I am a director in Ark. If I am not banned, I will be considered successful.

"Lord, you are here."

And Lu Fang, played by Lao Li, immediately went to meet the elderly Yan Song, played by Shu Wang, and put aside the upright faction of Xu Jie, played by Taifu. From these small details, it can be seen that Yan's party is still the most powerful in the cabinet of Dayan.

"Sir, after this snow, you were eighty last year, so you should be seventy-nine this year."

"Hehehe...Lord Lu thinks I'm too old." Facing Lao Li's compliments, the Rat King also followed his meaning and joked, but he still naturally enjoyed Lao Li's support. Lao Li, who had looked like a high-ranking official before, said very freely:

"Long live the emperor, and may you live a hundred years longer. You still have to serve the emperor for another twenty years."

At this moment, Lin Yuxia, who played the role of the young cabinet minister Yan Shifan, didn't know whether it was because she knew what kind of character her father was in the play, and even her tone was a little more contemptuous and complaining, and she said suddenly:

"——If I continue to do this for another twenty years, people will hate me to death."

Lin Yuxia's words also made everyone in the lounge laugh. The difference was that Chen Huijie laughed at Lin Yuxia's words, while the Great Yan Emperor laughed at the cunning of the young cabinet minister played by Lin Yuxia.

"He's not very cunning. His emotions are good, but he's easier to identify than those old foxes who all have expressionless faces."

The Emperor of Dayan was also well aware that the high-ranking officials in the court of Dayan were more shrewd than the other, and usually they either had a smile on their faces or a stern face. It was rare to see an official who showed his true colors on the surface, and he felt a little bit of affection for him.

However, what made Emperor Dayan even more curious was the instructions given by Lv Fang, played by Lao Li, before leading everyone into Yuxi Palace.

"Although it snowed today, the emperor's mood is unlikely to be very good due to Zhou Yunyi's matter."

"We'll try to get over the deficit as much as possible, and we'll think of other solutions this year. I still say that no matter how big the problem is, we have to stick together."

There was a strong sense of solemnity in Lao Li's words, and everyone in the cabinet had a serious expression as if they were facing a great enemy. It was obvious that they knew very well how "terrible" the emperor they were going to meet was.

"He manipulated all the officials in his palm... I want to see how the Emperor Jiajing, played by my brother, could do all this and make all the officials fear him like a tiger."

As the Emperor of Dayan finished speaking, the camera moved. There was no emperor sitting on the dragon throne in Yuxi Palace. The cabinet and the Imperial Household Department stood in two rows respectively. Only Yan Song, played by the Rat King, could sit in the front row as the chief minister of the cabinet and due to his old age. The others sat upright, as if the emperor could see them through the wall.

The camera turned and everyone saw a wooden hammer hitting a bronze bell, which made everyone feel solemn. There was no doubt that it was the Jiajing Emperor who had not attended court for more than 20 years but had everything under control.

The dragon is not seen from the head to the tail, but it still suppresses the dragons and makes them dare not do any evil.

Just from that one scene, Emperor Da Yan and everyone in the play could feel that the extraordinary qualities of Emperor Jiajing had just begun to show...

Chapter 274: Order: Watching the acting of Da Yan officials, you have to drink more wine

The bronze bell rang, and the meeting in the play officially began. Even though there was no one on the dragon throne, the cabinet and the Imperial Household Department still maintained complete etiquette. In the eyes of the Great Yan Emperor, their postures were more proper than most of the ministers who attended court.

The cabinet chief minister Yan Song, played by the Rat King, also briefly summarized the current situation of Da Yan in the play and the reasons for the deficit in the national treasury, saying:

"Last year, there were severe droughts in two provinces, floods in three provinces, several major wars in the north and southeast, and a fire in the palace... To be honest, I don't know how I got through it."

The Rat King eased the atmosphere with a somewhat teasing tone, and also explained it to the Emperor Jiajing, who was not present at the scene at the moment but had been listening in the abode at the back.

And it was precisely because he knew that Jiajing could hear their discussion, so after explaining the reason for the deficit, he immediately added some flattering words, saying:

"The emperor works day and night, so it's normal for everyone to be tired."

