Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Dawn

Regardless of the outcome of Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei, they finally had a glorious moment. However, for Xu Jie, his life was shrouded in darkness from beginning to end. Yang Jisheng died, Tang Shunzhi left, and the scene of betrayal once again When he appeared, his subordinates looked for another way out, no one was willing to attach to him, because no one was willing to fight against Yan Song. And what made him feel the most pain was undoubtedly the Wang Shizhen incident. Wang Shizhen was included in Yan Song's blacklist. In fact, this talented man did not offend Yan Shoufu. All of this was because after Yang Jisheng's death, he helped the poor classmate collect the body, and even cried a lot.

It's just collecting the corpse for someone, it's just crying bitterly, don't you even have this bit of power? For Yan Song, the answer is yes, the rebels must be punished, and those who sympathize with the rebels must also be punished. He pointed his spearhead at Wang Shizhen. But Wang Shizhen was smart, he was very careful, and did not leave Yan Song any excuses, but Yan Shoufu finally found a breakthrough—his father. Coincidentally, at this time, Wang Shizhen's father, Wang Ying, had a problem at work and was dismissed for questioning. Originally, this was a big or small matter, but because of his son's problem, Yan Song intervened and the question turned out to be a big one. capital offense.

Wang Shizhen panicked, he gave up all his dignity and position, immediately left his job and rushed to the capital, and went straight to Yan Song's home, because he knew that everything was in the hands of this person, including his father's life and death. It's been a few years since Lu Bing used it, and Yan Song did it, and now it's Wang Shizhen, but unfortunately, this time, his job target is not Xia Yan, but Yan Song. Wang Shizhen knelt at Yan Song's doorway, day and night, kowtowed and begged for mercy, and cried bitterly. Yan Song seemed to be moved, and met him in person, saying on the spot that there is no need to worry about this matter. With Yan Song here, your father Of course it's fine.

Wang Shizhen believed his words, but after a period of time, not only did he not see his father released from prison, but his colleagues in the Ministry of Criminal Justice even let him know that Yan Song had urged them several times to close the case quickly and kill Wang Ying. Wang Shizhen was stunned, but he had no other way. After thinking about it, he decided to use the last method, a method that many people would never use even if they died. The next day, on the sidewalk where the courtiers went to court, Wang Shizhen and his younger brother knelt down and kowtowed to the civil and military officials who were going to court, until their faces were bleeding, hoping they could help to say a good word, Released his father.

Yet no one paid any attention to them. So Wang Shizhen made a heartbreaking move for countless scholars. He knelt on the ground, slapped himself, and cried while slapping his face until his face was red and swollen. Still no one paid any attention to them. Everyone saw this tragic scene, but everyone kept silent, because people like Yang Jisheng were a minority after all. So a month later, Wang Ying was killed. Wang Shizhen was distraught, but there was nothing he could do. Yan Song won again, but he didn't expect that this was actually the second stupid thing he did after Yang Jisheng.Because Wang Shizhen is a person who must not be offended.

You know, although this brother Wang is not a high-ranking official, he is a great talent. He is a leader in the literary world and has great social influence. It is said that anyone who gets his praise will become famous. He said yes, and everyone thought it was really good.In today's words, he is a person with the right to speak, so Yan Song is in big trouble. Being able to lift people up, he can naturally trample them down. In the following decades, apart from his personal literary creation, his main work was on scolding Yan Song. He once wrote a book called "The Biography of Shoufu" , Yan Song was scolded in the article, because he is versatile and a star in the literary world. In addition to writing books, he is also good at writing poems and plays.Of course, there is also a spoof of Yan Song, such as the famous "Feng Ming Ji", which has been sung by later generations for hundreds of years, and it has lasted for a long time, and Yan Song has become a representative of white-faced treacherous ministers alongside Cao Cao.

