My father is Jiajing

The stone pavement in the Forbidden City in the afternoon was baked even hotter by the scorching sun. The temperature was so high that it seemed as if you could even lay eggs on the ground.

Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Hu Zongxian, Zhao Zhenji, Guo Pu and others were not afraid of the scorching sun or the steam-like air temperature at this time. They walked all the way from Wenyuan Pavilion to the edge of West Garden.

When they arrived at the palace gate of Xiyuan, they looked at the surface of the Nanhai Lake, stood under the shade of the trees, and listened to the cicadas' tireless chirping. Their mood became more complicated.

The guards and eunuchs guarding the gate saw several cabinet bigwigs arriving together. Although there was no order from Emperor Jiajing, they did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

He immediately went to Xiyuan Palace to report the arrival of Xu Jie and others.

At this time, Emperor Jiajing and his son Zhu Zaigui were playing chess in the Jingshe of Wanshou Palace. When they heard Huang Jin come in and report that Xu Jie and others were asking for a meeting at the gate of Xiyuan Palace, Emperor Jiajing looked up and seemed reluctant to ask for a meeting.

Zhu Zaigui also looked at Emperor Jiajing and asked, "Father, how about I go out and see him? They must have been suffering to the extreme these days, it's time to give them some relief."

Emperor Jiajing nodded in agreement. This period of time was indeed a torment for them.

Emperor Jiajing said, "Well, then you can meet them. We have not seen them for the past few days, but it is not unreasonable."

Zhu Zaigui smiled and said, "I obey your command."

Then Zhu Zaigui instructed Huang Jin: "Eunuch Huang, please take a trip and bring them in."

Huang Jin bowed to Zhu Zaigui and said, "Yes, I will go right away."

Huang Jin came to the gate of Xiyuan Palace. The moment he appeared, Xu Jie and others couldn't help but show a look of surprise.

They all knew that Huang Jin had made a mistake before and was ruthlessly exiled by Emperor Jiajing to the Emperor Jiajing's auspicious land in Changping, the supervisor of the Imperial Mausoleum. Unexpectedly, he came back again.

Huang Jin greeted Xu Jie and the others with a smile, "Long time no see, elders."

Xu Jie and others also immediately returned the greeting, "Eunuch, long time no see."

Xu Jie and others still have great respect for Huang Jin.

After all, Huang Jin had been with Emperor Jiajing for decades, and his seniority was extremely rich.

Now that he can return to the side of Emperor Jiajing, one can imagine how much trust and reliance he is now receiving!

"You elders, you have come to the West Garden to meet the Emperor in this hot weather. It is really hard. But the Emperor is at a critical moment in his cultivation recently, so I am afraid he cannot see you."

Huang Jinxian said this, which immediately caused Xu Jie and the others to show anxious looks on their faces.

But before they could react, Huang Jin continued, "Although the Emperor cannot meet with you, the Lord can still meet with you. Please follow me and go to meet with the Lord."

When Xu Jie and others heard Huang Jin say that they could meet Zhu Zaigui, they were overjoyed.

After all, the years of being the regent in Wenhua Palace had already made them accustomed to Zhu Zaigui's presence, and they felt that if they could meet Zhu Zaigui, they could also make things clear.

"Thank you, Eunuch Huang, for leading the way."

Xu Jie bowed and glanced at his colleagues behind him.

At this moment, Li Chunfang looked calm, so calm that one could see his joy and anger. Hu Zongxian frowned slightly, revealing his joy; Zhao Zhenji's eyes flickered, and it was unknown what he was thinking in his mind; and Guo Pu looked indifferent, obviously not taking himself seriously.

The group followed Huang Jin through the winding corridors, walked inside the palace garden of the Western Garden, and finally arrived at a side hall on the side of the Wanshou Palace.

Although the furnishings in this side hall are simple, it is also one of the main suggestions to form a whole with the Wanshou Palace. It is also equipped with "air conditioning" that can blow out a breeze with a slight coolness.

