Chapter 96: Terror

Lord Yan's face turned extremely pale, and he felt dizzy and could hardly stand. It was Yan Donglou who rushed out of the door and half-helped and half-supported his father back to the charcoal basin. He rubbed his chest and beat his back. It took a long time for the old man to take a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

"Dad! Why do you have to do this?"

Elder Yan opened his sleepy old eyes and shook his head gently after a long while:

“You don’t understand…”

He looked out at the sky—the sky was gradually getting darker, and the air was filled with snowflakes like cotton wool. It was truly a blessed snow.

"Without this snow, what we did could still be called loyalty to the country. We had to do it, and we still had room to retreat in the future. But after this snow, there will be no more fear of famine in the capital, and we will be guilty of unforgivable crimes, and most likely we will be doomed forever..."

The young cabinet minister was stunned for a moment, still not believing it: "Why is it so? Everything Dad does is always for the country. Even if he has no merit, he must have worked hard, right?"

Whether it snows in Beijing or not is something no one can decide. Seeing that the long-term drought is imminent, isn't it the Prime Minister's duty to take precautions at all costs? Even if the preparations made did not work, we can't blame the Prime Minister for it, right?

Are you still being reasonable?

Facts have proved that the young cabinet minister is still too young, too naive, and too unaware of the sinister nature of the facts. Elder Yan snorted and killed the game with one sentence:

"Merit? Didn't Lord Yu Zhongsu have any merit?"

Yan Donglou choked immediately and could not utter a single sound.

The power of role models is infinite, whether positive or negative. Yu Shaobao's experience is undoubtedly the most unforgettable lesson for the officials of the Da'an Dynasty for two hundred years - the facts eloquently prove that even if you have made great achievements in your time and turned the tide, even if you have worked hard and exhausted all your strength to reverse the direction of history alone; as long as you hinder the interests of the emperor and go against the wishes of the tyrant, you will still die an untimely death, alas. "The green mountains are fortunate to bury the loyal bones", but loyal bones are just loyal bones after all, and the dead righteous people cannot be resurrected; such precious and rare blood of loyalty and righteousness, a country's most cherished, scarce and non-renewable wealth, was actually wasted in such a shameful place!

The white jade pillars that support the sky are used as dung carrying poles, and the purple gold beams that span the sea are chopped into firewood. The golden bell is destroyed and discarded, and the earthenware pot makes thundering sounds. All the affairs of the world have come to this!

Even Lord Yu Zhongsu was like this, let alone others? No matter whether it is Lord Yan, Junior Lord Yan or the Prince of Mu, can their talents, character and reputation be even one tenth as good as that of the Grand Guardian? Since you are not even a fraction as good as your predecessors, why do you think you can escape punishment at the hands of the new tyrant?

Of course, the young cabinet minister still couldn't accept it:

"Your Majesty will never do this..."

Elder Yan shook his head and sighed: "Your Majesty will certainly not do this. If there is really famine in the capital, Your Majesty probably won't care about such a small matter; but now, isn't it snowing now..."

As the emperor and his subject for so many years, Yan Fenyi knew too well the weird and arbitrary old giant Feixuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor. After all, Master Feixuan's moral bottom line is still maintained within the scope of anthropomorphism, and he has not fallen to the appalling level of Emperor Yingzong. If Lord Yan can provide relief to the hungry people in the capital through external means, probably in view of his great contribution to supporting the country, some things will be turned a blind eye, and the power of the Prime Minister will not be greatly affected. This is also one of the reasons why he dared to take the risk. But now that the snow has fallen and the crisis has been resolved, all the merits of supporting the country have been wiped out, and the original mistakes that exceeded the rules have naturally become particularly glaring, even to the point of being intolerable.

It's really sad. Lord Yan has been involved in corruption and factional activities for many years. Each and every one of them is enough to bring him down, and each and every one of them is irrefutable evidence. But the chaos had lasted for so many years without any disturbance; but now, when Yan Ge Lao had a rare moment of conscience and was about to fulfill his duties as the Prime Minister, he suddenly encountered the most serious political crisis in his life - is there any more horrible and ridiculous joke of hell in the world than this?

What kind of cow-horse world is this?

The young cabinet minister is still too shallow and has never seen the world. He understood his father's hint, and was surprised at first, then horrified, and finally gradually became angry. To be honest, if the emperor really used some crime like corruption and abuse of power to target the Yan family, there would probably be no surprises besides panic. But it was precisely such a crime imposed on others that made the young cabinet minister lose his defense and could not help but feel grief and indignation:

"We are also fighting for the lives of millions of people in the capital! There are so many eunuchs and clansmen, and they all need to eat! The deficit has fallen, the sky is not right, and the prince and I are trying our best to make up for it; but we have made up for it but to no avail, and we are even held accountable... In this capital, in this world, is it owned by the Zhu family, or the Yan family, or the Mu family?!"

