Even though they had already left the Qianqing Palace, Yan Song and Xu Jie still had lingering palpitations.

The first is that the clan and the nobles want to open the back door and enter the official career through means other than the imperial examination, and the second is that His Majesty actually plans to let Hu Zongxian enter the cabinet and name Zhao Zhenji to take his place.

These were all things that Yan Song and Xu Jie had not expected before.

"Alas, it's been an eventful time lately!"

Thinking so, Yan Song paused suddenly, then turned around, glanced at the Qianqing Palace behind him quite vaguely, and said secretly.

After that, Yan Song and Xu Jie, neither of them had any intention of communicating, so they were silent and returned to the cabinet.

As soon as the two returned to the cabinet, the others noticed that the expressions on their faces were not quite right, and finally, Gao Gong mustered up the courage to stand up and ask the two of them.

"Elder Yan Ge, Elder Xu Ge, what's wrong?"

When Yan Song and Xu Jie heard this, they had no intention of concealing it, and immediately told everything about the matter.

"Ahem, here's the thing, the British Gong Zhang Rong found His Majesty before......"

Through the narration of the two, the rest of the people finally have a general understanding of the ins and outs of the matter.

Yan Shifan couldn't help but exclaim: "In addition to the imperial examination, the special organization of examinations for the Yu clan and the nobles is simply nonsense, and there has been no ...... in all dynasties."

It's just that before Yan Shifan's words were finished, he was coldly interrupted by Yan Song: "Shut up for me!" ”

Seeing Yan Song speaking in person, Yan Shifan had no choice but to step aside and lower his head.

On the other hand, compared with the unreasonable demands made by the clan and the nobles, Zhang Juzheng was obviously more interested in the news that Jiajing wanted Hu Zongxian to enter the cabinet.

"Your Majesty chose to transfer Hu Zongxian to Beijing after the local mulberry seedlings in Zhejiang matured, it seems that he had a plan for a long time, and the person who succeeded Hu Zongxian also became the candidate recommended by Zhao Zhenji, Yan Song and Xu Jie of the Inspectorate, and His Majesty did not accept any of them!"

"It seems that Your Majesty should have realized that someone in the DPRK wants to take this opportunity to buy raw silk from those people who grow mulberry seedlings at a low price!"

"Otherwise, Zhao Zhenji would not have been sent to take Hu Zongxian's place!"

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng's face couldn't help but show a touch of relief, and then he secretly sighed.

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

Just as Zhang Juzheng was about to follow this train of thought and continue to think about it, Yan Song's old and weak voice sounded in everyone's ears.

"So far, everyone should think about it, how to deal with His Majesty when the time comes!"

Yan Song's words fell, and everyone present fell into silence.

"Yes, in addition to the imperial examination, it is unheard of to organize an examination for the Yu clan and the nobles!"

"What's more, no matter how much Your Majesty does, you can't ignore the millions of clans of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the voices made by the nobles!"

"Now, I have to think of a way to get the best of both worlds, which can take care of the interests of the clan and the nobles, but also not cause too much opposition in the court!"

Continuing to think along this line of thought, everyone quickly discovered that there is no way to deal with this matter without the best of both worlds, and no matter what, there will always be damage to the interests of one party!

At this moment, I saw that Yan Shifan, who had been silent since he was reprimanded by Yan Song, stood up and proposed to everyone.

"I think that the idea put forward by His Majesty before is still very feasible, as long as the clans and nobles who have not passed the imperial examination and entered the official career, they must set up an insurmountable barrier on their heads, and limit the official positions they can hold!"

"And those clans and nobles who participated in the imperial examination and successfully obtained the ranking, there are no restrictions!"

"In this way, not only can the interests of the clan and the nobles be taken care of, but at the same time, the opposition can be reduced as much as possible!"

"Therefore, we only need to gradually improve this aspect, and ...... the other"

……

Just as Yan Shifan was still explaining his thoughts to everyone, Shandong, Jinan Mansion.

After several days of starry nights, Hai Rui finally led his guards and the Jinyi guards who came to assist him in investigating the case, returned from Licheng County, and successfully met Cao Feng, the governor of Shandong.

At this moment, in the palace, in the hall used to entertain guests.

Cao Feng, the governor of Shandong, sat at the top, and in the hall, Hai Rui and Guan Rui, a hundred households of Jinyi Wei, who came to assist Hai Rui in investigating the case.

Hai Rui's personal guard, Xiao Er, stood straight beside Hai Rui like a statue.

