Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Putting everything else aside, Zhao Gou was a very rational person when it came to engaging in feudal superstition.

The main reason was that Emperor Huizong of Song went too far, and Zhao Gou was very averse to religion, auspicious omens, and the interaction between heaven and man.

During his reign, he demolished a large number of Buddhist temples and Taoist monasteries, and levied heavy taxes on those that were not demolished.

Just as Zhao Yuan was about to leave work, an official from the Tongzhengyuan rushed over to request an audience.

"Your Majesty, a secret report has arrived from Jiangxi. The sealed envelope of the report contains the words 'popular uprising'."

Upon hearing this, the newly appointed court attendant's expression changed, and he quickly took out the paper and pen that had already been prepared.

Zhao Yuan's expression was also extremely ugly. What kind of nonsense was it that a popular uprising broke out in the second year of his reign?

The memorial was written by Li Bing, the prefect of Ji'an, claiming that hundreds of farmers in Yongxin County had rioted.

Due to the county magistrate's improper handling of the situation, more than ten farmers were injured, and over a hundred were imprisoned.

After the conflict escalated, a mob instigated an uprising, infiltrating the county town to kill officials and rebel.

They then wiped out two large clans and led thousands of people to attack Ji'an Prefecture.

Five hundred garrison troops from Ji'an Prefecture rushed to suppress the rebellion upon hearing the news.

They decisively defeated the rebel army and captured the rebel leader alive.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yuan was furious.

Several thousand peasants revolted—that's a huge public resentment!

Next, Prefect Li Bing gave a detailed account of the cause and effect.

He said he was transferred to Ji'an at the beginning of the year, and about five months after taking office, someone secretly wrote a letter to the government office and threw it directly into his backyard.

The letter anonymously accused the former prefect Yan Qi of colluding with powerful clans to arbitrarily survey land during the process of converting poll tax into land tax.

The large clans often concealed their land holdings and attributed these properties to small and medium-sized landowners.

Moreover, some people reported the matter to the Provincial Administration Commission and the Provincial Surveillance Commission, but the officials sent by the province to investigate dealt with it perfunctorily.

Li Bing sensed the gravity of the matter, so he secretly sent people to investigate.

Chapter 3568 Secret Memorial

However, as a newly appointed official, he had few trusted confidants and did not trust the local officials, so he only sent a few loyal servants to visit him.

The investigation was delayed due to the autumn grain harvest.

Furthermore, because the provincial governor went to Nanjing for a meeting, he ordered all prefectures and counties to organize immigration upon his return.

News of the immigration spread, but it was exaggerated and spread by malicious individuals.

In addition, the problem of merging the poll tax into the land tax led to many people having their taxes inflated.

As a result, some people went to the county government office to cause trouble, and the situation was escalated by the clerks and yamen runners, eventually leading to this popular uprising.

"Summon the cabinet ministers and other high-ranking officials for a meeting!"

Zhao Yuan's face was as black as ink.

The ministers had no idea what had happened, and some had even gone home after get off work.

They arrived at the council hall in a daze, and as soon as they entered, they noticed that the emperor's expression was not right.

Zhao Yuan patted the memorial and said, "This is a secret memorial from Li Bing, the prefect of Ji'an, which bypassed the Jiangxi Provincial Administration Commission and the Cabinet and was sent directly to me."

"Take these and look at them at your leisure!"

The secret reporting system was created by Wen Huanzhang to prevent officials from concealing information at each level.

Prime Minister Zhai Ruwen was the first to read it. After reading it, he passed it on to Deputy Prime Minister Liu Jian and began to fidget.

Yan Qi, who violated regulations during the land tax reform, was a descendant of Yan Hui.

I had a relationship with Zhai Ruwen when I was in Shandong, and I could be considered part of Zhai Ruwen's faction.

The Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangxi was also from Zhai Ruwen's faction.

Zhai Ruwen was already very cautious; after being promoted to prime minister, he did not embezzle a single penny.

But the guys he promoted weren't obedient at all, and they became increasingly audacious.

The secret report was passed down, and two or three more people read it.

Zhai Ruwen could no longer sit still. He took off his official hat, placed it on the table, rose from his seat, knelt down, and kowtowed, saying, "Your subject has failed to recognize talent and requests to retire and return to his hometown."

The ministers who had not yet read the secret report were all astonished.

What could possibly lead a prime minister to resign?

Soon, Chen Dong also finished reading the secret report. He did not ask to resign, but stood up and bowed: "The Censorate also bears responsibility for this matter. The conversion of land tax into poll tax requires the assistance of censors for verification."

"The entire Ji'an Prefecture is problematic, yet the inspecting censors helped them get away with it. Please transfer the relevant censors to the Court of Judicial Review for investigation."

“The Ministry of Personnel also bears responsibility for oversight.” Meng Zhao then stood up.

After the major case, there were changes in official positions. Originally, Pan Lianggui was to be appointed Minister of Personnel, and Meng Zhao was to be appointed Minister of Justice.

However, in the final appointment, their official positions were switched.

There's no other reason than that Meng Zhao is a true ally, and he also has a long and distinguished career.

Pan Liangui lacks sufficient qualifications and may find it difficult to gain the respect of the masses.

Zhao Yuan remained silent, waiting for everyone to finish reading the secret report.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, although there have been civil unrest, those were during the transition between the old and new dynasties.

This is the first large-scale uprising since the country was brought to peace.

Although someone was secretly instigating it, the fact that it could swell to several thousand people is definitely a case of officials forcing the people to rebel!

The county magistrate who directly escalated the conflict has been killed by the rioters.

