You were asked to write a political intrigue drama, but you wrote "Da Ming 1566".

"Good heavens, Xu Jie just remained silent, pretending to be deaf and dumb, watching Gao Gong bear the brunt of the verbal attacks all by himself."

"Now that we have the upper hand, Xu Jie is jumping out to reap the benefits. What kind of person is he?"

"That old scoundrel! Not only does he lack any sense of responsibility, but he also tries to steal credit. His character is utterly despicable!"

Just when everyone thought that Xu Jie would take advantage of the temporary advantage and personally confront Yan Shifan head-on, something even more surprising happened.

Unexpectedly, Xu Jie left a comment and then turned the conversation to Zhang Juzheng, retreating to the sidelines himself.

"Taiyue, you handle this matter."

This made the viewers in the live stream laugh in exasperation.

"No, bro, I'm truly impressed. Shamelessness really knows no bounds!"

"If I had his thick skin, always rushing to the front when it comes to taking credit and hiding at the back when it comes to taking responsibility, I'd probably be a high-ranking leader by now!"

"It's infuriating! How could someone like Xu Jie have risen to the position of Second Grand Secretary? If he really brings down Grand Secretary Yan, wouldn't he become the Grand Secretary himself?"

"Grand Secretary Yan dedicated his life to the country and its people, and his reputation for integrity was known throughout the land. How could he be allowed to serve in the same court as someone like Xu Jie? Heaven truly has no eyes!"

No matter how dissatisfied the audience is, Xu Jie's side still holds the upper hand in the current situation of the court.

Zhang Juzheng immediately stepped forward and loudly stated the situation.

The Ministry of War's expenditures for last year had been thoroughly verified as early as the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month and transferred to the Ministry of Revenue. At that time, all expenditures were strictly in accordance with the budget, with no overspending whatsoever.

[Yesterday, the Ministry of Revenue suddenly summoned me to verify the draft, claiming that the Ministry of War had overspent by three million taels of silver. I personally checked the accounts, and this money was recorded under the Ministry of War's project to build thirty warships, with a clear note that it was for the purpose of resisting Japanese pirates in the southeast.]

To this day, however, our Ministry of War has not even seen a single warship.

With just these three simple sentences, he first completely distanced himself from the Ministry of War, then clearly explained the ins and outs of the matter, and finally delivered a heavy blow to Yan's faction.

Zhang Juzheng's remarks drew sincere admiration from the business leaders in the live broadcast room.

"Zhang Juzheng didn't have many scenes before, but just by looking at the logic and coherence of his report, you can tell that this person is definitely not an ordinary person."

"No wonder he's a child prodigy who became famous at a young age; he truly lives up to his reputation, he's amazing!"

"Damn, if my subordinates could report on things like this, I'd be laughing in my sleep!"

On the spot, a senior executive took a screenshot of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng's report and sent it directly to the company's work group.

"Everyone, watch carefully and learn from this. See how others report their work."

"You're all intelligent enough to be compared to Zhang Juzheng in the script, aren't you?"

"From now on, everyone should report their work according to Zhang Juzheng's standard!"

Aside from this little incident, the viewers in the live stream were growing increasingly uneasy, a sense of foreboding creeping in.

The atmosphere in the imperial palace in the script also became heavy and eerie.

As Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, the officials in the hall, unaware of the situation, immediately began exchanging glances and sizing each other up.

[Lü Fang lowered her eyes to look at the vermilion ink box on the table in front of her, and slowly asked.]

What's your take on this?

Just then, to the relief of the viewers in the live stream, Yan Shifan finally gave a direct response.

You can't find any fault with this, and you can't cause any trouble.

[Last year, thirty warships were indeed built at a cost of exactly three million taels of silver, originally intended for the Ministry of War's maritime operations against Japanese pirates.]

Later, when the palace needed to repair several main halls and transport timber, ten ships were initially deployed.

The remaining twenty ships have been temporarily borrowed by the Maritime Trade Office, which is directly under the palace's jurisdiction. The Maritime Trade Office should have reported this to the palace.

[Lü Fang turned to the eunuchs beside him and asked, "Is that so?"]

The eunuchs quickly exchanged glances, and after a moment, Chen Hong stepped forward, bowed, and replied: "Your Majesty, this is indeed true."

[At that time, the Maritime Trade Office needed to transport goods such as tea and silk, so it borrowed those twenty ships. Later, as the pirate raids at sea became increasingly rampant, the goods were diverted to the Grand Canal and transported to the capital.]

As Chen Yu wrote this part of the story, he took a deep breath, a hint of mockery mixed with admiration flashing in his eyes.

It must be said that the script for "Ming Dynasty" was truly a stroke of genius.