Although Cao Feng looked very calm, his heart was already turbulent, and he couldn't calm down for a long time, and his eyes couldn't stop glancing at Guan Rui, who was a hundred households of Jinyi Wei on the side, and said secretly in his heart.

"Your Majesty will actually send Jinyi Wei to assist Hai Rui in investigating the case, which shows how much Your Majesty attaches importance to this matter!"

Thinking of this, I saw Cao Feng retract his gaze and admonish himself in his heart.

"Cao Feng, Cao Feng, you have to do your best to assist Hai Rui and completely suppress the White Lotus Sect here, otherwise, your black gauze hat will be difficult to protect!"

After this, I saw Cao Feng suppress the chaotic thoughts in his heart, looked at Hai Rui, and asked respectfully.

"Not long ago, my lord went to Licheng County to investigate the traces of the White Lotus Sect, what did you gain?"

When Hai Rui heard this, he nodded imperceptibly, and then spoke.

"Tired Governor Remember, when this official went to Licheng County not long ago to investigate the traces of the local White Lotus Sect, he did gain something!"

"Lord Governor, you might as well take a look!"

Hai Rui's words fell, and Xiao Er, who had been waiting by Hai Rui's side, instantly understood, and immediately carefully took out the confessions of those previous White Lotus Sect disciples from his arms and handed them over to Cao Feng's hands.

Seeing this, Cao Feng took the confession from Xiao Er's hand and began to browse the content on it by himself.

But soon, Cao Feng's pupils suddenly contracted, and his face was full of incredible expressions.

The reason is very simple, in the confessions of those White Lotus Sect disciples, the Zeng family, which is inextricably linked to the Confucian family in Qufu.

Although Cao Feng had vaguely guessed before this that the rampant White Lotus Sect in Shandong was related to those wealthy gentry, he couldn't help but be extremely shocked when he really learned that the Zeng family was also involved.

At this moment, he looked at the confession in his hand, and his face was full of panic.

After a long time, Cao Feng gradually came back to his senses, and muttered to himself: "Even the Zeng family is involved!" ”

If this confession was sent to Cao Feng on weekdays, Cao Feng would definitely treat it as if he didn't see it, and would try his best to shut up all the people in the middle.

After all, these seven families, represented by the Kong family, have always been in the same spirit, one is prosperous, and the other is lost!

He is a county official who runs water, and he is the master of iron, so he can't be guilty of confronting those big families with intertwined forces because of this incident!

And now, the situation is different, this confession was handed to him by the imperial court sent by the imperial court to investigate the White Lotus Sect's left deputy capital, Shi Hairui, not to mention, beside Hai Rui, there is also the Jinyi guard sent by His Majesty personally to assist.

It was only a few breaths for Cao Feng to understand what he should do next, and then, he put the confession in his hand aside and asked Hai Rui tentatively.

"What do you mean by ......"

Hai Rui took in the expression on Cao Feng's face, and immediately spoke unhurriedly.

"Before coming, His Majesty gave this official the power to directly mobilize the guards and soldiers!"

"What this official means is to directly mobilize the guards to suppress these wealthy gentry involved in the confession, and then get the news about the White Lotus Sect from their mouths!"

"What do you think of this proposal, Lord Governor?"

Hai Rui's voice was not loud, but in Cao Feng's view, it was full of irrefutable meanings.

"It seems that it's going to be real!"

Thinking so, Cao Feng quickly came back to his senses, got up from his seat, and assured Hai Rui.

"Yes, my lord, the lower officials will do their best to help!"

When the words fell, I saw Cao Feng summon the staff, and after whispering a few words in his ear, the staff took the order and left.

When he saw Cao Feng, Hai Rui, and a person wearing a flying fish suit with an indifferent expression, he couldn't help but 'chuckle' in his heart, he knew very well that there was going to be an earthquake in Shandong next!

Despite this, Zhang Yuan still forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, and after saluting everyone separately, he saw him turn his gaze to Cao Feng, who was sitting on the top, and asked.

"Dare to ask, what does the governor have to tell the lower officials?"

Cao Feng, who was sitting at the top, heard this, and immediately glanced at his subordinates on the side, so someone soon stepped forward and handed over the previous confession of the White Lotus Sect to Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan took the confession in confusion, and when he finished reading the content on it, his face was already full of horror, and he immediately lost his voice.

"This ......, how can Zeng Qing of the Zeng family be on this list?"

Seeing this, Hai Rui on the side nodded, and immediately explained.

