After Li Chunfang met with Hai Rui, the entire South Zhili was waiting for the emperor's reply.
The waiting process is always painful, for both parties.
During this half month, the Japanese pirates in Songjiang Prefecture were ready to attack, so Su Song prepared his troops and hurriedly called for help.
Zhu Xixiao, the left governor who happened to be on official business in Songjiang Prefecture, asked Nanjing garrison Zhang Jing for reinforcements. After a consensus, the water transport yamen was transferred. Huang Yingjia, the former co-coordinator of water transport, was assigned to guard Susong Shenshu camp. Chen Wangmo, the general of water transport, was asked to assist Su Song in preparing the road.
Stand ready.
At the same time, the various state capitals, counties and towns, and I don’t know where to start, gradually spread the tax amounts paid by the two capitals and thirteen provinces over the years.
When they learned that Southern Zhili accounted for 60% of the world's tax revenue, the people had different reactions.
There are superior people who are proud and satisfied, there are people who feel deeply unbalanced and unfair, and there are also good people who call for reduction of wealth.
This kind of thing is neither prohibited nor illegal, and it is not easy for the government to deal with it.
For a time, the saying that "the Ming Dynasty was supported by Southern Zhili" became very popular.
And the imperial envoys were not idle either.
Several major cases were copied in succession.
Not to mention the Salt Merchants and Chamber of Commerce, almost no one was arrested. Hai Rui ransacked their homes and arrested them all.
Several big salt merchants begged their deceased relatives for help, but to no avail.
Xu Jie was even more diligent and personally supervised the Xu Kun murder and conspiracy case, the canal boat capsizing case, the Shilin fake broadcast case, the Taizhou case of inciting stupid people, the Huai'an case of insulting the imperial envoy... and other eleven cases.
The chief minister, the prefect, and the censor were all involved, and the minister was arrested like a dumpling, waiting to be escorted to the capital.
While visits were not allowed, news of implication was released from time to time.
Every now and then, I'm surprised.
Both sides showed their teeth and claws, but maintained restraint.
In this atmosphere, it was not until the second day of March that the imperial envoy finally met with Li Chunfang again.
What exactly was discussed is unknown.
But in the next few days, Su Song's military preparedness suddenly showed its power, and in an unknown corner, it came face to face with the invading Japanese pirates.
The garrison, which had been stagnant before, took the lead and went to the battlefield in person, annihilating the Japanese pirates in one fell swoop and restoring peace to Songjiang Prefecture.
Unfortunately, due to the strong currents, many bodies were washed away and the work was greatly reduced.
In addition, the saying that "the Ming Dynasty was supported by Southern Zhili" suddenly ceased.
The enlightened squires and clans are running around shouting for the great unity of the world and that the north and the south are one family.
This kind of arrangement makes people feel admiration from the bottom of their hearts.
At the same time, Hai Rui finished raiding the last few salt merchants and transferred them to the magistrate. After Ming Zhengdian, the salt commissioner, finally stopped.
Together with Chen Dong, Shaoqing of Dali Temple, and Wang Xijue, Minister of Criminal Affairs of Nanzhili, he closed the salt policy case and sealed it.
He will return to the capital soon to resume his duties.
Coincidentally, the imperial case in Xu Jie's hands has also been completed, and he will return to Beijing with him to resume his duties.
Before leaving, Xu Jie felt that the people's life was not easy, and asked Ding An Bo Gao Gong to return all the 278,431 acres of fertile land donated by the people to the people.
As for the second son Xu Kun, who plotted to assassinate the official, Xu Jie still requested the Songjiang government office to return the body and bury it himself after his family was killed.
The people were grateful for his virtues and praised him for his great righteousness and abandonment of petty sentiments.
Under the auspices of Gao Gong, everyone tearfully erected a monument to commemorate Xu Shaohu's meritorious deeds.
On the ninth day of March, Rao Renkan, the censor of Henan Province, arrived in Nanzhili to check the documents of Nanjing Ji Dao.
On the same day, Cao Bangfu, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, became an official through begging.
