The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi stayed in the yamen for most of the day and managed to get some useful information. The Censorate would launch several impeachment cases, and even he would be tasked with impeachment.

The person he was in charge of impeaching was Shuntian Prefecture Shao Yin Huan Jia. Min Xi checked the case file handed to him, which was about Huan Jia's private life, saying that he violated human ethics, ignored filial piety, favored concubines and killed his wife, but did not mention that he was corrupt, neglected his duties, or committed favoritism and fraud.

Min Xi had a hunch that this was a factional dispute, so he went to inquire about it. Huan Jia was indeed Pan Sheng's student, and was promoted by Zhang Juzheng. He was definitely a reformist. Huan Jia's ancestral home was Guangxi. His mother was sick, and his first wife stayed in her hometown to take care of the elderly. When he came to Beijing to take up his post, he took a concubine to take care of his daily life. His first wife had no children, but the concubine had three or four.

The position of Shao Yin of Shuntian Prefecture was a real position. He was in charge of all the affairs of the capital and had great power. Huan Jia was born in a humble family and was promoted by Zhang Juzheng because of his outstanding talents. He knew that he had a shallow foundation and few people to rely on. He set an example and set high standards for himself. He was also very cautious and rarely left any handles for others. It was difficult to find a starting point for impeaching him, so the Censorate started with his private life.

After reading his case, Min Xi decided to ignore it. Although the impeachment case was assigned to him, how to impeach, when to impeach, and what position to take could be decided by the censor himself, and he did not need to obey the arrangements of his superiors. Moreover, he was not interested in promotion and wealth, and since he was appointed by the emperor, he did not need to please any superiors.

Although the Censorate was busy impeaching officials, Min Xi noticed that the censors in the court were divided into two factions, some supporting the reformists and some supporting the conservatives, and both sides were impeaching each other.

Since ancient times, nine out of ten officials are corrupt, and few officials have no problems. The Censorate was established to supervise all officials, but it was not always impeaching officials, because the censors were also officials, and being in the middle of it, how could they not know the unspoken rules of the officialdom? It is rare to see a chaotic situation like today. That was because Zhang Juzheng, the pillar of the court, had fallen, and the situation was facing major changes. The two sides were facing a chaotic situation, so they seized this opportunity to attack each other in order to maximize their own interests.

Min Xi had just become the Censor and he arrived at this critical juncture, so it was inevitable that he would be overwhelmed for a while.

Min Xi came out of the yamen exhausted. This job was really exhausting.

When he got home, Min Xi asked the doorman, "Is the master back?"

"Replying to the Second Master, the Master has returned."

Min Xi quickened his pace, not knowing what was going on at the Zhang family.

Yun Ji was not in Xiwei Courtyard, but was doing accounts in the study, holding a pen in his right hand and clicking the abacus beads with his left hand.

Min Xi walked in, Yun Ji looked up and saw him: "You're back." He put down the pen in his hand, refilled his teacup with tea and handed it to Min Xi.

Min Xi took the tea, which was neither hot nor cold, just right. He drank it all in one gulp and sat down next to Yun Ji: "How is it? What are the Zhang brothers' plans?"

"I told them what happened at the court this morning. They finally made up their minds to resign from office and donate all their property in the capital to the court. I am helping them count and estimate their property. The land and shops need to be sold and converted into cash. As for gold, silver, jewelry and the like, they will probably go directly into the national treasury."

Min Xi leaned over to take a look at the number he had recorded: "Wow! This is a lot of money."

Yun Ji nodded: "Of course, Zhang Ge Lao has been operating in the capital for so many years. Not to mention the rewards from the late emperor and His Majesty, the tributes from his subordinates alone are incredible. So if they really investigate the origin of this huge wealth, they will be in big trouble."

“How long will it take to sort it out?”

"It will take at least two or three days."

"We have to hurry up. The situation is changing rapidly. We don't know which will come first, tomorrow or an accident."

"Got it. I'll hurry up. What news did you get?"

Min Xi then told Yun Ji everything he had seen and heard in the Censorate today. After listening, Yun Ji sighed and said, "These are troubled times! I hope things will stabilize soon."

"It would be best if we could have the Zhang brothers submit their resignation letters before the next morning court session, or even before the court session," said Min Xi.

"this is the best."

There were no morning court sessions for the next two days. Apart from going to the yamen, Min Xi and Yun Ji spent the rest of their time helping the Zhang family count their property. All the fertile fields and shops were purchased by Min Xi and Yun Ji, and converted into cash at market prices.

On the eve of the morning court session, Min Xi and Yun Ji went to the palace overnight to meet with Emperor Wanli. They originally planned to invite the three brothers Zhang Jingxiu, Zhang Sixiu and Zhang Maoxiu to the palace, but after discussion, they decided not to show up and wait for the emperor to summon them.

Wanli received them in the Qianqing Palace. When he saw the memorials and lists written by the Zhang brothers, he was shocked: "The teacher just left, why are these brothers doing this?"

Min Xi said: "Your Majesty, this is what Lord Zhang meant. Before he left, he made arrangements for his descendants. The Zhang brothers just followed their father's wishes, resigned from office, returned home, and gave away all their wealth."

This was the rhetoric they came up with during discussion. This kind of thing was too shocking and too deliberate, so they needed a reasonable excuse. They asked their descendants to retire in the name of Zhang Juzheng, so that the emperor would have sympathy when seeing it. Even if someone wanted to murder them again, they would not be able to get past the emperor and there would be no way to hold them accountable.

Wanli lowered his eyes and looked at the donation list. It was a thick book with a staggering amount of money. Zhang Juzheng had indeed amassed a lot of wealth during his years in office. But now they donated all of it. Even if the source of the money was not legitimate, the emperor could not bear to hold him accountable.

After watching for a while, Wanli raised his eyes and looked at Min Xi and Yun Ji standing below: "Why would you be asked to come forward for this matter?"

Min Xi said respectfully: "I dare not deceive Your Majesty. After we came back from Southeast Asia, we visited Lord Zhang. He knew that he didn't have much time left, so he entrusted me to help with this matter." These words were true and false.

Wanli had no doubts, because he knew that Zhang Juzheng admired Min Xi very much, and even personally arranged for him to enter the Censorate as an imperial censor. Wanli stared at the memorial in silence for a long time, and then he said faintly: "It turns out that the teacher is still unwilling to trust me!"

Yun Ji hurriedly said, "Of course, Zhang Gelao trusts Your Majesty, but he knows that he has made too many enemies in the court, and he is worried that his actions will affect his descendants, so he arranged for them to return to their hometown to farm and study. Your Majesty, please fulfill the love of an old man for his children and grandchildren."

Wanli sighed and waved his hands: "Forget it, forget it! Since the teacher thinks so, let him be. Tomorrow morning, summon the Zhang brothers to the palace to listen to the decree."