The powerful clan that colluded with the prefect to illegally measure land was also wiped out by the rioters, and both families were exterminated.

But why are the Provincial Administration Commissioner and the Provincial Judicial Commissioner being so perfunctory and failing to report this matter until now?

There are even signs that they are trying to cover it up.

If it weren't for the secret report from the prefect of Ji'an, Zhao Yuan would still be completely unaware of the situation.

The nature of this is extremely egregious!

Zhao Yuan looked at Zhai Ruwen: "You should retire. You will be granted the title of Grand Tutor and return to your hometown in glory."

Zhai Ruwen was just stating his position; he really doesn't want to retire. He still wants to assist the wise ruler in restoring the glorious Han and Tang dynasties!

Zhai Ruwen, like a deflated balloon, knelt down with a droopy face and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Liu Jian remained expressionless, but inwardly he was overjoyed.

He finally outlasted Zhai Ruwen, and he can finally become prime minister.

Zhao Yuan then said, "The Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review will send officials to Jiangxi to conduct a joint trial and thorough investigation of this matter."

"According to the order!"

Chen Dong and Pan Liangui accepted the order in unison.

"All provinces across the country should conduct their own re-examinations of the land tax reform to see if similar practices like those in Jiangxi still exist,"

Zhao Yuan continued,

"I will give the local officials who have not yet been transferred a chance to correct their mistakes."

"If someone has already been promoted or transferred, they can still turn themselves in to receive a reduced punishment."

"As for the newly appointed local officials, if they don't conduct a thorough investigation, they'll just have to take the blame for their predecessors."

"If problems with the predecessor are found, the current local official will be credited and blameless."

After saying this, Zhao Yuan gave another order: "Li Bing, the prefect of Ji'an, has rendered meritorious service in suppressing the civil unrest and in secretly reporting the major case."

"He has been promoted to Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangxi!"

Upon hearing this, all the ministers were astonished.

How did he rise from a minor prefect to the Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangxi?

This is encouraging officials to submit secret memorials to the emperor; it's encouraging officials to report on their predecessors.

Zhao Yuan then said, "Vice Chancellor Liu Jian is promoted to Prime Minister."

"Fang Mengqing, Minister of Revenue, is hereby appointed as a cabinet minister."

"Bai Chongyan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

After the imperial meeting ended, Zhai Ruwen left dejectedly.

The Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangxi was his relative by marriage, and he was recommended by Zhai Ruwen, so it was clear that there was a big problem this time.

The former prefect of Ji'an was also an old acquaintance of Zhai Ruwen and was considered the mastermind behind the case.

Chapter 3569 Reforming the Labor Service

The two dared to cause trouble in Jiangxi, undoubtedly because they were relying on Zhai Ruwen's power.

They disrupted the Ming Dynasty's first national policy, "equalizing land tax and poll tax," sparking the first genuine peasant uprising since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

As the prime minister, if Zhai Ruwen doesn't take the blame, who will?

At least, the emperor gave him ample face. When Zhai Ruwen retired, he was granted the title of Grand Tutor and was not punished in any way.

Looking at Zhai Ruwen's hunched back, Qin Hui felt a strange fear rise in his heart.

He had a vague premonition that one day in the future, he might also be investigated.

But can we stop now?

.....

The second secret report was quickly sent to the capital.

It was sent by Gong Xiu, the military commander of Jiangxi, and it was written by him personally, without any scribe polishing or ghostwriting.

"Your Majesty, I really didn't take anything, I just accepted a gift."

"When I held my 60th birthday banquet, many people came to give me gifts, some of whom were my former subordinates. I felt it would be too embarrassing to refuse them."

"Later, someone asked me for a favor, and I thought it wasn't anything serious, so I just gave them a few perfunctory greetings..."

"What I want is not money, what I want is face."

"Before I joined His Majesty in raising an army, I was a gold miner, and my family had some savings."

"I'm not into women, I just enjoy a few drinks and being surrounded by people when I go out..."

“Those bastards often invite me to drink, and after drinking, I agree to do things for them in a muddled way.”

"I regretted it as soon as I sobered up, but they were all friends and former subordinates, so I couldn't afford to fall out with them..."

"This incident has blown up too much. Those bastards, Xie Dan and his cronies, are trying to drag me into covering it up. How can we possibly cover it up?"

"The garrison troops stationed in Ji'an Prefecture suppressed the rioters and won a battle. They were required to report their achievements and request rewards."

"The victory report arrived, and I kept it for over half a month, getting more and more scared the more I thought about it..."

“I am guilty. I accepted many gifts and occupied more than a thousand acres of land. I deserve to have my property confiscated, be exiled, or beheaded.”

“But I have six sons. Four of them followed Your Majesty in raising an army in Hanzhong, and another son joined the army in the first year of Hongwu.”

"To date, one is dead and the other is crippled."

"They are all loyal heroes to Your Majesty. Please, Your Majesty, spare my sons..."

"Xie Dan and the others usually appear to be honest officials, and they are also very capable in governing."

"I really didn't know they were messing around during the land tax reform; it was only when they caused a popular uprising that I realized something was wrong..."

After reading the secret report sent by Gong Xiu, Zhao Yuan was both angry and helpless.

If someone dares to write a letter to confess, then there's definitely no major problem. Or rather, they won't distort the facts excessively, because the imperial court will certainly investigate the case thoroughly.

Gong Xiu was a bandit who mined abandoned gold mines in the mountains of Yangzhou. He brought his four sons and hundreds of young men to join the rebel army of the Zhu family.