Chapter 9 Chapter Nine: A Fatal Omission

Yan Song and his son racked their brains to prepare to deal with Xia Yan, but to their surprise, Xia Yan came to the door before they could do anything. The thing is like this, it is estimated that Yan Shifan was too greedy and annoyed many people, but he was sued. Now it is different from the past, the complaint letter fell into Xia Yan's hands, this man naturally said nothing, When the materials are ready, report to the leader. Yan Song panicked. When he heard the news, he immediately found his son of a corrupt criminal to discuss countermeasures. At the critical moment, this one of the top three talents in the world was too frightened. He pinched himself a few times before recovering.

Then he proposed a seemingly ridiculous solution: go to Xia Yan to intercede. Yan Song disagreed, because he thought he knew Xia Yan's personality very well, and this man had to be strict with his friends, not to mention that he was his deadly enemy. Yan Shifan insisted on his opinion: "This is the only way to survive!" So the father and son took all the equipment, including gifts, money, silk cloth to wipe tears, etc., and arrived at Xia Yan's door. After a long time, a response came: Xia Shoufu was not feeling well, and the two of you will come back another day. Come back another day?Don't be ridiculous, I don't know if the head is still there!

So Yan Song used the first piece of equipment - money. Of course, the money was not given to Xia Yan, but was stuffed into the guard's hands. It's not easy for everyone, brother, please let me go. After buying the concierge, Yan Song and his son walked into Xia Yan's residence. Xia Yan was lying on the bed pretending to be sick, when she heard the two people coming, she pretended not to wake up, rolled over and continued to sleep. It doesn't matter, nature has a way of getting you out of bed. Yan Song and Yan Shifan who were standing in the room were suddenly overwhelmed with grief, and wept bitterly on the spot, and the sound of wailing and weeping was earth-shattering.

Although this trick has been seen many times in history, it has been tried and tested repeatedly, and it is not feasible for ordinary people to use this trick. You must know that suddenly sadness starts from the heart, and the snot and tears flow down without hesitation. The technical control of the muscles and the central nervous system has reached the level of perfection, and a hundred years later, it is still amazing. Xia Yan couldn't bear it anymore, it was hard to rest for a day, but suddenly two live treasures ran in to cry, and they couldn't sleep, and they were lying on the bed, and they cried towards the bed, it was really unlucky.

So he stood up. It was from this time that his destruction began. Xia Yan walked in front of Yan Song, helped up the old man who was two years older than himself, kneeling on the ground in pain, and sighed: "Fenyi (Yan Song is from Fenyi, Jiangxi), why are you doing this?" Why bother?If it wasn't for your head, the devil would kneel down on you. Yan Song immediately stopped crying, woke up with a runny nose, pulled Yan Shifan, and stood in front of Xia Yan with a solemn image of pretending to be a grandson. Everyone is a sensible person. I know very well what you are here for and what you want.

So Xia Yan sighed and waved helplessly to show his attitude. Yan Song and Yan Shifan were overjoyed, and immediately kowtowed again to thank them, and left with a thousand thanks. History has proved that if a dog in the water is not beaten, it will become a wolf. Xia Yan is really a good old man. Although he looks old-fashioned, he is actually a good man with a broad mind and a benevolent heart. But in the arena of power, an out-and-out good person is doomed to ruin. Soon after, this good old man ran into trouble. When he was reviewing the official document (complaint letter) of the censor, he accidentally discovered a familiar name——Lu Bing.

Brother Lu Bing is really a person who can't stand loneliness. Although he still has some principles, he also likes to do things, collect some dirty money, and engage in corruption.Slowly, the matter became more and more troublesome, and finally got to the censor. So Xia Yan became angry. Although he had a good relationship with Lu Bing, it was still necessary to punish this person for his illegal behavior.However, shortly after he made up his mind, Lu Bing came to his door. Lu Bing didn't just eat, he was a secret agent. Under his wise leadership, Jinyiwei has become the most terrifying intelligence machine. Whenever there is any trouble in the capital, he is always the first to know.This time is no exception.

In the capital, Lu Bing seldom has people who are afraid. Xia Yan is the only one. This Lord Jinyiwei knows very well that Xia Shoufu is a fool. It doesn't matter, as long as you look for it, they will all be knocked to the ground, and they will be trampled on. The panic-stricken Lu Bing couldn't think of any other way, so he had to follow Yan Shifan's old path and come to plead for mercy. He didn't go empty-handed, and sent someone to take three thousand taels of silver to go with him.He knew that Xia Yan had been on the battlefield for decades, and talking was a waste of emotion, so it was better to get something affordable.

