Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 300 Xia Yan's Bottom Line

"That's unreasonable!"

Xia Yan sat alone in the duty room, looking at the impeachment memorial handed to him, and was instantly furious.

During these four years of struggle.

Yan Song is old.

Xia Yan has also aged noticeably.

After all, he is only two years younger than Yan Song, and he is already fifty-nine years old this year.

In contrast to Yan Song, who passed the imperial examination at a young age, Xia Yan's path to officialdom was quite bumpy. He took the provincial examination at the age of eighteen and only passed the imperial examination at the age of thirty-six, thus entering officialdom. After that, he wasted several more years before finally standing out by advocating for separate sacrifices to Heaven and Earth in accordance with the emperor's wishes.

Historically, after Xia Yan gained the favor of Emperor Jiajing, he was promoted from a seventh-rank official to the second-rank Minister of Rites in just one year. "He was appointed one of the Six Ministers in less than a year after leaving his position as a remonstrating official, which was unprecedented."

Clearly, he didn't receive such good treatment in this world.

His promotion was also very fast; he entered the cabinet in just a few years, which was beyond the reach of many court officials.

But in front of us stood a towering, majestic peak, a sight to behold.

Yan Song.

Prior to this, Xia Yan did not have a bad impression of Yan Song.

The two were not only from the same hometown in Jiangxi, but Yan Song was also his tutor in the imperial examinations. Their previous reputations among scholars were also admirable.

But after Xia Yan joined the cabinet, she quickly discovered that he was too domineering.

Tell the truth.

Especially after using the Embroidered Uniform Guard to uncover a major case, the decisions made were not allowed to be changed in the slightest.

Those who can enter the cabinet have reached the pinnacle of their careers as ministers.

Who wants to be bossed around and subservient to others?

Of course, such cases do exist.

For example, Li Shi was a clay figurehead Grand Secretary who echoed others' opinions;
And then there's Fei Hong, who's old and in poor health, and doesn't have the will to compete.
There's also Huo Tao, who is self-righteous and completely underestimates his leadership and influence within the Da Liyi Group;
Xia Yan is not one of these three.

Now, only he and Yan Song remain in the cabinet.

Although the positions of the chief minister and the second minister are clearly distinct.

Despite his four-year struggle, the national policy of reclaiming the Hetao region was still firmly implemented according to Yan Song's will.

Xia Yan was also certain that as long as he made his voice heard, Yan Song would never dare to ignore him.

In this situation, the impeachment memorials piled up on the desk were quite jarring.

"Relying on his father's power, a bunch of petty people rushed to seize his place... forcibly occupying shops and illegally requisitioning ships..."

"Blatantly and openly opening the floodgates to bribery... Greed breeds lust, and lust breeds greed..."

"I never expected that Grand Secretary Yan would have such a son. How dare a mere scholar like him be so arrogant?"

Xia Yan originally disdained using relatives to attack the enemy.

Knowing that Yan Shifan was serving in Taiyuan and that his achievements were reported to the Ministry of Personnel one by one, making his actions obviously fake, he never made things difficult for him in these matters.

After all, as the son of the Grand Secretary, being able to take up a local post and get promoted is already quite remarkable, even if there is some exaggeration in his achievements. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. If you keep focusing on this point, it will be beneath your dignity.

But now that Yan Shifan has returned to the capital, he has actually started to act recklessly, relying on these achievements.

Although he was a senior official in the Ministry of War, his activities extended to all six ministries, and he was followed by a group of followers who dared not disobey him.

The key issue is that he forcibly demanded various memorials from the Hetao region, and not only did he boast about his achievements in Shanxi, but he also committed atrocities in the capital. He would sneak into any large shop he saw, and then conclude that they were colluding with the Tartars and wanted to shut them down and investigate.

The big shops were dumbfounded.

Is the prime minister's son so poor he's gone mad?

Later it turned out that it really was true...

Shops in the capital, merchant ships on the Grand Canal, and even fertile fields in Beizhili—anything that Yan Shifan set his sights on, he seized.

