Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 129 Zhu Houcong: You're talking nonsense!
"Father, please forgive me, Your Majesty. I dare not."

Yan Maoqing bowed deeply.

He felt that the problem was still not serious, since Zhu Houcong had only summoned him to the palace overnight after learning about the matter, rather than throwing him directly into prison.

This alone shows that Zhu Houcong was not truly angry this time.

Zhu Houcong's true purpose now is probably to learn about the situation in the southeastern coastal areas from him.

After all, there weren't many officials in the court who would tell him the truth about this matter.

It's even possible that related memorials would be blocked outside the Qianqing Palace, never reaching his eyes, let alone rising to the level of court discussion...

This matter can be seen from the two memorials that Shen Kun submitted earlier that went unanswered, and the fact that he was immediately isolated by his superiors in the Hanlin Academy after submitting them.

Zhu Houcong is probably a puppet now.

There's more to this than meets the eye...

According to historical records, Zhu Houcong was kept in the dark about many things regarding the situation in the southeast.

Not to mention Shen Kun, who later made contributions in the fight against Japanese pirates but was falsely accused and died in prison.

Another example is Zhang Jing, the Minister of War in Nanjing, who, during the same period, achieved the highest military merit since the start of the war, but was also falsely accused of misappropriating his merits and was eventually beheaded and executed.

Yan Maoqing had reason to be suspicious.

Zhu Houcong was probably the same Portuguese who launched the "Battle of Tuen Mun" in the first year of the Jiajing reign in order to open the gates of the Ming Dynasty, and who, after being defeated and fleeing, had his southeastern officials and naval forces explicitly order them to sink any ships that flew the relevant flags.

They are probably completely unaware that they have regained the privilege of docking ships and conducting trade at Xiangshan'ao Wharf by bribing local officials in Guangdong, and are now making a fortune from it.

After all, he had been in more and more contact with Zhu Houcong, and he had come to understand the temperament of this emperor of the Ming Dynasty more and more.

He is someone who values ​​face and dignity extremely, and is also somewhat vengeful and selfish.

After the Battle of Tuen Mun, if the Franks hadn't come to admit their mistakes and submit to the French with great fanfare, publicly apologized, and given him face and dignity, there would have been no chance of continuing trade.

In addition, Yan Maoqing also knew.

In a few years, the Franks will be forced to move ashore under the pretext of exposing their flooded goods to the sun.

Soon after, they will formally begin settling down and elect local leaders, judges, and four merchant representatives to form an administrative body to manage internal affairs, gradually achieving their aggressive ambition of encroaching on the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

None of these actions were officially endorsed by the Ming Dynasty court; they were all acts of tacit approval by local officials who were deceiving their superiors.

Some local officials even accepted bribes to help the Franks legitimize the matter.

This continued until after Zhu Houcong's death, when the sea was opened during the Longqing era, finally leading to the "lease" of Xiangshan Bay by the Portuguese, which legalized their previously illegal military presence...

Zhu Houcong would never do such a thing, not even after moving to the Western Garden following the "Renyin Palace Coup" in history.

This selfish Ming emperor was too sensitive to imperial power and only wanted to fill every crack in the Ming Dynasty with imperial power.

There are some things he may not be able to do, but he will definitely see this loss of Ming Dynasty's territorial sovereignty as a breach of the emperor's power, which he absolutely cannot tolerate.

This is why, even though a tributary relationship with the Tatars could have been established long ago, and even though the Tatars launched increasingly fierce invasions in order to facilitate the tributary relationship, the situation remained unchanged.

He never got what he wanted, even after a whole day.

Therefore, even more than ten years later, when the Japanese pirates became increasingly rampant, countless court officials petitioned that it would be better to guide rather than block. In fact, the Japanese pirates themselves were a means for many court officials and merchants from the southeast to exert pressure, all in order to promote the opening of maritime trade.

The maritime ban was never abolished throughout the dynasty...

