My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

They originally thought that supporting the opening of the sea was just a verbal agreement, and that they would simply have to take sides and express their stance in the court the next day.

Unexpectedly, Xue Guoguan, that old fellow, played such a ruthless game that he actually demanded that they jointly submit a memorial to the throne.

This was tantamount to binding them together completely in the Ming Dynasty court, forming an inseparable force.

In this way, any lingering ulterior motives they might have had were instantly shattered.

Because once this memorial is presented to the emperor, all the civil and military officials will know that it is a joint memorial, and no one can escape the consequences.

Moreover, it should be noted that this is a joint memorial from the cabinet and the six ministers, which means it represents the decision of all civil and military officials, so no one can oppose it.

For a moment, they cursed Xue Guoguan and Ni Yuanlu, those two old guys, in their hearts, but dared not speak out.

But that's not all.

The next second, Xue Guoguan nodded slightly to his attendant.

The attendant understood immediately and quickly brought out a writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, which he neatly arranged in front of everyone.

Xue Guo looked at the crowd, smiled slightly, and said:
"In addition, I would like to trouble everyone today to work hard to write the content for tomorrow's Da Ming Daily. The content is very simple, just the benefits brought by the opening of the sea. After you have finished writing, we will combine the content and the final article will be published in tomorrow's Da Ming Daily."

"Furthermore, as far as I know, since the grain from overseas entered the city today, the price of grain in the city has begun to drop."

"By evening, the price of grain had dropped by about 20%, and now a shi (a unit of dry measure) of the finest grain only costs two taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed again.

It should be noted that after the grain shipments from overseas over the past two years, grain prices in the capital have actually been declining every year.

Last year, the price dropped to 2.5 taels of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure), and this year it was originally 2.3 taels of silver per shi. Unexpectedly, it dropped to 2 taels of silver in just one day yesterday.

The speed and magnitude of this decline have forced everyone to reassess the actual impact of the reopening of the sea.

Now, no one dared to say anything bad about the opening of the fishing season.

Because the people have genuinely benefited.

If they oppose opening the sea to the sea, wouldn't that be openly opposing the people of the capital from having access to cheap grain?

If they really did that, they'd probably be pelted with rotten vegetable leaves by the people on the street and be despised by everyone.

Furthermore, they were all civil officials, and the most important things for civil officials are integrity and face.

If they really did such a good thing for the people, they would gain greater fame and fortune and leave a good name in history books.

Thinking of this, everyone fell silent, nodding quietly, and then solemnly wrote their names on the memorial.

Afterwards, they each began writing articles.

It must be said that the *Da Ming Daily* was indeed a good tool for controlling public opinion.

In the past, these court officials could use public opinion to influence the emperor's words and actions, and use the voices of the people to sway the court's decisions.

But now, none of these methods work.

Because if the emperor controlled the "Da Ming Daily," he would control the public opinion of the entire city.

The emperor could use this newspaper to convey his will and ideas to every citizen, allowing them to understand the court's policies and measures.

The voices of the people could also be relayed to the imperial court through this newspaper, creating a positive interaction.

However, for these ministers who are used to controlling public opinion, this is undoubtedly a huge challenge and shock.

"Hey"

Suddenly, someone sighed softly, their voice filled with helplessness and regret.

"The world has really changed a lot now, and our old methods simply don't work anymore."

Upon hearing this, everyone paused slightly, their breathing quickening.

After all, they were all high-ranking officials who had been working in the court for many years. How could they not know the meaning behind those words?
This is not merely a reflection on the changes in the control of public opinion, but also a sense of helplessness in the face of the changing times.

However, after a moment, they pretended not to hear anything and continued writing.

Because they know that in this ever-changing era, they can only go with the flow, otherwise they will be mercilessly crushed by the wheels of history.

Because they were all learned men with quick wits, they each wrote an article in no time.

These articles were subsequently collected and brought into the hands of Xue Guoguan.

