Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 234 Drink this cup to the full!
With the Crown Prince's orders, the Governor leading the way, and the deterrence of several teams of fierce soldiers, there will be no problem in stabilizing the old, weak and disabled soldiers stationed in Guangzhou.

But when Gu Yuanjing confidently summoned the representatives of the gentry and wealthy families to the governor's office, he unexpectedly encountered some difficulties.

"Sir, how dare we, the humble people, challenge the prince's majesty? Guangzhou is located in a remote area, and it is difficult to see a real dragon, so I would like to ask you to report it on my behalf."

Although Gu Yuanjing had been sidelined by Ding Kuichu, he was still the top administrator of Guangdong after all. So in his opinion, as long as he could successfully stabilize the Guangzhou garrison, the remaining gentry and wealthy families could be dealt with by simply spreading the word that "Your Highness is here for the rebel King Jingjiang."

This is not because Gu Yuanjing underestimated the gentry and the wealthy families. As an official from Zhejiang, he knew very well how powerful the local forces were.

When the Ming Dynasty was still peaceful and stable, local people dared to resist taxes and kill officials. In the current situation, no matter who is in power, the first priority should be to gain local support.

Precisely because of his clear understanding of the weakness of imperial power and the strength of local forces, Gu Yuanjing was certain that this change would not have any impact on the local aristocratic families in Guangzhou, so he determined that he could stabilize the local families with just one word.

Well. I have to say a few more words here, otherwise you may not be able to truly understand the difficulties of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

During the Ming Dynasty, agricultural tax collection was extremely low. In the later period, due to a series of reasons such as land annexation, the amount of land available to pay taxes to the court became less and less.

Coupled with reasonable or unreasonable systematic consumption, the financial problems of the Ming Dynasty became increasingly prominent. When there seemed to be little possibility of saving money, the emperors naturally turned their attention to other things.

Salt industry, commerce, and mining.

The salt industry is fine, it has been more than a thousand years since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the salt and iron monopoly, and the imperial courts of all dynasties have systematically integrated with these salt merchants.

The emperors knew they couldn't afford to offend the emperor, so the most they could do was to force the civil service system to give out a little in various ways. Even if this little bit was just like giving alms to a beggar, most of the emperors had to accept it with a pinch of their noses.

Of course, someone like Jiajing who had a certain degree of control over the court could kill a few people to vent his anger, but for the entire system, no real changes could be made.

The rest is commerce and mining.

Since the opening of the port during the Longqing reign, these two industries have developed rapidly, and the emperors naturally coveted the profits.

But when they just touched this area, they were immediately attacked by the civil service system and local gentry.

For example, the case of the murder of Yang Rong, the eunuch who collected mining taxes, during the Wanli period.

It is said that during his time in Yunnan, Yang Rong not only abused his power to open mines and levy taxes at will, but also "beat thousands of people to death" and "stirred up chaos on the border", which really caused public outrage.

During the seven years he was in office, there were several civil uprisings. Until January 11, 34th year of the Wanli reign, he commanded He Shixun and Han Daguang to lead tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians to rush into Yang Rong's mansion and kill this evil eunuch and more than 200 of his subordinates.

When the news reached Beijing, Wanli was naturally furious, but the civil servants in this section had long since disregarded the imperial power. Although he, the emperor, had been struggling for a long time, in the end, let alone punishing the culprit, he could not even do anything to those who had actually taken action.

Of course, as the emperor, Wanli could not hold back his temper. In order to express his anger towards the civil service group and local families, he went on a hunger strike for several days, which scared those people!

Hmm! A big jump!

There are many similar incidents, and they basically follow the same pattern: the eunuchs sent by the emperor cause trouble to the local area, and the people, unable to bear it any longer, rise up in resistance under the leadership of local officials.

However, places like Yunnan, which are more remote, are relatively restrained and will spend some time fabricating charges.

But in the Jiangnan area, people started with three words: "no taxes". After all the fighting, the result was only the death of some eunuchs and the emperor getting angry.

Even if local officials and wealthy families eventually put forward a few people to resist, it would be impossible to collect the tax, and the real mastermind behind the scenes would never be punished at all.

At this point someone may ask: Is it impossible that it is really the eunuchs who are causing trouble?
People are naturally good and bad, and the eunuchs sent to local areas will act recklessly if they are not supervised.

But if you think about it carefully, even if this tax collector really has evil intentions and is harming the local area, the ones who should suffer are the big mine owners, local big families and officials. How can he have anything to do with the real people?

