The Scene of Officials Being Flogged: How Jiajing Defends Imperial Power

Wenyue was relatively protective of Jiajing, but only from the perspective of a mother. Even so, she did not believe that all of Jiajing's actions were "justified".

Some responsibilities are predetermined from birth. If Heaven grants you such an enviable identity through reincarnation, you must bear the responsibilities befitting that noble status. At least, Wenyue couldn't see any sense of responsibility as an emperor in Jiajing.

However, while it was a touching separation of loved ones for Jiajing, the scene within the Grand Secretariat was quite different, one of gloomy faces.

As the camera moves, we see Xu Jie, played by Grand Tutor Grand Secretariat, discussing the draft resolution with Gao Gong, played by Celestial Master Bai, and Li Chunfang, a new member of the Grand Secretariat.

After all, Xu Jie was very clear about Jiajing's attitude. Their Clear Stream Faction had just gained momentum, and if they showed any weakness compared to the Yan Faction now, their future under Jiajing would likely be difficult.

As for how much more should be added, Xu Jie's son, who succeeded Yan Song as Vice Minister of Ministry of Works, provided the answer: another 1.5 million taels.

Because Jiajing had given orders that the Ministry of Works must complete the construction of two palaces and two Daoist temples this year, requiring 3.1 million taels of silver. Clearly, this was Jiajing's bottom line, but they only allocated 1.6 million taels to Jiajing for the permanent repair of the palaces. The remaining 1.5 million taels had to be drawn from the state, government, and private funds.

"Then tell me, should we cut the officials' back pay, cut the war supplies, or let the refugees and civilians in the disaster area starve to death?!"

Celestial Master Bai, who plays Gao Gong, also exploded with temper at this moment. He practically shouted his lines, and even the sky outside seemed to echo with several claps of thunder, as if he might strike everyone present dead at any moment if he was in a bad mood.

Moreover, this time, without Lü Fang to cover for them, the old hands quickly came up with a temporary solution – everyone would share the spoils, everyone would suffer, and that way they could barely make ends meet and still solve the emperor's problem.

"The Ministry of War can allocate 500,000 troops." At this moment, Li Chunfang, who took over the position of Zhang Juzheng, played by Wenyue, in the Ministry of War, was the first to speak up, but the solution she proposed was unacceptable to everyone watching the screen.

"The Ministry of War has issued a document to Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang, instructing them not to launch any proactive attacks against Seaborn this year. Instead, they should defend several fortresses and contain Seaborn first."

"--Permission granted." Even though he was acting, Xu Jie, who was playing the Grand Tutor, spoke these two words with a slightly heavier tone, but he still granted permission with his eyes closed.

However, what put even more pressure on the Grand Tutor played Xu Jie was what came next. He turned his attention to Gao Gong, played by Celestial Master Bai. Similarly, even though it was just acting, Celestial Master Bai's temper was as fierce as ever, especially when it came to discussing matters that could be described as "abandoning the country and family for the sake of the emperor." Celestial Master Bai was even less patient at that time.

But the Grand Tutor still steeled himself and asked Celestial Master Bai, "Suqing, could we possibly make up a smaller portion of the owed salaries to the officials this time?"

Upon hearing this, Celestial Master Bai's lips twitched slightly. Faced with words that, though ostensibly a question, were in reality an order, and given Li Chunfang's initial response, she could only suppress her displeasure and mutter:

"Now that things have come to this point, what's the point of saying 'can't' or 'can't'?"

"All ministerial officials in the capital, and provincial officials at the level of circuit inspectors, provincial treasurers, and provincial judicial commissioners, will not receive any salary this year! Officials in the capital below the fourth rank will receive half their salary back, and local officials below the fourth rank will receive their full salary back!"

"Otherwise, they'll be free to embezzle!"

Celestial Master Bai was fiercely opposed to evil, and Chen Qi thought that she would be the perfect choice to play Gao Gong, the most "Purists" among the Purists officials. However, Celestial Master Bai herself looked down on Gao Gong. She felt that Gao Gong compromised in the face of the powerful and wealthy, and although he had a sense of justice, he did not know how to use it. This did not match her temperament at all.

If it were Celestial Master Bai discussing this matter, she would surely use a single Originium Arts to kill all the treacherous officials here; she's someone who can't tolerate any injustice.

However, Gao Gong managed to scrape together 400,000 yuan, so the remaining 600,000 yuan undoubtedly fell entirely on the shoulders of the disaster victims.

And now, the person in charge of these tasks is none other than Zhao Zhenji, played by Ling. Xu Jie also handed over this most troublesome problem to her, saying, "This involves the people in the disaster-stricken areas and the people in the areas with oppressive taxes. Does the Ministry of Revenue have a solution?"

