Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 360: The Emperor Retired Has the Final say in the Ming Dynasty
Zhu Houzhao's resolution to clear out Shuangyu Island and severely punish foreign barbarians was delivered to Emperor Zhu Zaile through Zhang Rong, the Privy Councilor of the Imperial Guard.

Emperor Zhu Zailei breathed a sigh of relief and ordered without hesitation: "Do as the emperor wishes!"

For Zhu Zailei, who had just ascended the throne, what he was most worried about was that he would not handle government affairs correctly, which would make the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao dissatisfied and then find an excuse to depose him.

After all, Zhu Zailei now knows that his father's prestige is not something he can challenge.

Now, as long as the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao decides to clear out Shuangyu Island, even if the clearing out of Shuangyu Island causes a series of incidents at that time, he will no longer have to worry about being deposed by his father with an excuse.

Zhu Houzhao didn't know whether his eldest son Zhu Zailei was more cautious in being the emperor because of his prestige, or whether some ministers in the court deliberately used his prestige to fight against the imperial power, but he now realized that his influence really could not be completely eliminated for the time being.

Some people would still go directly to him to complain about their grievances, and even complain to him about a certain temple owner owing them wages.

Zhu Houzhao was actually very conflicted about this phenomenon, because he wanted to establish a society ruled by law rather than a society ruled by one person, but many people in the empire were still accustomed to rule by one person.

I still like to rely on honest officials or some chivalrous people to uphold justice.

But only Zhu Houzhao himself knew that once he upheld justice, it would mean breaking the legal order established by the empire.

As the saying goes, Confucians use literature to disrupt the law, and knights use force to break the ban.

Once the rules are broken, it is difficult to establish them again, and it is also difficult to convince others to follow them.

In that case, Chinese civilization will still find it difficult to progress.

The people's wisdom is still not fully enlightened.

This is Zhu Houzhao’s most clear feeling now, especially for the older people.

Because universal education has been popularized in the empire for several decades, middle-aged people and young people under the age of fifty have a relatively high level of education and know the importance of abiding by social rules and maintaining justice and fairness.

However, the older generation of Ming people were deeply influenced by old ideas and still did not understand the importance of rules. In addition, influenced by the morality of respecting the elderly, the elderly among the Ming people often broke the social rules.

It is these old people who now go directly to Zhu Houzhao to complain about their grievances.

But these people were Zhu Houzhao's most staunch supporters.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao was very conflicted. He could not directly ask the Jinyiwei to kill the black-hearted capitalists and hateful corrupt officials just because of these people in his capacity as the emperor.

But he could not just stand by and watch, so he could only write letters to governors-general in various places in the name of the emperor, asking them to conduct investigations through formal procedures.

However, for these older people, they did not know that the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao abided by the rules so strictly and was not in a hurry to deal with these unscrupulous bosses and corrupt officials in order to maintain social rules. Otherwise, those in power could do whatever they wanted. They only thought that the retired emperor had changed and began to stand with these unscrupulous capitalists and corrupt officials, and was unwilling to deal with these unscrupulous capitalists and corrupt officials.

This also means that Zhu Houzhao began to gradually lose popular support.

But there was no other way. Zhu Houzhao knew that he could not give up his ideal of establishing a society ruled by law just to win so-called popular support.

He knew that although the older generation of people did not understand his good intentions and even began to misunderstand him, the new generation of Ming people who were knowledgeable and capable of thinking for themselves should be able to understand him and know that what is truly beneficial to society is not the knights who take pleasure in revenge, but the institutional innovators who put power in a cage.

"The Emperor has become more timid since his abdication. He is unwilling to seek justice for us common people and only asks us to go to the government. But can we trust the government? If we can go to the government, why do we need to go to the Emperor!"

There were also some literati hired by some merchants who were dissatisfied with the Ming Dynasty's government. After losing the right to participate in politics in the court, they began to strive for public support and guide public opinion. For example, at this time, a literati named Jian Hua from Wuxi commented in a teahouse about the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao who had just left Wuxi.

Some common people who had witnessed the fact that the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao was unwilling to take the lead in executing the so-called black-hearted capitalists and corrupt officials on the spot also strongly agreed with this and believed that the retired emperor did not seem to be someone who was on their side.

And scholars like Jian Hua would even directly analyze:

"The Emperor is the biggest boss of the Ming Dynasty. The Royal Bank and the Royal Industrial Company control the vast majority of the empire's wealth. How could the Emperor speak for common people like you and me? Don't be naive! If they ask you to go to the government, they will naturally protect these black-hearted capitalists and corrupt officials."

