Fu Shanhe

Chapter 482 Panic
Governor's Yamen.

A large number of scholars were on their way to Nanjing when they were kidnapped by mysterious bandits. Local officials naturally dared not take it lightly.

They not only organized a rescue effort immediately, but also reported the information back to higher authorities.

A series of bad news reached Zhuang Yuanjia, leaving him completely stunned.

It is true that there are many bandits and outlaws in Dayu, but most of these people have connections with local powerful families and know who they can rob and who they cannot touch.

A hothead who doesn't know the rules usually doesn't live more than a year before being wiped out by the government.

The petitioning of these scholars in Nanjing was planned by the gentry and powerful families, and arrangements had been made along the way.

If they are not served good wine and meat, it means that scholars disdain to associate with them.

Who dares to defy the heavens and kidnap these ancestors!

"check!"

"Order all local authorities to investigate this matter thoroughly and get to the bottom of it!"

Zhuang Yuanjia gave the order immediately.

Although he, as the governor, did not want to see this group of scholars come and cause trouble.

According to data collected from various regions, hundreds of scholars have gone missing, making it a major incident involving a large number of people.

The fact that such a powerful and ruthless bandit appeared under his jurisdiction makes him, as the local official, largely to blame.

The order had just been given when an urgent voice rang in his ears.

"Your Excellency, something terrible has happened!"

"A large number of corpses were found in the Yangtze River."

Judging from his clothing, the deceased was likely a scholar with official rank.

......"

Before the visitor could finish speaking, Zhuang Yuanjia collapsed on the spot.

If it weren't for the quick reaction of his subordinates who managed to restrain him in time, he might have been killed on the spot.

There's no way around it; by piecing together the two pieces of information, it's easy to uncover the truth.

The kidnappers' "kidnapping" was a ruse; the real truth was a premeditated murder.

In broad daylight, there are very few people in the entire Great Yu Dynasty who would dare to do such a thing.

Coincidentally, there was such a ruthless person under his command.

Despite having no evidence, Zhuang Yuanjia remained convinced of his judgment.

Well, if we can't solve the problem, we'll deal with the people who created it.

If the killings are carried out quickly enough, the farce of scholars from Jiangnan besieging the government office in protest will never occur.

If scholars from other places were ambushed on their way, how could those from Yingtian Prefecture be spared?

The difficulty for a regular army to ambush a scholar who is no match for an assassin is not much higher than killing a chicken.

No wonder history books portray "warriors ruling the country" as devils; these guys really dared to do it!

Having seen through the truth, Zhuang Yuanjia closed his eyes in resignation.

Out of sight, out of mind; in this matter, he had to turn a blind eye.

Regardless of what Yun Xiangwen did, they are now all in the same boat.

With the situation having developed to this point, we can only hope that Yun Xiangwen has covered his tracks perfectly and left no evidence.

……

Songjiang, Yan Prefecture.

After experiencing prison life in Nanjing, Yan Mingyu, who was terrified, suddenly became very low-key.

He wasn't even actively involved in the anti-tax movement anymore.

The Yan family does exactly what others do, resolutely refusing to stand out.

"Master, something terrible has happened!"

Yan Mingyu frowned slightly as he heard the housekeeper's panicked voice from afar.

"Your husband is doing well!"

"Take your time and talk it out. The sky isn't going to fall."

Yan Mingyu said irritably.

The situation outside is indeed a bit chaotic, but it's far from being out of control.

Having learned their lesson from the White Lotus Rebellion, they had suffered a setback.

While resisting taxes is one thing, the situation in the Jiangnan region must not be allowed to deteriorate.

The north is in chaos. People can watch the court's antics, but chaos is not allowed in their own territories.

The various groups tacitly organized militias not only to resist the imperial court's forced conscription, but also to deal with emergencies.

Whenever there is any sign of unrest, everyone will join forces to suppress it.

"Master, the sky has fallen!"

"More than a hundred scholars who set off from Songjiang Prefecture to Nanjing City were all kidnapped by bandits, and their fate is now unknown."

According to the servant who returned with the news, each member of the scholar's family who was kidnapped prepared a ransom of 10,000 taels of silver, which was to be delivered to the kidnapping site the next day to secure the release of the hostage.

After hearing the housekeeper's explanation, Yan Mingyu was stunned.

What kind of robbers are these? They're incredibly powerful!
Immediately afterward, he realized that the situation was not good.

Hundreds of scholars, that's a ransom of millions of taels.

No matter how much the local government values ​​it, it is impossible for them to agree to such an unreasonable demand.

Even if someone dared to agree, the government could not afford to advance such a huge sum of money.

Notifying the family to ransom the person is pure nonsense.

With the communication speed these days, by the time the family receives the message, the agreed-upon day for ransom will have long passed.

It wasn't a kidnapping at all; they were clearly determined to kill him. The kidnapping was just a pretext to fool people.

