one is jealous of the virtuous and capable, and offends their will, he will surely die. This is the sixth."

"Let your son receive wealth and gather resentment from the world, seven."

"Carrying wealth back home, the moon is full of days, causing trouble on the road, eight."

"Having been in government for a long time, and being favored and harming the government, is the ninth."

"I cannot help you in the plan of heaven's punishment, and I have caused my king and father to worry. This is the tenth!"

As soon as Shen Lian finished reporting these ten pieces of information about the crimes of Yan Song and Yan Shifan, both Zhu Zaizhen and the other Jinyiwei leaders in the hall could not help but look at each other in bewilderment.

They never dreamed that Shen Lian had been holding back for so long and actually came up with such a powerful move. It was truly terrifying!
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(End of this chapter)