Chapter 476: Yan Song begs for his remains and a Lantern Festival banquet is held!

The court is getting better now.

Naturally, the lives of people in the capital area are much better than in previous years.

The most obvious change is that starting from New Year’s Eve, the sound of firecrackers and the evening fireworks inside and outside Beijing seem to never stop.

And on the first day of the first lunar month in the forty-fifth year of Jiajing.

evening.

There was one more unexpected thing.

The news first came from Xiyuan, a place no one expected.

According to the rumor from the palace, the emperor had an old Taoist robe that he suddenly wanted to put on, but he couldn't find it after searching for several hours.

Logically speaking, it's just an old Taoist robe, so its disappearance is not a big deal.

But this matter happens to be related to the emperor.

So it was originally a very small matter, but it was said that the emperor suddenly became furious.

The result was that at the command of Lu Fang, the eunuch in charge of the inner court, the entire Western Garden began to move, as if to find out who lost the emperor's Taoist robe.

As a result, nearly 500 eunuchs working in the Western Garden were punished. All of them were sent out of the Western Garden and exiled to the imperial farm in the capital to farm and serve their sentences.

Is this the end of the story?
Nature is not over yet.

Yanfu.

Yan Shifan looked curious: "This is strange. The robe was lost in the West Garden, how did it get involved in the palace?"

Muttering curiously, Yan Shifan looked at the old man who was writing at the desk.

Seeing that the old man didn't say anything.

Yan Shifan added, "I heard that it was Lu Fang and his men who found out that the Taoist robe was originally in the Western Garden, but somehow it was linked to the Imperial Clothing Bureau. For this reason, the palace has also sent more than 1,300 eunuchs and more than 600 palace maids out of the city today to farm the imperial farm."

This is what makes Yan Shifan most curious and puzzled.

No matter how the Taoist robe was lost, it should have been lost in the Western Garden. At most, a eunuch might have thought that the emperor would never wear that Taoist robe again, so he secretly took it out of the palace.

Such things, if you don't clearly say that they were worn by the emperor, are not valuable.

But now it has something to do with the palace.

All in all, more than two thousand eunuchs and palace maids had been punished in the Western Garden and the palace.

Yan Shifan smacked his lips and said with a sigh, "My son also heard that Lu Fang and his men are also investigating the entire twelve yamen, four departments and eight bureaus in the palace, as well as the six bureaus and one department in the harem that manage the palace maids. If this investigation is really carried out, I'm afraid that tens of thousands of eunuchs and palace maids in and outside the palace will be questioned. I don't know how many people will be punished to farm in the imperial farm to serve their crimes this time."

My son was chattering on and on about what was happening in the palace.

Yan Song finally finished writing a piece of calligraphy.

Yan Shifan walked over and took a look.

It is Man Jiang Hong by Yue Pengju of the former Song Dynasty.

The lyrics are naturally good, and their meaning is also passed down from generation to generation.

As for the characters, they were just a piece of cake for Yan Song. When he copied the whole poem, his pen was so clear that it penetrated the paper and penetrated deeply into the wood, with a perfect balance of tension and relaxation.

What is commendable is that although Yan Song was clearly over 80 years old, this calligraphy is so majestic and powerful that it can be said that it fully expresses Yue Pengju's ambitions in the past.

After looking at the old man's words, Yan Shifan looked up at the old man again, but began to mutter in his heart.

Looking at the majestic words the old man wrote today, does he still have the energy to give birth to another brother or sister for the Yan family and himself?
Yan Song put down the ink pen in his hand and just glanced at his son, and he knew that this guy was probably up to something again.

He snorted, and then spoke loudly: "Let's start from the beginning, clean up the old mountains and rivers, and face the sky!"

It seems that the old man has unfulfilled ambitions.

Yan Shifan said with a smile: "This poem by Yue Pengju is about a man who climbed a high building alone, leaned on the railing, and looked out over the universe. It makes people's blood boil and excited. The poem is good and the meaning is magnificent. It's a pity that Yue Pengju could not save the Zhao Song Dynasty by himself, and ended up with a sad story in Fengbo Pavilion."

Yan Song raised his head slightly and looked at his son boasting in front of him, but he couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"You know nothing!"

When these words were spoken, Yan Shifan, who had never heard the old man say such vulgar words, was stunned.

He didn't argue, but just frowned and said: "Of course, my son is not as good as his father, but what my son said about Yue Pengju is not wrong."

"You don't know shit!"

Yan Song started cursing again, his face full of melancholy.

He missed his beloved grandson who was far away in Nanjing more and more at this moment. If his beloved grandson were here, he would definitely understand why he wanted to copy Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong".

Being scolded continuously.

Yan Shifan's face immediately turned red: "Dad! I've never seen a father scolding his children at home during the New Year."

I am the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and I am in charge of the Ministry of Justice. Don’t I have any dignity?
"You're a piece of shit!"

Seeing that the old man still dared to be stubborn in front of him, Yan Song yelled at him again.

Yan Shifan was completely annoyed.

Even if you are the boss, you can't curse people again and again.