Could it be that the people coming out of the palace are so short-sighted that they would leave the local wealthy families with mountains of gold and silver alone and instead harm the common people who may not even have enough food to eat?

After all, the so-called civil uprising was nothing more than a sword used by the vested interest groups to cut off the emperor's claws. As for how it was provoked, it doesn't matter at all.

Let’s put aside the idle talk for now.

When Gu Yuanjing saw the heads of various families in Guangzhou city appearing together in his yamen, he was indeed a little embarrassed.

If these people just wanted to get close to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, then he would just introduce them.

But he knew very well that those people in Guangzhou who made their fortunes through maritime trade were different from the traditional aristocratic families in Jiangnan and other places. Without sufficient benefits, they would not be interested even if a real emperor came, let alone a prince.

Now this group of people came to ask for an audience in such an attitude. One can tell what they are planning just by thinking with one's heels.

Under such circumstances, how could Gu Yuanjing dare to agree easily?

But is it really up to him to decide whether to meet or not?

"Master Fantai, although you said that Your Highness came only for the Jingjiang Rebel King, but there was no notice to reassure the people, and Your Highness did not personally agree. The families in the city still did not do so."

Seeing Gu Yuanjing's doubtful expression, the representatives of each family continued to speak, and after hearing this, Gu Yuanjing immediately opened his mouth and scolded: "Are you threatening me?!"

"Your Excellency, please understand. How dare we, the common people, threaten you? I feel uneasy if I don't see you, Your Highness."

What happens if you are not down-to-earth?

If the common people are uneasy, they can only lock their doors and shiver in their rooms. But if the big families can stir up uneasy feelings among millions of people in an instant, there is no doubt that Guangzhou will be in chaos again.

In fact, Gu Yuanjing knew that these were just excuses used to force himself. When their own interests were not really affected, these big families would be even more stable than the ordinary people like quails.

But he didn't dare to gamble.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's small court has just been established. It is the time for a man of insight like me to display his talents. If some trouble really happens in the city because of this, then wouldn't this opportunity that fell from the sky be missed in vain?
With this in mind, Gu Yuanjing hesitated for a moment and used some words to show that he was not afraid of their coercion, but he finally went to the prefectural government office.

"Oh? Do you know why they want to see me?"

When Gu Yuanjing reported the news that the city's gentry and elders wanted to see him, Zhu Cilang was a little surprised. Although he was not very familiar with the court etiquette, no matter how he thought about it, these big families were just waiting to be summoned, how could they have the qualifications to actively ask for an audience?

Something isn't quite right.

Although he had some guesses in his mind, Zhu Cilang did not show it at all. He just waited for Gu Yuanjing's answer with a little curiosity.

"Your Highness, since the establishment of Xiangshan County in the Song Dynasty, Guangdong has been a remote and desolate place. In the past thousand years, has there ever been a true dragon like you descending? So."

At this point, Gu Yuanjing paused for a moment, and when he saw that the Crown Prince looked normal, he was about to continue. But who would have thought that before he could even open his mouth, he heard the Crown Prince directly say, "Did you mention in your family letter that I don't like officials to deceive me?"

"Your Highness, please forgive me! Your Highness, please forgive me! Although those gentry and elders used this as an excuse, I think they want to see you for other reasons."

Gu Yuanjing attached great importance to this unexpected opportunity. When he heard what the Crown Prince said, he immediately knelt on the ground. However, after he explained, Zhu Cilang did not immediately express any opinions. Instead, he walked in front of him and slowly said, "Gu Qing, you are someone I will use greatly. Don't let these trivial matters cause suspicion between you and me."

"Your Highness, it is only because I am a fool."

When your boss tells you the "truth", Gu Yuanjing's expression of gratitude and regret is probably the correct answer.

Honestly speaking, if an ordinary person were here, I think he would not have an appropriate reaction other than being embarrassed by Gu Yuanjing's slightly exaggerated performance.

But Zhu Cilang was no mediocre person. He supported Gu Fantai before he finished his trick and said with some emotion: "Mr. Gu, the country has come to this point. The Ming Dynasty depends on loyal ministers like you."

There is not much to say about what happened afterwards. In short, the two of them acted like a king and his subject, and they seemed to have endless things to talk about. If it weren't for the group of local gentry and elders who were still waiting for news, who knows if they would have ended up sleeping with their feet touching each other again.

