Fu Shanhe

Chapter 202: Re-establishing the Factory Guard
Capital.

"Is this news true?"

Emperor Yongning asked with a look of panic.

“Your Majesty, there are rumors out there that there is some evidence pointing to Mr. Yin and Mr. Zuo.

However, it should not be the case that they colluded with the White Lotus Sect to rebel.

Perhaps it was their clansmen who were using their names to make money outside.”

Xu Zhongen answered with a little hesitation.

He was very clear about the status of Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang in the emperor's mind.

If he didn't really trust them, these two would have been abandoned by Emperor Yongning long ago just because of the trouble they caused in the court.

It is precisely because of trust that betrayal cannot be tolerated.

"Humph!"

"In order to make money, they dared to collude with the White Lotus Sect.

Do they have the guts to do this without someone backing them up? "

Emperor Yongning said coldly.

Once the seeds of doubt are planted, the previous series of problems will be magnified at this moment.

What good ministers who govern the country is? It's pure nonsense.

He did not believe that Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang would rebel, but he had completely lost confidence in their abilities.

It is only normal for two boastful idiots to be fooled by their subordinates.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

The eunuchs said hurriedly.

Deep down in their hearts, they hated Yin and Zuo.

It is not surprising to use various means in party struggles, but colluding with the White Lotus Sect to plan a rebellion is crossing the line.

The White Lotus Rebellion was defined as such when the eunuchs were overthrown. Now that the inside story has been revealed, it would be a slap in the face of Emperor Yongning.

The emperor couldn't save face, and the first people to suffer were those who served him.

"Wang Yifeng, I order you to reorganize the East Factory and thoroughly investigate this case!"

Emperor Yongning's words made everyone gasp.

Only one year had passed since the abolition of the Factory Guards, and now the East Factory had to be rebuilt.

The civil and military officials in the court will certainly strongly oppose it.

The current eunuch group is not the same as the eunuchs in Zuo Guangen's era, and they do not have much power at all.

Once the court officials started making trouble and the emperor couldn't bear the pressure, they would be doomed.

“Your Majesty, the East Factory’s activities are mainly concentrated near the capital. To thoroughly investigate this case, we need to send people to Guangxi.

In the past, the Jinyiwei were in charge of such cases.

Only Jinyiwei spies are spread all over the world, and they can solve this case in a short time!"

Wang Yifeng quickly declined.

Although the Director of the East Factory holds a high position of power, the risks associated with it are equally huge.

If we try to find the leader of the group right away, even if we find evidence, the backlash we will have to bear will be huge.

For the sake of his life, he decisively launched the more influential Jinyiwei.

"Um!

You are right, this case is indeed suitable to be handed over to the Jinyiwei.

In the past, the Jinyiwei were corrupt and harmed loyal officials at will, so I ordered them to be dismissed.

All officials have been tortured by the Jinyiwei. If we want to reinstate the Jinyiwei now, I'm afraid there will be a lot of resistance!"

Emperor Yongning said with a little embarrassment.

It was impossible to admit his mistakes, as an emperor he would never be wrong.

Even if there is a mistake, it is the fault of the ministers.

The reason why the imperial guards were dismissed was entirely because of their own misconduct, and it was not the emperor's responsibility.

Now we have to restore the factory guards because it is a practical need.

When rites and music were in decline, it was no longer feasible to govern the country by relying on the books of sages.

As a last resort, he had to take extraordinary measures and re-establish the supervision of all officials by the Censorate.

"Your Majesty, the matter of reinstating the Imperial Guards does not need to be discussed in the court.

Let’s set up the framework first, and once the facts are established, the resistance of the officials will not be so strong.”

The eunuch Xu Zhongen, who held the seal, made a suggestion.

As the head of the Imperial Household Department, he led a very miserable life.

Without the support of armed forces such as the Censorate and the Guards, and with an emperor who was too diligent in his work, the Imperial Household Department became a mouthpiece.

The ministers in the court didn't take him seriously at all.

During the previous emperor’s reign, the eunuchs in the palace made a fortune.

If court officials wanted to inquire about information or meet the emperor, they had to offer a benefit.

During the reign of Emperor Yongning, the situation suddenly changed.

Not only did the regents order them around, but even the third and fourth rank officials below them did not take them seriously.

"Let's do this!"

After making the decision, Emperor Yongning began to worry about the selection of the commander.

After such a long period of frustration, he fully realized the importance of the Jinyiwei.

Putting aside the collection of intelligence and the supervision of officials, the Jinyiwei Prison alone is a deterrent to all officials.

Without the deterrent effect of this institution, the officials would not be afraid of him as the emperor.

Being open to advice is one's thought before taking office.

After he sat on the throne and heard the messy advice from officials, he lost interest in accepting advice.

On average, out of a hundred suggestions, ninety are bullshit, and the remaining ten are all seemingly correct nonsense.

If there is anything wrong, those civil servants will scold him and make him autistic.

Among the dozen or so emperors of the Dayu Dynasty, he lived the most miserable life.

Beating with a stick or imprisonment are all useless.

Now the soldiers who carry out executions dare not kill civil officials at all.

In the past, a dozen strokes of the cane could kill someone, but now forty or fifty strokes only bruise the buttocks, but no one has ever been beaten to death.