Due to his deep hatred for Yan Song, there are some cases of distorting the facts in his book, but in my opinion, it also seems understandable compared to everything he has lost and the pain he has suffered. But these were just infamy behind him, and had no effect on Yan Song who was alive and kicking at the time. He still ate and slept, with good bones and a good body. The person who was really shocked was Xu Jie. He didn't expect that Yan Song would be so vicious and torture a sympathizer like this. As a veteran political hooligan, he deserved his name. As an upgraded version of hooligans, political hooligans are very special, and the biggest difference between them is that hooligans mix with the underworld, and after hacking people to death, they will be punished and sent to prison, while political hooligans mix with the court, and after killing people, they will be chased and killed. Cut the weeds and root them out.

Xu Jie knew this very well, and he knew even more that it was far from the time to deal with this terrible person, so when he walked past Wang Shizhen who slapped himself, he didn't stop, let alone stand up, because he knew , in front of this powerful force, pleading or anger has no effect at all. Accumulate strength, wait for the opportunity, I believe that I will win the final victory. And an incident not long after that made Xu Jie even more convinced that he had chosen the only correct strategy. During these years, Xu Jie kept getting promotions and awards, so much so that he once thought that he had gained Jiajing's full trust, but one day, this beautiful dream was ruthlessly broken.

On that day, Xu Jie and Yan Song went into Xiyuan to report government affairs to the emperor. After the incident, Xu Jie was about to turn around and leave, but was surprised to find that Yan Song did not move, as if he was waiting for something.He started to slow down. So the next thing he saw was this scene, Jiajing took out the five-color sesame (the raw material for refining medicine) and handed it to Yan Song, but he didn't say anything, Yan Song just accepted it, then looked at Xu Jie proudly, and walked away . Facing everything in front of him, Xu Jie was extremely embarrassed. He began to feel that he was just an outsider in front of these two people.

It was the Emperor who was clever enough to break the embarrassing silence: "You are serving as Minister of the Ministry of Officials, you should care about government affairs, and don't do things like alchemy." Jiajing finished this sentence with a smile, but Xu Jie felt unprecedented fear in that smile. Since Xia Yan's death, Xu Jie has been cautious, timid, hard-working, and flattering, just to make progress in this political pyramid, to climb up to the highest point, to gain the emperor's trust, and to realize his ambitions. Get rid of the man he hated to the bone.

After years of hard work, he came to this position, only one step away from the ultimate goal Yan Song, but at this moment, he realized that this step is almost impossible to cross. Since Yan Song joined the cabinet in the 21st year of Jiajing, he has spent nearly 20 years by the emperor's side. Jiajing has become accustomed to Yan Song, his speech and behavior, and his careful service. Monarchs and ministers are still friends in a sense. And the tacit understanding between them also told Xu Jie that maybe the emperor was willing to promote him, maybe the emperor was willing to let him handle affairs, but the emperor didn't really trust him. In the heart of this emperor, he was just a clerk, absolutely It cannot be compared with Yan Song. This is the truth, and this is the source of Yan Song's great strength. Xu Jie was almost desperate, but he had no way of turning back, so he bent his knees again and bowed to the emperor: "I am willing to refine medicine for the emperor, and I hope the emperor will grant it!" Principles are not important, and dignity is not important. Whether it is the Jade Emperor, the Supreme Lord, the Tathagata Buddha, or Christ Jesus, as long as you believe in it, I will no longer oppose it, because I want to survive and persist until the last moment. I will continue to endure until that day in the future, when I wrap my hands around the neck of that heinous person with a rope, and let him pay with blood! So in the days that followed, Xu Jie did several things. First, he betrothed his granddaughter to Yan Song's grandson—as a concubine.Secondly, in the affairs of the cabinet, he no longer cares about specific events, and only Yan Song will follow the lead. If Yan Song does not come, he will never make a decision.In the end, he also abandoned his Shanghai household registration and transferred it to Jiangxi in the name of avoiding Japanese