"It's true what Mr. Jian said. That's why we say that all crows are evil. We can't rely on others. We have to fight for everything on our own!"

At this time, some people echoed.

After Zhu Houzhao learned these rumors from the Jinyiwei, he felt quite emotional. He had to admit that the most hateful people in the Ming Dynasty were not these ignorant old people, but these literati who knew the truth but talked nonsense. To be precise, they were the literati who were bought by the merchant class.

"These scholars who took money from the merchant class are really no different from whores who sell their bodies for money. Just like whores who take money to take off their clothes, these scholars take money to say whatever they want. Seeing that they can no longer control the government, they mislead the people to regard the top families of the empire as their enemies. They directly let the Jinyiwei secretly execute this man named Jian Hua! These scholars who only care about money can't be reasoned with, they have to use guns."

Not long after Zhu Houzhao said this, the man named Jian Hua was caught by the Jinyiwei. Moreover, according to Zhu Houzhao's instructions, the Jinyiwei shot Jian Hua directly, and Jian Hua was killed on the spot!

Of course, the Jinyiwei were secret operators, so even if Jian Hua was beaten to death by them, no one would know.

Zhu Houzhao still let the Jinyiwei destroy the rules of society.

This also shows that Zhu Houzhao was not so pedantic as to only stick to the rules. He knew that the only thing you could do for a shameless scholar like Jian Hua who spread rumors was to make him shut up.

Because he is already throwing dirty water at you, you can't expect him to change his ways, and these shameless literati have already said that the Jinyiwei are killing people indiscriminately in secret, so the Jinyiwei have nothing to worry about when assassinating these shameless literati. After all, they have been accused of indiscriminate killing, so they can only kill indiscriminately. ...

"Father Chao, regarding your son being beaten to death on the construction site, you'd better go directly to the emperor. The emperor has just arrived in Huzhou, and only if you go to him can he make the decision for you. Think about it, he is the father of the current emperor, and you can tell him whether he can handle this matter. As long as he is willing, it won't take any more than a word to get the heads of these officials!"

At this time, Lu Xuanyan made a suggestion to an old man named Chao in his town, suggesting that the old man go to Zhu Houzhao to seek justice.

Because of the various propaganda and guidance about Zhu Houzhao's love for the people, and the fact that Zhu Houzhao had indeed brought many benefits to the common people of the Ming Dynasty during his years in power, old man Mo, like other people, firmly believed what Lu Xuanyan said that the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao could give them justice.

However, after Mr. Mo left, Lu Xuanyan couldn't help but sneer, thinking:

"Although it was Xia Yan and Yan Song who killed our mentor, the root cause of this incident is that you, Zhu Houzhao, don't want us merchants to rise. If you insist on establishing a rule of law and a just environment, you will have to restrain your prestige. In this way, we will make you lose the foundation of your prestige and make the people of the world no longer love you. As long as the people of the world no longer love you, you will have no advantage. If you lose the people's support, you will lose the world. Once you lose the support of the people, the world will still belong to us merchants."

Lu Xueyan sneered and ordered, "Let Mr. Tai come in!"

Lu Xueyan continued to prepare to push some civil and criminal lawsuits to the retired Emperor Zhu Houzhao. However, not long after Lu Xueyan laughed, two Jinyiwei jumped down when no one was around.

Among them, a Jinyiwei covered Lu Xueyan's mouth and nose. Lu Xueyan couldn't help but widen his eyes. He felt extremely shocked and terrified. He really didn't expect that the Jinyiwei would appear in his room.

But Lu Xueyan had no time to ask why the Jinyiwei appeared. After a while, he was killed on the spot by the Jinyiwei!
Of course, there were more than one people like Lu Xueyan who were assassinated by the Jinyiwei, and the ones listed in Zhu Houzhao's case were just numbers.

Zhu Houzhao knew that he was killing people, but he had no other choice, because he had no other way to stop these literati who spoke for the merchant class except to physically eliminate them!
Zhu Houzhao had to be thankful that he still controlled the military power and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Otherwise, he could only watch helplessly as these local literati took advantage of his abdication to travel to local areas and instigated the people to come to him to resolve conflicts, thereby allowing him to interfere with local judicial systems, undermine social rule of law, or make him lose popularity in order to maintain the rules.