"Coincidentally, there was no snow in the twelfth month of last year, and some people took advantage of this to slander the court!"

The Rat King said the last four words with extra emphasis to ensure that the Emperor Jiajing in the abode could hear them. The news that the Emperor did not want to hear turned into words to please the Emperor after he said this. He continued:

"From the first day of the new year till now, the emperor has been fasting and praying here alone. This snow is a gift from the emperor."

"——Old fox." X3

However, these words from Yan Song, played by the Rat King, made the Great Yan Emperor, Ling, and Kal'tsit, who sent operators to assist in the filming and was the representative of Loth Island, all make such an evaluation of Yan Song.

"In a word, the responsibility for the deficit in the national treasury, as well as the rampant corruption and the people's miserable life mentioned by Zhou Yunyi, were all assigned to everyone in the cabinet, while all the credit was attributed to the emperor who 'fasted and prayed for snow'."

The Great Yan Emperor also sneered, his eyes filled with contempt and vigilance towards Yan Song played by the Rat King. He was contemptuous because he knew that Yan Song in the play was very cunning, a capable minister, but also a treacherous minister, and he looked down on such a minister from the bottom of his heart.

The reason for vigilance is that Yan Song is indeed very capable. With just one sentence, he said that he was praying for snow, but in fact he did nothing. He praised all the credits as his own, and did not let the emperor take any responsibility. Obviously, Yan Song is a very competent "black glove", and he himself is also aware of this.

"No wonder the Yan Party has become so powerful. Such a sensible minister is really useful."

"Pure evil and darkness are not scary... What's scary is that they are not pure?" Chen Huijie listened to the analysis of the Great Yan Emperor and couldn't help but sigh, but soon asked with some confusion:

"I can understand that some forces need their subordinates to do dirty work and maintain some 'order', but do officials in the court actually need to do things that are shady?"

"Wrong." However, upon hearing this, the Great Yan Emperor sneered and corrected Chen Huijie. There was a hint of admiration in his eyes for his righteous niece, and at this moment, he spared no effort to give her advice:

"If the court wants to do something shady, the imperial guards can do it. There is no need for a minister to win over a group of disciples and form a clique for personal gain. Since they can exist and their power is so huge, there is only one possibility - the emperor allows them to exist."

"They not only work for the imperial court, but also for the Emperor Jiajing... The Yan Party did all the dirty work for Jiajing."

The Great Yan Emperor only left this sentence, without saying it thoroughly. Now he is very clear why Chen Qi said that the Jiajing Emperor was a "stupid ruler". He has now tasted that the stupidity of the Jiajing Emperor is that he allowed the Yan Party to develop, obviously to satisfy his selfish desires.

But as to what kind of selfish desire it was, the Great Yan Emperor was still not quite sure... But it was obvious that only the Yan Party could satisfy this selfish desire. He guessed that maybe it had something to do with the "immortal pill" mentioned by Chen Qi before?

On the screen, the Qingliu Party and the Yan Party began to argue over last year's expenses, and the doubts of the Great Yan Emperor also began to slowly take shape as the two factions argued.

Gao Gong, played by Bai Tianshi, started his first head-on confrontation with Yan Shifan, played by Lin Yuxia. Gao Gong explained why he did not sign the expenses of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works, which Yan Shifan was responsible for. After comparing the fiscal revenue and expenditure of last year, the deficit of last year's overspending reached as much as 14 million taels, which were all the deficits of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works.

The first of these was a sum of three million yuan drafted by the Ministry of Works in the name of the Ministry of War.

"The three million is recorded in the account of the Ministry of War to build thirty land battleships. In fact, my Ministry of War has not seen a single land battleship." Wen Yue, who played Zhang Juzheng, also took the initiative to speak at this time, but she and everyone else understood what this meant.

The deficit was all caused by the department headed by Yan Shifan alone. The biggest possibility is only one - corruption!

