Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 361 Using Jinyiwei to Kill Reactionaries

Li Tianchong, the left commander of the Imperial Guard, saw Zhu Houzhao asking and hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the emperor, Zhu Wan has arrived at Haimen and is mobilizing warships. When Deputy General Lu Tong brings the Quanzhou ship, he will immediately go to Shuangyu Island in Beijing. At present, Wei Yigong, the deputy envoy of the sea route, has collected enough food and grass in Haimen, and the naval forces along the coast from Haimen to Dinghai have completed their training."

After finishing speaking, Li Tianchong could not help but ask one more question: "Your Majesty, now the Japanese pirates want to attack Ningbo. Do you think you should let Zhu Wan transfer troops back to defend Ningbo, or should we return to Hangzhou to avoid the Japanese pirates' attack?"

Although most of the smugglers on Shuangyu Island are pirates from various countries, including Chinese, these pirates are still called Japanese pirates in the Jiangnan area and by many Ming officials.

Because the main force of these pirates were down-and-out samurai hired or colluded with from Japan.

These warriors also often robbed coastal residents for the pirates or the gentry behind them, so that the term "Japanese pirates" became widely circulated among the coastal residents.

As a result, Li Tianchong, the left commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, also spontaneously called these pirates "Japanese pirates" because he had long received intelligence about Japanese pirates attacking fishermen.

Zhu Houzhao also decided to call these pirates "Wokou" and decided to let the court officials do the same. The reason was naturally to prepare for the future deal with Japan.

After all, Japan began to restrict trade with the Ming Dynasty, which reduced the amount of silver flowing from Japan to the Ming Dynasty, thus affecting the interests of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty naturally could not allow Japan to impose trade restrictions on the Ming Dynasty.

Li Tianchong suggested that Zhu Houzhao let Zhu Wan transfer troops to defend Ningbo and suggested that Zhu Houzhao return to Hangzhou. Naturally, this was because the Jinyiwei had already reported that the Japanese pirates were about to attack Ningbo, and their purpose was to capture the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao alive. As the person responsible for Zhu Houzhao's safety, he naturally did not want to put Zhu Houzhao in danger.

Zhu Houzhao always thought that after he opened up the sea, he would be able to completely avoid the Japanese invasion that occurred after the middle of the Jiajing period in history.

But he now realizes that although he may be able to prevent large-scale Japanese invasions, it is impossible to completely eradicate the emergence of Japanese pirates.

Because even if they opened the sea, they would not be able to stop the lawless people in the mainland who wanted to trample on the law and engage in smuggling, nor would they be able to prevent the down-and-out samurai in Japan from colluding with Westerners who had always wanted to plunder the interests of the Ming Dynasty and ambitious mainlanders to do illegal business.

But no matter what, Zhu Houzhao believed that with the current foundation of his Ming Dynasty, he should be able to deal with these lawless people well, let them know the power of the court, and the power of the people behind the court who wanted to pursue peace and peaceful life.

"No need. You can tell Zhu Wan about the possible Japanese pirate attack in Ningbo, but also pass my imperial edict to him, asking him to continue attacking Shuangyu Island and not to be distracted by my presence in Ningbo."

Although Zhu Houzhao was already the emperor emeritus, he abdicated voluntarily and was not forced to do so. He also still controlled the military power, so he still called himself "Zhen" according to the old custom, and no one dared to say that he was wrong.

In addition, he still referred to his instructions as imperial edicts.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao was unwilling to leave Ningbo at this time, but that did not mean he was not really afraid of the so-called Japanese pirates.

Instead, he believed that the guards he brought with him, as the vanguard of the Imperial Guards, were well-equipped and were elites selected from wars such as the suppression of rebellions in the northern frontier, the recovery of Jiaozhi, and the expedition to the West. They should not be a match for these Japanese pirates.

For this reason, Zhu Houzhao decided not to leave Ningbo for the time being. It might be a good idea to let the Japanese pirates come to his door and be annihilated. Secondly, Zhu Houzhao believed that only by staying here could these Japanese pirates attack Ningbo, which would also help Zhu Wan to recapture Shuangyu Island at the lowest cost.

Due to the opening of the sea, Ningbo City is now a metropolis of the Ming Dynasty. Outside the entire Ningbo city, the masts of ships stand in rows like a forest. People in gorgeous clothes crowd the streets like green fields and flowers in the mountains and rivers. The railway stretches from the town to the port like a sleeping dragon, and the cement roads run like capillaries between the high-rise buildings and disappear into the sky.

Zhu Houzhao sat in a bamboo sedan, escorted by a group of imperial guards in brocade clothes, and traveled through the city alleys. When he saw a good food store, he would stop in the sedan. After eating to his heart's content, he would go to an elegant garden to enjoy the scenery. Naturally, the dignitaries of Ningbo City did not dare to refuse to welcome them, and the merchants and common people did not dare to refuse to let him eat.

What's more, Zhu Houzhao paid for it.