Gradually, some literati who spoke for the merchant class found that more and more of their own kind were dying, and they gradually felt fear. They knew that although the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao had abdicated, he was not easy to deal with.

Zhu Houzhao ordered the Jinyiwei to carry out assassinations on a large scale, which reduced the number of people who came to Zhu Houzhao to seek justice. However, Zhu Houzhao also knew that the Ming Dynasty must pay attention to the collusion between officials and businessmen and the series of contradictions caused by it. However, he did not give direct instructions to Zhu Zailei. He believed that the current emperor, his son, should be able to pay attention to this problem.

Zhu Houzhao now tries his best to focus on traveling and enjoying the scenery.

After Min Xian, the Right Vice Minister of the National Taxation Bureau, learned that his nephew Min Yuanhong had also died, and many members of his Yunheng Literary Society had also died, he guessed that it was the Jinyiwei who was behind it. He couldn't help but feel both terrified and frightened: "I didn't expect that he was still so cruel. We all mistakenly thought that His Majesty really wouldn't kill people!"

"Yan has long said that we should not underestimate our abdicated emperor. He still has the final say in the Ming Dynasty!"

Yan Shifan covered the tea and smiled coldly, saying, "Just think about making money. Power is something you can't fight for. You should know that our emperor is supported by many big chaebols, including my father. Even the emperor's fart smells good!"

"Master Yan is right. I wonder if Master Yan has found out anything from your father?" Min Xian couldn't help but ask at this time.

"I actually found out some important news. To be honest, we have some results on Shuangyu Island. But you have to give me 10,000 silver dollars, otherwise I won't accept it."

As Yan Shifan spoke, he hugged a maid in his arms. At this time, the Imperial Censor Yan Maoqing stood up and took out the bill: "Master Yan, please speak."

"We have received a message from the higher-ups in the south. Those of you who have properties on Shuangyu Island should return them immediately. Losing money is a small matter, but you may lose your official hat and even your life!"

After Yan Shifan said this, Min Xian, Yan Maoqing and others couldn't help but look solemn.

Min Xian even bowed and said, "Excuse me!" Then, he hurried out and called his trusted servant, who ordered, "Bring a glass of water and a box of clay, and quickly hand them to Captain Xu!"

Yan Shifan just smiled when he saw this. He did not expose Min Xian and just let him do it.

Although Yan Shifan was only the son of Yan Song, the current second assistant of the cabinet, he also understood that Shuangyu Island looked like a pirate settlement, but in fact many coastal nobles were involved in smuggling trade on the island. Otherwise, these officials from coastal noble backgrounds would not have tried their best to inquire about the court's decision on whether to suppress Shuangyu Island or let it go.

Because of this, Yan Shifan took advantage of the desire of these officials from coastal aristocratic families to understand the court's decision-making to sell information.

Because of this, officials such as Min Xian, who came from coastal aristocratic families, had the opportunity to convey the court's decisions to Shuangyu Island.

As a result, everyone on Shuangyu Island had already learned that the imperial court had allowed Zhu Wan to send troops to Shuangyu Island.

Li Guangtou, Xu Dong, Ji Tian, ​​Feddes and other pirate leaders on Shuangyu Island could not help but gather together to discuss how to deal with the situation.

At this time, Chen Yun, a representative sent by the coastal Chen family, couldn't help but suggest:

"Everyone, Chen believes that as long as the imperial court dares to attack us, we cannot be too polite to the imperial court. If the imperial court wants to attack Shuangyu Island, then we will attack any of their cities, and we can attack multiple places to make the imperial court exhausted, and even cause chaos in Jiangnan. At that time, it will create pressure on Zhu Wan and the Ming imperial court he is loyal to!
Moreover, before this, Chen has already communicated with the heads of the families on the shore, and they will help us secretly. Right now, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty is going to Ningbo for an inspection. When the time comes, we will take the opportunity to attack Ningbo and create panic for the Ming Dynasty court!"

Chen Yun's proposal was recognized by most pirate leaders.

However, as pirate leaders and smugglers on Shuangyu Island, they did not know that although they had the secret support of local gentry, the imperial court had the support of the entire Ming people. The powerful Jinyiwei organization was not without spies even in Shuangyu Island.

Therefore, when Zhu Houzhao was traveling, he learned from the Jinyiwei that pirates from Shuangyu Island intended to attack Ningbo.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but laugh at this: "These smugglers from Shuangyu Island are really not simple. They even have people in the imperial court! Where is Zhu Wan now?"

(End of this chapter)