The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"What if you stay?"

Yan Song asked in a deep voice.

At that time, he actually thought that such a thing would happen, but he didn't expect that his son would not restrain himself at all in the past few years, but would intensify his behavior.

He really didn't know it at first. Donglou was very smart. If he could see it, he would definitely be able to see it too.

In his opinion, even if he was convicted, based on his hard work in serving the emperor for so many years, his son would only be dismissed from office and deprived of his fame. Could he really be thrown into prison?

However, it was too late to know that my son had been living in Waihu all these years. It was too late.

I extend my kindness to some people in private just in case there are people in the capital who can help take care of me.

However, it seems that his son has other plans.

"I haven't thought about it yet, but I definitely can't make a mistake at this time."

Yan Shifan said and looked at his father, "Father, with your current situation, sometimes you really can't outsmart that old fox Xu Jie. It's really uneasy without a son by your side."

What is the son's plan? In fact, when you think about it, there is only one way. That way is also the only way to preserve the prosperity and wealth of the Yan family. There is no other way.

Although Yan Song was half dead at the age of burial, he still hoped that his children and grandchildren could live a better life.

I still made up my mind to continue making some arrangements. No matter what my son's plan was, it was not for the future of the Yan family.

As for the cabinet, Yan Song certainly knew what was going on. Xu Jie wanted to replace him and it would not be a matter of a day or two. However, he had not yet mastered cultivation, so the emperor did not trust him.

However, he is getting old after all.

He looked deeply at Yan Shifan and said nothing, but he still agreed with his plan in his heart.

After being rich for half my life, I really can't bear to see my family in decline when I get old, and my children and grandchildren have no food and clothing. I can just close my eyes and ignore the things behind me, but their lives are still long.

Nodding slightly, he gave Yan Shifan an answer.

When Yan Shifan saw his father nodding, he felt happy. It wasn't that he was unfilial to his biological mother. She was gone. Logically, he, the son, should return to his hometown to abide by the rules, but the current situation really didn't allow it.

Hey, it's just that I'm alone and don't even have a brother, otherwise I wouldn't be so passive. But it's useless to think about this, so Yan Shifan opened his mouth and told his plan.

"Father, in this case, my mother's coffin will be returned to her hometown by"

Xu Jie, who was drinking with Gao Gong, really didn't expect Yan Shifan to make such a decision.

Although Yan Shifan did not become an official through the imperial examination, but took a shortcut and went directly to the Imperial College to study, and then became an official directly, he was familiar with the classics and history and was a scholar.

What is filial piety these days?

Xu Jie really didn't expect that Yan Shifan would dare to directly encourage his father to ask Emperor Jiajing to spare his son from Ding You, otherwise he would not have given the emperor some eye drops in advance.

The reason why Xu Jie was careless about this matter was not only that he felt that the Yan family were scholars and should know this, but there was also another important reason, that is, the current Ming Dynasty was not the same as the early Ming Dynasty.

At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu Yuanzhang and Ding You paid more attention to the approval. According to the "Records of Taizu of the Ming Dynasty", all those who were officials abroad had to wait for the court to send a verification document to their place of origin before they could return to their hometown for funerals after hearing that their parents had died.

However, communication methods in ancient times were relatively backward, so it would take a long time to go back and forth. By the time the officials arrived home, the funeral might have been over, and there was no time to send the parents off for the last time.

In response to this problem, in the eighth year of Hongwu's reign, Lu Ben, the then Peking Inspector, proposed that after the death of an official's parents, the family members should directly report to the court through local officials, thus reducing the need for back-and-forth inquiries and verifications.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang also stipulated that "except for Ding You, who is the bearer of parents and grandparents, the rest of the people who are in annual uniform are not allowed to attend funerals."

It can be seen that the Ming Dynasty basically continued the Dingyou system of the Han and Tang Dynasties. This was mainly because the ideas promoted by the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty were consistent with those of the Han and Tang Dynasties. They all placed "filial piety" before "loyalty" and hoped that through "filial piety" To strengthen "loyalty" and then consolidate one's dominance.

In fact, at the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang was very strict about seizing love, and basically all officials forced Ding You. It was only in the Yongle period that a precedent was set for seizing love, but it was relatively restrained.

This situation completely changed during the reigns of Xuanzong and Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, and the trend of seizing love reached its climax. In the Xuande Dynasty, 25 people captured love, in the Zhengtong Dynasty, there were 77 people, and in the short period of Jingtai Dynasty, 39 people captured love. After the restoration of the Tianshun Dynasty, 27 people were captured in love.

Stealing love became almost a trend during this period. Officials of all sizes in the imperial court wanted to steal love, so much so that officials from the Ministry of Rites had to write a letter requesting that foreign officials be prohibited from stealing love.

With the memorials from officials of the Ministry of Rites, the phenomenon of seizing love in the Ming Dynasty began to be curbed. In the end, unless it encountered war-related situations, the court basically did not agree with seizing love.