I am even less afraid of going to jail.

The prisons of the three yamen were all in the hands of civil servants. Officials who cursed the emperor and were sent to jail were the most respected by the civil servants, who euphemistically called them "character".

Torture and conviction do not exist.

Once in prison, you will be treated preferentially.

After he was released from prison, he became famous among the scholars.

As a result, he, the emperor, became a machine for others to gain fame.

Emperor Yongning was dissatisfied with Yin and Zuo, and a big part of the reason was that their disciples liked to use him to gain fame.

Every time he got angry, the two of them would jump out and plead for mercy by citing scriptures.

It's okay once or twice, but no one can tolerate it after it happens so many times in a row.

Yin Zuo and the others naturally knew that the emperor was unhappy, but they didn't take it to heart.

This is the power of flattery.

The group of assistant ministers left behind by the late emperor continued to build momentum for the two men in secret and directly set them up.

At this point, the two were only one step away from entering the cabinet.

The two people who failed to resist the temptation are now lost in the flattery of the outside world.

When doing things, he often put himself in the position of a cabinet minister and thought he was on equal footing with the regent ministers.

There was no awareness of the approaching danger.

……

The end of the year is approaching and everyone is busy preparing for the New Year, and no one mentions the issue of joining the army anymore.

No one was urging him, so Li Mu felt relaxed.

The longer we delay, the better. We can use the precious time on training.

"Sir, everything you ordered has been done.

Your name is very useful in Nanzhili.

Many gentry and merchants sent people to prepare for on-site inspections of the mines.

Merchants from all over the country also made it clear that if they took the route to the Indochina Peninsula, they would bring back some food.

Up to now, 600,000 shi of grain have been transported to Lianzhou Port, and the remaining 300,000 shi will be delivered within a month.

In addition, the students purchased 100,000 shi of fine grain and 200,000 shi of coarse grain from the local area, which are currently being stored in the Yangzhou area.

We will wait until the fleet is free after the New Year and then ship it here.”

Lan Linjie reported with a smile.

The importance of a good reputation is reflected here.

With the credibility endorsement provided by Li Mu, things went more smoothly than expected.

Of course, everyone is willing to give face, but the most important thing is benefit.

Grain is purchased with real money, so for grain merchants, it doesn't matter who they sell to.

The gentry and merchants were willing to come and contract the mines because they had reaped the benefits of mining.

Gold, silver and copper are all currencies in Dayu. What they mine is both ore and money.

As for the promises made by maritime merchants, they can basically be ignored.

More than 90% of maritime merchants will not go to the Indochina Peninsula.

The main destinations of maritime trade are Japan and Southeast Asia, followed by the Korean Peninsula, while the trade volume contributed by the Indochina Peninsula is relatively low.

The cooperation of everyone is like this because businessmen believe that harmony brings wealth.

Unless their own interests are involved, no one would offend powerful officials in the court for no reason.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Lan!"

Li Mu said affirmatively.

Subcontracting the mine was completely a last resort.

In addition to the government-run mines, there are also many mines privately opened by Guangxi gentry, which have now fallen into his hands.

There are so many mines, big and small, that it is impossible to manage them all.

Forced arrangements to resume production and mechanized management.

It is estimated that it will not be long before the loss-making problems of state-owned enterprises will reappear.

If you don’t want to lose money after all the hard work, the best option is to outsource the mine and collect rent directly every year.

“These are the students’ responsibilities and should not be taken lightly.

By the way, sir, there is one more piece of news I need to report to you.

The imperial court is reopening the investigation into the White Lotus Incident, which seems to involve Mr. Yin Zhiming and Mr. Zuo Hongjiang.

The gentry in Nanzhili are very concerned about this and would like to ask you to help find out more about it."

After hearing the news brought by Lan Linjie, Li Mu knew that Xu Wenyue had taken action.

The evidence about Yin and Zuo's collusion with the White Lotus Sect was sent out from him.

The reason why there was no action taken was probably because Xu Wenyue sensed something and didn't want to be used as a tool.

The situation is different now. The war to quell the rebellion was not going well, and he must give an explanation to the court.

At this time, exposing Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang's collusion with the White Lotus Sect is undoubtedly the best way to escape.

The attention of all parties was drawn to them. As long as it was proved that the two men were in collusion with the rebels, the blame for the failure to suppress the rebellion could be shifted away.

All the ministers were unhappy with Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang. He only needed to throw out some evidence and everyone would give them a beating.

It is almost certain that Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang will be doomed this time.

Few officials of the Dayu Dynasty could withstand investigation.

Once you dig deeper, all the bad things they have done will be exposed.

Even if they cut off their own tribe to survive and let their tribe members take the blame, they still could not escape this disaster.

Yin Zhiming and Zuo Hongjiang have great influence in the Jiangnan region. If they get involved in the rebellion, it will inevitably implicate a large group of people.

Especially for those family members who were disciples of the two, even if the court did not punish them collectively, their future would be bleak.

Not to mention becoming an official, even taking the imperial examinations was out of the question.

As long as the examiners know that they are traitorous students, no matter how good their essays are, they will be rejected without mercy.

(End of this chapter)