This dialogue seems reasonable and seamless, but anyone who has seen the subsequent plot knows that it was all a fabricated story concocted on the spot to help Yan Shifan cover up the three million taels of embezzlement.

Warships? What warships? The Ministry of Works never built those thirty warships from beginning to end!

Yan Shifan, Lü Fang, Chen Hong and their group were able to reconcile their statements so perfectly in such a short time, without any face-to-face communication, and even fill in so many watertight details.

It has to be said that those who can climb to this position in the officialdom are all extremely shrewd and have unfathomable minds!

At this moment, thinking of the viewers in the live broadcast room, a strange smile appeared on Chen Yu's face.

Based on the audience's previous misjudgment, they only thought that Yan Song, the Grand Secretary, was wholeheartedly devoted to the country and the people, and that he, as a junior Grand Secretary, must be a pillar of the Ming Dynasty.

They must be breathing a huge sigh of relief right now, right?

It's just a question of what kind of utterly horrified expressions these viewers will have when the imperial court meeting in the Golden Palace ends, and Yan Shifan directly proposes the treacherous plan of destroying dikes and flooding fields in order to promote the national policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields.

At this moment, everything is proceeding as Chen Yu predicted.

With Yan Shifan, Lü Fang, Chen Hong, and others putting on such a flawless performance, the audience was completely oblivious to the trickery behind it all, and only one thought remained in their minds.

"The young Grand Secretary's line, 'You can't make things difficult for me,' was absolutely brilliant, saving the day from collapse! I declare it the coolest line in 'Ming Dynasty' to date!"

"We must give a shout-out to the young Grand Secretary!"

"Who was it that accused the young Grand Secretary of embezzling public funds? Step forward and apologize!"

"Like father, like son. How could the son of Grand Secretary Yan possibly embezzle? This is family tradition, do you understand?"

"Those thirty warships were all requisitioned to serve the Emperor; the young Grand Secretary didn't embezzle a single one!"

"I knew it! The young Grand Secretary of the Yan family is loyal and incorruptible, truly inheriting his father's qualities!"

……

Upon hearing this, Lü Fang slowly let out a sigh of relief.

He then immediately gave the order.

Now the matter is clear: although the accounts were recorded under the Ministry of War, the money was indeed used for its intended purpose.

[Several main halls in the palace have already been repaired; the rest can be repaired gradually. Lord Yan, your Ministry of Works should return those ten ships to the Ministry of War.]

I will also speak to the Maritime Trade Office; if there is a shortage of ships, they can be built separately, and the Ministry of War's warships must not be used again.

Once all thirty ships are returned to the Ministry of War, the expenditure of three million taels will be legitimately recorded in the Ministry of War's accounts.

After Lü Fang finished speaking, the viewers in the live broadcast room once again expressed their admiration.

"Eunuch Lü is indeed a loyal minister who stands with Grand Secretary Yan and the Emperor!"

"He completely shattered my stereotypes about eunuchs. Despite his physical disability, he was incredibly fair in his dealings!"

"Look, even knowing that Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng came with ill intentions, Eunuch Lü still reasoned with them, returning all thirty ships to the Ministry of War, and putting the accounts under the Ministry of War's name. It's fair, it's just too fair!"

"Now the matter of three million taels is completely clear, isn't it? Let's see what tricks these treacherous officials can pull now!"

What Jiajing did next made the audience even more excited, and their emotions were immediately heightened.

Inside the study, Emperor Jiajing sat on a prayer mat, his eyes still closed.

After a long while, he slowly raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally struck the bronze chime in front of him.

[Lü Fang immediately raised his voice and announced loudly: The Ministry of Revenue approves the draft bill for three million taels of silver!]

Yan Shifan let out a long sigh of relief, glancing sideways at Gao Gong.

Gao Gong stood frozen, clutching the draft document, while Xu Jie stepped forward, took the document, and respectfully signed his name.

Sign it!

As soon as Xu Jie said "Sign it," the viewers in the live broadcast room couldn't help but cheer, and many even applauded.

"Awesome!"

"This is what they call good triumphing over evil! It's so satisfying!"

"Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, you treacherous officials must all be incredibly corrupt, running rampant in the countryside and oppressing the people. That's why you judge others by your own standards, thinking that Grand Secretary Yan and the young Grand Secretary are no different from you!"

"Does the fact that the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works have large deficits mean that the Junior Grand Secretary is embezzling?"

"Hmph, then you've mistaken me for someone else!"

"Grand Secretary Yan held up half the sky of the Ming Dynasty; his son must have inherited his father's virtues. How could such a family produce a corrupt official? Now it seems that all the embezzled funds must have been used for legitimate purposes for the country and its people!"

"Furthermore, to be honest, I was worried that Jiajing might be misled and make a foolish decision. But now it seems he truly lives up to his title as emperor; his judgment is indeed impeccable, and he would never wrong a loyal minister!"

