The central tax inspector, the governor of a province, met with misfortune. This news affected the hearts of many people.
Ke Dao Yan Guan!
Second grade officer!
How dare you? Who is so crazy!?
People with some status and power in the capital sent people around to inquire about what exactly happened.
Then the news came from the Ministry of War and the General Affairs Department—Linxiang County suffered from mine thieves!
The so-called mine thieves are thieves who gather among the people to exploit mines privately.
According to the subsequent investigation by Huguang Fujian, this group of mine thieves were from Luonan County, Shaanxi Province in the third year of Longqing's reign.
At that time, the leader of this group of mine thieves, He Shu, and eight others were beheaded, and the remaining gang members, Shi Chaofeng, and nineteen others were also exiled.
After that, Shi Chaofeng and other bandits who were exiled somehow managed to escape, and now they are in Huguang again.
All in all, this is a seemingly normal case of banditry - it was too normal for mine thieves to occur in the Ming Dynasty.
After this group of mining thieves made a comeback, they gathered thousands of people and acted unscrupulously in Huguang.
At the end of March, he dared to break into Linxiang County at night, rob officials and treasury, and burn down the county hall!
Unfortunately, late at night, Zhang Chucheng from the Criminal Division, who was involved in the case, and Tang Bin, the chief envoy to Huguang and Siyou, were staying in the county government office to investigate the case, and they happened to be blocked by a fire.
An arson case by mining thieves shocked Huguang and burned down the entire officialdom of Huguang.
Huguang Yi responded to the political envoy, participated in political affairs, participated in discussions, served as an inspector, and went to Linxiang County in person to deal with the scene.
Qiu Qiao, who was guarding Dongting, and Chen Xiao, who was patrolling the river, were panic-stricken. They hunted and fought all night, and captured and killed Shi Chaofeng and others in the hope of being punished and meritorious service.
Zhao Xian, the censor of Youqiandu and the governor of Huguang, and Shu Ao, the censor of Huguang Province, jointly submitted a memorial stating the whole story and asked for punishment.
This happened at the end of last month, and now I have arrived in the capital.
That's probably what happened, but the finer details won't be known for a while.
However, as the saying goes, you can only know something from the smallest detail.
Even if they only had a general understanding, the court officials understood that this was another huge case!
Bandits burned down the county government office?
It's okay to throw it out as an obvious excuse, but if you want to deceive the center, it's just a fool's errand!
In particular, Hai Rui was summoned to the palace overnight, and also brought Wen Chun, a former Huguang right-winger to participate in politics, which further illustrates the emperor's attitude.
The incident in Nanzhili had just calmed down, and the court officials did not want to cause trouble again at this time, but who knew that something like this happened.
Who is so brave?
Don’t you know how cruel and ruthless you are today?
If this is found out, I can't even think about what will happen!
Tonight in the capital, too many people are bound to have sleepless nights.
…
April 16.
The atmosphere at the court meeting today was particularly strange.
The throne was empty, and neither Hai Rui nor Wen Chun came to the court for discussion, which aroused people's imagination - is the emperor calming down, or simply swallowing his anger?
Zhang Siwei raised his head and glanced at the three cabinet ministers standing in front of him.
Zhang Ju, the first assistant, was expressionless on the front, with his eyes closed to rest.
Cisuke Gaoyi looked solemn and fell into deep thought.
Group Assistant Lu Tiaoyang lowered his head and could not see his face.
The colleagues behind Zhang Siwei exchanged glances or whispered from time to time.
After a while.
Today, people attending the court meeting gradually arrived, and Zhang Juzheng presided over the meeting and said: "Let's have a court meeting."
Coincidentally, the courtiers tacitly agreed not to speak, and the palace fell into silence for a moment.
Silence is always short, someone always wants to speak.
Zhu Heng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, was well aware of the strange atmosphere today, but he pretended not to know.
He took a step sideways and got straight to the point: "Yesterday, Wang Zongmu's memorandum on trying out shipping again arrived."
"This time, there were sixteen ships carrying 200,000 shi of wood and stone. One of them ran aground, but the other fifteen ships made the trip smoothly."
"Governor Wang, please try shipping again and take advantage of the route to avoid the rocks."