From this matter, it is enough to conclude that Lu Bing's level is not as good as Yan Shifan's, because he has dealt with Xia Yan for many years, and he didn't even know that this man does not accept black money. So when Xia Yan saw Lu Bing and the things he brought, he only said two words - get out. I also added a sentence - wherever you bring it, you can bring it back. Lu Bing was also stunned. In desperation, he had no choice but to use the trick Yan Shifan had used - crying bitterly, kneeling down and begging for mercy. Of course, the result was still the same, Xia Yan still forgave him, which seemed a bit incomprehensible, since you are not going to deal with others, why do you have to go to such trouble.

Lu Bing left Xia Yan's house with tears in his eyes, but his heart was already full of anger. Reputation is not important, and principles are no longer important. No matter what, we must avenge this arrow! When the news of Lu Bing's humiliation spread, Yan Shifan found his father and said this sentence: "Xia Yan's death is not far away." Yan Shifan is confident in saying this, he has found an excellent opportunity, and he will be able to eradicate Xia Yan in one fell swoop. Yan Song is still at a loss, the court is full of Xia Yan's people, it is not easy to get involved, how to do it?

However, Yan Shifan told him that there is no need to form cliques and cultivate cronies. There is one thing right now, as long as one of them uses a little trick, Xia Yan will undoubtedly die. What Yan Shifan said happened a year ago. In the twenty-fifth year of Jiajing (1546), Zeng Mian, the minister of the Ministry of War and the governor of the Trilateral Military Affairs Department, sent a memorial to Jiajing, which kicked off the drama. Zeng Mi is a general with great military ability. Although he was born as a civil servant, he likes military affairs. military talent. It should be said that Zeng Mian was a strange person, the blame was that others were unwilling to fight, but he was addicted to fighting, as long as he had the opportunity, he would never let it go. The worst thing he has ever done happened on New Year's Eve. After a year of fighting, everyone finally prepared for the New Year. "Everyone pack up and prepare to send troops to fight!" It's the Chinese New Year, everyone, let's stop for two days, it's unlucky to use a knife or a gun at this time, no one wants to go out and fight hard.Moreover, the whereabouts of the Mongols are uncertain, and they may not be able to find people when they go out. But the coach had to listen to the order, so everyone discussed a way and found someone to intercede with Zeng Mi's wife, hoping to postpone it. In less than a cup of tea time, the news came that the man who went to intercede had been chopped off and his head was hung out. Then don't fight, let's go out and fight hard. Coincidentally, not long after the army set off, they really found the long-lost old Mongolian friends, chased after them, beat gongs and drums, and returned to the camp victorious. But everyone has the same question in their hearts: Chinese New Year, even the scouts are resting, how do you know that the Mongols are nearby? "Didn't you notice that the magpies and crows nearby are very noisy today." Zeng Mi smiled smugly. His whole life was ruined by his complacency. Zeng Mi was destined to be a restless person, so he decided to make persistent efforts to make greater contributions to the country in his own position.So he put forward a suggestion in that letter-recover Hetao. The Hetao area, which is today’s Ningxia and the Helan Mountain area in Inner Mongolia, originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty, but this place is right at the door of the Mongolian tribe’s house. Mongolian neighbors come to visit from time to time to “take” something. Take it easy, it's slowly getting out of hand.Over time, this place became the sphere of influence of Mongolia. At the beginning, people didn't care much about it. If you lose the place where birds don't lay eggs, just lose it.But later people discovered that giving up the Loop was a serious mistake. Because the Mongols encircled this land not to open shops and do business, nor did they want to develop real estate. They occupied the Hetao just to better complete the robbery task. And the Ming Dynasty, which lost the Hetao, is like a hawker who sets up a stall on the street. He has no life every day, and he has to be rectified several times. He either kills your person or robs your goods. Zeng Mi finally couldn't stand it anymore. He may be impatient, but he is a person who loves the people and is determined to serve the country. How can the barbarians be allowed to ravage the world tomorrow! So, with the passion of serving the country, he wrote the article vowing to restore Hetao: This is a once-and-for-all strategy, and the community of all ages depends on it. ——This is Zeng Mi's beautiful ideals and passion. After the article was sent up, Mr. Jiajing was also excited. This is really unprecedented. You must know that although this Taoist priest is doing alchemy and reading scriptures every day, he is only a part-time job after all. opinions, and issued a document to the cabinet for