As Yan Maoqing was thinking about these things.

"Don't you dare?"

From the hall came Zhu Houcong's furious, mocking laughter and shouts.

"You dared to do it a long time ago!"

"When I first met you, you dared to subtly mock me with your examination paper!"

"A few days ago, when the palace coup was being investigated, you dared to attack Tao Zhongwen, exposing my shortcomings with every word!" "Now that things have finally calmed down, you have written such a seditious book that alludes to the court. What exactly is your intention?!"

"..."

With Zhu Houcong having explained things to this point, Yan Maoqing no longer needed to guess the old riddle teller's thoughts.

This Ming emperor was indeed as clear-headed as a mirror; he had long since noticed his intentional offense, but tolerated it for some reason, keeping every single one in mind.

In Yan Maoqing's view, this kind of "addition and subtraction" was an extremely dangerous thing.

If this situation cannot be ended soon, and Zhu Houcong continues to play this "addition and subtraction" game, once it reaches a certain point, it will no longer be a question of whether he can retire and return to his hometown, but whether he can survive.

Since we've already come this far in conversation...

"My lord, if I am not mistaken, someone must have impeached me because of this matter, right?"

Yan Maoqing slightly rose, allowing his inner energy to flow freely in his dantian, and then spoke:
“My lord, please forgive my bluntness.”

"The Ming Dynasty had tens of thousands of officials, and the Japanese pirates in the southeast had plagued the people for many years, yet not a single person dared to speak of it to the emperor. If I, your humble servant, also remain silent, the world will only think that the emperor has failed in his duty, and future generations will speak of it in the glorious annals of history."

"Your Majesty, I cannot help but ask: if they remain silent while I speak alone, what is the meaning of this allusion?"

"I spoke out alone, and the officials impeached me instead. Do they want the emperor to be remembered with infamy for all eternity?"

"?!"

Zhu Houcong was taken aback by these words. Since Yang Zui, the Minister of the Imperial Stud, was flogged to death in court a year ago for speaking frankly, no one had dared to speak to him in such a tone for some time.

What he hated most was being spoken to in such an insubordinate and questioning tone, so he immediately lost his temper and shouted angrily:
"According to you, all the officials of our Great Ming Dynasty are treacherous ministers, and you alone are a loyal, virtuous, and good minister?"

"Your humble servant is merely an honest official!"

In his panic, Yan Maoqing felt as if he were in another world, and unconsciously blurted out.

It's just that Zhu Houcong's words were too insightful, almost identical to lines from later TV dramas, leaving him no choice but to respond in that way.

"A loyal minister who has no father or ruler?!"

Yan Maoqing's fearless attitude immediately enraged Zhu Houcong, who was already in a bad mood. He stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

“Your Majesty, I lost my father when I was four years old. My mother remained chaste and raised me. When I became an official, my mother earnestly taught me that although I have no father, since I receive your salary, you are my father…”

Yan Maoqing was very familiar with Hai Rui's classic lines in the TV series. It was also because Zhu Houcong was so cooperative that he hardly needed to think, and every word flowed out smoothly like water.

This is simply the ultimate enjoyment!

Yan Maoqing unconsciously became immersed in it, completely forgetting everything around him, as if he were in a dream...

next moment.

"Oh!"

The sudden, loud noise instantly pulled him back to reality, followed by Zhu Houcong's furious roar from the hall:

"You're talking nonsense!"

"Everyone in the court knows that your parents are still alive. How could you have lost your father when you were four years old, and how could you have a mother who remained faithful and raised you?!"

"How dare you deceive the emperor! You spout such deceitful words so easily, without even giving me a draft?!"

"???"

Huang Jin also turned around and looked at Yan Maoqing with a surprised expression.

This guy is a true warrior!

If the Emperor hadn't immediately exposed him, he wouldn't have realized what was going on and would have almost believed his lies. No wonder this fellow could write such wonderful stories...

(End of this chapter)