As soon as Yan Shifan returned home, he was called into Yan Song's study by Yan Nian. Yan Song asked him to look at those bad debts, he only glanced at them, and then said impatiently: "I already know." ”

"So, it's all true?" In fact, Yan Song knew in his heart that only with ironclad evidence would the emperor be so angry, but he didn't listen to his son's affirmative answer, and there was always a bit of luck in his heart.

"So what?" Yan Shifan said indifferently: "How many years have you been like this, and you didn't do it this time?" ”

"You bastard!" Yan Song said angrily: "This is the life-saving money of the imperial court, and you dare to be greedy?" ”

"Dad, it's not a question of daring, but it has to be like this," Yan Shifan said impatiently: "You have always been in a noble official residence, I don't know how greedy and dark the people below are!" For example, even if we are not greedy, the household department will intercept a little bit and transport it from Shandong to Liaodong, and it will be 'floated' a little bit, and then the province, the government, and the county will be peeled layer by layer, and finally it will be good to be able to reach the people with 100,000 taels. Rather than this, it is better to clearly mark the price and share it together, and also leave a little for the public. ”

Hearing that he was still there, Yan Song's beard trembled with anger, and he stretched out his hand and pointed at him and said, "You are really bold, this is the money from the emperor's treasury, not from the household treasury!" ”

"It's not the left pocket to the right pocket, isn't it all the same?" Yan Shifan said disdainfully: "I don't believe you think about the two Huai and Zhejiang salt administrations that belong to the same internal government, the benefits of the world are no more than salt and iron, and you can make tens of millions of taels of profit in this item every year, but you can only pay 1.2 million taels of salt tax a year, why isn't the emperor anxious with those old Xi'er?" ”

This is the crux of the matter, although the Yan Party has power all over the world, but it cannot eat the salt profits of the two Huai and Zhejiang, because the strongest Jin merchants in the world have fostered and established a powerful Shanxi bureaucracy, this group of people is inconspicuous, but they are entrenched in the DPRK and China, and have a strong alliance, so that every attempt of the Yan Party has been in vain, and finally has to give up.

Yan Shifan knows very well the secret of these people, which is nothing more than 'money can make ghosts grind', and they rely on their strong financial resources to subsidize poor scholars everywhere...... Not only Shanxi and Lianghuai, but even Shandong, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Huguang and other places, you can see the righteousness built by Jin merchants; And actively build bridges and pave roads in various places to provide relief to the victims, so that the readers generally have a good impression of them, and whoever wants to move them will naturally cause a strong backlash from public opinion.

There is always darkness behind the sun, not to mention the profit-seeking businessmen, while actively doing good, the Jin Shang group also used greater investment to bribe court officials, especially those who are not noticeable middle and lower-level officials. This can especially reflect their businessman's vision, as long as ten or eight years pass, those petty officials will be promoted to important members of the imperial court, with their bribes in their hands, and they are not afraid that they will turn their faces and deny people.

With this two-pronged approach, the Jinshang Group has finally established a rock-like status, no matter how wind and rain the DPRK and China are, it will not affect their century-old store...... Although Yan Shifan is arrogant and has no one in his eyes, there is a lingering fear in his heart, that is, once his father has three longs and two shorts, what will he do in the rest of his life? After thinking about it, he decided to follow the example of the Jin merchants, monopolize the foreign trade of the Ming Dynasty, and establish his own silver dollar empire, so that he will have an unshakable position in the future regardless of whether he is in the court or the opposition.

So if you want him to admit his mistake and give up Suzhou, it is absolutely impossible. What's more, hasn't the emperor already compromised? He believed that as long as he entered the palace in a few days and begged each other softly, Jiajing would not embarrass himself for the sake of his feelings.

He planned to wait for the rain to stop before entering the palace to see the emperor, but the rain continued and did not stop. Yan Song finally couldn't help it, and under repeated urging, the father and son finally braved the dense autumn rain and took a sedan chair to Xiyuan.

