Yan Sikong naturally doesn't have a birthday today.

He is the imperial historian of the imperial history platform, and one of the three auxiliary ministers, if he has a birthday, it will be a major event that will cause a sensation in the government and the opposition, and all the civil and military officials will go to Yanfu to celebrate his birthday.

Shen Kuan just said it casually, the purpose was to hint at these Zaifu and let them go to Yan Mansion together, these people are all human spirits, and they can understand it at all, so they naturally obey.

Several Zaifu went out of Yong'an Gate together, got into a sedan chair at the gate of Yong'an Gate, and walked towards the willow shop near Yongle Fang.

Doctor Yu Shi is strict and clumsy, his background is not too rich, he can only be regarded as a Chinese family, so even if he achieves the position of Sikong, he still can't live in Yongle Fang, and can only settle down in Liushufang.

However, Liushufang is not too far from the imperial city, and it didn't take long for the four Zaifu of Shangshutai to arrive at the gate of Yan's Mansion.

"Several prime ministers arrived, and Yan missed the distance."

Shen Guangwan returned the salute and said with a smile: "Yan Sikong is polite, today is Yan Sikong's birthday, I am equivalent to an official of the court, so naturally I should come over to celebrate." ”

Yan Shouzhuo frowned slightly.

He is indeed born this month, but his birthday is still six days away from today, if one prime minister remembers wrong, it is forgivable, there is no reason for four prime ministers to remember wrong.

He reacted quickly and reached out and patted his forehead.

"Oh, I'm busy with government politics these days, Shen Xiang didn't mention it, and the old man almost forgot that today is the old man's birthday."

"It's going to be sunset now, and I'm afraid it's too late to hold a birthday banquet."

Shen Xiang smiled slightly: "It's not beautiful when there are too many people, wouldn't it be good for me to come and celebrate Yan Sikong's birthday?" ”

Yan Shouclumsy stepped aside and made a gesture of please.

"Several prime ministers are here, and the Yan Mansion is very honored."

Soon, the four Zaifu plus Yan Shouzhuo, a total of five people, sat down in the study of the Yan Mansion, the subordinates of the Yan Mansion set up the wine and food, and the five people each sat at a low table and drank together.

After a glass of spirits was eaten, Yan Shouclumy looked at the four people left and right, and said in a deep voice: "All the princes come hand in hand, I don't know what it is?" ”

The four prime ministers glanced at each other, and it was Zuo Xiang Shen Kuan who was the first to put down the wine glass in his hand and glanced at Yan Shouclumsy lightly.

"Sikong hasn't noticed anything wrong in the last few days?"

Yan Shouzhuo frowned slightly and shook his head: "No." ”

Shen Kuan looked left and right, and asked the other three prime ministers, "What about the three?" ”

The new right minister Cheng Yi frowned and said, "Something is wrong, someone has already written to me." ”

Shen Kuan took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"I'm different from the princes, I'm from the Ministry of Rites, I've been a waiter in the Ministry of Rites for many years, I've served as the chief examiner for three years, and there are a lot of my students in the court."

The Ministry of Rites is not the same as the other five departments, the other five are subordinate to Shangshutai, but the Ministry of Rites is somewhat transcendent and directly under the emperor, because the Ministry of Rites is in charge of scientific research, so there are countless protégés of the Ministry of Rites, so there is a rule that the Ministry of Rites does not worship the prime minister.

Shen Kuan has been a waiter in the Ministry of Rites for more than ten years, and has also been an examiner for several sessions.

That is to say, anyone who won the Jinshi in the class when he was the main exam, then he could be regarded as his student, and he would have to be with his teacher in the court in the future, otherwise it would be a big rebellion.

Therefore, this Shen Xiang is up and down the government and the opposition, and he has a wide range of contacts.

