Gradually, the sky gradually darkened, and none of the many ministers who had knelt outside the Heart Cultivation Hall before dared to leave.

Finally, with only a 'plop' sound, one of the ministers could no longer hold it and fell to the ground! A moment later, a forbidden army stepped forward and carried him away.

And his downfall, like a collapsed domino, attracted others to follow suit, and soon, most of the officials kneeling in the square of the Heart Cultivation Hall were reduced.

"Father, your body ......"

Yan Shifan turned his gaze to Yan Song on the side and said worriedly.

"Shut up and keep kneeling for me!"

And Yan Song just glanced at Yan Shifan and said in a deep voice.

"Yes, Elder Yan Ge, if it goes on like this, your body can't bear it!"

Xu Jie, who was on the side, also followed suitably and comforted.

After Xu Jie's mouth, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng on the side also opened their mouths, but they didn't make any sound.

Lu Fang took in all of this, felt that the heat was almost over, and said loudly: "Let's stop here today!" You can go back. ”

What Lu Fang just said, in the eyes of the remaining ministers, it is undoubtedly a voice of heaven.

Then they got up from the ground one after another, moved their legs, which were almost unconscious, and their faces were full of the rest of their lives.

And Lu Fang also walked in front of Yan Song and the others in a timely manner, and said in a low voice: "Please also come with our family." ”

Hearing Lu Fang's words, the five people who had been kneeling on the ground regained their "vitality".

"Thank you, father-in-law!"

Yan Song said respectfully after being helped up from the ground by his son Yan Shifan.

"Where, where, let's give you a thorough understanding here! I'll go in later, but don't disobey Your Majesty, Your Majesty is not in a good mood. ”

Lu Fang chuckled, and then mentioned it to everyone.

"Thank you Gonggong Lu for mentioning it, I'll make a note of it."

Xu Jie arched his hand to Lu Fang and lowered his voice.

"It's okay, it's okay, come with me."

After Lu Fang finished speaking, he led the way in front of himself, and Yan Song barely stepped on the steps with Yan Shifan's support.

"Your Majesty, they have arrived."

After Lu Fang brought the people here, he came to Jiajing's side and stood still.

"Hmm."

Jiajing only nodded slightly, still sitting on the dragon chair, expressionless, just rubbing the carved dragon heads on both sides with his hands.

"Ministers knock to see Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

Under the leadership of Yan Song, the remaining few people knelt on the ground one after another and said respectfully.

"Well, let's all get up."

Jiajing waved his hand and said casually.

"Don't you have anything to say to me?"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he picked up the teacup on the side and took a sip.

"Your Majesty, Weichen is guilty! In fact, Wechen has always known about this, but he has never taken it to heart. ”

As soon as Jiajing's words fell, Yan Song took the lead and admitted his mistake.

"Oh, since Elder Yan Ge knows about this matter, why didn't he report it to me?"

Jiajing was a little surprised that Yan Song stood up and admitted his mistake so quickly, and raised his eyebrows.

"Your Majesty, in fact, this matter has always been one of the unspoken rules of officialdom! As early as the Zhengde period, the taxes that the imperial court could collect became less and less. ”

"In order to maintain the daily expenses of the imperial court, it was necessary to collect more taxes from the people."

After Yan Song finished speaking, he knelt on the ground tremblingly and said respectfully to Jiajing.

"Oh, according to Yan Ge Lao, it was because he was forced to do so, and now that the treasury is full, why don't you implement it according to the decree issued by the imperial court?"

Jiajing did not agree with Yan Song's statement, and immediately asked rhetorically.

"Your Majesty, Elder Yan Ge has discussed this matter with Weichen before! It's just that later, the affairs of the court were too heavy, and I was so busy that I forgot about it. ”

Xu Jie, who was on the side, also stood up and relieved Yan Song.

"Elder Yan Ge, is what Elder Xu Ge said true?"

After listening to Xu Jie's words, Jiajing couldn't help but feel a little funny, and then confirmed to Yan Song.

"Your Majesty, this is indeed the case."