Moreover, this corruption was not clever at all, and could even be said to be a bit blatant. The Great Yan Emperor grabbed the seat with both hands, and there were some cracks on the handles of the seat. However, Lin Yuxia on the screen gave a confident explanation, saying:

"There are indeed thirty land warships, and they cost three million. They were built in our Great Yan Gouwu City. Originally, these warships were built for the Ministry of War for use in combat."

"Later, ten ships were used to transport wood for the construction of several palaces in the palace. The remaining twenty ships were borrowed by the Maritime Customs to transport silk, tea and porcelain to the East and Iberia."

All the information matched up, and Lu Fang, played by Lao Li, also proposed a solution, which was to let Lin Yuxia transfer ten warships from the Ministry of Industry back to the Ministry of War, and he would transfer the other twenty ships back from the Maritime Customs. Next time, he would just not use warships for this kind of work.

Everyone had discussed it and seemed to agree, but the approval process had not started yet. Everyone was waiting for a signal, and no one dared to move before the signal came.

"Boom."

Finally, with the sound of hammer hitting bronze bell, Emperor Jiajing signaled the Imperial Household Department to approve the bill.

It seemed like a serious problem, but the ending was a bit anticlimactic. But it was also well-founded, and it seemed to be just an accident. Many people outside the screen were suspicious, but Ling seemed to understand a little, but he didn't say it out loud.

As the discussion continued, Gao Gong, played by Master Bai Tian, ​​continued, "One of the funds is from Gou Wu's river repair. The Ministry of Works reported three million taels at the beginning of the year, but it was reported as five and a half million taels."

"——Gouwu is an important tax-collecting area for the imperial court. The extra public funds for river repairs can be checked in the river administration office." Lin Yuxia continued to speak confidently, with a sly smile on her face as she said:

"Besides, the river supervisors are all appointed by the people in the Imperial Household Department. If you don't sign, I'm afraid it's not just directed at our Ministry of Works, right?"

The Imperial Household Department maintains the interests of the emperor, and to go against the Imperial Household Department is to go against the emperor. Lin Yuxia's implication is that the Qingliu Party's refusal to sign is linked to making the emperor embarrassed.

"Mr. Gao, what else has not been signed?" Lao Li waved his hands quickly, stopping Master Bai Tian who was about to argue with Lin Yuxia. He certainly knew that the emperor could not be blamed for any crime, so he immediately changed the subject.

"...Also, the timber loan for the palace's palace repairs. The budget reported by the Ministry of Works at the beginning of the year was three million taels, but this time the bill was as high as seven million taels!"

At this point, Master Bai Tian's tone could no longer conceal his disgust. Although it was just acting, such blatant corruption had caused the blood pressure of the already bad-tempered Master Bai Tian to soar. His eyes were wide open, staring at Lin Yuxia, as if he wanted to eat this little mouse alive.

However, Lin Yuxia seemed to have planned this in advance. With just a few words, she left Master Bai Tian with no chance to fight back. She said:

"I knew that no matter how much you calculated, you would end up blaming the emperor."

"——I said that the Ministry of Works suffered a loss of four million taels, but I didn't say that we shouldn't build palaces for the palace!"

Master Bai Tian suddenly realized that the palaces were built for the emperor. Strictly speaking, this account is still related to the emperor. His tone dropped a little and he seemed to have less confidence.

Lin Yuxia also gave her own explanation in time, and said in a resounding voice:

"The budget at the beginning of the year mentioned that we would transport timber from the Shangshu Mountain, but after a survey, we found that Shangshu has not been repaired since the battle of 'Sui' that year. There are no roads, the mountains are high and the forests are dense, and the Shu Road is even more difficult to get to. The timber cannot be transported down the mountain at all."

"We have now changed our strategy to transport wood from Sargon via land ships. This year's construction period has suddenly added so much difficulty that our Ministry of Works has been working day and night! Even the warships were in Sargon, and several were lost due to sandstorms and harassment from the king and chiefs! But we still managed to repair several palaces in the palace before the end of the year!"

As she spoke, Lin Yuxia also deliberately cast her gaze towards the members of the Qingliu Party, and said with an impassioned look, like a loyal minister of Dayan:

"For the Emperor, we can endure any hardship!"