"The Ministry of Industry will do as you please."
"In addition, the Ministry of Public Works also believed that when the seaway was first opened, Huai'an and other places had already set up military sentry ships. It was afraid that it would not be able to defend the two thousand miles passing through Shandong, so it proposed to add Shandong shipping sentry ships."
Zhu Heng did not want to get involved too much in the storms brought about by the imperial reform and reform. He wanted to do the things at hand well.
Controlling the Yellow River and opening up maritime transportation are his only two obsessions.
This is the second time we are trying to transport by sea. Things like running aground on rocks are inevitable, so we can only slowly optimize the route.
Of course, it is inevitable that opposition will arise when things hit the rocks.
Sure enough, Hu Kedu asked Jia Sanjin about the incident and said: "Zhu Shangshu."
“It used to be that the canal was choked, so we discussed overturning the sea transport.”
"But since you took over the Ministry of Industry, you have opened new roads, pacified the Yellow River, dredged water transportation, and the canals have become unobstructed again. Why do you still insist on sea transportation?"
"The power of a seaway is different from that of a river. What you can rely on in a river is permanent, but what you can rely on in a seaway is temporary."
"Dangerous winds and waves, invasion by Japanese pirates, and rocks on rocks. Even if you get lucky once or twice, you will eventually encounter it. Isn't this collision on the rocks a clear proof?"
"Since the water transportation has been comprehensively improved and improved, why is it necessary to open the sea transportation again? Ginseng, Lingjiang and Gui are good for health, so why try to order blackberries just to be safe?"
"I thought I'd just quit shipping!"
Although what he said was contradictory, his tone was extremely polite.
Zhu Heng can now be said to be an unparalleled person in river management, and all ministers have always respected him.
After hearing this argument, Zhu Heng did not argue much, and just said: "The Ministry of Industry's intention remains unchanged, and the memorial will be submitted to the cabinet and His Majesty later."
He knew clearly that the Ministry of Industry was strongly promoting the shipping matter, the Water Transport Yamen was an ally, the Cabinet was supportive, and the Emperor was on the platform. There would be no resistance and there was no need to explain too much to outsiders.
Lu Tiaoyang came forward to second the proposal: "I follow the advice of the Ministry of Industry and prepare to report to Your Majesty. In order to restore the maritime achievements, Liang Menglong and Wang Zongmu, the governor of the capital, will be promoted to the first level of salary. They will be rewarded with thirty taels of silver and two pieces of silk. Pan Yunrui, who participated in political affairs, was promoted to one level and received a reward of ten taels of silver. The general transport officer was also given a special promotion."
Jia San had recently seen the cabinet speak and had decided on rewards. Knowing that he had encountered the outcome of a small meeting of the big bosses again, he returned to the list angrily.
As soon as this was finished, there was no sound for a while.
Upon seeing this, Tu Xiying, the minister of Honglu Temple, observed the situation and stepped out to take over the conversation: "Yesterday, we negotiated with the envoy of Duoyanwei, and as usual, we will give preferential treatment to the Governor Chang Ang, but... From what I can see, Dong Hu's cronies don't seem to be satisfied. .”
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Chonggu, who had been listening for a while yesterday, interjected: "In my opinion, Dong Fox may invade the border again. The Ministry of War has discussed it and ordered Qi Jiguang to strengthen the defense."
Gao Yi turned away and nodded: "The cabinet has already drafted the vote this morning, and will send it to the Ministry of War later. Qi Jiguang will be on guard against Dong Hu, and the additional recruits will be sent to Taolin No. 2 in Jieling. .”
The Ministry of War selected many passes, but Gaoyi only focused on Jialingkou and Taolingkou - he didn't know why the emperor insisted on strengthening defenses at these two places as if he was thinking of something.
Wang Chonggu was a little surprised by the cabinet's quick response. The votes had already been drawn up. It seemed that the matter had already been discussed with the emperor.
He returned to the train silently.
Immediately afterwards, some court officials impeached Li Yingchen, the Bo of Xiangcheng.
After Li Yingchen's family broke the law, the police came to investigate the case.
The former actually openly shouted about "the king's law, I am the king's law", and even arrested the policeman, imprisoned and tortured for several days.