Ling's character, Zhao Zhenji, clearly knew that this was something that would inevitably be condemned no matter what she did. However, now that she had taken over another part of Yan Shifan's work in the Ministry of Revenue, she had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

"It seems that Zhao Zhenji, who once 'made the common people suffer,' now understands that if he doesn't handle things properly, it could easily incite a popular uprising."

Looking at the awkward expression on Zhao Zhenji's face in the camera, Xi, who has never liked the character of Zhao Zhenji, ignored the fact that the actress was her own sister and revealed a gloating expression.

It wasn't just Xi; in fact, everyone present had no liking for Zhao Zhenji, played by Ling. However, their attitude was different from Xi's. They were all people of Great Yan, and they knew Zhao Zhenji was in a difficult position, but he still made this decision. So, the suffering people would probably suffer even more.

And now, the only thing worth finding some solace in... is that she, Zhao Zhenji, still has some concerns. Although in the scenes in Zhe City she always "makes the common people suffer," she still knows what she should and shouldn't do.

"But it doesn't feel that simple." However, Nian felt that something was amiss, so she leaned closer to Chen Qi, who was supervising, and whispered:

"When Zhao Zhenji was in Zhe City, she abandoned the people to try and figure out the emperor's intentions without hesitation. Now, regarding the matter of 600,000 taels of silver, she doesn't even have to sell it all. Does she really have any worries?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Chen Qi simply smiled mysteriously, knowing that the next scene would involve the group settling accounts with Jiajing, and the answer to what Nian was curious about would soon be revealed.

However, Chen Qi and Nian's conversation was overheard by everyone present. The Emperor of Great Yan immediately realized that what Nian said made sense. Given Zhao Zhenji's previous performance, his current predicament was probably not about how the people were doing, but about how to squeeze out 600,000 or even more!

After all, Zhao Zhenji's ambitions were clearly focused on rising in rank. The Emperor of Great Yan also narrowed his eyes slightly, staring intently at the large screen, his last shred of solace vanishing in an instant.

Soon, with a change of camera angle, the screen began playing scenes from the second day of the drama. At this moment, Zhao Zhenji and the others arrived at Western Garden and officially began to respond to the decision they made yesterday.

The first to step forward was Li Chunfang, who was in charge of the Ministry of War. However, the Ministry of War's expenditures had been cut by 500,000 taels of silver, supposedly to "maintain a firm stance and not engage in any activity." But when reporting on the work, this was clearly unacceptable. Therefore, Li Chunfang cleverly rephrased it, saying:

"The Ministry of War recalculated the figures again yesterday and yesterday, and found that the originally allocated silver is not needed at present. Seaborn and the Church of the Deep of the Higashi are weakened after the last siege, Ursus and the Demons in the north have not made any moves for the time being, and Jade Gate is also well-defended and fortified."

"We can reduce the budget by 500,000 taels of silver to fund the Ministry of Works' repairs of the Palace of Longevity and Palace of Benevolence and Longevity."

"--clang."

As soon as Li Chunfang finished speaking, the sound of a bronze chime slowly rang out in the Jiajing. Chen Hong, played by Lin Qingyan, was now smugly approving the draft document, thoroughly enjoying the thrill of being in power.

After Li Chunfang's performance ended, it was Celestial Master Bai's turn to play Gao Gong. Celestial Master Bai was forcing herself to suppress her explosive temper with the phrase "It's just acting," but outside, dark clouds gathered and thunder roared. She muttered through clenched teeth, "This is just acting."

"Officials in various departments of the two capitals are willing to temporarily waive their owed salaries. Some officials with relatively good family circumstances may also temporarily waive their owed salaries."

"Therefore, the Ministry of Personnel can also reduce its budget by 400,000 taels to alleviate the Emperor's worries and allocate funds to the Ministry of Works... for the repair of palaces and temples."

"--clang."

As Gao Gong finished speaking, another bronze chime rang out. At this moment, everyone's eyes involuntarily fell on Zhao Zhenji, played by Ling Su, because she was in charge of the largest amount of money, and how to properly deal with the people was the issue that everyone was most concerned about.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhenji, played by Ling, stepped forward with a calm and composed demeanor, but what she said next surprised everyone:

"The provinces affected by disasters this year and those with excessive taxation must be appeased, and all the money that should be allocated must be allocated in full."

These words immediately surprised all the viewers watching on screen, even the Emperor of Great Yan was somewhat taken aback that Zhao Zhenji would say such a thing, and immediately asked with some doubt:

"... Has she changed her ways? Or has she had a change of heart? That shouldn't be the case. This matter shouldn't have had much impact on Zhao Zhenji. Why would she sacrifice her future to please Jiajing?"

