Bi Ziyan chuckled.
"Qian Qianyi is, after all, a veteran official, so it's normal for them to go and greet him."
"Alright, let's stop talking about this and get down to business."
He sighed as he said this.
"Alas, although there is certainly some exaggeration in this great victory in Liaodong, the Jurchens did at least retreat."
"We definitely have to grit our teeth and squeeze out some money."
"But where did this silver come from?"
Not long ago, Bi Ziyan's younger brother died in a mutiny because the imperial court simply couldn't afford to pay him.
It's only been a little over a month, and the Ministry of Revenue still has no money.
"Oh dear, what should we do!"
All the officials in the Ministry of Revenue sighed along with them.
"If there's no money, Liaodong will probably cause another uproar!"
However, at this moment, at Yongding Gate in the capital, the Donglin Party members gathered around Qian Qianyi with joyful expressions.
"Haha, Lord Qian, you're back! Our Great Ming Dynasty is about to recover!"
“That’s right. Our Great Ming Dynasty is now thriving. If we can persuade the emperor to give more important positions to the Donglin Party members, we can bring a righteous and upright court.”
"Then my Great Ming Dynasty will surely be able to revive!"
Qian Qianyi smiled broadly.
He didn't reply to those words, but instead looked at the capital city before him with greedy eyes.
"I, Qian Qianyi, am finally back!"
"Heh, back then, that eunuch relied on the late emperor's favor to drive me out of the capital."
"However, with the late emperor dead, won't I still have to return to the capital?"
Thinking of this, Qian Qianyi suddenly asked, "Why hasn't that eunuch Wei Zhongxian been taken down yet?"
"Could it be that you received a bribe from the castrator, and that's why you're pleading for him?"
After receiving the imperial edict, Qian Qianyi hurried on his way.
Along the way, I only heard bits and pieces of news that Wei Zhongxian had not died, but had been released again.
He was unaware of the truth, so he assumed that someone from the Donglin Party was speaking up for Wei Zhongxian.
"Don't you know that the eunuch faction is the greatest enemy of our Donglin Party?"
Qian Qianyi looked displeased.
"Since the time of Emperor Taizu, our Ming emperors have relied heavily on eunuchs to some extent."
"Let's not even talk about Wei Zhongxian, or Wang Zhen who caused the Tumu Fortress incident back then."
"Even Zheng He during the Yongle era was not a good person."
"He encouraged Emperor Chengzu to make seven voyages to the Western Ocean, wasting countless amounts of silver. He was also a villain who brought disaster to the country and the people."
"You let Wei Zhongxian go today, but sooner or later there will be trouble!"
Upon hearing Qian Qianyi's words, the Donglin Party members present all wore bitter smiles.
"Lord Qian, you're mistaken."
"We really didn't plead for Wei Zhongxian."
They exchanged a glance and decided to keep their plot to assassinate the emperor a secret for a while.
Qian Qianyi has only recently returned to Beijing; he had spent the previous few years in his hometown and had never been involved in this matter.
If he hears about this and abandons the Donglin Party, not only cutting ties with them but also turning around and reporting them, what if he does?
They were truly at a loss.
"Why not take advantage of this time to re-establish a bond with Lord Qian?"
"We also praised him to the skies, so that Lord Qian could replace Zhou Yanru and become the big boss of Donglin again."
"At that time, even if he wants to sever ties with us, the emperor certainly won't believe it. Lord Qian will have no choice but to find a way to resolve this matter for us!"
"And the simplest way, of course, is..."
After exchanging glances, one of the Donglin Party members immediately spoke up.
"Lord Qian, the one who persuaded His Majesty to release Wei Zhongxian is a wicked man surnamed Gao!"
Actually, their words were completely accidental.
The original intention was simply to seduce Qian Qianyi and make him oppose Gao Qingyun.
In the eyes of outsiders who are unaware of the truth, it must be that Qian Qianyi resented Gao Qingyun for offering the medicine, which is why he was causing trouble for him.
