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

Chapter 288

Yang Yiqing was not surprised at all that the visiting card had disappeared without a trace. He knew Zhou Chu well. Although this commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was not old, he was extremely shrewd and a man who thought ten steps ahead for every step he took.

If it were any other person of the same age, they would probably be very happy to see the Grand Secretary's invitation and would immediately send a reply. But since it was Zhou Chu, Yang Yiqing was not surprised at all.

"Send another visiting card, one every day from today onwards."

Yang Yiqing wasn't in a hurry. At his age, he was always calm and collected. If the sky fell, someone else would hold it up. Even if all the officials on his side were killed by Chen Wanyan, it wouldn't concern him. He was already this old; how many more years could he work?

Therefore, Yang Yiqing tends to do his best and leave the rest to fate. He has done what he should do, and whether he succeeds or not is no longer important to him.

The main reason is that Yang Yiqing has realized the situation and no longer wants to control the entire court. In the current Ming Dynasty, only one person can control the situation, and that is the emperor. The emperor has a sharp blade in his hand, and that is Zhou Chu.

Yang Yiqing saw this clearly and accepted his fate. Xia Yan also saw this clearly, but he did not accept his fate because Xia Yan was only forty years old and had a long road ahead of him. Right now, Xia Yan was simply choosing to lie low and wait for the right opportunity.

Upon hearing this, the steward of the Yang family dared not neglect his duty and sent a visiting card to the Zhou family every day.

At the Zhou residence, Zhou Chu had these courtesans from the Jiaofangsi (a type of entertainment venue) wear slit cheongsams of his own design. When they danced, their beauty was so alluring that it made Shen Lian, who was standing next to Zhou Chu, blush.

"Which one do you like?"

Zhou Chu looked at Shen Lian's appearance and teased him.

"Sir, please don't joke around."

Shen Lian said awkwardly.

Shen Lian naturally had no other thoughts about these courtesans from the brothels, but he had never seen such spring scenery before, and at this moment he felt extremely embarrassed.

Moreover, Shen Lian was a martial arts prodigy and originally did not intend to lose his virginity so early. His original plan was to get married around the age of twenty.

"Men, after all, are driven by basic human needs like food and sex."

Zhou Chu smiled.

Although that's what he said, Zhou Chu only had a good look at it. The design of the cheongsam was relatively conservative, and the slit wasn't too high. What hadn't Zhou Chu seen in his previous life? So seeing it wouldn't arouse any desire in him.

These courtesans, however, thought the cheongsam was extremely beautiful. Ordinary respectable women would not wear such slightly licentious and unchaste clothing. Perhaps husband and wife could wear it behind closed doors, but they would never wear it to outsiders.

But they didn't have such restrictions. Although the "pure courtesans" were not "red courtesans" and didn't need to sell themselves, in places like the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district), their clothing was naturally different from that of ordinary respectable women.

Although the cheongsam had a slit, it wasn't very high, and the cheongsam itself was very beautiful, so they all liked to wear it. Of course, they only wore it at the Zhou residence. Once they returned to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district), they would change back into their original clothes and become elegant and refined.

Yang Yiqing sent out visiting cards for two days in a row, but did not receive a reply from Zhou Chu. The third day was the morning court session.

The thought of attending the morning court session gave Yang Yiqing a headache. The current emperor was too diligent, never missing a morning court session, and sometimes even adding an impromptu court assembly. This made Yang Yiqing miss Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao's court assemblies were not so frequent; they were often held only once every six or seven days.

Fortunately, Yang Yiqing is old, and older people need less sleep, so he doesn't have trouble getting out of bed.

Upon arriving at the court assembly, Chen Wanyan's men began their routine impeachment campaign, continuing to impeach officials who had not been impeached before. This time, Jiajing did not ignore them and dealt with them directly.

By doing this, Jiajing was putting pressure on Yang Yiqing and others.

Yang Yiqing sighed and stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I still believe that the task of supervising all officials should be entrusted to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Commander Zhou."

With Yang Yiqing taking the lead, countless officials stepped forward and began to speak in support of Zhou Chu.

Upon seeing this situation, Chen Wanyan immediately panicked. Although he wasn't very smart, he knew that these people wanted Zhou Chu to be reinstated because they were targeting him. If Zhou Chu were to be reinstated, he would probably be the first person to be dealt with.

Although Chen Wanyan felt he had nothing to fear with the emperor's backing, he didn't want Zhou Chu to cause him any trouble. Wasn't the situation good now? Although he couldn't say he had absolute power, with the emperor's support, his word was law.

In the past two days, the number of people queuing up to give gifts outside the Chen residence has not decreased, but rather increased.

Chen Wanyan accepted all offers without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, I believe the Grand Secretary's words are inappropriate. Your Majesty's words are law, and you have instructed Commander Zhou to rest. Yet the Grand Secretary has said such a thing, which clearly shows that you do not take Your Majesty's words seriously."

Chen Wanyan couldn't think of any good rebuttal, so he could only say this.

This was an idea suggested by his own officials; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to come up with it.

"This matter will be discussed later."

Emperor Jiajing did not directly refuse, but only said that they would discuss it further.

"Gentlemen, let's set aside the matter of weighing instruments for now and talk about lifting the sea ban. I brought it up once half a year ago, and you said that the Japanese pirates had not been quelled. Now, looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, the Japanese pirates have been completely wiped out. Does anyone still have any objections to opening the sea?"

The timing of Jiajing's proposal to open the seas was very clever. By proposing to open the seas at this time, he was threatening Yang Yiqing and others: if you do not agree, I will not restore Zhou Hengqi.

Of course, Jiajing knew they had no reason to object. Whether it was the Jiangnan Group or others, they all wanted the sea to open as soon as possible, as smugglers from Jiangnan hadn't been able to go to sea for more than half a year.

Originally, without Annam's access to the sea, they could still occasionally sail out to sea through the Ming Dynasty's docks, simply by paying money to pave the way. However, Jiajing Emperor directly replaced all the customs officials and had only one requirement for the newly appointed officials: they must not allow any smuggling ships to go out to sea, otherwise their families would be confiscated and their clans exterminated.

As a result, it became even more difficult for smugglers in Jiangnan to go to sea. At this time, they hoped more than anyone else that the imperial court would open up the sea routes, since they knew the huge profits at sea.

"I also believe it is time to open the seas."

Yang Yiqing echoed.

"I believe that our Great Ming should open up the seas and spread its power to the four seas."

"I also believe it is time to open the seas."

. . . . . .

With someone taking the lead, almost all the officials agreed to open the sea route. Only a very small number of people opposed it. These were mostly old-fashioned stubborn people who didn't know their place. However, Jiajing Emperor wasn't intolerant of these people, as they had their own roles in the court.

"Since there are no objections, announce the decree: effective immediately, the Ming Dynasty lifts the maritime ban, and all merchants are allowed to go to sea to trade. However, those who wish to go to sea to trade must first register. Forty percent of the profits earned at sea will be taxed. Anyone found to have evaded taxes will have all their property confiscated and will be prohibited from going to sea."

Jiajing then spoke the words he had prepared beforehand.

"Your Majesty, this 40% tax rate is probably too high. It is not advisable to compete with the people for profit."

No sooner had Jiajing finished speaking than an official from one of the Six Ministries stepped forward, adopting the demeanor of a loyal minister.