After Zhan Xiaoxiao read Hai Rui's letter, he also felt an indescribable sadness in his heart. Hai Rui's fate is actually Qin Tai's fate. The bitterness in Qin Tai's heart was no less than that of Hai Rui. Qin Tai's patriotism is no less than that of Hai Rui, and his actions back then were even more direct than Hai Rui. Now Qin Tai has no way at all, Hai Rui has at least been a secretary of the ministry, and finally did a majestic thing. Qin Tai has been mixed up until now, if he hadn't taken the initiative to put down his body and approach a eunuch like Feng Bao, Qin Tai would not have the freedom to come out and walk around now.

Zhan Xiaoxiao also thought about it, and wanted to persuade her husband Qin Tai to go home. Don't worry about these things, just go home and be a flat-headed commoner. At home, Qin Tai can read books and do business, and he can also have time to study medicine. Zhan Xiaoxiao raised children at home and gave birth to several more children for her husband Qin Tai. In the future, when the children grow up, don't let them become officials, just be an ordinary person. But Zhan Xiaoxiao didn't do it, because Zhan Xiaoxiao knew that her husband Qin Tai would not agree. Otherwise, Qin Tai would have had a chance to leave completely a few years ago, and if Qin Tai was willing to let go, it would be the best opportunity at that time. But Qin Tai not only did not let go, but also became more determined to return to officialdom.

However, Hai Rui's letter was not useless, and Zhan Xiaoxiao immediately found several key problems in the letter. Among them, Hai Rui inadvertently mentioned a person's name, and that was Jia Baishun. This person's name made Zhan Xiaoxiao pay attention immediately, read Hai Rui's letter carefully, and was unwilling to let go of a word.

It turned out that Jia Baishun had already joined the local forces and became a member of the old party. Because Jia Baishun is Xu Jie's cousin, he has served as a department official in the local and capital for a long time. Therefore, the people of the old party wanted to use Jia Baishun to join forces with Xu Jie, who had retired. Xu Jie is an old-hearted person, and he feels that he is unwilling to leave the core of power like this. So Jia Baishun was instructed to serve the old party, and Jia Baishun used his understanding of people like Hai Rui to formulate a set of methods to deal with Hai Rui. Hai Rui is a little easier to deal with than Qin Tai, so Jia Baishun's plan is very effective. After curbing Hai Jui for the first time, Jia Baishun received the attention of the old party, and with their help, Jia Baishun not only made a comeback, but also became the prefect of this place.

Hai Rui's meaning is obvious, behind Jia Baishun there is not only the old party but also Xu Jie. Xu Jie, as an old Jianghu, is not an easy person to deal with. Even Zhang Juzheng can't completely guarantee that his subordinates have nothing to do with Xu Jie. This is another purpose of Zhang Juzheng's letter to Hairui.

Speaking of this old party, Zhan Xiaoxiao knew something from her husband Qin Tai. But Zhan Xiaoxiao didn't know how Xu Jie could join forces with the people of the old party? Could it be that this man, who previously claimed to be an eternal enemy of the old party, would abandon his position for the sake of his own interests? Zhan Xiaoxiao felt more and more that he was underestimating a politician like Xu Jie.

Speaking of the old party, I have to mention one person, that is, Yan Song, the first corrupt official of the Ming Dynasty. Yan Song is a very powerful character, and no one disagrees with this. Yan Song once said that there are only one and a half people who can be called his opponents. This person is Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, that is, Yan Song's boss. He gave Yan Song everything, and of course he could take everything back. Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi really took everything back in the end, and Yan Song finally ended up with a wife and a broken family. That half refers to Xu Jie, but it is not the current Xu Jie, but the original upright Xu Jie. Yan Song said that Xu Jie was not really righteous, but a powerful opponent who could bend and stretch and be good at disguise. Xu Jie is extremely upright in front of outsiders, grovels in front of Yan Song, and is honest in front of the emperor. Yan Song had already seen through Xu Jie's character, so he said that the person who would take over his cabinet chief assistant in the future must be Xu Jie.

Yan Song, a down-and-out fortune teller. Because he met Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houyu by chance, he was trusted by Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi. After serving as the edict of Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi's Hanlin Academy for three years, he served as a servant of the Ministry of Officials, and Yan Song was already thirty-nine years old at that time. Yan Song at this age is not too good or incompetent. The reason for Yan Song to serve as the servant of the ministry is actually very funny. Because at that time, Emperor Zhu Houxi of Jiajing had no one to ask anyone, whether he had money or not, whether he had rights or not. In order to change this situation and grasp the imperial power as soon as possible, Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi needed his own people and money. Yan Song issued a military order, guaranteeing that within three years, Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi would not only have money, but also a group of trusted cronies. For this reason, Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi worked hard to win the position of the servant of the Ministry for Yan Song. The so-called officials are equivalent to the head of the personnel department in modern society, in charge of the integrity assessment of officials and the retention of middle and lower-level officials.

