Chapter 400

"Come, this is where I live! Madam Xia, little sister Xia Yingying, please come in! "At the entrance of the inn, Third Lady warmly invited Madam Xia and Xia Yingying in.

On the way, Madam Xia and Xia Yingying had already discussed that Yingying should return to Guiyang as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would be very terrifying if the most powerful man in the world kept thinking about her. However, since Third Lady had invited them, there was no harm in meeting them.

After all, the Emperor had his own dignity. He was not an evil tyrant. Even if he wanted to Yingying, he would not dare to take her by force. There was no need for him to leave the capital as if he was running for his life.

Moreover, establishing a friendship with Third Lady would be helpful to the Xia family. After all, she was the ruler of a region. Since there was this opportunity, they could not let it go. At the same time, Third Lady was the best shield. It would be very safe to be with her.

Third Lady lived in the inn instead of the Siyi Inn. Although the two were under the control of the Ministry of Rites, their meanings were very different.

The Siyi Inn was for foreign envoys. It was the residence of envoys from other countries. These envoys could be vassal states of the Great Ming Dynasty, or they could be envoys sent by foreign countries to contact the Great Ming Dynasty.

However, Third Lady had always considered herself a subject of the Great Ming Dynasty. She took the initiative to live in the inn instead of staying in the Siyi Inn as an envoy. The Great Ming Dynasty was naturally happy to do so.

Although the guest house was quiet and elegant, and the decoration was magnificent, it was inferior to the Siyi House, which was used to house foreign envoys. In order not to let the Third Lady feel that she was being treated coldly, the Ministry of Rites of the Great Ming Dynasty had put in a lot of effort.

Before Third Lady arrived, the Ministry of Rites specially redecorated the inn. They also demolished the walls of the three independent courtyards that were used for first-rank officials and feudal officials when they came to the capital, turning them into an extremely luxurious and spacious courtyard.

Ye Xiaotian lived in this inn. However, the chieftain of Crouching Ox Ridge was nothing in the eyes of the powerful figures of the imperial court. Coupled with the fact that he was currently awaiting punishment, it was impossible for him to receive any good treatment. As a result, Ye Xiaotian lived in a very remote courtyard. It was worlds apart from the large manor that Ye Xiaotian lived in.

Third Lady was very hospitable. Ever since she arrived in the capital, she had only met officials of the court. Although the official reception was high enough, she had to put on airs all the time. It was very tiring. Now that she had met someone she could get along with at first sight, and they were both women, Third Lady was very happy. As soon as she arrived at the inn, she immediately ordered the servants to prepare a banquet.

Third Lady even wanted to order someone to buy a goat, so she set up a fire in the courtyard, wanting to roast a whole goat for the little sister she had just acknowledged. The people of the grassland were very efficient in roasting a whole goat, so it wouldn't take too much time.

However, there was a fresh lamb in the inn that had just been bought this morning. Chef was about to dissect it with a boning knife when Third Lady's men saw him. They immediately asked for it and set up a charcoal fire in the courtyard. Not long after, the entire inn was filled with the fragrance of lamb.

If it was anyone else doing this, they would have been protested by the other officials who had come to the capital on official business, and the hotel would have stopped them. But this was the Third Lady, so everyone could only pretend not to see her. Even if she suddenly had the idea to set up a tent in the inn, plant some grass beside it, and put a few sheep in it, the inn would try their best to cooperate.

Ye Xiaotian wasn't at the inn at the moment. He was rushing to Xia Yingying's residence. Ye Xiaotian bought some expensive gifts along the way. Since he was going to see his mother-in-law, he had to give her some gifts. Only by making her happy would he be able to live a good life.

Unexpectedly, when Ye Xiaotian arrived at Xia Yingying's residence, he was told that Yingying had been taken to the palace by a eunuch early in the morning. It was said that the Old Mistress was suffering from an acute illness. Ye Xiaotian endured the noon in the Xia Residence and could not help but worry.

Yingying had not returned yet. It seemed that the illness of the Old Mistress was really serious. Ye Xiaotian could not wait any longer in the Xia Residence. He said goodbye to the people who stayed in the Xia Residence and went straight to the palace.

Ye Xiaotian could not enter the palace or inquire about the news in the palace. However, since Yingying was in the palace, her entourage must be waiting outside the palace. He first asked them for information, and then waited outside the palace together. At least he would be able to find out the situation of Yingying and the Old Mistress at the first instance.

Ye Xiaotian was worried that he would miss Yingying on the way to the palace, so he divided the guards into three groups. He sent two groups of two people each to search for the Imperial Palace from the other two main streets. He took the other guards along the main street. Ye Xiaotian was originally from the capital, so he was very familiar with the roads in the capital.

When Ye Xiaotian arrived at the Imperial Palace, he went straight to the back of the palace, because the female members of the inner court usually left through the back door. However, when he arrived at the back of the inner city, he did not see any guards from the Xia Family. Ye Xiaotian hurriedly made a detour to the front door.

