Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 107: Officials do not fight against the court, and I will not be soft on clowns!
When Prime Minister Xiong saw the urgent letter from the Cabinet with the seal of the Prime Minister, he was stunned on the spot.

Subsequently.

Xiong Xiang looked at the governor Wang Xu and asked, "What should we do now?"

"What else can be done?"

“Kneel down immediately!”

"Are you trying to disobey my order?!"

Wang Xu said this loudly and knelt down first.

He is also very confused now.

How did the cabinet deliver the imperial edict directly to the officials under it?

Does this mean he doesn't trust himself and the Inspector General Xiong Xiang?

This made Wang Xu feel scared.

Although he was the governor, he was just a temporary official in Shandong and had no foundation.

It would be much easier for the imperial court to deal with him than with the Kong family, a local wealthy family in Shandong.

Even if there was an imperial decree telling him to find a rope and hang himself, he would not dare to disobey.

Once the court no longer trusts him, it means that the court may want to deal with him.

So this made him quite worried.

After hearing what Wang Xu said, Xiong Xiang had no choice but to kneel down.

He didn't understand either.

Why did the cabinet give the imperial edict directly to the Military Preparation Department?

You have to know that he and the governor were the Beijing officials who were sent to the local areas to inspect military and political affairs.

"The imperial edict said: Shu Sheng, the military governor and deputy patrol governor, can arrest Shandong officials of all ranks and has the power to make arbitrary decisions."

At this time.

Shu Sheng, the military governor, read out the imperial edict.

then.

Shu Sheng looked at Xiong Xiang and said, "Inspector Xiong Xiang obstructed me from suppressing the civil uprising and is suspected of colluding with the bandits."

"Take it!"

talking.

Shu Sheng waved his hand and gave a loud order.

Xiong Xiang couldn't help but be shocked.

Shu Sheng then looked at Xiong Xiang and said, "Xiong Fengxian, if you don't want to be charged with treason, please cooperate with us."

Xiong Xiang gritted his teeth here.

No words were spoken.

after awhile.

Xiong Xiang suddenly roared: "I don't accept it!"

"Why would the court do this?!"

then.

Xiong Xiang asked this question, and then looked at Wang Xu:
"Zhongcheng, please say something!"

"what can I say!"

"Since the imperial decree intends this, you just have to obey!"

"All power in the world comes from the emperor. Whoever the emperor lets hold the greatest power in Shandong will have the greatest power!"

Wang Xu said loudly.

After hearing this, Xiong Xiang obediently obeyed the order and asked the people from Bingbei Road to detain him.

Subsequently.

Shu Sheng looked at Kong Chengkai and the others.

Kong Chengkai and other scholars and civilians who attempted to break into the Jining Prefecture Government Office were all horrified at this moment.

Kong Chengkai was even more shocked, and looked at Wang Xu: "Wang Zhongcheng, what on earth is going on?!"

Wang Xu didn't say anything.

He doesn't quite understand it now.

But what Wang Xu was clear about was that the imperial court had no intention of letting the Yanshenggong Mansion go, and was clearly going to take major action against Shandong.

Otherwise, he would not have bypassed him, the governor, and Xiong Xiang, the inspector, and issued secret orders directly to the two powerful local officials. It was obvious that he was also keeping them on guard, fearing that they had already colluded with the Kong family.

Wang Xu also knew that since he was now an official of the imperial court, he had to correct his stance at this time, so as to avoid being regarded by the imperial court as a protector of the local powerful families.

Therefore, Wang Xu only said at this time: "I don't know what's going on. I only know that you guys are very bold. You dared to break into the state government office. It's no different from treason. Let alone this imperial edict, even if there is no such decree, I will support the military preparation department to deal with you!"

Wang Xu looked at Shu Sheng and said, "Shu Bingxian, just exercise your authority. This court will do its best to cooperate with you! If there are not enough soldiers, this court will transfer the soldiers from the governor's camp to you!"

"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Chancellor."

"I am very grateful."

After Shu Sheng thanked Wang Xu with a bow, he looked at Kong Chengkai and other people who were causing trouble:

"As long as you give up the few people who led you, I can spare the death penalty for the rest of you!"

The common people among the rioters quickly identified the leaders such as Kong Chengkai.

And these leaders all pointed out that Kong Chengkai was the mastermind.

Shu Sheng therefore ordered: "Detain Kong Chengkai and keep him under strict guard in preparation for his transfer to the capital. The rest of the leaders should be beheaded on the spot!"

Except for Kong Chengkai, these leaders knelt down and begged for mercy, saying that they were members of the Kong family or relatives of the Kong family, and asked Shu Sheng to show leniency.

But Shu Sheng did not agree.

The leaders were killed on the spot.

Wang Xu came over and said to Shu Sheng, "Imperial Censor Xiong is not really colluding with the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion to obstruct the military officer from exercising his power. He is just trying to prevent things from getting too big. I hope the military officer will not really regard him as a spineless official who only works for the rich and powerful."

"I see."

"But now that the imperial edict requires me to arrest Shandong officials of all ranks, and he has run into them, I can only indignantly let him be detained in Jining prison for the time being." Shu Sheng replied.

Wang Xu nodded.

then.

