Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 303: A Society Ruled by Man
Seeing these young thugs pinning down and beating the farmers who came into the town to sell goods, Zhu Houzhao could not just stand by and watch. After all, he was not an ordinary citizen and did not need to be powerless because of his weakness.

Because these thugs were beating the farmer right in front of Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao did not let Guo Rong speak to dissuade them, but directly ordered: "Stop!"

These young thugs stopped beating the farmer who was selling goods. They just turned around and looked at Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao was not afraid of these young men. In the eyes of the common people, these young men might be local tyrants, bullies, and people who should not be provoked. But in Zhu Houzhao's eyes, they were not even a threat.

But when these young men saw that Zhu Houzhao was dressed in fancy clothes, they did not attack him as they did the farmers. Only one of the leaders stepped forward and threatened him verbally:
"This guest has a Beijing accent. This must be the first time for this merchant to come from Beijing. He is not familiar with the rules of our Nanxun Town. I would like to give you a piece of advice. It is better for you not to meddle in some trivial matters. This farmer who broke the rules should be punished!"

Zhu Houzhao thought to himself that he was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Within the Ming Dynasty's ruling area, he was the only emperor who had the power to make rules. He had made many rules, but it seemed that he had not made any rules to prevent people from buying and selling.

then.

Zhu Houzhao then asked: "May I ask, what rules did he break?"

"Of course this is the rule of our pawnshop. All transactions must go through the various branches of our pawnshop. It seems that this merchant is visiting Nanxun Town for the first time. If he wants to stay in a hotel, he must first find a store. If he wants to buy raw silk and cotton yarn, he naturally has to find a cloth shop first. This is the rule of our Nanxun Town."

The leader of the gang continued to order, "Hit me!"

So, the other young men continued fighting.

This farmer seemed to be a weak man. He just held his head and begged for mercy, not daring to resist.

"Wait!"

Zhu Houzhao shouted again at this time, and then ordered: "The rules you just made are not really rules. The Constitution Outline stipulates that only the emperor has the power to legislate, that is, the power to make rules. Your so-called rules are naturally invalid. No matter farmers or merchants, they do not need to abide by them. As for your beatings, it is a violation of the laws of our Ming Dynasty! You are committing a crime!"

The young man in the lead stopped and couldn't help laughing: "It seems that the guest is not a merchant, but an official?"

"Of course not. You don't need to ask about our identities. You are not qualified to ask," Zhu Houzhao said and winked at Jinyiwei Guo Rong. Guo Rong understood and ordered the beaten farmer to be helped up.

At this time, the young man in the lead also laughed: "Since you are not an official, why do you meddle in other people's business? Of course, even if you are an official, you cannot break the rules when you come to Nanxun Town. What constitutional outline, what emperor? Sir, are you kidding me? Who is the emperor? How can he meddle in Nanxun Town?"

"He, the old emperor, is indeed not a big deal, but at least based on what you said just now, I can take your head, believe it or not," Zhu Houzhao also replied with a smile.

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao spoke so politely, the leading gangster thought that Zhu Houzhao was not a person with a strong background, so he did not have any scruples. But what he did not know was that Zhu Houzhao just did not want to break the law and kill people.

"I believe it, but how can the emperor know what I said? How can you prove what I said?" said the leading young man. He thought that if he was really a man with a background, he would not be so patient to talk to him. Therefore, he thought that Zhu Houzhao was not a person who could not be provoked, so he became more courageous: "I don't have time to argue with you today. Keep fighting. Break one of this guy's legs and see if he dares to come into the town to sell privately!"

After the leading young man finished speaking, several other young men started beating the farmer again.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao winked at Jinyiwei Guo Rong, who understood and kicked the young men who approached the farmer away. The leading young man said, "Oh, you really want to meddle in other people's business and start a fight. Don't think that you are from the capital and dare to act wildly in our Nanxun. Brothers, let them learn a lesson!"

As soon as the leading young man said this, several other young men came over to call out to Zhu Houzhao and others.