But after Zhu Houzhao's grand tour, the people of Ningbo City still knew that the emperor was still visiting Ningbo City.

Most of the people in Ningbo City were still willing to let the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao stay in Ningbo City.

Because the current Emperor Zhu Houzhao is a traffic body.

Many people came to see Zhu Houzhao, but not all of them came to seek justice from him. After all, the Ming Dynasty had not yet developed to the point where the gap between the rich and the poor was huge and the class contradictions were extremely sharp. Moreover, after Zhu Houzhao had the Jinyiwei secretly kill many shameless literati who incited public opinion and slandered him, most of the people who came to see Zhu Houzhao came with reverence, and just wanted to see the appearance of this great man who had changed their destiny.

"Your Majesty, the road ahead is blocked. The people in Ningbo heard that you were out, and they all came from all over the place to see you," Ningbo prefect Zhang Juzheng came over and said to Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao looked up and saw that there were indeed civilians outside the fence, and even the boats were full of people.

At the same time, the hawkers who followed the crowds of people had already started unloading their goods and setting up stalls. Some nearby teahouses and restaurants were also packed with customers. Naturally, no boat was idle. It seemed that wherever Zhu Houzhao went, it became a market and consumption became more active.

Zhu Houzhao had no choice but to get off the sedan chair and greet the people. During the days he stayed in Ningbo, the flow of people in Ningbo Prefecture increased five or six times compared to the past, causing prices in Ningbo Prefecture to rise a lot, but it also promoted the economy of Ningbo Prefecture.

Moreover, Zhu Houzhao himself did not take anything for free when he inspected the places. He spent money lavishly and when he saw a school, he asked the treasury to donate silver dollars to build a building, and he personally named it "Zhu Houzhao Building".

In addition, private charities will also invest tens of thousands of silver dollars, and some good stores will directly attract angel investors to invest tens of thousands of dollars.

Fan Qin, the right vice minister of the Ministry of War who had resigned from his post, wanted to build the Tianyi Pavilion. Zhu Houzhao therefore gave him 50,000 silver dollars and encouraged him to collect books from all over the world, but also required that Fan Qin's Tianyi Pavilion should be open to the public free of charge. He also granted Fan half of the shares of a royal store in Ningbo that specialized in manufacturing mechanical watches to help him run the Tianyi Pavilion.

Because of this, merchants and civilians in Ningbo built libraries and book collections to support Zhu Houzhao. In order to strengthen the local economy, guide commercial development, promote the emergence of more brand products in Ming Dynasty, and even derive cultural symbols of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao would set up corresponding awards such as the top 50 watch shops, clothing shops, and food shops wherever he went. Once a shop won this honor, he would reward it with tens of thousands of silver dollars to promote its development.

It was precisely because Zhu Houzhao spent money and showed kindness everywhere during his inspections that local merchants and citizens became more grateful for his kindness.

The number of scholars and common people who came to visit Zhu Houzhao out of admiration for him only increased and did not decrease.

Looking at the crowded city of Ningbo, Zhu Houzhao was very satisfied. He knew that this was the result of his decades of painstaking efforts to reform the Ming Dynasty. With the popularization of education and the tangible benefits laid out in plain sight, sometimes it would be difficult for some people with ulterior motives to slander him at will.

After all, although Zhu Houzhao controlled most of the empire's wealth, he did not use it for enjoyment, but instead gave it back to the people.

Of course, wherever Zhu Houzhao went, it was still very tiring for local officials.

Although Zhu Houzhao's arrival increased the flow of people and increased economic income, it also increased the difficulty of management, and made them worry that their poor management would lead to the people going to the emperor again to seek justice.

However, it is difficult for a person to make everyone satisfied with himself, and the same is true for Zhu Houzhao. He has benefited people all over the world, but not everyone in the world respects him.

For some southern gentry who were eager to continue enslaving the common people, the idea of ​​equality brought by Zhu Houzhao made them lose the opportunity to use clan laws and village covenants to enslave the common people at the local level, making it impossible for them to become superior to others. Even though they were still very wealthy, they still had to respect the migrant workers who carried manure, paved roads and built bridges, which made them feel uncomfortable.

Zhu Houzhao's frequent appearances in Ningbo City made the gentry Wan He, who had been in contact with the pirates of Shuangyu Island, aware of this, and he could not help but find Cao Cai, a merchant who had been in contact with Shuangyu Island:
"Go and tell Fedes quickly that the emperor is still in Ningbo City. It seems that the attack on Ningbo Prefecture has not been discovered by the Royal Guards. Now the emperor is still touring Ningbo City with great fanfare."

In fact, although Zhu Houzhao pretended not to know that there was an alarm in Ningbo Prefecture, he had already instructed his people to be relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside. Therefore, shortly after the merchant Cao Cai sent people to contact the pirates on Shuangyu Island, the Jinyiwei found Cao Cai and escorted him to Li Tianchong.