On March 11, there was an imperial edict to set up the Salt Administration Yamen in Shandong to accept the Provincial Government Envoy Department, to lead the six salt administration departments, and to follow the imperial edict to the Lianghuai Transfer Department.
On the same day, Qin Minglei, the Minister of Rites in Nanjing, invited him to become an official.
On March 14th, there was an edict stating that Xuancheng Bowei Guobin was the mastermind of the capsize of the canal boat. In order to clarify the punishment law and set the direction of the court, he was ordered to be punished and sentenced to suicide, and the prince would not attack for the time being.
On that day, Zhu Xixiao, the governor of the left, led the Fusi of Beizhen to come forward and ordered Chengbo to obey the order.
The next day, there was a funeral at Xuancheng's residence.
On March 17, the emperor and the cabinet reviewed and confirmed that the deceased was found to be correct by officials of seventh rank and above. Those in custody were sent to the capital immediately.
He was promoted to Zhang Lu, the censor of the right Qiandu of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate, and became the censor of the left Qiandu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. He was still in charge of Caojiang and patrolling the river.
At the same time, he was ordered to take charge of the affairs of the Nanjing Right Army Governor's Office. Admiral Cao Jiang was also in charge of the affairs of the Governor's Office of Patrolling Jiang. Xu Qiaosong, Marquis of Yongkang, came to Beijing to meet the emperor.
On March 18th, Xu Jie, Hai Rui, Chen Dong and other imperial envoys returned to Beijing.
On the same day, Li Chunfang, a former scholar, heard that Empress Dowager Rensheng was raising Princess Yanqing for enlightenment, and specially asked her granddaughter to be sent to the palace to serve as a companion.
On April 18, an edict was sent to Nanjing.
It is accurate that Cao Bangfu, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, and Qin Minglei, the Minister of Rites in Nanjing, retired from their official posts and were appointed as the Crown Prince's Taibao and the Crown Prince's Grand Master respectively.
Wan Hao was promoted to the Imperial Academy of Nanjing and offered wine as a minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing. He was awarded five taels of silver.
Changed, Wang Xijue, the Minister of Criminal Affairs of Nanjing, was the Left Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Nanjing, and was given twenty taels of silver and a golden robe.
He ordered Xu Qiaosong, Marquis of Yongkang, who also served as governor of Feng, An, Hui, Ning, Chi, Tai and Guang, to be stationed in Anqing. Cao Jiang was still the admiral and went to Anqing to camp from that day on.
He ordered Zhu Xixiao, the left governor in charge of the Jinyi Guards, to escort Li Baiyang, the granddaughter of former bachelor Li Chunfang, into the capital.
In addition, Ding Anbo Gaogong was asked to work with various ministries and departments in Southern Zhili to prepare the "Shanghai Shipping Department", and the customs tax amount of the previous three years was used to exempt various governments in Southern Zhili from taxes, and the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs made its own arrangements.
…
On April 13th, we crossed the Luhe River in Tongzhou.
Tongzhou County is the starting point of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and at the foot of the Emperor. It is only forty miles west of the capital.
Gyeonggi is an important city, located in a prosperous place, with an endless stream of people coming and going.
When the imperial envoy's ship docked, people gathered around to watch.
After the Jin Yiwei cleared away the irrelevant people, the imperial envoy and his party disembarked.
Xu Jie pushed away the guard who was trying to help him, put his hands behind his back, and walked slowly off the boat like a carriage.
Quietly waiting for Jin Yiwei to find the carriage, he looked sideways at Hai Rui and asked, "What will your Majesty do to me?"
Hai Rui shook his head and said nothing.
Xu Jie sighed: "Haigangfeng, remember that I rescued you once. This does not violate the law, so why not tell me?"
He originally wanted to have a hand in splitting up Southern Zhili to show his usefulness.
It turned out that the emperor was more stable than he thought.
He actually rejected Li Chunfang's proposal, and instead used the safest method, slowly trying to figure it out.
While it was beyond Li Chunfang's expectation, it also cut off Xu Jie's usefulness.
