After a night of fermentation, in the next few days, the news that Hou Wenqing, a member of the Ministry of Labor, took the opportunity to blackmail the post man after being drunk, quickly spread throughout the government and the opposition.

The wide range and speed of its news are jaw-dropping, and even ordinary people know that there is such a number one person.

After that, Hou Wenqing himself claimed to be sick at home, closed his door, and even the Ministry of Industry became a laughing stock.

After all, the whole thing is too bizarre, Hou Wenqing is a member of the Ministry of Works, a member of the five-grade court, and he even has to take advantage of this little advantage.

Soon a storyteller sniffed the opportunity and adapted it into a story to satisfy the curiosity of those listeners.

Gradually, versions of the story emerged, causing the audience to laugh and the storytellers to make a fortune.

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, the time for the cabinet to deliberate had arrived.

……

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Early in the morning, Jiajing put on his robe under the service of the personal eunuch, and soon after that, he saw Lu Fang, as usual, taking a quiet step and stepping into the Qianqing Palace.

After entering the Qianqing Palace, I saw Lu Fang come to Jiajing, bow down, and say respectfully: "Your Majesty! ”

"Hmm."

When Jiajing heard this, he only responded imperceptibly.

After this, I saw Jiajing waving his hand quite casually, signaling the personal eunuch on the side to retreat.

After the personal eunuch retreated, he saw Jiajing pick up a book from the bookcase on the side.

Then, I saw Jiajing look in the direction where Lu Fang was, raised his eyebrows, and asked with interest: "Lu Fang, do you know what this is?" ”

After carefully examining the script in Jiajing's hand, Lu Fang responded tentatively: "Your Majesty, according to the slave maid, this is very similar to the scripts compiled by those storytellers in the teahouse. ”

When Jiajing heard Lu Fang's words, he nodded, and turned to speak: "Well, Lu Fang, you guessed right, this is exactly the script." ”

When Jiajing said this, he paused for a moment, and then continued to add: "And this is still the most popular script in the capital in recent times, you might as well guess, what is in it?" ”

When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, she knew that there was no need to guess anymore.

Due to the recent drunken extortion of the post man Hou Wenqing, a member of the Ministry of Labor, it has been widely circulated in the capital, and various versions of the story have emerged in endlessly.

Out of curiosity, Lu Fang also asked someone to buy the words compiled by those storytellers.

Soon, Lu Fang was attracted by the absurd and funny stories inside, these scripts, without exception, all featured Hou Wenqing, a member of the Ministry of Labor, as the protagonist.

These scripts not only vividly describe the whole process of Hou Wenqing's extortion and extortion, but also carry out a lot of artistic processing on this basis, which is amazing.

After this, I saw Lu Fang suppress all the chaotic thoughts in his heart, looked in the direction where Jiajing was, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, these words compiled by storytellers have damaged the face of the imperial court, do you want to ......?"

Hearing this, Jiajing glanced at Lu Fang, shook his head, and said slowly: "No need, let it be!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

When Lu Fang heard this, he immediately lowered his head and answered without thinking.

"It's almost time, go with me to the cabinet!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After responding, I saw Lu Fang follow Jiajing's steps step by step and walked out of the Qianqing Palace.

As soon as he walked out of the Qianqing Palace, the corner of Lu Fang's eyes inadvertently caught a glimpse of the notebook that Jiajing was holding in his hand.

"Hey, what is Your Majesty doing with the script?"

Although Lu Fang was very curious about this, he didn't choose to ask out loud, anyway, sooner or later he would know.

……

At the same time, the Forbidden City, the Cabinet.

Taking advantage of the fact that the emperor had not yet come, everyone hurriedly dealt with the notes sent by the officials.

At this time, I saw Yan Shifan put aside the processed letter in his hand, as long as he remembered what happened last night, Yan Shifan's face unconsciously appeared with resentment.

Last night, Luo Longwen, a waiter of the Ministry of Works, and other officials of the Ministry of Industry specially went to the house to complain to Yan Shifan.

Recently, Hou Wenqing, a member of the Ministry of Labor, took the opportunity to extort and extort a post man after he was drunk, and it has spread widely in the DPRK, and it has even reached the point where everyone knows about it.

Coupled with the promotion of those storytellers, therefore, in addition to Hou Wenqing himself, even the Ministry of Industry has also become the object of ridicule from other departments of the Ming Dynasty.

Recently, as long as officials from the Ministry of Industry go to duty, they will inevitably be pointed at by colleagues in other departments.

Many Ministry of Works officials complained about this and wanted to defend themselves, but they didn't know where to start.

After all, such a ridiculous thing did happen.

In order to avoid these rumors and the pointing behind them, some officials of the Ministry of Industry even chose to stay at home, intending to wait for the limelight to pass.