Now that the police have released him for several days, he is still in a daze, which shows how arrogant and arrogant Li Yingchen has become.
The three law bureaus sought explanations for their own people one after another, demanding that the lawbreakers be severely punished.
Ke Dao Yanguan followed closely, and also pulled out the Duke of Guizhou, Mu Chaobi, and the Bo of Xincheng, Zhao Zuzheng, to impeach them.
The crowd was furious.
It was not until Zhang Juzheng came forward and said that he would send the memorial to the emperor and comfort him that the ministers stopped.
Afterwards, there was a discussion about the candidates for the Minister of War to assist in the military affairs of the capital camp.
Finally, the cabinet decided to recommend two or three people and submit them to the emperor for selection.
Later, there were rewards for female Chi-Yi people and the release of heavy-duty prisoners from the Ministry of Punishment.
Today's court discussion was somewhat dry, and there was no quarrel where there should be quarrels.
Everyone knew that there was a good show behind them, and they only wanted to watch the show, not even discussing it.
Once things have been discussed one after another, according to the usual practice, everyone should go back to the Ministry to handle government affairs.
But there seems to be a tacit understanding.
The ministers of the Ministry of Industry, the Minister of Honglu Temple, and others left the court one after another, while several ministers in the cabinet stood silently.
After all those who wanted to leave were gone, Zhang Juzheng restrained his hands, looked around and said, "Your Majesty is in the Chengguang Hall, waiting for me to give you the right answer."
After saying that, he put the wat tablet into his sleeve and walked straight out of the Wenhua Hall.
Everyone followed closely behind.
…
This is Zhang Siwei’s first time entering Xiyuan.
Now he is temporarily handling cabinet affairs on behalf of Yang Bo, and his position is only below the three cabinet members, so the experience is naturally different.
Especially when he was specially summoned to Xiyuan and was not left behind, he experienced a different feeling than before.
This is what it feels like to have half a foot in the cabinet!
On the way to Chengguang Hall, perhaps because everyone was in a heavy mood, they all remained silent.
Zhang Siwei knew that this was because the matter in Huguang was so big that no one could take it lightly.
In fact, based on his understanding of the emperor, he thought that the emperor would be furious at the court meeting today and then appoint Hai Rui to investigate thoroughly.
As a result, several important ministers came to Xiyuan to discuss the matter.
It seems that the emperor also found it difficult.
There is no way, this is the disadvantage of a vast territory, and it is beyond our reach when encountering problems.
Even if the emperor behaved and wallowed and wanted to vent his anger, he couldn't do it - he didn't even know who did it.
This is a solid place that cannot be penetrated by water or penetrated by needles.
Just as he was thinking about the emperor's response, Zhang Siwei looked up and saw that he had already arrived at the entrance of Chengguang Hall.
He calmed down a little, followed Lu Tiaoyang and walked in.
As soon as I entered the hall, I saw several tables surrounding the center of the hall.
There are memorials, manuscripts and other items on the desk.
There is also a screen placed next to it, and it seems to have people's names on it.
Zhang Siwei took another look and saw Chen Rui, the political envoy on the right... Du Si, the inspector general of Huguang... Qiu Qiao, the Dongting garrison... Chen Xiao, the patrol commander on the river.
They are all officials from Huguang!
He withdrew his gaze, looked at the emperor who was standing in front of the case, and saluted with Zhang Juzheng: "Your Majesty."
Zhu Yijun motioned for everyone to stand up, and then waved his hand to signal the head of the clan, Prince Consort Wu Jinghe, to go down first.
Wu Jinghe bowed and left.
Zhang Siwei glanced at the consort in charge of the sect's mansion, his mind raced, and he vaguely grasped some context.
At this time, I heard the emperor slowly speak: "Yuanfu, I don't care about your hometown, the people's customs are so strong."
"I just wanted to find out. I didn't do anything, but they rebelled directly!?"
When I said the last two words, the shock and anger in them were really empathetic.
The dignified imperial envoy of the Central Committee and the governor of a province were so blatantly cremated and sent off!?
This is something Zhu Yijun doesn't even understand - aren't you afraid of death? Evidence is needed to investigate a case, but only coordinates are needed to counter rebellion.
