Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 99: If you are planning something evil, I will give you a surprise!
Zhu Houcong nodded.

He admitted that the situation Liang Chu described existed.

But he knew he couldn't back down.

If he gives in one step, he will give in step by step.

I’m afraid even the planned gift will have to be overturned.

Those who are willing to stand by him now will also become discouraged.

So, Zhu Houcong stood up, put his hands behind his back, walked outside the palace, looked at the vast starry sky, and said to Liang Chu:
"But I will not be a king of revival in name only!"

Liang Chu said: "Your Majesty has great ambitions, and the country is lucky! However, I am too old to be able to assist you. I ask Your Majesty to appoint new ministers to the cabinet as soon as possible."

"New cabinet ministers must be appointed, and new talents must be trained!"

Zhu Houcong said with a smile.

"In the past, Emperor Taizong of Tang had 18 scholars in the Qin Palace and initiated the Zhenguan Reign."

"I was wondering, why can't I have my eighteen scholars?"

then.

Zhu Houcong said a few more words and looked at Liang Chu.

Liang Chu raised his eyes suddenly after hearing this.

then.

He stood up and bowed more respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty can certainly have his own eighteen scholars, and your majesty's number of scholars is more than eighteen!"

"After all, there are many more families who pass down farming and studying in the world today than in the Li Tang period."

Zhu Houcong laughed and said, "But it won't change at all. No matter how many scholars there are, they will become the son-in-law of a wealthy businessman or the grandson of a powerful official!"

Liang Chu's expression became even more astonished, and he secretly sighed that his Majesty was truly a wise ruler sent from heaven, and he had a very clear understanding of the world.

Subsequently.

Liang Chu also nodded and said very piously: "Your Majesty is right. As long as the people of the world still rely on farming and reading, there will be no big changes. No matter how well the emperor's checks and balances are done, it will only intensify party disputes. It is okay to use it for personal gain, but if it is used to make the country rich and strong, it will be of no benefit."

Since the emperor understood this so clearly, Liang Chu naturally knew that he could not play dumb in front of the emperor and had to say whatever he knew.

"The Prime Minister is from Lingnan, so he should know the pros and cons of opening up the sea."

Zhu Houcong suddenly said this.

Liang Chu's breathing became heavy: "I know!"

"Opening the seas will benefit the landless people in that they can go out to sea to do business and make a profit, and it will also benefit the wealthy in lending money to the people who go out to sea to make a profit. However, it will not be easy for the government to control them, and it will make it easy for criminals to flee overseas, and even easy for wealthy people to harbor criminals and go out to sea to commit crimes, causing unrest in the seas."

"But since it is profitable for ordinary people to go to sea, and it is also profitable for wealthy families, can we forcibly ban the sea?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Liang Chu replied: "Your Majesty is wise and wise, so he can't ban it, so smuggling has always been rampant!"

"It's better to block than to open up."

"I'm thinking that it would be better if the court set up a few special sea-going zones and supported a few loyal and reliable wealthy families with good family traditions to serve as court officials and merchants, and let them organize the common people who are willing to go to sea to make a living to go to sea to make profits."

"This way, the common people will have the opportunity to go to sea and make a living, and the imperial court can directly handle the matter through a few officials and merchants when encountering pirates. At worst, these officials and merchants can share the profits with the imperial court, allowing the imperial court to build a navy and rely on the navy to quell the maritime threat with the help of merchants and civilians."

When Zhu Houcong said this, Liang Chu smiled happily and said:
"Your Majesty, this strategy should be a good strategy to save the world!"

"Although Yuanfu also thinks so, it is not easy to accomplish this. We need to take bigger steps, especially Yuanfu. You yourself must be a torch to light up this path so that others can follow."

Zhu Houcong said with a smile.

Liang Chu said: "I understand!"

Zhu Houcong then asked Yan Song, who was already the recorder of the daily life:
"Yan Song, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty wants the Prime Minister to serve as a torch."

"I think your Majesty's words are profound!"

Yan Song replied.

Zhu Houcong smiled slightly.

Then Zhu Houcong ordered: "Bring the map!"

Zhu Houcong prepared to draw several circles along the coast in advance.

then.

Zhu Houcong instructed Liang Chu, "So many officials have fallen this time. Those who should be promoted should be promoted, and those who should be replaced should be replaced. Tell the Ministry of Personnel to give priority to the new Jinshi who followed Zhang Fujing to Lianghuai for disaster relief training and to be promoted back to fill the vacancies. In addition, send another group of Jinshi who observed politics to Lianghuai to participate in the salt policy reform."

Liang Chu bowed and said yes.

Let’s talk.

The incident in which Wang Yangming and Zhang Fujing led to the execution of a large number of bureaucrats, wealthy gentry and businessmen throughout the country did indeed cause an uproar in the country.

Many bureaucrats and gentry secretly hated them. "We must kill Wang Yangming and Zhang Fujing, the two treacherous officials who abused the gentry!"

"There is no place in the world for such an arrogant person to exist!"

"Even if they fail due to their cunningness, it should be a warning! Don't really think that people in the world are really afraid of them and can rest easy!"

Linqing, Shandong.

Chen Zhan, a wealthy man who once served as the Minister of Taichang Temple, told this matter with hatred to Zhang Wenlu, a scholar-official who resigned and returned to Nanzhi.