"The face of my Ministry of Industry has been lost by this Hou Wenqing, wait, I can't spare you!"

Thinking of this, Yan Shifan subconsciously clenched his fists.

……

At this moment, only a shrill voice sounded, pulling Yan Shifan back to reality: "Your Majesty has arrived!" ”

When the words fell, everyone in the cabinet immediately stopped reading and commenting.

Then, under the leadership of Yan Song, the head of the cabinet, he knelt on the ground and waited for the arrival of the emperor.

When they saw the emperor's figure appear in their sight, they said in unison.

"Weichen knocks to see Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

After Jiajing sat down in his own position, he glanced over everyone's bodies, nodded imperceptibly, and commanded: "Well, get up!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After receiving Jiajing's consent, everyone got up from the ground one after another and sat back in their positions.

At this time, Yan Song, who was sharp-eyed, found the notebook that Jiajing was holding in his hand.

Just when he was still curious about this, he saw Jiajing look around, face everyone, raise the notebook in his hand, and asked.

"Do you Aiqing know what I am holding in my hand?"

Gao Gong recognized the booklet in Jiajing's hand at a glance, which was the most popular book in the capital recently.

Although Gao Gong recognized it, he didn't mean to answer.

After all, the emperor clearly came to Xingshi to ask for guilt, and no one dared to be the first bird at this time and touch this moldy head.

Then, I saw Gao Gong gather his mind and quietly glance at Yan Shifan not far away, with a gloating look on his face.

Seeing that there was no response for a long time, Jiajing retracted his gaze and said to himself: "Since you Aiqing don't know, let me tell you, what I have in my hand is the most popular script in the capital recently!" ”

"It vividly describes the whole process of extorting a senior member of the imperial court after being drunk!"

"The face of the court is going to be lost!"

When Jiajing said this, he suddenly raised his tone, and then slammed the notebook in his hand on the table.

Seeing that the emperor was angry, all the people in the cabinet showed a look of panic and anxiety on their faces, and they knelt on the ground in unison, and admonished: "Please let your majesty calm his anger!" ”

When Jiajing heard this, he didn't respond immediately, and after looking around, he faced everyone and asked, "What do you think Aiqing should do with this matter?" ”

At this moment, Yan Shifan, who was kneeling on the ground, clearly knew that as the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, he had to shoulder this responsibility.

Immediately, I saw Yan Shifan organize the language in his mind, raised his head, looked in the direction where Jiajing was, and said stubbornly: "Your Majesty...... Your Majesty, in view of the seriousness of the matter, how about simply removing him from his official position as he said before, and never using it? ”

After listening to Yan Shifan's suggestion, Jiajing pondered for a moment, nodded, and then ordered: "Well, that's it, after coming down later, your cabinet will announce the results of the handling!" ”

Seeing that Jiajing had made the final decision, everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, after all, it meant that the whole thing was over.

In officialdom, there is naturally no option to cut the grass and eradicate the roots, there is a good saying, the initiator, there is no aftermath?

Therefore, in any case, the last shred of decency will always be preserved.

……

After this, I saw Jiajing retract his gaze, sit back on the dragon chair, and commanded: "Get up!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After everyone got up from the ground one after another and sat back on their chairs, they saw Jiajing knocking on the jade pan on the side, accompanied by a crisp sound of 'ding', which meant that the cabinet deliberations had officially begun.

Then, I saw Jiajing turn around and glance at Lu Fang beside him.

The latter quickly understood, and immediately stepped forward, facing everyone, and said in a deep voice: "There are two main things to be discussed by the cabinet today, the first is the many matters of the war between the imperial court and Altan Khan, and the second is the Enke that the imperial court will hold in the near future!" ”

After Lu Fang finished speaking, he returned to Jiajing's side and stood still, like a sculpture, motionless.

After Lu Fang finished announcing the matters discussed by the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng on the side couldn't help but flash a trace of excitement on his face.

It can be said that the matters discussed by the cabinet today are closely related to him.

On the one hand, the imperial court's preparations for war with Altan Khan were indispensable to the suggestion of his own military secretary, and on the other hand, Xu Jie's previous promise that he would personally recommend himself to His Majesty as the same examiner for this Enke examination.

Thinking of this, I saw Zhang Juzheng quietly glancing at Xu Jie, who was not far away, and his eyes were full of expectation.

"Elder Xu Ge, you'll have to stand up later!"