But he didn't wait for Yan Shifan to speak.

Yan Song had already said, "The poem was written by an ancient person, but its meaning is up to date. You have studied for many years, but don't you understand the meaning of using the past to describe the present? I think you are working in the Ministry of Justice, and you have lost your mind!"

The old man's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Yan Shifan's head, making him calm down instantly. His nose twitched as if he smelled something unusual.

He hurriedly went forward to look at the wet handwriting, then raised his head to look at the old man: "Dad, is our family going to prepare to do something?"

Looking at his eldest son's silly look, Yan Song could only sigh slightly and sit down with his teacup.

Yan Song spoke slowly, "Since ancient times, we must first stabilize the country before we can resist foreign aggression, and we must first protect ourselves before we can achieve success. Today is the first day of the first lunar month, why did the Western Garden get so angry and punish thousands of people for such a small matter?"

Yan Shifan's eyes flashed: "Are you saying that there is a conspiracy behind what happened in Xiyuan today?"

Yan Song rolled his eyes and said, "Even a fool can see that something is wrong in the palace today."

Yan Shifan said "oh" and then immediately came to his senses.

Is the old man calling himself a fool?

Yan Song had already started talking: "The court has been discussing the affairs of Xu Jie's family since the end of last year. Why did the emperor keep them all to himself? And why did he suddenly punish so many people at once in the palace today? I think Yue Fei's poem Man Jiang Hong can probably tell the emperor's thoughts."

Yan Shifan uttered a sigh, then whispered tentatively: "You mean... the emperor wants to reform? That's impossible..."

It has come to this, and after the old man’s repeated explanations, Yan Shifan would be a fool if he still couldn’t understand what was going on.

Yan Song looked up and signaled Yan Shifan to take away the "Man Jiang Hong" that he had just written and the ink had dried.

He took out an empty memorial from a wooden box beside him.

After spreading it out, Yan Song once again held the ink pen, restrained his brush strokes, and began to write in extremely neat handwriting.

Yan Shifan was curious and couldn't help but walk behind the old man and look down.

Just one glance and Yan Shifan was shocked.

"father!"

"Why are you asking for leave again?"

The second day of the first lunar month in the forty-fifth year of the Jiajing reign.

Yan Song, the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty Cabinet, the junior tutor, the prince's grand tutor, the junior tutor, and the grand scholar of Zhongji Palace, submitted a petition requesting to retire.

The emperor kept it in his palace and refused to grant the reward.

The third day of the first lunar month.

Yan Song submitted another memorial, asking to retire.

The emperor still refused and rewarded him with a pair of jade ruyi and a thousand gold coins.

The Prime Minister submitted three memorials, requesting to retire.

This time the emperor issued an edict to summon Yan Song to the palace to meet him and make an appearance, but he refused to decline. The emperor promoted Yan Wuyou and Wenxun to the third rank of Zizhi Shaoyin, held a banquet to reward him, and appointed him as the chief minister as before.

For three consecutive days, the prime minister of the dynasty submitted three petitions requesting to retire, but the emperor refused each time. For a time, the entire capital was in an uproar.

All officials in the capital knew that the Prime Minister had begun to resign from the cabinet since last year, but no one would have thought that Yan Song would be so decisive as to beg for his life at this time and submit petitions for three consecutive days.

No one could have imagined why Yan Song would act like this at this time.

Just as people were waiting to see whether Yan Song would continue to submit memorials.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, there was no trouble.

People began to think that the emperor's summons to the palace on the fourth day to give a banquet and make statements had stopped Yan Song's idea of ​​begging for his remains.

But the next day.

The sixth day of the first lunar month.

Yan Song submitted another petition, begging for his remains in a more earnest manner.

The emperor still refused and demoted Wuyou Wen to the rank of third-rank Yazhong official.

In an instant, Yan Wuyou, a child who was less than one year old, was almost about to surpass his father in official rank.

The seventh day of the first lunar month.

Since Yan Song refused to come out, Yan Shifan submitted a petition on behalf of his father, claiming to be ill and staying at home, and asked to be released to return home to be raised in dignity.

On the same day, the Yan family urgently sent servants to Changping to invite the genius doctor Li Shizhen to come to the house to take the patient's pulse and make a diagnosis.

Upon hearing the news, the emperor kept the memorial in his palace and did not send it out. He sent Lu Fang to deliver rare herbs to Yan's mansion. He also issued an edict to promote Yan Song to the title of Grand Tutor, the honor of Left Pillar of the State, the granting of the title of Special Advancement to Guanglu Dafu, and bestowed him with a dragon robe.

At this point, Yan Song had reached the highest position among the ministers, had the greatest honor, and was ranked among the Three Dukes.

The Grand Master is a first-rank official position, although it is a nominal position, it is extremely glorious. Zuo Zhuguo is also a first-rank civil and military meritorious official. Similarly, the Special Advancement Guanglu Dafu is also a first-rank official.

It can be said.

Among all the civil and military officials in the court, no one had a higher position and more power than Yan Song.

And the next day was the eighth day of the first lunar month in the forty-fifth year of the Jiajing reign.

