Jiajing Chengming

"Your Majesty, please calm down. In my opinion, it would not be too late to send an imperial censor to investigate and then make a decision."

"After all, Yan Song is a senior official specially appointed by Your Majesty. He was not recommended by the court. This involves Your Majesty's prestige and credibility. How can you punish him so easily?"

"Besides, he is a high-ranking official. If you doubt someone, don't employ him. If you employ someone, don't doubt him!"

Yang Yiqing suggested at this time.

"allow!"

Zhu Houcong nodded, agreed to Yang Yiqing's proposal, and looked at Yang Yiqing meaningfully.

Soon, Yan Song received news that the censor Chen Bangfu was coming to investigate the matter.

In this regard.

Yan Song called Yan Shifan to his side again and asked Yan Shifan to look at the court's new imperial edict again.

After seeing this, Yan Shifan said, "Father, in my opinion, His Majesty is really angry this time!"

"Can you not be angry?"

"My father did not truthfully report the real reason for punishing the corrupt merchants. He only said that the corrupt merchants were willing to pay the fines, and the reason was just that he had the right to deal with them at his convenience. Your Majesty is wise and intelligent, so you can naturally see that my father did this to save face for those who are not in the same mind as Your Majesty. He did not directly tear his face off, but only hoped that the Ministry of Revenue would let my father go, so he did not explain the matter clearly."

"Your Majesty will be angry because my father refused to offend the Qingliu."

Yan Song said with a helpless smile.

Yan Shifan said: "Father is right! But this clean official in the Ministry of Revenue is really inhumane!"

"Father has angered His Majesty because of Qingliu, and he has not exposed their irregular salt system, but they are blaming father for the irregular salt system first!"

"This is really obvious. They want my father to end his career as an official!"

Yan Song fell silent, but his eyes were filled with anger.

But at the same time, he walked around the room with his hands behind his back, frowning as if he was thinking seriously.

Yan Shifan also touched his chin with his right hand and held his right elbow with his left hand, thinking seriously.

"How do you think your father should deal with this next?"

Yan Song looked at Yan Shifan at this time.

Yan Shifan said after a while: "Why not wait until Censor Chen arrives?"

"Talk to him. Father is willing to make some concessions, such as giving them a few tens of thousands of silver dollars from the official treasury allocated to Ji and Liao. I only ask them to be gracious and stop pursuing father over this grain levy?"

talking.

Yan Shifan looked at Yan Song and said, "Also, father can also explain directly to the censor. Unless it is absolutely necessary, father does not want to really tear his face with the bureaucrats and gentry in the world. But if he really wants to tear his face, the ones who will suffer more will be the clean officials like us!"

"After all, the Ming Dynasty has no shortage of bureaucrats. Now my father is giving them face, but it is also for the sake of the overall situation. He doesn't want the relationship between the imperial party and the clean bureaucrats to become so strained!"

Yan Song nodded, and then ordered: "Come here, pack up the rare Song Dynasty edition that I have kept with me, and ask the Changping pawnshop to deliver it to the imperial envoy."

then.

Yan Song said to Yan Shifan: "When the time comes, you go to see him for me, I won't go!"

"Yes!"

Chen Bangfu, the censor who was ordered to investigate the matter, received a unique copy of the Song Dynasty edition from his friend at Changpingguanyi. When he learned that it was sent by Yan Song, he naturally guessed Yan Song's intention.

Soon, Chen Bangfu met Yan Shifan in an inn.

"You are so young, can you represent your father?"

When Chen Bangfu saw that Yan Shifan was only sixteen or seventeen years old, he asked this question.

Yan Shifan replied, "My father asked me to come to see him, so he naturally trusts me."

Chen Bangfu nodded, then asked, "So, your father asked you to come see me, what do you want to say?"

"Of course, please explain to your majesty the difficulties involved and why my father had to do this."

"This is good for everyone."

Yan Shifan replied.

Chen Bangfu sneered: "Is it really good for everyone?"

talking.

Chen Bangfu then said, "Your father still doesn't understand that the best outcome for him now is to resign! Although His Majesty has not abandoned him, the people of the world have already abandoned him!"

Yan Shifan smiled faintly and said, "You should understand that you are now serving as an imperial envoy for His Majesty, not for the bureaucrats and gentry of the world. If you really want to join them in framing my father, then my father will have no choice but to fight to the death!"

"After all, there must be loyal ministers in this world!"

"Your father, by doing this, aren't you afraid of losing all moral integrity in the world?!"

Chen Bangfu's expression suddenly changed and he asked in a deep voice.

