The time of the night passed in the blink of an eye, early in the morning, Yan Mansion.

Since he didn't have to get up early to go to the court for duty as usual today, Yan Shifan slept in the room for a long time until he woke up naturally.

Then, I saw Yan Shifan yawning and coming out of the room.

The weather is still so hot, and the sound of cicadas seems to penetrate the whole world, long and long.

"It's damn it, I keep screaming all day long, and I've been arguing since morning!"

After hearing the intermittent sound of cicadas, Yan Shifan couldn't help but complain with black lines on his face.

After Yan Shifan entered the hall of the Yan Mansion, Yan Song had already sat down at the table and enjoyed breakfast.

The dishes in front of Yan Song have not changed much compared to the past, they are still a few plates of Liuxinju pickles, and an egg.

Seeing this, Yan Shifan hurriedly stepped forward and saluted Yan Song respectfully.

"Father!"

When Yan Song heard this, he just bowed his head slightly to Yan Shifan in response.

Seeing this, Yan Shifan didn't say much, only to see him take a bowl of thick porridge from the maid on the side, and began to drink it humming.

For the next period of time, neither father nor son spoke, just concentrating on the food on the table.

Time passed slowly, I don't know how long it was, I saw Yan Song and Yan Shifan put down the dishes and chopsticks one after another, and the maid waiting on the side saw this, and immediately stepped forward and began to remove the food from the table in an orderly manner.

"Father, you don't have to be on duty today, what are you going to do?"

When Yan Song heard this, he glanced at Yan Shifan and responded unhurriedly.

"The weather is just right today, I plan to take out all the books in the study and dry them well!"

"Father, do you need help from the child?"

After listening to Yan Song's plan, Yan Shifan immediately plucked up his courage and cautiously confirmed to Yan Song.

When Yan Song heard this, he waved his hand and commanded.

"No need, I'll do it myself, you go and get busy with yours!"

"Yes, Father!"

Yan Shifan saw that Yan Song had made up his mind, and he was no longer reluctant, and he planned to make good use of this rare rest time.

……

On the other side, inside the Forbidden City.

Lu Fang was following Jiajing's steps, walking out of the Ganlu Palace, last night, Jiajing went to visit the imperial concubine Shen, and later saw that it was getting late, so he simply stayed in the Ganlu Palace.

After walking out of the Ganlu Palace, Jiajing looked at the rising sun in the distance and said with emotion.

"Well, it seems that today's weather is still very hot!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, there has never been such a hot time in previous years!"

Lu Fang, who was on the side, heard Jiajing's words, and said something without thinking.

Then, the master and servant walked along the path paved with neat stone slabs in the direction where the Qianqing Palace was located.

On the road, there are many eunuchs and palace maids, who are busy all the time, and the weather is hot now, and the whole capital is like a furnace.

They must seize the gap before the sun rises and finish the job at hand!

Those eunuchs and palace maids who were busy, seeing the arrival of the holy car, stopped their work one after another, retreated to both sides of the road, and saluted respectfully.

"I've seen Your Majesty!"

"Hmm."

Seeing this, Jiajing responded imperceptibly, and glanced over the bodies of those eunuchs and palace maids.

Then, I saw Jiajing turn around, look at Lu Fang on the side, and command.

"Lu Fang, after you get to the Qianqing Palace later, you can go back and rest!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

When Lu Fang, who was on the side, heard Jiajing's words, he immediately leaned down and responded respectfully.

Soon after returning to the Qianqing Palace with Jiajing, Lu Fang said goodbye and left, after all, he didn't have much rest last night.

At this moment, I saw Lu Fang walking slowly in the Forbidden City, on the road paved with neat stone bricks.

What had happened in the Manna Palace last night was like a slideshow, replaying in his mind.

Last night, in the process of following Jiajing to Ganlu Palace to visit the imperial concubine Shen, Lu Fang learned from the imperial doctors who were resident in the Ganlu Palace that in less than a month, the child in the womb of the imperial concubine Shen will be officially born!

