My father is Jiajing

In the autumn of the 45th year of the Jiajing reign, a low-key blue cloth carriage was driving slowly on a hardened road with few people, as if it was coming here for an autumn outing.

But the people in the carriage knew that they were not here for an autumn outing.

Xu Jie had no intention of lifting the car curtain to take a look at the autumn scenery outside. His mood was just like the loneliness and sadness of autumn, full of sighs.

The carriage drove along the hardened road and finally arrived at a secret manor guarded by guards and surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers.

This manor is the Qincheng Manor where the former Prime Minister Yan Song lived in his retirement. It was a manor built for Yan Song out of special favor by Zhu Zaigui.

Otherwise, given the crimes and enemies Yan Song had accumulated during his decades in power, as well as the people his son Yan Shifan had offended due to his arrogance, if Yan Song had been sent to his hometown in Jiangxi according to the original historical trajectory, he would most likely have starved to death in his own ancestral hall.

However, Zhu Zaigui was kind-hearted and felt that Yan Song was an old minister who had served the court for decades. Even if he had no merits, he had worked hard.

Moreover, most of his crimes were taken upon Yan Shifan, who was then sentenced to death according to the Ming Dynasty's criminal code.

At the same time, in order to avoid the escalation of political struggles in the Ming Dynasty and the increasingly fierce trend of black-and-white party struggles, Zhu Zaigui

Therefore, he pardoned Yan Song and gave him dignity, hoping to warn all officials to leave room for everything and not treat political struggles as a daily routine.

The daily routine of the court should be based on the overall interests of the country!
The carriage slowly drove into the Qincheng Manor in Changping.

The wheels rolled over the stone road covered with fallen leaves, making a dull sound. Xu Jie opened the car curtain and looked at this unfamiliar manor, with mixed feelings in his heart.

A few days ago, he was the most powerful Prime Minister in the Cabinet; a few days later, he was implicated in the Jiangnan case and was thrown into prison. If it were not for the Crown Prince's special leniency in consideration of his decades of dedicated service to Emperor Jiajing, he would never have had such good luck and treatment.

They will definitely be held accountable on the spot like the Qian family, Gu family, Dong family, Fan family, Sun family, Lu family and other gentry families in the south of the Yangtze River, and the entire family will either die or be exiled.

Now that no one in the Xu family has died, the matter has been handled. For Xu Jie, this must be said to be a great blessing from heaven!
"Lord, we're here."

The captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who was guarding Xu Jie spoke respectfully, but his tone lacked the flattery of the past.

When Xu Jie heard the voice of the captain of the Jinyiwei outside, he straightened his clothes, opened his eyes, sighed slightly, and slowly stood up and got out of the car.

The autumn wind outside was blowing gently, ruffling his already gray beard.

Xu Jie looked up and around, looking at the scenery of Qincheng Manor, and was a little dazed for a moment.

Although this place is not as good as the capital, it is also elegant and quiet. There are rolling mountains in the distance and fiery maple leaves nearby. It is a good place to cultivate one's body and mind.

After Xu Jie finished looking around, he took the initiative to say, "Thank you for your hard work, Captain Wang."

The captain of the Jinyiwei, who was called Captain Wang, replied, "I dare not do that. Please come in, Lord."

Xu Jie nodded and walked towards the gate of Qincheng Manor.

The guards guarding the gate of Qincheng Manor did not change their movements when they saw Xu Jie and Captain Wang coming. They remained loyal to their duties and did not say or ask a single word.

As solemn and majestic as a stone sculpture!
Captain Wang arrived at the gatehouse of Qincheng Manor before Xu Jie. After showing the relevant documents and certificates to the person in charge of guarding the manor, the gate of Qincheng Manor opened to welcome the arrival of Xu Jie, the newcomer.

Xu Jie was walking on the inner road of Qincheng Manor. He couldn't help but look around at this moment. Looking at this unfamiliar manor, he was also full of curiosity.

"Where is Lord Yan?"

Xu Jie walked for a while, looked for a while, and finally couldn't help asking.

The Qincheng Manor manager who was in charge of leading the way, after hearing Xu Jie's words, replied respectfully: "Lord Yan is in the vegetable garden in the west courtyard."

"A vegetable garden?"

Xu Jie was somewhat puzzled by this answer.

Then Xu Jie asked again: "Can you take me to see Lord Yan?"

The manager of Qincheng Manor smiled and said, "Of course you can. You are still free here. If you need anything, just tell the servants. We will do our best to meet your needs."

Xu Jie looked at the Qincheng manager again in surprise. The manager also saw Xu Jie's surprise and doubt. He smiled and replied, "These are the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. You must not neglect this old minister."

Xu Jie couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. He raised his hand and bowed in the direction of the capital: "Old minister Xu Jie thanks your highness for your grace!"