pirates, thus becoming Yan Song's fellow villager. Yan Song is by no means a person who is easy to trust others, especially a guy with a criminal record like Xu Jie, but these tricks are too ruthless, and after several years of observation, he found that Xu Jie did not have any abnormalities. So for the first time in his life, he began to let his guard down. For such an extremely obedient and docile subordinate, it seems that there is no need to be too embarrassing, so Yan Song changed his attitude towards Xu Jie, no longer worried, and guarded against him day and night. For now, Xu Cifu is no longer his enemy. The enemy is no longer, but has become a servant. In the cabinet at that time, Yan Song had the final say on all matters. Even if someone found Xu Jie, he never made up his own mind. He always said that he would ask his superiors for instructions. According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, there was no clear distinction among cabinet scholars. In terms of grades, who has the final say depends on the individual.So although Zhang Cong was only a member of the cabinet, he was more prestigious than the first assistant. But now Xu Jie has been a minister of the Ministry of Officials and the second assistant of the cabinet. He didn't even fart when encountering things. Slowly, he began to be despised by people, who ridiculed him for his inaction and cowardice. So not long after, Zou Yinglong, the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, came to the door. His face was full of anger, and when he saw Xu Jie, he opened his voice and said loudly: "Master Shangshu sits at home every day, so he probably doesn't know how to talk about your Excellency outside!" Zou Yinglong, courtesy name Yunqing, was a Jinshi in the thirty-fifth year of Jiajing (1556), and was then the supervisory censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. In the near future, he will become a crucial figure. As a newly promoted official, the reason why he was able to gain the trust of the veteran politician Xu Jie and become his direct descendant was not only that he was upright and hated Yan Song, but also because he was a loyal disciple of Wang Xue. Since he is a member of the same family, he naturally has nothing to say. He told Master Cifu angrily that many ministers outside were mocking him for being timid and obedient, but he was just a concubine of Yan Song! In those days, this sentence was probably the most vicious of the curse words. In the past, Zhuge Liang used nothing more than this trick to provoke Sima Yi into battle. According to Zou Yinglong's thinking, Xu Jie should be furious and jump up when he heard this, but what he saw was a person who was still smiling and calm. So he was angry again: "My lord is so deaf, don't you remember Yang Jisheng?!" When this question came out of his mouth, Zou Yinglong was horrified to find that the smiling good man suddenly disappeared, replaced by a man with a murderous face. "I haven't forgotten," Xu Jie replied to his reprimand in an extremely cold tone, "I haven't forgotten for a moment." Waiting is only because it is worth it, forbearance is only for breaking out, and we must firmly believe that the opportunity that belongs to us will eventually come. In the midst of humiliation and ridicule, Xu Jie continued to be timid, obedient, and waiting, accumulating strength in silence, until one day he made a judgment. In March of the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing (1558), an unusual thing happened. During the incident, Wu Shilai, the head of the Ministry of Criminal Justice Dong Chuance, and Zhang Chong all wrote letters to impeach Yan Song for being corrupt and corrupting the country. In the Ming Dynasty, impeachment was commonplace, and it seemed nothing strange, but the problem was that things were not as simple as they seemed. First of all, these three people wrote the letter on the same day. If it is said that there was no premeditation, it is hard to believe. Since the death of Yang Jisheng, most of those who impeached Yan Song have no good end, and fewer and fewer people dare to touch this bad head. This man is suddenly so bold, if he is not stimulated, he is naturally instigated. As for who instigated it, you only need to check their files to find the answer: Dong Chuance is Xu Jie's fellow villager, and Wu Shilai and Zhang Chong are both Xu Jie's disciples.Whoever did it, any idiot can know. Yan Song felt that he had been fooled. He realized that this was a blow carefully arranged by Xu Jie, but he was worthy of being a top political expert, so he immediately came up with a countermeasure. While writing to the emperor, asking for retirement, he secretly played it out, expressing the fact