Chapter 558 557 Greed of Money

Author: Visitor from Parallel Space

Chapter 558 557 Greed of Money

Wei Guangde's words were a little unacceptable to King Yu.

Everyone in the capital knew that Yan Shifan was corrupt, perverted the law, sold his official position and oppressed Zhongliang, and it was rumored that his family had mountains of gold and silver, which was simply shocking.

Not to mention others, the loyal ministers he framed and killed include Zhang Jing, Li Tianchong, Wang Yan, Yang Jisheng, Ye Jing, and Shen Lian. The ministers who were demoted due to the impeachment of Yan Song and his son included Xie Yu, Tong Hanchen, Zhao Jin, and Wang Zongmao. , He Weibo, Wang Ye, Chen Wei, Li Rujin, Xu Xueshi, Zhou Yi, Wu Shilai, Zhang Chong, Dong Chuance, etc.

Based on the things he had done, he was definitely the number one traitor in the Ming Dynasty, but in Wei Guangde's words, these were all minor crimes.

"Shandai, I know that you and Yan Shifan are both from Jiangxi, so you can't speak for him just because of that."

King Yu's words made Wei Guangde tremble in his heart. At the same time, he also keenly felt that there was a slight change in the eyes of Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng looking at him.

This was a bit harsh, but obviously, King Yu heard the remarks about Jiangxi officials from someone unknown.

In fact, because of Yan Song's relationship, the Yan Party was almost single-handedly challenging the entire civil servant group in the world, and their biggest target was Jiangxi scholars.

According to officials from various provinces, the reason why they ranked low in the general examination and imperial examination was not because of their own knowledge, but because of someone's obstruction.

Jiangxi officials stick together and Jiangxi officials help each other.

In fact, they did a lot of these things in private, but they just used the achievements of Jiangxi-born Jinshi since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and believed that the rankings were the result of secret manipulation by senior Jiangxi officials in the DPRK.

Among many people, "half of the court officials from Jiangxi" is not praising the prosperity of Jiangxi's literary style, but insinuating evidence that Jiangxi officials cling to groups and suppress other colleagues.

Think about it, there were actually four officials from Jiangxi among the nine ministers of the Jiajing Dynasty. This made officials from Nanzhili and Zhejiang, which are major imperial examination provinces, think. It was naturally the result of Jiangxi people shielding and helping each other.

And after the emergence of Yan Song, a treacherous and evil person, such rhetoric became even more popular.

Anyway, it was right to scold Yan Song, and he also scolded Jiangxi officials.

Such voices already existed when Yan Song was in power, and after Yan Song's fall, such voices continued to be suppressed.

In fact, everyone is thinking about the feelings of fellow countrymen, but Jiangxi is indeed a bit too outstanding in appointing high-ranking officials, which naturally arouses the suspicion of officials in Nanzhili, Zhejiang and other places.

It is worth mentioning that in the more than two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, a large number of Jinshi and high-ranking officials emerged in the early and middle Ming Dynasties. In the late Ming Dynasty, Zhejiang officials suddenly emerged. By the Qing Dynasty, Jiangsu and Zhejiang became the world.

Later generations analyzed this and believed that during the Northern Song Dynasty, Jiangxi's population ranked first among all regions, and its economic development was an advanced area in the south.

By the Ming Dynasty, although the population of Jiangxi was slightly lower than that of Zhejiang, and it ranked second among the thirteen chief secretaries in the country, its annual tax revenue sometimes even exceeded that of Zhejiang. The ceramic industry in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi became famous all over the world.

Jiangxi has always had a prosperous literary style, with an endless stream of scholars and numerous academies in various places. Nanchang Prefecture "has a lot of refined people in the market place", Ji'an Prefecture has "a lot of Confucian scholars in the territory surrounding the Jishui River for hundreds of miles", and Guangxin Prefecture has "catched the common people in the fields." Everyone knows that the most important thing is to teach their children and grandchildren to study."

The developed economy and the people's love of learning were important reasons why Jiangxi was able to maintain its advantage in the imperial examination before the mid-Ming Dynasty.

In the late Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, with the development of industry and handicrafts, Jiangxi's economic status declined, while Zhejiang and other places developed rapidly.

It is said that "the economic base determines the superstructure." The reason why Jiangxi was brilliant in the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties was that China's political, economic, and cultural center moved southward, and Jiangxi's farming economy and handicraft economy gradually developed.

After entering the Qing Dynasty, wars were frequent, especially the Taiping Rebellion, which caused great damage to Jiangxi. Later, the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway was missed, water transportation was gradually replaced by railways and highways, and the maritime economy came. As an inland province, Jiangxi's economy retreated again and again, leading to a gradual

Be marginalized.

However, this kind of voice had not been heard by Wei Guangde in Prince Yu's Mansion before. It was obviously just behind his back and had reached Prince Yu's ears.

Because King Yu had to deal with Yan Shifan's affairs this time, King Yu was extremely angry, so he made a mistake and said this.

Wei Guangde heard this and knew that he must not be kind to women, otherwise it would be detrimental to his career and affect his status in King Yu's heart.

After hesitating for a moment, Wei Guangde said: "Your Highness, I am definitely not biased because of my fellow countrymen."

Having said this, Wei Guangde glanced at Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng, and then continued: "On the contrary, what Yan Shifan did was indeed angry and resentful, and both humans and gods were angry.

But it is precisely for this reason that I think it is not appropriate to leave this matter to Beijing.