discussion. The problem is in the cabinet. When Xia Yan saw this memorial, he applauded it immediately, expressing his absolute support, and then wrote another article to express his approval.Of course, as usual, he did not consult Yan Song, another supporting actor. But he ignored a very strange phenomenon: in the past, even if he didn't say hello, Yan Song would have already come forward to express his support or approval, but this time, this sycophant just sat aside, closed his eyes and rested his mind, as if Didn't know about it at all. The impatient Xia Yan ran to Xiyuan excitedly, he wanted to express his excitement.But Yan Song, who was sitting in a dark corner, showed a smile. Xia Yan was finally confused for a while - Yan Song made such a judgment. The so-called hundred secrets and one sparseness, Xia Yan, who has been in the ups and downs for more than ten years, has not yet grasped the emperor's mind. Recovering the territory is naturally a good thing for the country, but Mr. Jiajing may not think so. You know, this Taoist brother is a person who doesn't like to cause trouble. His wish is very simple, he just wants to burn incense, read scriptures, and make some chemicals (so-called elixir) when he has nothing to do, so as to live a few more years. If the recovery of the territory goes smoothly, it is good, but if it does not go well, if the battle is defeated, it will be troublesome. If you lose troops, you will lose your generals. You have to read battle reports, transport food, recruit troops, and discuss countermeasures every day. die. All in all, his heat is only three minutes, and from four minutes onwards, anyone who dares to interfere with his private life will become an obstacle for him. Yan Song's guess was correct. Not long after, Mr. Jiajing suddenly issued an edict, which was concise and to the point: Today is a set of thieves, is the master famous? Soldiers have more than enough food and fruit, is success inevitable? What's the point of saying after a while, is it like living people being poisoned? Basically, I want to send troops to recover the lost land, but there are many problems. There is no reasonable name, the soldiers don’t have enough food and grass, there is no guarantee of victory, and the common people will be hurt. Of course, this is just the literal meaning, and its implied meaning is much simpler: What were you before, that you dared to cause me trouble and make me feel uncomfortable? When Yan Song saw this decree, he ran back home in a hurry. The opportunity had come, but he had to discuss with that genius son how to do it. "It's a great time to impeach Xia Yan immediately. Why hesitate?" Yan Shifan seemed a little surprised. Yan Song didn't have Xia Yan's compassionate heart, he hesitated only because he didn't know what to do next, could he still scold Xia Yan to death? So Yan Shifan told him that although he didn't know what to do, as long as he cooperated with one person, Xia Yan would definitely die! Then he went to visit Lu Bing overnight. For Lu Bing, this is really a dream opportunity. Since that incident, revenge has become the theme of his life. The two world talents hit it off immediately and began to discuss countermeasures. The negotiation process was as follows: Yan Shifan said to Lu Bing, you are a senior official and the emperor's cronies, you should come forward to deal with Xia Yan. Lu Bing watched Yan Shifan seriously, and told him: You should go, I will support you behind your back. In fact, after all these years, everyone is not stupid. Xia Yan's image of a lonely hero against Zhang Cong is still firmly engraved in the brains of the two of them. tremble. In any case, so far the two sides have reached a consensus that Xia Yan is fierce and no one can afford to mess with him. Timid is timid, but the problem still needs to be solved.The two geniuses studied hard for a long time, and finally found Xia Yan's Achilles' heel - Zeng Mian. Compared with Xia Yan, Zeng Mian is an ideal breakthrough point. As long as Zeng Mian is dealt with, Xia Yan will definitely be dragged into the water. But Zeng Mi was far away from the frontier, and his usual behavior was upright, so there was no reason to catch him. Lu Bing thought for a moment, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "I think of a person, if he is willing to join, he will definitely help us solve this problem." "It's not too late, I'll go see this person right away." Yan Shifan was already impatient. Lu Bing smiled, "You won't see him because he's still in prison." The person Lu Bing mentioned was Qiu Luan.This man has a lot of background, he is the descendant of Qiu Yue, the general who put down the rebellion of King Anhua during the Zhengde period, he was the Marquis of Xianning and guarded Gansu. And the reason why this brother is in prison is thanks to Zeng Mi.When he was in Gansu, he had conflicts with Zeng Mi, and this person was of poor character and had done some bad things in the local area. In a fit of anger, Zeng Mi sued his superiors, and Qiu Luan was imprisoned for reform. All candidates have been found, all plans are complete, and only the final attack awaits. Xia Yan once again spoke in front of Jiajing, the content was the same