that behind the scenes Someone must have secretly instigated. This was a well-planned response, because Yan Song knew very well that the emperor was not afraid of anything but conspiracy and forming a party, so he would definitely order an investigation. Sure enough, Jiajing quickly ordered that the three be imprisoned, tortured and tortured, and they must tell the mastermind, but these three brothers dared to impeach Yan Song, so they came prepared, and they were beaten to death by Jin Yiwei. Not to mention death.The case could not be investigated, so we had to assume that they acted on their own accord, and all of them were dispatched to the army. Although Yan Song was not very satisfied with this result, it was enough. In his opinion, he successfully repelled Xu Jie's attack and won the victory. However, Yan Song ignored a problem: With Xu Jie's IQ, he should know that this kind of impeachment will have no results, so why would he do such a meaningless thing? So the answer is: he was wrong. The real winner is not him, but Xu Jie, because this is not an attack, but a test, and Xu Jie has achieved his goal. Not long ago, he found Wu Shilai, Dong Chuance, and Zhang Chong, arranged for them to write impeachment letters, and explained to them in advance that this is an impeachment that is bound to fail, and they may face the consequences of dismissal, exile, or even beheading . The three agreed without hesitation, because they had exactly the same belief and goal. As expected, the impeachment was invalid, and they were sent to the frontier. However, this was only the side that Yan Song saw, and he didn't know the other result of the matter. Jiajing was already impatient. Although he would not punish Yan Song for impeachment, he had to wipe his ass for this man and deal with official documents that scolded him for many years. Of course, I also feel a little tired of Song." Moreover, Yan Song also overlooked such a detail: with Jiajing's intelligence, even if there is no evidence, he would naturally know that the impeachment was instigated by Xu Jie. , Allotment.If he wanted to deal with Xu Jie, he could just find an excuse, and he didn't need any evidence at all. This is a dangerous signal. It means that Xu Jie's status in the emperor's mind has improved, and it means that when Xu Jie and Yan Song have conflicts, the emperor's protection will no longer belong to only one person. The treacherous and treacherous Yan Song only saw the part that was beneficial to him, but Xu Jie understood everything. He knew clearly that although the time for a decisive victory had not come yet, it was not far away. Having said that, after all, something big happened, so Xu Jie immediately took a big leave of absence, hid at home and thanked guests behind closed doors, and continued to be Zhuangzi's son, Zhuang's (pretending) grandson, without seeing anyone or doing anything. Xu Jie began to wait again, because the opportunity always appeared while waiting. Two years later, when the news of that person's death came, he began to cheer up again, because his intuition told him that the opportunity had come to the door. Lu Bing died. In November of the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing (1560), this clever and scheming spy passed away.Throughout his life, we can probably give him such an evaluation-cowardly. Born in a famous family, he has studied the words of sages since he was a child. He knows that Yan Song is a bad person and knows that he has done many bad things, but he still cooperates with bad people and is still in the same boat.He has covered Shen Lian, protected King Yu, and helped Yu Dayou. The so-called "preservation of many things, the scorn of scholar-bureaucrats, never framed one person" and the so-called "hands-on with good people, and he is not stingy" are definitely not random evaluations. However, he is still cowardly. In the face of darkness, he dare not break up, nor dare to rise up to resist, and what makes him feel weak and powerless is probably Li Mozhi's death. Li Mo is Lu Bing's teacher. When he presided over the martial arts test, he admired Lu Bing very much and specially promoted him. The two became mentors and apprentices and established a very deep friendship. Li Mo is an upright person, and he is also a bit stubborn, so when he was the official secretary, he and Yan Song had irreconcilable conflicts. No matter how much others feared Yan Song, he never bought the account of the chief assistant .So when he presided over the meeting and came up with the questions himself, Yan Song found a flaw that put him to death. In that meeting, Li Mo came up with a topic like this: "Han Wu and Tang Xian prospered with Yingrui, but lost with bandits in the evening", which