However, the moment the Emperor of Great Yan and the others had this thought, Ling suddenly changed his tone, instantly dispelling their newly formed idea, and immediately said:

"The way of Heaven has always been to take from the surplus and give to the deficiency. Among the two capitals and thirteen provinces of our Great Yan, there are also wealthy provinces. The Ministry of Revenue has already sent letters to several wealthy provinces, asking them to take some surplus funds from their respective treasuries or allocate more surplus grain from their granaries to help provinces that have suffered from disasters or have been burdened with excessive taxes."

"In this way, the Ministry of Revenue can also allocate 600,000 taels of silver to the Ministry of Works."

Upon receiving such a response, not only the viewers but also the actor playing Emperor Jiajing (played by Wei Yenwu) within the drama himself smiled with interest.

Clearly, Zhao Zhenji's answer was exactly what he wanted. This solution, which could achieve the emperor's goals while also taking care of the people, was the best method for Jiajing, who valued both money and reputation.

Meanwhile, in the drama, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and others looked at Zhao Zhenji with equally surprised expressions—you looked so troubled last night, how did you manage to resolve such a difficult matter so easily today?

However, Zhao Zhenji, played by Ling, also provided an explanation. It turned out that a month ago, she had already contacted the wealthy provinces in advance and made all the necessary arrangements.

They all said, "To relieve the worries of our ruler and father, and to alleviate the suffering of disaster victims, is our bounden duty!"

As Zhao Zhenji, played by Ling Suo, finished speaking, the sound of Jiajing bronze chime rang out again. This time, however, it was different from before. The chime gradually rang out four times, each time louder than the last, which was enough to prove that Jiajing was in a good mood at this moment.

This scene brought everyone, both on and off screen, to their senses... It turned out that Zhao Zhenji, having anticipated the Emperor's intentions, had long foreseen this moment. She was seizing this opportunity to impress the Jiajing Emperor during her report, demonstrate her abilities, and secure a promotion!

Now, the four chimes of the Jiajing's bell are enough to prove that Zhao Zhenji's judgment was correct. This time, she may very well be able to enter the Grand Secretariat...

"Taking advantage of the people's suffering and the nation's difficulties, all for the sake of entering the Grand Secretariat."

"Fine, fine, Zhao Zhenji... If I were to see a beast like you in court, I would not spare you!"

Now that this drama has come to an end, the Emperor of Great Yan, who was about to announce the list of those to be executed, unexpectedly found the second type of official he wanted to kill.

In the eyes of the Emperor of the Great Yan, Zhao Zhenji, a character in the drama who was single-mindedly focused on his future and disregarded other ministers in order to curry favor with the emperor, was a potential traitor to the country.

Even Jiajing valued money and reputation, so he had to consider the people's welfare. What if a ruler disregarded the people and only cared about his own interests? As the ruler's "accomplice," how would Zhao Zhenji be regarded by the people?

This time, the Emperor of Great Yan saw through another group of ministers in the Great Yan bureaucracy, and Zhao Zhenji was a representative of this type of minister. He was opportunistic and had no principles of Great Yan officialdom. If foreigners offered him higher benefits, could the Emperor expect ministers like him to uphold their principles?

However, the most pressing matter for the Great Yan Emperor right now is to kill those who deserve to die; as for his role in the story...

"Director Chen Qi, I'll leave the next few months in your care. I have important matters to attend to."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will continue to send the videotapes as usual for the next few months."

Chen Qi also cupped his hands in greeting, watching the Emperor of Great Yan depart. Now, "The Great Yan Dynasty" is nearing its final scenes, and Chen Qi will naturally prepare well for this final grand performance.

Hai Rui's final awakening and outburst will soon be brought to the big screen. Before the finale of "The Great Yan Dynasty," it will be a final, magnificent display! It will showcase to all the kings of the Terra the true backbone of the Great Yan literati!

PS: First chapter today! (A long chapter of 5,000 words, please subscribe!)

Furthermore, I really hope that those who haven't watched "Great Ming Dynasty 1566" will check out this scene in episode 37. Back then, the crying scenes in dramas didn't need to be dramatic; a few words and actions were enough to move people. Now look at the crying scenes in dramas... (Old man frowns on the subway)

Volume 1: Chapter 322: The Scene of Whipping Officials, Jiajing's Method of Defending Imperial Power

For several months, the Emperor of Great Yan did not interfere with Chen Qi's filming arrangements. He believed that Chen Qi, Wei Yenwu, and others would not disappoint him, and the filming of "Great Yan Dynasty" had already achieved the expected results for him.