"Shut up!" Elder Yan slammed the table and shouted almost like a roar, then he gasped for breath, his face flushed red: "You, if you want to say that, why not take a knife and kill me with one blow, wouldn't that be clean!"

After saying that, he lowered his head and coughed and gasped, exhaling hot air in big mouthfuls, with beads of sweat rolling down his face. Yan Donglou didn't dare to argue anymore. He just lifted his robe and knelt down, standing there without saying a word.

The study room was as quiet as death. No one dared to come in and disturb such an earth-shaking discussion between father and son, so they all stood outside the door. Elder Yan panted for a long time alone before he finally stood up slowly, holding his chest, but he kept shaking his head:

"You are truly an evil spirit... After you say this, do the Nine Clans still want you?"

The young cabinet minister stiffened his neck and said, "Even if we don't say this, I'm afraid the palace won't let us go!"

"Whether the palace lets him go or not is up to the palace. We have to find a solution ourselves." Elder Yan closed his eyes and spoke slowly, "Come here, show your ability to write Qingci, and write a letter to Zhang Taiyue of the Hanlin Academy. Be sure to use a respectful tone..."

"Write a letter to Zhang Taiyue?"

"Didn't Mu Qi ask Zhang Taiyue to have more contact with you? This is the opportunity to do so." Elder Yan said without opening his eyes: "Tell him everything that happened in the past few days and ask him to send a message to the prince of Duke Mu immediately without any delay - remember, the lives of dozens of people in our family may depend on this letter!"

·

The Prince of Mu received the news in Tianjin. He transported the goods to the port and unloaded them as agreed. Before he had time to find someone to deliver this vital material, Zhang Taiyue, who had been waiting in Tianjin for many days, immediately came to him and told him everything that had happened in the capital. The prince was caught off guard and was a little stunned for a moment. But after just a moment, he calmed down:

"It's snowing, isn't this a great thing?"

It’s a good thing indeed. No matter how many dirty schemes there are in human politics, good things from heaven are good things. If God is kind enough to send down such a blessed snow, this winter will pass smoothly; the anxiety of many days is just a false alarm, what news could be better than this?

Zhang Taiyue was stunned for a moment: "It is indeed a good thing. But as for Elder Yan..."

"Of course Lord Yan will have some troubles, so he asked you to pass on the message." The prince understood the Yan party's tactics very well: "Looking at what this old man meant, I think he was trying to get me to handle all the things in the south and not to bring dirty water to Prime Minister Yan's face."

That's right, after much thought and deliberation, Lord Yan came up with the idea of ​​putting the blame on the young people; and considering all aspects, this is exactly the most appropriate way - politics is all about fear of death, so everyone needs to have some defense; there is a new god in each version, and only by defending against buff monsters with high health can you be the master of the officialdom. The same crime and the same mistake, if it happened to Lord Yan, it would basically be a disaster with no chance of recovery; if it happened to the prince of Duke Mu, he would probably just be kicked out of the cabinet, stripped of his official position, forced to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors, and fined two years' salary. As long as the prince is willing to grit his teeth and admit the truth, things can actually be controlled.

But the problem is, how can we make Prince Mu of Duke Mu recognize it?

Of course, forced framing is absolutely unacceptable, otherwise you may be easily framed by the madman, and your integrity and face will be ruined. After much thought, he could only send his own son to play the emotional card and try to persuade the inexperienced prince with the friendship from the past; so the young cabinet minister was humble and courteous, and specially wrote such a heartfelt letter, and sincerely asked Zhang Taiyue to pass it on - at this time, I am afraid that cabinet minister Yan would also feel lucky in his heart, and be glad that his strategy of overthrowing Mu was work and befriending Mu was life was indeed far-sighted and far-sighted, and he sent the young cabinet minister to have private exchanges in advance to lay the foundation, so that he had the face to plead for mercy today. Even if it was because of the private transfer of money and shares in the past, the prince couldn't make things too difficult for the Yan family.

