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

Chapter 26 You upright officials are the ones who are corrupt, so investigate Xu Jie!

These words completely blocked Tan Lun's way out of trying to protect himself in Zhejiang. It was clearly a way of forcing Tan Lun to go to Zhejiang to be a vanguard and to confront the deeply rooted Yan faction head-on.

To achieve this goal, Gao Gong wouldn't care at all even if Tan Lun really died in Zhejiang.

After Tan Lun gritted his teeth and agreed, Gao Gong actually put on a tragic and heroic look, sighing and lamenting incessantly, as if Tan Lun had volunteered to bravely go to his death, rather than being coaxed and forced into this situation by them. He even had the nerve to hold up a wine cup to bid farewell to Tan Lun.

Later, when Zhang Juzheng arranged for Hai Rui to go to Zhejiang, he wrote a letter with grand and solemn words, making a promise that he would take good care of Hai Rui's elderly mother, wife, and children.

But then, this group of upright officials sent Hai Rui's elderly mother, wife, and daughters to Zhejiang. This move showed that they didn't care about the lives of Hai Rui's family at all, and only used them as pawns to keep Hai Rui tied to Zhejiang!

These events clearly demonstrate that this so-called "pure stream" group is essentially no different from the Yan faction they are criticizing.

To put it bluntly, it was the Yan faction that harmed people, using gleaming silver and cold, hard knives; while the Qingliu faction harmed people, using eloquent words and vague notions of national righteousness.

The former will make you risk your life to do something, and at least they will give you real money, share the spoils, and let you get some benefits.

The latter, with just a mouth, spouts benevolence and morality, yet expects you and your entire family to die for the sake of their so-called righteousness!

This part of the plot clearly explains how Prince Yu's side sent people to Zhejiang to formally intervene in the national policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields, which was spearheaded by the Yan faction.

This incident also laid the groundwork for why the conversion of rice paddies to mulberry fields could not be implemented in Zhejiang, ultimately forcing Yan Shifan to defy public opinion and propose the shocking plan of destroying dikes and flooding fields, which led to the earth-shattering case that shook the court and the public.

This was absolutely the crucial prelude to this grand court drama.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Yu lowered his head and began to slowly tap the keyboard.

[The Fifth Act of the Ming Dynasty.]

[Location: Prince Yu’s Mansion]

[Characters: Prince Yu, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Tan Lun.]

【————】

As the plot unfolds line by line, the personalities of the three key figures of the upright officials within the Prince Yu's mansion are further vividly portrayed.

Xu Jie, that cunning old fox, never went to extremes. So when everyone was discussing matters related to the court meeting at Prince Yu's residence, Xu Jie slowly said that the current situation was actually not too bad, and this year's situation would be better than last year's.

Gao Gong, on the other hand, was completely different. He liked to argue and debate no matter what, and he always wanted to be competitive and show off. Every word and action of his revealed his strong desire for performance and power.

Zhang Juzheng was arguably the most down-to-earth pragmatist of the three, possessing a far-sighted vision and profound strategic perspective that far surpassed his peers.

Just as Xu Jie was filled with emotion, hoping that the national policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields could be successfully implemented in Zhejiang and improve the lives of the local people, Zhang Juzheng gave a decisive statement.

This is simply impossible to accomplish.

Not only will it fail to be accomplished, but it will likely bring immense disaster to the people of Zhejiang.

As soon as Zhang Juzheng uttered these words, the audience, who were engrossed in the story, immediately frowned.

It should be noted that currently, in "Ming Dynasty," there is only one character whose image has not collapsed or been ruined by the audience's approval: Yan Song, the Grand Secretary who is full of concern for the country and its people.

The seemingly comprehensive national policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields, which benefited both the country and its people, was personally drafted and proposed by Yan Song, the Grand Secretary, and is the best testament to his noble character and extraordinary governing ability.

Now you, Zhang Juzheng, dare to spout such wild words, asserting that converting rice paddies to mulberry fields is a dead end and will even bring disaster to the country and its people?

In Yan Ge Lao's online forum, countless users were instantly enraged and left indignant comments.

"No, what kind of scoundrel are you, Zhang Juzheng?"

"You're just an official in charge of the Ministry of War. You should be managing your war-fighting affairs properly. How dare you interfere with this national economic policy?"

"Do you even know what economics is?"

"Do you know how to govern a country?"

