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

Chapter 158 Xu Jie's attempt to show off left Xu Jie with nothing to show off [Seeking monthly votes]

As Wei Yan fell silent, a gentle breeze swept through the Hanlin Academy.

"came back……"

For some reason, Chen Yingda suddenly closed his eyes, tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and two lines of tears slid down his wrinkled cheeks.
"I sensed it. Something long gone from the Hanlin Academy has quietly... returned with this gentle breeze."

"What? You're back?"

Gao Gong looked at Chen Yingda with surprise.

The group of junior scholars who were whispering among themselves fell silent and looked at Chen Yingda with suspicion.

Shen Kun and the other officials of the Hanlin Academy looked at Chen Yingda with puzzlement, their minds deep in thought.

"Those whom your Hanlin Academy dares not appoint to important positions, we, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, will employ!"

"Things that your Hanlin Academy dare not discuss, we, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, will discuss!"

In short, support the crown prince, seek wise and virtuous men, make decisions independently, and grant special permission from the emperor!

Yan Maoqing's powerful words still resonated in everyone's hearts, like lingering echoes or a powerful incantation.

The Hanlin Academy and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, one strong and one weak, one despised and one praised, clearly showed their superiority!

I dare not give him important positions... I dare not submit proposals...

Even the junior scholars who were not yet qualified to engage in politics, the compilers, editors, and reviewers who could only compile historical records, and even the scholars, waiters, and doctors of the Five Classics who could only organize documents and archives, all felt a subtle stirring in their hearts.

As the highest institution of learning in the Ming Dynasty, the Hanlin Academy has always been the leader in etiquette and scholarship, and has always held its own pride.

But at some point, the atmosphere at the Hanlin Academy had quietly changed.

It turned into another corrupt and chaotic officialdom, where honest people were ostracized and those who dared to speak the truth were sidelined.

Only by smoothing out one's rough edges and becoming a sycophant who flatters superiors and speaks falsely can one gain praise upon leaving the official post and obtain a desirable position such as the Censor-in-Chief.

But do people who have become such petty villains really deserve to be censors and officials, and are they capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of supervising all officials?
People present.

Which one of them didn't study hard for decades?

Which one of them wasn't an outstanding individual who emerged from countless battles?
Before coming here, who among them did not have their own pride and lofty ambitions?
Who among them, after arriving here and experiencing the atmosphere of the Hanlin Academy, did not feel an indescribable sense of disillusionment?
More or less, that's all.

Chen Yingda's seemingly impassioned words struck many people like a heavy hammer blow, leaving them breathless and suffocated.

"call--"

The first to close their eyes and quietly tilt their heads back to feel the breeze, just like Chen Yingda, were some of the junior scholars whose eyes still held a hint of clarity and naivety.

"call--"

Some officials also slowly closed their eyes. The gentle breeze was refreshing and invigorating, and a single thought brought a sense of peace and tranquility.

Among them, there were those like Chen Yingda and Shen Kun who, because of their uprightness and lack of worldly wisdom, because of taking the wrong side in an incident, or because of submitting an untimely memorial, were trapped in the Hanlin Academy for several years, more than ten years, or even decades.

"call--"

Yan Maoqing also put away the imperial edict and the orchid finger gesture, slowly closed his eyes and merged into it... This act of showing off is so damn satisfying!
Division Commander Chen Yingda.

I would call you my ultimate wingman!
I hereby bestow upon you the title of "King of One-Word Stance"!

Your comment is so apt!

Your statement is extremely inflammatory!

The way you made me act so cool has inadvertently reached a whole new level!
From this day forward, my "Yan Party" faith is established. Although I may not command absolute authority in the Hanlin Academy, I certainly surpass Wei Yan in prestige. Whether the Hanlin Academy remains in chaos or not is entirely up to me!

I thought so in my heart.

Yan Maoqing decided to go all out in one go, to completely and perfectly put on a show, and to take his attempt to gain fame and reputation to the extreme.