Xue Guoguan glanced at it briefly, but his brows gradually furrowed, and he kept shaking his head.

Although these people's articles all explain the opening of the sea, their language is far too flowery.

The entire text is filled with classical Chinese phrases and allusions, and while the language is beautiful, it is also obscure and difficult to understand.

Xue Guoguan couldn't help but secretly complain to himself:

Ordinary people simply can't understand these articles!

The purpose of opening up the seas is to benefit the people. If the people don't understand the advantages and disadvantages, what's the point of writing this article?
However, this was no challenge for him. Immediately afterwards, Xue Guoguan selected some suitable content that he had not thought of.

He picked out all the brilliant viewpoints and powerful arguments, then recombined them, added his own insights and ideas, and began to write a more colloquial article.

After finishing writing, he carefully checked it again to make sure there were no typos or grammatical errors before nodding in satisfaction.

Then Xue Guoguan handed the article to the minister beside him and asked him to read it.

The ministers took the article and read it carefully. After reading it, they did not raise any objections and all expressed their approval.

Finally, everyone obediently signed their names on the article.

Thus, they not only signed their names on the memorial, but also on the "Da Ming Daily" to be published the next day.

Each name, like a firm promise, embodies their support and determination for opening the sea.

After doing all this, Xue Guoguan slowly stood up, bowed slightly to the ministers, and said:

"My lords, things have come to this point, and I hope you will all do your utmost."

"After tomorrow, you and I will probably become the targets of attacks from the court officials, but please rest assured, because His Majesty and the Crown Prince are on our side."

Upon hearing this, everyone could only cup their hands in greeting to Xue Guoguan and say:

"Don't worry, Grand Secretary Xue, we understand."

Immediately afterwards, Xue Guoguan instructed the attendant beside him:
"Send this to the Eastern Palace immediately so that His Highness the Crown Prince can preview it. Also, inform His Highness that if there are no problems, this will be the headline article in tomorrow's 'Da Ming Daily'."

Upon hearing this, the attendant immediately bowed and accepted the order, taking the document with both hands before hurriedly leaving.

The other ministers were not surprised when they saw this scene; they simply pretended not to see anything.

Immediately afterwards, everyone left. However, as they departed, their hearts were still somewhat heavy, because they knew without a doubt that tomorrow they would face an unprecedented storm.

The only saving grace was that the emperor and the crown prince stood with them; otherwise, they truly didn't know how they would have weathered this storm.

Meanwhile, the scene shifts to the Eastern Palace.

It was already late at night, but Zhu Cilang was still awake because he kept an eye on Xue Guoguan's movements.

Another thing Xue Guoguan was right about was that Zhu Cilang had indeed been sending people to closely monitor Xue Guoguan's every move.

Every fifteen minutes or so, someone would report the latest news to him.

When he learned that all the ministers had agreed to support opening the sea route, Zhu Cilang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, if someone really couldn't accept it and insisted on resigning, it would be a lot of trouble for him.

Fortunately, things didn't escalate to that point. It seems I underestimated these people's desire for fame and fortune.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. After studying hard for more than ten years and serving as an official for more than ten years, who would want to resign and return to their hometown after finally climbing to this position?
A little while later, just as Zhu Cilang was getting drowsy, he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps.

He looked up and saw Ma Baobao running in, panting, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"Your Highness, Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan has sent someone with an article, asking you to take a look. He also said that if there are no problems, it will be the headline of tomorrow's 'Daming Daily'."

Zhu Cilang hurriedly said:
"Quickly, bring it over and let me see."

Ma Bao quickly handed over the article in his hand.

Zhu Cilang opened the article by lamplight and read it word by word.

As he read, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He could tell that this was an article written by Xue Guoguan himself; the handwriting was neat and powerful, revealing a sense of grandeur and composure.

Moreover, the contents are all about the various benefits brought about by the opening of the sea, from the economy and culture to people's livelihood, all of which are explained in detail.

