Jinyi Town Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 174 Yang Lian's Courage

The imperial court once again allocated relief food from the Ministry of Household Affairs and distributed it to the victims.Another sum of money was raised from Jiangnan to appease the victims and return to their hometowns for spring farming.

Xue Yang, the "culprit" in the case of corruption and food relief, has also been beheaded for public display.Yang Lian, an upright official, was promoted from the county magistrate of the seventh rank to the censor of the capital of the fourth rank.

Good people have good rewards, and evil people have bad results.

In the eyes of the world, the case of corruption of ink and food relief has been settled.

Even Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng of the Yuwang Party believed that although Yan Song and his son were not punished.But Xue Yang, their capable general, was decapitated, causing Yan Song and his son to lose face in the court.This is already a good result.After all, it is not a matter of overnight to bring down the strict party.

Concubine Li told Yu Wang: It is only secondary that Yan Song and his son have lost face in this case.The most important thing is that Yan Song and his son have torn their faces with the two eunuchs of Jin Yiwei.He Liu and Hu San are Lu Bing's people, which means that Lu Bing and Yan Song's father and son have torn their faces.

In the spring of Jiajing's 41st year, the case of embezzlement of ink and food relief seems to be over, it just seems.

Because there is one person who doesn't want this case to be rushed.This person is Yang Lian!
Before Yan Shifan sentenced Yang Lian, He Liu went to the Prison Division of the Ministry of Punishment and announced his will.

Yang Lian, who was acquitted and promoted, said some polite words to He Liu, and then walked out of the prison.

Yang Lian went to the Metropolitan Procuratorate.As soon as he hung up the sign and clicked Mao, he reported seven days of sick leave to Zuodu Yushi.

For the next two days, Yang Lian returned to his home, locked himself in the study, and refused to eat or drink.

He was thinking: Why is it said that Jiajing was prosperous and the world was peaceful.He has been an official for more than 20 years, but he has only seen starvation all over the place?
Daming owns two capitals and thirteen provinces with vast land and rich products, but why is the treasury so empty?
The majestic celestial dynasty, all nations come to worship, why is it leaking everywhere like a broken ship?

Lord Hongwu ruled officials with integrity, and once used the torture of peeling day lilies to deal with corrupt officials.Why is it that today's officials are all corrupt.Treat the people as fish on your own chopping board?

Yang Lian spent two whole days thinking in the study.

He thinks he has found the answer: the reason for all this is because Yan Song and his son are in power.Governing the country with greed, making money making is the top priority of an official.If the chief assistant of the cabinet is like this, how can the officials below not follow suit?
Yang Lian knew in his heart that the influence of Yan Song and his son was too great.Even the conscientious officials in the DPRK are afraid of their despicable power, they can only keep themselves clean, but they dare not confront Yan Song and his son head-on.

Because participating in the impeachment of Yan Song and his son is like moths to a flame!
Yang Lian remembered a story his mother told him when he was a teenager: In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, a tailor came to the small state of Ju.The tailor claimed to make the most beautiful robes in the world.Ju Jun was overjoyed when he heard that, and gave him a whole hundred ingots of copper and gold, and asked him to make the most beautiful robe in the world for him.

Three days later, the tailor brought Ju Jun a gorgeous brocade box.There was nothing in the brocade box.

The tailor made the shape of the clothes with both hands, took a "clothes" from the brocade box, put it on Jun Ju, and said, "My lord, this is the most gorgeous robe in the world. However, fools can't see it."

When Ju Jun's servants heard this, they all praised the gorgeous robe.

Jun Jun also praised: "This robe is as light as silk, but also full of grace and luxury, it is really ingenious."

Ever since, Mr. Ju was naked all day long, wearing this non-existent robe, and patrolling around.

When the common people saw it, they all praised: only such a luxurious robe is worthy of our monarch.

Until one day, Mr. Ju inspected the West City of Judu.A five-year-old doll asked the adults: Why is our monarch naked?
All the people around looked at the child with strange eyes.