Yan Shifan replied coldly: "Hasn't the superior seen it yet? You don't want to allow the person specially selected by His Majesty to enter the officialdom, but my father doesn't want to leave the officialdom just like that! Otherwise, this matter wouldn't have developed to the point where the superior has to come here now."

Chen Bangfu walked up to Yan Shifan and said in a low voice, "Can't he wait until he is reinstated in the future?"

"Who knows if you can get your position back after losing it?"

"Besides, whether you can be reinstated is not up to you, but your Majesty."

"Besides, whether my father can give up his post is not decided by him, nor by you. It is up to His Majesty! Now, my father is showing goodwill to you, the Qingliu, and asking for a promotion for the sake of the overall situation. He just doesn't want to break up with you, but that doesn't mean we won't break up!"

Yan Shifan said.

Chen Bangfu twitched his lips: "Your father has done dirty work for His Majesty. If he really chooses to back down this time, His Majesty will not do anything to him! Otherwise, those members of the imperial party will be disheartened!"

"The Emperor's will is unpredictable!"

"No one dared to test whether the person holding the knife would care about the old friendship."

"Especially the monarch of my Ming Dynasty!"

Yan Shifan replied.

Chen Bangfu was silent.

"Fifty thousand silver dollars!"

"My father's governor's office is willing to give you 40% of the official treasury for the grain payment this time to make up for the loss of part of the tax and fines."

"In addition, in the future, the food and salaries allocated to Ji and Liao will also be divided in this way."

"When the time comes, we, the Governor's Office, will fake it no matter how it disappears."

"how?"

Yan Shifan said.

Chen Bangfu pursed his lips and said, "This is not a matter of money."

"Do you really want to take it all?!"

"But do you have the ability to take everything?"

"This is not the time for the Temple of Filial Piety and the Temple of Martial Arts!"

"Now, you know the power of His Majesty. If you really want to ruin his plans, you will be blamed. Do you believe it?"

"Maritime trade is an example. You want to ban the sea, but the result is that you are not even allowed to drink a sip of soup! You only monopolize maritime trade with a few trustworthy imperial merchants!" Yan Shifan asked speechlessly.

Chen Bangfu was silent for a while, then said, "Okay, I can speak well of you, and I can also persuade the clean officials in the court to stop here!"

……

……

The Minister of Revenue Liang Cai soon received the letter from Liu Ye.

"who?"

Liang Cai asked after taking the letter.

Liu Ye said: "It's from Chen Bangfu."

After hearing this, Liang Cai opened the letter and started reading.

The content of the letter was just Chen Bangfu speaking well of Yan Song, hoping that the Ministry of Revenue would show leniency.

After hearing this, Liang Cai asked sternly, "Why is he speaking well of Yan Fenyi?"

"Because Yan Fenyi said that he is willing to share 40% of his annual revenue with us in the future!"

"And the purpose is just to make us let him go and let him serve as the governor of Ji and Liao."

Liu Ye replied.

Snapped!
Liang Cai suddenly slammed the table and shouted, "Am I the kind of person who is greedy for money?!"

"Villains like Yan Song must leave the court!"

"You really want to forgive Yan Song for the sake of greed and allow him to stay in the court, then you should dismiss me first!"

Liang Cai just said a few words and left the duty room with a flick of his sleeves.

Liu Ye also bowed to Liang Cai when he left.

As for Chen Bangfu, he directly wrote a memorial to speak up for Yan Song, saying that Yan Song had no choice but to do so.

Because the grain prices in the border towns had indeed risen too sharply, although Yan Song's action was against the rules, the accounts were all clearly visible in the books, and it was found that all the money was spent on public purposes, and it was not embezzled but put into his own pocket, so it seemed to be an acceptable move.

The unscrupulous merchants reported to the Censorate because they suspected that the governor's grain fines were intended to embezzle money, but this was actually just speculation.

According to the Ming Dynasty's documentary political process, Chen Bangfu's memorial would first be sent by the cabinet to the Ministry of Revenue for review.

After all, the Ministry of Revenue is the institution that has the real power to make financial decisions in the system.

However, after receiving Chen Bangfu's memorial, the Minister of Revenue Liang Cai still insisted that since Yan Song had already received the money to buy grain, there was no need to impose punishment on him arbitrarily, which was undoubtedly a clever excuse.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue said that even if Yan Song was fined for high grain prices, he could have used the treasury to help the border areas, but he should not have arbitrarily fined Yan Song for the salt tax to cover his own expenses. This would have encouraged the governors of the border areas to dare to fine him! It would not benefit the country!"

When Yang Yiqing reported the conclusion of the Ministry of Revenue's review to Zhu Houcong in the Imperial Study, Zhu Houcong nodded:

"The Ministry of Revenue was not wrong. Yan Song did set a bad precedent by doing this. On the contrary, this censor only spoke well of Yan Song and could not produce any strong evidence to exonerate him. It is hard not to suspect that he accepted Yan Song's favor."

