Yan family's retainers,
Their legs naturally trembled—
Yan Song's consistent source of authority was the Emperor's punishing staff. To call him a Qingci guest was also fitting, for Yan Song was the Emperor's man. But now the Emperor called Yan Song a soul-possessing Daoist boy, which was tantamount to saying all his retainers were plotting to usurp the throne?
Thinking of this, several timid ones almost fainted.
Prince Yu repeatedly wanted to speak but held back. As for Hashiba Hideyoshi and the numerous foreign envoys, they were engrossed in tasting wine, paying no attention to anything before them.
Xu Jie and Li Chunfang could only remain silent, deeply shocked. Yet, they then considered that if the Emperor truly ignored Yan Song's poetry, it would be equivalent to continuing to acknowledge his unique status. In that case, the turmoil of the Zhoushan battle would have been weathered.
Perhaps Yan Song himself thought this? He predicted the Emperor would not tear down the facade at such an occasion, thus creating some room to maneuver for the next move?
In any case,
For such a situation, the two seasoned observers were speechless.
...
Yan Song knelt for a long time, still hearing no word from Jiajing and not daring to look up. He only heard footsteps pacing back and forth...
His move today was indeed as Xu Jie had imagined, choosing this occasion to reveal his hand. He had predicted Jiajing's prediction, believing that the offering of poetry this time was decisive. If he took a step back, his prestige would weaken, and the world would associate him with the Japanese pirates, making it impossible to recover.
Although in his heart he did not wish to pacify Japan, nor did he look down on the Japanese pirates, he believed that the trend of private piracy and maritime trade brought by the Franks was most beneficial to the establishment of a sage-like system in the Great Ming. This method could rapidly consolidate power, forming a firm alliance among the gentry and scholars of the realm, making the opposition forces progressively impoverished and weak, and the common people would change their views, believing that the world had changed, and would instead support a shogunate.
With these considerations, coupled with the arrow already on the string, he directly revealed his hand. If Jiajing ignored it, it would be tacit approval, tacit approval that Yan Song's authority had not been shaken, and tacit approval that this incident was not directed at the Yan family... Thus, the officials and supporters throughout the realm would be able to escape the shadow of this defeat and turn danger into safety. Zhu Mo's offensive against the barbarians would then dissipate like smoke.
If Jiajing also revealed his hand, that would also be acceptable.
Because revealing his hand at this time was more advantageous to him, Yan Song, and disadvantageous to Jiajing. With this poem, the world would believe that Jiajing was kicking a dog when it was down, being cruel and ungrateful. The officials would be disheartened, thinking that serving the royal family led to such a heart-wrenching end, it would be better to go home and farm!
Therefore,
Even when facing such pressure from Jiajing, Yan Song had remained composed. Now, kneeling on the ground, seemingly immobile, he was actually in a winning position.
No more than twenty officials present could understand these thoughts. They only knew fear, but not that this was a crucial moment for the Great Ming Dynasty...
...
Hmph,
After an unknown length of time.
Jiajing suddenly snorted and said calmly,
"Yan Song, you are not a Qingci guest, you are merely a commoner... Cultivating immortality requires virtue, where is your virtue? As Zhu Mo said, I was sent by the Nine Heavens to govern the world, not some old Daoist cultivating immortality.
You do not understand immortal cultivation and have spoken nonsense. Is that a capital offense? Furthermore, you are the Grand Secretary of the court. It is enough for you to handle the mundane affairs of the world... Governing the world is a very mundane affair, and it has nothing to do with immortal cultivation..."
He pondered for a moment and continued,
"The Way of Heaven is to restrain violence with righteousness. The poem today was offered to Heaven. Offending me is one thing, you are an old minister after all, but offending Heaven is unforgivable... I, in my superior position, follow Heaven's will and cannot but punish you. From now on, you will no longer write Qingci..."
Having said that,
He looked at Yan Song and saw that he was still motionless. He couldn't help but snort again and said loudly, "Yan Shifan, help your father up... He's over eighty. He's been kneeling for so long, it might hurt him... Lest you say again that I have not shown grace to your Yan family..."
Hiss!
Hiss!
The officials thought it was almost over, but at the end, they received such a blow, and were instantly greatly shocked.
Yan Shifan, under everyone's gaze, was in a very difficult position. If he didn't help, it was his father, and this was also the Emperor's oral decree, how could he disobey? If he helped, it would be equivalent to accepting the Emperor's heart-wrenching words, and he would have lost today...
Yan Song looked up at this moment, unable to articulate his feelings, only feeling an emptiness, as if he had truly been banished from the heavens...
He gave a wry smile, kowtowed three times to Jiajing, and said,
"Your servant Yan Song thanks Your Majesty for your immense grace!"
After speaking, he glanced at Yan Shifan again and said, "Shifan, help father up..."
Yan Shifan took two quick steps and hurried to help his father up, and they retreated to their respective positions.
At this point,
Everyone felt that continuing the poetry offering today was meaningless. They all looked at Jiajing, only to see him holding a whisk, walking with elegant steps, and heading directly towards the rear palace. Just as he was about to enter, he suddenly said,
"Xu Jie, your disciple Zhao Zhenji, after the previous defeat at Taizhou, stabilized his position in Jiangsu and was able to support Qi Jiguang. He will succeed Zhang Jing as the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang..."
His voice faded, but his figure had already disappeared from everyone's sight.
Xu Jie quickly knelt and shouted,
"Your servant thanks Your Majesty for Zhao Zhenji's grace."
The numerous foreign envoys had long heard that this Great Ming Emperor was a peculiar person, and seeing him today, he was indeed as rumored. He did not appear at such a grand occasion as the morning court, but this time he came out to comment on poetry and then disappeared.
The envoys couldn't help but exchange glances.
...
Prince Yu coughed a few times and continued to preside over the ceremony.
Xu Jie, who had been resigned to fate, unexpectedly received such a great gift. He immediately gathered his spirits and cooperated energetically, and the ceremony finally regained its festive atmosphere.
It should be known that
The officials were all elites among men. Having witnessed it firsthand today, although the Emperor did not touch the Yan family, nor did he do anything to Yan Song, he had revoked his empty title of "Qingci Prime Minister." At the same time, the Emperor promoted Xu Jie's disciple. Following this trend, it was only a matter of time before that Zhao Zhenji entered the cabinet, waiting only for Li Chunfang to retire to fill the vacancy.
In this light,
The Yan family had truly trapped themselves today. Their overwhelming prestige seemed to have vanished like magic, like a wolfhound suddenly turning into a village dog. Although it still looked fearsome, and no one dared to provoke it, it was no longer the divine dog of the past.
And in the eyes of seasoned observers like Xu Jie and Li Chunfang, Yan Song's most significant mystical authority was the empty title of Qingci Prime Minister. This empty title seemed insignificant, but as long as it was filled with actual power, it would be infinitely magnified, and that was the most fatal aspect.