Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 892 Reality
"Deserve to be killed! They all deserve to be killed!"

When he thought of such a huge amount of loss, Zhu Shenzhu's heart was burning with anger, and the past ten years could be said to be the worst ten years for the Ming Dynasty. Because of Emperor Chongzhen and the selfish interests of these people, the court lost so much income, and the heavy burden was put on the people, leading to domestic rebellions and local people's livelihood. The war in Liaodong was unfavorable one after another, and the country was almost on the point of complete collapse.

These situations are simply shocking, and this is just in Jiangnan. There is no guarantee that similar situations have occurred in other provinces. If a comprehensive investigation is carried out, how much loss will the Ming Dynasty suffer in a year? Zhu Shenzhu simply cannot imagine it.

Did the Ming Dynasty have no money? This is totally wrong. The Ming Dynasty was very rich, but all the money fell into the hands of these vested interests, while the court was very poor. Zhu Shenzhu is still worried about money until now, otherwise he would not have done business with the Mongolian tribes on the border and opened sea trade in Shandong, trying every means to get silver to subsidize the court.

These parasites in the country all deserved to die. Zhu Shenzhu deeply understood why Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang would always raise his butcher knife and either skin people and stuff them with straw or just kill them.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang certainly did this with the intention of eliminating unstable factors and consolidating the continuation of imperial power, it cannot be denied that Zhu Yuanzhang hated corrupt officials immensely. If Zhu Shenzhui were Zhu Yuanzhang, he might have taken the same action, making a big fuss about the case, beheading all these bastards, and venting his anger.

Unfortunately, Zhu Shenzhui was not Zhu Yuanzhang. He did not have Zhu Yuanzhang's strong suppression and influence, and the current Ming Dynasty was not the Ming Dynasty at the founding of the country. The civil officials and gentry groups were deeply rooted, and the nobles had long been broken and could not be reused. As for the army, it was not completely under Zhu Shenzhui's control, not to mention the current situation that the Wei was corrupt and had colluded with the local governments.

Zhu Shenzhui had no ability to do the same as Zhu Yuanzhang. Once he did that, the Ming Dynasty would surely be in chaos. Moreover, although his ascension to the throne seemed to be legally sound, in fact, everyone in the world knew that Zhu Shenzhui did not become emperor legitimately. Otherwise, the southern part of the Ming Dynasty would not be like it is now, with people secretly opposing him.

Even Zhang Xijun encountered many obstacles in Jiangnan, some of which even came from the people. Take the Niutou Mountain Mine for example. Although the mining of Niutou Mountain was done without the knowledge of the imperial court, those people were sucking blood and flesh from the Ming Dynasty to enrich themselves. However, the mining of Niutou Mountain also brought some benefits to the local area, including the people in Lou Laoer's hometown.

Zhejiang is an area with many mountains and little land, and it is difficult for ordinary people to support themselves by farming alone. Therefore, in addition to farming, Zhejiang people also make some handicraft products, or grow mulberry trees and raise silkworms to supplement their family income. There are even many people who go on business to earn money to support their families.

But even so, most people still just get by, and once they encounter natural disasters or man-made disasters, it is very difficult for ordinary people to survive. In this case, because mining allows these people to earn an income by working hard, this is what they want. Once the mine is closed, their income will be cut off, which is not a good thing for them.

Zhang Xijun told Zhu Shenzhu that he had discovered many similar situations during the investigation, and even the elders in Lou Laoer's hometown were inclined to the mine owners. These people had no regard for the court, let alone the national justice, and they only cared about their own survival. After he arrived in Zhejiang, he met with Lou Laoer privately, and Lou Laoer also expressed helplessness because he had also tried to testify with the villagers, but the villagers' reactions protected the mine owners. No one was willing to come out as a witness, let alone correct the mine owners.

Lou Lao Er did not dare to force them, he just tried it out and did not continue after realizing that something was wrong, because he was worried that if he pushed them too hard, their true intentions would be revealed and someone might even go to the mine owner and report them, which would backfire.

No wonder these civil servants and gentry during the Wanli period were able to stir up local forces, causing the people to oppose the court, causing riots and even killing officials (mine supervisors, tax supervisors). This was the reason.

The people's thoughts were simple. In their opinion, if the mines were closed, they would lose their source of income, and without these incomes, they would not be able to survive. Since you don't want us to live, how can we endure it? Moreover, Yiwu is a place with a tough character. Once the matter gets serious, as long as someone raises his arm, a large group of people can be gathered. By then, even the army will be difficult to suppress.

Jiangnan is a land of taxation and must not be in chaos. Once Jiangnan is in chaos, it will take Ming Dynasty decades to recover. Moreover, Huang Taiji in Liaodong is still eyeing it covetously.

Although these were all bad news, there was also some good news. The secret memorial sent by Zhang Xijun this time mentioned a piece of good news, which was that he finally found a way to win over the Duke of Wei's Mansion.

The first thing Zhang Xijun did when he arrived in Nanjing was to visit Xu Hongji, Duke of Wei, in order to bring this top noble of the Ming Dynasty, who was stationed in Nanjing, to his side. Although Duke of Wei had long since left the core of the Ming Dynasty, as one of the six founding dukes, he was still a top noble of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, since the Ming Dynasty court moved from Nanjing to Beijing, and then Beijing was designated as the capital, Nanjing became the capital, and Duke of Wei's mansion remained in Nanjing, guarding Jiangnan for the court in the name of Nanjing garrison.