seems to be an ordinary historical discussion topic, and there is no what is the problem. However, thousands of years of history tell us that whether there is a problem with a matter or a person depends on who looks at it and how to look at it. If you offend the wrong person at the wrong time, it is natural that you did not discuss it. Yan Song immediately performed the magical power of Lenovo and revealed that the reason why Li Mo came up with this topic was to allude to the current emperor. Although these two things seemed to be completely unrelated, after Mr. Yan's unremitting efforts and bewitching, Li Mo finally Being imprisoned by the emperor, and then dying in prison for no apparent reason, the means are really extremely insidious. However, in the face of all this, Lu Bing did not make a sound. He watched his teacher being imprisoned and brutally tortured to death, and he did not dare to stand up and resist Yan Song. So even though he knew right from wrong and had kind thoughts in his heart, even though he was majestic and powerful, he was awarded the title of Taibao (Zhengyipin) and Shaofu (Congyipin), and he was the only recipient of the titles of Sangong and Sangu in the Ming Dynasty. (Taishi, Taifu, and Taibao are collectively called Sangong, and Shaoshi, Shaofu, and Shaobao are collectively called Sangu. In the entire Ming Dynasty, except for Lu Bing, no one had both.) But he's still a coward through and through. For Xu Jie, this person's death is really a great thing, because although Lu Bing is a decent person, he is an important ally of Yan Song. This person is very shrewd. close.As Yan Shifan said, if you get the second of the three, you will be invincible in the world. Now that Lu Bing is dead, Xu Jie lacks a powerful opponent, but he still can't get any help. Yang Bo is still alive, and he still hates Yan Song, but this man is unwilling and unable to get involved. Because he has a unique hobby - fighting. Zhang Juzheng once said later that one of the people he admired most was Yang Bo. The reason why this man is famous is that he is both civil and military, wise and brave. (Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials), such a cross-professional development can be described as a compound talent. And his best performance was on the battlefield against the Mongolian army. In the 33rd year of Jiajing (1554), the Tatars launched an army of more than 100,000 to invade Jizhou. The news came that the frontier army was very frightened and thought it was going to be over.Yang Bo, however, was very calm. Every day, he would roll up his bedding and make a bed on the wall of Gubeikou City, sleeping soundly. When he woke up, he would not go down. He just stayed on the wall to supervise the battle. They stayed here all day and night, which made the Mongols miserable. They fought for four days and four nights in a row, without even touching the walls, so they all had to withdraw. Shortly after the war, Jiajing promoted him to be the censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate at the ministerial level in recognition of his meritorious service, and concurrently served as Minister of the Ministry of War.The reason why such a talented person did not enter the imperial court, but was always on the border every day, was due to Comrade Yan Song, apart from his love of war and his disinterest in politics. Because of Yan Shifan's reminder, Yan Song was very wary of this person. Every time Jiajing thought of Yang Bo and was about to call him back, Uncle Yan either said that he was not in good health, or that the border was too busy for him to leave.In this way, Yang Bo has been standing guard on the frontier of the motherland for more than ten years, even if he wanted to help Xu Jie, he had nothing to do. And Gao Gong is even more treacherous and cunning. He neither fights nor relies on him. He waits every day to attend Comrade Jiajing's memorial service, and then turns from a slave to a master overnight. But he kept a low profile, but he still attracted Yan Shifan's attention. Although this person has a very bad character, his vision is really accurate. As time went by, he gradually discovered Gao Gong's talent and intentions, so he approached him. and, to cut to the chase: "I heard that His Royal Highness King Yu has always been dissatisfied with my father (Yan Song). I wonder if it is true?" This is a fatal sentence, but facing Yan Shifan's questioning, Gao Gong showed extraordinary reflexes, and he replied calmly: "This is a non-existent thing. Yan Shoufu is the pillar of the country. King Yu has been by the emperor's side for many years and has always treated Lord Yan with courtesy. The rumors are absolutely unbelievable." This sentence is both kind and