On this day, a great earthquake occurred in the officialdom of the capital. Nie Bao was severely reprimanded by Emperor Jiajing, and was dismissed from his post as Minister of War and demoted by two levels in salary.
Zhao Wenhua and other members of the Yan Party celebrated and celebrated their achievement of another major stage victory.
Here's the thing.
After Nie Bao and Li Mo met, they seemed to have a lot of feelings. After returning, he drafted a memorial to the emperor:
The southeast has experienced floods, and the Japanese invasion is getting worse. The people in the southeast are already extremely poor. If we offer sacrifices to the sea god and increase the land tax, it will only increase the burden on the people. If the people have no way to make a living, some will inevitably join the Japanese invasion. In this way, not only will we not be able to achieve our wish, but we will also achieve the opposite of what we want and make the Japanese invasion in Jiangnan even worse. I beg Your Majesty to think twice.
After this memorial was submitted, it immediately caused a stir.
At Yan Song's instruction, Zhao Wenhua immediately wrote a letter to the emperor, bitterly accusing Nie Bao of disobeying the emperor's will. As the Minister of War, he not only did not think about destroying the Japanese pirates, but also prevented others from destroying the Japanese pirates. He was a ruthless person who was incompetent and just a figurehead...
Yan Maoqing and others also wrote letters to attack Nie Bao from different angles.
What's more, Nie Bao's hometown is Yongfeng in Jiangxi, and his in-laws are in Jiangsu. The reason why Nie Bao opposed offering sacrifices to the sea god and increasing land tax was entirely out of personal gain. He put personal interests above public interests and his heart is despicable.
What Nie Bao slandered the emperor's will, slandered the good plan to destroy the Japanese pirates, and seriously suspected that he had improper dealings with the Japanese pirates, etc...
In short, all kinds of dirty water were thrown at Nie Bao. The Yan party was numerous and powerful, and for a time, they made Nie Bao look terrible.
Emperor Jiajing was very angry. He had already asked people to decide on the candidates for the sea sacrifice, but Nie Bao openly disagreed with him, saying that the sea sacrifice was futile and would increase the burden on the people, causing them to surrender to the Japanese!!!
This is not simply violating the Holy Will, this is criticizing the Holy Will! Attacking the Holy Will! Going against the Holy Will!
In addition, the Yan Party's various dirty tricks and stirring up trouble aroused the anger of Emperor Jiajing. In a rage, Emperor Jiajing severely reprimanded Nie Bao, and then dismissed him from his post as Minister of War and demoted him by two levels.
"Your Majesty, I am old and frail, and my old illness has recurred. I request to retire and return to my hometown, Yongfeng."
Nie Bao was disheartened and directly submitted a letter of retirement, which could be regarded as his last act of resistance.
Generally, when important officials request to retire, the emperor will try to retain them. This is a common practice.
But Emperor Jiajing was already angry, and when he saw Nie Bao's application for retirement, he became even angrier. "Okay, you dare to threaten me with retirement? Well, you want to retire? Then I will satisfy you!" So, Emperor Jiajing, in a rage, approved Nie Bao's retirement petition with a stroke of his pen!
Nie Bao's career in officialdom came to an abrupt end!
On a gloomy evening, he drove an ox cart, pulling a cart full of simple luggage such as pots, pans, beddings, and his old wife who was carrying a bag on her back, and left the capital with only a few people to see him off, heading south to Yongfeng.
Zhao Wenhua finally got his wish and was appointed as the imperial envoy for sea sacrifice by Emperor Jiajing. He set off south to the south of the Yangtze River soon.
Zhao Wenhua is full of glory!
Yan Shifan held a banquet to see him off. The banquet was filled with delicacies from land and sea, and there were also beautiful dancers who danced and played music to liven up the atmosphere.