And his entry into Shangshutai is the position of succeeding Zhang Qu, that is to say, in the eighth year of Taikang, he has become the prime minister of the Great Jin Dynasty, and in the past few years, his protégés have each gained a lot of benefits, and naturally their hearts are towards this teacher.

Now almost all of the officials and yamen in the capital have his students.

This is the behavior of the civil official group, there are only five people in Shangshutai, but the network of interests woven by them with the relationship between master and apprentice, the relationship between fellow villagers, and the relationship between the same department is very huge, and these five people can affect at least six or seven percent or even more civil officials.

Shen Kuan took a deep breath and closed his eyes slightly.

"All the princes are old ministers of the three dynasties, and they have all worked together for many years, and the old man does not beat around the bush, and he will speak directly if he has something to say."

He glanced at these people and said, "In the past few days, someone has been investigating some old things. ”

Shen Kuan lowered his eyebrows and said: "Not only is he checking me, but also the old accounts of the princes here in his early years, it seems that the person also wants to turn it out and recalculate it." ”

As he spoke, he looked at Yan Shouzhuo and said lightly: "This also includes Yan Sikong." ”

Yan Sikong frowned.

"Shen Xiang, the old man is a Yanguan, and he has been doing imperial history all his life, where are there any old accounts?"

"Then I'll have to ask Yan Sikong himself."

Shen Kuan sighed: "I remember that Yan Sikong was not a Beijing official in his early years, but was responsible for supervising the local imperial history, maybe he was a little unclear with the local officials at that time?" ”

Yan Shouzhuo's face darkened, and his brows furrowed even deeper.

In his early years, he was in charge of supervising the imperial history of Jiangnan East Road, and at that time he was in his thirties, walking in the place, there were too many temptations in front of him, and it was inevitable that he would make a little mistake.

However, after he was transferred back to the capital and became the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, for the sake of the future of officialdom, he did things a lot more restrained, and basically no longer took anything on the surface.

He supervised the imperial history, which was all a matter of the Chengde Dynasty......

Thinking of this, Yan Sikong looked up at Shen Kuan and said with a wry smile: "Shen Xiang, there are no outsiders here, since the princes have found my mansion, what do you have to say." ”

Shen Kuan's voice was heavy.

He spoke slowly: "It should be...... The people in the palace are checking. ”

"Their targets are obvious, mainly Yan Sikong and me, and the brothers in Shangshutai are also among them, but they just check it out by the way."

Shen Kuan slowly exhaled.

"Now, that person's meaning is clear."

Yan Sikong's eyes widened at first, then at Shen Kuan, and said in disbelief: "What Shen Xiang means is...... Who is checking? ”

"Someone has already gone to Jiangnan East Road."

Shen Kuan glanced at Yan Shouzhuo and slowly spoke: "Things are already very clear, it depends on how Yan Sikong responds?" ”

"There are two options before us right now."

Shen Kuan said unhurriedly: "The first choice is to take advantage of the fact that the current one has not yet obtained the evidence, we will take the lead in admitting defeat, directly write to ask the pro-government, and then write to ask for resignation, so that although we can't keep the official position, our lives may be safe." ”

Speaking of this, he laughed at himself: "Of course, it depends on whether that person is a benevolent monarch, and whether Jing'an Hou will return to Beijing in the future and whether he will let us go." ”

After saying this, the faces of the other four people present all changed.

It is not certain whether the emperor is benevolent or not, but the Marquis of Jing'an is not a good person, he is still a character who will be repaid, if you offend him, he will bite back hard, with the extent to which they offended the Marquis of Jing'an, if they lose their official position, I am afraid that their lives will not be guaranteed!

Yan Sikong's face was cloudy, and after a long time, he looked up at Shen Kuan, and said astringently: "Shen Xiang, what about the second way?" ”

Shen Kuan was silent for a while, then raised his glass and took a sip of tea.

"This second way can make me wait for a few more years to be an auxiliary minister, if things go well, this matter should be seventy or eighty percent certain, but I don't know if you have the guts."