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

Chapter 483

Yang Yiqing was very different from Yang Tinghe and others. He was in a relatively independent position and did not belong to any group. However, after serving as an official for so many years, he had many protégés and former subordinates who fawned over him.

However, most of these people were dealt with in the previous two purges, so Yang Yiqing is no longer alone and doesn't have many people under his command.

This is also the fundamental reason why Mao Ji and his subordinates dared to impeach Yang Yiqing.

Whether it was Yang Tinghe or Mao Jixia, they were all chosen by the Jiangnan Group, or rather, it was a two-way selection process where each side got what they needed.

Therefore, Yang Tinghe and the emperor had to fight for the right to speak, and this matter was not subject to Yang Tinghe's personal will.

If Yang Tinghe is unwilling to do this, then he will lose his position as Grand Secretary, and the Jiangnan faction will have to replace him.

The Jiangnan faction has been almost completely dismantled by Zhou Chu and Yan Song. Mao Ji and Xia Yan have long been labeled as members of the Jiangnan faction. They must survive. If they do nothing, they will be gradually marginalized in the court, and Mao Ji may even be kicked out of the cabinet.

Power is like poison, irresistible. Once you are in a high position and have the power of life and death, you never want to let go.

As a member of the cabinet, Mao Ji wielded power enough to decide the life and death of countless people with a single word. He could not tolerate the loss of power from his hands under any circumstances.

In order to retain his power, Mao Ji had no choice but to promote Yang Lian. As his student, Mao Ji naturally knew Yang Lian's character. He was extremely intelligent, but also ruthless, both to others and to himself. It was precisely for this reason that Mao Ji had not used Yang Lian before.

Mao Ji always knew that Yang Lian was a double-edged sword; if used improperly, it would lead to his utter ruin.

Yang Yiqing is different from Mao Ji and others. Yang Yiqing is not a member of the Jiangnan faction. Now he has no labels or sides. In other words, as long as Yang Yiqing is willing, he can stand on either side.

But if Mao and Ji wanted to continue climbing the ranks and mobilized so many people to impeach Yang Yiqing, then their relationship had become irreconcilable, with no room for reconciliation.

For Yang Yiqing, if he did nothing, the emperor and Zhou Chu might not protect him. For both the emperor and Zhou Chu, the best outcome would be for Yang Yiqing and Mao Ji's men to fight to the death.

Therefore, Yang Yiqing had to do something.

On the one hand, it was to keep his position as Grand Secretary. Even though Yang Yiqing knew that he might not be able to serve for many more years, he had been an official for decades and wanted to save face and maintain his dignity in the end.

Yang Yiqing can voluntarily retire and return to his hometown, but he cannot leave in a miserable state after being impeached.

Moreover, Yang Yiqing also needed to consider the career prospects of his grandson, Yang Shengzhai. For whatever reason, Yang Yiqing had no reason to show leniency towards Mao Ji's people.

Yang Yiqing knew very well that the emperor needed a knife to cut off the officials under Mao Ji, and even to completely suppress Mao Ji.

This knife could be Zhou Hengqi's, or it could be himself.

But Yang Yiqing knew that things had come to this point, and Zhou Hengqi, who had been scheming in the shadows for so long, would not willingly become the scapegoat. After all, he had done it once before, and the consequences were severe.

This time, I have to make this knife myself.

Yang Yiqing was an old and shrewd man who could see through many problems at a glance. If he became the scapegoat, he could keep his position as the chief minister. If he did not become the scapegoat, he would probably be the one to settle accounts with him when he returned to court.

Although Mao Ji's side seemed to have a large number of people and a powerful presence, Yang Yiqing considered them nothing more than a rabble. On his side, he had the Emperor, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhou Hengqi, and Yang Yongxiu.

The only thing Yang Yiqing wasn't sure about was Xie Qian's stance.

However, Yang Yiqing's perspective on issues was different from others. He and Xie Qian were not much different in age, and Xie Qian was even a few years older than him.

Yang Yiqing knew very well that Xie Qian, at his age, had basically lost all ambition for an official career, and everything he was doing now was just paving the way for his son Xie Pi.

The problem lies here: Xie Qian was originally a pillar of the Jiangnan faction, serving in the cabinet for many years. Now that the Jiangnan faction has collapsed, those officials who curry favor with Mao and Ji cannot represent the Jiangnan faction. In fact, before Mao and Ji became the Grand Secretary, they were nothing.

It's completely different from the previous Jiangnan lineage.

Yang Yiqing could see this, and he believed Xie Qian could see it too. Since Xie Qian was paving the way for his son, why would he bet on a completely uncertain future?

For Xie Qian, betting on the emperor and Zhou Chu was the best solution.

Yang Yiqing and Xie Qian served in the same court for decades. He knew Xie Qian's character very well. Someone like Yang Lian was a gambler who would bet everything as long as he saw some hope. Because Yang Lian had nothing, he was full of longing for the future.

But Xie Qian was different. He had remained in the court for so many years because of his composure and never liked gambling.

Of course, these are just Yang Yiqing's guesses. As for Xie Qian's choice, Yang Yiqing is not sure. However, for Yang Yiqing, the chances of winning are extremely high. As long as Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the emperor are on his side, who in the entire court can stop him?

For the past two weeks, although Yang Yiqing has remained secluded, he has been exchanging information with Zhou Chu and Jiajing. It was also Yang Yiqing who secretly arranged for Zhou Chu to borrow troops from the Northern Garrison.

This matter could not be kept from Jiajing. Yang Yiqing never intended to deceive Jiajing. He did not borrow the Northern Garrison directly from Zhou Chu, but directly from the emperor. After Jiajing informed Zhou Chu, Zhou Chu naturally handed over the Northern Garrison to Yang Yiqing.

Inside the palace, as the weather grew increasingly hot, Emperor Jiajing was in his study, eating chilled melon while reading the memorials before him.

"Yang Yingning is finally going to make a move. We need to use the weighing instrument to give him a starting point, otherwise he doesn't know how long he'll have to hold back."

Jiajing sighed with some emotion.

Lu Bing, who was standing to the side, looked somewhat worried upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty, these people seem to have no fear of death. They killed a group of people before, and then killed many more in the Chen Wanyan case. But now they are still banding together to attack the Grand Secretary. Their intentions are despicable."

Upon hearing this, Jiajing placed the melon in his hand on the desk and wiped his mouth.

"These people, for power and profit, don't even care about the Ming Dynasty. Why would they be afraid of death? How many people did the Taizu Emperor kill back then? It didn't scare them. Even if we cleanse these people this time, countless others will follow in their footsteps. This is just the beginning, far from the end."

When Jiajing said this, he was expressionless, and it was impossible to know what he was thinking.