Chapter 24: Yan Qing Loves Me
When Xu Jie and Gao Gong heard that the emperor wanted to discuss rebuilding the Wanshou Palace, they felt nervous.

Why has the court become increasingly difficult over the years?
After Gui E proposed the Single Whip Law in the ninth year of Jiajing, the court's annual tax surplus silver exceeded five million taels.

note.

It is surplus, which is the amount of silver remaining in the national treasury after the court's annual financial settlement.

In the 18th year of the Jiajing reign, the remaining silver in the Honglu Temple alone reached 800,000 taels.

But everything changed in the 21st year of Jiajing's reign, after a coup d'état by palace maids.

From then on, the Taoist priest devoted himself to practicing Taoism, and the treasury spent more and more money. With the Yan family taking charge of the cabinet, the Ming Dynasty's silver was spent like a sea.

just.

Xu Jie still maintained his image as a good guy and said softly, "Your Majesty has lived in the Western Garden for nearly twenty years. The Wanshou Palace is where the emperor resides, so it is natural that it needs to be rebuilt."

Reconstruction is certain.

But the good old man Xu Jie did not say a word about how to repair it.

Zhang Juzheng, who was about to leave Beijing for the south, looked around and whispered, "A few days ago, your majesty allocated one million taels to the Ministry of Revenue, but this money has not yet been spent. The Ministry of Works also brought back a lot of materials from overseas, plus this money..."

According to Zhang Juzheng's opinion, the court naturally could not pay more silver this time. The most it could pay was the three million taels of silver that Yan Shaoting had sent to the palace and the one million taels that the emperor had allocated to the Ministry of Revenue.

If there are more, the court will be helpless.

Gao Gong was not very happy with this approach.

"We need to increase silk production this year and sell it overseas. We need to have Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou and others fight against the Japanese pirates in the southeast and clear the sea routes. The Ministry of War was asking for money a few days ago."

Gao Gong explained the current situation of the court, then looked at Jiajing and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works also repaired several palaces in the inner palace last year. Why don't you... why don't you move to the inner palace temporarily. When the court slowly rebuilds the Wanshou Palace in the Western Garden, Your Majesty can move back."

In fact, according to Gao Gong's original intention, it would be better for the emperor to use the two million taels of silver that Yan Shaoting deposited into the imperial treasury to rebuild the Wanshou Palace.

But he didn't dare say that.

But as long as the Wanshou Palace is not rebuilt in a hurry and the imperial court rebuilds it slowly, the pressure on the Ministry of Revenue and the imperial court will be much less.

but.

All this is based on the premise that Jiajing is willing to return to live in the palace.

I heard that Gao Gong wanted me to return to the palace.

Jiajing's face immediately darkened: "The palace has been deserted for many years, and there are no temples or monasteries."

I definitely didn't suffer any psychological trauma because of the Renyin Palace Coup caused by Yang Jinying.

Yan Shaoting coughed lightly and turned his eyes away.

In the small Yuxi Palace, Yan Shaoting's cough immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Gao Gong was even more angry.

Why does this kid have something to say about the reconstruction of Wanshou Palace?

Zhang Juzheng frowned slightly.

As he was about to leave Beijing, it was difficult for him to grasp the developments in the court in a timely manner, but he was clear that the Yan Party had been taking advantage of the excuse of renovating the palace to embezzle money and grain in recent years.

Jiajing frowned.

He felt that he liked Yan Shaoting more and more.

When the emperor was discussing matters before him last time, he sent three million taels of silver to the palace. For this reason, he also specially informed the East Factory to investigate again, and only then did he know that because of this incident, the relationship between Yan Shaoting and Yan Shifan, the father and son, had become very strained in private at home.

Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, and Teachers. Ever since Jiajing learned that the relationship between the Yan family’s father and son was very bad, he really regarded Yan Shaoting as a loyal, filial and good minister.

The king comes before his relatives. In the Ming Dynasty today, is there any minister like Yan Shaoting?

As for the lightning that destroyed the Wanshou Palace today, Yan Shaoting said that the lightning strike had nothing to do with celestial phenomena and could even be caused by human power.