The reason why the Emperor of Great Yan initially allowed Chen Qi to film a drama in the Great Yan Palace, and even though he knew that Chen Qi wanted to film a TV series that could be described as "treasonous," he still agreed, was so that Chen Qi could help him sort out all the potential hidden dangers of Great Yan.

Now, Chen Qi's answer to the Emperor of Great Yan has clearly been quite successful. In less than a year, the Emperor of Great Yan has solved two major corruption cases with the help of "Great Yan Great Yan Dynasty", nipping the emerging corruption in the bud.

The most important takeaway was that it made the Emperor of Great Yan understand how important it was to cultivate his own confidants, how to obtain information from officials, and how to control their lives... All of this gradually helped the Emperor of Great Yan to master the means of consolidating imperial power and made him understand the importance of consolidating imperial power.

He knew that he could still control his subordinates, but he also had to consider the future of his descendants. The deeds of Jiajing made him realize that he had to cultivate his offspring early, especially now that the greatest threat to the Great Yan was right under his nose. He needed to seize every minute to cultivate the next generation of successors for the Great Yan.

Even if he didn't want to be emperor, and his decision not to have children was a silent protest against his elder brother, he still had to make a statement on matters of national importance.

"My elder brother and sister-in-law have never had children because they fear I will have something to fear... After all, he is the rightful heir, and if I don't have children, he and my sister-in-law certainly won't dare to."

"However, regardless of what Your Majesty means, just looking at how much Your Majesty's wife dotes on Director Chen Qi, as well as her two nieces, Talulah and Chen Huijie, it's clear that Your Majesty's wife definitely has this idea."

"So, if we want the Emperor to compromise on this issue... the only options besides making him Emperor a matter of course... are to formally acknowledge his identity as 'Wei Yenwu'?"

In the past few months, after dealing with the embezzlement case and executing, dismissing, or exiling sixty or seventy officials from top to bottom, the Emperor of Great Yan effectively nipped the hidden financial problems in the bud. Now, his biggest concern is about Wei Yenwu.

The filming of "The Great Yan Dynasty" is almost over, and as expected, Wei Yenwu will be the first to flee when the show ends. However, this time, the Emperor of Great Yan has given up on paying attention to him.

The Emperor of Great Yan believed he couldn't detain Wei Yenwu, since many in the Imperial Guard held Wei Yenwu in high regard. Instead of Kung Fu Hustle trying to stop his brother, the Great Yan decided to focus his attention on Wenyue.

As long as Wenyue is stopped, Wei Yenwu won't run away even if he had the guts. Of course, the Emperor of Great Yan doesn't intend to detain Wenyue. As long as he's stopped for a few hours, and Wen Yue escapes from the capital to the outskirts of Great Yan, he'll be far from the emperor's reach and can enjoy a few years of carefree life.

"Of course, this plan needs to be put on hold for now... Your Highness must still be bothered by what happened back then. If we rashly harm Your Highness, it might not just be Your Highness who gets nervous, but even Director Chen Qi might get involved."

The Emperor of Great Yan muttered to himself, setting aside his Plan A for the time being; Plan B was more secure, which was to acknowledge the identity of "Wei Yenwu" and from now on, Wei Yenwu's descendants could use the surname "Wei" to continue the lineage of the Duke of Protectorate.

This method is tantamount to the Great Yan Emperor creating a new branch of his retainers. Because of their blood relationship, he doesn't have to worry about Wei Yenwu's betrayal, and Wei Yenwu can also give his children the surname "Wei". In this way, he Wenyue can officially have children.

Moreover, also because of this bloodline, if a crisis were to erupt under the Great Yan Emperor's feet in the future and he were to die a violent death, Wei Yenwu could bring the child back to the capital at any time, so that the Great Yan would not be leaderless.

In this way, Wei Yenwu could not only become emperor in the future, but he would also have enough time to cultivate his own offspring, so that the Great Yan would not repeat the mistakes of the Jiajing in the future.

Undoubtedly, the Great Yan Emperor's rationality told him that this was the best way for Great Yan, and also the best way for his elder brother... But he was also conflicted. This position should clearly belong to his elder brother. He should be a leisurely prince, guarding the country's borders. Why should he have to live in constant fear until his death, while his elder brother, such a talented person, could be carefree?

He disagreed, so Plan B also had to be temporarily shelved; the outcome would depend on whether Plan A could be successfully implemented...

"... His Majesty?"

"Hmm, cough cough, I was lost in thought."

