Chapter 476 Fishing?
Cao Dewen was promoted by Xu Jie, and he was also a Qingliu man who joined Xu Jie because of his so-called like-mindedness when he was appointed as the Imperial Academy.
Now that Xu Jie was finally about to become a mother-in-law, he finally dared to recommend his men to important positions in the court to Emperor Jiajing, so Cao Dewen was gloriously selected, turning him from an inconspicuous marginal official. He was recommended to the position of General Secretary of the General Affairs Department, which was also not very eye-catching.
In this position, Cao Dewen can be said to be conscientious. He has been carefully handling the memorials sent to the court from hundreds of officials in the capital and local officials. He will actively put the memorials at the top of the list if they are beneficial to Qingliu. , and then sorted and sent to the cabinet or Xiyuan.
So in this position, Cao Dewen also considers himself very capable.
Now he was really embarrassed when he saw that the head of the Ministry of Industry reported that Yan Shifan used ordinary wood to pass off as the golden nanmu needed for the beams of the new Longevity Palace.
If he was from the Yan Party, it would be okay to say that he just secretly passed the contents of the memorial to Yan Shifan first, so that Yan Shifan could prepare a plan for dealing with it, and then he would put the memorial at the last possible moment. Send it to an eye-catching location.
But now that he is a member of Xu Jie, and he is "incompatible" with Yan Dang, a "treacherous party" that controls the government, how could he leak the contents of this memorial to Yan Shifan in advance?
But now Yan Song is still the chief minister, and Yan Shifan also holds great power. In case the contents of this memorial are exaggerated, and he is stupid enough to think that he has made a meritorious service, he will directly send this memorial to Xiyuan or the cabinet. among.
So if this matter is not true, but a memorial written by a frustrated and frustrated head of the Ministry of Industry to vent his dissatisfaction and maliciously slander Shangguan, Yan Shifan will not let him go even if the emperor does not trouble him.
So Cao Dewen was really in trouble for a while. He really didn't know what to do.
Finally, after intense thinking, Cao Dewen finally made up his mind.
Cao Dewen gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, wanting to put this memorial under his desk. Then he waited until the moment when he was on duty, changed into casual clothes, and left in a hurry.
After Cao Dewen left the General Affairs Office, he did not go home directly. Instead, he quietly reached the back door of Xu Jie's house and knocked on the door cautiously.
At this moment, the servants of the Xu Mansion heard the knock on the door outside, and thought it was the swill collector coming from outside. They said impatiently: "We all said that the swill in our house cannot be collected until after Xu Shi. You guys What’s the use of this time?”
But in response to the grumbling servant's voice, there was another more urgent knock on the door.
At this moment, the grumbling servant of Xu Mansion also became smarter and knew that this was definitely not the person collecting swill. If so, what he just said could drive the person away, but now the people outside not only did not leave, And the knocking on the door became more urgent.
Obviously, the person outside may be a big shot who is either rich or noble, but it is inconvenient for him to go through the main entrance to see his master.
The servant of the Xu Mansion carefully opened the door a crack and asked cautiously: "Who are you? What do you want to do?"
Cao Dewen outside the door looked like a thief, glanced left and right, and then whispered: "I am Cao Dewen, general affairs envoy. I have a request to see Mr. Ge."
The servant was shocked when he heard that he was the general secretary, but he still didn't dare to let him in. After all, the Xu family's family laws were also very strict. If they violated the family laws, they would be kind and amiable even though they were usually kind. The elder Ge, but he dared to kill people if he was ruthless.
So the servant immediately replied: "Master, please wait a moment, I will go and make a report."
After saying that, without waiting for Cao Dewen to respond, he slammed the door shut and headed towards the back house without stopping.
When he arrived at the back house, he saw that the lights in Xu Jie's son Xu Fan's room were still on. He quickly trotted to Xu Fan's room and shouted softly, "Master, have you rested? The villain is Xu Wu."
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At this moment, Xu Fan, who was helping his father revise and polish Qingci, heard the movement outside the door and was slightly unhappy, but still asked in a calm voice: "What's wrong?"
When Xu Wu heard Xu Fan's plain voice, his attitude became more respectful, "Uncle, there is a man who claims to be General Secretary Cao Dewen and wants to see the elder. I don't dare to let him in, so I want to make the decision."< br>
When Xu Fan heard this, he immediately placed the pen in his hand on the pen holder and hurried out of the room. He looked at Xu Wu and asked, "Where is he?"
Xu Wudao: "At the back door."
