Fan Jingwen and Xie Sanbin looked at each other again, neither moving.
Both of them had something to say to Chongzhen.
But it is not convenient to say it directly in front of the other party.
Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "One of you will speak first. After you finish speaking, the other will speak later."
Xie Sanbin was very tactful and was the first to leave the Qianqing Palace.
As the palace door closed, only Fan Jingwen, Chongzhen and Wang Chengen were left in the hall.
Fan Jingwen bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty, I have a question but I don't know if it's appropriate to ask it."
Chongzhen nodded in agreement: "Lord Fan has worked hard for the Ming Dynasty all his life, feel free to ask anything you want to ask."
Fan Jingwen sighed and said, "During my tenure as the Prime Minister, although the court pacified Liaodong, there are still three major problems that the Ming Dynasty has not yet eliminated."
"First, there are the Jiannu who fled to North Korea. They may come back at any time."
"The second is Zheng Zhilong from Fujian. He not only controls the entire southeast coastal maritime trade route, but also personally participates in smuggling, especially smuggling to the Jiannu. With him around, it is impossible to collect commercial taxes from those ocean-going merchant ships."
"Finally, there were interest groups formed by the gentry in Jiangnan, who united to fight against the imperial court. The most obvious example was the currency reform, which encountered little resistance in other provinces, but encountered great trouble in the four provinces in Jiangnan."
"Not only did they unite to resist the new policy, they also used various methods to drive up the exchange rate between Ming Yuanbao and copper coins, cheating the people out of their money and bringing disgrace to the court."
"If these three great enemies are not eliminated, the court will never have peace. I wonder what your majesty is planning? Is there anything you need me to do?"
Chongzhen was very pleased to hear Fan Jingwen say these words.
Although Fan Jingwen cared about his own reputation, he also cared about the country and the people.
He is a truly loyal and important minister.
Chongzhen smiled and said to Fan Jingwen: "After listening to what Lord Fan said, I feel very warm in my heart. The Ming Dynasty does still have three major enemies that have not been eliminated, but I have already thought of a countermeasure, so Lord Fan, please don't worry about it."
Fan Jingwen blinked, feeling a little disappointed.
He wanted to get something out of Chongzhen, but unfortunately Chongzhen was very tight-lipped and he failed to do so.
"Since Your Majesty has a corresponding strategy, I am not worried." Fan Jingwen knelt on both knees and kowtowed three times and nine times to Chongzhen.
After the ceremony, Fan Jingwen did not stand up.
Instead, he knelt on the ground and couldn't hold back his tears.
He knew that if he left, he would never see Chongzhen again in this life.
He served as an official for decades and served as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet for several years.
Subconsciously, he had already regarded Chongzhen as a good friend.
It is inevitable to feel sad when parting with a good friend.
Chongzhen was also a little sad.
But his mood soon stabilized.
Because he has experienced too many separations and has long been accustomed to loneliness.
"Lord Fan," Chongzhen said softly, "You and I are clearly the emperor and his subject, but in my heart I regard you as a friend. I am very reluctant to see you return home this time."
Hearing that Chongzhen also regarded him as a friend, the old man, who was nearly 70 years old, burst into tears of gratitude.
Wiping away his tears, Fan Jingwen bowed to Chongzhen again and said, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. I will take my leave."
"Well," Chongzhen nodded, "When you have nothing to do after returning home, you can write to me and tell me about the customs and people of Hejian Prefecture, as well as the sufferings of the people."
"I obey your order," Fan Jingwen saluted again, stood up and slowly retreated.
If he leaves here, he will no longer be the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty.
He misses the feeling of being the prime minister.
But I only miss the feeling, not this place.
As the saying goes, living with a king is like living with a tiger.
During his tenure as Prime Minister, he was cautious and afraid of making mistakes.
But even so, many things happened that were not favorable to him.
Fortunately, he achieved the goal of retiring successfully.
After walking out of the Qianqing Palace, Fan Jingwen and Xie Sanbin looked at each other.
"Lord Fan!" Xie Sanbin clasped his fists and bowed.
"Thank you, sir!" Fan Jingwen returned the greeting in the same way.
Xie Sanbin waved his hands quickly: "I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it!"
Fan Jingwen patted Xie Sanbin on the shoulder and said, "There is nothing I dare not do. From now on, the cabinet will be handed over to you."
Seeing Fan Jingwen was about to leave, Xie Sanbin asked, "Lord, I have something to ask you."
"What do you want to ask?"
"That day, it was also here. Why did you do the act of bumping into someone? Is there any deeper meaning behind it?"
"Haha," Fan Jingwen smiled, "Haven't you figured it out yet?"
"Please enlighten me, sir."
Fan Jingwen said calmly: "If you want to be a good cabinet minister, you can't just be cautious, the key is to be bold."
Xie Sanbin was stunned: "Courageous...?"
"right."
"Could you please make your point clearer?"
"Don't think too much. I mean what I said literally."
"Literal meaning?" Xie Sanbin was even more confused.
Without waiting for him to continue asking, Fan Jingwen turned around and left, leaving Xie Sanbin standing there in a daze.
Fan Jingwen did not leave the imperial city directly, but stood near the palace gate waiting for Xie Sanbin to leave together.
Xie Sanbin walked into the Qianqing Palace and saluted Chongzhen.
Chongzhen still looked like he was dying. He asked, "What does Minister Xie want to say?"
Xie Sanbin looked around and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, something happened in Nanjing."
"What is it?"
"The Imperial Censor Song Quan sent a message saying that there have been rumors in Nanjing that someone has privately minted Ming Yuanbao."
Chongzhen pretended to be surprised: "This is a capital crime! Who is so bold as to privately mint Ming Yuanbao?"
Xie Sanbin didn't dare to say it clearly, so he could only say tactfully: "I don't know who it is, but the Pacification Office should know."
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