eldest son of Ming dynasty

The Second Highness said that the Emperor was concerned about their father and son. Yang Tinghe and Yang Shen were not people who believed in others easily.

But Prince Yujun has been relatively calm and honest since he came of age, following the emperor's eldest son silently, and his character is still trustworthy.

In fact, Yang Tinghe is just a little obsessed in his heart. If he really wants to rely on this to make a comeback, he actually has no hope.

Age is not a problem. He is already sixty-seven years old this year. Although he is old, among the emperor's ministers, there are some who are still active in the court in their seventies.

The main reason is that it has been too long and there has been no recovery for so many years. Why would he suddenly be used now?

Seeing his sad expression, Zaihe added: "My father did mention these two people when he was educating us. My father said that Mr. Jie's husband has a clear mind and a calm mind. No matter what complicated government affairs it is, he can always get it right." The key point is that Young Master Ling is talented and unparalleled in the world, and he also has the friendship of classmates, but it is a pity that Yong Xiuzhi is not in the court."

This idea of ​​observing people's faces was exquisite and clear, and Yang Tinghe's evaluation of Zai Yan in his heart went up to a higher level.

"Back then, I was confused and didn't understand His Majesty's painstaking efforts. I contradicted His Majesty and thought that His Majesty was so angry that he would never forgive me again in his lifetime." Yang Tinghe said it really sad.

Zai Yan said: "I am angry indeed. My father said that Mr. Jiefu is an old man from Qiandi. No matter what the folk squires say, Mr. Jiefu should understand. But my father has always been an open-minded person. , rather than being a mean and ungrateful person, even if he is angry, it will dissipate afterwards, and no matter how long it takes, he will think of Mr. Jie's good deeds again."

Yang Tinghe was about to cry when he heard that. In fact, he was the same. He was a little impulsive at the time, but the emperor's treatment of him was not harsh. It can be said that he did not suffer much. As time went by, he would also remember the generosity of Emperor Zhengde. And compassion for veterans.

His old lips trembled, and he waved his hands and said: "The monarch has no fault, but after all, I, an old minister, can't live up to your majesty."

Zai Yan knew what was interesting and stopped talking. Instead, he brought up the business matter just now, "This time I came to Sichuan under the imperial decree of my father, not just to supervise the fish scale atlas. As for the more important thing, because it is It’s inconvenient to reveal the secret edict to you two, because I can’t trust you two. As for me, I believe it will be fine if I tell you. It’s just the imperial decree. It’s not a good thing for you two if you know it. Please forgive me. But in short, It also has something to do with Yao Yulin, the governor of Sichuan."

Even Yang Shen, who has a mental mysophobia, could not find fault with what Zai Chen said. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, the Second Highness, has the demeanor of a gentleman."

Zai Yan was young, tender-skinned, and had little contact with others. She blushed slightly when she was suddenly praised by a prestigious person like Yang Shen.

Yang Shen did not sell out to him and said directly: "Since it is related to the emperor's secret decree, I will take the risk. Your Highness the Second Highness does not know that this Yao Yulin was originally a censor. Over the years, Mr. Zhang Ge in the court has been nepotistic. Excluding dissidents, he would instruct his censor to find out the crimes against those who could not get along with him, and then impeach them and drive them out of the court.

Zhang Cong used official positions to appoint people, and naturally there were those shameless villains who came one after another. Moreover, as time went by, these people were scrambling for each other, because they were worried that they would not be flattered as quickly as others, and that their promotion of officials would be slower than others. Yao Yulin is the best among these people. "

Listening to his completely disdainful tone, Zai Yan's face began to become serious, "According to this, this Yao Yulin seems to be a minister of Zhang Cong, not a minister of my Ming Dynasty."

Yang Tinghe liked the second prince, so he said something from his heart, "The affairs in the court cannot be looked at so simply. If this is really the case, how can the emperor tolerate him with his wisdom?"