"Do you even understand economics and people's livelihoods like Grand Secretary Yan? How dare you spout such nonsense?"

"Grand Secretary Yan single-handedly holds up half the sky of the Ming Dynasty. Don't you have any self-awareness? Show some respect to Grand Secretary Yan."

"If you're so capable, why don't you take charge of this Ming Dynasty? I'm afraid that if the Ming Dynasty falls into your hands, Zhang Juzheng, it will perish in less than ten years!"

"To revitalize the Ming Dynasty, we absolutely cannot do without Grand Secretary Yan. Don't even think about maliciously slandering the national policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields!"

After Zhang Juzheng made this assertion, Prince Yu immediately realized what was going on and grasped the key point in his words.

You mean they'll use this opportunity to seize the land belonging to the mulberry farmers?

Gao Gong, Tan Lun, and others followed suit, analyzing the worst-case scenario that might occur after the implementation of the national policy.

Once this national policy is fully implemented, Yan's cronies planted in Zhejiang will immediately collude with local wealthy merchants and tycoons to frantically seize and buy up the people's land.

[After farmland is converted into mulberry fields, no additional taxes are levied, and the income from one acre of mulberry fields is more than 50% higher than that from one acre of farmland.]

If all these mulberry fields fell into the hands of officials and merchants in Zhejiang, the profits would be unimaginably enormous, as they could save on the step of purchasing raw silk, from planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms to weaving silk for sale.

To be fair, their analysis was absolutely correct.

However, as Chen Yu wrote this part of the story, the expression on his face became increasingly strange.

These gentlemen, when you say these high-sounding words, don't you feel even a little bit ashamed?

When it comes to land annexation and exploitation of the people, the Yen Party certainly did a lot of things, but you upright officials seem to have done just as much.

Zhang Juzheng was indeed a once-in-a-century genius who single-handedly revived the Ming Dynasty, extending its reign for decades.

But later, when he held absolute power and controlled the entire country, he still amassed just as much gold, silver, jewelry, calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, rare antiques, and beautiful concubines in his mansion, surpassing even the Yan faction in his wealth.

As for his estates and tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, there's no need to elaborate further.

Gao Gong was a man whose mind was full of power struggles. He was a master at political infighting in the court. After fighting the Yan faction, he fought Xu Jie. After defeating Xu Jie, he turned around and fought Zhang Juzheng to the death.

But in these power struggles, he amassed a considerable fortune and acquired fertile land and beautiful houses for his family.

Even now, who among them dares to pat their chest and say that every penny of their income is clean and honest, that they have never taken a single penny from the people's hard-earned money, and that their origins are all aboveboard?

And who dares to say that they have never used their power and position to seek any personal gain for their family?

They're just pretending to be ignorant when they know the truth. It's amazing how they can say it so confidently; their skin is incredibly thick.

As for Xu Jie, that old cunning scoundrel, he didn't even have the face to speak up and agree.

It's no wonder, after all, when he later became the Grand Secretary, his family owned tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, which accounted for almost half of the fertile land in the entire Huating County.

He also used the guise of giving lectures to accept gifts and bribes from various parties.

It goes without saying that she allowed her son to do evil, act tyrannically, and prey on the people in the village.

How can such behavior be fundamentally different from that of Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan?

At present, Xu Jie is the second-in-command of the cabinet. Yan's faction is openly making money, and corruption is rampant throughout the court and the country. Would he let this opportunity pass by without making money and acquiring land?

I'm afraid that when everyone mentioned the words "land annexation" just now, Xu Jie himself was feeling uneasy and a little apprehensive.

Chen Yu couldn't help but chuckle, shook his head, and continued typing on the keyboard to write the rest of the script.

Meanwhile, the audience watching on screen felt their anger grow stronger as they watched the upright officials repeatedly assert that the Yan faction would take the opportunity to embezzle and commit illegal acts while implementing national policies.

"Bullshit!"

"Could Grand Secretary Yan, who devoted his life to the country and its people, single-handedly shouldering half the burden of the Ming Dynasty, really be that kind of person?"

"While it's true that Grand Secretary Yan Shifan might be a little greedy, what task did he fail to complete properly?"

"Moreover, since Grand Secretary Yan devoted his life to the country, he inevitably neglected to discipline the young Grand Secretary, which led the young Grand Secretary to occasionally go astray. This is completely understandable, after all, no one is perfect."

