Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 163 The struggle among interest factions within the civil service group!
"Prime Minister Xu, don't worry, I know the seriousness of the matter."

Liu Daxia smiled and gave Xu Pu a reassuring look.

"Emperor Taizong conquered Annan 82 years ago. Many of the topography and locations on the map have changed."

"And after I go back tonight, I will revise the old Annam documents and make sure the Ming army returns empty-handed!"

"It's easy to repel the Annan army, but it's not that easy to retake Annan!"

"So good!"

Xu Pu smiled with relief: "The land of Annan must not be controlled by the Ming Dynasty again."

"It's a pity that the favor that Lord Yang Shiqi left for the Li family in the past was used up so quickly."

Yu Shen flattered calmly: "It's not a waste to use this favor if I can save the two adults."

"As long as the two adults are still in the court, no matter how much we pay, it will be worth it."

After these words were spoken, the Jiangnan civil servants in the room looked at each other and smiled.

After laughing, Liu Daxia brought up another serious matter.

"Yu Shen, please contact Xuanfu and ask Yang Tong to be more restrained."

"Although we managed to get through this time, we don't always have the trump card to turn danger into safety."

"The Ministry of War will halve the amount of armor and firearms he requested this year!"

"And food and military pay."

Xu Pu also looked at Yu Shen, with a warning in his eyes: "Tell Yang Tong not to go too far."

"What happened in Datong last time must never happen again!"

Yu Shen's face froze, but he forced a smile and said, "Yes, yes, the two adults are right. I will tell General Yang Tong about this."

"From now on, General Yang Tong must be more restrained and stay out of the spotlight."

"The two adults' dividends this year will have to be reduced..."

"Yu Shen! Do you know what you are talking about?!"

"I'm telling you, don't get carried away and push your luck!"

Before Yu Shen could finish his words, Liu Daxia suddenly started cursing, and his language was so blunt that Yu Shen froze in place.

"Haven't Xu Shoufu and I done enough to protect you from the trouble you and Yang Tong caused?!"

"Because of your little trouble, Prime Minister Xu and I stayed in the East Factory Prison for three days!"

"Is the East Factory Prison a place where people stay?!"

"Who are Prime Minister Xu and I doing this for?!"

"If Prime Minister Xu and I hadn't withstood the pressure from His Majesty these days, His Majesty would have known about your collusion with Yang Tong to smuggle arms."

"Do you think that after His Majesty knows about this, you will still have a chance to sit here and talk to us?!"

"Given His Majesty's temperament, not executing you and Yang Tong's entire clan is an extra favor from His Majesty!"

"Prime Minister Xu and I saved the lives of your entire clan. Is the usual dividend considered too much?!"

"From the beginning to the end, did Prime Minister Xu and I ever ask you for even one ounce of silver more?!"

As soon as Liu Daxia said this, the whole room fell silent.

Xu Pu, Xie Qian and others stared at Yu Shen quietly, and the smiles on their faces all disappeared.

Yu Shen was scolded by Liu Daxia like a son in front of so many people, which made him feel extremely humiliated.

He took several deep breaths before he was able to control his expression and put on a stiff smile.

"What Minister Liu is saying is that you and Prime Minister Xu have done great kindness, and General Yang Tong and I will never forget it."

"This is all my and General Yang Tong's fault. The dividends for the two adults this year will remain the same as usual."

"Haha, Minister Liu, you are too impulsive. Minister Yu's attitude of admitting his mistakes is quite good."

Xu Pu smiled, and the air in the room returned to normal.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, everyone in the room stood up and said goodbye.

After Yu Shen left Xu Pu's house, his face turned terribly dark.

The civil service group has never been a monolithic entity, but is divided into several interest groups.

For example, northerners like Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Wang Shu would not get involved in the affairs of those southern people.

In the Jiangnan civil service group, there are also people from other interest chains involved, such as the border town smuggling group represented by Yang Tong.

Yu Shen was just a vice minister of the Ministry of War, and above him was the Minister of War Liu Daxia.

His position in the Jiangnan civil service group was actually very low.

The reason why he was able to participate in this meeting attended by all the heads of departments such as the ministers and chancellors.

This is simply because, in addition to being a member of the Jiangnan civil service group, he is also the representative of the border town smuggling group in the capital.

Yu Shen and Yang Tong, the general commander of Xuanfu, were relatives by marriage.

Yang Tong's younger brother Yang Qing married Yu Shen's sister Yu.

Through this relationship, Yu Shencai got in touch with Yang Tong and joined the border town smuggling group.

His main source of income also comes from the North.

When he was the governor of Jinzhou, he stayed in border towns such as Xuanfu and Datong for more than ten years, and there had been collusion between them for a long time.

Smuggling in the border town requires the cooperation of these two powerful ministers, so naturally they also need to be given dividends.

Of course, the silver was not sent to the capital, but directly to their hometowns in Nanzhili and Ganzhou.

Now Xu Pu and Liu Daxia asked them to be more restrained in the border town, while at the same time asking them to pay the usual dividends.

It’s so deceiving!
Yu Shen returned to his home with gritted teeth, and invited his sister Yu to come and talk to him that night.

Yu Shen told Yu what Xu Pu and Liu Daxia had said.