Jujun's close attendant also heard this sentence.As a result, the five-year-old child was split by a car and divided into pieces by five horses.

When Yang Lian was ten years old, he heard his mother tell this story.He didn't understand, are the monarch, ministers, and tens of thousands of people of the state of Ju all stupid?Don't know if you were cheated by the tailor?
Now, Yang Lian is 50 years old.He understood that it was not the courtiers and common people of Ju who were stupid.It is because they are afraid of the power of the king.

Well, let me, Yang Lian, be the kid who told the truth!

Thinking of this, Yang Lian made up his mind.

It is evening.He opened the door in the study and went straight to Fulu Street in the south of the city.

Fulu Street has a large number of coffin shops.Because it was already evening, many coffin shops were closed and boarded.Only one coffin shop on the west side of the street was still open.

He walked in and asked the shopkeeper, "Are there any cheaper coffins?"

When the shopkeeper saw the guest, he said courteously: "May I ask which old birthday star in your house to go?"

Yang Lian smiled and pointed to his head: "I use it myself."

The shopkeeper was astonished. Seeing that the man in front of him was in good spirits, although he was over 50 years old, he didn't look like a patient who was going to die.Are you free to buy a coffin for yourself?Is this man a lunatic?

Yang Lian fumbled out two ingots of five taels of silver and two taels of silver from his bosom: "I only have 12 taels of silver, what kind of coffin can I buy?"

The shopkeeper thought to himself: Anyway, he came here with money, whether he is crazy or not, just sell him.

The shopkeeper replied: "This little money is only enough to buy a pair of willow thin-slab coffins. You look like a gentleman in your dress. Let me tell you first, this willow thin-slab coffin is not used. It will be buried for three to five years." It will be eaten by moths. The corpse will suffer from the pain of insects! Only poor coolies want this kind of coffin. I think you should spend more money and buy a pair of high-quality nanmu..."

Yang Lian waved his hand: "I'm sorry, shopkeeper. I only have this money. Just a pair of willow thin-slab coffins! Send it to the second courtyard of Yangwei Hutong, which is my home."

Yang Lian finished speaking and returned home.Not long after, the staff of the coffin shop drove the cart to deliver the coffin.

Yang Lian asked the staff to place the coffin in the main hall of the main house.

Then, Yang Lian asked his old wife to burn a large wooden barrel of hot water for him, bathe, burn incense, and change clothes.

After finishing all this, he returned to his study, picked up his pen, and began to write notes for the emperor.

On the head of the zhezi is written five large characters "please punish the thief and minister".

Yang Lian was born as a Jinshi with extraordinary literary talent.He splashed ink and wrote the memorial in a short time.It enumerates the "five traitors and ten crimes" of Yan Song and his son.

Yang Lian read the memorabilia from the beginning, and he was very satisfied.Then he put the memorial on the table, set up the incense burner in front of the memorial, and burned three sticks of incense.

Suddenly, he remembered something.

He found his old housekeeper: "Master Wang Shizhen, Qingzhou Bingbei Road, Shandong Province, is now reporting to Beijing. You go to his house and ask him to come over. Just say that I have something urgent."

In the 17th Jiajing Examination, Yang Lian was No. 13 in the second class, Hu Zongxian was No. 14 in the second class, and Wang Shizhen was No. 15 in the second class.The three of them sat at the same table at the Gold List Banquet.They were best friends.

Twenty-four years have passed, and Hu Zongxian has become the highest official stationed in the southeast by the imperial court, and he belongs to the strict party.Wang Shizhen became a fourth-rank soldier in Shandong and belonged to the Yuwang Party.Yang Lian became the imperial censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, without party or affiliation.

Everyone has their own choices and their own way to go.

Yang Lian planned to use the method of "dead remonstrance" to scare the emperor.He still has some worries - his family.

Wang Shizhen was doing military preparations in Shandong, which was far away from the capital.Yang Lian intends to entrust Wang Shizhen to take his family away from the wrong place.

(End of this chapter)