This is true. Since Zai Yan suffered a loss last time, he has always reminded himself that now is not the time to make a conclusion.

Yang Shen continued, "There is some truth in what my father said. Since he is a flattering minister, the flattering minister that everyone in the world is rushing to flatter must belong to the emperor. Yao Yulin is Zhang Cong's man, and Zhang Cong is used by the emperor. Therefore, after Yao Yulin arrived in Sichuan, he was wholehearted and attentive to how to invite favors, but he lacked interest in practical matters that were truly beneficial to the country and the people.

There are rumors among the people that when an order comes down from above, Yao Yulin will study it with his disciples all night long. What is the purpose of it? How can I reply to make the boss happy? When he has worked out a solution, he will hand it over to the people below, either the chief envoy or the prefects from various places, and pressure them to write a signed memorial for him. If the content is not to his liking, he will rewrite it. In short, he has it. basis, and then handed it over with satisfaction, which means that he has done his best to complete it. "

Zaiyan knew this kind of officials.

He's the kind of loach who insists on obeying the orders of the imperial court, but he doesn't stick to the pot at all. If you have anything to do, someone under you will do it and sign it to me. If something goes wrong in the future, it will be the responsibility of the person in charge. If nothing went wrong, he would not be guilty of any actual crime. If there was no problem and the superiors were happy, he would go forward and fight to show his face.

This kind of person occupies a position in the officialdom in vain, but does not do practical work, which is really abominable.

However, this kind of person is the best at distinguishing, because the original requirement from above is that the people below you must be obedient and not take my words lightly.

But in fact, a good official is not only one who is superior, but also cares about the actual situation below. The so-called pastoral guardianship on behalf of heaven, the emperor gives you power, and he also wants you to govern the place.

After all, the central government focuses on the whole country. It is impossible to have a clear grasp of the specific affairs within a government. Even if it is clear, it will not have the energy to do it.

The more Zai Yan listened, the tighter his brows became.

"...In March, there was a major event in Chengdu Mansion. Yao Yulin took a fancy to the concubine of a wealthy local businessman in Sichuan. He did what he knew how to do, and asked his wife to take the opportunity to invite him. As a result, the person who was carried into the mansion in a sedan chair was One person, when it was over, the sedan returned the same way, but the person sitting inside had changed. He was the governor, and he did such a thing openly, and people did not dare to make trouble with him directly. It can only be a mute eating Coptis chinensis, which will be painful Can’t tell.”

Zai Yan was shocked, "Is there such a thing?"

Yang Shen also said honestly: "This matter is a secret, but it is spread vividly. Your Highness, please send someone to ask."

"Okay. I definitely want to ask clearly about this matter. If he is lustful, he must be greedy for money. Has he invaded people's land?"

"There is talk of greed for money, but it is rare to hear of occupation of people's land."

Yang Tinghe explained: "The land is the most sensitive thing nowadays. It is difficult for even a clan member to be punished for such a crime. Since he is single-minded and dedicated to the camp, he naturally wants to go further and not leave such hidden dangers to himself. , is understandable.”

In fact, it is difficult to say whether he is greedy for money or not.

Ming Dynasty is no longer what it used to be, with everyone from top to bottom poor. Business is booming now, and everyone can hear the sound of money flowing.

Wealth is not necessarily in the fields, that thing is easy to lose your head.    There is a better way.

For example, there is collusion between officials and businessmen, collecting bribes from businessmen and taking care of them when they are doing business.

He even allows his relatives to do business directly in the place he manages. Who else can do it better than him?

As long as you have power, it shouldn't be easy to make money.

This is a new feature and manifestation of official corruption in the Ming Dynasty. Zai Yan didn't know much about it because he didn't know much about it. The Yang family and his son had been away from the court for a long time, so naturally they didn't know about it either.

But in the court of the Ming Dynasty, there were actually officials and the emperor talking about this matter.

"Although there is no such thing as occupying people's fields, Yao Yulin is not completely clean when it comes to fields. Has His Highness ever heard of a person named Xia Yan?"