Zhu Zaigui was sitting in the main seat in the hall. When he saw everyone coming in, he couldn't help but smile.

After meeting Zhu Zaigui, Xu Jie and others felt the coolness in the hall and their mood inexplicably improved.

"I will pay my respects to the prince."

Zhu Zaigui looked at the people who were bowing and said in a gentle voice, "Gentlemen, there is no need to be so polite."

After hearing Zhu Zaigui's words, Xu Jie and others bowed again to express their gratitude, and then stood up.

None of them had seen Zhu Zaigui for some time, and now that they finally met, they couldn't help but feel a sense of relief and hope in their hearts.

It seems that only in this way can they feel at ease.

Zhu Zaigui wore an indigo blue casual suit with only a plain jade belt tied around his waist. His whole temperament seemed extremely simple, yet full of majesty that came without any anger. It seemed that he no longer needed particularly expensive makeup to show his unique sense of superiority.

"Gentlemen, what brings you to the West Garden in such a hurry? What's the matter?"

Zhu Zaigui casually raised his hand and flicked his sleeves, then sat relaxed in the main seat, with one arm resting on the armrest, supporting his slightly leaning body, and asked Xu Jie and others indifferently.

Xu Jie took a deep breath and spoke first, "Your Highness, I, your old minister, am so presumptuous to ask for an audience because something big has happened in the court."

Zhu Zaigui said "oh" with a hint of surprise, then waved his hand to ask Huang Jin to prepare small chairs for Xu Jie and others, and then motioned for everyone to sit down.

Then he continued, "Tell me, Lord Xu, what happened?"

Xu Jie, who was sitting on a small chair, was nervous at the moment. He did not put all his body strength into sitting on the chair as he had done before. Instead, he leaned forward slightly, using only a little strength to support himself on the chair.

It can be seen that Xu Jie is really anxious now and has lost his previous calmness and composure.

It's just that he hasn't discovered it yet.

Xu Jie bowed and said, "Recently, the governor of the East Factory, Chen Hong, has been arresting people in the capital on the pretext of Dong Fen's case. He has arrested more than a hundred officials, and there are countless more who have been implicated."

"Today, the thirty-six court officials who knelt and protested at the Meridian Gate earlier were whipped in public by Chen Hong's order, and then taken to the East Factory Prison. Now all officials in the capital are in a panic, and government affairs are almost paralyzed. I am very anxious!"

Xu Jie quickly and briefly recounted what Chen Hong had done in the past few days.

At this moment, the hall was also silent, with only the master's breathing clearly audible.

Zhu Zaigui frowned slightly, looked at Xu Jie and others, and slowly said: "Chen Hong's actions were indeed a bit extreme. But!" Zhu Zaigui's another but made Xu Jie and others feel worried.

Zhu Zaigui continued calmly, "But the Dong Fen case involves smuggling and collusion with the Japanese, both of which are serious cases. Your Majesty and I both attach great importance to this case. Chen Hong's current actions are also in accordance with the emperor's orders. I will issue an order to him later, asking him to find out the officials involved as soon as possible, and release those who are not problematic as soon as possible, so as not to delay the operation of the court."

When Xu Jie heard this, his heart sank.

He originally reported Dong Fen to protect himself, but he didn't expect the case to escalate to this point.

It was thought that after the case was reported to Nanjing, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Hai Rui and others would be able to investigate and handle it on the spot.

But no matter how much they planned, they didn't expect that a fire would break out in the Dong family's home, killing many of the family's core members.

Now, the clues from the Dong family have been cut off, and the court can only arrest Dong Fen and interrogate him strictly.

But what he didn't expect was that in the end, Chen Hong was the one in charge of the case. He even took the opportunity to expand the scope, wanting to make it a big case with far-reaching implications. This really caught Xu Jie off guard.