When he arrived at the Meridian Gate, because the officials had already left the court, there were almost no officials or attendants waiting in front of the Meridian Gate, so it was not difficult to ask questions. After this round of questioning, he still did not see any attendants from the Xia Family.

Ye Xiaotian asked the guards in front of the Meridian Gate. These guards had a deep impression of the fiery little beauty and still remembered that she had left. They told Ye Xiaotian that the girl had left with the Mongolian Third Lady.

Ye Xiaotian then asked them about the Third Lady's residence, but these palace guards did not know. Ye Xiaotian thought for a moment and suddenly remembered that he had an acquaintance in the Ministry of Rites, Assistant Minister Lin! Ye Xiaotian gathered his three groups of people and returned to the Ministry of Rites.

Although it was making a big fuss over a small matter to disturb a dignified Assistant Minister, Ye Xiaotian did not care too much at this time. When the time came, he would use the excuse of finding out how the court was going to deal with him.

When Assistant Minister Lin heard that Ye Xiaotian wanted to see him, he was slightly taken aback. As an official awaiting punishment, it was not that he could not move around with his connections in the capital, but he would usually disguise himself and quietly pay a visit. It was rare to see someone like Ye Xiaotian openly pay a visit.

Assistant Minister Lin shook his head slightly and smiled. "In the end, his background is too low and his knowledge is limited. Although he is alert and clever, he does not understand the ways of the world."

Assistant Minister Lin originally did not want to see him, but after thinking it over, he still ordered, "Call him in!"

The civil officials had great power. At Assistant Minister Lin's level, it was not a taboo for the Emperor to learn of this matter. In addition, Ye Xiaotian was someone the Eagle Faction had to protect, and the reason for protecting him was very sufficient and honorable. Even in front of the Emperor, they were not afraid to say it out loud, so they were not afraid to see him.

Ye Xiaotian waited outside the yamen. The bailiffs wanted to bring him in, but it would still take some time before he could reach Assistant Minister Lin's office. Assistant Minister Lin placed the unfinished official case to the side and leaned back in his chair, slightly closing his eyes. Ye Xiaotian couldn't help but think of his ambitions, or more accurately, the ambitions of the Eagle Faction.

Many things actually happened because of a single opportunity, and this was also the case for the Eagle Faction in the court.

In truth, the idea of reclaiming the southwest border had long ago become the overwhelming opinion of the court during the Hongwu and Yongle Dynasties. Both Hongwu Emperor and Yongle Emperor had schemed against the southwest chieftains. Hongwu Emperor's action had planted a hidden danger in the dispute between the chieftains of Sinan and Sizhou. It was only during the reign of Yongle Emperor that the matter had matured and led to a war.

Yongle Emperor did not let go of this opportunity. He took the opportunity to depose the chieftains of Liansi and split them into eight prefectures, dissolving one of the four major warlords in Guizhou. If Yongle Emperor had used his victory to pursue them, with his great talent and bold strategy, he might have been able to solve the southwest problem in his lifetime. However, from the perspective of the highest ruler of the empire, he had an even more important matter — Northern Yuan!

Northern Yuan had been driven back to the prairies and split into the Tartar and Wala groups, but their strength was still not to be underestimated. Yongle Emperor moved the capital to Beijing, using the excuse that the Emperor was guarding the gates of the country, in an attempt to completely solve the troubles in the north. For this, he had gone on five expeditions to the Mobei Desert. The shift in strategic focus forced him to temporarily put aside the relatively less urgent problem of the southwest.

As a result, the southwest problem had been dragged on like this. Ever since Yongle Emperor, the troubles in the north had always been the greatest concern of the imperial court. Especially after the imperial court moved the capital, which was close to the north, they had no choice but to pay special attention to it. In the meantime, with the Wokou pirates in the east and the problem of Jiaozhi, they had no time to worry about the southwest. As a result, the chieftains had lived peaceful days for hundreds of years.

Originally, before the threat of the northern prairies was completely resolved, the southwest problem would never become the focus of the imperial court. However, at this time, something happened that once again attracted the imperial court's attention to the southwest. The Nanchuan Mengren (an ethnic minority in ancient China's southwest region) had rebelled!

The Nanchuan Mengren had always disliked the emperor. They occupied the mountains as kings, divided the land for rent, and often sent troops to harass the surrounding prefectures. After being reprimanded and punished by the imperial court, they simply rebelled.

When the imperial court was researching countermeasures, most of the officials advocated for appeasing them. However, Zhang Juzheng, who had just become the Grand Secretary, strongly advocated for severe punishment. Because of this, Zhang Juzheng sternly said to the entire court, "If I cannot pacify the area, I am willing to resign from my position as the Grand Secretary!" As a result, the imperial court could only choose to use troops against Nanchuan.

Zhang Juzheng actually had a political motive for doing this. Just like how Yang Guang had seized Yang Yong's position, Li Shimin had seized Li Jiancheng's position, and Zhao Guangyi had seized Zhao Defang's position, the usurpers always felt that their positions were not righteous and needed great achievements to solidify their reputation and position. Zhang Juzheng also had this concern.