But within four or five rounds, they were all knocked to the ground by Guo Rong, screaming in pain.

Seeing that the people brought by Zhu Houzhao were quite skilled, the leader realized that he had met someone with strong fighting ability, so he had to take his people away. However, he still shouted at the end: "If you have the ability, don't leave Nanxun Town in the next few days, otherwise, I will make you die without a burial place!"

Zhu Houzhao ignored these young men and did not take their threats seriously. He only told Guo Rong, "Let the farmer go back home."

But the farmer had only taken a few steps when he suddenly turned back and hugged Zhu Houzhao's feet: "You can't leave, you stepped on my raw silk and cotton yarn, and hit me, you have to compensate me for my capital, which is the capital that my family relies on for their livelihood! Woo woo!"

Zhu Houzhao was stunned for a moment: "I... It's really strange, my brother, if I hadn't helped you just now, those young men would have broken your legs. Not only did you not thank me, you also said that I stepped on your raw silk and cotton yarn, and that my people beat you. You are so heartless!"

"What scoundrel! There is no scoundrel in Nanxun Town! It's you! You, a foreigner, bullied me. I refused to sell to you at a low price, so you stepped on my goods and damaged them. You have to compensate me!"

The farmer didn't dare to look Zhu Houzhao in the eye. He just hugged Zhu Houzhao's feet and cried and yelled desperately.

At this time, a man in a copper-coin robe came over. As soon as he came over, the farmer ran up to him and said, "Mr. Zhai, please help me. These guests, relying on the fact that they are from the capital, want to lower the price to buy my raw silk and cotton yarn. I refused and said that they wanted to sell them to your shop, but they forced me to sell them. When I refused, they beat me and trampled on my raw silk and cotton yarn. My family depends on this job. What should I do? Woo woo!"

The farmer cried very miserably.

However, the people around Zhu Houzhao were extremely angry at this time, because everyone knew that the farmer was obviously lying and trying to turn the tables.

Zhu Houzhao was also very surprised. He always thought that the evil in society existed among the powerful classes. After all, the strong prey on the weak. But now he discovered that the weak also have an evil side and will use their own pity and kindness to achieve their own interests.

People have conscience but also the desire to maximize their interests. Now this farmer obviously saw that I was kind and looked relatively wealthy, and was also a foreigner, so naturally he wanted to frame me and get compensation to reduce the losses caused by being beaten by the pawnbroker after entering the town and having the raw silk and cotton yarn damaged.

This mentality is understandable and seems to be a smart approach.

But Zhu Houzhao was very disgusted with this kind of cleverness, and even extremely angry, even more angry than the ruling class oppressing the ruled class, because these people did not know how serious the consequences and costs of their actions would be. Perhaps only when they are oppressed by the government and the local gentry to the point that no one is willing to stand up for them, will they realize how serious the consequences and costs are.

Zhu Houzhao was very unhappy now. He looked at the farmer who was trying to scam him by hugging his thigh.

The farmer seemed to be aware of Zhu Houzhao's anger and dared not look at him, but he seemed to know that Zhu Houzhao was a good man, someone who would not turn against him just for paying some money. What's more, he had the pawnshop owner Zhai Yuanwai who happened to come over. He believed that Zhai Yuanwai would definitely not want to see a merchant who wanted to force the purchase of goods directly from the farmer.

Mr. Zhai did come over, and he even bowed to Zhu Houzhao in a very graceful manner. "I don't know your name, my name is Mr. Zhai, and I am the owner of the Nanxun Cloth Shop. Since this farmer came to the town to sell goods, it is naturally in accordance with the rules. I just don't know why this merchant took advantage of his power to bully others and robbed them of their livelihood. Although I am a local, I dare not favor local farmers. It is better for this merchant to compensate the farmer for his loss! This way, we won't embarrass each other, and there is no need to report it to the government!"

