Chapter 310 309 Visiting the Yan Mansion

The day after returning to Beijing, he was summoned by Emperor Jiajing. Wei Guangde did not expect such an urgent meeting.

Well, influenced by later generations, he felt that no matter how corrupt the Ming army was, he should not be surprised.

In fact, during this trip to Jizhen, the border guards that Wei Guangde saw seemed to live a slightly better life than those in the interior, especially in the Jiangnan area. However, they had to go to the battlefield from time to time and could lose their lives at any time.

Wei Guangde was not sure whether the generals in the north were more conscientious than those in the south, but what was certain was that if Father Wei was really sent to rescue the capital, the Jiujiang Guards at that time would have been overwhelmed by the cavalry of Altan.

After leaving Xiyuan, Tang Shunzhi and Wei Guangde kept silent about the summons in Xiyuan. After leaving the gate of Xiyuan, they bowed to each other and left here in the sedan chair and returned to their respective homes.

Emperor Jiajing did not forget to give the two people a vacation, which was also a common practice. This time, each person had ten days of rest and went to their respective offices to report after ten days.

After returning home to rest for two days, Wei Guangde asked Zhang Ji to prepare gifts early in the morning. Naturally, he had to visit the residence of Lord Yan today to prepare.

For the five-hundred-year-old mountain ginseng, only rare items could be obtained. Ordinary yellow and white things were not in Lord Yan's eyes. Perhaps only the eldest son of Yan Shifan, who was known as the talent of the Ming Dynasty, liked them.

Zhang Ji also took out some of the chili peppers that Wei Guangde had collected from Nanjing and put them on the gift list, but Wei Guangde deleted it.

He didn't have much stock of chili peppers now.

It was just an ornamental plant, which determined that the nobles in Nanjing would not plant too much.

However, after Wei Guangde took the chili peppers back and put them in the dishes, his family couldn't eat them at first. Only after eating them a few times did they gradually accept the spicy taste of chili peppers.

Now, the Wei family has begun to try to grow chili peppers in the farm near Jiujiang Prefecture, using more than ten acres of land at a time.

Now, Wei Guangde was reluctant to give the peppers to others, and others would not use them, which would be a shameful waste.

After lunch, Wei Guangde rested in the backyard for a while before he went out and got on the car to Yan's house.

Under normal circumstances, officials would first send a visiting card to the other party's house before visiting each other, and then wait for the other party to reply, that is, they could visit the house only after confirming the time of the visit.

However, who made Wei Guangde and Yan Ge Lao both fellow villagers?

In the past few times, Wei Guangde still followed these rules, and was ridiculed by Yan Shifan for a long time until he stopped sending visiting cards.

When he went to Yan's house today, Wei Guangde naturally prepared gifts according to the convention and went directly there.

According to the usual style, he went to the house, and from the reception on the opposite side, he could see whether Yan's house had changed his attitude towards him, and from this he could also infer whether Yan's house would take any action against him later.

Wei Guangde still valued his life very much.

As expected, when Wei Guangde's carriage stopped outside the side door of Yan's house, the Yan's house doorman had already run out to greet him.

This was also their usual routine. For the arrival of a familiar carriage, one side would directly inform the inside, and the other side would come out to greet the distinguished guest, so that the other party could feel the courtesy of Yan's house to them, and then when he was happy, his hand shook and the purse flew out.

The seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, the Yan's house doorman seemed to be only half a level lower than him, Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde got off the carriage and threw a purse over, then smiled and bowed to the man, saying: "Which master is in the house?"

"So that Lord Wei can know that the two masters are now busy with official business in the cabinet and are not at home."

The doorman smiled happily when he received the red envelope thrown to him by Wei Guangde, and quickly put it in his arms.

Of course, this bag of silver was not won by him alone, and in the end it was divided equally among the doormen of this door.

The Yan family has strict rules. Although there are no specific regulations for the doorman to accept red envelopes, the master's silence does not mean that the servants can do whatever they want.

If the servants make trouble in front of the guests because of a trivial matter like a red envelope, it will be the Yan family's shame.

Wei Guangde nodded and sighed: "The Xiangye family is busy with state affairs and dedicated to the court. They are really role models for our generation. Guangde sighs that he is not as good as them."

The doorman has bowed and invited Wei Guangde to come in. Wei Guangde naturally will not hesitate in front of the door. He raised his legs and went up the steps and walked inside. Only Zhang Ji followed him on the side.

As for the carriages and guards, the Yan family will not lack them.

There is a whole row of horse posts on one side outside, which can park dozens of carriages or sedan chairs at the same time. The Yan family also has special people to take care of them. As for the coachmen and guards, someone will greet them for tea, and there will be a sumptuous meal at mealtime.

The face of the Xiangfu is all there in the Yan family.

There is no change in this part of entering the door.

