Eat seafood while it’s fresh.

That night, Zhao Hao invited his older brother and Uncle Wu to his home to share a seafood dinner with him and his son, as well as writers and painters.

Steamed mantis shrimp, blanched giant prawns, garlic oysters, fried rhubarb, and the main character, swimming crab, all with plump lids.

Paired with top-grade Bamboo Leaf Green Liquor, I wouldn’t trade it for any girl.

A group of people ate with relish, and they were so full of it. In this season, they ate male swimming crabs. Although they didn't have crab roe, the meat was the most delicious. The snow-white crab meat and the sweet taste made people unable to stop. Although they were all from the south of the Yangtze River, who were used to eating hairy crabs and river crabs, they couldn't resist this damn sweet **.

"If you don't enjoy drinking, what's the point of having a reputation? Crab claws are like golden liquid, and wine mounds are like Penglai!" Zhao Jin, the 72-year-old Left Imperial Censor, loves steamed swimming crabs. He holds the tenderest and sweetest crab claws in one hand and a wine glass in the other, and says happily like a child: "This crab is the best taste in the world. It cures the tasteless mouth."

"Su Dongpo said, 'If I could eat 300 lychees a day, I would be willing to live in Lingnan forever'. In order to eat lychees all the time, he had to live in Lingnan. But now we don't have to go to the beach to eat the most delicious crabs!" Wu Shilai, the Minister of Justice, also praised it. He has been in close contact with Zhao Hao for 20 years and speaks well. He is Zhao Hao's right-hand man in the government.

As for the cabinet, there is no need to worry. With Shen Shixing, the Ming Dynasty's first-class expert in peacemaking, as his deputy, I can't say anything else about Prime Minister Zhao's team, but they are definitely invincible in the ability to balance yin and yang.

"This Zhuyeqing is also very good. It is brewed by Wang Tianguan with a secret recipe. It works very well." Zhao Shouzheng took a sip of the fragrant, mellow, sweet and slightly bitter wine and said with a look of enjoyment: "I have tested it myself and it works."

"Cough cough." Everyone started coughing. How come this old habit of becoming unbalanced after drinking hasn't improved even after becoming the Prime Minister?

"I'm saying that drinking this wine warms the stomach and relieves gas. What are you thinking?" Zhao Shouzheng said with innocent eyes wide open: "Would I say nonsense in front of my son?"

"You can't not be in front of me! You are the Prime Minister now, you must always pay attention to your appearance." Zhao Hao rolled his eyes and changed the subject, "Wang Tianguan will not just send you wine to congratulate you, right?"

"He also gave us this vinegar for dipping crabs." Zhao Shouzheng said, pointing at the shallow plate in front of him.

"I'm asking, what did he say?" Zhao Hao said helplessly.

"Oh." Zhao Shouzheng put down his wine glass and said, "He said two things. One was to explain that Zhang Yangmeng's impeachment of Pan Butang was really due to pressure from the palace. The other was that he was going to retire and return home, and asked me about my successor. If there were any other arrangements, and if the successor was not convenient to do it, he would arrange it before he retired."

"First, Liu Dongxing asked Xu Xuemo to pass on a message, saying that he didn't want to win unfairly. Then Wang Guoguang personally came out and said that they were forced to do it." Xu Wei gnawed on the crab legs and sneered, "But Zhang Yangmeng was ruthless when he attacked Pan Sheng. He really acted like a witch and a ghost, and played others as fools."

"It's still Lao Xi'er's trick of playing both sides." The writer is old and is not interested in crabs, which are very cold. He picked up a piece of yellow croaker meat that was as white as jade with chopsticks, dipped it in some scallion and juice, and put it into his mouth to chew carefully, saying: "But he has the capital. Over the past few decades, he has run Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu like an iron barrel. Didn't you hear what he said? Whether the West is in chaos or not, Lao Xi'er has the final say."

"Yes, in recent years they have imitated the group, monopolized the business with Tatars and Wala, and grasped the lifeline of the three provinces. If Lao Xier is unhappy, the people in the three provinces will not be able to eat." Zhao Jinshen agreed and said, "So no matter who is the prime minister, they have to cooperate with them. They are also fearless."

"Alas, I've discovered long ago that once you become the Prime Minister, all the affairs of the world will be related to you. You're really constrained everywhere." Master Zhao started to worry before he officially took office.

"Lao Xi'er is nothing to worry about. He is just a bunch of people who forget their principles when they see profit." Xu Wei said nonchalantly, "Who can give more than your son?"

"Let's not talk about that for now." Zhao Hao coughed twice and said, "Let's talk about the present. It seems that the emperor is going to take action against Eunuch Feng."

"Yes, it's obvious." Wu Shilai nodded and said regretfully, "Pan Shuilian once taught in the inner school hall and had a teacher-student relationship with Eunuch Feng. Feng Bao also helped him become the Minister of Rites. When Grand Tutor Zhang was on his deathbed, he was reinstated and promoted to the cabinet at Feng Bao's request."

"I didn't expect that my old fellow countryman would be impeached again while he was still on the road. Sigh, what a bad fate." He couldn't help but sigh: "In fact, what's even more unexpected is that the emperor couldn't wait to overturn the instructions left by the Grand Tutor."

"Yeah..." Everyone sighed, and Zhao Shouzheng was even more dejected.

"Old Pan is asking for it. He is already old, why didn't he stay at home and accept the imperial edict? He has ruined his reputation in vain." Xu Wei gloated, "The one who should be worried now is not him, but the ignorant eunuch Feng behind him."