The Yan family was almost next door to Xiyuan, and the sedan chair fell as soon as it was lifted.

As soon as the guards at the gate of the palace saw that it was Yan Ge Lao's sedan chair, they immediately notified the eunuchs on duty, and the eunuchs secretly screamed bad luck, and hurriedly carried Yan Ge Lao's double to carry the public opinion, and took over at the gate of Xiyuan.

The palace is the emperor's house, and the ministers must clamp their tails and obey the rules in it, usually walking on two legs, but for some old and sick ministers, the huge palace is like a nightmare, and they may have died of exhaustion on the peninsula before they saw the emperor. Therefore, the emperor will specially grant some ministers to use transportation.

Of course, the rewards are also graded, the most basic is the 'Forbidden City Horseback Riding', the general cabinet ministers and the six departments and nine ministers, as long as they are over fifty, they will get this reward. Then there is 'the Forbidden City by two people to raise the waist'. The so-called waist is just a special chair, the backrest and both sides are sealed with a whole wooden board, only the front is empty for people to sit on, and it is also allowed to add a cover on it in rainy and snowy days, and a curtain is added in front, and two poles pass through both sides of the chair and are carried by two people by hand. Although it was very cold, it was undoubtedly a leap from riding a horse to sitting in a sedan chair, and generally only princes and old and sick ministers were given this preferential treatment.

However, Yan Song's treatment was higher, in the first month of the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing, when he was eighty years old, the emperor issued a holy decree saying: 'The old man of the pavilion is Gao Zuozhen, the more loyal he is, the more he praises the Xuan, and he is slack, and he is specially given to enter and exit the West Garden, and take the shoulder'! The so-called shoulder, in fact, is to change the one that is carried by the hand to the shoulder, and there is no difference at all, just sit higher. But the increase in height at this point is very unbelievable, because even a prince like King Jing of Yuwang can only sit on his waist, a head shorter than his Yan Pavilion Lao, and this honor can be said to be unprecedented in the forbidden world.

Yan Song has been sitting on this handful for more than ten years, and the eunuch on duty lifted the curtain and said respectfully: "Pavilion Elder, please sit." Yan Song nodded, and sat down tremblingly.

Yan Shifan didn't have the qualifications to take advantage of the public opinion, so the eunuch took an umbrella and flattered him. In this way, the father and son entered the West Garden in the rain curtain one after the other.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the wind was blowing. The wind was also very strange, and it blew in a whirlwind, and blew down the curtain on his waist. Yan Song's gray beard was blown scattered in an instant, and his python robe was also soaked in the rain, but he didn't care about these at all, and was still frowning and thinking about his thoughts...... Since Jiajing joined the cabinet in the twentieth year, he has walked this road thousands of times, and the time he spent with the emperor was far away with his family. After 7,000 days and nights, he believed that he had no merit and hard work, and he believed that the emperor would give himself this little face, so that his son could pass this level.

But why am I so unsure? Yan Song glanced at the curtain that had been blown away, and he couldn't help but secretly say: "This is not a good sign, does it imply that the emperor will never shelter me from the wind and rain again?" Thinking like this, he was even more panicked, but he had already entered the palace to meet him, how could he dare to go back to his home at will? I can only bite the bullet and go on.

'I hope it's just my thoughts...... ' Yan Ge Lao looked up at the haze in the sky and thought.

But in the next moment, Yan Song couldn't see the sky, he tilted his head and saw that it was Yan Shifan who took the umbrella and covered himself from the rain.