Zhang Wenlu said: "Even so, we must be cautious!"

"After all, Liang Shunde is in power now, so once the truth is revealed and the emperor is furious, there will be no turning back."

"The current grand ceremony and the disaster relief funds are clear evidence of this."

"After all, our dynasty is not like the Song Dynasty. We don't have a precedent of not killing scholars and officials. Therefore, if the cabinet does not fight, the emperor can be considered as an extra mercy as long as he does not follow the example of his ancestors and execute the whole clan."

After Zhang Wenlu said this, Chen Zhan nodded and said, "I know! But if we don't get rid of these two thieves, the officials will have no peace. And Shi Gaocheng (Shi Yan) can no longer hold the power of appointment. Otherwise, the world will be in turmoil!"

"That's what you said, sir."

"There is the Kaocheng Law, there is Shigao City, and there are two traitors, Wang and Zhang."

"If it is not completely eradicated, the Great Gift will be completely difficult to correct!"

Zhang Wenlu agreed and pretended to be thinking seriously.

Subsequently.

Zhang Wenlu said to Chen Zhan with a look of enlightenment: "In my opinion, if we want to get rid of these two people now, we can only rely on the descendants of the saints in Yanshenggong Mansion!"

"How?"

Chen Zhan asked immediately.

"Now, whether it's Wang Yangming or Zhang Fujing, as long as they return to Beijing, they must pass through Shandong!"

"And Shandong is naturally the most powerful place in the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion! After all, your majesty has just ascended the throne, and the Jinyiwei that he can control is limited in strength, and he cannot control Shandong for the time being."

"Moreover, if it was done by the people from the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion, even if the truth was revealed, Your Majesty would be cautious because they are descendants of the saints, and would have to take the initiative to cover up the matter for the Duke of Yansheng!"

Zhang Wenlu said at this point: "Besides, to be honest, most of Shandong's private salt is monopolized by the Yanshenggong Mansion. Now that Wang Yangming is rectifying the salt administration, the Yanshenggong Mansion will suffer heavy losses. I'm sure they will hate him with gnashing teeth!"

"That's a great idea!"

Chen Zhan couldn't help but clap his hands in praise.

Zhang Wenlu said helplessly: "Although the Yanshenggong Mansion has many disagreements about your majesty not recognizing Xiaomiao as the emperor, if we ask them to do this, I am afraid that persuasion alone will not be enough, and we need to use other means."

"This is easy!"

"The Duke of Yansheng's Mansion has been causing trouble in Shandong for many years. In Linqing alone, they have seized the property of many people. When you return home, please stop by Qufu to take a look and tell them what I said."

"Tell these descendants of saints that if they don't stand up for the people of Shandong, then the ugly deeds of their family, as well as their usurpation and nostalgia for the former Yuan Dynasty, will be exposed in the future!"

Chen Zhan said.

Just as Zhang Wenlu said.

The Yanshenggong Mansion now really hates Wang Yangming with a vengeance.

Because the current Duke of Yansheng, Kong Wenshao, is indeed a restless person. In order to strengthen the influence of his own Duke of Yansheng Mansion in the court, he took the initiative to propose marriage to his relative Zhang Yanling, and on the other hand married the daughter of Grand Secretary Li Dongyang. In history, he was also dissatisfied with Jiajing many times, mainly because he was dissatisfied with Jiajing's refusal to recognize Xiaozong as his emperor father, which greatly reduced his investment in the Zhang family.

natural.

Now the outcome of the great gift remains the same as it was in history.

So, Kong Wenshao was still very disappointed.

What made Kong Wenshao even more disappointed now was that Wang Yangming was really working hard to reform the salt administration for the court, which had caused great damage to his salt profits in Shandong.

But Kong Wenshao could not directly accuse Wang Yangming of being wrong in rectifying the salt policy, so he just stood on the scholar-official's standpoint and said: "He who slaughtered the gentry and destroyed the vitality of the country will surely be punished by heaven!"

then.

When Zhang Wenlu came to the Kong Mansion to discuss this matter, Kong Wenshao asked his Kong family descendant Kong Chengkai to agree to this matter, and instructed Qufu County Magistrate Kong Chengzhen to carry out this matter.

At the end of the 16th year of Zhengde, Wang Yangming did need to go to Beijing to report on his work after rectifying the salt profits in Lianghuai.

When Wang Yangming's ship reached Dongchang, it suddenly sank, and the soldiers on board were terrified.

Not a single day.

There were rumors on the street that Wang Yangming's boat had sunk into the river and he had been captured by a water ghost.

this day.

When Zhu Houcong came to Zuoshun Gate to hold court, Zuo Qiandu Yushi Zhang Zan stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, there are rumors that Minister Wang Yangming has died in the line of duty, so people are in a panic. I ask Your Majesty to order the Jinyiwei to investigate the matter in detail."

After Zhang Zan said this, many officials showed their secret joy, and some even glanced at Zhu Houcong.

Zhu Houcong smiled and said, "That is just a rumor. I have ordered the Jinyiwei to secretly investigate who is spreading the rumor, because Wang Yangming sent an urgent report to the palace yesterday, saying that he has arrived in Liangxiang and asked for an imperial decree to see the emperor tomorrow. I have agreed to his request."

(End of this chapter)