Although the Yan family has collapsed and many members of the party have been punished, no one has seen that two years later many people have been re-appointed and entered the officialdom again.

Even if these people change their ways, they will never be able to escape the shackles of the Yan family.

You know, the Yan family has not been punished with serious crimes, because His Majesty couldn't bear it, so many of their flaws are in the hands of the Yan family, forcing them to do things for the Yan family."

"You mean, the Yan family's power in the court is still very strong."

Zhang Juzheng asked.

"Of course, not to mention those low-level officials who have not been cleared of their names, even those who have been restored to official positions will definitely help the Yan family to advocate for them. They are quite powerful."

Wei Guangde replied.

"Actually, in my opinion, your Majesty's original intention when he sent Yan Shi to study in Leizhou was not to want him to return to the capital again, so that everything before could be wiped out, which can be regarded as a liquidation.

Mr. Xu Ge and other adults must have acquiesced in this matter."

Wei Guangde continued.

When Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng heard Wei Guangde's words, their expressions were as usual, only Prince Yu's expression changed slightly.

Obviously, he had never heard of this matter from Gao Gong, Yin Shizhen and others.

"Not to mention how greedy Yan Shifan is and how he disregards the laws of the court, but when it comes to his ability to handle affairs, there are several people in the court who dare to compare with him. His Majesty also laughed and called him a 'ghost', which shows that his ability is not bad.

If Yan Shifan returns to the capital, once Your Majesty thinks of reactivating him, I am afraid that the years of planning by Mr. Xu Ge and others will be miscalculated.

It can only be said that Mr. Xu Ge’s draft draft contains major omissions.

Since Yan Shifan has been assigned to Guangdong, if Yan Shifan fails to arrive within the time limit, the Guangdong side should hold him accountable. If His Highness is really serious, he can just arrange for someone to deal with it, so there is no need to escort him back to the capital."

Wei Guangde continued to express his thoughts.

No one paid any attention to Wei Guangde's other words, but Zhang Juzheng's expression changed slightly after he said, "Once His Majesty decides to use him again," his expression changed slightly.

The Yan family father and son, among other things, did a really good job in serving Emperor Jiajing.

And look at the current cabinet ministers, as well as the ministers and ministers in important departments such as the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. They are all good at flattering the emperor, and they are very comfortable serving the Emperor Jiajing.

And once Yan Shifan returned to the court for this reason, as long as he didn't die, Emperor Jiajing might actually have the idea of ​​keeping him and continuing to work for him.

Being able to do things well and being obedient was the fundamental reason why the Yan family received preferential treatment from the emperor in the Jiajing Dynasty.

In fact, King Yu and the ministers in the court have more or less felt that the current Emperor Jiajing is more suspicious and fickle.

The fundamental reason for hating Yan Shifan before was that Yan Shifan still drank and had fun without restraint during his mother's funeral. Emperor Jiajing was quite filial to his mother.

They were also worried that the Yan family would be too powerful to lose, so they took advantage of Zou Yinglong's memorial to take down Yan Song and his party members.

Nowadays, although the Yan family's strength still exists, it is not as good as before, so naturally it is no longer a concern.

"However, the teacher's memorial has been drafted, and it is too late to recover it."

Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but interject, apparently partially agreeing with Wei Guangde's words, and felt that it would be best for Yan Shifan not to return to the capital.

Yin Shizhen frowned for a moment and then said: 'Can Yan Shifan be taken to Nanjing for trial?'

"It's absolutely impossible. Nanjing will never take over this hot potato. It will just push it out in a panic."

Wei Guangde shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Do you think the adults in Nanjing don't know about Yan Shifan?"

"Shan Loan, do you already know?"

Zhang Juzheng felt sensitively that Wei Guangde seemed to have known about Yan Shifan's situation before the incident, so he asked.

"I heard someone say that in fact, Yan Shifan did not go to Leizhou and returned to Jiangxi halfway. It has been more than a year."

Wei Guangde did not hide it and said bluntly, "But so what, everyone knows that it is His Majesty's wish. Maybe in his heart he has repaid the Yan family for serving them for more than ten years. Otherwise, he will never let Yan Song go back to his hometown without copying the family."

of."

Zhang Juzheng and Yin Shizhen had to nod their heads to agree with this matter. After Yan Shifan's crime was confirmed, didn't they not confiscate their homes?

They just let Yan Song become an official, go home to take care of his old age, and leave with the money they gained from greed.

This kind of treatment was inappropriate, but none of the ministers in the court said anything, so everyone acquiesced in the matter at that time, and no one spoke about it anymore.

Now after Wei Guangde's analysis, it is obvious that the important ministers in the court actually understood the wishes of Emperor Jiajing, so they acted like this.

"With thousands of people gathered, how dare local officials in Jiangxi report to Nanjing?"

Wei Guangde asked again.

"What should we do now?"

Zhang Juzheng asked.

"Wait and see what Xiyuan's instructions are."

Wei Guangde just said.

"Can you predict how this will end?"

Zhang Juzheng asked again.

If Yan Shifan is allowed to return to the court, it will definitely be very bad for his teacher Mr. Xu Ge.

After all, the last straw that broke the camel's back was thrown by Mr. Xu Ge.

He spotted the moment when Emperor Jiajing was hesitating and presented the reasons for impeachment that affected his judgment.

"Either he will be punished or he will be reinstated."

Wei Guangde replied.
To be continued...