Chapter 14: The Strict Party vs. the Clean Stream, a Confrontation Before the Emperor! Xiyuan, outside Yuxi Palace. Lu Fang arrived early with Huang Jin, Chen Hong, Shi San and other eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department, and waited at the door. Not long after, a group of people were seen approaching from afar, accompanied by a sedan chair carried by eight people. "Here they come." Lu Fang murmured softly, and immediately went to meet them with Huang Jin and others. "My Lord, you are here." Lu Fang looked at Yan Song, who was wearing a bright red cloak, and stepped forward and bowed with a smile. "Great joy, great joy!" Yan Song looked at the heavy snow and congratulated with a smile, as if he was congratulating the good fortune of the snow. Hearing this, Lu Fang's face was also full of smiles. "My Lord, now that the snow has fallen, you were eighty last year, and you are seventy-nine this year." Hearing Lu Fang's words, Yan Song immediately laughed and joked: "Eunuch Lu, you think I'm too old." Then he didn't continue with the joke, but looked at the heavy snow and said:

"It's good snow. If it's all silver, I won't have to worry about anything anymore. I can retire and return home, haha..." As soon as these words came out, the smile on Lu Fang's face became stronger, "Wanshou Emperor, may your holy life be endless. Elder, you are also very lucky..." In the past, when Lu Fang heard this, he would definitely say something like "Long live the emperor, may you live a hundred years, sir, and you can still work for decades more." But now, everything is different. And he is the only one who knows that His Majesty may have obtained the true destiny of becoming an immortal, so he would not say anything like "Long live the emperor" anymore, nor would he compare the life span of an ordinary person with that of his master. Now, we can only wish the Emperor a long life, and you, Yan Song, can only pray for good fortune. Yan Song did not notice anything after the polite words. He just smiled and followed Lu Fang towards Yuxi Palace. At this time, Yan Shifan glanced at the people behind him, such as Xu Jie and Gao Gong, who had never smiled from beginning to end, and sneered: "If there is more luck, people will hate me to death!" Lu Fang, who was walking in front, didn't care about this at all, and Yan Song was also smiling, pretending not to hear it at all. Only Gao Gong, who had a hot temper, had anger in his eyes. The look in Yan Shifan's eyes just now was obviously referring to them. At this time, Zhao Zhenji gently tugged at his sleeve, signaling him not to be impulsive. Gao Gong then followed Yan Shifan, glaring at him angrily. He was very angry now! I must use Yan Shifan to vent my anger later! "My Lords." When they reached the foot of Yuxi Palace, everyone took off their snow-covered cloaks and handed them to the eunuchs. Lu Fang turned around and said when everyone was looking at him: "Everyone knows about Zhou Yunyi's incident in the twelfth lunar month. From the time he issued the edict of repentance to now, His Majesty has been in meditation." "Although this auspicious sign has come, your majesty is not in a good mood. We will let go of the loss if we can." "We can think of other ways this year." Lv Fang looked at everyone and said, "I still say the same thing. No matter how big the problem is, we must work together to share the worries of Your Majesty!" "Eunuch Lu is right." Upon hearing this, everyone echoed. Soon, everyone arrived at the main hall of Yuxi Palace. At the top of the hall was the emperor's throne, and below it was a seat specially given to Yan Song.