Yan Song let out a long sigh and cast his eyes into the distance, Yuxi Palace loomed in the smoke and rain, and he didn't know what fate his father and wife would face...... Thinking all the way, before I knew it, I arrived in front of Yuxi Palace, Chen Hongying came out and whispered: "How did you get it, how did you get it, my body is wet." ”

Yan Shifan hugged his father and got down from his waist and scolded in a low voice: "This ghost weather! ”

"Let's go inside and make a fire." Chen Hong said softly: "Your Majesty is still busy, the elder of the pavilion and the elder of the pavilion will wait in the ear room for a while." ”

"Thank you, Grandpa Chen." Yan Song nodded slowly and asked, "Now is not Your Majesty's homework time?" ”

"Oh, Your Majesty is a little depressed in his heart," Chen Hong whispered, "I'm asking the gods." As he spoke, he added a few pieces of silver charcoal to the charcoal basin with tongs, and ordered two bowls of brown sugar ginger soup to be brought to the Yan family and his son, so that they could drink it while it was hot.

Yan Song thanked him again, and Chen Hong bowed down and withdrew, at this stormy moment, he could hide away.

Holding the bowl of ginger soup, Yan Song took a small sip while casting his eyes on the courtyard, swept from the familiar bricks and tiles, and finally landed on the ancient locust tree that was said to be thousands of years old in the center of Yuxi Palace.

In order to prevent assassins, there are very few trees planted in the palace, and there is no one as tall and thick as this 'Minister's Scholar Tree'. It stood there silently, silently conveying its nobility and majesty, and like a loyal guard, or a loyal servant, guarding outside the Yuxi Palace night and night, very pleasing to Emperor Jiajing.

And Emperor Jiajing liked it very much, associated this ancient acacia with Yan Song, and often joked: "You two are really alike, both are so old, and they are so loyal!" Even when the saint was long, he promised him: "As long as this ancient acacia tree does not die, your Yan family will prosper forever." ”

Therefore, Yan Song cares about this tree very much, every time he comes, he has to take a closer look, and every time he sees it after thousands of years of green mulberry, and the branches are still flourishing, he is extremely satisfied, as if it is his own symbol.

But this time, the green leaves of the tree had already been swept away by the autumn wind, and the huge ancient locust showed its ugly branches, which looked like they had withered.

"Alas......" Yan Ge Lao touched the scene and felt desolate, he involuntarily stroked his pure white beard, smiled bitterly, and said in his heart: "I don't know if there will be new sprouts next year......

"Dad, what's wrong with you today? A vigorous sigh. Yan Shifan finally couldn't help it and asked in a low voice.

"Alas......" Yan Song sighed again, and said softly: "Dad's premonition is not good, it seems that this time, our grandfather is not so easy to pass......"

Yan Shifan didn't believe it, shook his head and said, "How is it possible? Over the past few decades, how many times of crisis, haven't our father and son come over like this? ”

Yan Song glanced at his son, shook his head and said, "This time, that time......" paused slightly, as if talking to himself: "How can there be an ancient tree that does not wither, how can there be an unchanging saint?" ”

"It's not that serious, is it?" Yan Shifan drank all the ginger soup, wiped his mouth and said: "I see the emperor's attitude, or to protect us, it can be seen that things are not as bad as imagined, are you too worried, Dad?" ”

"Maybe I'm thinking too much...... Yan Song put down the ginger soup and sighed faintly: "Alas, let it be fate......

In the Yuxi Palace, Emperor Jiajing was wearing a fragrant leaf crown and a gossip robe, and was looking at the blue fairy on the platform with a solemn expression.

I saw Lan Daoxing barefoot, wearing his hair, dancing around on the platform like a convulsion. In his right hand in the sleeve, he skillfully opened the envelope that had been dropped, and glanced at it with exaggerated movements, and saw Jiajing's question - 'The disciple sincerely respects the heavens, and he has been saying for decades, and he does not dare to slack off a little, why is the heavens unwilling to give the disciples a smooth wind and rain, and the subjects and peace of the disciples?' The gist of the emperor's words is that I believe in the heavens so much, such a pious son of heaven, why can't God give me some good words?

Lan Daoxing thought about it, oh it turned out to be venting his inner anguish, and his heart couldn't help but move, he knew that the opportunity he was waiting for had appeared. As soon as he thought of this, his body trembled even more, and he kept sifting like chaff, but fortunately, he was just messing around, and he was not afraid of revealing his stuffing.

