I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 246 Winning Twice

Similar scenes to that in Shunde Prefecture occurred in most prefectures and counties in the four northern provinces of the Ming Dynasty. Not all local officials would collude with local powerful families. Many local officials were relatively ethical and capable. Faced with such situations, they chose to suppress local powerful families. Some local powerful families simply did not have the courage to blockade the branches of the Royal Group.

In short, before the Wanshou Festival in the tenth year of Zhengde, the price of salt in the four northern provinces of the Ming Dynasty was directly lowered, and the slogan "The Emperor has paid for us" resounded throughout the four northern provinces.

Of course, not all places were so harmonious. In a few places, ruffians took advantage of this opportunity to cause chaos. Fortunately, they were quickly suppressed by local authorities and the chaos did not expand. However, at this time, there was no basis for another unrest in the northern part of the Ming Dynasty.

The rebellion of Liu Liu and Liu Qi had just ended, and people were feeling at peace. In addition, this time the emperor personally implemented good policies that benefited the people, so after their demands were met, the people would not participate in any riots.

It was precisely because of this situation that Zhu Houxuan dared to formulate such a plan.

The salt merchants group became even more angry at this situation, and they began to have disagreements. Some salt merchants began to back down after hearing the slogans shouted by the people, but some salt merchants believed that what they had done in the past ten days had already offended the Royal Group. Retreating at this time would be a way to death. Only one side between the salt merchants and the Royal Group could survive.

A landmark event gradually allowed the pro-war faction among the salt merchants to gain the upper hand.

On October 26, the tenth year of the Zhengde reign, the Zhengde Emperor celebrated his birthday. Civil and military officials, royal nobles, and envoys from all parties were all present, except for Prince of Jing Zhu Houxuan, who did not attend this important event.

The salt merchants interpreted this as a sign that their offensive over the past ten days had begun to take effect, and that Emperor Zhengde began to feel resentful of Zhu Houxuan, so they launched a more fierce attack after the Wanshou Festival.

They began to impeach the emperor based on recent events, believing that the royal group controlled by Prince of Jing Zhu Houxuan was inciting civil unrest and shaking the Ming Dynasty.

There was no situation in the capital where the people attacked the blockade line, because the nobles did not have the courage to blockade the Royal Group's shops like the local big families. However, the situation in other prefectures and counties in Northern Zhili still frightened many ministers. In their view, the people's initiative to fight for their own rights was a kind of rebellion. They could not stand Zhu Houchun's approach to this matter and joined in the impeachment of Zhu Houchun.

For a while, the whole court was calling for the killing of Zhu Houchun, which was quite similar to the momentum when Liu Jin fell five years ago.

On the morning of November 2, the 62nd Duke Yansheng, Kong Wenshao, submitted a memorial impeaching the royal group for running rampant in the local area and inciting rioters to harm the gentry.

This memorial greatly boosted the morale of the "anti-Jing" army, making their momentum even more powerful.

The Kong family of Qufu was the most powerful family in the area besides the Zhu family. They were especially involved in manipulating the price of salt. They even relied on their family power to become more greedy. As a result, they suffered great losses in this action of the Royal Group, and they hated the Royal Group with a vengeance.

After observing the wind direction in the court and under the instigation of the salt merchants, Kong Wenshao resolutely submitted a memorial to impeach. However, Kong Wenshao was still quite cunning. He impeached the royal group, not Zhu Houxuan, which left some room for maneuver.

However, at this moment of silence, some ministers still stood on the side of the Royal Group. They believed that the Royal Group's reduction of salt prices would benefit the people and supported the Royal Group to do so, but such voices were still too small. Faced with such a situation, Zhu Houzhao still maintained strategic determination and kept all the relevant memorials in his hands.
cabinet.

"Ying Ning, why haven't you left yet?" Yang Tinghe said to Yang Yiqing. Ying Ning is Yang Yiqing's pen name.

"Jiefu, I'm ashamed to say that I've been hiding from people recently and now I don't even dare to go home." Yang Yiqing said with a wry smile and shook his head.

Yang Tinghe was well aware of Yang Yiqing's recent distress. As the chief minister of the cabinet, he was naturally one of the targets of contact by the salt merchants. He also had some contact with the salt merchants, but his involvement was not as deep as that of Yang Yiqing.

The salt merchants have recently been asking Yang Yiqing to criticize and impeach the Royal Group for its recent actions, but Zhu Houzhao, who is familiar with his personality, knows that things are not that simple. He dared not express his opinion on this, but instead advised the salt merchants to make concessions. The two sides were very unhappy.
"Jiefu, you are the Prime Minister, what do you think I should do about this?" Yang Yiqing said with a sigh.

Yang Tinghe hesitated for a moment and decided to say something: "Ying Ning, I can't teach you what to do, but in this world, black is black and white is white. Although white may be temporarily covered in dust and said to be black, in the end white is still white!"

Yang Yiqing was silent. He completely understood the implication of Yang Tinghe's words.

"To be honest, I don't like King Jing either. He has brought a lot of instability to the court, but he has also brought some beneficial changes to the court. The recent incident is one of them!" Yang Tinghe said slowly.

"I have reached this point in my career as an official. I don't want much anymore. I only hope to implement new laws, reform bad policies, revive the Ming Dynasty, and leave a good reputation for myself after my death. I happen to have a memorial here. Please help me take a look at it," Yang Tinghe continued.

Yang Yiqing took the memorial, opened it, and immediately said in surprise: "Jiefu, you..."

"Yes, I have been reforming bad policies, and I don't like the new army created by Prince Jing, but I have to admit that Prince Jing has gone much further than I have in reforming the salt policy. Ten cents a pound of salt, this is the lowest salt price in history. If I can't even support such a good policy, how can I be the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty? How will future history books record this period of history?" Yang Tinghe looked at Yang Yiqing meaningfully.

Yang Yiqing sighed deeply, "I also know that when the people shouted that slogan, King Jing had already won."

"No, the King of Jing won when he announced that a pound of salt would cost ten cents, and that slogan made him win the second time," Yang Tinghe interrupted.

"Yes, King Jing is simply terrifying. When I met him six years ago, I never thought that he could achieve what he has today." Yang Yiqing sighed.

"Yes, although the current situation seems to be very unfavorable to King Jing, the current situation is still firmly under the control of King Jing, and he is still at ease. You see, in this matter, all the vassal kings in the north are silent, and you know his methods." Yang Tinghe also sighed.

(End of this chapter)