I don't know if his good student helped him.
Nowadays, life and death are in the hands of others, and we don’t even have the slightest bargaining chip. How can we not feel anxious?
Hai Rui met Xu Jie's eyes, paused, and said seriously: "Why would your Majesty inform you of your plans? I really don't know about this."
Xu Jie knew that Hai Rui would not lie lightly, so he felt helpless.
Logically speaking, if the emperor wanted to kill him, he would not be allowed to return to the capital as an imperial envoy and should be sent to the capital.
Moreover, he is the former chief minister after all, and for the sake of the minister's dignity, he should not be killed easily.
After all, no official wanted to see Xia Yan's incident repeated.
But...for things like wealth and life, you can only rely on guesswork, which is torture enough.
Xu Jie tossed and turned during these nights, and in a short period of time, he had aged a lot.
He couldn't suppress his fear - the emperor was too cruel.
Xu Jie is now in southern Zhili and has lost his living space.
His colleagues in the township party hated him for his previous methods, and it can be said that everyone wanted to beat him.
He wanted to rely on his clan, but was forced to return his land and send away his "family".
Even his closest descendants began to look at him strangely when he decided to use his second son to take the blame for his eldest son.
It can be said that he has now been forced from a veteran minister seeking a career into a pure minister!
Facing this kind of emperor, he couldn't be sure whether the emperor summoned him to Beijing because he had other plans or if he wanted to continue to manipulate him.
He has been thinking about whether he still has a way out?
Just when Xu Jie and Hai Rui were looking at each other in silence, a burst of noise suddenly came from the distance.
The Jin Yiwei immediately gathered around several senior officials.
Gu Chengguang quickly brought people forward to check.
After a while, he turned around in a hurry.
Gu Chengguang looked strange and said: "Censor Hai, there is a Tatar envoy in front of us, and for some reason, he got into trouble with others."
After that, he added: "People from the Chahar tribe."
Hai Rui was startled, then frowned.
The Chahar tribe is often called the Tuman Khan, that is, the orthodox Khan tribe of Mongolia today.
Why were envoys sent to the court?
Luo Sigong was still young and had never experienced the Gengxu Rebellion. He couldn't help but curiously asked: "Mongols? Chahar tribe?"
Xu Jie was also thinking about the reason.
He distractedly explained: "There are many tribes in Mongolia, and they are not all of the same mind."
"There are tribes that are friendly with our dynasty, and there are tribes that are at odds with our dynasty."
"Although Gao Gong's abilities are mediocre, the tribute paid to Anda he presided over was a great achievement. This Anda Khan is a tribe that is good to our dynasty."
"As for the Tuman Khan, they are a tribe that is at odds with our dynasty."
"The Khan of the Tuman Khan is called Zasak Tuhan. This man's golden family is orthodox, ambitious, and devoted to governance. He formulated the "Tumen Khan Code", selected thousands of households, and integrated noble ministers."
"Outside, the Tuman Khans went east to conquer the Haixi and Jianzhou Jurchens, and to the south they repeatedly invaded our Qiji, Liao and other places."
"They even sent envoys repeatedly in an attempt to persuade Anda Khan to abandon the covenant and join forces to invade our country."
"This is actually a serious problem for me!"
Xu Jie's expression was serious, as if he had treasures from his family.
His tone was ups and downs, filled with fear and murderous intent.
With this awe-inspiring attitude, his words were inadvertently filled with coldness.
Hai Rui and others looked at each other - this was the first time that everyone felt the majesty of the chief minister!
Xu Jie seemed unaware and slowly turned his head to look at Gu Chengguang: "What is Tuman Khan doing in Beijing?"
Gu Chengguang recounted what he had just inquired about one by one: "In February, the Tuman Khan learned that our dynasty had changed from old to new. He was determined to be a traitor and sent people to test him."
"At the beginning of March, Chang'ang and Dong Hu of Duoyan Guard marched to Xifengkou."
"Fortunately, Qi Jiguang, the governor of the four towns, learned about it and responded quickly with troops."