"But you insist on the claim that the Yen Party would do such a heinous thing, that's utter nonsense!"

"The Yan Party is led by Grand Secretary Yan. Everyone admires Grand Secretary Yan's brilliant character and is willing to unite under his banner."

"As the saying goes, what the superiors do, the subordinates will follow. With a role model like Grand Secretary Yan, how could the Yan faction possibly engage in rampant corruption and perverting the law?"

"Are you trying to say that Grand Secretary Yan is some kind of extremely corrupt and wicked person? Nonsense, this is pure malicious slander!"

As some viewers spoke, they grew to hate this group of upright officials who wantonly slandered Yan Song so much that they gritted their teeth and were filled with hatred.

There's an old saying among the people: "The thief cries 'Stop thief!'"

"Those who constantly accuse others of embezzlement are either embezzlers themselves, or they want to be embezzled but lack the ability and opportunity."

"Could the Ming Dynasty learn from our modern experience and bring in the Discipline Inspection Commission to thoroughly investigate these upright officials and see if they are truly as incorruptible as they claim?"

"If we're going to investigate, we should start with—we should start with that old cunning bastard Xu Jie!"

"Damn it, as soon as we mentioned land consolidation and corruption, that old bastard immediately shut up and shrank to the side without saying a word. We almost forgot about him."

"If things were going well for them, wouldn't Xu Jie have jumped out to steal the spotlight?"

"The fact that he's cowering and not daring to utter a word can only mean one thing: he's feeling guilty."

"Investigate! Focus your investigation on Xu Jie. You'll find the truth every time, and we're guaranteed to uncover serious problems!"

While the audience was criticizing this group of "pure" individuals, the dialogue between the "pure" faction continued to unfold in the plot.

In just a few words, the Qingliu faction representatives, who had already concluded that the conversion of rice paddies to mulberry fields was doomed to failure, decided to try to win over Hu Zongxian, the Governor-General of Zhejiang and Zhili.

However, Hu Zongxian was originally from Yan Song's faction and was a trusted minister promoted by Yan Song.

Throughout Zhejiang's officialdom, the entire bureaucracy was filled with agents planted by Yan's faction, forming an impenetrable wall from top to bottom.

The risks involved in going to such a place to win over Hu Zongxian are self-evident.

They might be framed and thrown into jail within a month of arriving.

Even if he manages to save his life, his career will be completely ruined, and his future will be lost.

Everyone present understood this principle clearly, yet all eyes turned to Tan Lun, who had a long-standing relationship with Hu Zongxian.

Tan Lun had no choice but to step forward and say that he could go to work for Hu Zongxian and find a suitable opportunity to offer advice and suggestions to Hu Zongxian.

At this moment, Xu Jie and Prince Yu also spoke up one after the other, expressing their attitudes.

With Tan Zili mediating around Hu Zongxian, every little bit helps.

[Let Zili go to Hu Zongxian's side to take up his post first. If he can awaken the last shred of conscience in Hu Zongxian's heart, the overall situation may not have reached the point of no return.]

To be fair, Xu Jie was the recognized leader of the Qingliu faction, and Prince Yu was the powerful patron to whom the Qingliu members relied.

Both of them were well aware of the many difficulties and obstacles Tan Lun would face on this trip, so neither of them pressured him. They only told him to fight for every point he could, so that perhaps the overall situation wouldn't get too bad and there would still be room for recovery.

However, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong then completely revealed their true colors.

We must not only think about cleaning up the mess.

[Zili, do you want to come back alive after this trip?]

Tan Lun was completely stunned when he heard this.

What the hell do you mean by that?

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Juzheng raised the banner of righteousness for the country and the people and began to blatantly morally blackmail Tan Lun.

[If you want to come back alive, you must set off a raging fire in Zhejiang, and then let that fire spread all the way from Zhejiang to the capital, and to Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan.]

If you fail to accomplish this, you will have no face to return to Prince Yu, and you might even perish in Zhejiang. Think it over carefully: will you go on this mission or not?

If you think about it carefully, what kind of filthy thoughts are hidden behind these words?

To put it bluntly, Tan Lun's trip to Zhejiang was not about saving the world or rescuing the common people.

Your real purpose is to stir up trouble, to muddy the waters, and ideally to turn Zhejiang upside down and make the people of the southeast miserable, and then drag Yan's party into the mess.

If you fail to achieve this goal, will you, Tan Lun, still have the face to come back and see Prince Yu?