powerful. Let me first say that I will not offend you, and then explain that I am not easy to mess with. King Yu is King Yu after all, so you'd better be smart.Yan Shifan naturally understood, and left after chatting for a while, but Gao Gong knew very well that this man came to the door suddenly, and he used the murder weapon as soon as he met, not just for the sake of eating.So he sent someone to send a generous gift to Yan Shifan, and this was considered to settle the matter. In Gao Gong's view, keeping King Yu is keeping everything, whether Xu Jie dies or lives is none of his business. Zhang Juzheng wanted to get involved, but now he is only the vice president of the Central University, and he is a sixth-rank official. It is really useless for the court to catch a lot of people like him. So after a lot of tossing and turning, Xu Jie finally figured out the situation again: there was no reliable helper by his side, and in front of him was the most terrifying enemy——Yan Shifan. After so many years of acquaintance, Xu Jie has already seen very clearly that the reason why Yan Song can last forever and flourish is only because of Yan Shifan. Although this Mr. Yan is lame and has one eye, he is really smart, but he knows all the things in the officialdom, no matter the rules or the unspoken rules.His position in the imperial court was Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Industry and Prime Minister of Shangbao. The Ministry of Industry was engaged in engineering, while Shangbao was in charge of confidentiality. These two positions are the fattest jobs in the imperial court. Let Yan Shifan do this job, that is, let the weasel watch chickens, and his grasp of conspiracy and people's hearts has reached the pinnacle of human wisdom. To play tricks can only be tricks. For example, a river governor at that time was ordered to repair the Huaihe River, and the court allocated 100,000 taels of silver. This brother wanted to get a piece of it, so he spent 50,000 taels to complete the project, and kept 30,000 for himself, and the rest would naturally be given to Yan. Deputy Minister. But after Yan Shifan received the money, he still called him to his own house and asked him to hand over the rest of the money. The governor pretended to be confused, saying that there was only so much left over, and that there was really no money left. So Chief Yan got angry, and when he saw that the other party was not on the road, he immediately complained: "Don't be smart, you still have at least 30,000 taels!" The governor was shocked when he heard the words, so he had to tell the truth and handed over the rest of the money. Comrade Yan Shifan was kind enough to leave some for him. The oil and water have been poached, but the question has not been solved, and Yan Shifan has not observed it on the spot, so how do he know how much money he has made? Seeing that the other party obeyed obediently, Yan Shifan helped him solve his doubts. He took out a performance appraisal form and proudly told the other party that it was the form that told him.It turns out that this man pays special attention and observes carefully every time he reviews the river defense projects. Over time, he concluded a rule: In fact, the imperial court has always had more than enough money to repair river embankments. Qualified, if 70% is used, the assessment must be excellent. And the assessment of this project was only qualified, so he concluded that the other party swallowed half of it. In terms of corruption, Yan Shifan has given full play to his scientific spirit of being meticulous and seeking truth from facts, so that he knows what he has in hand, does not panic, and is so shrewd as he is, which can be regarded as the ultimate. But in Xu Jie's eyes, these are just tricks. What really scares him is another special ability of Yan Shifan. Emperor Jiajing was a very smart person, not only difficult to fool, but also difficult to serve. He often did some unexpected things, just to prevent the ministers from seeing his thoughts.Since he practiced Taoism and Xuan, he has become more elusive, never revealing his intentions, and often makes the ministers around him at a loss. In order to achieve the purpose of being unpredictable, he used a special method when giving orders to his ministers-passing notes. This is not cheating, nor is it about going to a movie night with someone, in fact, it is a very sinister and weird political method. The reason why it is called weird is because the notes written by Jiajing, even if they are written as notices and posted on the street, it has nothing to do with it. What is written on those notes is actually not a specific matter, but a code word. These code words are either a few words or a