Now, the young man seemed to have another good idea.

The look in Jiajing's eyes when he looked at Yan Shaoting at this moment had changed so much that he didn't even notice it.

Yan Qing really loves me! Jiajing immediately asked with a smile: "Runwu, do you have anything to say?"

Yan Shaoting was keenly aware of the subtle changes, and everyone present naturally noticed it as well.

Has the emperor actually treated Yan Shaoting like this?
Yan Shaoting bowed and nodded: "Your Majesty, I think Your Majesty does not need to return to the palace. The beautiful mountains and rivers of the Western Garden and the vast blue waters of the Taiye Lake are the most nourishing to the heart. Your Majesty has been practicing the mysterious way for many years, and only the Western Garden is the most suitable."

I knew it!

Yan Qing understands me!

Jiajing immediately smiled and said, "The nourishment of things shows my heart for the Tao."

As soon as these words were spoken, Gao Gong became very embarrassed.

He, Yan Shaoting, knows what you, Taoist priest, are thinking. Does that make me a bad person?

Yan Shaoting continued, “I heard that the Minister of Works Lei Li was promoted to the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works in the 33rd year of Jiajing, and he was in charge of the construction of Tianshou Mountain. He saved expenses and built it in a proper way, and Your Majesty trusted him.

Later, the construction of the three palaces also saved the court a lot of money and grain. Although Lei Shangshu was born into a scholar family, he had a lot of experience in construction methods.

I think that Shangshu Lei could be in charge of rebuilding the Wanshou Palace, and the large pieces of materials from the palaces in the inner palace could be moved to the Western Garden, thus saving the court money and grain, and saving the time of transporting the large pieces of materials into the capital.

If it is done properly, I boldly guess that the Wanshou Palace can be rebuilt in a few months."

According to original history, after the fire in Wanshou Palace, the Inner Palace was demolished and the materials were transported to Xiyuan to rebuild the Wanshou Palace.

When Jiajing heard this, he immediately said, "Come here, call the Minister of Works Lei Li."

Lu Fang took the order and asked someone outside to go to the Ministry of Works to call people over.

Yan Song glanced sideways at his eldest grandson.

In the past, the Yan family had conflicts with Lei Li many times because of the renovation of the palace hall.

At this time, the eldest grandson advocated that Lei Li should rebuild the Wanshou Palace.

Yan Song thought silently that he would have to have a good talk with his eldest grandson later.

However, Jiajing was in a very good mood after being coaxed by Yan Shaoting. He had completely forgotten the bad mood caused by the lightning strike and fire in Wanshou Palace today.

While waiting for Lei Li to come to Yuxi Palace, Jiajing asked about how to attract thunder.

Yan Shaoting naturally chose to talk about the interesting things.

For a moment, the atmosphere in Yuxi Palace became relaxed.

On the contrary, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng felt increasingly depressed.

Originally, in the court, there were only Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan who bewitched and deceived the emperor. Now, there is one more person in the Yan family who flatters His Majesty.

No one will be in a good mood.

But the Taoist priest doesn’t care about these.

Yan Shaoting didn't care either.

Not long after.

Lei Li, the Minister of Works, was completely confused and rushed to Yuxi Palace in a hurry.

After entering the hall, Lei Li immediately saw Yan Shaoting, who proposed that he be in charge of rebuilding the Wanshou Palace.

With some confusion, Lei Li knelt down and bowed: "Your Majesty, I am the Minister of Works Lei Li, and I pay my respects to you."

Jiajing smiled and waved his hand: "Get up, Yan Shaoting asked you to come here. The Wanshou Palace was struck by lightning and caught fire today. He meant that you have done a good job in the Ministry of Works over the years, and it is best to let you do the reconstruction of the Wanshou Palace."

Lei Li stood up, bowed and nodded, saying: "Your Majesty has ordered that I will do my best to rebuild the Wanshou Palace."

After saying that, Lei Li looked at Yan Shaoting again with a smile on his face, and became more confused.

Could it be that the Yan Party wants to harm itself?

(End of this chapter)