Episode 2
During the reign of Emperor Jiajing, the balance of power in the court was like a thin ice that could break at any time.When Emperor Jiajing's first grandson was born, this delicate balance changed significantly.Lu Fang, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, was an old man who was well versed in government affairs. He was keenly aware that King Yu was about to ascend the throne of Ouchi.For future plans, he borrowed the name of Emperor Jiajing and sent Feng Bao to Prince Yu's Mansion to serve as the emperor's grandson's companion. This move undoubtedly paved the way for Prince Yu's future rule.
At the same time, King Yu's masters and attendants Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and others, as representatives of the righteous faction of the court, also felt the changes in the court situation.They believe it is time to fight back against the strict party.The Yan Party has been annexing land in the name of converting rice into mulberry, which has brought huge disasters to the people of Zhejiang.In order to resist this policy, they discussed with King Yu and decided to send Tan Lun, the official of Prince Yu's palace, to Zhejiang to work with Hu Zongxian, the governor of Zhejiang and the governor of Zhejiang, to stabilize the overall situation.
Their concerns are not unfounded.As soon as the policy of changing rice to mulberry proposed by Party Strict was implemented in Zhejiang, it brought serious disasters to the local people.On the Chun'an Embankment, Zhejiang Chief Minister Zheng Michang and Zhejiang Inspector He Maocai ignored the people's plight of lack of food and forced them to plant mulberry trees.This short-sighted behavior aroused strong dissatisfaction among the people, which eventually led to the siege of the Governor's Yamen by the people led by Sannong Qi Dazhu.
Within the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau, Yang Jinshui, the eunuch of the Weaving Bureau and the general manager of the Zhejiang Shipping Department, and Zheng Michang, He Maocai and others who were members of the Yan Party in Zhejiang, thought this was a good opportunity to both please the court and make a fortune.They signed a large number of silk sales agreements with foreign merchants and strongly promoted the policy of changing “ rice to mulberry ”.However, Hu Zongxian, who was the governor of Zhejiang Province and a student of Yan Song, was well aware of the harm of this policy.He went to the imperial court to request an extension of this policy, but was suppressed by the strict party.
In this power struggle, Yan Song also fell into trouble.On the one hand, he has to maintain his position of power, on the other hand, he has to face the pressure from King Yu and the righteous faction.
