Chapter 1550

Hai Rui had worked steadily in the Ministry of Revenue for three years. He hadn't earned much silver, but with the help of Wang Yan and Wang Yongji, his life was far better than that of the common people. He no longer had the sallow complexion he had when he first arrived in Chun'an.

In the small courtyard Hai Rui rented, Wang Yan's subordinates sent over ingredients like meat and vegetables, as well as other seasonings. Wang Yan personally cooked, wielding a large ladle, and prepared two tables of dishes. One table was for Hai Rui's family, and the other was naturally for Wang Yan, Hai Rui, and Wang Yongji.

"You really are something. You say you're inviting me to your house for a drink, yet you have to buy the groceries and cook. But you have to admit, with your skills, you'll never have to worry about food or drink wherever you go in this life. I truly never tire of eating your cooking; it's much better than my wife's."

Hai Rui complained while praising, and while stuffing his face with food, he mumbled.

Without Wang Yan needing to speak, Wang Yongji helped explain: "Ziyan is also in a helpless situation. If you really let your wife go out to shop, there's no guarantee someone wouldn't poison the food. Caution is never a mistake. I absolutely support him cooking personally; it's better than the chefs in the restaurants outside."

"If you like these things, you naturally want to study them. I haven't done anything else these past two years but study how to eat. Haven't you noticed my cook has gained a circle of fat? It's just from studying new dishes and stuffing himself all day."

Wang Yan drank happily, "If it's good, eat more. It's been three years again, and there should be a reassignment. It's another year passing by, and I don't know when we'll meet again."

Wang Yongji asked: "Ziyan, has your destination already been decided?"

"It was decided long ago," Wang Yan said. "Everyone is rushing me to leave now. His Majesty wants me to continue staying in the capital, but the Cabinet and the Six Ministries, the Nine Ministers, and the Censorate all say I should go to the provinces to govern. They are dead set against me staying in the capital. You tell me, where is the logic in that?"

"A bunch of vermin, they're just coveting the silver of Shuntian Prefecture. It's just that last time someone suggested taking the Imperial Bank, they were beaten to death by His Majesty's order. I reckon the paper currency is already flooding the market again." Hai Rui cursed and swore, then turned to ask, "Where does His Majesty want you to serve?"

"Take a guess."

Hai Rui was speechless. Wang Yongji laughed heartily; he loved seeing Hai Rui frustrated, and he also liked Wang Yan's optimistic playfulness.

After eating a few bites of food and taking a sip of wine, Hai Rui wiped his beard: "Jiliao?"

"Hmm..."

Wang Yan elongated his tone like a eunuch, "Old Master Hai guessed correctly. Governor of Jizhou, Viceroy of Jiliao military affairs, leaving next month."

Wang Yongji exclaimed in surprise: "Wouldn't that be a promotion to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and concurrently Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief? That's a Grade Three official! A high official of the state, a step to the heavens!"

"It is all His Majesty's trust." Wang Yan bowed toward the direction of the imperial palace, "If not for Xu Jie and the others obstructing, I would have been a Grade Four official three years ago. This time they also had many idle words and added many obstacles, but His Majesty made the decision alone, which is why I can take this step to the heavens. In the end, I must thank His Majesty for his holy grace and must never fail his high expectations."

Wang Yongji was right; Wang Yan's promotion this time could indeed be considered a step to the heavens. Above Grade Four, one was already a proper high official. By analogy, it was equivalent to being a party committee member in a high-level government office.

Wang Yan went a step further, holding the position of the head of a high-level government office, while concurrently being a committee member, and also a candidate for the Politburo.

In fact, if not for the obstruction of Xu Jie and others, Wang Yan should not be a candidate now, but should have already become a formal member.

Of course, whether it was really Xu Jie and others obstructing, this is also something that cannot be said. After all, Xu Jie and others did indeed obstruct, but only Jiajing knew the extent of the effort.

Regardless, Wang Yan could now be considered to have reached that small handful at the pinnacle of Great Ming's power, about to become a true border-governing official. And he was only twenty-six years old this year.

In the end, it was because of his age. He had relied on his powerful abilities to reach this point; there was no place to arrange him if he wasn't promoted, and no one was willing or dared to be his superior, so he had to be made a border-governing official.

Wang Yan believed that as long as there was another place to arrange him, Jiajing would not have agreed to let him rise so early. After all, the strategy he proposed could be implemented by someone else. Even if they couldn't withstand the ambushes and couldn't achieve complete success, it would still have an effect.

And Wang Yan had reached a high position at such a young age, giving him a long time to cultivate his own faction. Plus, with his good health, living another forty or fifty years would mean one or two emperors, directly becoming a veteran of three reigns. Who could control him then?