"Brother Suqing, may I borrow your calligraphy?"

Ignoring the bewildered Wei Yan and some Hanlin Academy officials, Yan Maoqing strode back into the guest hall.

Gao Gong naturally dared not disobey his "godfather's" wishes, and quickly followed behind to present his calligraphy.

"This……"

The Hanlin Academy officials and probationary scholars were also instantly awakened, and followed Yan Maoqing into the classroom with a heart full of doubts.

Yan Maoqing had already arrived at the snow-white wall on the east side of the classroom, dipped his brush in ink, and began to write on the wall with vigorous and unrestrained strokes.

【Duh! 】

[You, Yan Maoqing, passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-one, and within a few months you were appointed as an assistant minister. The emperor's favor is immense; how can this be considered inadequate?]

Those who do not exert themselves with utmost loyalty and effort, but instead form cliques to ostracize the virtuous, or sell the law for bribes, or betray the public interest to curry favor, or cling to their positions for personal gain, will be punished by the gods, and their misfortunes will extend to their descendants.

【Alas! How terrifying!】

[Written by Yan Maoqing]

August 14th, the 20th year of the Jiajing reign

This is a self-admonition written by Xu Jie in the main hall of the Ministry of Personnel when he returned from mourning for his parents and was transferred to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in the 24th year of the Jiajing reign.

As a result, Xu Jie gained a reputation for being virtuous and capable in the imperial court, and from then on, he rose rapidly through the ranks of officialdom.

He first took charge of the Hanlin Academy, then was promoted to Minister of Rites, and later entered the cabinet to feign compliance with Yan Song. In order to keep Yan Song in check, he even betrothed his granddaughter to Yan Song's grandson to become in-laws.

His eldest son, Xu Fan, who had someone else write the examination papers for him in Nanjing, was not stripped of his academic titles after the matter was exposed. He was later appointed as the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

In the end, although Xu Jie plotted to bring down Yan Song, the world condemned Yan Song as a treacherous minister while praising Xu Jie as a man of integrity.

However, according to the investigation conducted by Hai Rui, the governor of Yingtian, Xu Jie's father, Xu Fu, was only a county magistrate and his family was originally very ordinary. However, after serving as an official for many years, the Xu family had more than 24 mu of verifiable farmland in Songjiang (later Shanghai).

At the same time, the cotton weaving industry and money shops in Songjiang were almost monopolized by the Xu Jie family, which had more than 20,000 weavers.

The Xu family alone collected 13,000 shi of grain and nearly 10,000 taels of silver in rent annually in Huating County, Songjiang.

Even the maritime trade in the Songjiang area was completely under the control of the Xu Jie family...

It should be noted that before this, the Ming Dynasty had not yet lifted the maritime ban. Zhu Houcong had also abolished the Fujian and Zhejiang Maritime Trade Offices after the "Tribute War," leaving only the Guangdong Maritime Trade Office to selectively conduct maritime trade. So where did Songjiang get its maritime trade?
In short, Yan Song obtained 3 taels of gold and 200 million taels of silver from his confiscated property.

Xu Jie's land holdings alone were worth far more than that, and because his methods of accumulating wealth were more sophisticated and covert, his commercial income, which far exceeded the value of his land holdings, was not even included in the total. This was the leader of the Qingliu faction in the Ming Dynasty...

and so.

This guy, Yan Maoqing, didn't hold back and put on the act for him first, wearing Xu Jie's shoes and walking Xu Jie's path, leaving Xu Jie with nowhere to go.

If Yan Maoqing remembers correctly, Xu Jie should be in mourning for his mother right now.

The mourning period should end around next year, and Xu Jie will officially return to the court, after which he will begin his meteoric rise in officialdom.

Yan Maoqing didn't need to consider this matter before, but now he has a vague premonition.

If he had not successfully retired and returned to his hometown by then, Xu Jie would have replaced Yan Song, who had been demoted to the position of magistrate of Datong by Xu Jie, and become an even more powerful rival!
(End of this chapter)