It's just that in Jiajing's opinion, the communication time of the Blue Immortal is longer than usual, and the emperor himself explained to him: "It seems that this question is not easy for the Immortal to answer......

Lan Daoxing pondered for a long time, and finally made up his mind, gritted his teeth and said, "Damn, that's it!" Then he cast a spell to help him!

Jiajing saw that the pen was finally shaking in the sand table, so his eyes widened, and he didn't dare to breathe, staring directly at the handwriting that was revealed, and followed by a silent recitation word by word in his heart: 'Xian... No... Yes... Exhaust... Use...... No... Resemble... No... Withdraw... ......"

When the pen stopped, ten big characters appeared in front of me: 'Virtuous can not be used to the fullest, and there is no retreat!' Translated into the vernacular, it means that you can't use virtuous people to govern the country, and you don't drive away the bad guys, so the country suffers this retribution.

Jiajing was silent for a while, and then wrote another question: 'What an unscrupulous person, can you hinder my Ming Dynasty?' ’

After Lan Daoxing received it, he replied on behalf of the immortals: "There is a fat man, with a small eye and a limp foot, and today he will ask to see His Majesty. With this person, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to Huang Zuo......"

The civil and military appearances of the Manchu Dynasty were varied, but there was only one fat man with one eye and a lameness, and that was Yan Shifan, the son of Yan Ge Lao, who naturally knew this point. Although he was superstitious to the extreme, he was not a brainless fool, and he immediately retorted: 'If such a son of heaven is not a fool, why didn't God be shocked and killed?' 'This guy is so hateful, why didn't God send lightning to cut him down?'

Lan Daoxing's reaction was also very fast, and he wrote a line of 'mythology' on the sand table: 'If God kills him, he who uses it will be blamed, so he will be killed, and he will belong to you. If it's my turn, it's your sin, that's why I'm leaving you with my chance...... After the divination, Jiajing's mood was even more depressed, he returned to the retreat and sat down, recited the "Pure Heart Formula" several times, but he was still irritable, he had to get up and walk around, and ordered someone to open the doors and windows that he was reluctant to open all summer.

Li Fang saw that the emperor was in a bad mood, how dare he slack off, and hurriedly asked the little eunuchs to open the palace door one by one, and as soon as the door opened, the wind suddenly became stronger, and it blew into the hall with a sharp whistling sound. The windows creaked, and the veils in the temple fluttered up, sweeping down a few of them, and throwing a precious porcelain vase to the ground, shattering it on the spot.

Li Fang saw that the veil swept towards the emperor from time to time, and he couldn't care about the command anymore, so he hurriedly ran over, grabbed it, and dragged it in his hand. Looking at the flying of the house full of veils hunting, he hurriedly screamed: "It's closed, the temple door is closed." ”

The eunuchs hurriedly braved the wind and struggled to close the temple door from the inside out.

"Don't turn it off." Jiajing said lightly: "Just open it like this, let me cool and cool......"

Li Fang had no choice but to order again: "The doors and windows are propped up, no movement is allowed, and a few more people come over and tie the veil tightly!" ”

Jiajing looked coldly at the busy palace people in the main hall, and suddenly asked, "Is there anyone you want to see today?" ”

Li Fang had been accompanying the emperor inside, not knowing the situation outside, and hurriedly said, "Go out and ask, do you have anyone to see today?" ”

A little eunuch hurriedly ran out against the wind, but pretended to be full of arms with Chen Hong at the door.

"Oops, be lighter." Chen Hong has a bad temper, and he is extremely strict with the following, but this is not the time to attack, so he can only scold him. He saluted the emperor inside and said, "Master, the old father and son of Yan Ge ask to see ......."

Hearing this, Jiajing and Li Fang sighed secretly at the same time, and said, "This is really accurate!" ’

(To be continued)