"But I just don't understand. We are all doing court work, why is it that whoever does more, always gets the more wronged? Why do you always hold on to the extra money I spent?"

"Good! Wonderful!"

As soon as Lin Yuxia finished speaking, the half-drunk Ling suddenly shouted and cheered with a smile on his face. Just when some people who didn't know what was going on in Chen Huijie cast suspicious eyes at her, they saw Ling clapping his hands and said with admiration:

"What a trick of confusing right and wrong, this young cabinet minister is really good at it. He has lost several warships, and now they are all against each other."

"I thought it was strange when Miss Lin said before that she had borrowed ten warships to transport the wood. Now several warships are missing. Even if these warships were never built, she would have kept the money."

"Oh, maybe they have built it. They also embezzled the money for the warship and the wood, and did it so openly. Hahahaha, what a show! What a show!"

As Ling spoke, he smiled and took a big sip of wine. Ling's explanation made everyone present completely understand that this scene was simply a live teaching of how to embezzle legally!

Even if the corruption was discovered, there was no way to investigate it, because the warship was "lost" and the work was done for the emperor, so there was no need to bear responsibility, let alone compensate for the equipment. Using public money to enrich oneself was justified.

This was just the tip of the iceberg, and it made everyone present realize that the dark side of the Da Yan officialdom was something that young people like them, who were not well-versed in the world, could not even imagine...

Chapter 275: Jiajing: There are no treacherous ministers in Dayan. All those I use are loyal ministers.

"The ugly behavior of all officials is fully displayed in the play. This is really frustrating..."

At this moment, after Ling's words fell, there was no sound in the lounge. Zhongyue was the first person to react besides Chen Qi, and his mumbling at this moment also hit the heart of everyone, including the Great Yan Emperor.

Ugly. That's right, how else can this scene be described except this word? Lin Yuxia's Yan Shifan, whether in words or expressions, clearly reveals the greed and fearlessness of a favored treacherous minister.

On the screen, last year's expenses have been explained clearly, and everyone started to talk about this year's expenses. When Wen Yue played Zhang Juzheng, he was somewhat aggressive towards Lin Yuxia when he put forward his opinions, saying:

"If it's like last year, and the Ministry of Revenue uses up all the silver in its inventory within a year, the court will have to impose additional taxes on the people this year."

"Before I came here, I had heard that some provinces have already increased taxes for five years - if this continues, how can the Ministry of Revenue continue to run?"

The meaning of Wen Yue's words is already very clear. Everyone knows that you, Yan Dang, are greedy, but you, Yan Shifan, had better not go too far. The Ministry of Revenue is responsible for maintaining the court's expenses. If you continue to be as blatantly greedy this year as you were last year, you will have to bear the consequences.

As he spoke, Zhang Juzheng, played by Wen Yue, did not forget to say in a resounding voice: "Everything is prepared, and if it is not prepared, it will fail. If we continue to spend money not in accordance with the budget like last year, and spend money before it is spent, then after the money is gone... I really don't know what we will have to eat in the Great Yan Dynasty?"

When Wen Yue finished speaking, the Emperor of Dayan and others outside the screen nodded secretly. They all knew that Zhang Juzheng was a member of the Qingliu Party, and the image of this character now made them feel much better about the Qingliu Party.

"Sure enough, there are still officials who are sincerely working for Dayan." Chen Huijie also breathed a sigh of relief. Compared with the Yan Party, she naturally felt that the Qingliu Party was more like good people. After all, up to now, several people in the Qingliu Party have been doing practical things, it was just Yan Shifan who was making trouble.

"Well, there are still good people out there." Amiya, who came with Kal'tsit, had been silent before, facing the depressing atmosphere on the screen, and now a smile appeared on her stern face.

But before the two girls could be happy for long, Lin Yuxia on the screen immediately refuted these pointed words:

"I'm here to tell you that last year I built a river bank for Gou Wu and a palace for the emperor. Have I exhausted all the resources of my Great Yan Dynasty?"

"I didn't say that."