After Xu Jie finished thanking him, he said to the manager who was leading the way, "Take me to see Lord Yan."

The manager took Xu Jie all the way to the west courtyard where Yan Song was.

After Xu Jie arrived at the West Courtyard, before he could look for Yan Song, Yan Song's voice rang out first.

"Huating, are you here?"

Yan Song's voice, filled with surprise and joy, rang out beside Xu Jie just as he arrived at the west courtyard.

Hearing the voice, Xu Jie looked up and saw a familiar yet unfamiliar white-haired old man standing there with a cane, smiling.

Looking at the old man's thin figure, gaunt face, and a pair of bright eyes.

Xu Jie couldn't help but be shocked, and could hardly believe his eyes: "Master?"

Yan Song laughed, took two steps forward with his cane, and came to Xu Jie. "What? Don't you recognize me?"

Xu Jie bowed quickly, "I dare not, but I just can't believe that the elder can still be so energetic."

Yan Song laughed again, "Huating, you don't know that Qincheng is a place where people are kept. When I resigned from the cabinet, I thought that I would not live for many days at my age."

"But after arriving here, my mood suddenly became brighter. Not only did I eat more than before, but I also slept more peacefully than before."

"In the past, when I was worried about the trivial matters of state, I couldn't eat or sleep well all day, often woke up in the middle of the night, and had no energy at all."

"But after arriving in Qincheng, I stopped thinking about those things, and my life became easier. I feel more energetic than before."

Xu Jie stood there in a daze, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

But looking at Yan Song at this moment, Xu Jie still felt envious.

Meeting again this biggest political enemy whom he had once dreamed of overthrowing, Xu Jie felt an indescribable sense of wonder in his heart.

Yan Song seemed to have noticed Xu Jie's surprise. He smiled while leaning on his cane and said, "Huating, I have been here for five years. I am very happy to see an old friend today. If you don't mind, why don't you come with me to the vegetable garden to have a chat?"

Xu Jie nodded subconsciously, and followed Yan Song slowly and carefully, just like when he was in the cabinet, following him closely and full of indescribable respect.

Yan Song did not walk fast, it could even be said that he walked extremely slowly.

But Xu Jie did not urge or rush.

He stood behind Yan Song, looking at Yan Song. Although Yan Song was now over 80 years old, his steps were slow, but more steady than imagined. The only difference was that he was leaning on a crutch with his right hand, and his left leg seemed a little inconvenient.

But this is also the law of nature. After all, Yan Song is so old, it is inevitable that he has some minor health problems.

At the same time, Xu Jie also discovered that Yan Song's mental state seemed to be much better than when he left the cabinet.

At that time, Yan Song could even fall asleep while sitting on a chair, and often looked confused and ignorant.

Xu Jie even thought that Yan Song was really senile and confused.

Now seeing him so energetic, Xu Jie realized that he was naive.

However, Xu Jie couldn't help but ask, "Your legs, sir?"

When Yan Song heard Xu Jie's question, he also smiled and patted his left leg, "Oh, are you talking about this?"

"Last winter, I accidentally fell and broke my bones. It was the prince, oh no, it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who sent imperial physicians and academicians from the medical school to treat me. I had to rest for more than half a year before I recovered." When Yan Song said this, his expression was full of gratitude, as if everything he had now was thanks to Zhu Zaigui.

When Xu Jie heard this, he couldn't help but be secretly surprised. He didn't expect Yan Song to be treated so well here.

It seems that the prince is really kind!

The two of them walked through several corridors and came to an open space behind the west courtyard.

After arriving here, what surprised Xu Jie even more was that there was a neat vegetable garden here, about half an acre in size, planted with a variety of vegetables.

"This is."

Xu Jie looked at Yan Song in confusion and asked his question uncertainly.

Yan Song showed a proud look on his face and laughed, "This is the vegetable garden I planted. For the past five years, I have worked here every day, planting vegetables, raising flowers, and cultivating my character."

Yan Song then pointed out the crops in the garden and listed them one by one, "This is cabbage, this is radish, over there are leeks and onions, and there is also a small medicinal garden with some astragalus and angelica."

"By the way, I also planted a good thing called wolf peach (tomato), which I asked the Divine Medicine Palace for. I heard that this wolf peach is a specialty of the Western world. It's just that these Western people are stupid and don't know the benefits of wolf peach. They always think that the red color of wolf peach is blood and dare not eat it. It's really ridiculous."

"So, I will cultivate them myself. After the prince knew that I was growing wolf peaches, he also wrote a few recipes about them. We will pick a few ripe ones and cook a dish for you to taste."

Xu Jie looked at everything in front of him in disbelief. Who could have thought that the once powerful Yan Ge Lao would now be busy in the vegetable garden like an old farmer?
As he spoke, Yan Song walked into the vegetable garden, bent down, picked two big red wolf peaches, and handed one to Xu Jie, "You can also eat them raw! They taste great!"