Afterwards, Yu returned home and told Yang Qing these words.

After hearing this, Yang Qing prepared to set off for Xuanfu without saying a word and told his brother Yang Tong about this.

On the same night, Liu Daxia returned to his residence and rummaged through his boxes and drawers to find the old Annan documents that he had hidden.

When I opened it, I found that many of the images were blurry due to its age.

Liu Daxia picked out those images that were still clear and quietly changed a lot of them. It was not until the second half of the night that Liu Daxia finished revising the Annan documents and sent someone to deliver them to the palace along with his own memorial.

……

Forbidden City.

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youtang woke up from the dragon bed. Chen Yuanyuan was already dressed and waiting by the bed.

Zhu Youtang stood up and asked Chen Yuanyuan to help him get dressed, "Why don't you sleep a little longer, Concubine Ning?"

Chen Yuanyuan straightened Zhu Youtang's collar and said softly, "I've been sleeping lightly these past few days and waking up early. I had nothing to do while lying down, so I woke up early."

"A light sleeper? It looks like you're worried about something."

Zhu Youtang chuckled and put his hand on Chen Yuanyuan's lower abdomen.

Chen Yuanyuan felt shy when Zhu Youtang spoke about her real feelings, but her cheeks did not turn red like she did when she just went to bed with him.

Instead, she grabbed Zhu Youtang's hand and said coquettishly, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"I envy Concubine Shu very much. I also want to give birth to a prince for Your Majesty, but my belly is still not moving."

Zhu Youtang hugged Chen Yuanyuan and said, "It will be there. Let's eat first."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After Zhu Youtang and Chen Yuanyuan finished their meal, they prepared to go to Hongde Hall to review memorials.

Before leaving, Chen Yuanyuan held Zhu Youtang's hand.

"Your Majesty, you said before that you would come to Jingren Palace to see me. Is that still true?"

Zhu Youtang raised his eyebrows: "Of course it counts."

"Then please set a time, Your Majesty, so that I can prepare in advance."

Chen Yuanyuan blinked her eyes and looked at Zhu Youtang, looking pitiful.

Zhu Youtang knew that this was urging him to go to Jingren Palace.

I said last time that I would go to Jingren Palace to accompany her, but the only time I went to the harem recently was to Xianfu Palace to see Zhang Wan'er.

Chen Yuanyuan must be feeling a little jealous.

Zhu Youtang thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go tonight. I'll go to your place for a midnight snack."

After hearing this, Chen Yuanyuan smiled sweetly and knelt down to salute Zhu Youtang.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then I will be waiting for your arrival at Jingren Palace tonight."

Zhu Youtang smiled and pinched Chen Yuanyuan's face, then turned and walked out of the Qianqing Palace.

Now the coldest time has passed and the weather is gradually getting warmer.

Zhu Youtang first took a tour of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The Hall of Mental Cultivation had basically been completed, with only the final touches left.

The entire Hall of Mental Cultivation will be completed soon.

Zhu Youtang nodded with satisfaction and came to Hongde Hall.

The Imperial Household Department had already sorted out the memorials and petitions received today and placed them on the dragon table in the Hongde Hall.

Fu Dahai prepared a cup of hot tea and stood respectfully beside the dragon table.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

Zhu Youtang sat down at the dragon table, picked up the teacup and took a sip before looking at Fu Dahai.

"Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Fu Dahai, recently, you have been in charge of many matters of the Silijian."

When Fu Dahai heard Zhu Youtang take the initiative to mention the matters of the Imperial Household Department, his ears immediately pricked up, for fear of missing a word.

He was so nervous that he didn't even dare to breathe, holding his breath as he waited for Zhu Youtang's next words.

If he could go one step further, he would be the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, the eunuch with the highest status and the greatest power in the palace.

If he can't go any further, then this will be the end of his life.

But fortunately, Zhu Youtang is still quite satisfied with Fu Dahai now.

"You have done well. I will promote you to be the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department. You will be in charge of the affairs of the Imperial Household Department..."

Having said that, Zhu Youtang paused for a moment. There was really no suitable candidate in his mind, so he could only sigh.

"You should take care of it as well."

Fu Dahai was so excited that tears streamed down his cheeks. He kowtowed immediately and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

"From now on, I will go through fire and water for your majesty, without hesitation!"

"Stop talking about those useless things, just serve me wholeheartedly."

"Yes, yes! Your Majesty is right!"

Zhu Youtang picked up the memorial on the top of the dragon table and waved his hand.

Fu Dahai hurriedly left Hongde Hall without making any sound.

At this moment, Zhu Youtang was reading the memorial submitted by Liu Daxia.

The memorial stated that he had handed over the old Annan documents from the Yongle period.

Zhu Youtang was delighted and quickly picked up the ancient Annan documents given by Liu Daxia and began to read them.

But soon, Zhu Youtang's brows were tightly knitted together.

Many parts of this old Annan document are already blurred, and its reference value has greatly decreased.

If this were the case, the Ming army would be completely blind when entering Annan.

In addition, Annan is mountainous, with complex and diverse terrain, and is full of snakes, insects, and miasma.

If you want to conquer Annan again, I'm afraid you'll have to pay a heavy price.

(End of this chapter)