Before this, Jiajing had said more than once in front of Lu Fang that he would canonize the imperial concubine Shen as the queen.

"It seems that the day when the concubine Niangniang will become the new queen of my Ming Dynasty is not far away!"

I saw Lu Fang withdraw his gaze from the scenery in the distance, and said with emotion.

Since the death of Empress Fang, Jiajing has not been canonized as a queen again, and the position of queen has been vacant for many years.

Lu Fang was also very pleased to be able to witness with her own eyes that the long-vacant position of the queen was filled.

"Guifei Niangniang, you must let the child in your belly be born smoothly!"

Thinking so, Lu Fang couldn't help but speed up the pace under his feet.

……

Forbidden City, inside the celebrant prison.

At this moment, Feng Bao, the eunuch of the celebrant and the pen, was in the duty room, dealing with the backlog of notes.

Because the weather was too hot, Jiajing gave the officials a day off for the first time.

Except for a few officials who must be on duty, the vast majority of officials do not need to be on duty today, so there is no new dispatch from the celebrant and supervisor.

And today, it happened to be Feng Bao's turn to be on duty in the celebrant duty room.

I saw Feng Bao put aside the red letter in his hand and said to himself.

"Well, you just need to deal with the rest of the letters, and then there's nothing to do!"

After Feng Bao finished speaking, he began to deal with the remaining notes.

At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps from outside the duty room, and after a while, I saw a servant hurriedly walking in.

When the official saw Feng Bao, who was still in the duty room at the moment, he seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, and hurriedly stepped forward and reported breathlessly.

"See...... I've seen Grandpa Feng! ”

Seeing this, Feng Bao unhurriedly put aside the red pen in his hand and asked.

"Why are you so frizzy, what's wrong?"

"Father-in-law Feng, there is an urgent battle report of eight hundred miles from the front, but today the cabinet is ......"

When the official heard this, he organized the language in his mind and reported it like this.

After listening to the narration of the official, Feng Bao instantly understood the ins and outs of the matter.

Since His Majesty has given the officials a day off, there is no cabinet elder on duty at all on the cabinet today.

It happened that at this time, the urgent war report eight hundred miles ahead arrived, and since there was no cabinet elder on duty on the cabinet side, this official was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, so that he ran to the side of the celebrant to ask for help.

After thinking about all this, I saw Feng Bao gather his mind, look at the official, and command.

"Where's the battle report from the front, show it to me?"

"Gonggong Feng, here is the battle report sent by the front line for eight hundred miles!"

When the official heard this, he did not hesitate at all, and immediately took out the battle report from his sleeve, which had been sent to the capital eight hundred miles from Banzhou, and respectfully handed it over to Feng Bao.

Feng Bao looked at the battle report sent from the front line in his hand, opened it without hesitation, and browsed the content on it with great concentration.

When Feng Bao finished reading all the contents recorded in the battle report, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his face was full of ecstasy.

The reason why Feng Bao felt so happy was because, mentioned in this battle report.

The 120,000 imperial army commanded by Feng Yue, the governor of Huguang, and the 50,000 army organized by the seven local families with different surnames in Banzhou.

These 170,000 troops besieged Hailongtun, the old nest of Yang Lie, from the three directions of Suiyang, Renhuai, and Tongzi!

The incomparably strong city wall of Hailongtun collapsed under the bombardment of the Ming army's artillery regardless of the cost!

In the battle, most of the 50,000 Miao soldiers under Yang Lie's command were killed and wounded, and even the remaining 20,000 Banzhou soldiers were annihilated in the battle.

After more than a dozen days and nights of fierce fighting, the army of the imperial court successfully captured Hailongtun!

Yang Lie himself was killed in the battle, and his family, relatives, and even his newborn child Yang Yinglong were all punished by the Ming army for rebellion after surrendering!

Not only that, but the army of the imperial court also confiscated 29,620,000 taels of silver, and the rest of the items such as antiques and treasures, house deeds, and land deeds were countless.

The Yang family has been operating in Banzhou for hundreds of years, but in the end, they still ended up with a dead family and confiscation of property!