Wang Xu sighed and prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Xiong Xiang, who was being escorted by the soldiers of Bingbei Road, could not help but shout:

"Zhongcheng!"

After hearing this, Wang Xu walked towards Xiong Xiang and asked, "What do you want to say?"

Xiong Xiang asked, "What were you whispering to that Shu guy just now?"

"Of course I'm begging for you!"

Wang Xu replied unhappily.

Xiong Xiang breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought you would kick me when I'm down."

"Do I need to kick you when you're down?!"

Wang Xu replied with gritted teeth.

Xiong Xiang said: "Why not? We are all disciples of the Grand Tutor. If you betray me, can't you just pledge your loyalty to Liang Shunde?"

"Then there's no need to use you as a token of my allegiance."

"It's clear that this is not targeting you or me. Don't you understand?!"

Wang Xu whispered.

After hearing this, Xiong Xiang thought about it seriously and couldn't help but be shocked: "Are the higher-ups going to deal with the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion?"

"You and I realized it too late!"

Wang Xu sighed.

Xiong Xiang continued to ask in astonishment: "Why do they do this?"

"Perhaps it's for the sake of reform, or perhaps the two parties, the Pro-Ritual Party and the Pro-Ritual Party, are determined to fight to the death!"

"At least for now, it seems that the Kong family sided with the Pro-Rites Party and murdered Wang Yangming, who was from the Pro-Rites Party. Now they are not going to give up and are determined to fight to the end."

"It's just that they are fighting up there, but they set the battlefield in Shandong!"

"I'm not any better off than you because of this. I'm afraid it will be hard to complete this year's autumn tax and next year's summer tax. I'll even be evaluated as ineffective in suppressing bandits!"

"So, don't expect to be promoted, but I hope you won't be thrown into prison! You should take care of yourself and don't go against the court. Be submissive, admit your mistakes, and get out of here as soon as possible!"

Wang Xu replied.

Xiong Xiang said: "But I still want to make progress and work for the court!"

"That's something we have to wait until the situation becomes clear!"

"If you charge forward now, and end up on the wrong side, no one will be able to protect you. You and I are not descendants of saints!"

Wang Xu replied.

Xiong Xiang was silent.

Next.

Wang Xu left Jining Prefecture and went to Qufu.

Xiong Xiang was temporarily imprisoned in Jining Prefecture Prison.

Shu Sheng met with Cai Tianyou.

Cai Tianyou already knew through the secret decree that Shu Sheng, like himself, was under the direct command of the emperor, so after meeting Shu Sheng, he directly replied:
"Thank you for coming to rescue me in time, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous!"

"No wonder the imperial court suddenly set up the General Administration of Taxation. Now I think it has long been intended to suppress the powerful."

"But why did you think of letting us do this first?"

Shu Sheng took the initiative to ask at this time.

Cai Tianyou said calmly, "Either your majesty is really diligent in governing the country, so he really understands us, or the prime minister is fair in governing the country and does not reject us because we were unkind in the past. In short, this is our chance, and also the court's chance. Even if we fail, we should give it a try!"

talking.

Cai Tianyou looked at Shu Sheng and said, "Because no matter what, you and I are both military personnel, and our family has inherited the throne. We should at least think more about the court! We can't be like them and think that just because the court has changed its name, nothing will change. The grace gained through achievements and accomplishments is usually hard to come by again."

Shu Sheng nodded, and said solemnly: "God has bestowed upon me a great mission, and the times have made it so!"

And next.

Shu Sheng and Cai Tianyou both submitted secret reports to Zhu Houcong, reporting the recent events in Shandong.

Zhu Houcong had already received the memorial from Kong Wenshao claiming illness and not coming to Beijing.

This made Zhu Houcong angrily say:

"This Yansheng Duke really doesn't give me face!"

"I don't care at all about the importance of my first visit to the Imperial College when I ascended the throne!"

"In this case, what use is there for me to have this Duke Yansheng?!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

"Showing your gentleness first will indeed make Kong Shi mistakenly think that Your Majesty can be deceived."

"Your Majesty is not the only one who has encountered this situation. When Taizu first invited the Kong family to attend, he also encountered this situation."

Liang Chu replied.

Zhu Houcong sneered, "But now is not the beginning of the country when the world is not stable. I don't need to be like Taizu, who had to endure it first in order to appease the northern clans. I just threatened verbally first!"

"Give Shu Sheng and his men a decree to arrest Qufu County Magistrate Kong Chengzhen first!"

"The Kong family relied on three things to exercise their power in Shandong:
One is that there is a sign of saintly family background;

Second, many of the clerks in Shandong prefectures and cities were from his Kong family;

Third, he was the magistrate of Qufu and had always been a member of the Kong family. As a result, many of the servants in the Qufu area were members of the Kong family. In name, there were only a few hundred servants in the Qufu County government, but in reality, there were more than 10,000. This was the basis for him to recruit bandits and commit robbery.

and so!
"Catch this man first, so that these tens of thousands of soldiers will be leaderless, and the Kong family will lose their arms and become trapped beasts!"

"After this, we will close the net, confiscate the house, and kill people!"

Zhu Houcong gave the order with a serious face.

(End of this chapter)