"Lord Zhang, this is the confession that this official got from those White Lotus Sect disciples not long ago, and the list on this is the wealthy gentry who have something to do with the White Lotus Sect!"

When Zhang Yuan heard this, the horror on his face became even worse, and immediately, he saw him put down the confession in his hand, turned his gaze to Hai Rui, and explained cautiously.

"Lord Du Yushi, this list involves the Zeng family, this Zeng Qing, but the people from the side branch of the Southern Sect of the Zeng family!"

"Oh, keep talking!"

When Hai Rui heard Zhang Yuan's words, he couldn't help but become interested, and immediately asked.

Immediately afterwards, through Zhang Yuan's narration, Hai Rui finally understood a general idea.

There are several characters within the Zeng family, and if you name it, you must strictly follow the name of the characters, otherwise you can't enter the spectrum.

And this Zeng Qing is the person who belongs to the side branch of the Southern Sect of the Zeng family!

After this, I saw Hai Rui come back to his senses, look at Zhang Yuan coldly with a pair of eyes, and say unhurriedly.

"Even if this Zeng Qing is a person from the side branch of the Southern Sect of the Zeng family, since he has colluded with the White Lotus Sect, then this official will catch it correctly!"

When Hai Rui said this, he continued to add without waiting for Zhang Yuan to respond.

"This time, this official came to Shandong to thoroughly investigate the White Lotus Sect at the behest of His Majesty, and not only that, but His Majesty also gave this official the power to transfer the guards at will!"

"Or do you want to disobey?"

As soon as Hai Rui's words fell, Zhang Yuan knelt on the ground with a 'plop' and said respectfully.

"My lord, you misunderstood, Xia Guan just thinks that this matter needs to be cautious, after all, the Zeng family is inextricably linked with the Qufu Kong family, in case we offend them, we will have to ......"

At this moment, Guan Rui, who was in Jinyi Wei Baihu on the side, also spoke at the right time.

"Lord Zhang, Your Majesty sent us Jinyi Wei here this time to assist Lord Du Yushi in investigating this case, and I also hope that the Lord will make it convenient, otherwise, we will not be able to deal with it!"

When Zhang Yuan, who was kneeling on the ground, heard this, his face suddenly turned pale, trembling for a long time, and he didn't say a complete sentence, perhaps because he was too scared, and large beads of sweat rolled down from Zhang Yuan's forehead.

At this time, there was only one thought in his heart, and that was: "Your Majesty actually sent Jinyi Wei to assist Hai Rui in investigating the case!" ”

Soon, Zhang Yuan quickly figured out everything behind this, and immediately, as if he had made up his mind, he turned his gaze to Hai Rui and said in a deep voice.

"Obey the order, my lord, the lower officials will definitely go to the soup and the fire, and they will not give up!"

Seeing this, a warm smile suddenly appeared on Hai Rui's face, and he slowly got up from his seat, came to Zhang Yuan in person, helped him up from the ground, and spoke.

"Where, Lord Zhang is serious, this official still has a place to rely on you next!"

When Zhang Yuan heard this, he hurriedly lowered his head, arched his hand, and responded quite humbly.

"The lower officials don't dare, and the next thing is all up to the orders of the adults!"

At this moment, Cao Feng, who was sitting at the top, also stood up and changed the topic.

"Now, let's think about how to deal with the rich gentry on the list!"

"Hmm."

Cao Feng's idea was agreed by everyone present, and immediately, everyone began to discuss countermeasures.

Hai Rui looked around before he came up with his idea.

"This official thinks that he must use thunderous means to control the wealthy gentry on this list, otherwise, it will change later!"

When Cao Feng heard Hai Rui's words, he also followed up to express his agreement: "Yes, we must act as soon as possible, otherwise, I am afraid that there is a risk of leakage of the news!" ”

When Cao Feng said this, he changed his words and continued.

"It's just that the other people on the list are easy to deal with, but this Zeng Qing ......"

At this moment, the staff who had been silent in the dark stood up and immediately added.

"In two days, the Zeng family will go to the Zongsheng Temple in Jiaxiang County to worship the ancestors, and this Zeng Qing will also go at that time, we might as well take this opportunity to seize it, so that we can also save a lot of effort."

As soon as the staff's words fell, Hai Rui agreed: "Well, let's do it, but before that, let's control all these gentry and rich people on the list!" ”

Seeing that Hai Rui had already made a decision, everyone immediately responded in unison.

"Yes, Lord Mishi!"

(End of chapter)