Seeing this, Yan Song had no choice but to respond.

"Okay, I'll just discuss it with you!"

Jiajing waved his hand and immediately skipped the topic.

Seeing that the emperor was no longer entangled in this matter, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, what Elder Xu Ge means is that you have discussed before that you must implement the policy of reducing and reducing taxes for the people!"

"It's just that later due to the many affairs, I forgot about it for a while, and it wasn't until I sent Jinyiwei to Zhejiang to investigate the truth that you didn't realize it later."

"Is there a problem with what I said?"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Yan Song and Xu Jie, and asked.

"Your Majesty, that's what Weichen means."

Xu Jie bowed slightly to Jiajing and responded.

"Xu Jie, do you think of me as a three-year-old child? How can there be such a coincidence in this world! If I don't send the brocade guards to investigate, do you plan to hide it from me for the rest of your life? ”

Jiajing slammed the table and scolded angrily.

"Your Majesty, what Weichen just said is the truth."

At the moment when Jiajing slapped the table, Xu Jie knelt on the ground with a thunderous momentum, and his movements were so fast that people were jaw-dropping.

"Since all of this is caused by the emptiness of the treasury, then I have a solution here once and for all."

Jiajing chuckled, and then said slowly.

"Here, Your Majesty is finally going to get to the point!"

Seeing this, Lu Fang, who was standing on the side, had his heart in his throat, and his breathing became short.

"Remember what I said? Since ancient times, if we want to solve the situation of financial emptiness, in the final analysis, there are only two measures, one is to open up the source, and the other is to reduce expenditure! ”

"Sure enough, Your Majesty still hasn't given up on lifting the sea ban!"

Hearing Jiajing's words, everyone present quickly reacted.

Needless to say, this throttling is nothing more than reducing unnecessary expenses of the imperial court and advocating frugality! But a glass of water, no matter how frugal it is, will always end up one day, and if it is a rushing river, then the situation is different. ”

"Before, you used the plague in the coastal area as an excuse, but now, the widows in the southeast coastal area have been wiped out! I feel that the time is ripe for the lifting of the sea embargo. ”

"Do you have any other opinions?"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he swept his gaze over several people one by one.

Hearing the emperor's words, everyone looked at each other, and for a while they couldn't find a suitable excuse to refute.

"It's all to blame on Hu Zongxian, he actually wiped out the Japanese in the coastal area so quickly!"

Seeing that Yan Song and the others didn't mean to speak, Jiajing was not in a hurry, so he immediately got up from the dragon chair and poured himself a cup of hot tea.

"Your Majesty, Weichen feels that there may be some hidden dangers in hastily lifting the sea ban! Smuggling families are rampant along the southeast coast. ”

"Therefore, Wei Chen implored Your Majesty, how about opening a few ports for trade temporarily?"

Sensing Jiajing's gaze, Yan Song had no choice but to stand up and admonish.

"Okay, Yan Ge Lao's proposal is good, I've got it!"

"Besides, I already have a favorite place, what do you think of Quanzhou?"

Seeing that Yan Song said the answer he wanted, Jiajing immediately took the case and settled the matter.

"It's over, I've been fooled, Your Majesty's purpose from the beginning was to reopen Quanzhou Port!"

Yan Song saw that Jiajing agreed so happily, and quickly reacted and said to himself silently.

"Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that this matter should be considered in the long run."

Xu Jie, who was on the side, took in the expression on Yan Song's face, and then stood up and asked Jiajing.

And after Jiajing heard Xu Jie's words, his face was visibly cold, frowned, and swept over Xu Jie's gaze with a gloomy gaze.

"Xu Jie, what did you just say? Repeat it to me again? ”

"Your Majesty, Weichen didn't say anything, you heard it wrong."

After perceiving the emperor's murderous gaze, Xu Jie immediately confessed!

Moreover, Xu Jie had a strong premonition that if Fang Cai really repeated it himself, His Majesty would really kill someone!

Thinking of this, Xu Jie couldn't help but shudder.

(End of chapter)