Chapter 505: Returning to the Capital with the Secret Imperial Order

"The battle for the center."

“It has always been like this!”

Yan Shifan spoke fiercely to Xu Wei who entered the city from Changping today.

Xu Wei, who was ordered by the old Grand Tutor to return to the city, just watched Yan Shifan silently.

"Grandmaster's meaning..."

Xu Wei just opened his mouth.

Yan Shifan interrupted him with a wave of his hand, and said confidently: "I know what the old man means. At this time, our Yan family only needs to sit back and watch the changes in the court. Gao Gong is paving the way for the new policy at the center. The Yan family just needs to be kind to others. When Hu Zongxian and others enter the cabinet in the future, how the court does things will also be decided by our Yan family."

Xu Wei glanced at Yan Shifan twice and frowned slightly.

The young minister in front of him did not quite understand this principle.

But why he had to clash with Yang Bo in the cabinet today is really hard to understand.

Yan Shifan chuckled, and personally poured a cup of tea for Xu Wei, which was rare. "Don't worry, I'll talk to the old man when I get back, and let him feel at ease. I know this today, so why do I have to go against Yang Bo? Isn't it just to let some people know that my Yan family is not just there to eat and do nothing? Even if Gao Gong and others are in charge of the court now, we have to let others know our attitude, right? If we really do nothing and say nothing, I'm afraid these people will change their minds after a while."

Xu Wei raised his eyebrows.

Unexpectedly, he heard another explanation from Yan Shifan, and he thought it made sense.

"What the Minister means is..."

Yan Shifan smiled and patted Xu Wei's shoulder: "My meaning is very simple. Our Yan family is now a loyal minister. We must be loyal in everything we say and do. The more they are despicable, the more they can highlight our loyalty."

This makes so much sense.

Xu Wei felt that his trip into the city today seemed to be in vain.

His lips moved, and after a while he smiled and said, "The Minister's words..."

"I know, I know! Doesn't what I said make sense?"

Yan Shifan took two steps with a smile, then looked outside the house: "The emperor was ill today, and Li Shizhen was summoned to the palace to diagnose his pulse. The court is going to make new policies, and at this time, there are hostile situations on both sides of Xuanda. How could my family remain silent at this time? Although we confronted Yang Bo today, Ruzhen also took the opportunity to show her face in front of everyone. In my opinion, Gao Gong may not really want to win over the Jin Party. He, Gao Gong, claims to be a capable minister of the country. Can he sit back and watch the Jin Party grow bigger under his leadership?"

Xu Wei's thoughts had been influenced by Yan Shifan without him realizing it.

He couldn't help but ask, "In your opinion, how will Gao Gong respond?"

"Of course, we recommend Ruzhen to join the cabinet and take charge of the Ministry of War, so as to check and balance Yang Bo and his gang of Jin Party members!"

Yan Shifan blurted out his guess without thinking.

If Gao Gong were here, he would definitely be shocked that Yan Shifan had actually guessed all of his plans.

"Won't Yang Bo and the Jin Party blame Gao Gong for this?" Xu Wei asked calmly.

Yan Shifan snorted and laughed: "Blame? Is it him, Yang Bo, or the Jin Party behind him, who dares to blame the Prime Minister? Especially someone with such a hot temper as Gao Gong?"

Xu Wei was completely speechless.

What he said really makes sense.

What else can I say?
Yan Shifan was all smiles, stretching his body lazily: "The old man is the current Grand Tutor. Although he has left the court, he is the only person in the past 200 years who has been honored as one of the Three Dukes while still alive. The court cannot ignore our Yan family. Although I am only the Left Vice Minister, I am in charge of the Ministry of Justice. Shao Ting is stationed in Nanjing as the prince's guest, and Xiao Que'er is a trusted general of the emperor, and he is also guarding the palace."

Xu Wei stared at Yan Shifan silently, thinking about what he meant by saying this.

Yan Shifan didn't let him wait for long, and asked directly: "Wen Chang, do you think that for a family like mine, even if we really don't do anything or say anything, others will think that we have no desires or demands?"

"No! They don't think so at all!"

Yan Shifan said solemnly, "On the contrary, if we do nothing and say nothing, they will think that our Yan family is secretly planning something. Since this will make them wary, sometimes it is better to be open and honest. Just like now, the emperor has already asked to add people to the cabinet. Zhao Zhenji joined the cabinet before, and now the matter of pacifying the Japanese invasion in the southeast is almost over. Even Qi Jiguang's Shanzi Camp has been ordered to go north to Beijing. It is better to push Ruzhen to the position of cabinet at this time!"

Xu Wei hesitated: "Then I..."

"When you return to Changping tomorrow, Wenchang, tell the old man the truth." Yan Shifan smiled again, and then walked behind Xu Wei and stretched out his hands to grab the other's shoulders.