Zhao Jin felt awkward when he heard this. Although he was younger, he was still one year older than Pan Sheng. Fortunately, he knew that Xu Wei was used to talking nonsense and was never polite when bullying Zhao Hao and his son, so he didn't take it to heart.

"Now that I think about it, the emperor's resentment towards Eunuch Feng has been pent up for many years." Zhao Shouzheng recalled leisurely, "I remember that it was the ninth year of the Wanli reign. After the last daily lecture at the end of the year, the emperor had to write a large character to bestow on his ministers as usual. Before that, Eunuch Feng, the internal minister, was always indispensable."

"But that time, after giving calligraphy to Grand Tutor Zhang, me and Old Shen, the Emperor skipped Eunuch Feng and started writing for the several daily lecturers present. Eunuch Feng probably thought that the Emperor had forgotten. He came forward and asked the Emperor for a calligraphy with a smile."

"The emperor looked at him with a half-smile and said, 'Yes, there's yours too.' He then picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and swirled it around in the inkstone several times to get the brush tip fully saturated. Then..." Zhao Shouzheng imitated Wanli's movements with chopsticks, waving them violently, "and with a snap, a lot of ink flew out, splashing onto Eunuch Feng's red python robe, his neck, and half of his face."

With a "puff", Xu Wei bit open the belly of a squid, and ink sprayed all over Wu Shilai's face, making Uncle Wu roll his eyes in anger. He thought to himself that he really admired the father and son of Zhao Ge Lao for being able to tolerate this fat guy for so many years.

But Uncle Wu couldn't interrupt the Prime Minister. He wiped it silently with a handkerchief and seemed to be listening attentively, perfectly resolving the embarrassment.

"We were all stunned at the time. Eunuch Feng was so frightened that he took several steps back. He didn't know whether to kneel or retreat, cry or laugh. He looked so pitiful. The emperor pretended not to see it, wrote the words slowly, and then turned to go inside." Zhao Shouzheng continued: "Looking at the four words '尔惟曲蘖' again, it makes people wonder what to think."

Everyone nodded. These four words originally came from the imperial edict of Wu Ding appointing Fu Yue as prime minister during the Shang Dynasty: "If you want to make wine, you should use koji and yeast; if you want to make soup, you should use salt and plums." This compares Fu Yue to the yeast used in making wine and the salt and plums used as seasonings for food, emphasizing the importance of the prime minister to the country.

But the original meaning of qujue is "moldy and sprouted grains", which has some insulting meaning. Therefore, since ancient times, when kings praised prime ministers, they always used the latter sentence "You are salty and plum", and rarely used the former sentence.

The emperor just threw ink all over Feng Bao. Do you think he was scolding him or cursing him?

"After the New Year, Eunuch Feng asked to retire and return home. But the emperor insisted on keeping him, saying that he and his mother couldn't do without him, and that he was just in a bad mood before, so he shouldn't take it to heart. Eunuch Feng thought that the emperor was still using him as a punching bag like he did when they were children, and that he wasn't really targeting him, so he didn't mention retiring." Zhao Shouzheng sighed again:

"He has been bedridden for the past two years and asked to leave again, but the emperor still refused, saying that if you go back to your hometown, I can't take care of you all the time, so you should stay in Beijing and recuperate. Eunuch Feng was so moved that he forgot everything and planned to continue serving the emperor after he recovered. But who would have thought, alas..."

Everyone sighed, but Xu Wei sneered, "How can we let a fat pig run away? We are waiting to kill it and eat its meat during the New Year!"

"That might really be what he meant..." Zhao Jin said with a gloomy face, "Over the years, the Ministry of Education has impeached Feng Bao and his gang for committing crimes and robbing the people's property in hundreds of memorials. Although they were all kept in the palace, their evil deeds are known to everyone, and they have amassed at least tens of millions of taels of wealth!"

How could Emperor Wanli miss such a good opportunity to vent his anger, make a fortune, and improve his reputation at the same time?

Moreover, to kill Feng Bao, one only needs an imperial decree, and it does not even need to go through the cabinet...

"Then the question is, should we protect him?" Xu Wei asked as he lit up his water pipe.

"Feng Bao himself is a mess, and his subordinates Xu Jue, Feng Bangning and their gang are even more evil. It's too painful to be a supporter of them. If you're not careful, you'll get into trouble." The writer shook his head.

"Yes, there is no need for us to carry this burden. We have a vested interest in this relationship. They have taken so many benefits from the group over the years. We have already paid for the goods and no longer owe each other anything." Wu Shilai also agreed.

"We can't be so reckless." Zhao Jin shook his head and said, "Although I don't know how much dirt on the group the factory guards have collected over the years, it must be a lot. If we don't help Eunuch Feng, even if they don't use it to threaten us, it will still be a big trouble if it falls into the hands of Zhang Hong and his gang."

"That makes sense..." Everyone nodded. They all knew that the emperor would take action against Jiangnan Group sooner or later. Although Jiangnan Group has always been cautious and conservative in China, its huge size is an unforgivable sin in itself.

The group was not ready to turn against the emperor. If they did not protect Eunuch Feng, the time for the showdown would be greatly advanced.

But if Zhao Shouzheng or the Jiangnan Gang came forward, it would be too embarrassing...

Including Lord Zhao, everyone looked at their real backbone - the young Lord who was dedicated to the people.

Zhao Hao calmly put down his crab claws, picked up a towel to wipe his hands, and said slowly:

"The person who tied the bell should be the one to untie it. Let them solve the trouble that Lao Xier caused themselves."

ps. It’s so easy to finish writing a chapter…