Emperor Jiajing followed the teachings of Laozi and Zhuangzi and advocated governing by inaction.
This can be seen from the fact that he moved from the Forbidden City to the Western Garden and no longer attended court.
But not attending court does not mean ignoring state affairs. In fact, Emperor Jiajing still had a strong control over the court and even the Ming Empire.
When serving an emperor with such a strong desire for control, you must not be clever.
Pretending to be foolish and ignorant is a major principle that Yan Song followed.
After chatting with Emperor Jiajing and Tao Zhongwen for a while, Yan Song took the initiative to leave.
After leaving Xiyuan, Yan Song did not go to the cabinet again, but returned home directly.
At this moment, Yan Shifan had already escaped from the government office and was enjoying himself with his beautiful concubine at home.
No one knows a son better than his father. Yan Song knew his son's virtue very well, so he immediately ordered the housekeeper to call Yan Shifan to see him.
Yan Shifan was making love with his beautiful concubine when he was suddenly interrupted. How could he be in a good mood?
But Yan Song was his father after all, and he could not refuse his son when his father wanted to see him.
"I know, I know, don't push me anymore."
Yan Shifan waved his hand impatiently, then turned to his concubine and said, "My beauty, I'm going to go see the old man and will be back to accompany you in a while."
After saying that, he got up, changed into clean clothes, and followed the housekeeper to see Yan Song.
The Yan Mansion was enormous, with courtyards within courtyards. Yan Shifan's residence was quite far from Yan Song's courtyard, and it took him quite a while to get there.
It was May, and the weather was already quite hot. Yan Shifan, being quite obese, was sweating profusely.
He stopped to catch his breath for a while, adjusted his mood, and then pushed the door open and entered the study.
"Dad, are you looking for me?"
Seeing Yan Song sitting behind the desk, Yan Shifan walked forward and asked.
"You wicked son, I've told you countless times that you're not allowed to go home while on duty. But you've turned a deaf ear to it. Aren't you really afraid of being impeached by the censors?"
Yan Song glared at Yan Shifan and scolded him.
Yan Shifan said nonchalantly, "Dad, could you change your words? You keep repeating the same thing over and over again. My ears are almost callused from hearing it."
Yan Song was very angry when he saw that he dared to talk back.
"You! You're going to piss me off to death!"
"You are now the Prime Minister of the Cabinet. Who would dare to impeach me? Besides, those censors themselves are not clean. If they dare to impeach me, I will have someone report them to the government. Let's see who is more afraid."
Yan Shifan was used to being unruly and naturally didn't take these censors who were only good at talking seriously. Moreover, many officials in the court had defected to the Yan Party, so if they wanted to engage in a verbal battle, he would be happy to fight to the end.
"Forget it, since my words are useless, I won't waste my breath."
Yan Song sighed and said, "Your Majesty summoned me to the palace today to inquire about the situation in Zhejiang. It seems that Your Majesty is still worried about the situation in the southeast."
Yan Shifan knew the old man had called him here to discuss something important. He sneered, "Our Holy Emperor is narrow-minded. Zhu Wan was chosen by him, right? So, is he still worried?"
When Yan Song saw that he dared to mock even the emperor, he was so angry that his beard stood on end.
"You rebellious son, I will fall on you sooner or later."
Yan Shifan chuckled and said, "My son was just saying it casually. What are you afraid of, Dad? Besides, we are in our own home. Are you afraid that the walls have ears?"
After a brief pause, Yan Shifan continued, "Lu Bing has been very close to you lately. Are you still worried that he might turn against you?"
"Your Majesty is still Your Majesty, and it is disrespectful for a minister to criticize the emperor."
Yan Song continued to educate his son.
"Do you believe this cliché yourself?"
Yan Shifan shook his head and said, "I have been given the mandate by Heaven and will live forever. This nonsense may fool a peasant, but you still believe it, Dad?"
Yan Song was so angry that he was speechless. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Although Zhu Wan was appointed by His Majesty, he has indeed been acting a bit too aggressively recently. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. You must know that being too successful and causing trouble for the emperor is a serious taboo."
"I told you, this Holy Emperor has no tolerance for others."
Yan Shifan continued heartlessly, "In his mind, his subjects are like horses and cattle that can be driven at will. They can only pull his cart but cannot take advantage of him. No matter whether it is fame or profit, taking advantage of him is like cutting off his flesh."
"In your opinion, what do you think of Zhu Wan?"
Yan Song couldn't argue with Yan Shifan, so he simply changed the subject.
"He does have some skills, but he's too straightforward and easily offends people. It's okay when people like him are doing well, but once they stumble, they'll be trampled on by thousands of feet, and they'll never get back up again."
Yan Shifan didn't even look at Yan Song, and continued to talk to himself, "This man is really capable of taking Shuangyu. But he has completely offended the Fujian and Zhejiang merchants. In my opinion, he won't be governor for long."
Yan Song pondered his son's words for a long time before asking, "Can this man be recruited?"
Yan Shifan shook his head repeatedly and said, "This kind of person is like a stone in a toilet, smelly and hard. In his mind, I'm afraid all of us are treacherous and treacherous. Why should Dad bother himself with this?"
Yan Song pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty has always mentioned the southeast, it seems that he is very concerned about it. Since Zhu Wan cannot be recruited, we must make plans early."
Xia Yan's party was overthrown and Yan Song took their place.
Naturally, he would focus his attention on the court at the beginning.
The first thing he considered was the important positions in the capital, and he needed to replace them with his own people.
Now that this group of people has been replaced, Yan Song naturally turned his attention to the outside of Beijing with more energy.
Apart from the capital, Nanzhili and Zhejiang are naturally the most prosperous.
There is no need to mention Nanzhili. With Nanjing as its secondary capital, its status is obvious.
As for Zhejiang, it was the place with the highest taxes among the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty.
Yan Song wanted to take over Zhejiang, naturally because he valued Zhejiang's wealth.
"Dad, do you want to replace him with an obedient person as the governor?"
Yan Shifan saw through Yan Song's thoughts at a glance.
"That's not impossible."
After a brief pause, Yan Shifan continued, "It's just a little difficult. Zhu Wan has just accomplished a great feat. Our Holy Emperor is extremely concerned about his reputation. He can't just replace Zhu Wan at this moment, right? Wouldn't that be a slap in the face?"
"You mean wait a minute?"
Yan Song asked.
"Of course we have to wait, but there's no need to just sit there. Isn't Zhu Wan the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang now? Then the position of Governor of Zhejiang is vacant. Dad, don't you want to take the position first?"
Yan Shifan stroked his chin and said, "Our Holy Emperor is suspicious by nature. He would definitely be happy to have more people to check and balance Zhu Wan."
It has to be said that although Yan Song was somewhat displeased with Yan Shifan's behavior, he still admired his son's ability to understand people's hearts, especially the emperor's heart.
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