He exerted a little force and pulled Xu Wei up.

Yan Shifan patted Xu Wei's shoulder again.

"Since it's so rare for you to come back, let's just stay here, the two of us."

"go!"

"I'll treat you to a drink at the South City Goldfish Pond tonight."

"We two brothers will not stop until we are drunk tonight!"

Xu Wei was stunned again.

Watching Yan Shifan's changes with his own eyes, Xu Wei could only sigh silently.

This is the little cabinet minister from the past!

The taste is right!
……

"Pooh!"

"When will this taste of sea water disappear from my mouth?"

The blue waves are vast and the waves are endless.

On the boundless sea, waves surge over from the deep sea one after another.

Zhu Shitai, the eldest son of Duke Cheng and the current commander of the Loyal and Brave Battalion, stood on the deck of a Nanjing Navy warship, looking at the undulating coastline in the distance. He spat out a mouthful of thick saliva in disgust and viciousness, which just hit a seagull standing on the side of the ship. The bird was startled and flew high, constantly making noises, as if cursing the uncivilized humans.

Wang Xijue came up from the cabin holding a pot of tea, glanced at the Duke's son whom he had been scolding for several days, and silently chose to take a detour to his own teacher.

At this time, Yan Shaoting was lying on a rattan chair on the deck.

There was a hand warmer in his arms, a blanket on his legs, and the latest news in his hands.

"It's cold outside, sir, don't you want to go into the cabin?"

Wang Xijue asked and brought a cup of hot tea.

Yan Shaoting took a sip of tea and shook his head, "A bunch of old men huddled together, the smell is too strong."

Wang Xijue smiled and said, "According to the distance, we will reach Tianjin in another three to five days."

Yan Shaoting nodded, but said nothing more. Instead, he lowered his head and continued to look at the message sent by Zhu Qi and others.

According to the information from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the events in Xuanfu and Datong have been clarified.

This time it was Altan's eldest son Sengge, who was called Xin'ai Huang Taiji by the court, and stationed an army of nearly 100,000 in the upper reaches of Dongyang River.

Behind the army, there were tens of thousands of herdsmen from various Mongolian tribes collected by Xin Ai Huang Taiji from the grasslands, driving cattle and sheep to provide food for the army. This was obviously a sign of a protracted war.

The reference given by the imperial court also further predicted that if Altan's tribe could not break through the Ming border wall in a short period of time, Xin Aihuang Taiji would most likely go west with his troops and herdsmen and station on the Hetao Plain on the south side of the Daqing Mountains.

It can be said that it can attack or defend.

The imperial court also took necessary countermeasures for this.

First of all, the court sent urgent edicts to both Xuanfu and Datong, requiring Xuanfu General Ma Fang and Datong General Sun Wu to draw troops from their towns to support the border wall.

The governors of the two towns raised food, supplies and equipment on the spot.

It is obvious that the court had no intention of sending additional money and grain to Xuanfu or Datong this time.

However, the imperial court also followed Hu Zongxian's proposal and began to organize the Beijing camp by Zhenyuan Hou Gu Huan. The Ministry of Revenue, Imperial Household Department, and Imperial Household Department had also prepared money, food, wine and meat.

The Ministry of War also ordered the four towns of Shanxi, Yansui, Guyuan and Ningxia to mobilize troops to prevent Xin Ai Huang Taiji of Altan's tribe from leading his troops westward and heading south from Shanxi and Shaanxi.

He also ordered Gansu Town to send out scouts at night to keep alert of the Mongolian enemy on the west side of the grassland.

All in all, because of Huang Taiji leading his troops south, more than half of the border towns in the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty were mobilized.

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Under the imperial court's mobilization, the two towns of Xuanfu and Datong also understood that the imperial court had made some decisions this time. Not only would they not send money and food, but if the war went badly, a group of people would be punished by the imperial court.

Therefore, the mobilization of troops in the two towns of Xuan and Da was quite efficient this time. Even the two generals, Ma Fang and Sun Wu, personally led their men to leave the city and rush to the Acropolis near the border wall to observe the enemy situation closely and command the troops on the front line.

Among them, there was a very short message that caught Yan Shaoting's attention.

Recently, the East Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard have captured hundreds of people in and around Beijing who were suspected of having secret dealings with people outside the Great Wall.

There are Ming people among them, and naturally there are also Mongolians.

As for the news about the nine borders, there are also things happening in the capital.

The news of the emperor's illness eventually became known.

Fortunately, with Gao Gong's strong pressure and taking advantage of the previous brawl among officials in front of Xi'an Gate, the unusual movements of officials in the capital were suppressed.