After this, Feng Bao's breathing gradually became short, and he couldn't wait to run to the Qianqing Palace immediately to report the good news to Jiajing in person.

Then, I saw him forcibly suppress the excitement in his heart, looked at the official, and commanded.

"You wait here for a while, let's go to the Qianqing Palace and personally hand over the battle report from the front to Your Majesty!"

"There is Father-in-law Lao Feng!"

When the official heard Feng Bao's words, his face was full of gratitude, and he immediately leaned down and said respectfully.

"Hmm."

Feng Bao only replied imperceptibly, and after explaining the precautions, Feng Bao unconsciously quickened the pace under his feet and marched in the direction where the Qianqing Palace was located.

……

At this moment, looking at the Qianqing Palace close at hand in front of him, Feng Bao's face was full of yearning.

He knew very well in his heart that His Majesty would definitely be happy when he saw the battle report sent from the front line. And I can also take this opportunity to perform well.

Just as Feng Bao's thoughts were flying, he saw the guiding eunuch quietly come to him and said respectfully.

"Gonggong Feng, Your Majesty said you can go in!"

"Well, I'm tired of my father-in-law!"

When Feng Bao heard this, he suddenly came back to his senses, and immediately guided the eunuch, arched his hand, and expressed his gratitude.

After that, Feng Bao did not hesitate at all, and took firm steps to step on the stairs of the Qianqing Palace.

After entering the Qianqing Palace, I saw Feng Bao kneeling on the ground with a 'plop', looking at Jiajing who was sitting on the dragon chair at the moment, and said respectfully.

"Slave and maid, see Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

Hearing this, Jiajing glanced at Feng Bao, nodded, and commanded.

"Well, get up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After getting Jiajing's answer, Feng Baofang slowly got up from the ground, and at this moment, his face was full of excitement that could not be concealed.

After this, I saw Jiajing withdraw his gaze from Feng Bao's body and asked instead.

"Feng Bao, you said that the battle report from the front line has arrived?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

When Feng Bao heard this, while responding, he immediately took out the battle report that had been sent to the capital in an urgent manner for 800 miles from his sleeve and held it high above his head.

"Well, bring it!"

Seeing this, Jiajing nodded and commanded.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

When Feng Bao heard this, he immediately looked overjoyed, and immediately took silent steps, cautiously came to Jiajing, and handed out the battle report.

After Jiajing took the battle report from Feng Bao's hand, he opened it and began to carefully browse the contents on it.

Feng Bao waited aside, his face full of uneasiness.

"Only godfathers can be so close to His Majesty, I really didn't expect that one day, I, Feng Bao, would also be able to ......"

At this moment, Jiajing had already finished reading all the contents of the battle report, only to see him put aside the battle report sent from the front line in his hand, and laughed loudly.

"Okay, okay, this Feng Yue really didn't disappoint me, haha!"

For Jiajing, this time Feng Yue not only successfully completed the set strategic goals, but also brought an additional income of 30 million taels of silver to the imperial court!

The Yang family, who have been operating in Banzhou for hundreds of years, must have more than 30 million taels of property!

But don't forget, the imperial court sent a full 130,000 troops to participate in this Pingbo battle, and countless people indirectly participated in this war.

Therefore, even if Jiajing sees the clues, he has to turn a blind eye, if you don't let everyone take this opportunity to make a good profit, who will fight for you in the future?

Feng Bao, who was waiting beside Jiajing, saw this situation and immediately reacted, only to see him kneeling on the ground and saying in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, the Banzhou Yang family, the traitor, the loyalty, the disregard for the Gangchang, the deliberate rebellion, his shameless behavior has long been the anger of the heavens and the resentment of the people, and the anger of the people and the gods!"

"This time, Your Majesty sent a large army to crusade, which is really in accordance with the will of heaven, and the hearts of the people, and the people are all eating pot pulp to welcome the king!"

"Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

After Feng Bao finished speaking, he bowed three times on the ground very solemnly.