"The two sides fought a battle. Although they forced Dong Hu back, there were casualties on both sides."
"Then Dong Hu proposed to exchange prisoners and ask for rewards from the imperial court. Qi Jiguang did not dare to do it, so he suppressed the people and memorials and sent them to the capital."
Xu Jie and Hai Rui looked at each other with a serious look in their eyes.
Both of them had experienced the Gengxu Rebellion, and the scene of eight days of Tatar plunder around the capital was still vivid in their minds.
No one dares to take Tatar lightly.
Xu Jie was still waiting to ask again. He thought about it for a while and was about to speak. Then he suddenly remembered the current situation. He was in a difficult position and his mood waned.
Hai Rui asked, "Then what's going on in the front?"
Gu Chengguang looked around and whispered: "The Tatar envoys had a conflict with Wang Shangshu's generals who came to Beijing. The county did not dare to start a fight, so more and more people gathered."
Hai Rui was stunned: "Wang Zhigao?"
If he wasn't the Minister of Justice, how could he become a general?
Xu Jie was more keen on this matter. He suddenly interrupted and said in surprise: "Wang Chonggu came to Beijing!?"
Gu Chengguang hurriedly spoke clearly: "Yes, it is Wang Chonggu, the Minister of the Ministry of War."
"Wang Shangshu took the lead in going to Beijing to meet the Holy Spirit. Some families left their private soldiers behind. They were not very good-tempered. They had grudges with the Chahar tribe. They happened to meet each other, so they started to riot."
Xu Jie nodded, understanding.
When I first agreed to pay tribute, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng took the lead on the central side, and Wang Chonggu took the lead on the border.
After the Anda Khan bowed his head and offered tribute and trade to each other, he almost broke up with the Tuman Khan.
After that, Wang Chonggu wanted to repeat his old trick and sent the Kalaqin tribe to make peace in the middle. As a result, the Tuman Khan did not show mercy and the two sides fought fiercely.
In short, the senior officials of Tuman Khan are very afraid of Wang Chonggu.
It seems that the envoys coming to Beijing now are the most determined militants.
Xu Jie rubbed his chin and thought subconsciously.
Why come?
The new king has ascended the throne. Let's find out what's true. Or do you think that the court is unstable inside and outside, and want to ask for benefits? Or is it simply a barbarian act?
Xu Jie couldn't think of a reason. He shook his head and looked at Hai Rui: "Let's go to Beijing first."
Entering the center is nothing more than a life and death. After a hundred deaths, there is nothing he cannot know while alive.
At this time, Jin Yiwei had already brought the carriage and was waiting at the side.
After Xu Jie finished speaking, he turned around and got on the carriage.
Hai Rui took a second look, nodded, and got into the same carriage as Xu Jie.
Chen Dong and others went to the next car.
After getting on the carriage, Hai Rui was still a little worried: "Xu Shaohu, from your perspective, is there anything serious about the Mongol Khan's sudden change?"
Both Xuanda and Jiliao are too close to the capital.
The Gengxu Rebellion left an indelible shadow on people.
But Xu Jie pondered for a moment and shook his head: "Haigangfeng is worrying too much."
Seeing that Hai Rui was still uneasy, he explained the reason: "Hai Gangfeng doesn't know something. The Chahar tribe has suffered repeated heavy losses and has not recovered yet. From my perspective, I'm afraid it's just a bluff."
Hai Rui was startled: "Suffered a big hit?"
Before that, he was either a lowly official or still in prison.
Moreover, relatively speaking, Hai Rui is not very clear about external affairs.
Xu Jie nodded proudly: "I was present at the Ministry of War in the Battle of Yiyishi, and I commanded the Battle of Jielingkou. I know the Tuman Khan quite well."
"In the first year of Longqing's reign, Ying Ke and Dong Hu joined forces with the Duoyan Guards, combined with the three guards of Wu Liangha and tens of thousands of people, and invaded the Luanhe River. The capital was shocked."
"But within a month, they were repulsed by our army, and Yingke was also killed by our weapons."