Yan Song knew that every official had a certain backstage, and a radish and a pit could not be easily changed. Therefore, under the banner of clean government, Yan Song took down some hostile and unstable officials one by one. not only got a clear reputation, but also found a breakthrough for himself. Whenever he found evidence of an official's crime, Yan Song would meet with the official in private. As long as this official is willing to be loyal to Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi and willing to listen to Yan Song's orders, Yan Song can find a way to keep this official. Of course, this official will also give a lot of benefits and "filial piety" to Yan Song. If the officials did not cooperate, Yan Song would resolutely defeat him. Put on a person who is willing to spend a lot of money and is obedient. Seventy percent of the money obtained from selling officials belonged to Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, and thirty percent belonged to Yan Song. Yan Song's communication expenses and daily expenses are also calculated from this.

In this way, more and more people were pulled down by Yan Song and became Yan Song's subordinates or alliances. After reaching a certain number, Yan Song officially established a sect with the acquiescence of Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi. These people were nominally loyal to Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, but in fact they were Yan Song's subordinates. Later, everyone called these people the Yan Party, and Yan Song was naturally the leader of the Yan Party.

Yan Song, who had a certain status, began to look for a partner for himself and his master, Emperor Zhu Houxi of Jiajing. Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi's brand is very useful, after all, he is the emperor and is nominally the orthodox state. Yan Song contacted the local Haoqiang and negotiated with them. However, the first negotiation was very unsmooth, and the other party looked down on Yan Song at all. For the first time, Yan Song felt that the power in his hands was too small to resist the other party's powerlessness. Yan Song had no choice but to return to Beijing in disgrace, and everyone thought that Yan Song had received a blow and did not dare to come out again.

Unexpectedly, Yan Song and Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi were very determined, and it was impossible for them to give up like this. For the sake of Liwei, in order to make people afraid of them in the future, and in order to let the people who follow them have confidence in them, Yan Song decided to do it. Under the instruction of Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, Yan Song used the power of Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi as emperor to mobilize the nearest army to solve local forces by force. No matter how barbaric the local heroes are, no matter how powerful the power is, in the eyes of the army, it is a flash in the pan. It only took half a month for Yan Song to completely disappear the family that had humiliated him. The person who took over the family's control of this territory was a person who was willing to cooperate with Yan Song and was willing to obey the command of Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi. Yan Song not only received unprecedented respect, but also received a large amount of gold and silver treasures for the first time. Although most of this money had to be handed over to Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, Yan Song left a lot of it. Yan Song began his career as a fisherman.

Yan Song's behavior not only did not make everyone feel that he was bloody, but made more people who didn't know him start to respect him. Only then did Yan Song know the importance of power, and also knew that human nature is to deceive good and fear evil. With such a good example, local heroes have taken the initiative to contact Yan Song. not only expressed his loyalty to Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, but also expressed his willingness to form an alliance with Yan Song. Gradually, Yan Song became a friend of the powerful in these places, and even one of them, and later Yan Song was simply their representative.

Yan Song played a key role in attracting local forces for Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, and for Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houyu to control the situation. When Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houyu officially took control of the overall situation, Yan Song, who was the first lackey of Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, of course, also got benefits. Yan Song served as a cabinet member, not to mention, and suddenly became a cabinet assistant. After serving as the deputy assistant of the cabinet, Yan Song gradually began his career of controlling the court situation. In the same year, Yan Song was appointed as the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, becoming the first person related to the promotion of Ming officials. Gradually, the cabinet chief assistant at that time was emptied, and he actually controlled the affairs of the cabinet.

On the one hand, Yan Song eliminated dissidents, and on the other hand, he made his master, Emperor Jiajing Zhu Houxi, feel more comfortable. Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi may be the most comfortable emperor of the Ming Dynasty except for Emperor Wanli. Of course, the credit is due to Yan Song, a good minion. Yan Song not only helped Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi handle most of the government affairs, but also took on a lot of infamy for Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, of course, he also got a lot of benefits. Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi even entrusted government affairs to Yan Song for more than 20 years. Yan Song did not get carried away, he knew the duty of a courtier, not only did his own thing, but also took good care of Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi.