Chapter 1569

The winter of the fourth year of Longqing was very cold.

The heavy snow that fell last night still hadn't stopped by noon the next day. However, there wasn't much snow accumulation on the roads of the capital.

There was a very sound sanitation system in the capital, with a group of lonely elderly people or disabled soldiers coming out to sweep the snow before dawn.

Afterward, they would make appointments with their partners to go to some breakfast shops on the side of the street. They would drink a bowl of hot mutton soup, eat some dry food, and drink a cup of hot wine.

Everyone ate and drank, gathered together to brag, and another layer of snow fell, so they went to sweep the snow again without haste. After sweeping for a while, everyone gathered together to chat again.

And they didn't suffer from the cold; there was an open space on every street, where temporary warm rooms were built with wood and glass, where sanitation workers could rest, and people who couldn't walk could also take a break.

Overall, under Wang Yan's governance, the city's operation and supporting construction had become very modernized, it was just that the technological content of things was relatively low, but everything could find someone to handle and solve it...

As the person shouldering the Great Ming Dynasty's two capitals and thirteen provinces... oh, no, because of the management of Liaodong, the system of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission was abolished and changed to Jilin Province. The jurisdiction was still the territory of the original Nurgan Regional Military Commission, but the name was changed, and immigration and integration began to be implemented for actual governance.

The name Jilin was translated from Manchu, meaning a city by the river. Wang Yan didn't want to rack his brains to think of a name, so he moved it over directly. This was also the birthplace of the Jurchens, which was reasonable.

Speaking of which, the Nurgan Regional Military Commission had long been abolished; after the Tumu Crisis, the Great Ming began to contract its power, and the Nurgan Regional Military Commission had long existed in name only. It was when Wang Yan was the Governor of Jiliao that he restored the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, and its function was no longer just to recruit and appease, but to begin governing the Northeast region...

In addition, because the Tatars were destroyed and the Oirats were expelled, the northern grasslands all the way to Mobei were now territory under the actual governance of the Great Ming. It was just that because the land was vast and the population sparse, most of them were concentrated in the grasslands in the south. According to the location, it was equivalent to the area from Hohhot to Hailar later. There were pastures and farmland here, suitable for the development of agriculture and animal husbandry.

The naming of this province was naturally Mongolia. The Great Ming acknowledged the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, and as the birthplace of the Yuan Dynasty, inheriting the past history of this piece of land was nothing. After all, the grasslands had been flattened by the Great Ming, and there was more than one "Jingguan" (monument of heads) on the grasslands. Wherever there was a settlement with regional center functions, there was basically a Jingguan nearby...

There was also the area west of Hohhot, all the way to the Western Regions, which was also under actual governance, and the Anxi Province was established.

So calculating this way, the current Great Ming was two capitals and sixteen provinces.

As the new generation of "weightlifting king" of the Great Ming Dynasty shouldering two capitals and sixteen provinces, he was naturally diligent and conscientious in his work, racking his brains for the even greater vision of the Great Ming Empire.

In the morning, he discussed affairs with Zhang Juzheng and others in the Wenyuan Pavilion, spraying everyone until they had no temper in a plain and ordinary way, and pushed most things forward according to his own wishes, before Wang Yan returned to the Ministry of Revenue office for lunch.

As everyone knew, Wang Yan liked to eat good food, and he had always been very generous. Since Wang Yan came to the Ministry of Revenue to take charge, the food in the Ministry of Revenue office had improved linearly.

Today it was snowing, and the kitchen of the Ministry of Revenue had started killing pigs and sheep early. By the time Wang Yan returned, he happened to eat the pork and cabbage stew and gnaw on the mutton leg.

Just as he was eating and drinking, a eunuch came to find him, saying that Longqing wanted to chat with Wang Yan about several things discussed in the cabinet this morning, and have lunch together. Longqing often said that he liked eating with Wang Yan the most, because Wang Yan ate fragrantly, and he could eat more while watching.

As for chatting about the things decided by the cabinet, this was also a common occurrence. After all, the cabinet was an advisor, just adding a little power. But even now, there was still the Directorate of Ceremonial to check and balance the cabinet.

Being called over like this to explain in detail, letting Longqing understand the truth, was also a daily routine.

Wang Yan naturally couldn't put on airs with Longqing, so he put down the half-gnawed mutton leg, wiped his mouth and washed his hands, and left with the eunuch to go to the West Garden.

With Wang Yan's current status and position, he had already been allowed to ride horses and sedan chairs in the palace. It wasn't that he was special, but that those in this position were already over fifty years old, and they all had some minor illnesses. The Forbidden City was vast, and walking was really difficult for these ministers. So when they reached this position, the emperors would make things convenient for everyone.

It was just that Wang Yan was too young, and he was still strong and healthy. So apart from urgent summons, Wang Yan had never ridden a horse or taken a sedan chair...

Thus, Wang Yan stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, strolling on the snow, crunching along, which was quite comfortable.

It was just that the wind and snow seemed to be getting heavier.

After entering the West Garden and arriving outside the gate of the Jade Palace, Wang Yan paused his steps and looked up at the plaque on the gate. This was a plaque written by Jiajing himself, and it had been hanging there since the completion of the Jade Palace, which could be considered to have witnessed the historical turn of the Great Ming Dynasty.

"Cabinet Minister Wang, the wind and snow are heavy, please go in quickly; His Majesty is still waiting for you." The little eunuch urged.

Wang Yan glanced at him and stepped into the Jade Palace.

After entering, he had only walked a few steps in the square when he heard dense footsteps and the sound of armor plates rubbing. A hundred armored soldiers appeared in the square, and behind the gate, another hundred armored soldiers ran in.

These armored soldiers held firelocks, shields, spears, etc., staring dead at Wang Yan.

Some were shivering, and it was unknown whether they were scared or excited...

The glass of the Jade Palace had long been changed from small fans to large fans. It was also twice a year, changed when it was cold, and changed when it was hot.

At this very moment, inside the glass, Feng Bao stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Wang Yan, who was surrounded in the field, from afar, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if he had already won.

Wang Yan had experienced such scenes a few times. However, in fact, he liked to be active more often. Being passive like this was relatively rare.

He had given the emperor the greatest kindness, hoping that the emperor could reconcile with himself, could let himself go, instead of looking for trouble. But unfortunately, the emperor was a power monster; when he felt the loss of power and the lack of majesty, he always wanted to kill the most prominent subordinate to consolidate his power again.

As for how many good deeds the subordinate had done and how much help he had given him, the emperor would not think about it. If you have humanity, you can't be an emperor. After becoming an emperor, you have no humanity.

Of course, if you think from the emperor's perspective, there is actually no problem. This is a family world, and it is centralized power.

Although Wang Yan made the court earn several times more silver and pushed the Great Ming Empire toward a more prosperous age every day, he also used this silver to get considerable benefits. He had huge prestige among the people, powerful forces in the court, and super influence in the army; all these were smashed out with silver.

He let everyone make money, let the people live better, let the soldiers fight with peace of mind, let being a soldier become a glorious thing, helped businessmen expand, pushed the prosperity of the market, and let the Great Ming be invincible in the world.

Since Jiajing died, Wang Yan gradually began to seize power, gradually showing powerful strength, and also showing his danger. So much so that the emperor, the cabinet, etc., added together, couldn't defeat him.

In such a situation, how could the emperor believe in his innocence...

If he wanted Longqing to believe in his innocence, then it had to be whatever Longqing said, and if he wanted him to step down, he had to step down. But the consequence of him stepping down was death. He didn't want to die, so why should he die?

However, he couldn't make Longqing trust him again, so the contradiction came out. Longqing targeted him again, and he resisted again, so the contradiction became irreconcilable.

So in the end, it reached this step, and reached the time when the problem was solved simply and directly.

This was truly the highest level of political struggle.

Feng Bao, wearing a scarlet official robe, also stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, walked out of the Jade Palace, and walked into the wind and snow.

"What are you all stunned for? Why don't you take action quickly?" There was endless pride in his words.

He should also be proud.

Having reached such a point, where else could Wang Yan have a possibility of survival? Thinking of being cleaned up by Wang Yan at the construction site earlier, Feng Bao was dreaming of revenge even when he was sleeping!

Now that it was finally successful, he felt comfortable in his heart.

Following Feng Bao's words, the armored soldiers took action.

It was just that the action was not quite the same as what Feng Bao expected.

There were indeed armored soldiers who rushed to kill Wang Yan, but before the armored soldiers had taken a few steps, they were stabbed into the gaps of their armor by the people beside them.

"Kill!"

The armored soldiers shouted, and amidst the huge shock and angry shouts of some armored soldiers, they killed each other.

An armored soldier took the opportunity to shoot a whistling arrow, and immediately after, whistling arrows sounded from further away, passing the news one by one.

Feng Bao looked at this scene in disbelief, his wide-open mouth couldn't close; he had been overwhelmed by huge shock...

For Wang Yan, this kind of desperate comeback had no sense of refreshment. After all, he had the full map and brought perspective.

He was watching Longqing, Zhang Juzheng, Feng Bao, and others plan carefully and act strictly, step by step, reaching today's situation.

This was not a comeback; it was a certain victory from the beginning.

Wang Yan dodged the slash that came at his head, entered the blade with his bare hands, and once the long knife was in his hand, he neatly grabbed the soldier's helmet and wiped the knife across the exposed neck, ending the soldier's life.

Of course, he couldn't make everyone around Longqing loyal to him, and he could only do a part of it. After all, those who were still determined to follow him to the end at this time were truly fools. After all, relatively speaking, imperial power was invincible.

Of course, Wang Yan also had reasons to make them have to be loyal. On one hand, it was silver, and on the other hand, it was naturally the handle. With one hand a carrot and the other a stick, everyone was tightly united.

To say that there were fanatics who followed him because of ideals and beliefs, such people were not non-existent, but very few. Under normal circumstances, it couldn't be seen; it had to be experienced, and the big waves washing the sand would work.

So these nearly three hundred armored soldiers, only half were his people. As a result, at this very moment, he still had to do it himself and chop people with a knife, so that these people would die less; they were all meritorious officials, and they would all enjoy wealth and glory in the future...

And while the fighting was going on in the Jade Palace, with the transmission of the news of the whistling arrows, the gates of the Forbidden City began to be controlled, followed by the imperial city, and then the gates of the outer city.

The government runners, fire guards, and idlers in the city, as well as the Five Cities Military Commission that had been rectified, began to mobilize urgently, the drums for clearing the streets sounded, and the entire capital entered a state of martial law.

Just when martial law was imposed, many strong men walked out from all over the capital, moving against the flow of people. They gathered quickly, opened the armory, and armed themselves directly...

After a burst of fighting ended, the clean Jade Palace was no longer in shape, the snow-covered ground had become a bloody ground, and there were broken limbs and minced meat everywhere. Some people were gasping and not breathing, some were shouting in pain, and some were breathing heavily.

Of course, there were also feces and urine leaking out, and an unpleasant fishy smell; fortunately, in the winter day with howling cold wind, the smell was diluted a lot...

Wang Yan was covered in blood, making the already bright scarlet robe even more bright red.

Casually throwing away the knife, Wang Yan walked to the sluggish Feng Bao and wiped the blood on his hands with his clothes.

"Where is the Emperor?"

"You kill me!"

Wang Yan looked at him very strangely: "Do you think you can live? Alright, the Forbidden City is only so big; if you don't say it, can't I find the Emperor?"

"Rebellious subject! Wang Yan, you will not die well!" Feng Bao shouted at the top of his lungs.

"If I let you kill me, wouldn't I be a rebellious subject? And wouldn't I die well? Eunuch Feng, you are really boring. Only you are allowed to kill me, but I am not allowed to kill you; what kind of logic is that? Leave yourself some dignity, hurry up, where is the Emperor?"

Looking at the armored soldiers eager to try behind Wang Yan, Feng Bao wisely gave the answer.

"Wanshou Palace."

Thus, Wang Yan had people guard Feng Bao, took the armored soldiers who could move, and went to Wanshou Palace, where he met the Longqing Emperor, Zhang Juzheng, Chen Yiqin, and little Wanli, as well as other eunuchs trusted by Longqing.

Seeing Wang Yan, Longqing and the others had no surprise, just sitting there with ugly faces.

Because the whistling arrow was unexpected, they heard the whistling arrow and knew that the plan was exposed. Combined with Wang Yan's actions, their actions were mostly failures.

Little Wanli was young, couldn't hold his breath, and was afraid of death.

"Bold Wang Yan, do you want to kill the king?"

"Look, Old Zhang, it's because you didn't teach him well. He doesn't even distinguish the occasion, talking nonsense. If you really force me, and I commit the act of killing the king, would you be happy? Crown Prince?"

Watching Wang Yan looking at him with murderous intent, little Wanli trembled and lowered his head, not daring to look into Wang Yan's eyes.

After scaring the child, Wang Yan looked at Longqing, who was silent.

"Your Majesty, things have reached this point, and there is no room for maneuver. Your minister won't talk much nonsense; from today on, Your Majesty and the Crown Prince can just have fun in this palace."

"Wang Yan!" Zhang Juzheng shouted, "Do you want to..."

"Alright, Old Zhang, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit; it's already this time, what's the point of saying those high-sounding words? Rest assured, I'll let you all live. If you want to be a loyal official, it's fine to accompany His Majesty in the palace."

At this time, dense footsteps sounded, and Qi Dazhu walked in with a group of Embroidered Uniform Guards.

With Wang Yan's support, Qi Dazhu became a thousand-household official of the Northern Town Fusi and led a group of secret agents, which could be considered a ruthless person with a name.

"Cabinet Minister, are you alright?" Qi Dazhu's concern was written on his face.

"Nothing." Wang Yan patted Qi Dazhu on the shoulder. "Watch His Majesty and the others, and don't be disrespectful to them. Wait for me to stabilize the situation, and then we will drink well."

Wang Yan didn't have a single word of nonsense and left Wanshou Palace simply.

The blood on his feet melted because of the warmth in Wanshou Palace, so when he stepped out in his official boots, he left a bloody footprint with every step...

Longqing looked at Wang Yan's back and tightened his clothes; this year's winter is really cold...

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