When Jiajing heard this, the smile on his face was even worse, and he saw that he withdrew his gaze from Feng Bao's body and spoke instead.

"Well, that's right, Feng Bao, you've worked hard this time, you've rewarded three thousand taels of silver and one hundred pieces of silk!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

When Feng Bao heard Jiajing's words, he immediately looked overjoyed and bowed to the ground respectfully.

Then, I saw Jiajing glancing at Feng Bao and commanding.

"Get up, Feng Bao, I have something to do next!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

When Feng Bao heard Jiajing's words, his face showed a look of expectation at the right time, and he replied in a deep voice.

After Feng Bao got up from the ground, Jiajing's voice sounded.

"You go and call Yan Song and them to me immediately, and say that I have something important to discuss with them!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the slave and maid are going!"

When Feng Bao heard this, after saluting Jiajing respectfully, he did not hesitate at all, and immediately left.

After Feng Bao walked out of the Qianqing Palace, his face was full of smiles that could not be concealed, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly uncontrollably.

At this moment, Feng Bao's heart was full of happiness, if it weren't for his turn to be on duty today, plus most of the officials in the court and the central government were on vacation, how could such a pie-in-the-sky good thing get his turn?

"There is a way, when the time comes, heaven and earth are all working together, it seems that I, Feng Bao, are about to come to work!"

In Feng Bao's opinion, the rewards given by His Majesty are secondary, and the most important thing is that His Majesty actually handed over the errand of informing Yan Ge Lao of them to himself.

And in the past, things like this, Your Majesty usually handed it over to your godfather!

"It seems that because of this incident, my status in His Majesty's heart has improved."

"But Feng Bao, you must not slack off, I don't know how many pairs of eyes are staring at you behind this!"

After Feng Bao finished admonishing himself, he quickly put away his previous smug look and quickened his pace.

……

The capital, the mansion where Xu Jie lived.

Since he has a day off today and does not have to go to the cabinet to be on duty, Xu Jie is also a lot slack compared to the past.

At this moment, Xu Jie was sitting in the study, sipping tea leisurely, and on the bookcase, what was placed was the case file that had been pressed down by the Criminal Department.

I saw Xu Jie put aside the teacup in his hand, looked away from the case file, and muttered to himself silently.

"Hmph, this Ma Ningyuan, it's really rampant enough, a small Hangzhou prefect actually dares to mobilize the soldiers of the guard without authorization!"

"But that's fine, under the conclusive evidence, I see how you deny it, and then I'll use you first!"

Not long after this, he heard a knock on the door, and when Xu Jie saw this, he frowned slightly, and commanded in a deep voice.

"Come in!"

When Xu Jie's voice fell, only to hear a 'squeak', the door of the room was pushed open, and the housekeeper walked in and reported respectfully.

"Master, someone is in the palace!"

"Oh, there's someone in the palace, who's coming?"

After listening to the butler's report, Xu Jie raised his eyebrows, his face full of curiosity.

"If you go back to the master, the person who came is Feng Bao, the eunuch of the celebrant and the pen!"

"Feng Bao, what is he doing here?"

After learning the identity of the person who came, Xu Jie's face couldn't help but show doubts, after all, this Feng Bao is Lu Fang's godson, and he can't be lazy!

Then, I saw Xu Jie come back to his senses, look at the housekeeper, and then order.

"Well, I see, I'll be right over!"

"Yes, sir!"

When the butler heard this, he immediately walked away after answering.

Soon after the butler left the study, Xu Jie also got up from his seat and paced towards the hall dedicated to entertaining guests in the mansion.

When Xu Jie came to the hall dedicated to entertaining guests in the mansion, Feng Baozheng picked up the teacup on the side and took a sip.

Seeing Xu Jie's arrival, Feng Bao hurriedly put down the teacup, got up from the seat, and bowed to him.

"I've seen Xu Ge Lao!"

"Where, Gonggong Feng doesn't have to be so polite, sit down!"

After Xu Jie finished speaking, he waved his hand and sat down on the main seat by himself, and Feng Bao did not shirk and sat back on the chair.