"My name is Zhang Xia, but I really didn't force the farmer to buy or even damage his goods. I helped him. Otherwise, the farmer would have been beaten all over by those thugs, and his goods would have been completely damaged by them. But the farmer not only didn't thank me, but instead falsely accused me. I'm really sad. If I want to sue him, I'd like to sue him for false accusation!"

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he looked at the farmer again and smiled faintly: "My dear brother, I will give you another chance. You can tell me whether I helped you or not. You must not lose your conscience. If you do, there will be retribution. If all the kind-hearted people in the world are framed by you like this, then no kind-hearted person will stand up for you in the future."

Zhu Houzhao's words really touched the farmer, but he thought that Zhu Houzhao's accent made him look like a foreigner. Even if he falsely accused him, it would not spread to the village, and at most he would only hurt him, a kind-hearted person. What's more, this kind-hearted person looked very rich, so even if he had to pay some compensation, it would not be a big deal, and naturally it would not have any impact. Moreover, this person would not be able to punish me after he leaves Nanxun Town. Although this person wants to sue the officials, the master will naturally not punish himself, a local, because of a foreigner. Moreover, as long as Zhai Yuanwai is willing to help him, he does not have to be afraid of this person suing the officials, because Zhai Yuanwai is the master's student.

So the farmer shook his head and said, "No, that's not the case. There is no such thing as green skin. It was you and the men you brought with you who wanted to buy my goods at a very low price. I refused to sell them to the brokerage firm, so you instigated your men to beat me up and made me kneel down for you. You also trampled on my goods!"

As he spoke, the farmer continued to kowtow to Mr. Zhai and said, "Mr. Zhai, you have to make the decision for me!"

Jinyiwei Guo Rong was eager to reveal his identity when he saw this, but Zhu Houzhao quickly stopped Guo Rong and smiled faintly: "In that case, report to the police."

Seeing Zhu Houzhao's cooperation, Zhai Yuanwai said nothing more, "Since that's the case, report to the authorities. I can't be biased towards anyone, so I'm willing to write a confession for the two of you and present it to you, my Lord!"

"Thank you. When the time comes, ask the county government to bring someone to the restaurant in front to find me!" Zhu Houzhao was about to leave when he found that the farmer was still holding his foot. Zhu Houzhao had no choice but to ask the farmer, "Why, you still won't let go of your hand and insist on waiting for the people from the county government to take me away."

The farmer was obviously more willing to listen to Mr. Zhai, so he looked at him. Mr. Zhai pretended to be angry and said, "Let go! Whether this guest bullied you or you falsely accused him, I will make the decision. Even if this guest bullied you, he can't get away. Don't bully others like this!"

After hearing what Mr. Zhai said, the farmer finally let go of his hand.

Only then was Zhu Houzhao able to withdraw and leave.

"Guo Rong, you really haven't been to the martial arts world, and you really don't know how dangerous it is. In the court, although it is difficult to defend against hidden arrows, at least there are checks and balances, and no one dares to act recklessly. But this rural market is really nakedly relying on power to bully others. What do you think, should I not help that farmer today?"

Frankly speaking, Zhu Houzhao was just a college student in his previous life. The more civilized system of modern times and the level of exposure he had come into contact with made him not have a clear understanding of human nature. Now that he has been on the throne of the Ming Dynasty for a long time and holds great power, it is naturally difficult for him to feel the cruelty of society and the complexity of human nature.

Today's experience taught Zhu Houzhao a good lesson. He discovered that helping the poor and the needy was not as simple as he had imagined. Bullying the weak is certainly despicable, but the weak disregarding morality and pursuing their own interests is also one of the reasons why society lacks warmth and is even cruel and destructive.

"Your Majesty, I have spent some time in the city of Beijing. I know that the people's lives are not easy. Sometimes they do shameless things just to have enough food. It was only later that I was able to read some books because of your Majesty's grace. I know that when you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace, and when your granaries are full, you will know etiquette. This farmer may have done this immoral thing just because he didn't want to lose his goods in vain. It is natural for your Majesty to help him.