as before, hoping to strengthen the armament and restore Hetao.And Jiajing was, as always, noncommittal.When the two sides were at a stalemate, Yan Song finally spoke. "It is absolutely impossible to repeat the set!" Then he stated the reasons for his opposition in a big way, from armaments to logistics, every word touched Jiajing's heart, and the emperor nodded repeatedly. Xia Yan who was next to him didn't notice this, his head was overwhelmed by anger and shock, and he finally understood why Yan Song violated the usual flattering spirit and kept silent at that cabinet meeting. "Since you objected, why didn't you say it at the time, and now you stand up and blame me? What's your intention?" Xia Yan, who was furious, decided to fight back. He has always been the winner in previous scolding battles, so he thinks this time is no exception. But this time is indeed an exception, because his real opponent is not Yan Song, but Jiajing who is sitting in the highest position. Jiajing's anger has also reached its peak, and scenes from the past have appeared before his eyes: not wearing a fragrant leaf crown, satirizing monasticism, arrogance and unreasonableness, Yan Song's slander, eunuch's bad words, these are enough. So he stopped Xia Yan and gave him a creepy comment - "Strengthen the king and threaten the people". Xia Yan shuddered, he knew exactly what this sentence meant. Xia Yan, who had completely lost the emperor's trust, was completely finished. In the twenty-seventh year of Jiajing (1548), he was forced to retire again and left the capital. Before that, Zeng Mian had already been arrested and imprisoned. It should be said that the emperor treated Xia Yan well, and allowed him to retire with the title of minister (ministerial level) and enjoy corresponding retirement benefits.After all, we have been together for more than 20 years, let's go home and live a good life. Xia Yan went on the road full of grief and indignation and a bit of relief. Although the ending was not good, after all, he had a good time, and this life was worth it. But a political master is like a hero of the rivers and lakes. It is very difficult to wash his hands and walk away. It must be known that although being a hero is glorious, it is even more glorious to kill a hero. When political masters fight, they never play three axes. They all use routines, starting from the inconspicuous starting moves, interlocking, until the final fatal blow. What Xia Yan didn't know was that just as he was packing his luggage in despair, a petition letter had already been delivered to Jiajing. This letter came from the prison and was signed by Qiu Luan. The letter listed Zeng Mi's major crimes, including embezzlement of military pay, failure to report defeats, false credits without fighting, etc. Of course, this thing is not Qiu Boss It was written on behalf of Yan Song and Yan Shifan. The various evil deeds listed in the letter were naturally not done by Zeng Mi. In fact, many of them were the feats of Qiu Luan himself, but there is no need for excuses and reasons for framing, so this seems understandable. Although this document said a lot of vicious words, the most terrifying thing was one of the very inconspicuous words - make a close servant (Xia Yan). When these words appeared in front of Jiajing's eyes, he changed his mind: "Where is Xia Yan now? Hurry up and chase him back!" At this time, Xia Yan had just arrived in Tongzhou. After all, he had been working in the court for so many years, and he was already mentally prepared, so when he heard that someone said he was going to take him back, he didn't panic, but sat in his own carriage. on, calmly asked: "What is my crime?" But when the four-character answer reached his ears, Xia Yan's will completely collapsed, and he fell off the car after only uttering one sentence. "I am dead!" The judgment is completely accurate. In the court of the Ming Dynasty, officials often made mistakes. In fact, it doesn’t matter if you make mistakes. Life is still very long. As long as you can survive, it is not impossible to make a comeback. However, there are also a few high-voltage lines that must not be touched. Three hundred thousand volts, One touch is dead. A vassal king entering Beijing without authorization is counted as one, and a general making friends with close officials is also counted as one. Because they all hide an implicit meaning - plotting evil.Whether it is the king of heaven or Lao Tzu, or the bandit of Jiangyang, as long as he dares to touch the highest imperial power, in a word-killing you is not a question. Xia Yan, who returned to the capital, tried to argue, but it didn't work. In October of the 27th year of Jiajing (1548), the fate of Zeng Mian and Xia Yan was finally determined. Zeng Mian was beheaded according to the law, and his wife was exiled for two thousand miles. Lian, the family had no money left when he died. Before he died, he left only his last words: "serve the country with one heart". After Zeng died, Qiu Luan was released from prison. Xia Yan abandoned the city, his wife was exiled to Guangxi, and his sons and grandchildren cut their jobs for the people. Xia Yan started from a humble beginning, heroic and talented, he argued