Li Tianchong quickly interrogated some secrets and reported to Zhu Houzhao:
"Reporting to the Emperor, according to Cao Cai's confession, the former Shanxi Right Councillor Wan He was in collusion with the Japanese pirates on Shuangyu Island. Moreover, there is a secret contact point of the Japanese pirates in a place called Baxiang Town, ten miles away from Ningbo City."

Zhu Houzhao nodded after hearing this: "No wonder Fan Qin said that the Wan family is the richest in Ningbo, with no less than 30 ships sailing out to sea. However, I found out from the customs records of Ningbo Maritime Customs that the Wan family only ranked fourth in tax payment. Now it seems that the Wan family is indeed a restless family."

"So what should we do now?" Li Tianchong asked.

"He colluded with the Japanese pirates and tried to murder me. What else can I do? I will order the Jinyiwei to disguise themselves as Japanese pirates and wipe out the Wan family. At sunrise tomorrow, I will let the people of Ningbo see Wan He's head at the city gate!
We will not deal with Cao Cai for now, and we will not deal with the Japanese pirates' smuggling bases in the eight towns for now, so as to avoid letting the Japanese pirates who attacked Ningbo know about it. When the Japanese pirates who attacked Ningbo come, we will catch them all in one fell swoop!"

Zhu Houzhao gave an order that he was now the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and had no responsibility to catch typical cases and create legal cases. Naturally, he did not need to put the evidence of these coastal nobles colluding with the Japanese pirates out in the open and then hand it over to the authorities for handling. The Jinyiwei under his command existed to do these shady things behind the scenes.

When the common people were seeking justice, it was equivalent to putting the case out in the open. Zhu Houzhao could not openly break the law. But now, he knew secretly that these coastal nobles were colluding with the Japanese, so he could naturally use the Jinyiwei to deal with it directly.

When the tide had just receded and the night was so dark that even the waning moon was pressed into the sea, a team of Jinyiwei dressed as Japanese pirates rushed into Wanhe's manor. The shining Japanese swords quickly cut the necks of Wanhe's slaves. Blood instantly splattered on the white wall and shrill screams were heard.

The Japanese pirates had to act like Japanese pirates. The Jinyiwei officers who pretended to be Japanese pirates would naturally not be as benevolent as they usually were when they raided houses. They killed people in every household and caused rivers of blood to flow.

Wan He was dumbfounded when he saw these vicious Japanese pirates, because he never thought that he would be robbed by them after cooperating with them for so many years. He could not help but ask loudly: "Who are you? Mr. Li from Shuangyu Island is Wan's sworn brother. You are not giving them face by doing this!"

Pfft!

Jinyiwei Yu Zhen stabbed Wan He in the stomach and said, "You colluded with the Japanese pirates and harmed the people. You never thought that you would suffer the same fate one day."

In accordance with Zhu Houzhao's instructions, the Jinyiwei were selected from a group of young boys and girls who survived the looting of pirates, Japanese pirates, and foreign invaders. They were also brainwashed with all kinds of information about the evil deeds of pirates, Japanese pirates, and foreign invaders, making the Jinyiwei extremely hate those who did evil.

Today, the same is true for Yu Zhen. Thirty years ago, he was the son of an ordinary boatman in Fujian. However, he lost his parents because his family was killed by Japanese pirates at sea. He was rescued by the coast guard who arrived and since then he passed layers of selection and entered the Jinyiwei system.

Now, when facing a gentry like Wan He who was in collusion with the Japanese, Yu Zhen still had a deep hatred for him. He stabbed Wan He several times until he was exhausted, then he put away his knife and left. Another Jinyiwei also followed suit, venting the hatred that had been suppressed for a long time.

Before his death, Wan He realized at whose hands he died, but now that he is dead, he naturally cannot tell this matter to anyone.

"Japanese rebellion! This is Japanese rebellion!"

Zhu Houzhao was transferred to the local areas to gain experience and Zhang Juzheng, who is now in charge of Ningbo, said.

Naturally, he would not admit that it was the Jinyiwei who did it.

Zhang Juzheng was reluctant to expose the Jinyiwei as the culprit, and he also knew that these nobles deserved their punishment, so he echoed, "The emperor is right. This is indeed caused by the Japanese pirates. I have already ordered everyone to strengthen their vigilance."

Zhu Houzhao nodded without saying much.

When Liu Cheng, a gentry in Haimen, learned that Wan He was killed by the Japanese pirates, he was shocked and angry: "Send someone to ask Li Dangjia, didn't they say they were going to attack Ningbo Prefecture? Who told them to rob the Wan Canzheng family! They are a bunch of people who don't know the law. I told them to treat the gentry with courtesy, treat the gentry with courtesy, why didn't they listen? Are they going to force the scholars and people of the entire southeast to unite to fight against the Japanese?! If it really comes to that, let's see how they survive!"

Of course, in fact, what Liu Cheng didn't know was that the reason some Japanese pirates were looting the gentry during this period was not because they were unaware of the situation and the pros and cons, but because their retired emperor Zhu Houzhao was secretly messing around.

(End of this chapter)