However, Wei Guangde did not expect the servants in the Yan Mansion to know his affairs, otherwise, the rumor that he had written a memorial for the Xuan Mansion would have spread in the capital long ago.

Wei Guangde walked in with a smile on his face. Before he reached the second gate, Yan Xin, the second housekeeper of the Yan Mansion, had already hurried out of the door to greet him.

"Forgive me, I am late to welcome you."

Yan Xin and Wei Guangde are also old acquaintances. Yan Nian, the head housekeeper of the Yan Mansion, is quite trusted by Yan Song and Yan Shifan, but he is a little old, so he usually does not come out to receive guests like Wei Guangde. He only receives Yan Song and Yan Shifan.

The third housekeeper, Yan Dong, is unruly and arrogant. Even when receiving fellow Jiangxi people like Wei Guangde, he sometimes has to act like the third housekeeper of the Yan family, so naturally he cannot be sent out to receive distinguished guests.

Wei Guangde once heard someone from Yan's Mansion say privately that two senior officials from the Metropolitan Procuratorate came to Yan's Mansion to ask for a calligraphy painting from Yan's chief assistant. Yan Song was not around, so Yan Dong, the third housekeeper, asked them to wait outside the pavilion. For more than an hour.

It was winter, and the two high-ranking officials in the court, who were third-rank officials, were almost frozen there. It was the butler Yan Nian who passed by and found out, so he sent someone to help the two adults into the house and arranged for someone to bring hot food to them. Tea.

So of course the current Yan Mansion is made by the chief steward, Yan Nian, but Yan Xin is actually in charge of things in the manor, and Yan Dong is mainly responsible for things outside the manor.

He and Yan Xin entered a flower hall. Yan Xin arranged for people to bring tea and cakes, and sat under Wei Guangde to accompany the Prime Minister.

"Have there been a lot of affairs between North Korea and China recently?"

Wei Guangde asked a little puzzled. In the past, Master Yan would only follow Yan Chief Assistant to the cabinet office in the morning, and usually sneak out to do his own business in the afternoon.

But today the concierge said that the eldest son had not come back and was still working in the cabinet, which was a bit strange.

"Hi, Mr. Wei, you are a noble man and forget things a lot."

Yan Xin glanced at Wei Guangde, and then said slowly: "You just came back from Jizhen, and I have read the contents of the memorial. It is so shocking, is it not a big deal?

In the past two days, Liubu Hall officials have been recruited to the cabinet every day to discuss follow-up matters. I heard that Long live the Lord was very anxious after seeing it, saying that Ji Town was like this, what were the other military towns in Jiubian like?

I heard that people from the Ministry of War will be arranged to inspect other military towns together with the Censor of the Imperial Procuratorate and the Sixth Section. This time, we need to conduct a detailed inspection to get the same result as your trip to Ji Town. We need to know the vacancies in various military towns. , only by grasping the truth can we deal with it. "

"Oh, that's how it is."

Wei Guangde nodded. Most of the military households in Ji Town were on the run. There was also a serious shortage of sergeants. The situation in other military towns would only get worse.

Although Ma Fang never mentioned this matter to him, it was probably because the scope of the matter was too wide, and most people would not dare to lift this layer of window paper unless the message came from above.

"Other military towns will send court ministers to investigate. The matter in Ji Town is not over. It is said that the Ministry of Household Affairs will take the lead, and jointly with people from the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of War, they will conduct an inventory of the food and salary that have been falsely received over the years. Those money and food I guess I can’t even sleep well, haha.”

Yan Xin continued.

"Is the impact so big? I thought it was just a scolding. No one has time to make mistakes."

When Wei Guangde heard what Yan Xin said, he immediately knew that this time the court was not just targeting the generals, but also the doctors and chiefs who were in charge of money and food, as well as the civil servants from the military and military departments. Take responsibility.

In fact, he and Tang Shunzhi knew from the beginning that many people would be unlucky. After all, there were too many vacancies, but in the past, military generals were responsible for such things.

He lied about the number of sergeants and defrauded the money and grain officials of extra money and grain. He was greedy, but this time he obviously wanted to take a heavy hand and beat the border ministers, lest they feel that the sky is high and the emperor is far away, so they can do whatever they want in the local area.

"It's really hard work for Mr. Chief Assistant with so many personnel arrangements."

Wei Guangde said with emotion, "Those border town officials are not worried at all. They can't do their jobs well, so they don't have to worry about the chief minister who is more than 70 years old and is still running around to worry about world affairs."

"Who says otherwise? I don't know who will be replaced as governor of Ji Town. I guess the gentlemen will be back very late today. I heard from the eldest son yesterday that today we will determine the candidate for governor of Ji Town."

Yan Xin answered with a smile.

"Ji Town? Didn't Governor Yang Boyang transfer to Ji Town? The things discovered now have nothing to do with him. Do we have to be dismissed from office?"

