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

Chapter 164 Do you expect me to personally teach him?! [Seeking monthly votes]

British government.

Facing Zhang Rong, the Duke of Yingguo, who was only one year older than Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo, and also only one year older than Zhu Xizhong in inheriting the title, Yan Maoqing used the same approach, the same formula:

"...Now the Duke of Yi and the Duke of Cheng have begun to act on orders, and it all depends on the Duke of Ying's own will."

Compared to Guo Xun and Zhu Xizhong, Zhang Rong, who was also a Duke, had a much lower status in the court and among the people.

After all, he couldn't always have an audience with Zhu Houcong, and the number of times he received rewards from Zhu Houcong was very limited...

This is just like the golden melon seeds in the imperial harem. Regardless of their practical use, they are always seen as symbols of power and favor by outsiders, and the more the better.

With the Duke of Yi and the Duke of Cheng already acting on orders, how could Zhang Rong dare to be the first to speak out in front of the Emperor?
As for the remaining Duke Dingguo's mansion...

Yan Maoqing simply didn't go at all.

Because Duke Dingguo Xu Yande is fundamentally different from Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Rong.

He was related to Xu Pengju, the Duke of Wei, who settled in Nanjing and served as the garrison commander of Nanjing. Both were descendants of Xu Da, a founding hero of the Ming Dynasty.

The title of Duke of Wei was inherited by Xu Da's eldest son, making him the head of the Xu family.

The title of Duke of Dingguo was bestowed upon Xu Da's second son during the Jingnan Campaign. He secretly supported Zhu Di on several occasions and leaked the court's plans to Zhu Di. He was eventually discovered and executed by Emperor Jianwen. After Zhu Di gained the throne, he posthumously conferred the title upon Xu Da in recognition of his contributions. He can be considered a minor branch of the Xu family.

Since the Duke of Dingguo and the Duke of Wei are of the same clan and lineage, they are still connected even if their bones are broken; it is impossible for them to have no connection.

Xu Pengju, the Duke of Wei, was the garrison commander of Nanjing.

Naturally, he was the highest-ranking official in the southeast region, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he could practically control everything in the area.

Therefore, it goes without saying that the problems of the Japanese pirates in the southeast and the officialdom must be inextricably linked to him, and he may even be the culprit.

Incidentally, this Duke of Wei, Xu Pengju, also had a resounding nickname in history.
—The good-for-nothing Duke!
Xu Pengju claimed to be the reincarnation of the Roc, but when he was defending Nanjing, a mutiny broke out, and before anything could happen, he had already fled Nanjing in a panic, showing no demeanor of a famous general, hence this nickname.

Nanjing had such an incompetent garrison commander in charge of the southeast.

It's no wonder that later on, 53 Japanese pirates landed in Zhejiang, killed four or five thousand Ming soldiers, looted the three provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangsu, ran rampant for more than 80 days, and came close to the walls of Nanjing...

Yan Maoqing had previously brought the Southeast Asian issue to the forefront.

I have already begun to feel the enormous influence of this powerful force, and I have also confirmed that I have come into the sights of this powerful force.

Therefore, in Yan Maoqing's view, going to communicate with Xu Yande at this moment is by no means a wise move.

Once Xu Yande communicates privately with Xu Pengju, it's tantamount to leaking the plan to the Southeast Group ahead of time.

Although the Southeast Group is not yet clear about the specific plans, if they adhere to the principle that "whatever the enemy wants to do is what they oppose," they may take action to sabotage it.

Besides, there are plenty of smart people in this world.

His plan is currently limited to a small area and may still proceed smoothly. However, if he were to face a large corporation, he would likely be exposed very quickly and obstructed.

Yan Maoqing didn't want to take that risk.

Furthermore, now that we've dealt with Guo Xun, Zhu Xizhong, and Zhang Rong, it's no longer important whether or not we deal with Xu Yande.

Could it be that three of the four dukes in the capital have begun to voluntarily return ill-gotten gains?

He's just a Duke of Dingguo, the least influential man in the capital. How could he possibly cause any trouble? If he doesn't obediently submit, is he going to become the first to stick his neck out?

Things have come to this point.

The external driving forces have been basically integrated.

Now we can free up our resources to utilize the relatively weak power of the "Yan Party" and add fuel to the fire at the right time...

……

A few days later, at the Qianqing Palace.

"Snapped!"

Zhu Houcong skimmed through several memorials, glancing at them all at once, before finally slamming them impatiently onto the imperial desk.

"What has that thing emitting blue smoke been doing lately? Didn't I order him to help Guo Xun as soon as possible? Why haven't we seen any movement yet!"

It's no wonder he was in a bad mood.