At night, the local wealthy families prepared a sumptuous banquet at the governor's office, and Zhu Cilang appeared at the gate of the office leisurely after everyone had arrived.

"Your humble servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who is the Regent!"

"I pay my respects to His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, the Regent!"

Following the appearance of that bright yellow figure, everyone in the governor's office immediately bowed down in worship.

"Stand up, this evening I am here to have fun with the people of Guangzhou, but there is no need to go through so much red tape."

As he spoke, Zhu Cilang walked across the courtyard towards the lobby.

There are quite a lot of people coming tonight, and the small lobby cannot accommodate them all, so many tables have been set up in the courtyard.

However, Zhu Cilang had condescended to attend tonight's banquet, and according to the regulations, even those in the lobby were not qualified to dine with him. So when he passed by those who were kneeling in the courtyard, he just nodded reservedly, but did not do anything overly intimate.

"I, the former Minister of Rites, Chen Zizhuang, pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Regent."

"I, the former Minister of Rites, He Wuzuo, pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Regent."

"Your Highness, the former Minister of Rites Huang Jin, pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who is the Regent."

After entering the lobby, the group of people who were waiting at the door introduced themselves again.

At this point, Zhu Cilang suddenly realized that he had already met four Ministers of Rites.

"Oh? But I wonder when the three elders took office?"

After hearing what Zhu Cilang said, the three looked at each other and the oldest one spoke first: "Your Highness, this old minister, He Wuzuo, was appointed by the late emperor in the fifth year of Chongzhen. When he was given the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, he had seen Your Highness in the palace."

When Zhu Cilang heard the word "met", his heart skipped a beat. After careful calculation, he found that "himself" in the fifth year of Chongzhen was only three or four years old. Then he smiled and said a few words to He Wuzuo.

"Your Highness, I am Huang Jin, the old minister. This Minister of Rites has been in Nanjing for fourteen years."

"Your Highness, I am an old minister, Chen Zizhuang, who was appointed by Emperor Hongguang after the court moved south."

After the three people introduced themselves, Zhu Cilang roughly understood the situation. However, he was not at all impressed by the first two people. But after hearing the name Chen Zizhuang, he inexplicably felt somewhat familiar.

What he didn't know was that, for some reasons, although there were many people who died for their country or worked hard to restore the Ming Dynasty at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the ones who were widely known were actually only a few of them, headed by Shi Kefa.

Take these three ministers of rites for example. He Wuzuo was actually dismissed from office in the seventh year of Chongzhen. Although his official title was not revoked, he could still live out his life in peace and comfort if he stayed in his hometown.

However, after the Qing army moved south, he resolutely gave up his stable life and, despite the advice of others, became the chief minister of Longwu at the age of nearly seventy.

He subsequently ran around in vain to turn the tide and was slandered several times. In the end, he resigned from his post due to illness after being impeached by Ding Kuichu and others, and died of depression soon after.

Another example is Huang Jin, who declined the opportunity to serve as the chief minister three times and also asked to return home in the 12th year of Chongzhen. However, after the Qing army marched south, he also resolutely entered the Longwu Dynasty as an official at an advanced age.

However, the small court at that time still had no ambition to make progress, and a group of court officials continued to intrigue and attack each other.

Feeling disheartened and powerless, Huang Jin finally resigned and returned home.

But this was not his ending. After the Qing army occupied Guangdong, he learned that Chaozhou General Hao Shangjiu had anti-Qing plans, so he spent all his family wealth to support the military.

Afterwards, Hao Shangjiu was defeated, and Huang Jin fled and hid in a cave in Shi'an Mountain, 12 kilometers away from the city, where he ended his life.

Although these two people were not like those in Zhu Cilang's court who eventually died for their country, they had fought and tried their best. Even if they were unlucky in the end and the trend was difficult to go against, they could be said to have a clear conscience compared to some who surrendered directly.

As for the other one.
Although the Three Loyal Men of Lingnan are not as famous as Shi and Wen, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the heroes in the southeast represented by Chen Zizhuang still dealt a heavy blow to the Qing court.

However, the Southern Ming Dynasty was beyond saving by then, and Chen Zizhuang was eventually defeated and captured, and was brutally sawed to death after refusing to surrender.

"Today I am very happy to see that the three elders are in good health. I will drink this cup to the full!"

Originally, there would be more plot in this chapter, but as I was writing, I felt that I should give a more detailed introduction to these elders, so.
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(End of this chapter)