At this moment, only Jiajing's voice sounded, pulling Zhang Juzheng back to reality: "What do you think about the next war between the imperial court and Altan Khan, just put it forward!" ”

As soon as Jiajing's words fell, I saw Xu Jie take the first step forward, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Weichen has a play!" ”

Hearing this, Jiajing glanced at Xu Jie, and after bowing slightly, he nodded, and then said, "Speak!" ”

After getting Jiajing's approval, I saw Xu Jie organize the language in his mind, face everyone, and said slowly: "Everyone here should have noticed that this year's weather is much colder than before!" ”

"Due to the influence of the weather, the water and grass on the grassland will be far less abundant than before, and it will not be able to support too many people and livestock, and in order to get out of the predicament, Altan Khan has only one way left to plunder in the south!"

Yan Song, who was on the side, frowned after listening to Xu Jie's analysis, and confirmed to him: "What does Elder Xu Ge mean that Altan Khan will definitely invade this year?" ”

"Well, Yan Ge Lao guessed right, I'm sure that Altan Khan will definitely invade this year!"

"In the past year, although the Tatar cavalry came to attack our Ming frontier from time to time, the scale was not large each time, it was not so much an attack, but more like a way to explore, and the imperial court also received reports from Hamiwei, Shazhouwei, and Suzhou Wei more than once."

Xu Jie paused for a moment when he said this, and then continued to add: "Besides, now, the left-wing Chahar tribe is already under the control of my Ming Dynasty, and Weichen guesses that Altan Khan will definitely have trouble sleeping after learning this news!" ”

"You must know that the original left-wing Chahar tribe was expelled from the steppe by the Tumut tribe where Altan Khan is located, and they have an irresolvable hatred for each other."

"If one day, the Chahar Department of the Left Wing recovers, then it only needs to join forces with my Ming Dynasty, and the Tumut Department where Altan Khan is located will fall into an unfavorable situation of being attacked on the back of the enemy."

"And due to the harsh climate, the water and grass on the steppe are not able to support such a large number of people and livestock, so Altan Khan only has one choice, that is, to go south to plunder and wage war against my Ming Dynasty to help the tribe survive this crisis!"

"While raiding south to help the tribe survive this crisis, Altan Khan was able to act rashly and recklessly by eyeing the left-wing Chahar tribe with deterrence."

"For the sake of safety, Altan Khan will definitely press all the chips, that is, the scale of this war will be much larger than before!"

After listening to Xu Jie's reasoned and well-founded analysis, everyone already believed in Xu Jie's previous conjecture.

Then, I saw Yan Song trembling and getting up from the seat, looking in the direction where Jiajing was, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that Xu Ge's conjecture is not unreasonable!" ”

After Yan Song, Zhang Juzheng also stood up and expressed his attitude to Jiajing: "Your Majesty, Weichen also thinks that Xu Gelao's conjecture is correct!" ”

When Jiajing heard this, the expression on his face gradually became solemn.

After pondering for a while, I saw Jiajing look in the direction where Xu Jie, nodded, and commanded in a deep voice: "Well, Xu Ge Lao has a point, after coming down, officially notify the various guards in the frontier, let them strengthen their precautions, and report to the imperial court immediately if there is any trouble!" ”

"At the same time, the household department can also start transporting grain, grass, ordnance and other materials!"

"In addition, send another envoy to the Chahar Department of the left wing, and let him go to battle with my Daming!"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he swept his gaze over everyone's bodies and commanded.

When Jiajing's words fell, everyone in the cabinet looked awe-inspired, lowered their heads, and responded in a deep voice: "Obey, Your Majesty!" ”

……

After learning that Altan Khan would invade on a large scale at that time, the sense of urgency in Jiajing's heart rose to another level.

After all, the next battle with Altan Khan will be a battle related to the fortunes of the Ming Dynasty, as long as Altan Khan can be defeated, there will be no more war on the frontier of the Ming Dynasty from now on.

If the unfortunate defeat is carried out, the Ming Dynasty, which was originally in a thriving momentum, will definitely take a sharp turn for the worse, and once the elite will be lost, maybe there will be a repeat of the Gengshu changes that occurred in the 29th year of Jiajing.

Thinking of this, Jiajing couldn't help but clench his fists.

Then, I saw him glance over the bodies of everyone present one by one, and asked: "Since we already know that Altan Khan will invade on a large scale, who do you think Aiqing should command the army of the imperial court?" ”

As soon as Jiajing's words fell, I saw Zhang Juzheng get up on his chair and respond without thinking: "Your Majesty, Weichen has a play!" ”

"Speak!"

After getting Jiajing's consent, I saw Zhang Juzheng forcibly suppress the excitement in his heart, looked in the direction where Jiajing was, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Weichen feels that Yang Xuan, the governor of Jiliao, should be responsible for commanding the army of the imperial court!" ”

"Before this, Yang Xuan, the governor of Jiliao, made great achievements for the imperial court, not only annihilated the 30,000 Tatar army that came to invade the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop, but also captured Zasaktu Khan alive, Weichen felt that he was responsible for commanding the army of the imperial court, which could not be more suitable!"