Immediately afterwards, without waiting for Xu Jie's words to ask, Feng Bao took the first step to explain his intentions.

"Elder Xu Ge, I can't hide it, our family came here this time, in accordance with His Majesty's will, and specially came to invite Elder Xu Ge to go to the Qianqing Palace to talk about it, and there are important matters to discuss!"

When Xu Jie learned that Feng Bao had come at the behest of His Majesty, the expression on his face suddenly became extremely solemn, and after organizing the language in his mind, he asked Feng Bao tentatively.

"Gonggong Feng, Your Majesty, this is ......"

Feng Bao took in the expression on Xu Jie's face, and after chuckling, he explained.

"Elder Xu Ge doesn't have to worry, let's tell you the truth, not long ago, the front line sent a battle report, saying that it was the army of the imperial court, and the soldiers were divided into three routes, and after more than a dozen days and nights of fierce fighting, they successfully broke through Yang Lie's nest Hailongtun!"

"Yang Lie himself, as well as his family members and relatives, have been punished by the imperial court for the crime of rebellion!"

"Your Majesty summoned you over this time, presumably to discuss the next countermeasures!"

After listening to Feng Bao's explanation, Xu Jie's whole person couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and immediately, he saw him get up from his seat, arch his hand to Feng Bao, and said respectfully.

"There is Father-in-law Lao Feng!"

After Xu Jie finished speaking, he called the butler and whispered a few words in his ear, and the butler quickly walked away after receiving Xu Jie's instructions.

When Feng Bao heard Xu Jie's words, a look of panic suddenly appeared on his face, and he saw him get up from his seat abruptly and salute Xu Jie.

"Where is it, Xu Ge's old words are serious, our family came here this time, just to pass the word for His Majesty!"

Soon the butler returned to the hall, and when he returned, he was followed by two servants with trays full of gold, silver, jewels, and large silver tickets.

"Elder Xu Ge, you are ......"

Seeing this, Feng Bao had a look of embarrassment on his face, and he saw him look at Xu Jie, who was light and breezy on the side, and asked.

Xu Jie didn't seem to care about this, just waved his hand and said quite indifferently.

"It's just a little meaning, it's not a tribute, and I ask Gonggong Feng to laugh!"

Seeing that Xu Jie had already said this, Feng Bao didn't dare to excuse himself, after all, there was some silver, not if you wanted to accept it, you wouldn't accept it!

Then, I saw a bitter expression on Feng Bao's face, and I saw him take a step forward, grab the gold, silver and jewelry on the tray, as well as the large amount of silver tickets, and stuff them into his sleeve.

Seeing this, Xu Jie, who was on the side, squinted his eyes unconsciously, and his face was full of smiles.

After this, I saw Feng Bao retract his gaze, look at Xu Jie, and propose.

"Elder Xu Ge, without further ado, let's leave now, shall we?"

"Hmm."

Then, I saw Xu Jie follow Feng Bao's steps, leave the hall, take the sedan chair that had been prepared for a long time, and march in the direction where the Forbidden City is located.

……

After the sedan chair stopped, I saw Xu Jie getting down from the sedan chair unhurriedly, and soon after, the sedan chairs of the remaining few people also arrived one after another.

Xu Jie looked at Yan Song, who was trembling and getting down from the sedan chair not far away, and couldn't help but flash a trace of coldness in his eyes.

Immediately, I saw Xu Jie's three steps and two steps in front of Yan Song, with a smile on his face, and he saluted him respectfully.

"I've seen Yan Ge Lao!"

When Yan Song heard this, he looked Xu Jie up and down with cloudy eyes before he said slowly.

"Oh, it's Old Xu Ge, you're here too?"

"Exactly, Elder Yan Ge, let's talk while walking!"

Yan Song did not refuse Xu Jie's proposal, and then the two walked side by side.

And Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Yan Shifan, according to the convention, followed closely behind them, bowed their heads, and did not say a word.

In this way, under the guidance of Feng Bao, the group marched in the direction where the Qianqing Palace was located.

(End of chapter)