For more than two hundred years, the lineage of the Duke of Wei has lived in Nanjing, and several of the Duke of Wei have served as the garrison of Nanjing. The current Duke of Wei, Xu Hongji, is the garrison of Nanjing. Although his position is not high, it is extremely important. In addition to being the garrison of Nanjing, the Duke of Wei also has the right to control the Nanjing guards. Even if this right has never been actually used, the authority still exists.

Zhang Xijun's intention to win over Duke Wei was simple. It was because of Duke Wei's status and power that once the Jiangnan incident was revealed, it would inevitably cause a shock. In addition, the officials and gentry groups in Jiangnan were deeply rooted and had long formed a huge interest group, which would inevitably cause various problems.

In this situation, if there is no military power and the army cannot be mobilized to suppress the rebellion, the consequences will be disastrous. Moreover, the officials and gentry groups in Jiangnan have always been very bold and dare to do anything for the sake of profit. It is possible that they will instigate civil unrest, directly attack the government offices, or even beat court officials to death.

A similar situation occurred during the Wanli period. Many of the mine supervisors and tax collectors sent to local areas by Emperor Wanli were killed by "rioters". Apart from Emperor Wanli, similar situations also occurred in previous dynasties, but they were not as serious. In the end, the mine supervisors and tax collectors disturbed the people, oppressed the local areas and provoked civil unrest. The local officials found a few unlucky guys as scapegoats, while the mine supervisors, tax collectors and dispatched officials who were beaten to death lost their lives in vain.

Once Zhang Xijun lifted the lid, it would inevitably cause turmoil. If these people took risks to cover up their crimes, Zhang Xijun might even be killed by them.

Zhang Xijun always planned before taking action and acted extremely cautiously. He had thought of this possibility a long time ago. Although he was protected by the Jinyiwei, these Jinyiwei would not be of much use once the matter got out of hand. In addition, this matter involved many people, so he had to find an ally who could ensure his safety and who he could also win over and use. In this way, the Duke of Wei became his best choice.

Duke of Wei Xu Hongji was, after all, a nobleman of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, according to investigations, the Duke of Wei's Mansion had no connection with local officials, including the gentry group. Xu Hongji had always been cautious. In order to avoid suspicion from the court, he never dealt with outsiders. He usually kept himself clean and never got involved in other matters.

Such a person who has no connection with the local area, is a noble of the Ming Dynasty, and controls the military power. Naturally, he is the most suitable candidate to win over. Moreover, the southern provinces of the Ming Dynasty are now at odds with the central government. The court intends to rectify the south through this matter and completely bring the south under its control. Therefore, Duke Wei is particularly important.

Once Duke Wei Xu Hongji stands on the side of the court and completely submits to Emperor Yongming, the following tasks will be much easier to accomplish. Even if there is chaos in the local area, Xu Hongji can help suppress it, and at the same time ensure the absolute safety of Zhang Xijun and others.

However, it is not so easy to win over Xu Hongji. Although this old guy is old and in poor health, he is a cunning person. When Zhang Xijun visited him, Xu Hongji had clearly guessed Zhang Xijun's intention, but he pretended to be deaf and dumb and ignored him, leaving Zhang Xijun helpless.

But Zhang Xijun was not an ordinary person, and he naturally had ways to deal with Xu Hongji. More importantly, the young master Xu Wenjue was still around. Xu Hongji was in poor health and old, and it seemed that he would not live long. Once he died, the only one who could inherit the title of Duke of Wei would be Xu Wenjue.

The succession of a noble's title required the emperor's approval. You could not inherit the title without the emperor's order. Therefore, if Xu Wenjue wanted to inherit the title, he had to get Zhu Shencui's consent and a formal decree. Once Zhu Shencui refused to let Xu Wenjue inherit the title, he would find someone from the descendants of the Duke of Wei and find a random reason to deny the legitimacy of Xu Wenjue's succession, and the title of the Duke of Wei would fall into the hands of someone else.

This was a result that Xu Hongji and his son absolutely did not want to see. What's more, Zhang Xijun had made friends with Xu Wenjue in private. Xu Wenjue, this dandy boy, was much easier to fool than Xu Hongji. Zhang Xijun quickly convinced Xu Wenjue with his eloquence. In addition, he assured Xu Wenjue that as long as the Duke of Wei stood on the side of the emperor and worked for the court, he would not only be able to ensure Xu Wenjue's title of Duke of Wei, but would also be able to speak well of him in front of the emperor and allow the Duke of Wei's Mansion to return to the court once again, instead of being isolated from the court as it is now. Although it held a high position, it was not even as good as several rising nobles in the capital and was just an insignificant existence.

Because of this, Xu Wenjue was moved and promised Zhang Xijun that he would persuade his father Xu Hongji to follow the court. Therefore, under Xu Wenjue's constant persuasion and Zhang Xijun's efforts, Xu Hongji, who originally planned to stay out of the matter, finally agreed to Zhang Xijun's request, agreed to cooperate with Zhang Xijun's work in Jiangnan, and officially joined Zhu Shenzhui.

(End of this chapter)