After listening to Zhang Juzheng's proposal, Jiajing thought for a while, nodded and agreed to Zhang Juzheng's proposal.

"Well, I agreed, and when the time comes, Yang Xuan, the governor of Jiliao, will be the commander-in-chief, responsible for leading the imperial army, and at the same time transferring the nine-sided border army, I will complete my work in one battle and completely wipe out Altan Khan!"

When Jiajing said this, he paused for a moment, faced everyone, and continued: "At that time, the Shenji Battalion will also go out with the army!" ”

"What, the Shenji Battalion is also going to go with the army!"

Jiajing's words, like a bombshell, quickly set off an uproar, and at this moment, everyone's faces were full of disbelief.

Although the Shenji Battalion is one of the three major battalions in the capital, serving as the internal guard of the Beijing Division and the important task of preparing for the external campaign, generally speaking, the Shenji Battalion will not be sent.

The person currently in charge of commanding the Shenji Battalion is none other than Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo.

According to the emperor's previous statement, when the Shenji Battalion goes out with the army, doesn't it mean that Chengguo Gong will also go with the army?

After thinking about this, I saw Yan Song trembling and getting up from his seat and raising an objection: "Your Majesty...... Your Majesty, will there be anything wrong with letting the Shenji Battalion participate in the war, you must know that Chengguo Gong is my Ming Dynasty......"

Before Yan Song finished speaking, he was interrupted by Jiajing's words: "Elder Yan Ge, do you know what Chengguo Gong said when he found me before?" ”

When Jiajing said this, a look of memory appeared on his face.

After thinking about it for a long time, I saw Jiajing come back to his senses and said to himself: "Weichen is my Ming Dynasty's Chengguo Gong, Shiqing Shilu, and rest with the country!" ”

"Wechen's ancestors all died on the way to expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty, since this is the case, how can Wechen retreat?"

"Altan Khan has repeatedly invaded my Ming frontier, is my Ming henchman, when the army is raised, Weichen is not afraid of death, even if Weichen unfortunately dies in battle, Weichen still has a son, and a grandson, the same can continue to serve the Ming!"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he raised his head, glanced at Yan Song's body, and asked rhetorically: "Elder Yan Ge, you say, can I refuse?" ”

When Jiajing's words fell, the entire cabinet suddenly fell into a dead silence.

Xu Jie, who was on the side, wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth but didn't make any sound.

Time passed slowly, and I don't know how long it was, but I saw Gao Gong stand up and break the silence.

"Your Majesty, Weichen supports sending the Shenji Battalion to participate in the war!"

"The Shenji Battalion is already responsible for the internal defense of the Beijing Division, and the important task of preparing for the war outside, since there will be a war ahead, as one of the three major battalions in the capital, the Shenji Battalion naturally has to shoulder its due responsibility, therefore, Weichen supports the decision to send the Shenji Battalion to participate in the war!"

After Gao Gong finished speaking, he lowered his head and said no more.

Hearing this, Jiajing nodded after looking Gao Gong up and down, and cast an approving glance at him: "What Gao Aiqing just said is very heartfelt, well, not bad!" ”

After this, I saw Jiajing withdraw his gaze from Gao Gong's body, face everyone, and then spoke: "As Gao Aiqing said before, my Ming Shenji Battalion is already shouldering the heavy responsibility of guarding the Beijing Division internally and preparing for the war outside!" ”

"Many of my Ming clans and nobles have made great contributions to the imperial court, some of them died on the way to expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty, and some of them defended the land and peace for my Ming Dynasty, such as Zhu Neng, the Duke of Chengguo, Zhang Fu, the Duke of Qianguo, and Mu Sheng, ......"

As Jiajing said one name after another from his mouth, the faces of Yan Song, Xu Jie, and others also changed and changed.

These people are all clans and nobles who have made outstanding contributions to the Ming Dynasty, and now, His Majesty is going to carry them out and gag himself.

"Now, just because the person in charge of commanding the Shenji Battalion is my Ming clan's clan and noble, do you have to avoid it?"

When Jiajing said this, he squinted his eyes, and the meaning of his words was self-evident.

Seeing that the emperor said such a damaging remark, everyone present did not dare to respond to this, and at the same time, they also knew that the emperor's mind had been decided.

Yan Song knew very well in his heart that as long as it was something that the emperor had identified, it was impossible to change it.

Whether it was when the sea ban was lifted, or when the Manchu Dynasty was under the pressure of the civil and military forces, the policy of integrating the officials and gentry to pay grain was enforced.

From beginning to end, the emperor did not waver at all, and unswervingly carried out his will.

After thinking about this, I saw Yan Song come back to his senses, lean down, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Weichen agrees to send the Shenji Battalion to participate in the war!" (End of chapter)