In a typical kidnapping by bandits or outlaws, the family would be given ample time to raise money.

"How did the relevant government departments handle the follow-up?"

Yan Mingyu asked with concern.

If the local authorities can find the person responsible, then everything will be fine.

If the ticket is killed, then things will be really serious.

If the imperial court holds someone accountable, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will definitely come to investigate.

Their disgraceful roles within the organization will most likely be exposed.

Even if they are not dealt with for the time being, the sons of those who serve as officials in the imperial court will have "no bright future."

The political system of Dayu was mature, and it had long established a system for suppressing powerful local clans.

It's difficult to take action openly, but suppressing someone covertly is very easy.

As long as the promotion of the sons of officials in the court is suppressed, they will fall behind in the aristocratic circle in less than twenty years.

Even the most powerful family will decline if it continues to be attacked for two generations.

"Your Excellency, order a thorough investigation into this case and a full rescue of the kidnapped scholar."

But sir, you know this.

Due to special circumstances, local government offices are currently at a standstill and unable to function normally.

It's uncertain whether this order will even leave the county, let alone be used for investigating a case or rescuing people.

The butler's answer left Yan Mingyu speechless.

It was originally intended as a way to put pressure on the government, but unexpectedly, the boomerang came back so quickly.

The shutdown of government offices provided local officials with an excellent excuse to shirk responsibility.

Although they still bear some responsibility, at least half of the blame can be shifted to the constables responsible for maintaining order.

Their inaction during the strike was the key factor that led to the kidnapping.

If nothing unexpected happens, all the officials and accomplices involved will be punished by the imperial court afterwards.

Don't underestimate these people; they are filled with the shadows of powerful and influential families.

By dealing with these people, the imperial court effectively severed the gentry's influence within the government offices.

Although it won't be long before things return to normal, there are still risks associated with short-term loss of control.

The two provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi are the best examples.

After the government troops recovered Guangdong and Guangxi, Li Mu took advantage of the vacancy in the government offices and sent a group of retired soldiers to fill the positions.

By the time the gentry returned from their travels, the situation had already become a fait accompli, and everyone had no choice but to accept it. While the anti-tax movement in Jiangnan was quite lively, similar movements were emerging in other southern provinces to varying degrees, but only Guangdong and Guangxi remained calm.

It wasn't that the gentry of Guangdong and Guangxi had higher moral character; the main problem was that they had lost influence over local government offices.

Even local officials sent by the imperial court had to be mindful of Governor-General Li's feelings, otherwise they would be nothing more than rubber stamps.

With successful examples of curbing the power of the gentry, no one can guarantee that the imperial court will not follow suit.

It may be a bit difficult to operate, but the rewards after success are very tempting.

While specific tax data for Guangdong and Guangxi is unavailable, based on circulated information, it can be roughly determined that their fiscal revenue was not much worse than that of Southern Zhili.

The combined income of the two provinces is equal to that of a large province. This may seem normal, but it actually has a much deeper meaning.

Compared to Southern Zhili, Guangdong and Guangxi were like remote, inaccessible places.

Even in Guangdong, where the situation was slightly better, fiscal revenue before the tax reform was less than a quarter of that of Southern Zhili.

The situation in Guangxi is even worse; the fiscal revenue of any major prefecture there is higher than theirs.

Even now, the economic size of Guangdong and Guangxi is only about half that of Southern Zhili.

With half the size of its economy, it received almost the same amount of tax revenue.

For a cash-strapped imperial court, the temptation was simply too great.

"knew.

Pass down the order: tell the clansmen that the outside world is in chaos and they should not go out easily in the near future.

In addition, mobilize the farmers below and take advantage of the end of the busy farming season.

"Reinforce the walls of the house, and widen the river in front of it as well."

Yan Mingyu gave the order with a solemn expression.

The reason why powerful and influential families can prosper for so long is that they naturally have a set of survival methods.

In addition to a flexible political stance, they also put a lot of effort into building their stronghold.

In terms of defense, it is much stronger than that of an average county town.

Even at the height of the White Lotus Rebellion's power, some powerful local clans withstood the rebels' attacks.

……

The Six Ministries of Nanjing.

"More than six hundred scholars were killed by bandits in broad daylight. What were the local government offices doing?"

Minister of Justice An Jingzhi was the first to speak out.

The Nanjing Ministry of Justice had limited authority; major issues were decided by the Ministry of Justice in the capital. His position as Minister was essentially a semi-retired one.

I thought I could just sit back and do nothing for ten or eight years, wait for the next generation to grow up, and then retire and enjoy my old age.

He mostly remained a detached observer of the conflicts within the court, acting as a mere spectator.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and a shocking case occurred within his area of ​​expertise.

More than 600 scholars were murdered. If we don't get to the bottom of this, we won't be able to give an explanation to the people.