At the end, there were the signatures of several cabinet ministers and the heads of the six ministries. Each name was like a solid backing, making Zhu Cilang feel extremely at ease.

After reading it, Zhu Cilang nodded and said:

"Go back and tell Grand Secretary Xue that I am very satisfied with this article, and that it should be the front page news tomorrow."

"Besides, this matter is of great importance, so we don't need to wait until tomorrow morning. Let's get started printing now."

Upon hearing this, Ma Bao quickly said:

"The slaves obey."

He then hurriedly left with the article in his hands, his steps light and powerful, as if carrying a sense of mission.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Cilang thought of something else and sent someone to tell Li Ruolian to personally lead a group to wait at the entrance of the Da Ming Daily.

Once the latest edition of the "Da Ming Daily" was printed, the Embroidered Uniform Guards were ordered to deliver a copy to the doorsteps of all the civil and military officials and nobles in the court.

After doing all this, Zhu Cilang finally went to sleep soundly.

After all, this matter will not be easy to succeed. Those who oppose it will definitely try every means to stop the opening of the sea, so he must be fully prepared.

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was the next morning.

Even before dawn, all sorts of people had already appeared on the streets of the capital.

However, most of them were civil and military officials preparing to attend court. Some of them traveled by sedan chair, some by horse, and some simply walked, heading towards the palace.

But at this moment, without exception, every one of these people was holding a copy of the latest "Da Ming Daily".

Some officials sat in their carriages, carefully reading the contents by the dim light of the lanterns.

Some officials simply took tinderboxes and stood on the street, reading the contents intently by the light.

After reading the above content, all of them gasped in shock.

Because the content on it is entirely about the opening of the fishing season, and it exaggerates the importance of the opening of the fishing season to the skies.

They claimed that opening the sea would not only bring more cheap food and stabilize domestic prices, but also provide more jobs and enrich people's lives.

In short, they described the opening of the fishing season in glowing terms.

What's even more alarming is that at the end of this article there is a dense list of names, which are none other than the names of the cabinet ministers and the six ministers!

This means that this article was co-authored by them!
In an instant, these officials knew that the Ming Dynasty was about to undergo another upheaval.

Compared to these officials, a large number of other officials and nobles already knew about these things.

Because they had many servants, even at night, they would stand guard outside the door. So when they saw the Ming Daily delivered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they immediately informed their master of the matter.

For example, this is the case with British dukes and nobles!

An hour earlier, the Duke of England had already received today's "Da Ming Daily".

To be honest, the British Duke was not surprised at all when he saw the above content; on the contrary, he was somewhat gloating.

The reason is quite simple: many years ago, the British Duke wanted to get involved in maritime smuggling.

He knew that maritime smuggling was very profitable; those smuggling merchant ships were fully loaded with valuable goods and could make a fortune in one trip, which he greatly envied.

After all, who would complain about having too much money?
But the Duke of England was soon disappointed, because he found that the nobles and officials in the south simply ignored him, the Duke of England from the north.

Although he was the Duke of England, he didn't really have much say in the court.

The power and discourse of the imperial court were mostly in the hands of the Donglin Party.

The Donglin Party members formed cliques for personal gain, ostracized dissidents, and always held a prejudice against the nobles and officials of the north.

The British Duke had no choice but to abandon the idea of ​​getting involved in smuggling.

But who would have thought?

Now the tables have turned, and the imperial court is cracking down on smuggling, which makes him feel a sense of schadenfreude.

For a moment, he seemed to see the Southern nobles and Donglin Party members in a state of panic, and he couldn't help but feel secretly pleased.

Moreover, he had already made a plan: he would do his utmost to promote this matter at the morning court session.

He knew this was definitely the emperor and the crown prince's idea, and doing so would be tantamount to supporting the emperor and the crown prince, and would also ensure that their family would never decline.

Besides!
It was all to get revenge on those nobles and Donglin Party members in the south, and to vent my anger.

He wanted to show these southerners that northerners weren't to be trifled with either. (End of Chapter)