In recent days, the number of memorials impeaching Guo Xun has not decreased but increased significantly. The memorials that have been withheld from the court have piled up into a small mountain, making his eyes almost calloused from reading them. Even the cabinet is fanning the flames, constantly submitting draft proposals requesting him to issue an edict as soon as possible to deal with the matter according to law in order to stabilize public sentiment.

“Your Majesty, perhaps Minister Yan Mao truly cannot accomplish this. When I went to deliver the imperial edict that day, he cried out, ‘This humble official cannot do it!’”

Huang Jin cautiously said from the side.

He reported this matter to Zhu Houcong in detail as soon as he returned.

Even Yan Maoqing's heartless and ungrateful words, such as "A true man born between heaven and earth, how can he live under the yoke of thieves for long?" and "He is just a mere adoptive father, but today I will uphold righteousness and personally lead the way to ransack his house," were not concealed in the slightest.

Therefore, he didn't know what Zhu Houcong was expecting...

He had been thinking about this matter over and over for many days, but he still couldn't figure out how Yan Maoqing, in his capacity, could solve this problem.

"How can it not be done?!"

Zhu Houcong became even angrier upon hearing this, and slammed his hand on the dragon table with a "bang."
"Do I have to teach him step by step? Where has his cunning and shrewdness gone? I think he's just pretending to be ignorant, unwilling to part with the little bit of gold and silver he has!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, I spoke out of turn..."

Huang Jin was startled and immediately knelt down.

At the same time, a doubt arose in his mind, wondering what it meant to "be reluctant to part with the little bit of gold and silver in one's hands," and what connection it had with Guo Xun's matter.
"Huang Jin, go! Go tell that thing emitting blue smoke!"

Zhu Houcong, panting heavily for a while, finally couldn't hold back any longer and pointed his finger.
"Just say it was me who said that he can use the silver I entrusted to him at will!"

"Even if he has to use money to buy it, he must get this matter settled for me. I don't want to see anyone holding onto this issue any longer!"

"?!"

Huang Jin was stunned upon hearing this and hesitated for a long time before he could react.

Your Majesty's words... could it be that you are openly instructing Yan Maoqing to bribe the court officials involved in this matter? Isn't this going against the natural order?
Admittedly, Yan Maoqing, as Guo Xun's adopted son, used large sums of money to bribe officials, and then, as the emperor's favorite minister, exerted pressure.

Not only is it reasonable, but it should also be quite feasible.

If we can silence those in power, smooth out the middlemen, block the channels of communication, and then bribe and win over a group of people to submit memorials to rescue the official while attacking the few officials who insist on criticizing him, the direction of the matter may change.

If Yan Maoqing manages to create something eye-catching during this process to divert public attention, the matter will likely be swept under the rug.

Could it be that the Emperor intended this from the beginning, but simply didn't want to say it aloud, keeping it a secret from both himself and Yan Maoqing?
That's right, such words should not come from the emperor's mouth.

If he hadn't been forced into this situation, with no choice but to choose the lesser of two evils, the Emperor probably would never have said it out loud...

But Your Majesty, is this really the right thing to do?

Although there are many officials in the court who do this, and it is even an open secret, if you were to say this, I'm afraid there would be endless troubles, Your Majesty.

That is to say, Yan Maoqing is not here.

Otherwise, he would have begun to doubt whether Yan Song and his son were as arrogant and domineering as they were in history, to the point of being fearless and audacious.

Could it be that Zhu Houcong once gave them similar orders without any bottom line, which gave them the courage?
After all, even the emperor ordered them to do this, so what wouldn't they dare to do?
"Huang Jin, what are you thinking about?"

Noticing Huang Jin's unusual behavior, Zhu Houcong's expression suddenly turned cold, and his deep gaze conveyed a warning.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, I didn't mean anything by it. I'll go right away..."

Huang Jin felt a chill instantly shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and his body trembled as he hurriedly kowtowed.

at this time.

"Report——!"

A shout suddenly came from outside the hall:
"Commander Lu Bing of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has important news to report!"

The voice just fell.

Before Zhu Houcong could even issue a summons, Lu Bing had already rushed into the hall and slid to his knees from a distance.
"Your Majesty, a terrible thing has happened!"

"Today, the Yiguo Duke's Mansion, the Yingguo Duke's Mansion, and the Chengguo Duke's Mansion suddenly escorted a group of relatives and servants who claimed to have illegally seized the interests of the people to the Beizhenfu Division to surrender themselves and plead guilty. They also attached accounts and voluntarily returned the ill-gotten gains."

"This humble subject dares not make the decision on this matter; I can only request Your Majesty to decide for yourself!"

(End of this chapter)