But it's a pity. Lord Yan couldn't choose anyone else to pass the letter on, so he picked Zhang Taiyue and Zhang Hanlin - Zhang Hanlin usually worked hard and didn't get involved in foreign affairs, and it seemed that he was just a tool planted in the Hanlin Academy by the prince; but at such a critical juncture as now, Zhang Hanlin showed his true colors silently: he did pass on Yan Donglou's carefully written handwritten letter, but before the prince opened it, he briefly described the main points of the letter - there was no partiality, no concealment, but his attitude was already very obvious.

The prince certainly noticed it, so he took the initiative to ask him:

"Does Taiyue disagree?"

"I dare not." Zhang Taiyue bowed his head and said, "It's just that I think there is really no need to get too deeply involved with the Yan Party."

It was just a fleeting romance, how could it be considered as a trust of life and death? Even in the Spring and Autumn Period when scholars valued loyalty and loyalty over life and death, there were stories of people willing to take the blame for others' crimes. This was a way for the country to repay its kindness and repay its kindness, out of consideration for the deep friendship between the two friends. As for the Yan Party...Why doesn't Yan Donglou take a look at himself in the mirror? Is such a small favor enough to move people?

Do you really think that the Duke Mu's Mansion is a big enemy? Such greedy behavior of taking advantage of the situation certainly made Zhang Hanlin feel very uncomfortable. If it weren't for his duty, he wouldn't even want to forward this letter.

However, Zhang Taiyue still knew his limits, so he only gave a gentle reminder:

"Recently, I was on duty at the Imperial Academy, and I heard that Elder Yan seemed to be controversial among scholars."

The Yan family has a bad reputation to begin with, so it doesn't matter if we cancel their appointment. How about we just pretend that there is no such letter and wait quietly for the political situation to change?

The prince was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Old Lord Yan's reputation is indeed not good. If His Majesty charges him with corruption and harming the country, even if his property is confiscated and he is exiled, I cannot defend him."

"The prince is smart—"

"But this time, it is definitely not a crime." The prince interrupted him directly: "As the Prime Minister, it is my legitimate duty to do everything I can to collect food and avoid famine. However, the weather is unpredictable and cannot be predicted by human power. How can this be the minister's fault? Since there is no fault, there is no need to punish him."

The king is the king, the ministers are the ministers, the fathers are the fathers, the sons are the sons, even in the feudal era, there is nothing wrong in trying to prepare for disasters. Even if he used some drastic and inappropriate means in collusion with Prince Mu in the process of raising grain, it should be considered as a matter of discretion and there is no reason to blame him. If there wasn't such a noble cause, would Yan Fenyi really think that his small seal could mobilize Mu Qi to work wholeheartedly for him?

Zhang Taiyue was stunned for a moment, then spoke:

"Even so, it can't be considered unjust."

The Yan family has been in the officialdom for many years. Even if they cannot be said to be innocent, they must at least be extremely evil. Therefore, the public opinion is very disapproving of such people. For such a rebellious person, even if he has been wronged in one or two cases, it is nothing!

"But the punishment is not commensurate with the crime." The prince said calmly: "No matter how dirty Yan Gelao's thoughts were in private, this time he was always thinking about the country. Thinking about the country but ending up like this, this is not the way the world should be. The lesson from the past is not far away, how can we sit idly by now?"

The sentence was said vaguely, but Zhang Taiyue still understood it. It is precisely because I understood that I could not help but feel surprised:

"How can Yan Fenyi be compared with Yu Shaobao!"

——Damn it, is he worthy of it?

"Of course he is not worthy, but there may be people like Yu Shaobao in the future!" The prince looked at him directly, "Such a big mistake that cannot be made even with all the iron in the nine provinces must not happen again. Prevent it in the bud and make a rule; Your Majesty can kill Yan Fenyi with a thousand charges, but you cannot punish him for being loyal to his duties and hindering his personal interests. Once such a bad example is set, who knows how serious it will be in the future!"

This statement was so straightforward and plain that it was almost rude. Zhang Taiyue was stunned and unable to react for a moment. After a long while, he spoke hesitantly:

"That's not to the point of..."

The prince asked him back: "Is it really not the case?"

The charm and horror of history lies in its complete unpredictability. When the Three Yangs were doing their best to recommend the good saintly grandson to Zhu Laosi, they probably never dreamed what kind of monsters and demons the good saintly grandson would give birth to, right? The Three Yangs at that time were all well-educated scholars and important ministers of the country. They probably thought that the country was peaceful and the people were safe, the war had ended, and no matter how evil the monarchs of later generations did, it would not cause turmoil in the world. However, Bao Zong eloquently proved to them with iron-clad facts that they should never use their poor imagination to speculate on the bottom line of human beings, because there is no such noble thing as bottom line in the dictionary of shocking people.

