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

Chapter 238 I, Yan Maoqing, thank you and your whole family! [Seeking monthly votes]

"This……"

Guo Xun felt he had a lot to say, but he didn't know where to begin. For a moment, he was stumped by Yan Maoqing's question.

"Humph."

A nasal sound came from the side; it belonged to Zhou Shangwen, the General Commander of Datong. He bowed to Yan Maoqing and took over the conversation.
"I have met Minister Yan. No one knows more about this matter than Magistrate Yan. Minister Yan can ask him later."

"Yan Song?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Maoqing glanced at the back of the already sparse crowd.

In a major town like Datong, where powerful regional officials were stationed, Yan Song, the county magistrate, could only stand to the sidelines.

Yan Maoqing was not surprised by Zhou Shangwen's tone when mentioning Yan Song.

Because their relationship has never been harmonious throughout history.

The reason was that when Zhou Shangwen was serving in the Rear Army Commandery in the capital, he had reprimanded Yan Shifan, who was also working there, for being too arrogant, and even wanted to submit a memorial to impeach him.

Yan Song, as Zhou Shangwen's father, had no choice but to apologize to him, and Yan Shifan was transferred to another department before the matter was finally dropped.

From that time on, Yan Song and his son hated Zhou Shangwen to the core, but would try to exclude him whenever they had the chance.

After Zhou Shangwen passed away, Yan Song, who was then the Grand Secretary, continued to make things difficult for him, instructing the Six Ministries not to grant him posthumous honors. Even a censor named Shen Shu submitted a memorial to the throne to plead for Zhou Shangwen's life. Yan Song also deliberately provoked Zhu Houcong, resulting in Zhu Houcong being imprisoned for eighteen years.

There's a backstory to this story, and there's also a sequel.

However, what Yan Maoqing is most concerned about now is what Yan Song did and why this issue is related to Yan Song.

If Yan Maoqing remembers correctly.

Although he used Yan Shifan to blackmail Yan Song, he didn't make him do anything outrageous.

It's nothing more than sabotaging the already impossible task of establishing a tributary relationship, and taking the opportunity to extort money from Anda... that's all.

Of course, accountability must also be assigned.

The blackmail letter he sent to Yan Song was an indictment, a knife handed to Yan Song, and he even put his fingerprint on it like a real criminal.

He had unwavering faith in Yan Song's ability to organize political struggles, especially given that someone was threatening Yan Shifan's life with him; he was certain that Yan Song would stop at nothing to go all out.

Such a blatant hint is enough for even a fool to know how to retaliate. Yan Song, a habitual offender, must have it all figured out.
"..."

Yan Song was standing on tiptoe, peering around, searching for Yan Shifan's figure among Yan Maoqing's entourage.

Hearing that Zhou Shangwen seemed to have mentioned him, he had no choice but to look away and follow the sound, only to meet Yan Maoqing's questioning gaze.

Yan Song immediately forced a smile and bowed slightly in respect.

There are rules in officialdom. There were still a group of officials of higher rank who had not yet greeted Yan Maoqing, so he naturally could not overstep them and took the initiative to step forward and greet them first.

He could only say what he needed to say when it was his turn, and some things were simply not suitable to be said in public.

"Stable!"

Seeing Yan Song's expression, Yan Maoqing immediately felt relieved.

Because he didn't see the slightest bit of tension in Yan Song; on the contrary, he only saw a confident and composed demeanor.

Since Yan Song appeared so composed, he must have already completed his counterattack. In that case, even if I didn't do anything, I should be able to easily obtain a punishment from Zhu Houcong that would warrant my retirement and return to my hometown.

Of course, Yan Song shouldn't even think about climbing up by stepping on him.

Yan Maoqing was worried that after he retired and returned to his hometown, Yan Song and his son, such petty and vindictive people, would remain in the court. He was determined to drag them down with him.

Yan Maoqing then continued to return the greetings in an orderly manner:

"I've seen General Zhou before. It's been a while. He's still as vigorous as ever."

"Yan Butang is truly a promising young man, a force to be reckoned with."

Zhou Shangwen laughed.

Yan Maoqing respected him, and he actually had a pretty good impression of Yan Maoqing as well.

In particular, he was amazed when he recalled how Yan Maoqing dared to penetrate deep into the enemy camp with only a few men, and how he managed to persuade Anda to return more than 100,000 Ming soldiers and civilians with just his words, and even offer up the tribute of nine white coins, behead a Ming traitor general, and even offer up a hostage.

Since then, Zhou Shangwen often praised Yan Maoqing's wisdom and courage in front of his sons, even exaggerating that he alone was worth 100,000 soldiers...

They greeted each other one by one in this way.

Yan Maoqing quickly arrived before Yan Song, whose smile immediately widened as Yan Song, being a subordinate official, bowed first in greeting.
"Your humble servant Yan Song, the magistrate of Datong, greets Minister Yan."

"Magistrate Yan is too polite."