"Not only this one, I heard that in the fourth year of Longqing's reign, they were defeated by the commander-in-chief Li Chengliang in Liaodong, and the killings were insignificant."
"Even those who grew up in the field could not recover so quickly."
After hearing this, Hai Rui felt a little relieved.
He shook his head and sighed: "What a troubled time."
Last year, the emperor held his hand and said that the central government had no money and entrusted the salt administration of South Zhili to him.
After half a year of struggling in southern Zhili, the Tatars started making trouble in the border areas again.
It's a pity that the emperor is only eleven years old, how can he bear such a heavy burden?
Seeing Hai Rui's sigh, Xu Jie couldn't help but smile and comforted him: "Hai Gangfeng can rest assured that the military expenditures of our court are not in vain. Not to mention anything else, we spent eight million taels the year before last.
"
Hai Rui was startled and said in shock: "Eight million!?"
How much income does the country have in total?
The emperor had previously told him that Taicang had more than three million in cash a year. If grain, rice, fodder, and tea were all converted into cash, then the internal funds in the warehouse, Taipusi treasury, and Guanglusi treasury could be converted into cash.
Adding them all in, the number would probably be just over fifteen million taels.
Does this mean that half of the military expenditure will be consumed!?
Xu Jie didn't take Hai Rui's shock seriously and laughed and said, "What else would Hai Gangfeng think?"
"Hai Gangfeng, believe it or not, half of the 5.27 million taels you brought back from this trip will be used as military expenses."
Based on his experience in governing the cabinet, 40% of his annual income is military expenditure, and 40% must go into internal funds to raise the pigs for the clan.
Hai Rui remained silent.
This is the danger of excessive border conflicts.
This is not militancy, this is exhaustion on the defensive.
He sighed: "The national situation is difficult."
Immediately he cheered up and said: "Your Majesty will surely be able to eliminate all border troubles during his reign!"
The two kept talking in the carriage, and Luo Sigong, who was driving outside, carefully controlled the horse.
Tongzhou is not far from the capital.
In addition, the official road from Tongzhou to Beijing is smooth and smooth, and the speed is much faster than elsewhere.
The distance of forty miles was reached in two hours, which was the result of slowing down.
This time, Hai Rui's return to Beijing was not known to everyone, and everyone entered the city gate smoothly.
As soon as he entered the city gate, he found that Li Jin was already waiting at the city gate.
Li Jin stopped the people who were about to get out of the car to greet them, and said respectfully: "Yu Shi Hai, Master Xu, your majesty is not free today, so he sent me to settle down the two of you, and we will see you again tomorrow."
Luo Sigong stopped the carriage and held the rope in front instead.
Li Jin leaned against the car window and walked beside the carriage.
Xu Jie opened the curtain and asked casually: "Your Majesty, are you summoning Wang Chonggu?"
They had just heard that Wang Chonggu had come to Beijing, and he had already arrived one step ahead of them.
Now that the Tatars are in trouble, Wang Chonggu's reputation has naturally increased. It is reasonable for the emperor to take the initiative to summon him.
Li Jin didn't squint his eyes, bent down and said with a smile: "Wang Shangshu will also call for the right person tomorrow, after Xu Shaoshi."
Xu Jie was stunned for a moment and looked through his questioning eyes.
Li Jin said in a warm voice: "Today, your Majesty, Imperial Palace, sent ministers and ministers to pay homage to Zhenhedu, the tombs of our ancestor Confucius, his ancestors, as well as King Xu and other kings and princes, as well as Dayue and Taihe.
Gods such as Shan Zhenwu and others."
"And His Majesty personally sacrifices to the emperors of the past dynasties."
Xu Jie nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
This is also what one should expect after ascending to the throne, and it is also a long-standing example.
It was just a rare occasion to see the emperor personally offering sacrifices.
Well? Xu Jie suddenly frowned.
He suddenly realized something and looked at Li Jin: "Emperors of all dynasties? Where is the former Yuan Dynasty?"
Li Jin nodded and smiled.
Chapter completed!