sentence, seemingly inconspicuous, but Jiajing's true intentions are hidden in these code words. The reason why it is called dangerous is that these notes are often only written to a few ministers in the cabinet to convey your attitude, but if you are not smart enough to understand the mystery in the note in time, the emperor will support you and oppose it. If the emperor advances and you retreat, then you will be in big trouble. But the problem is that the only standard answer to these so-called code words is only in Jiajing's own hands. If you don't understand and don't understand, although he won't blame you, he knows in his heart that you are not smart enough to be reused. He believes that only in this way can everyone be effectively controlled. But he was wrong again, he is not the only smart person in this world, Yan Shifan should also be counted as one, and his special ability is to decipher code words. In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing (1555), after Zhang Jing was dismissed, Zhao Wenhua wanted Hu Zongxian, who had just become the governor, to replace the governor. This was a very important appointment, so the memorial was sent up for a long time without any response . Suddenly one day, Yan Song received a note from Jiajing, with only six words written on it: constitution seems to be fast, how should it be. After a little pondering, Yan Song understood the meaning. Xian naturally refers to Hu Zongxian. This sentence means that Hu Zongxian seems to be promoted too fast. What do you think should be done. So he was going to say a few more words for Hu Zongxian, suggesting that cadres be promoted in an exceptional way, and he wrote the memorial. Just before he was about to send it up, Yan Shifan came over and knew the whole story, and then he burst out laughing. "You're wrong," Yan Shifan said proudly, "That's not what the emperor meant." He told his father that the word "yi" does not mean what it should be, but refers to Yang Yi. Yang Yi, the right servant of the Nanjing household department at that time, had rich experience in politics. For Jiajing, he was much more reliable than Hu Zongxian, a stunned young man.So what the emperor really meant was that Hu Zongxian was promoted too fast, what do you think of Yang Yi. Although this was a question, Yan Song knew very well that it did not represent a question, but an attitude, so he immediately wrote a letter recommending Yang Yi to be the governor. This is just one of Comrade Jiajing's many riddles. Since he studied hard since he was a child, he is very knowledgeable and often uses allusions and rare words on the notes. Therefore, only people who are as knowledgeable and intelligent as him can solve these code words. There is no doubt that Yan Shifan meets this almost harsh condition. So in the following days, Yan Song was always able to cater to the emperor's intentions at the first time, and gradually became an indispensable person in Jiajing. For this unique expertise, Yan Shifan is very conceited. Like Comrade Jiajing, he believes that he is unique, so he also made the same mistake. In fact, he is not the only cracker of code words. In this world, there is at least one other person who has the same ability. Unfortunately, this person is Xu Jie. Xu Jie also encountered the same situation. On the piece of paper that belonged to him, there were these words: Qing Chi and Virtue, how about it? When he saw these six characters, Xu Jie was so frightened that he lost his soul. The so-called teeth in the sentence refer to age, so the meaning of this sentence is, does your virtue match your age? From another perspective, it can also be translated like this: How can you be so virtuous at your age? Generally speaking, if you don't want to clean up people, you will never say such things.But after a short period of panic, Xu Jie calmed down. He carefully analyzed the six characters again, and found the correct answer with his wisdom: the so-called virtues are not virtues, but Ouyang De. Ouyang De was the Minister of Rites at that time, so the real meaning of this sentence is, who is older, you or Ouyang De? In this way, Xu Jie became the second codebreaker and thus consolidated his position.Yan Shifan didn't know about all this. But Xu Jie, who is in the dark, has nothing to do. The problem is obvious. To solve Yan Song, Yan Shifan must be eliminated, but Yan Shifan is too smart to exploit. He could neither advance nor retreat, and this intellectual contest was once again at a stalemate. However, just as he was bored and waiting, an accident occurred that completely changed the balance of power between the two sides. In November of the 40th year of Jiajing (1561), due to insufficient fire protection work, the palace caught