Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 241 The current emperor is terrible! The elders should be afraid!

Xie's House in Yuyao.

One day in early winter in the third year of Jiajing.

It was when the drizzle suddenly turned cold.

Xie Qian, the Junior Tutor of the Ming Dynasty and the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, was hosting a banquet to entertain the Grand Secretary Fei Hong who came from Fujian.

Zhejiang Governor Xia Yan, Zhejiang Inspector Pan Fang and other high-ranking Zhejiang officials all came to Yuyao, accompanied by former Guangdong Left Governor Xie Di and others.

After all, Fei Hong is the current Deputy Grand Secretary. If they could meet him, give him some gifts, and improve their relationship, it would also be beneficial to their careers.

Let’s talk.

The Xie family is very rich.

There are the huge and magnificent "Grand Scholar's House" and "Grand Fangbo's House".

Among them, the "Zhuangyuan Building" is particularly famous in the "Grand Scholar's House".

The "Guangfan Hall" and "Zhixun Tower" of "Dafangbodi" are also very famous.

In particular, the "Zhixun Building" was Xie Di's library, a famous library in the southeast. It was built at a huge cost, and a lot of rosewood was used.

of course.

The Xie family's wealth was related to the large scale of their smuggling maritime trade.

Precisely because of the huge amount of smuggling trade, it is not known whether the Xie family intentionally robbed their fellow pirates or tried to please Jiajing by paying the payment for the goods to Jiajing. However, they were wiped out by pirates because they refused to pay the payment for the goods to the wealthy and powerful upstream.

The Fei Hong family is also a big family in Jiangxi.

But when he arrived at Xie's house, he was also surprised by the richness and luxury of the house, especially the jade artifacts displayed by the Xie family, which made him envious.

Therefore, when Fei Hong saw Xie Qian, he couldn't help but stroke his beard and sigh, "You really enjoy the wealth and happiness of the world!"

"The ancestors received the blessing of heaven and the love of the villagers, so after their descendants managed the business recklessly, they also gained some material possessions."

"They said they didn't dare to enjoy it because they wanted to honor their parents. Although I often say it's too extravagant, I really can't bear to refuse their wishes, so I have to accept it! I'm sorry to make you laugh."

Xie Qian said with a smile.

"Where there!"

"You have worked hard for the country all your life, and now you are enjoying a leisurely life in the woods, enjoying some wealth and luxury. This is exactly what a prosperous era should be like. Not to mention me, even Your Majesty would be happy to see this happen."

Fei Hong said this with a smile and continued to inspect the furnishings in the inner courtyard of Xie's house.

After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the scholars' morals changed drastically and they no longer advocated frugality.

According to historical records, after the Zhengde reign, when scholars and officials held banquets, they often piled up plates several feet high, and used rare treasures from land and sea that cost no less than ten thousand taels of silver.

Therefore, Xie Qian was also willing to show off his wealth in front of Fei Hong.

By the way, Fei Hong took the initiative to come and see Xie Qian.

Since Yang Yiqing had already sent him a letter telling him about Zhang Cong's determination to reform, he asked him to come and see Xie Qian and have a talk with him.

So, after the banquet, Fei Hong was alone in Xie Qian's study, playing with the jade beads while telling Xie Qian about Zhang Cong.

"You should know that Zhang Fujing is more terrifying than Wang Yangming. He hopes to completely change the tax policy and is now focusing on the commercial tax reform!"

"According to what Ying Ning (Yang Yiqing's pen name) said, fortunately, Your Majesty is not completely determined to change the commercial tax, but is more concerned about shipbuilding, so it is still possible to prevent Zhang Fujing from accomplishing this task."

After Fei Hong said this, Xie Qian, who was holding a hand warmer in his arms, snorted and said, "These young people are really more evil than each other!"

“And they all come from Zhejiang!”

Snapped!
Xie Qian couldn't help but slap his hand on the rosewood table, causing the ink in the ancient inkstone on the table to ripple slightly.

then.

Xie Qian then said:

"From the beginning of the Grand Council, I knew this man was not a good person!"

After that.

Xie Qian said to Fei Hong: "However, you can tell the gentlemen in the court not to worry too much about what kind of trouble Zhang Fujing will stir up. Even if Zhang Fujing is the Wang Anshi of the Ming Dynasty, he will not be able to achieve anything! He will suffer a great loss when he comes to Zhejiang this time!"

After Xie Qian said this, he smiled slightly, then closed his eyes and sniffed the faint fragrance of the rosewood chair after being baked by the fire, and his face was intoxicated by it.

"We naturally believe that your hometown can give Zhang Fujing a hard time."

"But Zhang Fujing is not an ordinary person. He is the toughest guy among our civil officials! Otherwise, Yang Xindu and those people who protect etiquette wouldn't have been treated so badly because of him!"

"Moreover, whether or not we can get rid of this person depends most on whether His Majesty is willing to continue using him!"

"To put it bluntly, even if everyone in the world says that Zhang Cong is a traitor and scolds him to death, as long as Your Majesty still wants to use him, what does it matter?"

"That's exactly what Yang Yingning meant, so he asked me to come see you."

Fei Hong placed the jade bead on the huanghuali table, stood up, walked up to Xie Qian and said.

Xie Qian, who had lived in the countryside for too long, was not very clear about the court situation, so he looked up and asked Fei Hong in surprise: "When everyone in the world is saying that he is wrong, does Your Majesty really dare to use him?"

Fei Hong nodded, turned around and admired the paintings of Mi Fu from the Song Dynasty collected by Xie Qian, and said:
"Your Majesty is not Xiaomiao! Although he may not seem to be as rebellious as Wumiao, he is even more vigilant towards our ministers and officials!"