Perhaps seeing Zhang Taiyue being choked and unable to speak, the prince was silent for a moment, and then softened his tone:

"I'm not thinking about Yan Fenyi. The Yan Party doesn't have that much face. But no matter what, we have to leave some room for those behind us. People who are loyal to their duties should not be held accountable for such a trivial matter. We should nip a small problem in the bud. If we can't stop this bad example, there will definitely be more unspeakable things in the future..."

When he spoke the last few sentences, there was a hint of a sigh in the prince's tone. If Yu Shaobao's bad example will be infamous for all eternity, indicating that even a loyal minister could still die an untimely death and his injustice could not be redressed as long as the interests of the emperor himself were affected; then the bad example of Shezong decades later was even more horrifying and incredible - he proved that even if one had the merit of saving the collapsing empire, even if one had taken great care of the emperor and never hurt him, even if one had not violated any taboos of the dynasty; as long as the emperor, this giant baby, became dissatisfied over a tiny trivial matter, he could still turn the situation upside down and create unwarranted injustices.

Now that things have come to this, what else is there to say? Now that things have come to this, what else is there to say? !

God once promised that if there were ten righteous people, the city of Sodom could be spared; similarly, if there were more than ten loyal and righteous people who worked together, were steadfast, unyielding, smart and capable, this nation would never perish. Such outstanding people are more precious than gold, and can almost be regarded as the last vitality of civilization, the trump card for future turnaround - considering that the entire society will be turned upside down after the surge in productivity, they may very well face a major change that has not been seen in thousands of years; in the face of such a major change, of course, they must do their best to preserve the vitality of the country, just in case.

Therefore, the prince's statement was not deceptive. He was not planning for Yan Fenyi, and Yan Fenyi did not have the face to let him plan for him. If he really was planning something, it was at best just for the future regent - to be prepared for it, to make arrangements. Even if it was for the sake of major events decades later, he must not set such a bad example.

"I will write a letter to the emperor, saying that I was the one who basically acted on my own in the Jiangnan incident and abused my power, and that it had little to do with the Yan family. Yan Fenyi did not instigate me to clean up the Jinyiwei and the Weaving Bureau." The prince said calmly, "These are all true."

It is indeed the truth, but being willing to tell the truth at this time is undoubtedly putting a heavy burden on one's shoulders, leaving no room for shirking responsibility.

But what can we do about it? The prince had already made his decision, and Zhang Taiyue had no choice but to reply respectfully:

"yes."

"Then please trouble Taiyue to write a reply letter to Yan Fenyi for me." The prince thought for a while and said, "I know what he means. Please take care of yourself and don't be too presumptuous in the future. Otherwise, if someone finds out about his past, no one can save him. Just send the letter after you finish writing it. I won't read it."

This sentence is probably just mediocre. But Zhang Taiyue couldn't help but cheer up: it's impossible for the Crown Prince to take the blame for Yan Ge Lao in vain, there must be some exchange in private; and judging from the current situation, the right to make this exchange will fall into his hands!

——Hehe, it so happened that Zhang Taiyue was quite dissatisfied with this shameless behavior of passing the buck. Now that he had found the chance, of course he would give the greedy Yan family’s father and son a good rub—do you really think that it’s so easy to take advantage of the Mu Guogong Mansion?

——It’s time for the gold coins to explode, Lao Deng!

·

Before Prince Mu of Duke Mu drafted his apology memorial, intelligence from the Southern Embroidered Uniform Guard had already arrived. Having been threatened and humiliated in every way, the Jinyiwei were certainly unable to eliminate their resentment, so they collectively wrote a document of complaint, which was sent to the capital at an express speed of 500 miles, severely criticizing the Prince of Duke Mu.

The Jinyiwei are all rough people, but rough people can also be wise. Even though the text may not be very elegant, it knows how to poke at the emperor's pain points, so it tries its best to depict the prince's arrogance and arrogance, and emphasizes his evil act of looting the treasury - that is His Majesty's money!

Sure enough, after Master Fei Xuan listened to only a few pages, his expression became somewhat indescribably subtle. But after listening carefully, the emperor suddenly asked:

"How much did he steal from the treasury?"

Li Zaifang, who was reading the document, quickly replied:

"The total is probably more than 800,000 taels."

The actual amount was certainly not 800,000 taels, but who said the prince was in the wrong? The Jinyiwei were naturally happy to take advantage of this.

The emperor was silent.

...Only 800,000 taels?

"Got it." Zhenjun leaned back and said calmly, "Put the memorial aside. I'll read it later."