But now that Wang Yan had risen, he still had to thank Jiajing for his courage.

Or perhaps Jiajing also had a sense of self, only caring about his own affairs. Before Wang Yan rose, he could increase his power and let him spend more silver. Now that Wang Yan had risen, it was naturally of greater benefit to him. At the very least, while he was in power, Wang Yan would only be his help, an important force to balance those so-called clean-stream famous officials, which could ensure his rule and maintain the stability of the empire.

Being an emperor once, reaching this point was not bad. Not to mention surpassing his ancestors, he at least didn't hold them back. After he died, it wouldn't be his concern.

This thought was very good, worry-free.

Although Jiajing was still thinking about cultivating immortality and longevity, he hadn't really cultivated his brain into stupidity. His body becoming weaker day by day was also telling him all this. Even with Wang Yan's help in regulating it, he was over sixty after all, and could not compare to his younger days.

By this time, Jiajing should already be trying to accept it...

"Reaching this point at twenty-six, no one in our Great Ming can surpass you. His Majesty is wise, daring to let you reach this position at such a young age."

Hai Rui also bowed toward the direction of the imperial palace, sincerely moved by Jiajing's wisdom, without suspicion or doubt.

After he finished sighing, he turned to ask, "Who is taking over your position? I suppose it's already been decided?"

Wang Yan smiled slightly and said a name that stunned Hai Rui and Wang Yongji...

The Tongzhou wharf was truly busy beyond compare.

Because it supported the capital and had the throughput of a super-large city, it was already very busy. After Wang Yan's governance brought great prosperity, industry and commerce flourished, the demand for goods transport grew even larger, and it became doubly busy.

And after the southeast was pacified, Wang Yan's fleet and navy expanded, and the maritime borders were not closed. Large households were still smuggling, and the volume of goods transported by water from Tianjin Port to Tongzhou began to grow on a large scale, once again making the Tongzhou wharf busy to the point of exploding.

The Ministry of Works' major project over the past two years was to re-dredge the river channels, expand the wharves, and at the same time rebuild the official road to Tianjin, which accelerated the speed of logistics transport...

On this day, Wang Yan came here and welcomed a familiar old face.

"Minister Hu, I trust you have been well."

The fifty-seven-year-old Hu Zongxian looked very old; he was no longer the border-governing official who led the anti-Japanese affairs, nor the third-in-command of the Yan faction.

Now Yan Shifan had long since been beheaded, Yan Song died of old age and illness in the 47th year of Jiajing, the Yan faction had completely collapsed, and Yan Song's influence had dissipated with his death.

However, although Hu Zongxian looked old, the feeling he gave was one of high spirits, and in a trance, the high-spirited Hu Zongxian of the past seemed to have arrived in the present.

Whether it was the past when he was determined to leave his hometown to take the imperial examination and achieve a career, or the past when he joined Yan Song's sect and rose rapidly, it was hard to say...

Hu Zongxian returned the salute to Wang Yan and said happily: "Five years have passed, and you are even more handsome and talented. Congratulations to Minister Wang on your promotion."

"Minister Hu is too polite. In front of you, I am still a junior; how can I deserve the title of Minister?"

"You are the real Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War; how can you say you don't deserve it?"

Hu Zongxian waved his hand, "Besides, you and I have always been peers. This time, my ability to return to serve as the Governor of Shuntian Prefecture is entirely due to your help."

"Don't say that, Minister Hu, you are mistaken. It is entirely due to His Majesty's trust. His Majesty values loyalty and righteousness, which is why you were able to be reinstated, Minister Hu. No matter how capable I am, I have no way to solve such matters."

Hu Zongxian knew that Wang Yan must be grateful to Jiajing when he spoke, and even if he had merit, he never claimed it, always attributing the merit to Jiajing's wisdom and martial prowess. He didn't pay much attention to Wang Yan's humble words.

He turned his head to look at the surrounding environment, lifted his feet to walk, and sighed: "Five years have passed, and this Tongzhou is even more prosperous. It is all your merit..."

When he said this, the two had already reached a place where there was no one.

However, Wang Yan was the same whether there were people or not: "I dare not claim merit, Minister Hu. It is His Majesty's trust that allowed me to hold a high position and take on important responsibilities at the age of twenty-something. Fortunately, I have been working day and night and have not failed His Majesty's expectations.

From now on, this Shuntian Prefecture is all entrusted to you, Minister. You must never ruin the rules that were established with such difficulty, and you cannot let the silver that was collected with such difficulty be scattered back. If that happens, the dozens of ambushes I encountered in nearly six years would all be in vain."

