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

Chapter 906 Pressing forward step by step

A 77-year-old man knelt in front of him, anxiously explaining to him the disadvantages of doing this and begging him to take back his decision.

It would be fine if it was someone else, but Zhu Shenzhui's ability to reach this point today is not only due to his vision, ability and long-term planning that transcends the times, but also due to his firm determination. Zhu Shenzhui is not a soft-hearted person. When he was still a teenager, he took a knife and led people to engage in the beheading business of smuggling salt. In these years, countless people have died directly or indirectly at his hands. On weekdays, Zhu Shenzhui is as kind as spring breeze, but once he makes up his mind, even Xu Jingqiu can't persuade him to change his mind. He will definitely accomplish what he wants to do, no matter how great the resistance is.

But the problem was that the person kneeling in front of him was Sun Chengzong. Zhu Shenzhui had always respected this old minister. In his opinion, Sun Chengzong was an unparalleled national talent. If there was anyone in the history of the late Ming Dynasty who could be called a true pillar of the country, then there was no other person except Sun Chengzong.

Sun Chuanting was both a civil and military talent, and so was Lu Xiangsheng. In history, the two of them were known as the two pillars of the late Ming empire. According to the course of history, Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng died in battle one after another, and there was no possibility of recovery for the Ming Dynasty. From this point of view, we can see how important they were to the Ming Dynasty.

But in Zhu Shenzhui's view, no matter how good Sun Chuanting or Lu Xiangsheng were, they were still not as good as Sun Chengzong. This old minister not only devoted himself to the Ming Dynasty, but also led his family to fight against foreign enemies in danger when he was too old and could have stayed away. After being captured, he could have survived with his status, but he cursed the enemy chief and wanted to die. Such a loyal minister is rare, and he has left a good name for all ages.

Therefore, Zhu Shenzhu always respected Sun Chengzong and entrusted him with the important task of teaching the crown prince and the King of Song. Now Sun Chengzong, with white hair, was kneeling in front of him tremblingly. Zhu Shenzhu felt bad when he saw this. He sighed lightly, stepped forward to help Sun Chengzong up, and took his hand to sit down.

"Sir, I understand what you said. In fact, I don't want to do this, but you also know that the Ming Dynasty cannot continue like this. Jiangnan is the rich land of the Ming Dynasty and the main source of national tax revenue. You have served in the central government and governed Liaodong. You should know the fundamental problems of the Ming Dynasty. If we sit back and watch the south like this, can you judge what the future of the Ming Dynasty will be? If it continues like this, the country will no longer be a country. Will the Ming Dynasty still be the Ming Dynasty?"

Sun Chengzong was speechless. What Zhu Shenzhu was worried about was also a reality. Not to mention anything else, the financial problem of the Ming Dynasty alone was a big problem.

As a former Grand Secretary and Governor of Ji-Liao, Sun Chengzong knew the situation in the Ming Dynasty too well. The court's taxation had been abnormal since the middle of the Wanli period. Jiangnan, as the richest place in the Ming Dynasty, should have paid the most taxes. However, by the end of the Wanli period, Jiangnan's taxes were decreasing year by year. How could Sun Chengzong not know the reason?

This problem is closely related to the rise of the Donglin Party. It was because of the Donglin Party that they colluded with local gentry, wantonly annexed land, concealed income, evaded taxes, increased taxes, and openly and secretly opposed the court. It was also because of this that Wei Zhongxian was particularly ruthless in Jiangnan after he came to power. He took the opportunity to suppress the Donglin Party and severely tossed the gentry in Jiangnan, causing them to suffer heavy losses. This maintained the financial collapse of the Ming Dynasty and met the money and food needs of the Liaodong war.

But all this changed after Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne. The Donglin Party once again took control of the government and tricked Emperor Chongzhen into abandoning the policy of taxation in Jiangnan. In addition, they deliberately came up with various ways to transfer the taxes that originally belonged to Jiangnan to other provinces and the people. Coupled with the so-called abolition of the post stations and the levy of Liao salary, etc., they eventually forced the world into chaos and rebellion.

The emergence of these situations was fundamentally due to the Donglin Party and the local gentry in Jiangnan. Of course, other parties cannot escape responsibility, but compared with the Donglin Party, the other parties did not go as far as they should, and their collusion with the local governments was not as close. Sun Chengzong was well aware of this.

Although the Ming Dynasty's finances have improved, this so-called improvement is based on Zhu Shenzhu's trade with Mongolia and the opening of Shandong to the sea. In other words, the Ming Dynasty's finances in the past few years were completely supported by Zhu Shenzhu's means. At the same time, due to natural disasters and man-made disasters, the court reduced taxes on the northwestern provinces to allow them to recuperate.

But the price Zhu Shenzhu paid was also huge. At present, the normal income of the Ming Dynasty is less than half, and most of the rest is obtained by Zhu Shenzhu. Even if it can be barely supported at present, it still cannot completely change the financial problems of the Ming Dynasty. In the case that the situation in Jiangnan is not resolved, the Ming Dynasty’s finances can only be continuously transfused by Zhu Shenzhu, but there is no way to completely solve it.

In view of these circumstances, it is understandable that Zhu Shenzhu wanted to attack Jiangnan, including the Donglin Party. After all, an emperor cannot even control his own country. Officials and local governments are colluding, and local governments are secretly disobeying the central government. Taxes from the richest places cannot be collected. The emperor has no money and cannot control the local governments. What is the point of being an emperor? Is this still the world of the Zhu family?

