The news of Xu Ge Lao's retirement shocked the whole government and the public.

The three grand secretaries took the lead in submitting a petition, asking the emperor to retain the prime minister.

Emperor Longqing replied that he had tried to persuade him to stay in person, but the old man was determined to leave, so he should respect Yuan Fu's wishes.

Seeing that the situation was irreversible and there was no hope for improvement, the government offices in the capital fell into great grief.

For a moment, the officials could not accept that the kind and tolerant old prime minister had abandoned them like that.

Those officials who had received favors from the Yuan Fu, especially those who had been rehabilitated by the new dynasty, cried bitterly and were heartbroken.

The imperial censors collapsed. Not only had they been protected and cared for by the prime minister for many years, but they also helped him get rid of Gao Gong and his gang.

Now that Lord Xu is gone, the bandit from Gaojiazhuang might come back to attack us again.

Who will protect these poor, weak, and helpless censors then?

As harsh as they were in criticizing Gao Gong in the beginning, they are just as scared now.

I don’t know who was the first one to be frightened and cry, but then everyone started crying loudly, and the scene was like a funeral.

In this atmosphere of grief and indignation, someone could not help but reveal the fact that Zhang Qi had submitted a petition to impeach Lord Xu.

Nanjing was too far away, so there was no way to cause trouble for Master Xu, so the censors immediately vented their anger on Zhang Qi.

They first rushed into Zhang Qi's duty room, and seeing that no one was there, they smashed the room and took away two pairs of walnuts that he had been playing with for half a year.

The censors were still not satisfied, so they rushed to Zhang Qi's house. Seeing that the door was locked, they took it down, rushed in and started smashing things.

Then they killed a chicken and used the chicken's blood to write eight terrifying big red characters on the wall: "A jumping clown, you will be infamous forever"!

Fortunately, Zhang Qi knew that he was in trouble and ran away early, otherwise the words he used to write would not be chicken blood.

The chicken has suffered the consequences for others, how innocent can it be?

~~

In fact, Zhang Qi did not run far. He was now in the Sanjin Guild Hall on Chongwenmenwai Street.

He was wearing an inconspicuous, half-worn brown cloth robe and a felt hat that covered most of his face. He followed a middle-aged man dressed as a businessman to a quiet and unique courtyard in the guild hall.

In the yard, two elderly men with white hair and beards were playing chess with full concentration.

Behind them stood two men in their thirties, one handsome and suave, the other plump and fair. Both were holding teapots and watching the chess game with smiles on their faces.

Hearing someone coming in, the handsome man put his finger to his lips, signaling them to be quiet.

Zhang Qi and the merchant stood aside obediently, not daring to breathe.

Because the two elders who were playing chess were Yang Bo, the Junior Tutor and Minister of Personnel, and Wang Guoguang, the Governor-General of the Ministry of Revenue and the Assistant Minister of the Granaries.

The two people watching the chess game were Zhang Siwei, the daily lecturer of the Imperial Lectures and editor of the Hanlin Academy, and Wang Jiaping, a newly-appointed Jinshi and a Shujishi.

Two high-ranking officials and two new Hanlin scholars got together during work hours just to play a game of chess? How addicted to chess they must be.

After a cup of tea, Yang Bo was beaten by Wang Guoguang and his mentality exploded. The old man immediately disturbed the chessboard and said in his hometown dialect with a grin:

"This idiot is so stupid and confused that he's going to run away to death if he gets caught!"

"I can't stand losing again." Wang Guoguang crossed his arms in annoyance. "Follow me again, you'll be my grandson!"

"Ahem." The handsome guy Zhang Siwei coughed twice to remind the two elders that there were outsiders here.

"Oh, nephew Zhang is here?" Yang Bo immediately regained his elegant and graceful image as an elder, stood up and said with a smile: "How is it? Exciting, isn't it?"

"Exciting, really exciting." Zhang Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a wry smile, "Brother Yang and I left from the back door, and those guys arrived at the front door right after us."

"Hearing the noise, I guess there isn't much left in Brother Zhang's family." The brother Yang's name is Yang Sihe. He is Yang Bo's cousin and also a well-known Shanxi merchant in Beijing.

"Let them smash it. If the old doesn't go, the new won't come." Yang Bo laughed, patted Zhang Qi on the shoulder and said, "Just stay here and live in peace. I will help you deal with the things in the future."