"And did you notice that Jiajing didn't strike the bronze chime casually? He pondered for a long time before striking it."

"This shows that Jiajing did not make hasty judgments about matters based on differing stances."

Even though the matter was clear, with treacherous officials harboring evil intentions and plotting to usurp the throne on one side, and loyal ministers like Yan Song and his son on the other, Jiajing still did not act rashly, but rather carefully considered the matter based on facts.

"I think it must be because these three million taels are no small amount; they are all the hard-earned money of the people, which is why Jiajing treated them with extra caution."

"Based on this alone, it's clear that Emperor Jiajing was a truly benevolent emperor who cared deeply about the suffering of the common people!"

At this moment, as Jiajing struck the bronze bell, the audience's favorability towards this emperor, who has yet to make a formal appearance, skyrocketed.

Based on previous details, the experts in the live stream summarized several of Jiajing's major virtues.

"As an emperor, Jiajing's first precious quality was benevolence."

"First of all, it can be seen from the fact that Jiajing had been repeatedly hearing Zhou Yunyi's advice in his mind that Jiajing had doubts about Zhou Yunyi's death."

"Even Feng Bao could figure out that Zhou Yunyi had powerful backers, so how could Jiajing not have thought of it?"

"I would even dare to say that Jiajing probably already guessed that Prince Yu might be behind this matter."

"If it were any other emperor, he would have preferred to kill three thousand innocent people rather than let one guilty person go free in such a situation, which would have inevitably led to a bloodbath."

"But Emperor Jiajing did not do that, which shows his benevolence and compassion!"

"He was kind to his son, and even though he knew that his son might have been involved in such criticism of the court, Jiajing did not expose him or hold him accountable."

"He was also merciful to his own subjects, and apart from executing Zhou Yunyi, who had shaken the foundation of the country, he did not implicate anyone else."

Such benevolence and compassion are truly rare among emperors throughout history!

"Jiajing also possessed another precious quality, which was frugality."

"Look, Jiajing is fasting and praying for snow all by himself here, without any grand ceremony or even leaving many servants around him."

"If the palace had caught fire and burned down, any other emperor would probably have ordered its reconstruction, or even made it more luxurious."

"But Jiajing only had some timber transported to make some repairs, and had no intention of rebuilding a more luxurious palace."

"Even Lü Fang said that we should repair a few main halls first, and repair the rest slowly. We should return the ships to the Ministry of War first. Jiajing also tapped the bronze chime to indicate his agreement."

"An emperor, whose palace hall was burned down, was actually willing to slowly repair it and make do with it for the time being."

"Jiajing's frugality is evident!"

"What is this?"

"Based on these facts alone, calling him a sage ruler wouldn't be an exaggeration at all!"

……

This expert's analysis of Emperor Jiajing, whether regarding his benevolence or frugality, resonated widely with viewers in the live stream.

"Sigh, Emperor Jiajing was truly exceptional; he was absolutely a good emperor!"

"Although he usually enjoys cultivating Taoism, you see, he is in complete control of the cabinet's court meetings, and he has not neglected his duties in the slightest."

"He was both benevolent and frugal; he was truly a rare and excellent emperor."

"The only thing I find regrettable is that he is too kind-hearted, and I'm afraid he won't be able to keep those unscrupulous people in check."

Everyone sighed in unison, as if they had already foreseen that this benevolent emperor would ultimately be overthrown because of his excessive leniency and kindness towards his son and ministers.

Just then, Chen Yu continued typing on the keyboard, writing down the rest of the story.

[In the Jade Palace, the first round of confrontation came to an end. Everyone knew in their hearts that Xu Jie and Gao Gong had lost this round.]

After Lü Fang finished approving the document, a hint of chilling coldness crept into her voice.

Which other drafts haven't been signed off by the Ministry of Revenue?

[Gao Gong, his face full of resentment, spoke in a deep voice: "There's another issue. It involves public funds allocated for river repairs in Yingtian and Zhejiang, which have overspent and are short of 2.5 million taels."]

Yan Shifan immediately retorted sharply: "The extra funds for river repairs are meticulously accounted for by the River Conservancy Office. Besides, the river supervisors are all eunuchs sent from the palace! Your refusal to sign isn't just aimed at our Ministry of Works, is it?"

[Lü Fang didn't give Gao Gong a chance to speak again, and immediately asked.]

Which draft bills are still pending signature?

Gao Gong, his face icy, said, word by word: "And there's still a shortfall of four million taels in payments for the timber used to repair the palace buildings!"

Yan Shifan immediately sneered and shouted: "I knew it! No matter how much you scheme, you'll ultimately pin the blame on the Emperor!"