"Lord An, you should know what has happened recently."

Under the manipulation of certain individuals, a large number of constables went on strike, local government offices were already paralyzed, and the areas were in a state of disorder.

Without government intervention, how could the hidden mountain bandits, outlaws, and remnants of rebel armies not run rampant?

Wan Huaijin spoke first.

Regardless of the truth, it's always good to smear the opponent first.

Incidentally, this also provides an opportunity to win over the hearts and minds of local officials.

In matters of tax collection, in addition to the imperial commissioner who was responsible for urging the payment, local officials were also the main responsible persons.

If word gets out about today's conversation, it won't be long before a bunch of local officials are forced to gravitate towards him.

In particular, some officials in the areas where the crime occurred, in order to protect their own positions, would also echo his opinion and push the responsibility away.

"Lord Wan, it's no use talking about this now. The key is to see the evidence."

The Ministry of Justice handles cases solely based on evidence!

An Jingzhi responded rationally.

In order to collect taxes, the Ministry of Revenue and the gentry of Jiangnan were locked in a confrontation, leaving Imperial Commissioner Wan Huaijin with no way out.

But this Minister of Justice was different.

He certainly disapproved of the actions of the Jiangnan gentry, but that didn't mean he wanted to fight them to the death.

The murder of the scholar had a terrible impact, but he was not the person directly responsible. What the Ministry of Justice needed to do was to investigate the truth and give the people an explanation.

The story behind it was not within his scope of concern.

Based on the current situation, Minister Wan is still a major suspect in this case.

A group of gentry rushed to Nanjing, clearly intending to cause trouble for Wan Huaijin.

Anyone who has worked in the officialdom of Dayu knows that being surrounded by scholars is most likely to trigger a serious political incident.

There's no point in reasoning with these people. Many scholars are just bookworms and pedantic fools with only one mind.

Truly intelligent people would never get involved in such activities.

Regardless of the final outcome, once someone is labeled a troublemaker, their future career in officialdom is effectively locked in.

The emperor disliked this kind of official, and neither did the other high-ranking officials in the court.

It is perfectly reasonable for someone to arrange for sabotage in advance to resolve their own troubles and address the problem at its source.

Wan Huaijin, who had the support of the military, also had the motive and the capability to do so.

"Lord An is right, this case must be thoroughly investigated."

However, the situation in Jiangnan continuing to spiral out of control is not a viable solution.

In order to restore local order and stabilize local morale.

I propose that the six ministries jointly petition the court to transfer troops from the northern frontier or Guangdong and Guangxi to stabilize the situation!

Wan Huaijin then revealed his purpose.

It's practically impossible to win over the Minister of Justice by using a major case.

However, the chaos created an excellent opportunity to transfer troops from other regions into Southern Zhili.

In order to persuade the court to transfer troops from the northern frontier, he even proposed transferring troops from Guangdong and Guangxi.

For the nobility, it was acceptable to transfer troops from either the south or the north.

As long as the meat stays in the pot, everyone will benefit sooner or later.

With some follow-up efforts, there will be an opportunity to come over and secure a good position.

However, for the various factions in the imperial court, there was still a difference between the Marquis of Hanshui and the meritorious nobles.

The former was a feudal lord granted an outer fiefdom, who was having a great time expanding his territory in the south; it was clear at a glance that he was not a peaceful ruler.

If the other party were to extend their reach into Southern Zhili and then contact their former subordinates, their power would become boundless.

The nobility faction was equally powerful, but it was a loosely organized group with internal divisions.

Neither of the two leaders had much ambition, and their own abilities were very limited; they couldn't even control their underlings.

Even if the powerful noble faction grows too strong, the court can still be divided from within, which is better than having an uncontrollable powerful minister.

"Transferring troops from the northern frontier to the south is barely worth considering, but forget about Guangdong and Guangxi."

The Marquis of Hanshui is currently waging war in the south, and the armies of Guangdong and Guangxi are likely on a distant expedition at this time; distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.

Shi Qingchen from the Ministry of War was the first to respond.

Once you have a worse option, it becomes much easier to accept a slightly better one.

From the perspective of the civil officials, none of them wanted the military generals to become too powerful.

However, the chaotic situation in the Jiangnan region was completely out of control.

Before launching the tax resistance movement, the gentry had sounded out the situation and promised not to cause trouble.

As a result, problems arose one after another as soon as the operation began.

The merchants went on strike, and Nanjing was filled with mass killings. That was all.

Those who died were all unscrupulous merchants. No matter how prominent the people behind them were, the merchants on the front stage were all second-rate.

No matter how many die, no one will care.

But the situation is different now; all those who died were scholars.

The lowest level of academic achievement among them was Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination), and there were also a large number of Juren (successful candidates in the provincial-level imperial examination).

(End of this chapter)