Xu Fan said: "Take me there."
Xu Wu quickly led Xu Fan towards the back door. After arriving at the back door, Xu Fan winked at Xu Wu and asked Xu Wu to open the back door.
Xu Wu did not dare to neglect, and quickly opened the door. At this moment, Cao Dewen, who was waiting anxiously, saw the door, and immediately asked anxiously: "Does Mr. Ge want to see me?"
Xu Wu didn't dare to speak and quickly stepped aside. Xu Fan looked at the anxious Cao Dewen and asked, "What's important, brother Zhengxian?"
When Cao Dewen heard Xu Fan's voice, he immediately became excited, "Brother Yunyan, I have something to ask you to see Mr. Ge. I wonder if he has rested?"
Xu Fan looked at the anxious Cao Dewen and understood that Cao Dewen must have something important, otherwise he would not take the risk to ask for permission from the back door.
Xu Fan said: "Brother Zhengxian, come and talk first. I will take you to see your father later to see if he is resting."
Cao Dewen said excitedly: "Thank you so much, brother Xu Fan."
After saying that, Cao Dewen hurriedly stepped in through the crack of the back door. Xu Wu also immediately put his head out and looked around the alleyway of the back door, and then closed it tightly.
Cao Dewen followed Xu Fan closely, and Xu Fan asked again: "What happened? What made Brother Zhengxian so panicked?"
Cao Dewen sighed, "Brother Yunyan, this matter is of great importance. I don't know where to start. I will tell the truth when I meet Mr. Ge."
Faced with Cao Dewen's attitude, Xu Fan no longer deliberately asked. After all, some words really shouldn't be let go so easily. Otherwise, it would be quite troublesome if something went wrong.
So Xu Fan didn't mean to complain about Cao Dewen, but took Cao Dewen a few steps faster to the courtyard where Xu Jie was.
After arriving here, Xu Fan respectfully saluted outside the door and asked: "Has father rested?"
Xu Jie in the room heard Xu Fan's voice and replied, "What's wrong, Fan'er?"
Xu Fan said: "Father, Cao Tongzheng envoy is here. He has something to ask for and wants to see my father."
After Xu Jie, who was in the house, heard Xu Fan's words, his originally calm expression became serious and said, "Come in."
Xu Fan said yes, and Cao Dewen quickly responded "Thank you Mr. Ge". Then Xu Fan and Cao Dewen entered Xu Jie's room together.
At this moment, Xu Jie was also wearing the robe he had just put on. He looked at Xu Fan and then at Cao Dewen.
Xu Jie asked: "What happened to Zhengxian?"
Cao Dewen bowed respectfully to Xu Jie, and then said: "Mr. Ge is like this. Today, when the student was on duty, he received a memorandum to report Yan Shifan. The student did not dare to make the decision privately, so he came to ask Mr. Ge for advice. ”
When Xu Jie heard that it was this kind of thing, he said nonchalantly: "You can just handle this kind of thing yourself. There are so many reports like this. Even I and several other cabinet members are often accused. Report and impeach, but what can we do?”
"Furthermore, Yan Shifan has behaved erratically, and there are countless people who want to impeach and accuse him. But who can do anything to him after so many years? You have just become the general ambassador, so you need to learn to be calm and not be distracted by these small problems. ”
Cao Dewen said: "The lesson learned by Mr. Ge is that the students lack concentration. But today's memorial is different. It was an official from the Ministry of Industry who reported Yan Shifan. In the memorial, he said that Yan Shifan used it for the Wanshou Palace newly built by His Majesty. The giant beam wood is a golden nanmu disguised as an ordinary giant tree.”
"What?!"
Xu Jie, who was calm at first, suddenly widened his eyes in shock, "What did you say?!"
Cao Dewen quickly repeated it again, "Today, when the students were on duty, they received a memorial from the head of the Ministry of Industry accusing Yan Shifan of using ordinary giant wood to pass off golden nanmu as the beams of His Majesty's new palace. Mr. Ge, what do you think the students should do with this memorial? .”
Xu Jie listened to Cao Dewen's words again, and the shock in his heart was still unabated. He never expected that it would be such an accusation. This was a major matter involving the emperor, and Emperor Jiajing was also responsible for Yan Shifan's meritorious service in repairing the palace. He was commended.
Now Emperor Jiajing is still ordering Qin Tianjian and Chaotian Temple to predict the auspicious day for him to move, and Emperor Jiajing is still asking officials to write congratulations to celebrate his move to the new palace.