Zai Yan's eyebrows flashed, "Who is this person?"

Yang Shen did not doubt that he was there, and said to himself: "This man is a field chief in Shuangliu County, Chengdu Prefecture. He is upright, upright, and an honest and selfless official. Although he is only an eighth-grade field chief, he is quite popular among the people. A virtuous name.

If His Highness went to Shuangliu and asked ordinary people, I believe no one would tell anything bad. But for such a person, he asked his superiors to find a crime of "acquisition of wealth and fame" and acquitted him. Yao Yulin completely ignored the truth and did not investigate. As a result, Xia Yan was acquitted without causing any trouble at all. This is slandering Tian Zhang. If the emperor knew about it, how could he not be angry? "

Zai Yan didn't expect such a harvest.

He became more cautious in his heart, "Tian Zhang... is indeed valued by my father. Yong Xiu, such a thing..."

It's not that Yang Shen's speech was inaccurate. The key point is that he had previously said that secrets should not be kept secret. Secrets should not be reported to the emperor's court as a serious matter.

"Your Highness," Yang Shen stood up and turned to face Zai Shen, "I still have a secret report regarding Xia Yan. I wonder if Your Highness can move on?"

Zai Yan blinked and said, "Please lead the way."

With that said, he got up and walked with him.

Leershan originally wanted to follow, but Zaiyan stopped him.

This is the old residence of Qiange. Unless Yang Tinghe is crazy and ignores his nephews and the ancestral graves of the Yang family, he will not have any problems.

After the two went out, they walked through the corridor and came to a courtyard built with bamboo. There was a dirt road in the courtyard, with only a few large stones scattered in an orderly manner.

Yang Shen was in front and Zai Yan was behind. They stepped over the stones and walked over.

There was no one around here. Yang Shen bowed and said: "Your Highness, Xia Yan has been slandered by others. This matter will never be false. In addition to trusting Xia Yan's usual behavior, it is also because of this person. He was entrusted by Xia Yan , went to Beijing to deliver a message, but unfortunately he was also young and did not know the dangers outside. He was already found by the officials before he left Chengdu Mansion. I also saved him by chance, but I can only hide him here. "

As he said that, he walked inside and said, "Xu Min, come out quickly, your noble man is here."

Yes, this person was Xu Min, who was preparing to enter Beijing. Unfortunately, he was using crutches at this time. It turned out that he had injured his legs and feet and had difficulty moving.

Although he said he was recuperating these days, he was actually going crazy.

Yang Shen came up with the idea to find someone to deliver the letter on his behalf, but Xu Min thought that this matter was related to his father's life, so he refused. He just waited for his injury to recover a little before he set off again.

Zai Yan looked at such a stranger and felt a little surprised. Yang Shen was a cautious person and would not introduce random things to him at will. "Who is this person?"

Xu Min raised his head and glanced, thinking he was a noble man from a wealthy family, but before he could speak, he heard him asking.

"Your Highness the Second Highness does not know. This is Xu Min, the only son of Xu Weiming, the former magistrate of Shuangliu County." Yang Shen faced him again, "Xu Min, why don't you kneel down? This is His Highness the Second Highness from the capital, Prince Yu! Yours Prince Yu is completely capable of making the decision!"

"Your Highness?" Although Xu Min didn't know much, he still understood the word "prefecture and king" behind him. Isn't that the emperor's son? The current prince? !

In an instant, he immediately threw away his crutch and knelt down despite the pain, "Little... little see Prince Yu!"

Zai Yan touched his chin, the son of Shuangliu County Magistrate? It seems that he must know about Xia Yan.

Speaking of it, Xia Yan from Shuangliu County seems to be a real figure. First, his father noticed that there was something wrong with Yao Yulin's report, and now Yang Shen rescued people related to him. He should be involved in the matter. Got it figured out.

So he walked in and the bamboo door was closed.

"Who are you, Xia Yan?"