The others stood opposite each other on both sides according to the Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department. In front of them was a long desk. The documents have been laid out on it, written in black and red ink. At this time, in the temple on the side hall, Jiajing also stopped practicing, let out a light breath, and opened his eyes. With an idea in mind, he picked up the bronze chime hammer beside him and swung it casually. With a "dong" sound, the bronze chime made a sound. Hearing the sound of the bronze chime, Lu Fang stepped forward and said, "Let's discuss the matter." Afterwards, Yan Song first eulogized Jiajing's merits, and then summarized last year's severe drought in two provinces, floods in three provinces, wars in the north and southeast, and the fire in the palace. Zhou Yunyi then opened the speech, rallying everyone and hoping that the Ming Dynasty would prosper, and then he began to lead the topic to the meeting. The general process is as usual. The cabinet first drafts the bill, which is then submitted to the Imperial Household Department for approval. After settling last year's accounts, the cabinet will begin to discuss this year's accounts. After setting a familiar charter for the meeting, Yan Song rubbed his hands, warmed them by the fire, and looked at Xu Jie. "Lord Xu, the cabinet's draft is in your possession. Please give us your opinion and then submit it to Eunuch Lu and his men for approval." Since the discussion had begun, Xu Jie was not polite and took the lead in attacking the Yan Party. He directly stated to the Yan Party that some bills had been drafted, some had not been finalized, and the Ministry of Revenue did not recognize the accounts of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works. Faced with Xu Jie's attack, Yan Shifan did not hold back and started "biting" him on the spot. For a while, quarrels broke out. In the side hall, Jiajing was listening quietly. When Gao Gong quit the job in a huff, Jiajing frowned. He casually swung the cymbal hammer, and as the cymbal sounded, changes flashed across the eyes of some people in the hall. When Lu Fang heard that his master was unhappy, his mind raced, and he thought of what Lu Bing had said yesterday, and he understood. It turns out that the master still needs to use some people. What Lu Bing said was right. Even if this time there was a purge inside and outside the government and the administration of officials was rectified, the people in the cabinet, if they knew the current situation, would still turn a blind eye and continue to use them. "Yan Shifan!" Seeing that Yan Shifan was about to continue arguing with Gao Gong, Yan Song, who heard the emperor's dissatisfaction, immediately scolded him. Being scolded by his father in person, Yan Shifan was humiliated and said immediately, "Dad, I..." "There is no father here, only the ministers of the Ming Dynasty." Seeing that his arrogant son did not hear the displeasure of the man in the back hall, Yan Song immediately said in a loud voice: "When discussing matters in front of the emperor, you need to let people speak!" After that, he turned to Gao Gong and comforted him in a gentle voice: "Mr. Su, if you have any difficulties, just speak up." Lu Fang's mind raced, and without waiting for Gao Gong to speak, he stepped forward and said coldly, "I'll give you a heads up, too." "A meeting is a meeting. Don't bring up dismissal. Who should do what and who shouldn't do what is decided by your majesty. The same applies to dismissal!" In Lu Fang's opinion, Gao Gong's words were not a threat to Yan Shifan, nor were they a fight, but an expression of anger towards His Majesty! Who do you think you are, Gao Gong? Who are you threatening? It has to be said that Lu Fang was indeed a loyal family slave, and at this time Jiajing was indeed dissatisfied with the rumor of Gao Gong's dismissal from office. After Lu Fang's warning, everyone calmed down, and the anger in the hall, which was already tense, was relieved a lot. Then, last year’s financial settlement continued.

Gao Gong began to report the fiscal expenditure for the year. In addition, he expressed dissatisfaction with the expenditures of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Personnel, which were counted in other ministries. In addition, he questioned the Ministry of War about the deficit of 3 million taels, which made Yan Shifan's forehead turn blue with anger. However, with the previous warning, he was extremely restrained. However, Zhang Juzheng, who was still very young and shrewd at that time, broke the news that the Ministry of War had spent 3 million on building ships, but not a single one was seen. Everyone was shocked. Of course, Jiajing's expression changed as he listened at this time, but soon he shook his head again. He knew very well where the money went. Part of it was taken away by Yan's party, and part of it was used for himself. It's no use saying this now. Outside the palace, Lu Fang, as a loyal servant, naturally knew how to maintain his master's face. He began to take sides openly, and in cooperation with Yan Shifan, he settled the account of three million in a few words, and approved it on the spot. The first round of confrontation ended with Qingliu's defeat. For a moment, several people looked depressed. As for Yan Song, he remained calm from beginning to end and was not surprised by the result. Yan Shifan sneered and snorted in his heart: "These Qingliu people are all out of their minds. They don't even know who they are going against!" However, Gao Gong, as the firepower output of the Qingliu faction, was not discouraged. He regained his spirits and started the second round of attack. "Yan Dang, it's really useful..." Jiajing, who knew everything, listened to Yan Shifan and Yan Song, who were helping him settle the accounts, and sighed softly in the main hall. Although this was also meant to settle their own accounts, it was ultimately the emperor himself who caused this situation. "..." Big guys, it can't be so bad that no one reads the book, right? ? ? If there is, at least say something. No one voted, no one spoke, it's too scary!   (End of this chapter)