And judging from the current situation, Prince Yu seems unwilling to intervene too much in the case, and seems to want Chen Hong to stir up a big case.
But Xu Jie couldn't give up like this. If he allowed the case to continue to ferment, the Xu family, who were the first to be implicated in the case, would definitely be dug up and become the target of public criticism.

If this really happens, then wouldn’t the sacrifice made by reporting the Dong family be in vain?
Xu Jie bowed again and said, "Your Majesty, please understand! I think that although Chen Hong was ordered to handle the case, he took the opportunity to eliminate suspicion of dissidents. Most of the officials in the court have their families in the capital, not in Jiangnan. However, Chen Hong arrested these officials because they had contacts with Dong Fen. Moreover, many of these arrested officials are honest people. If I leave it alone, I am afraid that it will damage the foundation of the court!"

Zhu Zaigui's eyes stayed on Xu Jie's face for a moment, then he said calmly: "What Lord Xu said is very true, but you just said that most of the officials arrested are honest people, so the opposite of this sentence is that there are still some not-so-clean officials among them. In this case, I cannot tolerate evil and allow these bad officials to think that they can hide among honest and loyal officials and think that the law does not punish the majority."

"This time, I will let Chen Hong investigate them thoroughly and strictly. If they are truly honest, I will not only set them free as soon as possible, but also make them important positions. If it is found that some of the officials have serious problems, then I will naturally not let them continue to go unpunished and trample on the dignity of the laws of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Zaigui's words left Xu Jie speechless, and just when he was about to continue speaking.

Zhu Zaigui did not give him a chance. He suddenly asked Hu Zongxian, who was standing beside him, "Mr. Hu, how is the progress of the military system reform? How is the cooperation between the Ministry of Revenue and the Five Military Commandery now?"

When Hu Zongxian heard Zhu Zaigui's question, he couldn't help but feel excited. He had wanted to report this matter for a long time.

Hu Zongxian said, "Your Majesty is wise! With your previous advice, I, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Five Military Command have already formed a specific plan. Now Jizhen and other garrisons have begun pilot reforms, eliminating all the hereditary and incompetent officers from the original garrison officers, leaving only the best soldiers and generals, and then recruiting new soldiers. Now we have trained nearly 10,000 new soldiers, which has greatly increased the combat power of Jizhen."

Zhu Zaigui nodded slightly, a hint of approval flashed in his eyes, and continued: "The military is a major issue for a country! Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the military system has been changing, but it has never been able to find a sustainable direction for development. Now that Hu Qing is determined to reform the military system and improve combat effectiveness, it is a blessing for the court."

Hu Zongxian bowed and said, "This is all thanks to your guidance, Your Majesty. I was just following your advice, so it can't be considered a credit."

Zhu Zaigui chuckled and said, "You have carried out my wishes to the letter and done a good job. This is already a great achievement. Next, you ask the Ministry of War to come up with a plan to exchange the new soldiers of Jizhen with the officers and soldiers of Liaodong Garrison. I want to see their actual combat effectiveness in Liaodong. Now the Jurchen tribes in Liaodong are not very obedient. It's time to give them a beating."

Hu Zongxian bowed and said, "I obey your order. After I return, I will work with the Ministry of War to plan the rotation of troops and transfer the newly-formed troops to Liaodong for actual combat."

Zhu Zaigui nodded with satisfaction. In fact, Liaodong could live in peace now, but the Tatars had already surrendered and had been deeply infiltrated by the Ming Dynasty, so it would be difficult for a decent war to occur between the two.

Therefore, if one wants to test the actual combat capability of the army at this time, one can only pull the army to Liaodong, which has not yet become truly obedient, to test the sharp edge.

Moreover, in the original historical trajectory, Liaodong was a strategic location that was ignored by the Ming Dynasty, so that later the old man Li Chengliang allowed the enemy to remain there, while he boasted of his military merits and allowed the Jianzhou Jurchens to grow stronger. Eventually, the situation in Liaodong deteriorated and the court no longer had the power to suppress it, which led to the rise of the Later Jin Dynasty.

