The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

As soon as the imperial decree was issued, all officials knew that the matter could not be changed, so they immediately passed it over and discussed the next one.

The problem of disaster relief in Jiangnan and Xue Shao’s dereliction of duty.

Although Wang Zhen wanted to severely mention Xue Shao's dereliction of duty, when he heard the emperor carefully asking about the disaster in Jiangnan, he knew that in the emperor's mind, dealing with the disaster in Jiangnan was more important than dealing with Xue Shao, so he could only temporarily suppress the idea of ​​killing Xue Shao.

Xue Shao then reported the disaster situation in Jiangnan in detail and said: "I am willing to take the blame and go to Jiangnan to provide disaster relief."

Wang Wen was the first to object: "The Censorate will send another official, so you should stay in Beijing and be punished."

Wang Zhen even directly proposed to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Censor Wang Wen once served in Jiangnan and inspected Jiangnan. He is also an honest official. Why not send him to the south to provide disaster relief?"

The emperor asked Chen Xun, "What do you think, Mr. Chen?"

Chen Xun said: "I think Xue Yushi is very suitable, but his position is low, even if there is an imperial decree, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince the people. It is better to send another official from the court, and Xue Yushi will assist him."

"Who else in the court is suitable?"

Chen Xun said: "Yu Qian, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, is suitable."

Yu Qian immediately stepped out and expressed his willingness to go.

The emperor asked: "Besides Yu Qian, who else is suitable?"

After a brief thought, Chen Xun said, "Hanlin scholar Xu Cheng is also suitable. He is good at flood control and knows military strategy, so he can be used to pacify the people and relieve disasters."

Wang Zhen whispered in the emperor's ear: "Your Majesty, Yu Qian is from Qiantang, Zhejiang, and Xu Cheng is from Wuxian, Jiangsu. So, after all, the people recommended by Chen Ge Lao are from Jiangnan."

Although it was whispered, everyone in the court could hear it.

Chen Xun was very angry and said immediately: "Your Majesty, I don't know the hometown of the people I employ. I only know whether they are good to use and whether they can be used. But Wang Zhangyin is very familiar with the origins of officials. I don't know where Wang Qianzhi's hometown is?"

Wang Wen, whose courtesy name is Qianzhi.

An official immediately replied with a smile: "Who doesn't know that Lord Wang is from Northern Zhili? Not only is he from the same hometown as Wang Zhangyin, he also has the same surname, so he recognized Wang Zhangyin as his father-in-law."

All the officials burst into laughter.

Even the officials from Wang Zhen's faction couldn't help but lower their heads to hide their laughter, and occasionally when they glanced at Wang Wen, they couldn't help but reveal a bit of contempt.

Wang Wen: …

When the emperor saw Wang Wen's face turn red, he couldn't help but laugh, but he soon became serious. The suspicion in his heart that had arisen because of Wang Zhen's pointing out disappeared, and he really began to worry about the selection.

He is not afraid of anything else but that he will pay the money but the money will not reach the hands of the people.

If Wang Wen is used, the situation can be controlled. Even if he is greedy, the money will be in Wang Zhen's hands and will return to him after a round.

While thinking, Xue Shao kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, the disaster is like a fire, wind and flood for more than 20 days. The people in various places have reached their limit. Please send an honest and upright minister to the south to supervise the disaster relief!"

Yu Qian's eyes flashed, and he knelt down and took two steps forward: "I beg your permission!"

Wang Wen hesitated for a moment before taking a step forward: "I also request your permission."

The emperor came back to his senses, his eyes slid across the people kneeling in the middle of the hall, and finally said: "Appoint Yu Qian as the Inspector General of Jiangnan, and the Governor of Jiangnan's disaster relief affairs."

Xue Shao breathed a sigh of relief and heard Yu Qian's respectful voice from the side and rear accepting the order.

He had also heard of the great name of this Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War for a long time. He was better than Wang Wen in disaster relief.