At that time, Zhang Juzheng had just become the Grand Secretary and was far from being able to intimidate the Son of Heaven, suppress the officials, and be the sole ruler of the world. As for him becoming the Grand Secretary, many of the officials were extremely dissatisfied. The root cause was that Zhang Juzheng's methods were not very honorable.

Before Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary was Gao Gong. Gao Gong was domineering and had a fiery temper. These were his shortcomings, but as the Grand Secretary, he worked hard and achieved outstanding political achievements within a few years. This was also due to his ability, so his position at that time was very stable.

Zhang Juzheng wanted to become the Grand Secretary, but the biggest obstacle was Gao Gong. At that time, Emperor Wanli had just succeeded the throne and was only ten years old. Gao Gong felt that the Son of Heaven was young and the internal court was powerful, so it was easy to have hidden dangers. He wanted to weaken the power of the Bureau of Rites. As a result, there was a great conflict between him and the internal court eunuchs.

Zhang Juzheng saw this was an opportunity, so he befriended the internal court eunuch Feng Bao and joined forces to deal with Gao Gong. When Wanli succeeded the throne, Gao Gong was worried that the Son of Heaven was young and the country would be in turmoil. He once worriedly said, "How can a ten-year-old Crown Prince rule the world?"

But Zhang Juzheng joined forces with Feng Bao and changed this sentence to "How can a ten-year-old be a ruler?" They also secretly reported to the Empress Dowager that Gao Gong intended to first remove the authority of the Bureau of Rites and centralize power in the cabinet. Then he would force the Emperor to abdicate and support an adult vassal king as the Emperor.

When the Empress Dowager heard this, she turned pale with fright and immediately took action. She imprisoned Gao Gong and wanted to execute him. Fortunately, the Minister of Appointments Yang Bo and the Censor Ge Shouli did their best to save him. Only then did he escape death and return to his hometown.

When Gao Gong first met with misfortune, Zhang Juzheng went to visit him and consoled him in every way possible. He also wrote a letter to plead for mercy on his behalf. Gao Gong was very grateful. But paper could not wrap up fire, and the truth was gradually discovered by Gao Gong.

Gao Gong endured silently until just before he died of illness. Only then did he write four volumes of "Last Words from the Sickbed", in which he described how Zhang Juzheng colluded with Feng Bao to seize the position of Grand Secretary. He cursed Zhang Juzheng for being sinister and malicious, for "being a teacher's wife and a ghost at the same time, playing the flute, pinching the eyes, playing the drum, and playing the lute."

After Zhang Juzheng died, Emperor Wanli counterattacked and Gao Gong's will was published to the world. But before that, most of the court officials knew the truth. In this matter, Zhang Juzheng was guilty of personal morality, so he had just ascended to the position of Grand Secretary and needed a military achievement to stabilize his position.

Thus, Zhang Juzheng strongly advocated using military force to intimidate the lawless Chieftains and to adjust the unreasonable administrative divisions of Yun, Gui, and Chuan provinces in order to unify power and allow the local officials to act according to the circumstances. In this way, he needed a group of officials to respond to his call and carry out these matters.

Under these circumstances, Qiao Hanwen, Yan Yifei, Ye Mengxiong, Li Hualong, Dang Tenghui, Lin Siyan, Yu Wuguo, and a group of young and middle-aged civil and military officials with similar ambitions entered his sights and became his team to conquer Southern Sichuan.

Initially, they only had one goal — to solve the Ci problem in Southern Sichuan by force!

This matter was successfully resolved, and the Ci were suppressed by force. Their land was converted back to the stream and was completely brought under the rule of the Liu officials. Zhang Juzheng's position as Grand Secretary was completely stabilized because of this military operation. He began to shift his target to vigorously rectify the domestic political environment and economic development.

For Zhang Juzheng, the problem in Southern Sichuan had been solved. At least at this stage, the problem that needed to be solved had been solved. But for these young and middle-aged officials, this was only the beginning.

The smooth resolution of the Ci problem in Southern Sichuan had opened a window in their hearts. They were even more radical than Zhang Juzheng on the issue of bringing the southwest under the direct rule of the court. They did not follow Zhang Juzheng's request and completely withdraw some of their spies and spies in Southern Sichuan. Instead, they set their sights on the south of Southern Sichuan — Guizhou!

All these years, they had never given up on this effort. Although they were gradually growing older and their official positions and statuses were constantly rising, this initial dream had always been hidden in their hearts. Now, it was being realized step by step.

Thinking of this, Lin Siyan could not help but reveal a trace of a gratified smile. "A real man cannot eat five cauldrons when he was alive, and must be cooked five cauldrons when he dies! I must make a great contribution that will be immortalized for a hundred generations, so that my life in this world will not be in vain! "

"Lord Assistant Minister, Chieftain Ye is here."

"I'm Ye Xiaotian, the commanding officer of the Crouching Bull Court Magistrate. I request an audience!"

Two voices came from outside the door. Lin Siyan slowly opened his eyes and said in a low voice, "Come in!"