After Wei Guangde heard Yan Xin's words, he couldn't help but trembled in his heart. This involved innocent people.

It has only been more than a year since Yang Bo was transferred to Jizhen from the post of governor of Xuanda. It was because of the discovery of serious problems that Wei Guangde and his team conducted this inspection. Moreover, Yang Bo can be regarded as a Jian in the Emperor's heart because of his past achievements. Logically speaking, It's just that he shouldn't be punished for this.

"Mr. Wei, something went wrong. It's not a dismissal, but it might be a good thing."

However, Yan Xin smiled and shook his head and said: "Last time, His Majesty punished Xu Lun, the Minister of the Ministry of War, for the matter of Xuanda. Now the post of Minister of the Ministry of War is still vacant. Naturally, someone needs to take over. Someone proposed that Yang Bo be promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of War. ”

When Yan Xin said this, he stared at Wei Guangde without blinking, observing the subtle changes in the expression on his face.

Wei Guangde felt it. Although Yan Xin chatted with him as usual and looked the same as before, those eyes were always observing him. It was obvious that Yan Xin knew much more than other people in the Yan Mansion.

Yang Bo should not be from the same family as the Yan family. At this time, Yan Xin mentioned in front of him that Yang Bo might be promoted to the post of Minister of the Ministry of War. He seemed to be tricking himself to see if he was secretly connected with Yang Bo.

Yes, after all, I visited Xuanda when Yang Bo was the governor of Xuanda, and inspected Jizhen when he was the governor of Jizhen, and found a big mess in the border town. The Yan family would not suspect that they were secretly communicating with Yang Bo.

Of course, Wei Guangde was just thinking about these things in his mind.

"Besides Governor Yang, are there any other candidates?"

Wei Guangde did not ask whether Yang Bo could be promoted to the position of Minister of War, but asked other candidates.

"There must be candidates, but I don't know who they are."

Yan Xin laughed.

"Actually, each position has its own position. If you remove Governor Yang, you will have to find someone to be the Governor of Jizhen. It's a good thing that everyone has a chance to move. Haha."

Wei Guangde laughed in agreement, and looked at Yan Xin with a wink.

"Haha. Lord Wei, what's that look in your eyes? Haha"

Yan Xin knew what Wei Guangde meant. It was just that moving Yang Bo would cause a series of personnel changes. Many people's official positions would change from top to bottom. It depends on whether you find the right person.

Yan Xin also helped Yan Shifan manage the pawnshop business on weekdays. He had mentioned it when chatting with Wei Guangde in the past. In fact, this is no longer a secret in the capital.

He knew the meaning of Wei Guangde's eyes, that is, his pawnshop business will prosper again.

Yes, whether it is a Beijing official or a foreign minister, knowing that there is such a good position, naturally you have to fight for it with all your strength.

Master Yan Shifan is very righteous when he takes money to do things. He has to do things if he takes money, and he won't take money if he can't do it.

It can be imagined that as long as the news spreads, those officials who are determined to make further progress in their official careers will definitely send money here. Even if they can't make any benefits in this personnel change, it is good to have a relationship with the Yan family.

Sure enough, when the father and son of the Yan family returned home, it was already late. Wei Guangde was just called over to chat for a few words and then served tea to see him off.

However, although they didn't spend much time together, Wei Guangde still saw a trace of fatigue on their faces. This look is often seen on Yan Song, but it is the first time to see it on Yan Shifan.

Two days later, the exact news about the position of the Minister of War quickly spread among the officials in Beijing. Yang Bo was changed to the Minister of War, and Wang Rong was appointed as the Governor of Jizhen.

When Wei Guangde heard the news, he thought about the meaning of Yan Xin's words that day, and the rare expression on Yan Shifan's face. He was afraid that there was a fierce debate in the cabinet that day about the selection of the Minister of War and the Governor of Jizhen, but the Yan family did not achieve their goal.

And the news that has come out now also shows that the result of the cabinet's final discussion was submitted to Emperor Jiajing. Emperor Jiajing did not choose the person supported by the Yan party, but chose the result they did not like.

Yang Bo was appointed as the Minister of War. In fact, there was no controversy. Yan Shifan's expression at that time was probably caused by his failure in the position of Governor of Jizhen.

Wang Rong, whose courtesy name was Minying and nickname was Sizhi, was a Jinshi in the 20th year of Jiajing. He was granted the title of envoy and transferred to the Supervisory Censor. Since then, he has been promoted in the system of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. He has successively served as the Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief, the Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief, and the Governor of Datong.

In the Censorate these days, there were several censors who had not impeached Yan Song. As long as the words were not too harsh, the Yan family would not take it seriously. Only those impeachments that were justified and posed a threat to the Yan family would be hated.

After this promotion, Wang Rong was appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Governor of Ji and Liao, which naturally made the Yan family unhappy.