“What does your cabinet think?”

Zhu Houcong looked at Yang Yiqing at this time.

Yang Yiqing thought for a while and said, "The cabinet thinks that it is better to let Yan Song defend himself again! After all, Yan Song was specially appointed without the recommendation of the court, and it is related to the emperor's majesty! But the tone should be stern, and he should be warned not to abuse his constitutional power!"

Zhu Houcong nodded: "Then let Yan Song answer the question again! The words of reprimand will also be drafted by your cabinet."

"Yes!"

……

……

"Now, should Yan Song resign on his own initiative?"

When Bai Qi learned from his colleague Liu Ye in the Ministry of Revenue that the Minister of Revenue Liang Cai did not let Yan Song go, causing the emperor to continue to let Yan Song defend himself, he started talking with a smile.

Liu Ye also smiled and said: "Yan Song is a man who knows the rules and knows the limits. He should have understood long ago that this is not a matter of money, but that he is a person specially appointed by the emperor, not a person recommended by the court. He cannot get the public support of the bureaucrats and gentry in the world, and he cannot be an official!"

"Don't even mention that Yan Song donated 40% of the official treasury. Even if he emptied the official treasury for the bureaucrats and gentry, it would not work! After all, these official treasury are the money of the bureaucrats and gentry!"

"You are right. The officials and gentry of the world are not targeting Yan Song himself, but whether Your Majesty can use the special selection method to select people!"

Bai Qi followed up.

Liu Ye stood up with his hands behind his back and said, "That's right! Wei Qing and Huo Qubing have made great contributions to the Han Dynasty and have great virtues for the people of the world. Didn't Sima Qian classify them as flatterers just because they were specially appointed by Emperor Wu of Han?"

"As the saying goes, in the face of major issues, it is not as simple as if you give in and I have to give in as well. But stubbornness cannot take away his will! Situ is indeed a role model of integrity and uprightness!"

Speaking of it.

Liu Ye said to Bai Qi, "Tell your brother to rest assured that he will make more money than expected from the large-scale construction of the border wall this time, not less than expected! The grain that Yan Song confiscated from them will have to be returned sooner or later!"

Bai Qi nodded and laughed, "Thanks to the integrity of Lord Situ Liang! Otherwise, Yan Song, the treacherous villain who wanted to undermine the government and seize the wealth of merchants, would have achieved his goal."

"Yes!"

After receiving Zhu Houcong's draft, which asked him to review the petition again, Yan Song fell silent, with only the flesh on his face trembling slightly.

"Father!"

Yan Shifan also came here at this time because he learned that Yan Song had received the new imperial edict. He happened to meet a servant coming to add tea, so he snatched the teapot from the servant, walked over, and personally poured a cup of tea for Yan Song. After gently placing the teapot on the coffee table beside him, he personally held a cup of tea and handed it to Yan Song.

Yan Song took the tea with trembling hands.

But suddenly, Yan Song raised the teacup.

But seeing that it was Yan Shifan who had fallen, he took it back and sighed, saying, "My father was wrong."

"The Ministry of Revenue still refuses to give up?"

Yan Shifan also asked seriously.

Yan Song nodded.

Yan Shifan was also stunned.

But at this moment, Yan Shifan seemed to realize something true, and said: "It is my son's fault. I am still too young. I should have advised my father to give up his fantasy about Qingliu!"

"The falling flowers have feelings, but the flowing water is merciless."

"Your Majesty ruling alone is indeed the general trend!"

Yan Song expressed his feelings by saying these two sentences.

That night.

Yan Song drafted a self-defense memorial, in which he submitted the case of wealthy merchants in Jizhou who were illegally selling Huai salt and for which he had to impose fines on them in accordance with the salt law, and attached expired salt permits issued in Jizhou as evidence.

At the same time, Yan Song also wrote a letter to Cai Tianyou, the governor of Xuanda, asking Cai Tianyou to make the revelation as well.

Cai Tianyou saw that Yan Song had exposed everything, and if he did not, he would appear to be disloyal, so he naturally followed suit and exposed the fact that wealthy businessmen were illegally selling Huai salt in Datong.

"Grand Minister, Yan Song doesn't know the rules!"

"Is this business of Huai salt something that can be discussed?"

After seeing the memorial from Yan Song that was forwarded to the Ministry of Revenue by the Cabinet, Liu Ye, a subordinate of Liang Cai, the Minister of Revenue, became furious and questioned Liang Cai with gnashing teeth. (End of this chapter)