Just as the thought flashed through his mind, an official stepped forward to reiterate his dereliction of duty. Before anyone could reply, Xue Shao raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, I have an urgent matter to report from Japan, which concerns customs and maritime trade."

"This is a matter between the Honglu Temple and the Navy Office. What does it have to do with you?"

"Censor Xue doesn't care about matters within his own responsibilities, but he is very concerned about foreign affairs."

"If one does not manage his duties while in office, or does not manage his duties while not in office, this is a sign of great corruption."

Xue Shao said calmly: "The inspector general is on duty on behalf of the emperor. He reports major events to the emperor and makes decisions on minor matters. The Japanese pirates massacred the village in Jiangnan Road. The people are in high spirits against the Japanese pirates. They also gathered from Jiangnan to cross the sea to suppress the pirates. As the inspector general of Jiangnan, I should inspect and supervise."

General Wang Ji, who had been silent the whole time, believed that Xue Shao was right and rarely stepped out. "Your Majesty, Japanese pirates are rampant along the southeastern coast, especially since the time of the previous emperor. They have become more rampant. In the fourth year of Zhengtong, the Japanese pirates dared to sail ashore and successively destroyed 2,000 households in Taizhou, Taozhu, and Ningbo. They burned and looted government and civilian houses. Last year, they dared to land privately and massacred our people. If it weren't for Luchuan holding them back, I would have led my troops to fight to the other side!"

"That's right. If we have time, why would we need a bunch of gangsters to take action?"

The military commanders started to make a commotion, and all wanted to go to the other side to fight: "It would be so embarrassing to have a bunch of Taoist priests and gangsters show up. The people might think that all of us soldiers are dead."

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the troops to wipe out all the bandits on the sea!"

One civil servant couldn't help but complain: "We were discussing disaster relief in Jiangnan, why are we talking about sending troops again?"

"The southwest is not settled, and there is a rebellion in the south of the Yangtze River. There is also flood relief to be provided, and the treasury is empty. How can we afford to fight another war?"

"In my opinion, the battle of Luchuan should not be fought again."

The generals were unhappy when they heard this and shouted, "We have driven Si Renfa and his family out of Luchuan in the battle of Luchuan. Our Ming Dynasty won a great victory. Why shouldn't we fight?"

"Even after this battle, Burma is still eyeing us. If we don't fight, the southwest will never be peaceful again," Wang Ji said in a deep voice. "And if the southwest is not peaceful, the Wala and Tatar in the north will definitely not submit." The emperor agreed: "The barbarians do not obey virtue, but only power."

Chen Xun trembled his lips, unable to say what he had to say.

Cao Nai was much more straightforward and said directly: "But the Luchuan War has been fought for five years and has not been settled yet. My Ming Dynasty has deployed hundreds of thousands of troops, the treasury is empty, the army is exhausted, and even the northern army has been withdrawn to the south for defense.

The northern army withdrew its defenses, but the Oirat and Tatars were not fools. In the past two years, they disguised themselves as bandits and headed south every autumn. In the seventh year of Zhengtong, the Oirat sent tribute envoys to the capital, and the number of 300 people increased to 1,000. When they stayed in the capital, they directly traded bows with the soldiers..."

The emperor rebuked him, "Are you saying that I was wrong to pacify the southwest?"

Cao Nai said sternly, "I dare not."

Xue Shao sighed, raised his hand and continued his report: "Your Majesty, this time I followed the ship to Japan and found that Japan was in constant civil strife and unable to restrain local forces and warriors. This is why Japanese pirates are rampant along our southeast coast..."

Xue Shao talked about their trip to Japan in detail. When he mentioned that a Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain Academy led them into a city, captured a local daimyo alive, and forced the other party to cede a port and three ships, the emperor's mouth opened slightly, and the ministers' foreheads jumped slightly...