Then, at a cabinet meeting, Gao Gong, the chief minister, suddenly nominated the Minister of War Hu Zongxian to participate in the cabinet in order to comply with the emperor's order.

This matter immediately aroused Li Chunfang's opposition.

The reasons are also readily available.

Although the Japanese threat to the five southeastern provinces had been mostly eliminated, Japanese pirates still occasionally invaded, and it was not to the point where the five southeastern provinces would no longer see Japanese pirates as Hu Zongxian said.

However, within the cabinet, Yuan Wei and Zhao Zhenji agreed with the Prime Minister's proposal.

So the matter was transferred from the cabinet to the Imperial Household Department.

Lu Fang presented it to the emperor who was still ill.

No one knows what the emperor's reaction was or what the situation was.

Finally, the matter was transferred from the Imperial Household Department back to the Cabinet, and the Cabinet and the Nine Ministers in the court were asked to nominate another person to discuss the matter together with Hu Zongxian in the court.

"So... Yang Bo is probably going to be furious this time."

After finally finishing reading the latest news, Yan Shaoting put down the documents in his hand and took a sip of tea with a smile.

Wang Xijue put away the documents and put them into a wooden box beside him that was just big enough to hold them. "I heard from Captain Zhu that Gao Gong proposed Hu Bu Tang to join the cabinet that day. Yang Bo went to Gao Gong's house after he found out. When he came out, his face was not very good."

"That's why the negotiation failed. Yang Bo's plan to bring the Jin Party into the cabinet was suppressed by Gao Gong."

Yan Shaoting's eyes flickered as he looked at the undulating coastline in the distance and spoke lightly.

Wang Xijue nodded: "It seems that Gao Gong is just as you expected. He wants to use the Jin Party to help him, but he will not sit idly by and watch the Jin Party grow. This is consistent with what Mr. Wenchang said in his letter to the Left Assistant Minister."

Yan Shaoting snorted, "Yang Bo is not a fool. He is a smart man. How could he not see through how Gao Gong would arrange for them? They are just testing each other. Yang Bo cannot enter the cabinet now, but he may be able to enter the cabinet in the future. Even if Yang Bo is not capable, they still have Wang Chonggu in the Jin Party, and Zhang Siwei who has been kept in the Hanlin Academy by them!"

After saying this, Yan Shaoting glanced at Wang Xijue with an ambiguous look.

Wang Xijue was stunned for a moment, then quickly lowered his head: "Zhang Ziwei was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Jiajing. I passed the Jinshi nearly ten years later than him. You are teasing me, sir."

"Are you kidding? Zhang Siwei relies on the Jin Party, aren't you inferior?"

Yan Shaoting laughed and narrowed his eyes. "The court's rules of the so-called Hanlin Qingguishi and Shujishi entering the cabinet should also be changed! Since ancient times, the prime ministers started from the prefectures and understood the people's sentiments. How can they be in charge of the court now just because they are noble in the central government? The reason why you were sent to work in various places was for this matter. After a few more days, you should be allowed to leave the capital, and work hard in the local areas for a few years under the new policy. When you are transferred back to the central government, you can take a step ahead of them and slowly take charge of the central government's departments."

It is obvious that my teacher has not yet entered the cabinet, and is not even an official in the six ministries and five temples, but he is talking about entering the cabinet and being in charge of the central departments.

But Wang Xijue believed what the gentleman said.

He could not help but whisper, "This time, Sir, you are following a secret decree to lead troops back to the capital. You are not taking the land route or the canal, but the sea route. The purpose is to conceal your itinerary. In addition, according to the news coming out from the palace, I am afraid that Sir, this time he returns to the capital, he will go straight to the central government."

Central.

Apart from the Cabinet, there are the six ministries and five temples.

According to Wang Xijue's own speculation, his master's achievements in the economics over the years are obvious to all. In addition, Gao Yao, the Minister of Revenue who is close to Gao Gong, is also old, so it is possible that his master will take over the Ministry of Revenue.

Yan Shaoting shook his head.

He had no intention of planning his career prospects at this moment or taking charge of the central government early.

It is better to sit on the shore and watch the show than to be at the center of the game now.

If the news of a central minister who is less than 30 years old were to get out, there would surely be voices of opposition from all over the world.

By then, you won’t be able to watch the show yourself, but instead you will be the one being watched by others.

Wang Xijue looked at his husband curiously.

But Yan Shaoting slowly stood up and stretched out a hand.

"Snowing."

His eyes flickered, with a depth that was hard to guess.

But Yan Shaoting knew it in his heart.

Snowing.

The old Taoist priest doesn't have many days left.

…………

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　　In addition, as we all know, the latest plot will be about the death of the old Taoist priest, so all aspects of the preparation cannot be missed.

　　Gentlemen, can you guess how the old Taoist priest will die and how the protagonist will return to the court?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)