The key point is that which of these businesses that can operate in the capital doesn't have a powerful backer? Who would dare to bully them?
But the son of the Grand Secretary dared to do it.

They even targeted the people behind the scenes, seizing the deeds to shops and cargo ships and then extorting bribes on a large scale.

If anything goes wrong, they accuse someone of a serious crime, order their servants to whip the guards, and even use the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate and destroy warehouses.

Since the Embroidered Uniform Guard assisted Yan Song in setting up the great prison, although they were scolded by the emperor afterward, His Majesty only scolded them, but the benefits of confiscating their property were still in their pockets.

Many mid-level members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were tempted. Since they couldn't curry favor with Yan Song, Yan Shifan, after returning to the capital, was the best target to befriend.

As such.

Even a single act by an ordinary official would be enough to warrant demotion to Hainan.

However, with Yan Song protecting him, Yan Shifan was so fearful that the three judicial departments dared not dissuade him. Even the six supervising secretaries stepped forward one after another, but to no avail.

This made them even more unscrupulous.

He gradually earned the title of "Young Grand Secretary".

This is also what angered Xia Yan.

He rose through the ranks of the Six Ministries' Censorate and placed his own people in his place after taking office.

If Yan Shifan's various misdeeds cannot be impeached, his prestige will be severely damaged.

Who cares about this Deputy Prime Minister anymore?

At that point, we'll really be overshadowed by that young Grand Secretary Yan Shifan.

"Lord Xia!"

Yan Song dismissed the officials early today, and Xia Yan did not hide his anger. Just as he was raging, a familiar voice came from inside.

He looked towards the door and saw that the visitor was Zheng Xiao, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, one of his few staunch supporters among the officials of the Six Ministries. He quickly stood up and said, "Dan Quan is here!" Zheng Xiao glanced around and, seeing that Yan Song was not there, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly stepped forward, bowed, and took out a memorial from his robes: "Please take a look, Lord Xia!"

"Oh?"

Xia Yan took it, her eyes lighting up.

The content of this memorial impeaching him is clearly different from the previous ones.

The details of the embezzlement of merchants' accounts, the copy of the land deeds for the slaves who seized thousands of acres of fertile land, and even the confessions of women who stayed overnight in pimp alleys without paying for prostitution were all clearly listed.

Zheng Xiao whispered, "Censor Qiao You of the Censorate and Supervising Secretary Shen Liangcai of the Ministry of War have drafted a memorial entitled 'Twelve Crimes,' impeaching the Yan family for various illegal acts!"

"It wasn't easy...it wasn't easy at all!"

Xia Yan was moved.

Given Yan Shifan's arrogance and domineering nature, it's easy to imagine that these pieces of evidence were painstakingly dug out bit by bit by those censors from humble backgrounds, risking imprisonment.

His voice suddenly became firm and powerful: "I will immediately submit a memorial to His Majesty, and together we will present it to him. This time, he will surely be severely punished!"

Zheng Xiao's eyes flickered slightly, but he seemed uneasy. He said in a low voice, "Your Excellency, I feel there's something fishy about this matter. Yan Shifan is young and impetuous, but Your Excellency wouldn't be so careless as to not even keep proper accounts..."

Xia Yan unfolded the memorial, and upon hearing this, paused in his vermilion brush: "Hmm?"

Zheng Xiao paused, his voice dropping even lower: "Could it be that this flaw was deliberately left unexplained, so that His Majesty would think that this boy is merely greedy for small gains, and that if he were to report him rashly, he might fall into their trap!"

Xia Yan looked up and gazed out the window toward the Qianqing Palace.

The last rays of the setting sun shone through the window lattice, casting dappled light and shadow on his face.

After a moment, Xia Yan suddenly chuckled: "Minister Zheng is overthinking it. His Majesty is wise and insightful. How could he be deceived by such a petty trick? Since there is a memorial, we will support it together!"

Zheng Xiao took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and said, "Yes!"

Outside the window, the last rays of the setting sun were devoured by the twilight.