"I see it!"

"After the ceremony failed, there should have been a fire from heaven to warn the palace, but it never happened!"

Xie Qian nodded and said with a disappointed look.

After that, Xie Qian sighed, looked at the carved ebony beams in front of him, and said, "The Filial Piety Temple is still the best!"

then.

Xie Qian looked at Fei Hong with pity in his eyes: "It's really hard for you people. You just assisted a Wu Miao who didn't want to be the emperor but wanted to be a general, and now you have to assist a figure like Emperor Wen of Han!"

"There is no need to say anything about the faults of the ruler and father. After all, it is not the duty of a subject."

Fei Hong sat back and said something with a smile.

Xie Qian, who was always known for his eloquent speech, was indeed prone to speaking without restraint, but he still had a broad mind, so after Fei Hong said that, he did not get angry, but just nodded and said: "I was wrong!"

And then.

Xie Qian could not help but ask Fei Hong: "I was just about to ask you, old man, when did Your Majesty notice the Portuguese? Why do you hate the Portuguese so much and publicize their sins?"

Fei Hong said: "I don't know either! I have been away from Beijing for some time, so I don't know for sure, but what is certain is that His Majesty has been paying attention to the Portuguese through Wang Wuyuan (Wang Hong) for a long time."

"You shouldn't slander the French like this!"

Xie Qian said this and said, “This is not the way a gentleman should govern a country!”

"They are not that bad. They just admire the name of the Celestial Empire and the virtue of the Celestial Empire and want to come here for trade and communication. It was just a misunderstanding in Guangdong from the beginning. It was that Wang Wuyuan who deliberately provoked them and caused the incident. In order to seek credit and reward, they even reported it as a major incident of invasion by barbarians!"

"Your Excellency knows a lot about France?"

Fei Hong couldn't help but ask after hearing this.

Xie Qian quickly denied, "I don't really know much about them, but my brother was a prefect in Guangdong and had contact with them. He mentioned some of their situations."

Fei Hong nodded: "That being said, it is not certain that they have become greedy. Seeing that China is rich and has no maritime defenses, they are planning to collude with the powerful to disrupt the southeast. Zhejiang is also close to the sea, so we must be cautious!"

"What the elder said makes sense."

"But the stability of a country lies in virtue, not in danger. As long as we value peace, we can resolve many problems."

Xie Qian said.

After hearing this, Fei Hongze looked at Xie Qian and said bluntly, "You should understand that the emperor's intention is to build a large number of warships and strengthen the navy. Therefore, Yang Yingning and I hope that your government and the Zhejiang gentry will not hinder this matter. Since the Ministry of Works has drawn a lot of bamboo and wood materials from its branches and factories, it is better to really fulfill it."

"Your Excellency should know that I am not in charge of household affairs now, and I don't ask about many things."

"Besides, most of the business matters are handled by my younger brother, so I don't know much about it either."

"Unfortunately, due to my father's order, we have been living in separate houses, so I can't make decisions on many of his matters. I will try my best to persuade him, but even if I can persuade my brother, I can't persuade the entire Zhejiang East gentry!"

Xie Qian said.

Fei Hong said: "Try your best, otherwise it will be difficult to get rid of Zhang Fujing!"

……

"Brother, someone from Hangzhou just brought back news that Xie Jiu was killed by Zhang Fujing!"

At this time, Xie Di suddenly walked quickly to Xie Qian's study and started talking.

Xie Qian and Fei Hong were both shocked after hearing this.

"This Zhang Fujing is really bold!"

Fei Hong couldn't help but say something in a deep voice at this time.

Xie Qian was also immediately furious, but because the guest Fei Hong was here, he couldn't get angry openly, so he just said: "Then go and ask what's going on!"

Xie Di bowed and left.

After Xie Di left, Xie Qian laughed out of anger: "What a ruthless man! He chopped me down without even saying hello. I've lived for so many years, but I've never seen such an arrogant person!"

Fei Hong said: "He has been arrogant for a long time. Therefore, Yang Yingning and I hope that you can take charge of the situation and promote your majesty's plan to build more warships and strengthen the navy. Only in this way can your majesty know that Zhang Fujing is not the only one who can handle the affairs of the world!"

After hearing this, Xie Qian sighed and said, "I naturally understand what you said, Lord! But as I said before, making this happen is not something that my Xie family can accomplish just because they want to. If my Xie family does this by force, I'm afraid there will be worries in the future!"

"But if you don't do this, won't you have any worries?!"

Fei Hong didn't expect that Xie Qian wanted Zhang Cong to fall and the emperor to be unable to build warships. This made him a little angry, and his tone became heavier, mixed with some sneer.

Xie Qian's face also turned a little ugly, and he asked Fei Hong: "Is the emperor really going to turn against my Xie family because of this?!"

After hearing what Xie Qian said, Fei Hong fell silent for a while.

As a result, Xie Qian's study room suddenly became silent, with only the sound of Xie Qian blowing on the tea after picking it up.

Dengdeng!

But at this time, footsteps were heard outside again.

Xie Qian put the tea heavily on the table and said, "What's the matter? Can't I be left alone for a while?!"

"Master! Zhang Cong has sent a lot of soldiers to Yuyao. My second uncle asked me to tell you!"

Xie Qian's son Xie Zheng spoke outside the door at this time.

Xie Qian's face darkened after hearing this: "You came so quickly!"

"I told you before, this Zhang Fujing is no simple character!"

Fei Hong said something at this time.

(End of this chapter)