This shows how much Emperor Jiajing has high hopes for this new palace that he is about to move into. Now someone actually reported that the beams of this new palace were not the golden nanmu beams used in accordance with etiquette and the emperor's specifications. Isn't this? Poke a hole in the sky?
For a while, Xu Jie also stayed in place for a long time without saying a word.
Xu Fan, who was also waiting on the side, was extremely shocked after hearing Cao Dewen's words, but he recovered a little faster than his father.
Xu Fan immediately said seriously: "Father, we should take action on this matter. Yan Shifan is deceiving the emperor, which is completely different from what he usually does. Once your majesty becomes angry, he will definitely die!"
Xu Jie suddenly looked up at his eager son and said angrily: "Shut up!"
Xu Fan was also frightened by Xu Jie's loud shout, and Cao Dewen was not much better.
Xu Jie said: "Did you see that the beam is not golden nanmu? What if it is? If this memorial is the bait thrown by Yan Shifan, just to trick us into taking the bait, do you know how serious the consequences are?"
Xu Jie's mind was still clear, and he quickly realized the key to this problem.
After Xu Fan and Cao Dewen heard Xu Jie's words, they couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
Yes, what if this is a bait and they are fooled?
So for a while, both Xu Fan and Cao Dewen looked at Xu Jie again, praying for Xu Jie's next instructions and dispelling their confusion.
Xu Jie thought seriously for a while, then looked at Cao Dewen and said: "You should hold on to this memorial for a few days and find a way to verify what happened to the beams of His Majesty's New Wanshou Palace, and then think about it again."
Cao Dewen was confused when he heard this. Can he enter Xiyuan?
And even if he can enter Xiyuan, can he go to the newly built Longevity Palace to inspect the beams on the top of the palace? ,
This is completely impossible!
Cao Dewen's face collapsed instantly, and he was about to burst into tears. "Mr. Ge, my students are incompetent. I can't verify the condition of the beams in His Majesty's Longevity Palace. Please give me an idea."
Xu Jie also looked at Cao Dewen. What ideas could he have? He can't enter the Wanshou Palace now, so how could he have any ideas for Cao Dewen?
But Xu Jie couldn't let Cao Dewen feel cold. If he failed to appease Cao Dewen, Cao Dewen went straight to Yan Shifan's house and took the contents of this memorial as a surrender letter. Xu Jie finally got it. Didn’t the General Secretary fly again?
Therefore, Xu Jie had to use his brain. Xu Jie said: "You don't need to worry about this matter. Keep this memorial for a few days and wait for my instructions. During this time, don't mention it to anyone again." Do you know about the memorial?”
When Cao Dewen heard Xu Jie's words, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Xu Jie would abandon his car to save his commander, so he would simply treat him as an abandoned son.
Now that he has been asked to suppress this memorial for a few days, it shows that Xu Jie sincerely considers him, and this kindness has to move Cao Dewen.
"Thank you Mr. Ge. The students will definitely listen to Mr. Ge's instructions."
Xu Jie said, "You go back first. Fan'er, go see Zhengxian off and let him have a good rest and stop worrying about this matter."
Xu Fan said yes, and then sent Cao Dewen, who was already at ease, to the back door and left quietly.
After sending Cao Dewen away, Xu Fan couldn't help but hurried back to Xu Jie's room.
Xu Fan asked: "What should I do, father?"
Xu Jie looked at his son and couldn't help but sigh, "I haven't thought about this matter well. Let's hold Cao Dewen in check for now, and then we can think about it as a father. This matter is weird. The Ministry of Industry can actually put it into question." It is really unpredictable to collect such memorials and send them to the General Affairs Department.”
Xu Fan said: "Could it be Zhao Wenhua's intention?"
Xu Jie also thought about it after listening to his son's words, but quickly denied it, "No, no, no, Zhao Wenhua is Yan Song's adopted son and a core figure around Yan Shifan. This matter cannot be intentional on his part. If it was He did it on purpose, it must be a bait, and we can't be fooled. Go find out who the director of the Ministry of Industry is that Cao Dewen is talking about. We need to study it carefully before we can take the next step."
Xu Fan bowed to Xu Jie and said, "Yes, my son has written it down."
Seeing his son's steady performance, Xu Jie couldn't help but feel relieved. His son was not much better than the arrogant and domineering Yan Shifan. With such a son, why should the Xu family not be able to prosper for another generation? ?
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Asking for a monthly pass
(End of chapter)