Although Liaodong is not guilty now, it does not mean that Zhu Zaigui cannot use them as a test of his sword.

Zhu Zaigui also thought of an excuse. One was to restore the Nurgan Regional Administration during the Yongle period, and the other was for the black soil of Liaodong.

Although what follows will be a period of cold waves from the Little Ice Age that will last for nearly a hundred years, the black soil will not become useless just because of the cold weather.

At worst, you can dig up the usable black soil like you do with bird droppings and use it as base fertilizer.

Although doing so may cause damage to the ecology, compared with the needs of the times, what does this little damage matter?
Moreover, most of Liaodong today is uninhabited area. Developing resources in uninhabited areas to supplement the needs of densely populated areas is a natural law in itself.

After all, a living person can’t be suffocated to death by urine, right?

Xu Jie watched Prince Yu and Hu Zongxian asking and answering each other, and couldn't help but think secretly in his heart.

Prince Yu's move is obviously to avoid the topic of the Dong Fen case, and it seems that he may start a war again. Although the conventional thinking in the court is anti-war, if this war is what the emperor needs, then even if there are many people who oppose it, it will be in vain.

After all, the new recruit system was a change that the court had to make. If the effect could not be actually tested after the change, it would be better not to change it?
Therefore, no one can stop this military training battle!

After talking about Hu Zongxian, Zhu Zaigui turned to Li Chunfang.

"Mr. Li, has the Ministry of Industry reached a conclusion on Pan Jixun's strategy for controlling the Yellow River?"

Li Chunfang stood up and replied calmly, "Your Highness, I have ordered officials from the Ministry of Works to verify the effectiveness of Pan Jixun's strategy of 'building embankments to control water and attacking sand with water'. And according to the current verification results, this method is indeed a fundamental solution. But the silver required is huge, and the Ministry of Revenue is unable to raise it for the time being. So I plan to apply to the Ming Federal Reserve for a special national debt for river management."

Zhu Zaiqi nodded in approval, "You guys can handle this matter."

Zhu Zaigui then sighed and said, "The Yellow River bursts its banks every year, and the people are displaced. No matter how much the court spends, it is justified. Mr. Li, please take care of this matter and try to make more room and power for Pan Jixun so that he can devote himself to flood control without worrying about money."

Li Chunfang bowed and said, "I obey your order."

After talking about Pan Jixun, Zhu Zaigui's eyes fell on Zhao Zhenji again.

"Mr. Zhao, how is the Customs Office going? I have always been very concerned about this. When will it be officially established?"

Zhao Zhenji stood up and bowed, "Your Highness, I have ordered the Ministry of Personnel to study the legal system of the Maritime Customs Offices of past dynasties. Now that the system has been sorted out, we can issue an imperial edict at any time to stipulate the reconstruction of the Customs Office and the Maritime Customs Office. However, "

Zhu Zaiqi raised his eyebrows, "Just what?"

Zhao Zhenji bowed again and said, "It's just that the Maritime Customs Office in the Jiangnan region, we haven't sorted out the rules yet. The situation there is too complicated, many Jiangnan nobles have opinions and ideas, and I can't make a final decision for the time being."

Zhu Zaiqi glanced at Xu Jie and asked, "What do you think of this matter, Lord Xu?"

When Xu Jie heard Zhu Zaigui's voice, he bowed quickly and said, "I think the situation in Jiangnan is complicated, but we cannot make any exceptions. We should do what needs to be done!"

Zhu Zaigui hummed, "Okay, then the matter of Jiangnan Maritime Customs will be handled by Lord Xu. Next month, I must see the establishment of the customs office and the opening and operation of various Maritime Customs Offices."

Zhu Zaigui made the final decision. There was no room for hesitation on this matter. Otherwise, who knows how long these bureaucrats would continue to pass the buck!
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