Before he could say anything, Xue Shao changed the subject and mentioned that this Taoist priest had taken them to negotiate a cooperation with another local tycoon. That tycoon not only gave her half of the port, but also gave her a piece of mountain land, and then the Taoist priest discovered a silver mine on that mountain.

The emperor scratched his ears and asked, "What did you find on the mountain?"

"Silver mine," Xue Shao said seriously, "a rich silver mine. This Taoist priest is well versed in astronomy and geography. He led the Taoist priests from the Tianshi Academy to explore the mountain for a few days and confirmed that the entire mountain is a silver mine, and the silver content is as high as 80%. If there are enough people, it can produce one million taels of silver a year."

The ministers were also numb and asked in a lost voice: "How much?"

Xue Shao replied expressionlessly: "One million taels!"

Chen Xun turned around and asked Cao Nai: "The silver mine in Yunnan is the largest in the Ming Dynasty. How much is it produced this year?"

Cao Nai said angrily: "I am the Minister of Personnel. Shouldn't I ask you about the silver mines?"

But he was silent for a moment and then reported a number: "The year before last, it was more than 46,000 taels."

Minister of Revenue Chen Xun remained silent.

All the officials fell silent, suspecting Xue Shao of lying.

Xue Shao said, "The Jinyiwei Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing of the Northern Pacification Division accompanied me. They saw everything. Your Majesty can send someone to inquire. I also brought back three pieces of silver ore from the mountain. You can ask the master craftsman to check their authenticity."

So Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing went up to the main hall to report back and handed over the silver ore they had been carrying with them.

Xue Shao took three pieces himself, and Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing were not fools either, they also hid three pieces each.

Among the group, except Qu Le who honestly returned from the Silver Mountain empty-handed, the others all hid to varying degrees.

All nine pieces of ore reported by the three people were handed over. The emperor immediately asked someone to take two pieces to the craftsmen for examination, and then questioned Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing in the hall.

The emperor listened to their great achievements again. The Taoist priest they mentioned appeared too often and was too eye-catching. The emperor felt familiar with him and couldn't help asking, "What is the name of the Taoist priest in the Tianshifu Academy?"

Chen Liutao: "Your Majesty, her name is Pan Yun, and her nickname is Sanzhu."

emperor:……

Some officials: …

Most officials did not know Pan Yun. After all, she had been imprisoned since her appearance and had never appeared in public.

Except for some people, everyone else mentioned her as Pan's daughter or Pan Hong's daughter. Few people knew her name.

Cao Nai didn't know. Seeing Chen Xun was silent, he asked in a low voice, "Who is she? Does Your Majesty know her?"

Chen Xun said in a very low voice: "Pan Hongnu, a true person from the Xuanmen, has the same Xuanshu as Zhang Zhenren."

Cao Nai stopped talking, but he had no ill feelings towards the Taoist priest. He was mostly curious.

But when he looked up and saw Wang Zhen, his eyes rolled back as if he had swallowed a fly.

There have been rumors privately that Wang Zhen was severely tortured by Pan Hongnu when he was imprisoned in the imperial prison.

He always thought it was a rumor.

How could Wang Zhen be tortured by a little girl?

Pan Hong is now suffering from the wind and sand in northern Shaanxi, but Wang Zhen only asked him to inspect the difficult places and did not do any extra work.

If Pan Hongnu really tortured him, how could he have allowed Pan Hong to live until now?
But now Cao Nai believes it.

If Pan Hong's daughter was really as powerful as Xue Shao and the two Jinyiwei said, then it was normal that Wang Zhen was afraid to take action against Pan Hong and only dared to drive her out of the capital.

Pan Hongnu also knows the mysterious arts, which is the real way to kill people without shedding blood and harming people without leaving any trace.

No wonder Xue Xuan, who had a good foundation, was driven out of the capital, Xue Shao was exiled to the south of the Yangtze River and put to death, while Pan Hong, who had no roots or foundation, was only exiled to a windy and sandy place, but his life was not in danger.

I see! (End of chapter)