vertically and horizontally. Speak of death, Song disaster and the world. After all, Yan Song still won. Since the seventeenth year of Jiajing, after more than ten years of struggle, he finally defeated Xia Yan, using an extremely despicable means. Although the means of political struggle are always despicable, Yan Song's behavior is different from the past. For his own self-interest, he killed two innocent people, a general who worked hard and was loyal to his duties, and an honest and selfless general who worked hard for the country. Minister. And what these two people want to do is to recover the territory that originally belonged to Ming Dynasty, and to redeem countless people struggling and moaning under the Mongolian iron cavalry. Yan Song won, he finally won, he became the chief assistant of the imperial court, from this day on, the government affairs will be like this, no one will take care of it from dawn to dusk, Yan Shoufu can collude with his son, and greedily , greedy openly, he is very clear that no one can control him, and no one dares to control him. That's the way it is in Hetao. The Mongols, as always, rushed into the homes of the people, burned, killed, raped and looted, doing everything.Because they also know very well that no one can stop them from now on, and no one dares to stop them. Of course, all of this doesn’t seem to matter to Yan Song and Yan Shifan. Anyway, Tatar’s saber can’t cut their heads, and they don’t have to worry about their wives being robbed. At this moment, they are celebrating their birthday victory. At the same time, Xu Jie's behavior was extremely abnormal. Xia Yan was framed and imprisoned, and then his head was separated and his family was destroyed. All these tragedies happened before his eyes, and he just watched all this calmly, Ignore it at all. On the eve of Xia Yan's murder, even Yu Maojian (Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice), who had a normal relationship with him, couldn't stand it any longer.But Xu Jie remained silent and silent. Everyone despises Xu Jie's character, because everyone knows that in the past ten years, Xia Yan has put aside his personal grudges, worked hard to promote and cultivate Xu Jie, hoping that he will become a pillar of the country, but at this critical moment However, Xu Jie turned his back on his mentor. He didn't say a word or write a book. He was an ungrateful villain. Xu Jie silently accepted all the ridicule and contempt, went to work in the official department as usual, dealt with the officials as usual, talked and laughed happily as usual, it seemed that the death of that person had nothing to do with him. Time is a sharp tool to erase traces. With the passage of time, Xia Yan and Zeng Mian have disappeared from people's minds, and their grievances, grievances, orphans and widows have also been gradually forgotten. But there is one person who has not forgotten, never. In countless late nights, Xu Jie had tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, but when morning came, he seemed to be indifferent. If he was still the young and energetic Hanlin twenty years ago, the situation might be completely different, and the general process should be filled with righteous indignation and impassioned - he wrote a letter in anger, his heart was happy - the treacherous officials were in power, and he issued an order to punish him - he was exiled Filled with troops, beheaded for public display. (The last item depends on whether you are lucky or not) Twenty years have passed, he has gone through countless tempering, and he has mastered the true meaning of mind learning. The passionate young man has long since disappeared. He finally understands that this world is real, and he must adapt to this world and continue to survive. Appropriate methods must be used. He also wanted to get excited like the others, and wrote a letter to scold the treacherous official Yan Song and complain for Xia Yan, but he knew better that doing so would not have any effect. Yan Song is much stronger than Zhang Cong. He has gone through three dynasties and has been in the officialdom for more than forty years. They have formed a terrifying chain of power, strangling anyone who stands in their way. And myself, nothing. It is almost impossible to defeat such a group of enemies. Everyone knows the relationship between himself and Xia Yan. Xia Yan is dead, and Yan Song will definitely not let go of a person who has such a close relationship with him. Now the only barrier is Lost, no more protection, no help. I will face all enemies alone, only myself. "Even if you are in a desperate situation in the future, you still need to stick to it, and never give up!" Yes, I have always kept these words in my heart, to be patient, to endure pain and torture, to live strong, only by living can there be hope of victory. But there are some things that will never be forgotten, the old man who is rigid and serious, the person who is upright, hard-spoken and soft-hearted, the person who puts his heart on the public regardless of previous suspicions.And Yan Song, you shamelessly killed this person for your own power and interests. If you don't avenge this revenge, you swear not to be a human being!