Yan Maoqing returned the greeting, and taking the opportunity to get closer, he deliberately lowered his voice and asked,

"Magistrate Yan, how is the matter I asked you to handle?" "Your subordinate can rest assured in handling matters. Besides, our two families are relatives after all. How could I possibly side with outsiders? Please take good care of yourself, Minister Yan."

Yan Song also spoke in a very low voice, winking at Yan Maoqing as he spoke, his smile carrying a hint of flattery and a touch of seeking credit.

"?"

Yan Maoqing glanced at Yan Song with surprise, feeling that Yan Song's expression and words were strange, at least not what she had expected.

However, considering that Yan Song might be hesitant to act against Yan Shifan because of him, he might be outwardly polite but secretly plotting against him.

After all, a villain like him is best at hiding a knife behind a smile, and his acting skills are superb.

So Yan Maoqing deliberately asked with a smile:

"By the way, I just asked why there were so few people who came to welcome us today, and General Zhou said that no one knows the answer to this better than you. Why is that?"

"Prefect Zhou is probably senile; how could I possibly know anything about this?"

Yan Song immediately lowered his voice even further, raised his gray eyebrows, and smiled.

"I only know that after Minister Yan led his troops to Datong Town, he acted as swiftly as he did in Taiyuan Prefecture, capturing Luo Tingxi, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, within a few hours."

"Then, following the clues from Luo Tingxi's confession, they first swiftly apprehended the powerful merchants who were funding smuggling and obstructing the tribute system, and then used iron-fisted methods to wipe out the corrupt officials who were outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant and sabotaging the tribute system."

"With this, there will be no more obstacles to the tribute trade. The carbon tax office will soon be operational, and the coal trade between the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars will soon proceed smoothly."

"The Duke of Yi and I have each drafted a memorial on this matter, and before going out of the city to welcome him, we ordered someone to send it to the capital by fast horse, so that we could jointly petition the Emperor for merit on behalf of Minister Yan!"

"what?!"

Yan Maoqing didn't understand for a moment and looked at Yan Song with even greater astonishment.

What does it mean to be as swift and decisive as Taiyuan Prefecture?
How did they manage to capture Luo Tingxi, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, and take down corrupt officials and powerful merchants with lightning speed?

How could he have sent out a memorial requesting merit for him before even leaving the city to greet him?

Didn't Yan Song realize at all that his statement was contradictory?

The fact that he was "brought out of the city to greet him" indicates that he has not yet arrived!

He hadn't even learned how to do these things yet, so how did he jump straight to the part of reporting his merits to the Emperor?
Moreover, this is so different from what he did to blackmail Yan Song; it's completely the opposite of what he intended.
If Yan Song had acted in accordance with the demands of his extortion letter, wouldn't the situation in Datong be even worse now?

and so……

What on earth is going on here?

What exactly did Yan Song do? Why did things develop in such a bizarre direction? Could he have been completely indifferent to Yan Shifan's safety?

"This is all I should do..."

Yan Song assumed Yan Maoqing was too overjoyed to speak, so he immediately stepped forward and whispered in her ear, "..."

"Minister Yan, I was unaware that our two families were related. My son is also a troublesome fellow, which may have caused some misunderstandings between our two families."

"However, I am now quite old and I am afraid I can no longer share the Emperor's burdens. Therefore, I have already submitted a secret memorial to the Emperor requesting to retire."

"My son is also crippled. After I retire, I fear I will never have the chance to step into the court again."

"Lord Yan is very magnanimous, please forgive him..."

"Wait, wait?!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Maoqing's eyes bulged out, and his mind was buzzing.

Yan Song had already said all this, how could he not understand what had happened?
This old man chickened out over a single, flawed extortion letter, without even thinking about how to retaliate. He even gave him such a huge favor, trying to reconcile with him through such sincerity?!
This old man even planned to retire gracefully, hoping to put the other man at ease and gain his forgiveness?!

What's going on?!
Is this really Yan Song, the Grand Secretary who held immense power for twenty years, overthrowing countless political enemies and eliminating numerous dissidents?!

Yan Maoqing really wanted to tug at Yan Song's beard and eyebrows right there and then to confirm whether the person standing in front of him was a fake pretending to be Yan Song!
Yan Song was definitely not that kind of person; how could he be so weak?

Could it be because Yan Shifan's weakness was too fatal? No one in history had ever dealt with Yan Song like this before. By pressing him, Yan Song had hit his most fatal spot, causing him to completely lose his composure.

Or is it……

Yan Song also realized his weakness, so he deliberately acted this way, using this method to disgust and retaliate against him.

If that's the case.

Yan Song has clearly achieved his goal!

Especially if Yan Song really begs Zhu Houcong for his retirement this time, and Zhu Houcong grants his request, it will absolutely disgust him to death. What could be a more vicious revenge than this?
Yan Song clearly still didn't understand Yan Maoqing's thoughts.

He thought it was because the surprise he had prepared for Yan Maoqing was too big and had caught him completely off guard. He felt that his sincerity had moved Yan Maoqing, so he smiled and said:
“My son has been well taken care of by Minister Yan these days. I am deeply grateful and will not thank you enough. Please accept my bow.”

(End of this chapter)