"Yes." Wang Guoguang took the teapot handed over by Wang Jiaping, took a sip and said with a smile: "With the protection of the Lord of Heaven, just put your heart back in your stomach. When the storm is over, I will arrange a good place for you."

"Don't worry, don't worry. It's my honor to help my uncle vent his anger!" Zhang Qi smiled sincerely. It was worth losing his official position if he could get close to the Shanxi merchants and the Shanxi Party.

"You are really good at talking. Go ahead." Yang Bo waved his hand and told his nephew, "Entertain nephew Zhang well."

"Don't worry, uncle." Yang Sihe nodded with a smile, and said to Wang Guoguang and the other two, "We won't disturb you."

After saying this, he took Zhang Qi and bowed before leaving.

~~

After the two men left, Zhang Siwei could not help but ask Yang Bo, "Uncle, why did we get involved in this? If they really wanted to investigate, it would not be difficult for them to find out the relationship between Zhang Qi and our Shanxi merchants, and then link it to you."

"Haha, I'm just afraid that people won't make the connection." Yang Bo laughed and said, "Ziwei, you are just too cautious. Don't you know that the principle of using troops is to 'use the right tactics to unite and the unusual tactics to win'?"

Zhang Siwei and Yang Bo were both from Puzhou. Yang Bo's son Yang Junqing was the son-in-law of Zhang Siwei's uncle Wang Chonggu. Yang Bo's granddaughter was also engaged to Zhang Siwei's son Zhang Dingzheng.

Wang Guoguang and Wang Jiaping are also fellow townsmen and clansmen of Wang Chonggu.

This group of old people connected together in this way and formed the Shanxi merchants and the Shanxi Party, which has a long history, is low-key and powerful.

Because they are all relatives, unlike other factions, they are integrated in business and politics, and have close relationships with each other. The cultivation, protection and promotion of the younger generation by the elders is far beyond the reach of officials from other factions.

As Wang Chonggu's nephew, Zhang Siwei has always been cultivated as the next leader of the Jin Party.

Yang Bo would naturally not hide it from him. "Yes, if Zhang Qi hadn't interfered, Lord Xu would have returned to his hometown. And that way, the Prime Minister could have left in a more dignified manner. But what good would that do us?"

"You just want to vent your anger for the Beijing inspection last year?" Wang Guoguang said jokingly, "Do you have any other ideas?"

"Yes, I am just venting my anger. Damn it, Xu Zhuozi and Gao Gong are fighting each other and they are using me as a sacrifice!" Yang Bo said with displeasure, "If I don't give him this, everyone in the world will forget that Shanxi people are jealous!"

"What kind of metaphor is this..." Wang Guoguang laughed so hard that he sprayed the entire chessboard.

"You're so dirty. I won't play with you anymore." Yang Bo glanced at him, then turned to look at Zhang Siwei and Wang Jiaping and said:

"But just like I taught you, you can't let anger cloud your mind. Even if you seek revenge, it's just a matter of course. I'm telling you, I did this mainly for Gao Huzi to see."

"So that's how it is." Zhang Siwei suddenly realized, "Gao Xinzheng and my uncle have always been on good terms, and my uncle also had someone impeach Xu Ge Lao and remove him from office, which is equivalent to helping him return. When Gao Xinzheng takes power, the lives of us Shanxi people will be better."

"Not bad." Yang Bo nodded in approval and said in a hateful voice, "If Xu Zhuozi hadn't chased Gao Huzi back home, we would have already started border trade with the Tartars. How could there have been the Shizhou Incident and the martial law in the capital last year?!"

"Gao Huzi is not a good person. Aren't you afraid that he will turn against you after he comes to power?" Wang Guoguang asked in a somewhat argumentative manner.

"Can he afford to turn his face against them? If he wants to fight those people in the southeast, what can a few Henan guys do? He has to rely on us Shanxi people?" Yang Bo smiled confidently and said, "If you don't believe me, just wait and see. When Gao Huzi comes back, he will definitely deal with Altan first, and then slowly clean up the south!"

Everyone understood.

Gao Gong needed the help of the Shanxi Party to deal with Altan. After dealing with Altan, he had to rely on Shanxi merchants to maintain relations with Mongolia. The two sides naturally got closer and closer until they were indistinguishable from each other...

ps. First update, please give me monthly votes and recommendation votes~~~