Like that joint impeachment memorial, it quietly disappeared behind the heavy curtains of the deep palace.

The evidence in the ledgers turned out to be an elaborate trap—

Yan Shifan had already laid a trap. With a single self-defense document, he completely absolved himself of any guilt, while accusing the official who submitted the memorial of slandering the Grand Secretary.

After one round of competition.

The sound of Shen Liangcai's boots as he resigned in disgrace had not yet faded.

The shackles of Qiao You, the censor of the Censorate, were already clanging loudly in the imperial prison.

The people in the Censorate were indignant.

Impeachment memorials poured into the Office of Transmission.

Although Xia Yan seemed to have lost another battle, his efforts to protect the right of officials to speak out won him the hearts of everyone in the Censorate.

"That's how the game of chess has always been—"

"Sometimes, sacrificing a pawn is the most brilliant move!"

In the study of the Xia residence, Xia Yan put down yet another letter expressing his indignation towards Yan Song and the remonstrating official who supported him, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The six censors have already been put to his use, and now with the addition of the Censorate, all the censors will become sharp swords in his hands.

By controlling the mouthpiece of the court, there will eventually come a day when the Yan family will be reduced to ashes!
Although I feel guilty towards those officials who were implicated, sometimes one has to resort to any means to win in the struggle for power!
"master!"

Just as he was pondering how to take the next step, the pageboy quietly came to the door and reported, "Yang Shijun, the Censor of the Censorate, requests an audience."

"Bring it in!"

A glint of light flashed in Xia Yan's eyes.

This censor was originally unknown in the Censorate and had no outstanding achievements, but just the day before, his family members were publicly whipped for bumping into Yan Shifan's carriage, thus creating a deep enmity between them.

That very evening, the visiting card was delivered to the mansion, and after weighing the options, Xia Yan decided to meet with the person.

"This humble official pays his respects to Your Excellency!"

Yang Shijun, who was in his mid-twenties, entered. He was of ordinary appearance and had no distinguishing features. He bowed respectfully and exchanged a few pleasantries before getting straight to the point: "I have a petition to impeach Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan for their misrule!"

"Oh?"

This is a serious crime. Xia Yan was both surprised and expectant. He took the memorial and read it carefully.

As they watched, their anger turned to shock.

"Why do you keep bringing up the Hetao region in every sentence?"

The previous "Twelve Crimes Memorial" accused Yan Shifan of various illegal acts, which had nothing to do with the new political system.

The current "Memorial on the Twelve Crimes of the Powerful Traitor" is sharp as a knife, implying that Yan Song's management of the Hetao region overshadowed the emperor's achievements.

"Absurd! Absurd!!"

After reading it all, Xia Yan slammed his fist on the table and stood up, this time genuinely shocked and enraged: "The recapture of the Hetao region is a grand strategy of the imperial court, the result of years of hardship and countless efforts, with border soldiers shedding blood. It was on the verge of a complete rout, and you actually want me to squander such a national achievement?"

Imperial Censor Yang's expression changed instantly, seemingly not expecting such a strong reaction. He retorted, "Lord Xia is a man of integrity and upright character, but Yan Fenyi was able to replace Lord Zhang in office using similar tactics..."

"No need to say it!"

Before he could finish speaking, Xia Yan interrupted, pointing his spear towards the door, his sleeve drawing a sharp arc in the candlelight: "If the cabinet struggle is to come at the cost of losing territory, then I don't need this position! I won't give it up!"

"Your Excellency, please allow me to..."

"roll!!"

Yang Shih-Chun said no more, took three steps back, and almost tripped over the threshold when he turned around.

"It's a good thing the company thought he was a ruthless character who could cut his own flesh, but it turns out the mental hurdle he faces is even higher than the position of prime minister..."

After emerging from the back gate of the Xia residence, the moonlight distorted his shadow. Yang Shijun walked quite a distance before daring to look back. After muttering to himself, he spat on the ground and slunk away into the darkness.

(End of this chapter)