Generally speaking, except for the particularly relaxed decades, in the Ming Dynasty, only these types of people could win love:

First, military generals, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as Ding You;

Second, it is difficult for the imperial court to find people to replace talents in special positions, such as imperial doctors and imperial officials;

Third, people who are not generals but are related to the war, such as local officials who are organizing counter-insurgency work when there is a rebellion in their jurisdiction;

In addition, there is another type of person who can also seize love, that is, the parent official of the party in charge. The people spontaneously ask for his life and seize love for him, but there are very few such people.

What needs special explanation is that in the early Ming Dynasty, officials such as governors and governors generally allowed Ding You to marry him, but in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, they generally took advantage of him.

Generally speaking, people who can seize love "according to the law" are those who are in danger of the country's security or who the emperor really can't live without.

Yan Song's wife died, so naturally he was not in the category that required Ding You as set by Taizu. Yan Song did not need Ding You, but Yan Shifan was different.

What's more, Yan Shifan and Ding You will not affect the government affairs. Xu Jie feels that his body and spirit can still work for the country for another twenty years.

I just never expected that under such circumstances, Yan Shifan would be able to play tricks on him.

Early on the next morning, Yan Song washed up, put on his court clothes, and went to the mourning hall to take a look. With the support of Yan Shifan, he left the house and got into the sedan chair and rushed to Xiyuan, with Yan Shifan following behind.

After receiving the imperial edict, it is natural to express gratitude.

Yan Shifan followed Yan Song into Xiyuan and met Emperor Jiajing in Yongshou Palace to express his gratitude. These were just red tape. If Yan Song had not brought Yan Shifan in, Emperor Jiajing would usually have people salute directly outside Yongshou Palace. .

After Yan Shifan thanked her, Emperor Jiajing sighed: "Your mother is also a long-lived person, so she should have no regrets. However, you must handle your funeral in a peaceful manner."

Yan Shifan shouted "obey the order" and knelt down to kowtow.

When Yan Shifan finished kowtow and stood up, Emperor Jiajing looked at Yan Song, then at Yan Shifan, and then said: "Your family has a lot of things to do, so you should go back first."

Yan Shifan knew that although he helped his father handle official affairs in the cabinet, he was not a cabinet bachelor after all, even with Emperor Jiajing's permission.

Yan Song had been at home on leave for the past two days due to family matters. The emperor asked him to go home and leave his father behind, presumably because he wanted to talk about cabinet matters.

There are only two people in the cabinet now. My father can't be on duty, so Xu Jie is the only one left. Naturally, it won't work.

Either the father will return to the cabinet to work, or he will add cabinet ministers, but the addition of cabinet ministers cannot be decided in a short while, so letting his father join the cabinet to handle official affairs is probably what the emperor has to do now.

After resigning from Yongshou Palace, Yan Song was thinking about this matter.

Considering Emperor Jiajing's reliance on Yan Song, he should have agreed. Before he left Xiyuan, he saw several eunuchs and chamberlains approaching from a distance. The chamberlains were still holding memorials in their hands.

Of course Yan Shifan was familiar with this scene. They were all official documents handed over from the cabinet to the Supervisor of Ceremonies. The person walking at the front of the crowd was naturally Gao Zhong, and behind him was an eunuch whom he also recognized, Chen Ju.

He exchanged polite words with Gao Zhong and passed by each other.

After taking two steps, Yan Song suddenly stood still and unconsciously turned back to look at the backs of Gao Zhong and Chen Ju.

In the past, the interactions between Chen Ju and Wei Guangde were very secretive, but now they are no longer secretive. They still don't know what's going on. It seems that someone in the outer court has noticed it.

Although it is difficult to judge whether it is true or not, the rumor did spread. I don't know whether it was discovered by someone or whether it was accidentally spread by someone in the palace or the Wei family. In short, it was somewhat exposed.

Many people in the Wei family have met Chen Ju, and the emperor in the palace also sent him to contact Wei Guangde. It's hard to say what went wrong.

Therefore, when Wei Guangde and Chen Ju met sometimes, they no longer kept secrets about it. Yan Shifan naturally knew such news.

Moreover, Yan Shifan knew about it a little earlier than the news spread in the outer court, and it was all spread by people in the Yongshou Palace.

However, at that time, Yan Shifan thought it was Wei Guangde who Chen Ju had been ordered to meet by the emperor, and didn't think much about it. But now he saw Gao Zhong and Chen Ju, and based on their relationship, he began to have suspicions.

Unlike Prince Yu's Mansion, Prince Yu's Mansion knew from the beginning that Wei Guangde's information in the palace was very reliable. Chen Ju alone would not know a lot of information in advance, so Prince Yu's Mansion also had some guesses.