fire. It was a coincidence that the Yongshou Palace in Xiyuan, the emperor's bedroom, was burned down. Comrade Jiajing was now homeless, so he had to move to Yuxi Palace for a temporary stay. It would not be a problem if it lasted for a long time, so he called Yan Song and asked about the reconstruction. I don't know if Comrade Yan Song took the wrong medicine that day. He has several houses, so he doesn't care about the life and death of the leader. He casually said something like this: "The three main halls have just been completed, and there is not enough material left. Your Majesty can temporarily move to Nangong." This is looking for death, even if you suggest him to live in a work shed, it is better than letting him go to Nangong.The so-called Nangong is the place where Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen lived. He was imprisoned there by his younger brother and spent a very unforgettable time. Everyone is well aware of this period of history, but Master Yan actually suggested Jiajing to live in that unique cell in order to make do with it. I really don't know what he thinks. Sure enough, the Emperor got angry and glared at Yan Song. At this time, Xu Jie, who was watching coldly, realized that his chance to perform on the spot had come, and he immediately stood up: "Your Majesty temporarily lives in the side hall, which is damp and cramped, and I can't bear it. Although the three main halls have just been completed, according to my estimates, the remaining materials are enough to rebuild the Yongshou Palace, and it will be successful in March." Hearing this, Jiajing immediately became elated. He repeatedly praised Xu Jie and handed over the matter to him to handle the matter. The court hall was immediately filled with joy. At that moment, Yan Song, who was thrown aside, trembled, and he looked at Xu Jie beside him with fearful eyes. For more than ten years, he had never put this person in his eyes, and he had never realized that this person Terrible, now he finally understood, but it was too late. After more than ten years of patience, Xu Jie finally gained the upper hand for the first time. Looking at Yan Song's aging and slow back, he felt relieved.For more than ten years, in this court, Yan Song has exhausted all methods and conspiracies, and killed one innocent person after another. As a bystander, he has witnessed all the tragedies and learned all the tricks . Yan Song, you taught me this. Now, I will give you back everything I have learned from you! The so-called house leak coincided with continuous night rain, and at the same time Yan Song was devastated by the house problem, another blow hit him. His wife died, and they have been together for decades, and the relationship between the husband and wife is very deep, so for Yan Song, this is a very sad news, but what he did not expect is that the matter is much more serious. A devastating disaster. According to the practice of the Ming Dynasty, when the mother died, the son had to observe filial piety and mourn. Naturally, Yan Shifan had to take on this important task. But in this way, Yan Song would be in trouble, because the Qingci was written by Yan Shifan, and Yan Shifan came up with the idea, and the son went to guard the spirit. , and the job is done.He could neither decipher Jiajing's code words nor cope with the complicated situation. As a result, Jiajing's trust in him continued to decrease, but his appreciation for Xu Jie increased day by day, and the grasshoppers in the court also changed their doors one after another, and the strength of the strict party was greatly weakened. Fragile. If things go on like this, destruction is only a matter of time, but as a cunning figure who has been in politics for more than 40 years, he is absolutely not willing to die just like this.In order to protect himself and turn defeat into victory, he finally came up with a way. One day not long after, after finishing his shift in Xiyuan, Yan Song took the initiative to find Xu Jie, expressed that he would like to invite him to a meal, and implored him to come. 徐阶如约而至，寒暄两句大家开吃，然而刚刚吃到一半，严嵩突然停了下来，叫出了自己全家老小，站在徐阶的面前，突然带头跪了下去，随即几十口人黑压压地跪了一片。 还没等徐阶反应过来，严嵩就用极其哀怨的口气说道： “我年纪已经老了，也活不了多久了，我的这些不肖子孙就拜托您照顾了。” 面对这个后生晚辈，这个和自己作对十余年的敌人，严嵩毫不犹豫地跪了下去，虽然他并不情愿，但他十分清楚，在目前敌强我弱的情况下，只能忍气吞声，这是麻痹对方的唯一方法。 看着眼前的这一幕情景，徐阶陷入了思索，眼前的一切似乎非常熟悉。 想起来了，那是在十五年前，严嵩和严世蕃跪在夏言的面前，苦苦哀求着他网开一面，保证自己会痛改前非。 那是在三年前，王世贞跪在严嵩的面前，泪流满面，哭天抢地，只求他放过自己的父亲，而严嵩和蔼地扶起了他，承诺一定尽力营救。 于是他立刻上前拉起了严嵩，做出了明确的表示： “首辅大人不用担心，一切都包在我身上。” 严嵩，你终于害怕了吗？你终于想退出了吗？ 但一切已经太晚了，你要知道，这是一个不能弃权的游戏。 为了你的贪欲和利益，你杀掉了夏言、沈炼、杨继盛，你舍弃了那些在俺答铁蹄下呻吟的百姓，你害死了许多无辜的人，破坏了所有游戏规则，现在你想收手，已经不可能了。 这并不是游戏，而是一个残酷的赌局，你不能退出，直到你把从这里赢得的财富，连同你的本钱，全部输得干干净净。因为我所要夺走的，不是你的首辅宝座，甚至也不是你的性命，而是你所有的一切。 单靠善良和正直对你是无济于事的，我将用我自己的方式战胜你。 为了我所坚持的信念，以及正义。