Hu Zongxian stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the common people busy loading and unloading, and said: "You don't need to worry. His Majesty reinstated me to take over your position to guard the results you fought for with your life.

To be honest, even if I wanted to destroy it, I couldn't in the current situation. If I wanted to be a dog for Xu Jie and the others, they wouldn't accept me. After so many years, the people of the past have left, retired, or been demoted, and I have no connections anymore. If you say I have connections, it's only His Majesty and you. You are my backing, my fellow party member."

Wang Yan shook his head with a smile: "What backing or fellow party member? We are close partners who share the same boat and have the same aspirations, serving His Majesty with loyalty, fulfilling our duties to the country, and being responsible to the people. However, hearing the Minister's words still makes one happy. You say I am twenty-seven and already in such a high and powerful position; this heart of mine is indeed a bit arrogant."

"If you can say these words, then you are not arrogant." Hu Zongxian looked at the smiling Wang Yan and sighed, "The old saying goes that the tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind, and another says that when the birds are gone, the bow is hidden, and when the rabbits are dead, the hounds are cooked. You are young and hold a high position; I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse. As a friend and partner, I must remind you that you must never forget to think thrice before acting as an official."

"I am very grateful for the Minister's reminder, but Minister..."

Wang Yan met Hu Zongxian's eyes, "I have no way back. From the moment I seized power and disobeyed orders in Chun'an to protect myself, I have only had progress and no retreat. The only way now is to forge ahead bravely and focus on imperial affairs. I am a lone official; at least while the current emperor is alive, there is no need to consider so much.

When the current emperor is gone... I observe that Prince Yu is still tolerant. I, who can earn more silver than Yan Song, even if he doesn't use me, he can't kill me, right? When silver is lacking, who will handle it? It's been six years, and the silver Xu, Gao, and Zhang combined earned is not as much as I earned alone.

Last year's annual revenue was 21 million taels of silver, and Shuntian Prefecture alone turned in 1.5 million taels. There were also over 4 million taels turned in by the southeast, which was beaten into submission. That was silver we insisted on fighting for.

Counting the fleet's revenue, cement, white glass, and the Imperial Bank, I also sent His Majesty nearly 3 million taels of silver, and I didn't squeeze or exploit the common people. On the contrary, the common people lived better. They shout about reform and change every day, but I haven't seen any results. They also impeach me every day, saying this is not good and that is wrong, the bastards...

I've digressed, anyway, in short, I will definitely be fine for the next ten years!"

"And after ten years?"

Wang Yan looked at Hu Zongxian strangely and stopped calling him Minister: "Old Hu, now that we have formed a party, you are still the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and His Majesty is preparing to let you supervise the examination next year. In ten years, can't we protect ourselves?"

"Do you see me protecting myself?" Hu Zongxian was also revealing his true feelings, quite mournful, "Twenty years of the Yan faction, didn't it collapse just like that?"

"Old Hu, you've been managing the fleet and training the navy these past few years; you're truly exhausted, and it hasn't been easy. I'll prescribe a few doses of medicine for you later to regulate your body. Also, the health-preserving method I taught you must be practiced diligently and not neglected."

Wang Yan patted his shoulder, "If that day really comes, I hope you can be alive to see how I protect myself."

Hu Zongxian smiled freely: "My body is strong, and now that I've been reinstated, my spirits are high. I will definitely live a long life and strive to surpass Minister Yan."

He still respected Yan Song so much, even though the grass on Yan Song's grave was already three feet high...

"Then I really must wish you a long life."

Wang Yan laughed heartily, "Let's go, look at the goods you brought, and inspect them carefully; we can't afford any mistakes. Then we'll stay here in Tongzhou for a day, bathe, eat, and drink, and tomorrow we'll enter the capital to see His Majesty."

"This time I really brought a lot of treasures, and I also brought you some good things, please..."

So the two got back on the boat and looked at the various rare treasures inside.

To be honest, these things had been sent for so many years that Jiajing had actually seen enough of them. Nowadays, he no longer looked at them one by one, but had them sent directly to the inner treasury. He knew the total amount, that was all. Mainly, these things were valuable, and the imperial palace slowly released them, earning a fortune over the years.

As for the ones Hu Zongxian said he brought for him, this was also normal. Serving the emperor, how could one not take some for oneself? Wouldn't it be improper not to take any?

Hu Zongxian, who had abandoned his family fortune in the past, had become immensely wealthy again over the past few years, even richer than before.

Wang Yan was even more so, having always been committed to the cause of animal husbandry, constantly expanding the scale, accumulating experience, and researching technology. The piglets were raised fatter and fatter, and the veterinarians had become systematic.

This is the power of time...

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