The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 491

Yang Yiqing spoke with droopy eyelids, appearing remarkably calm and composed.

"I have indeed overstepped my bounds by privately requesting Lord Zhou to borrow troops from the Northern Garrison Command, and I am aware of my guilt."

Yang Yiqing lowered his head and said.

Yang Yiqing still had to admit his mistakes; he couldn't very well say that he had already discussed it with His Majesty.

When Jiajing heard this, he nodded.

"This matter cannot be entirely blamed on you. I have indeed not seen anyone these days. Even if you wanted to tell me, there was nothing I could do. I heard from Huang Jin that you and Mao Weizhi both came to the palace wanting to see me. This is indeed my fault."

Jiajing directly gave Yang Yiqing a way out.

"Your Majesty! There is no ruler in this world who is not a good father. This matter is indeed my fault, and I will accept the punishment."

Yang Yiqing raised his voice several notches when he said this.

Seeing such a harmonious scene between the emperor and his minister, Mao Ji felt utterly disgusted, thinking to himself, "What are these two acting for? How could the emperor not know that Yang Yiqing was mobilizing the troops of the Northern Garrison?"

However, Mao Ji would never dare to say these words aloud.

"Your Majesty, I believe that what the Grand Secretary has done is a matter of great benefit to the country and its people. He dares to defy public opinion and eliminate the corrupt officials in the court. This is truly a blessing for the nation."

Yang Shen stepped forward.

Yang Shen rarely spoke up for Yang Yiqing, but he always judged the matter, not the person. He truly admired what Yang Yiqing had done, which is why he stood up for him and spoke from the heart.

It should be understood that the officials Yang Yiqing knew were not ordinary corrupt officials, but officials who wanted to curry favor with Mao Ji. Once these people formed a huge group, the Ming Dynasty's political situation would fall into the same old vicious cycle again.

This is not what Jiajing wanted to see, nor is it what Yang Shen wanted to see.

"Your Majesty, I also think that the Grand Secretary's move is very good. If everyone only cares about themselves and doesn't want to get involved in these things, there will only be more and more parasites in our Great Ming. Now the performance evaluation system is being implemented in the capital, and the salaries of all colleagues have been greatly increased. Instead of being grateful to the Emperor, these people are thinking about how to neglect their duties and how to exploit the people. Where do they put the laws of the Great Ming?"

Han Jie stepped forward and spoke with righteous indignation.

Although many provisions of the Ming Dynasty Code are now practically defunct, people can do this, but they cannot say it. Therefore, Han Jie can legitimately use the Ming Dynasty Code to make his point.

As Yang Shen and Han Jie spoke up for Yang Yiqing, more and more officials stepped forward.

They finally understood that Grand Secretary Yang Yiqing was in cahoots with the Emperor. They didn't believe that the Emperor wasn't behind the arrest of so many people.

If you don't stand up and pledge your loyalty now, when will you?

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Mao Ji looked at the officials from the Sixth Section.

Unlike other officials, the officials of the Sixth Section did not need to take sides; they could be impeached at any opportunity.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the Grand Secretary's words are greatly wrong. Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, I have never heard of any Grand Secretary doing such a thing. These things are the duties of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I want to impeach Zhou Chu, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, for dereliction of duty."

An official from the Sixth Division stepped forward and spoke.

With this person taking the lead, the officials of the Sixth Division, as if injected with chicken blood, began to step forward one by one.

"Your Majesty, I also believe that the Grand Secretary has overstepped his bounds. He is meddling in matters that are not his concern. Minister Mao is right. Does the Grand Secretary intend to rule the court unilaterally?"

"Are only those arrested colleagues guilty of embezzlement among the entire court? The people the Grand Secretary arrested were all those who had impeached him before. Is he doing this to eliminate dissidents?"

.......

The officials of the Sixth Division were very capable; they managed to turn the tide in a situation that was originally very favorable to Yang Yiqing.

After hearing these words, Jiajing looked at Yang Yiqing again.

"Shi Cong, what else do you have to say?"