Xu Jie hesitantly took the wolf peach handed to him by Yan Song. It was indeed blood red, but it was not so bad that he was afraid to eat it.

Xu Jie took a bite of the wolf peach in his hand.

This wolf peach is soft and juicy, with a slight sourness and sweetness. It tastes better than ordinary fruits and is simply special!
"how?"

After watching Xu Jie take a bite of the peach, Yan Song asked expectantly.

"Indeed. Fresh, sweet and delicious, with an extraordinary taste!"

Xu Jie answered truthfully.

Yan Song smiled with satisfaction, "Yeah, I don't know what those Westerners were thinking. They dared not eat such delicious food? It's really a waste of food!"

Xu Jie was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Maybe Westerners are afraid of this?"

The two smiled at each other, as if years of grudges had disappeared at this moment.

As the sun sets, the vegetable garden turns golden. Xu Jie and Yan Song sit on a stone bench in the garden, with a pot of tea in front of them.

"Five years,"

Yan Song looked at the mountains in the distance and said leisurely, "Since I left Beijing in the 40th year of Jiajing, I have been enjoying the beautiful life here. It is much more comfortable than those years in the cabinet."

Xu Jie remained silent. He had also contributed greatly to Yan Song's dismissal, and even Yan Shifan's death was intentional.

Now seeing Yan Song again, Xu Jie felt indescribable conflict and regret in his heart.

"Huating, don't worry about it."

Yan Song seemed to see through his thoughts. "In the court, people fight for their own interests. I was indeed too authoritarian in the past. I deserve this fate."

Xu Jie was surprised at Yan Song's frankness: "Don't you hate me, Lord?"

Yan Song took a sip of tea and smiled, "I did hate him at the beginning. But as time went by, I started to thank Hua Ting."

"Thank me?"

Xu Jie was even more confused.

"If it weren't for Hua Ting, I would probably still be scheming in the court, being coerced by my rebellious son. How could I enjoy such a leisurely life?"

Yan Song is very calm now.

After saying this, Yan Song pointed to the vegetable garden and said, "Look at these vegetables. From sowing to harvesting, they are real, without any falsehood. They are many times better than those who are just pretending to be nice in the court."

Xu Jie looked at Yan Song's calm face and suddenly felt ashamed.

He thought Yan Song would resent him, or even gloat over his misfortune, but he didn't expect him to be so open-minded.

"The elder has such a broad mind that I am ashamed to be inferior to him."

Xu Jie spoke sincerely.

Yan Song waved his hand and said, "Huating is new here, so it's inevitable that you will feel uneasy. With time, you will understand the beauty of it."

Yan Song never asked Xu Jie why he came here, and Xu Jie always felt empty in his heart.

Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Lord, don't you want to know why I'm here?"

Yan Song smiled and said: "If Hua Ting wants to talk, he will talk naturally; if he doesn't want to talk, why should I ask more?"

Xu Jie sighed and said, "It's Jiangnan's business."

Yan Song nodded, seemingly not surprised. He had already known about the problems in Jiangnan when he was the Prime Minister, but his ability was limited and the court could not do without the taxes in Jiangnan and the grain from the canal.

Therefore, the court's attitude towards the problems in Jiangnan seems to be to turn a blind eye and let it go as long as there is no chaos and does not affect the overall situation.

However, Yan Song did not expect that the seemingly powerful and well-connected gentry families in the south of the Yangtze River would be so vulnerable.

Hai Rui and Zhang Juzheng uprooted them completely.

If I had known that the gentry and wealthy families in Jiangnan were such cowards, I should have taken the initiative to squeeze out this cancer in Jiangnan.

In this way, maybe hundreds of years later, I will have a good reputation.

But what a pity.

I didn't have that much courage at the beginning, so I could only be a paperhanger, the emperor's white glove.

There's no point regretting it now.

Yan Song continued to listen quietly to what Xu Jie said next, and listened to Xu Jie finish talking about everything in Jiangnan.

After Xu Jie finished telling the story of Jiangnan, Yan Song could not help but sigh: "The prince is so kind. For such a big case in Jiangnan, the prince did not kill them all and gave these people a chance to live. He is really kind and benevolent. My Ming Dynasty is blessed!"

Xu Jie chuckled and didn't respond.

Zhu Zaigui was indeed benevolent and only killed the most heinous criminals. As for the rest, as long as they were related to him or were implicated in the matter in any way, they were exiled to all corners of the world and would never be able to return to Jiangnan in their lifetime.

It can be said that the mercy of this move is really more painful than killing those gentry and wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River.

But there is no way, who let these people's power and foundation in Jiangnan be too deep? If we don't do this, even if we kill them now, after a few decades, these families will still be reborn.

Therefore, the best solution for Zhu Zaigui was to break up and exile these families, and it would also earn him a reputation for being benevolent, which was a simple win!

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