However, the Emperor of Great Yan was brought back to his senses by the Grand Tutor's words. He was still in the main hall, and the officials were already lined up, all staring intently at the large screen beside him.

Yes, after nearly half a year, the Emperor of Great Yan finally played "Great Yan Dynasty 1566" for his officials again. He knew that the corruption case had been resolved, and it was time for his officials to know the truth and see the grand drama that Director Chen Qi had promised.

The episode currently airing is episode 38, which details how the court cut back on various departments' expenses for the construction of palaces and temples for Emperor Jiajing, including the year-long arrears in officials' salaries.

Now, the time has finally come to pay the back salaries. The officials serving in the capital have been looking forward to it for a long time, but when they finally heard the truth about the year's back salaries, they were all furious.

"Each person gets two bushels of rice, two boxes of candy, and ten strings of copper coins. To be honest, no family can even afford this much for the New Year, let alone them."

These items, when converted to cash, amount to about three taels of silver. However, these officials are generally in arrears of more than twenty taels of silver. Obviously, whoever takes on this job will be the first to be scolded, the person responsible for distributing salaries.

This time, Zhao Zhenji assigned Hai Rui to be in charge of distributing salaries and bearing the brunt of the officials' anger. Clearly, Zhao Zhenji was using Hai Rui as a pawn, a pure act of revenge for the Zhe City case, where Hai Rui's involvement cost him his chance to join the cabinet.

Fortunately, Wang Yongji, played by Huang, stepped forward at the crucial moment to stop these officials and spoke a fair word for Hai Rui, played by Chen Huijie.

"Do you even know who you beat up? You can get three bags of rice and money for the New Year, but she can't even get half a bag! Do you understand that?!"

It turns out that Hai Rui, played by Chen Huijie, was impeached by Zhao Zhenji because of the Six Musts House incident, and was ultimately punished with half a year's salary for "disrespecting the emperor's will." This made things even worse for the already impoverished Hai Rui.

These officials were all somewhat familiar with Hai Rui, and seeing that he was even poorer now, naturally no one made things difficult for him. After all, it's not that they're afraid of their brother suffering, but rather that they're afraid of their brother driving a Land Rover. Seeing that Hai Rui was even more miserable than them, their anger quickly turned into sympathy and keeping their distance.

Ultimately, all of this began to spiral out of control. Officials in the capital, whose rank was below the sixth grade, gathered together in righteous indignation, intending to impeach the Grand Secretariat!

"The Yan family, father and son, have controlled the government for twenty years, engaging in rampant corruption and embezzlement! In May, the homes of some of them were confiscated, yielding a staggering ten million taels of silver!"

"Fighting Demons in the north, fighting the Seaborn in the south, but we have no military pay! So many disaster victims and refugees have no money to comfort them."

"What are Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Li Chunfang, and Zhao Zhenji doing? What are the officials of the Six Ministries and Grand Secretariat doing?"

"Here, we're causing trouble because we can't celebrate the New Year—we'd rather not be officials!"

"If we're going to fight, let's fight for the affairs of our Great Yan Dynasty! Let's fight for the people of the world! We won't fight over the unpaid salaries; no one will die before the New Year. Let's go to the Grand Secretariat and ask them if they still care about the fate of the Great Yan Dynasty!"

It must be said that this speech was deafening. For the Grand Secretariat, although these officials were based in the capital, their highest rank was only the sixth grade. In countries like Victoria, they would be nothing more than insignificant civil servants, only having some power because they were on duty in the capital.

But now, someone has actually taken the lead, voluntarily giving up this enviable official position, and even saying that for the sake of the country and the nation, they will join together to launch a purge against the Grand Secretariat. At this moment, the backbone of the civil officials of the Great Yan Dynasty, which is difficult for many foreign civil officials to understand, has actually stirred up a storm!

After all, they could ignore not having enough to eat, being owed wages, or even giving up their positions, but for the sake of national righteousness, they launched a purge against a group they could not defeat. This kind of courage is not something that officials of any dynasty would have.

But the officials of the Great Yan could understand, and even empathize with him. Many of them were filled with righteous indignation, wishing they could jump into the painting and argue with the ministers of the Grand Secretariat, or even with the Jiajing Emperor. They were all Great Yan officials with backbone! The Great Yan censors even considered it a matter of righteousness to remonstrate to the death!

If they're not afraid of death, why would they be afraid of losing their official uniforms? At least most officials in the Great Yan today still have this awareness, and are full of enthusiasm to serve their country.

Wang Yongji, played by Huang, was also thrilled by this scene, but unexpectedly, Hai Rui, played by Chen Huijie, stopped her.

"I'm not going, and you shouldn't go either... It's no use."