"So what did you mean by what you said just now?!" Lin Yuxia asked aggressively. At this moment, Gao Gong, played by Master Bai Tian, ​​could no longer bear it and asked:

"Does that mean we'll have the same deficit this year as we did last year?"

"——Lord Lu!" At this moment, Master Bai's reply had already fallen into a trap. Facing Lu Fang, played by Lao Li, Lin Yuxia spoke the words that had obviously been prepared long ago, shouting word by word: "The traitor has jumped out on his own!"

"Gao Gong is one! There is also Zhang Juzheng!"

Lin Yuxia suddenly turned black into white. Not to mention everyone outside the screen, even Wen Yue, a veteran in the political arena, and Bai Tianshi, who had been a heavenly master for two dynasties, were a little slow to react. They only heard Lin Yuxia continue:

"I think you... it's not just you. There are also some people who were the ones who helped Zhou Yunyi slander the court on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month last year!"

"Zhou Yunyi, an official in charge of supervising celestial phenomena, why could he describe the court's expenses last year so clearly when he was slandering the court? I was puzzled at the time, but now I finally understand."

"Some of us here told him the details in advance. Who instigated it?"

"What? You dare not admit it?!"

Finally, Lin Yuxia's sharp shout penetrated the entire palace. At that moment, none of Xu, Gao, and Zhang from the Qingliu Party could refute Lin Yuxia's words. It was unknown whether they knew they were in the wrong or were being blamed and didn't know how to refute.

But no matter what, Lin Yuxia's words made it at least 80% possible that someone was behind Zhou Yunyi. Whether it was the Qingliu or the Yan Party, it was enough to make people who understood the political arena feel a chill down their spine.

Especially the Great Yan Emperor, who knew the horror of it best. Because no matter it was the Qingliu or the Yan Party, Zhou Yunyi's death was enough to show that the power of both parties was so great that a court official would die for their interests! The power of these two factions... was great enough to make any emperor feel daunted.

If it were him, he would definitely reprimand and warn all ministers who formed cliques for personal gain as quickly as possible. If it was useless, he would definitely eliminate them immediately instead of waiting for their respective forces to expand to the point where they could dominate half the sky with one hand!

However, the Emperor Jiajing in this drama… actually knew all this and deliberately kept the two factions to work for him and the court… How did he do it? How did he control the two factions, allowing them to have such great power and still be so respectful of the imperial power?

It is definitely not enough to rely solely on the Imperial Household Department. The checks and balances of power of Emperor Jiajing... are definitely worth his consideration!

Just as the Great Yan Emperor was thinking this, the Yuxi Palace was completely silent, but with the sound of light footsteps, all the ministers immediately stopped arguing and said in unison, their arrogance greatly reduced:

"Long live Long live Long live."

Faced with such a situation, Emperor Jiajing finally appeared. Everyone watching the screen focused their attention, but before he arrived, their voices could be heard first. The light and carefree voice of Wei Yanwu reciting poetry slowly came.

"I have practiced until my body is like a crane, and I have two boxes of scriptures under a thousand pine trees."

"I came to ask Wu Yu said, the clouds are in the blue sky and the water is in the bottle."

With two lines of poetry and the sound of bronze bells, Emperor Jiajing played by Wei Yanwu finally appeared in front of everyone. His appearance must have attracted the most attention. Everyone wanted to know what kind of image this Emperor Jiajing, who was evaluated by Chen Qi as someone who did not attend court for 20 years and was obsessed with becoming a giant beast, but could still manipulate all officials at will, was like.

However, what no one expected was that, except the Emperor of Dayan and the crew, Wei Yanwu was not wearing a dragon robe, but a light-colored Taoist robe. The Taoist robe looked extremely simple and even thin. In the snowy weather outside, even a fantasy species would still feel a little cold wearing such thin clothing.

But Wei Yanwu's expression did not change at all, as if he had long been unable to sense the cold and the heat. Wei Yanwu, dressed in a Taoist robe, had an extremely strange aura. Although he was not wearing a dragon robe, his temperament of a superior from the inside out still made it difficult for people to hide the urge to worship him.