Yan Shifan suspected Gao Zhong, but it was not difficult. Who else could the eunuchs in the palace rely on besides the emperor?

King Yu, if things continue to develop normally, will become the master of the Forbidden City in the future. Among these eunuchs, except Huang Jin, none of them want to move to King Yu early.

In the Yongshou Palace, Emperor Jiajing was filled with emotion when he saw Yan Song's silver hair.

Seeing him, he unconsciously thought of Xia Yan, then Mr. Zhang, and even Yang Tinghe and others whose memories were blurred.

Perhaps, this is what old people often think about.

"It's not easy. It's really not easy for you and your wife. You have been living with honor and disgrace for so many years. I heard that at home, you two have never blushed. Is Ouyang also eighty?"

Emperor Jiajing sighed.

"yes."

Yan Song looked very sad at this time and replied in a low voice.

"There are not many couples in their eighties."

Emperor Jiajing just sighed, and then the topic returned to government affairs.

"Nowadays, there is only one Yu Huating in the cabinet. There are so many things that one person can't handle. The government still relies on Wei Zhong."

When Emperor Jiajing said this, he naturally wanted to hear Yan Song's answer as to when he would return to the cabinet.

It's hard to say whether to approve such a leave, but to approve it, it's true that there are too many government affairs to handle.

When Yan Song entered the Yongshou Palace arrogantly, his eyes were dull and he just stared blankly at the ground in front of him. At this time, he changed his previous appearance, raised his eyes to look at Emperor Jiajing, and said with great difficulty: " Song is not talented. His Majesty values ​​him as the first and assistant. He dares not deprive him of his duties for personal reasons. Your Majesty has shown great kindness to my Yan family. Song should pledge his life to the country. Tomorrow I will return to the cabinet to handle errands."

As he spoke, his tone gradually became lower, "Song has been accompanied by his wife all the way. Now that his wife is not around, Song has to return to his hometown to observe filial piety with only one son by his side.

It’s already eighty-one in the year of Song. After this separation, I wonder if I can see Shi Fan one last time.”

After saying this, Yan Song's yellow eyes turned red unconsciously, but his face full of vicissitudes of life showed a trace of perseverance, as if he was holding back tears from flowing out.

He directly begged for mercy and asked Emperor Jiajing to win his love. It was inappropriate to keep Yan Shifan by his side, so he had to show off his age.

Although Yan Song's body and bones were not as good as before, his family knew that it was a matter of his own family, so it would be fine for him to stay for another two or three years. However, thinking about the discussion last night, he could only shamelessly pretend to be pitiful in front of the emperor.

I thought Yan Song like this had never appeared in front of Emperor Jiajing.

As the first assistant, Yan Song had always appeared very stable and responsible in front of Emperor Jiajing, but at this moment, in the eyes of Emperor Jiajing, Yan Song was no different from an old man among the people.

At this moment, Emperor Jiajing was moved in his heart.

He has known Yan Song for twenty years. Thinking about Yan Song's appearance when he first met him, and then looking at his old appearance now, Emperor Jiajing felt unbearable in his heart.

It will take more than two years for Yan Shifan and Ding You, plus the time spent traveling back and forth, it will be almost three years.

Looking at Yan Song's appearance, and considering that he is already eighty years old, his legs may kick off at any time. By that time, there will not even be anyone around him who is filial and burns paper money.

Although I have a grandson, can my grandson compare with my son?

Emperor Jiajing couldn't help but tighten his hand on the armrest of the throne. He knew the situation of the Ming Dynasty best in recent years. Others were eager to take the position of chief minister, but only those in power knew the real situation.

It is not easy for Yan Song to be the first assistant.

It is true that the biggest problem for the imperial court was lack of money, but it just lacked ways to get money, which was to rely on Yan Song to move around and try to maintain the situation.

"I originally agreed to let Shi Fan join the cabinet to help handle official affairs. When you join the cabinet tomorrow, take him with you."

Emperor Jiajing said.

"Your Majesty, this is not allowed."

Yan Song hurriedly opened his mouth to stop him, but was interrupted by Emperor Jiajing's hand.

"I remember that Shi Fan had two sons. The eldest son was no longer loyal, so he asked the second son to carry his coffin back to his hometown, Huang Jin."

When Huang Jin heard Emperor Jiajing calling him, he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to obey the order.

"I was told by Xu Jie to draw up an edict that the chief minister should not be left unattended in his old age. He was ordered to stay in the world to support him, so that he did not have to attend the funeral. He was also ordered to protect the coffin and return it to the post office."

"According to the order."

Huang Jin immediately agreed, then retreated to the door of the main hall and sent someone to deliver the news to the cabinet. At this time, Yan Song was already lying on the ground and crying: "Old minister, I would like to thank your majesty for your kindness."

"You should put state affairs first and suppress your sorrow to comfort me."

Emperor Jiajing felt bad about Yan Song's gratitude and said with emotion.