Unexpectedly, Xu Jie, who was only left with the rank of Junior Teacher, suddenly submitted a petition asking for permission to retire, hoping that the emperor would allow him to return to his hometown to live out his remaining years.

The emperor still refused and kept the memorial.

But the obvious difference is that when Yan Song petitioned for his ashes, his great-grandson, who was less than one year old, had already been promoted to the third rank, and Yan Song himself was also a high-ranking official. But when Xu Jie petitioned for his ashes, he was refused, and his petition was kept in the court without any reward.

This time, the difference is clearly widened.

Then it was the ninth day of the first lunar month, and Xu Jie again submitted a petition to ask to retire, but the emperor still refused.

On the tenth day, Xu Jie submitted another memorial, but the emperor still kept it in his pocket and refused to approve it.

This situation continued until the 14th day of the first lunar month. Every time Xu Jie submitted a petition to beg for his remains to be buried, the emperor would keep it in his possession and not approve it.

Wait until the evening of the 14th.

There was an imperial decree from the Western Garden that announced to the court that on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, the emperor would give a banquet at the Wanshou Palace in the Western Garden, and all officials in Beijing would come to enjoy the fireworks in the Western Garden.

The Lantern Festival banquet has been held since ancient times.

However, it is rare that the emperor suddenly gave a banquet on the Lantern Festival this year.

What's more, it is an event that all civil and military officials in Beijing must participate in.

Since the edict was issued on the 14th, there has been a heated discussion in Beijing. There were many different opinions for a while, but most people still believed that the Ministry of Revenue and the treasury were sufficient, and it was rare for the emperor to be generous.

But even so, some officials in the court have begun to have some ideas. After all, the emperor is already old, and history has shown that if they come up with some new things or auspicious things at this time, they may be able to please the emperor and even rise to the rank of one of the nine ministers.

There are quite a few people who have this idea.

But it only took one day.

in a blink.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the forty-fifth year of the Jiajing reign, the Lantern Festival, has arrived.

Since noon, Xiyuan has been busy.

In the afternoon, officials began to enter the West Garden one after another after inspection.

Wanshou Palace is not small but not very big either.

In addition, all civil and military officials in Beijing must enter the palace to attend the banquet today. Officials below the third rank can only sit outside the Wanshou Palace. Only officials above the third rank can enter the Wanshou Palace and see the emperor's face while eating at the banquet.

By the time of You, when the sun was setting, the Wanshou Palace was already crowded with people. Only the nine ministers and dukes of the court were not present; the rest of the officials were already seated.

By 2:00 p.m., the lights in the palace were already on.

As one carriage after another stopped beside the Taiye Lake outside the Wanshou Palace, the officials who had arrived earlier knew that the nine ministers and dukes of the court had arrived.

Officials from the six ministries and five temples in the court, dressed in red robes, walked into the Wanshou Palace and went up to the main hall under the watchful eyes of the public.

At the end.

Even Xu Jie, Duke Dingguo, Duke Yingguo, Duke Chengguo and others were all present.

Although Xu Jie no longer has a job in the cabinet, he still has the title of Junior Master and can still enter the Wanshou Palace Hall and sit in the front row for meals.

After Xu Jie and others entered the Wanshou Palace.

Everyone thought it was time to start eating.

But outside the Wanshou Palace, after a call, a carriage with the Yan Mansion license plate slowly stopped by the Taiye Lake.

Then the officials sitting outside the palace gate heard a burst of rapid coughing coming from the carriage. Soon they saw General Yan Hu, who was supporting Prime Minister Yan Song, who looked pale and tired and had not been seen for a long time, slowly getting down from the carriage.

Yan Song was hunched over, his face looked very bad, and he looked like he was definitely ill.

See the Prime Minister arrive.

Everyone stood up and bowed to show their respect.

Yan Song, supported by Yan Hu, walked slowly into the Wanshou Palace step by step. He glanced at the officials outside, smiled and waved.

It is estimated that Yan Song, supported by Yan Hu, walked for about half an hour before entering the Wanshou Palace. Yan Song's appearance did surprise many people.

Because ever since Yan Shifan submitted a petition on behalf of his father on the seventh day of the first lunar month claiming illness, he has not left the house, let alone gone to work in the cabinet.

When he appeared in the Wanshou Palace today, he immediately attracted everyone's attention. Xu Jie even looked at him with a gloomy look in his eyes.

If Yan Song had not suddenly submitted a series of petitions begging for his remains with unclear intentions, I would have thought something was wrong, so why would I have followed suit and submitted a series of petitions begging for my remains until yesterday?

In Xu Jie's view, this was probably Yan Song forcing him to leave the court.

Coupled with the repeated impeachments against him in the court a few years ago, Xu Jie now feels that this is a turbulent time.

See you again Yan Song today.

That's just like enemies being jealous of each other when they meet.

But Xu Jie was not allowed to make any gestures.

In the inner hall, Lu Fang was already shouting forward.

"During the Lantern Festival, we all enjoy the holy wishes."

"The emperor is here."

"All officials are performing the ceremony."

…………

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(End of this chapter)