It's just that Your Majesty was too kind, which made him think that Your Majesty was easy to bully. If Your Majesty had killed those young men, the farmer would have been grateful to Your Majesty and would not have dared to accuse Your Majesty, because he would know that those who dared to kill these young men with complicated backgrounds must be people who were not simple and should not be provoked. But Your Majesty did not kill these young men, which made the farmer think that Your Majesty was easy to bully. In addition, that Minister Zhai appeared, and in order to recover the loss of his goods that were trampled, he could only accuse Your Majesty!"

Guo Rong replied that as he had worked at the grassroots level of the Beijing Camp, he understood human nature better than Zhu Houzhao, so he answered truthfully.

After staying with Emperor Zhu Houzhao for a long time, Guo Rong also knew that it was important for those in power to abide by the law and not abuse their power. However, he had to admit that it was easy to backfire for His Majesty to kill people without authorization just because he was the emperor, because neither the evildoers nor the ones being helped would think that you just don't want to abuse your power. They would only think that you are afraid and not that strong.

"But those young men only beat me up. Even if I want to sentence them to death, I have to follow the legal trial procedures. If I kill them directly, it would be a betrayal of the laws of the Ming Dynasty. But the funny thing is that in the eyes of the farmer, my doing so actually shows that I dare not kill them and that I am easy to bully! I finally understand why it is so difficult to rule the country according to the law!"

"The people of my Ming Dynasty are really ignorant. They don't know how important it is for them to uphold the dignity of the law and morality. Perhaps one day when they are no longer the people, they will not treat the people as human beings!"

Zhu Houzhao sat back in his chair somewhat frustrated.

Guo Rong could also see the disappointment of the Emperor, but he could not say anything and could only clench his fists. He was very angry, even angrier than Zhu Houzhao, and also helpless. He knew that the Emperor must be extremely disappointed with his people at this moment, and might even turn into a tyrant who no longer cared about the interests of the people, but he did not know how to comfort him. He wanted to force the farmer to admit his mistake and repent to the Emperor, but he knew that even if he did so it would be fake. The farmer was not truly repenting, but was afraid of his power.

At this time, someone from the county government came over and said, "The master has ordered that Zhang Xia and others be brought to court!"

Because there were many people around Zhu Houzhao, the officials in the county government could see that Zhu Houzhao was definitely not a simple commoner, so they did not forcibly take Zhu Houzhao away, but only summoned the county magistrate.

Guo Rong couldn't help but prepare to draw his sword. As long as Zhu Houzhao gave the order, he could kill all those yamen runners right now.

However, Zhu Houzhao did not give any orders, but only whispered: "Come with me to see how the county-level government manages the local area. If you don't get in touch with it in person, you really don't know the secrets here. Those who hide in the dark don't need to reveal their identities. Those of you who follow me in the open, come with me."

Zhu Houzhao stood up first and said, "Please lead the way!"

The yamen runner was so polite to Zhu Houzhao, so naturally he thought, like most people, that those who followed the rules and behaved politely were powerless and cowardly. So he just snorted lightly and led Zhu Houzhao and others to the county government office.

……

At this moment.

Zhai Yuanwai had already come to the Magistrate Mei Zhen and pushed a silver dollar in front of the master, then said to the Magistrate Mei: "Master, today's case is actually not complicated, but since the farmer said that the merchant wanted to buy the raw silk and cotton yarn directly from the farmer, this violated the taboo of Nanxun Town. No matter what, the merchant must be taught a lesson."

"What is the background of this merchant? Have you checked it?" asked the magistrate Mei. Most of the merchants from the capital who could come to Jiangnan for purchases were eunuchs and nobles, so Mei Zhen had to be cautious.

"I have checked and found that he is not from a high-ranking official family, nor is there anyone named Zhang Xia. In addition, there are indeed no important people who have come to Nanxun Town recently. Master, you don't have to worry about anything going wrong. However, Zhang Xia has a lot of servants with him. I'm afraid he is the son of a wealthy businessman. I think he can extort 10,000 or 20,000 silver dollars."

This Mr. Zhai said.