During the banquet, Yan Shifan pulled Zhao Wenhua aside and said, "Brother Meicun, the old man will definitely tell you a lot when you go to Jiangnan. I won't say much. I will just remind you of one thing. You must pay attention to the little thief Zhu Ping'an when you go there. I never thought that banishing the little thief Zhu Ping'an to Jingnan would be like letting a tiger return to the mountain and a dragon return to the sea. This little thief actually made meritorious contributions and was promoted. In just a few months, he jumped from a mere seventh-rank county magistrate to a fourth-rank magistrate! This boy is hostile to my father and us. If he is allowed to gain power, there will be disaster. Therefore, Meicun, when you go to Jiangnan this time, you must firmly suppress the momentum of this boy's rise, and it would be best to press him to death. Don't learn from the old man, who is too soft-hearted. He doesn't have Cao Cao's life, but he has Cao Cao's disease. He cherishes Guan Yu when he sees Guan Yu and cherishes Zilong when he sees Zilong. He cherishes talents without looking at which camp the target is in. He is a Dongguo wolf!"
Zhao Wenhua rolled his eyes slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded heavily, "Don't worry, Donglou, I'll save it. When we go to Jiangnan, we will not let them have a chance to turn things around!"
"Then I feel relieved." Yan Shifan narrowed his one eye into a slit and patted Zhao Wenhua's shoulder hard.
"Drink, drink, to bid farewell to Meicun, and wish him great success in Jiangnan..."
"Hahaha, Jiangnan is a fertile land. Meicun is going to eat meat and his mouth is full of oil. Don't forget us. Give us a few bowls of meat soup to satisfy our cravings."
"Mei Cun is here to offer sacrifices to the sea on behalf of His Majesty. His status is like that of His Majesty himself. In Jiangnan, Mei Cun has the final say."
There was a lot of chaos at the wine table.
When the banquet was almost over, Yan Song also came over and everyone stood up to greet him.
"I heard that you are here to see Meicun off, so I came to see him off and give him some advice. You don't have to be restrained, drink as usual, dance as usual..." Yan Song smiled and waved to everyone, indicating that they should not be restrained, and then waved to Zhao Wenhua, "Meicun, come here."
"Godfather." Zhao Wenhua stepped forward attentively and listened to Yan Song's teachings.
"Before you leave, go to the Western Garden to pay your respects to His Majesty and express your determination. I think the task of supervising military affairs will most likely fall on you."
Yan Song smiled, patted Zhao Wenhua's shoulder gently, and reminded him meaningfully.
"Thank you, foster father, for speaking well of me in front of His Majesty. Thank you, foster father, for your support. I will work hard and serve you wholeheartedly."
Zhao Wenhua understood the elegant meaning of the music and was overjoyed. He thanked Yan Song repeatedly.
"Work hard on your trip to Jiangnan. There must not be any mistakes in the sea sacrifice. As long as the sea sacrifice is successfully completed, your trip to Jiangnan will be 80% successful, and you will be invincible. On the premise of ensuring the successful completion of the sea sacrifice, there are some things you can do boldly. Do you understand?"
Yan Song said with profound meaning.
"I understand, son." Zhao Wenhua nodded vigorously. With Yan Song's instructions, he became bolder.
"Now there are barbarians in the north and Japanese pirates in the south. The court attaches great importance to military preparations. There are no people of our own in the army, which will be disadvantageous for the future. If you, Meicun, go south to the south of the Yangtze River to supervise military affairs and change this situation, so that we have a say in the army, you will have made a great contribution." Yan Song whispered.
He had long wanted to intervene in the military, but there had never been a good opportunity. The governorship of Jiangnan was ruined, so this opportunity to inspect military affairs was a rare one.
He wanted to intervene in the army, not simply to expand his influence, but for more far-reaching considerations. Behind this was the question of who would be able to sit on the throne in the future, the King of Jing or the King of Yu. He placed his bets on King Jing and had been working on him for more than a decade. If King Jing could sit on the throne, then he and his followers would have the merit of supporting him, and they would be able to ensure that their power would be passed on, and their descendants would have no worries about their wealth and prosperity. But if King Yu gained power, then their Yan Party would have no place to rest in the future. His intervention in the army was to prepare for King Jing to take office.
"Don't worry, godfather. I will never let you down." Zhao Wenhua said confidently.