But Sun Chengzong's worries were real. He was afraid that if Zhu Shenzhui did this, it would cause a huge change. The world had just stabilized. If the north and the south were to split or even a civil war because of this incident, the Ming Dynasty would be in danger!

"Your Majesty, I know your difficulties and I understand your intention to do this. But I have something to say."

"Sir, please speak frankly if you have anything to say."

"Your Majesty, I just said that the Donglin Party is only a school of thought and not a real party. At present, there are indeed some people in the Donglin Party who are incompetent and harm the country for their own interests. But we cannot deny that there are officials, students and even gentry in the Donglin Party who serve the country and the people. Your Majesty wants to touch the Donglin faction, I can understand, but if you want to deal with all Donglin officials including southern gentry for this matter, I think it is a bit too much." "With your Majesty's ability, you should know the difference. This world belongs to the Ming Dynasty, and your Majesty is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Whether officials or civilians, they are all your Majesty's subjects! If someone harms the country, he should be dealt with according to the law. This is the right way. Once your Majesty launches a large-scale prison incident or even uses weapons to deal with it, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"The Ming Dynasty has not recovered its vitality yet, and there are powerful enemies outside. Your Majesty has only been on the throne for a short time, and the foundation is not stable, so you can't take such risks. If Your Majesty can show some leniency, I am willing to sell my face and go to Jiangnan in person to clean up the place. When the time comes, those parasites will be dealt with as they should be dealt with, but innocent people cannot be dealt with because of a few people!"

"Innocent? Haha, how can the Donglin Party be innocent in what they have done over the years? Sir, you said that there are officials in the Donglin Party who serve the country and the people. In my opinion, there are only a few of them. How many people are there besides you?"

Sun Chengzong felt bitter. Zhu Shenzui seemed determined to move the Donglin Party and to solve the Jiangnan problem at one stroke. Thinking of the consequences of doing so, Sun Chengzong became extremely anxious. He was worried about the Ming Dynasty and the other Donglin Party members who were implicated by some scum. If this happened, it would not only be unjust, but would also lead to great changes in the country.

As an old minister, Sun Chengzong was absolutely unwilling to see such a situation happen, so he continued to persuade Zhu Shenzhui and explained the pros and cons to him, hoping that Zhu Shenzhui could give up this idea. Even if it was only aimed at certain people, dealing with a few people was always better than doing it on a large scale.

Under Sun Chengzong's constant persuasion, Zhu Shencui finally relaxed, which gave Sun Chengzong hope. He once again stated that as long as Zhu Shencui did not launch an all-out attack on the Donglin Party, launch a large-scale prison incident, or even resort to force to resolve the issue, he would definitely cooperate with the court and contact some people within the Donglin Party to help the court deal with the Jiangnan issue.

Zhu Shenzhui frowned and thought for a while, then nodded slightly: "If anyone else said this, I would naturally not agree, but you are different. If there is anyone in the world that I can truly trust, you must be one of them. Since you said so, I will let you off the hook and leave this matter to you. But I want to ask you, how should you do it?"

Sun Chengzong replied, "I will go to Jiangnan in person. As an old minister, I should be able to suppress those people in Jiangnan. Your Majesty can send the Jinyiwei to accompany me. I can also send a letter to the eunuchs guarding Nanjing, the Duke of Wei, and the Nanjing Military Department. At the same time, I can send a decree to the local guards to cooperate. In this way, I will be more confident that I can solve the Jiangnan problem for Your Majesty and bring Jiangnan back under the control of the central government."

"Haha, what you said sounds good, but it is difficult to do it." Zhu Shenzhui shook his head slightly, stood up and said, "Jiangnan has been away from the court for a long time. Although you are highly respected, you have been away from the center for some time. Moreover, you are old, and it is more than a thousand miles from the capital to Jiangnan. In addition, this matter is very serious. It's not that I don't trust you, but I am worried that you will be of no use if you go there, and it will be even more difficult to do it."

"Your Majesty!" Sun Chengzong stood up and saluted Zhu Shenzhui solemnly: "Although Lian Po is old, he can still fight in the battlefield. I am the same. For the Ming Dynasty and the world, I don't care if I sacrifice my life. As long as Your Majesty agrees, I will do my best to do this for Your Majesty. If I can't do it, I am willing to be punished by Your Majesty!"

"This..." Zhu Shenzhu hesitated, thought for a moment and then sighed. He looked at Sun Chengzong with complicated eyes and nodded silently.

"Sir, you are so kind, I am grateful to you. Since you are so kind, I cannot but listen to your advice. I will follow your advice on this matter..."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Sun Chengzong was overjoyed, and felt relieved that he had finally convinced Zhu Shenzhui, which made him feel relieved.

But before he could finish his words, Zhu Shenzhui continued, "But I can't bear to see you go to Jiangnan and be tired. I am also worried about your safety..."

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I am in good health. As for my safety, I have the Imperial Guards by my side. I am also from the Donglin clan. I am going to Jiangnan as an old minister..."

Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand to interrupt Sun Chengzong's words and shook his head, saying, "There are some things you don't know yet. I didn't want to tell you, but after thinking about it, I decided to tell you the truth."

As he said this, Zhu Shenzhui walked to the side, took out a few things from under the desk and handed them to Sun Chengzong for him to look at. Sun Chengzong took them with a puzzled look and found that they were a memorial and several booklets. He was curious and opened the memorial to read it first. After reading only two lines, his eyes widened in disbelief.

(End of this chapter)