On the second day of the second month of the thirteenth year of the Jianyuan era, the dragon raised its head.
The weather had warmed up, but the officials standing in front of the palace gates felt a chill in their hearts.
The case of Yan Song has implicated tens of thousands of people.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards were arresting people all over the country, as long as they were involved in the Longevity Banquet case.
The entire family was executed.
Those connected to the Yan family were directly exiled to Lingnan.
The women in his household were sent to the brothel, and the men were reduced to slaves.
For a time, all the officials in the capital were somewhat uneasy.
If it weren't for the Imperial Censor Yin submitting a memorial arguing that if the killings continued, the court would have no one left to rely on, this major case would likely have implicated even more people.
Therefore, all the civil and military officials attached great importance to this grand court assembly.
It wasn't just because officials from Yan Song's faction had been killed, creating vacancies in their positions, which they wanted to fill with their own people.
It was also because they could meet the legendary immortal disciple, Marquis Anping, Li Chang'an.
This newly appointed marquis, having only been in the capital for a few days, has already brought down the Yan family, who had held absolute power.
Moreover, it could even make Emperor Jianyuan treat scholars with such respect that he presented them with the imperial seal.
They were all eager to see what this Marquis looked like, what his hobbies were, and whether they could curry favor with him or establish a connection with him.
The civil and military officials gathered in twos and threes, forming several distinct groups.
Zhang Jia's fourth week was spent working for an official of the Confucian school.
The Confucian school benefited the most from the downfall of the Yan family.
Many Confucian disciples who were deliberately denied official positions by Emperor Jianyuan were given official posts thanks to Zhang Jiadi, the acting head of the Confucian school.
Meanwhile, some noble dukes gathered together to discuss how to get along harmoniously with the newly appointed Marquis of Anping.
Meanwhile, a group of tall and burly military officers remained silent in the far corner.
Because the Ming Dynasty valued civil officials over military ones, they didn't have much say, and few officials were willing to associate with these roughnecks.
The larger group consisted of the same civil officials.
They were making a ruckus, with some saying it was good that Yan Song, the old scoundrel, died, while others said the case was too murderous.
Some people don't deserve to die; there's no need to execute their entire family.
As the sun rose higher and higher, the civil and military officials began to wonder.
Shouldn't this grand court assembly have started long ago?
It's almost noon now, and the palace gates still aren't open.
After a while, a carriage finally arrived.
Upon seeing the carriage, the palace gates slowly opened.
The civil and military officials saw Cao Zhengchun, the personal eunuch of Emperor Jianyuan and the director of the Eastern Depot, walk up to the carriage with an imperial edict in hand.
"Imperial edict has arrived!"
All civil and military officials knelt on the ground: "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Then they saw Cao Zhengchun kneeling in front of the carriage and saying, "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees!"
"Marquis Anping has rendered meritorious service in investigating and confiscating the Yan family's property, thus eliminating a scourge for the people of the Ming Dynasty. He is hereby granted permission to attend court!"
After he finished speaking, a group of eunuchs came out, carrying a sedan chair, and walked to the side of the carriage.
Cao Zhengchun knelt on the ground and held the imperial edict above his head.
This was personally instructed by the Emperor: from now on, when delivering imperial edicts to this Marquis, one must kneel down.
Yu Huatian wholeheartedly agreed with this matter, and then he instructed Cao Zhengchun to announce the imperial edict.
Li Chang'an had just stepped out of the carriage when he heard these words and couldn't help but shake his head.
This guy has such a strong will to survive, he'll be hard to kill later!
He stepped down from the carriage, instructed Luoyang and the others to wait for him at the door, and then said to Cao Zhengchun, "Rise!"
The civil officials and censors were in an uproar.
This Marquis of Anping is far too arrogant.
Unexpectedly, Cao Zhengchun got up with a smile and helped Li Chang'an into the imperial carriage that only the emperor could use.
Then they walked into the palace.
Some officials followed behind, also wanting to enter the palace, but were stopped instead.
"The Marquis of Anping has not yet arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony. No officials are allowed to enter!"
Civil and military officials: ...
Duke: ...
They looked up at the palace gate, thinking that Yan Song was gone, but now the Ming Dynasty had probably welcomed another figure with even greater power than Yan Song.
When the imperial carriage arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Li Chang'an discovered that Emperor Jianyuan was standing at the door waiting for him.
"My dear subject, you've finally arrived!"
These days, Emperor Jianyuan doesn't know how to get along with this divine disciple.
After all, Yan Song's case resulted in the seizure of hundreds of millions of taels of silver, giving the Ming Dynasty's finances a much-needed reprieve.
Zhou Chao never imagined that there was a way to make money more easily than raising taxes.
For a moment, he became somewhat carried away with killing.
Emperor Jianyuan had only one thought: the more people he killed, the more silver would be in the national treasury.
If it weren't for the Imperial Censor who submitted a memorial stating that too many people had been killed, many places would be without officials.
Emperor Jianyuan even wanted to kill another batch.
He knew Yan Song was greedy, but he didn't know that Yan Song was this greedy.
Yan Song's subordinates were so greedy that he was somewhat afraid.
Hundreds of millions of taels of silver!
The annual tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty was only 20 million taels of silver.
This is equivalent to ten years of tax revenue during the Ming Dynasty.
It's easy to imagine how much Yan Song and his gang exploited the people to amass such a huge fortune.
Zhou Chao was terrified; this was the first time he had ever been so afraid since becoming emperor.
No wonder the clay bodhisattva's prophecy for the Ming Dynasty was that it would not last more than a hundred years.
He now feels both fear and fondness towards Li Chang'an.
What I fear is that the Ming Dynasty will be overthrown and replaced by someone else.
What I like is that as long as I can win over this divine disciple.
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