"I already know what's going on. You go down first and focus more on the autumn examination. Don't take charge of litigation matters so easily in the future," said the magistrate Mei Zhen.

Mr. Zhai also hurriedly bowed and said yes.

At that time, the bailiff had come to report: "Master, Zhang Xia and Pei Zhuanghu have been arrested!"

"Open the court for questioning," Mei Zhen gave the order, then changed into his official uniform and walked towards the central hall.

Here, Zhu Houzhao and the farmer were already waiting in the hall.

After a while, Magistrate Mei came out and asked: "Why don't the people in the hall kneel?"

Zhu Houzhao was stunned. He thought to himself, hadn't he issued an imperial decree to ban the common people from kneeling when they saw officials during trial? He had been the emperor for twenty years. It seemed that his imperial decree was in vain. Officials still made common people kneel, and the common people had no idea that kneeling when they were tried was against the rules.

"The Outline of the Constitution stipulates that the people of the Ming Dynasty have no reason to kneel down easily. Although officials govern a region, they cannot treat the people as slaves and trample on their dignity!" Zhu Houzhao said.

Mei Zhen wanted to give Zhu Houzhao a beating and shouted, "If you dare not kneel, you are defying the court. I will beat you!"

As soon as Mei Zhen finished speaking, several yamen runners came over with sticks in their hands.

The farmer knelt down first, and could not help feeling secretly proud of himself. He thought that when he first saw that the man did not kneel, he thought that he had some meritorious title and was going to wait for the magistrate to show up before revealing it. If that happened, he would be in big trouble. After all, the person he accidentally offended was a man with meritorious titles, but now it seems that he is just an ordinary citizen without any meritorious title, just like himself. As an ordinary citizen, he should kneel when he should. What's the Outline of the Constitution? Can the words of the county magistrate be counted?

"Wait a minute, my son is Zhang Xia, the nephew of Marquis Shouning. He already holds the title of Jinyiwei, so it is not convenient for him to kneel down!"

When Zhu Houzhao was thinking that he could no longer pretend, Jinyiwei Guo Rong suddenly thought of a clever idea and said this first, and half of the Jinyiwei Feiyu robe was revealed under his robe.

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said, "Yes, I am Zhang Xia, the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei."

Bang!

At this time, the magistrate Mei Zhen couldn't help but roll off his chair, his official hat falling to the ground. After a long while, he climbed up from the desk: "You, what did you say, you are the nephew of Shouning Marquis?"

Zhu Houzhao is indeed the nephew of Marquis Shouning, and can be considered a nephew, so it is naturally correct to say so.

At this time, the magistrate Mei Zhen didn't know what to do. He just looked at the farmer and said, "Take this unruly man who falsely accuses the emperor of being a relative out and beat him to death!"

The farmer was also confused, and at the same time realized that something was wrong, and he kowtowed to Zhu Houzhao: "Please spare my life, sir, I didn't expect you to be such a noble man, I didn't recognize you, I shouldn't have falsely accused you, please spare my life for the sake of supporting my family!"

Zhu Houzhao did not say anything at first, because he did not know how to deal with the matter. He thought that he could not control these people with the constitutional outline and the law. But why did Guo Rong scare these people to death just by making up an identity and being the nephew of Marquis Shouning? It turned out that the Ming Dynasty was still a society ruled by individuals.

The author is really bad at writing. He knows that readers like to read warm and light-hearted plots, but he always writes realistic stories. Especially after reading the books such as Late Ming History and Hidden Rules, he could have written about the development of infrastructure and the changes in people's lives after the development of the commodity economy in Jiangnan towns, but he always writes about the dark side, such as the gangsters and villains in Jiangnan towns, and the behavior of common people selling out heroes and even falsely accusing heroes and kind people. It feels like there are no good people in his writing. Alas, the author has to change this style and be more sunny. He should try to get closer to this direction in the future. He must always remember that he is writing online articles! He should not play with such depth without the writing skills. Sorry!
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(End of this chapter)