If that's the case, then Qian Qianyi must have also been involved in plotting to murder the emperor.
Qian Qianyi was unaware of the inside story.
He frowned and said, "Where did this sorcerer surnamed Gao come from?"
"Is he a Buddhist monk or a Taoist priest?"
Qian Qianyi's first thought was almost the same as Bi Ziyan's.
After learning of Gao Qingyun's existence, everyone assumed he was an old Taoist priest with a white beard, or a bald man with a white beard.
In short, he is definitely not an ordinary person.
The Donglin Party quickly offered an explanation.
"Lord Qian, you are unaware of this, but this sorcerer surnamed Gao has bewitched His Majesty, causing the emperor to address him as Master Gao!"
"After that, Master Gao took the opportunity to interfere in court affairs, not only getting His Majesty to release Wei Zhongxian, but also interfering in military power!"
"Yes, he actually persuaded His Majesty to personally appoint the top martial arts scholar. Isn't this clearly an attempt to prioritize martial arts over literary arts?"
"And what else? That sorcerer Gao also offered His Majesty some kind of pill. After His Majesty took it, he was bedridden and it took several days before he could walk normally again!"
All of these things are true, but many details are hidden.
For example, the so-called offering of medicine was clearly a pretext that Zhu Youjian was already on his deathbed and about to meet the founding emperor.
As a result, after taking Lingyuan's antibiotics, he was lively and energetic again a few days later.
However, the Donglin Party deliberately concealed the first part of the story, only saying that Zhu Youjian lay down for a while after taking the medicine.
It seems their ability to distort the truth is truly not to be underestimated.
Even a senior member of the Donglin Party, Qian Qianyi, didn't immediately notice anything amiss.
He roared in fury, "How could such a wicked person appear in the imperial court?"
"And yet you all turn a blind eye and don't even submit a memorial to advise His Majesty?"
Upon hearing this, the Donglin officials were all delighted.
This is exactly the effect they wanted.
Someone cautiously spoke up: "Of course we tried to persuade them too."
"Lord Zhou even took the lead in submitting a memorial, demanding that His Majesty kill that sorcerer."
"However, His Majesty not only ignored him, but also stripped Lord Zhou of his official position and imprisoned him in the imperial prison!"
Qian Qianyi frowned: "Lord Zhou? Could it be Zhou Yanru?"
He sighed only after seeing the Donglin officials nod in agreement:
"Hehe, I never thought he would have such backbone."
Qian Qianyi passed the imperial examination one year earlier than Zhou Yanru.
However, Qian Qianyi only achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations, while Zhou Yanru achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations.
Therefore, although Qian Qianyi was more senior, he felt somewhat inferior when facing Zhou Yanru.
The two men worked together to deal with Wei Zhongxian, but they had conflicts behind the scenes.
Historically, after Chongzhen ascended the throne, the two quickly became enemies.
Zhou Yanru sent Qian Qianyi back to his hometown, and Qian Qianyi expelled Zhou Yanru from the Donglin Party.
However, Qian Qianyi now has some respect for Zhou Yanru.
"He dares to write truthfully, which is indeed commendable."
After pondering for a moment, Qian Qianyi addressed the Donglin officials around him:
"When I return to the capital this time, I must first go to the palace to meet His Majesty."
"Don't worry, I will definitely bring this up again after I see the emperor."
"Even if we can't drive that sorcerer away immediately, we must get Zhou Yanru out of here first!"
"Such a loyal minister who cares deeply for his country and its people cannot be allowed to remain in prison indefinitely!"
The Donglin officials were overjoyed and echoed, "It's still Lord Qian who has the best ideas!"
"With Lord Qian back in the capital, Donglin will be fine, and the Ming Dynasty will be restored to its former glory."
This free flattery was thrown at them all at once.
Qian Qianyi accepted it all without hesitation, and said with a smug look on his face, "Just wait for my good news!"
He then headed towards the palace.
Not long after, Zhu Youjian received the news.
"Your Majesty, Qian Qianyi requests an audience."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com