You can't do this if you are an official, right?
Those who fell from a building in the previous life, died suddenly, and died of illness thirty-seven days after taking office are all understandable things, and can at least be attributed to accidents.
But what is the difference between blatantly leading troops to attack the county government and blocking the county government with a fire, and direct rebellion!?
This is really trampling his reputation as an emperor into the ground!
Zhang Juzheng directly ignored the Xiangzi theory and said matter-of-factly: "Your Majesty, the top priority is to find out the cause and arrest the culprit."
This time, he did not correct the emperor's wording, or in other words, he thought this was tantamount to rebellion.
Allowing bandits to kill officials! This is simply appalling!
Not just the emperor, no one in power in the central government can tolerate this kind of provocation!
Zhu Yijun sneered: "The bandit leader Shi Chaofeng resisted stubbornly and was executed on the spot. He really knows how to share your worries!"
Whether it was a murderous attempt to silence the enemy or a real stubborn resistance, no one could tell since the central government was beyond its reach.
Zhang Juzheng saluted again and said loudly: "Your Majesty! Then let's ask Dongting guard Qiu Qiao and Chen Xiao, the patrol commander, to go to the capital for interrogation!"
At this time, if anyone still talks about evidence, then he is reading stupidly.
Zhu Yijun waved his sleeves and refused, saying in a deep voice: "Let's investigate on the spot! If this matter is not investigated to the bottom of the matter, I will have no shame in sitting on the throne!"
It is impossible to give in on this matter.
No matter who is behind it, whether he is a high-ranking official or a noble family member, no one wants to be dignified this time, he will definitely kill everyone!
Let’s save the dignity of water heaters for burning until the next life!
At this time, Gao Yi interrupted and asked: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask, what did Zhang Chucheng find when he went to Huguang?"
It's not a fatal place, so it's impossible to commit such a murderous attack.
If it were true, as I said before, that I would go and find out about the mining tax, I wouldn’t be so crazy and crazy.
Therefore, the content involved is also an important clue.
Zhu Yijun calmed down his expression, pointed to a table, and said coldly: "Those on the table are the memorials that Zhang gave after he went to Huguang. Please read it yourself."
"At the beginning, he was to supervise the Chief Minister Tang Bin on my behalf to rectify the mining tax under the rule."
"Later, the local government was discovered, colluded with the gentry, and instigated the mine thieves to open the mine privately."
The scope of Huguang probably included most of Hunan, Hubei, Guangxi, Hainan, and Guizhou in later generations.
There are naturally a lot of minerals, such as Tongcheng Prefecture, with Xishan in the south, which used to produce silver and tin.
For example, in Daye Prefecture, there are Tieshan Mountain and Baiji Mountain in the north, which produce copper mines, Weilu Mountain in the east, which produces iron, and Tonglu Mountain in the southwest, which used to produce copper.
Not to mention the ore thieves.
If the center wants to open a mine, it will either damage the dragon's veins, or it will not be able to return to its roots - Sejong spent 30,000 taels to dig out 28,500 taels of mine, but he has always been nailed to the pillar of shame.
But private companies are flocking to it, and I don’t know why they are willing to do such a loss-making business.
In fact, this kind of thing is not too fatal, and it is impossible to say anything about stubborn resistance.
The worst case scenario would be to vomit out the excess food, make sacrifices to the heavens, and end the knot. This is what was done in the past.
Even if the mine thieves pay taxes, they may be able to transform themselves into a government mine.
So much so that when Zhang Chucheng was asked to find out, he never expected to encounter such fierce resistance.
Therefore, you really can't check everything. If you don't pay attention, you will find something.
Several ministers have already walked to the desk and looked through the memorials that Zhang Chucheng had previously handed over.
Zhu Yijun endured his emotions and continued: "That's it for now."
"I will ask Zhang Chucheng to return to Beijing in February and prepare to slowly rectify it in the future."
Zhu Yijun's eyes were deep and his tone was incomprehensible: "As a result, Zhang Chucheng changed his mind again on the way back to Beijing. Please check again for two months and say..."
"He found traces of privately minted copper coins and soldiers' armor!"
Note 1: At the end of the twelfth month of the third year of Longqing, first, He Shu, a mining thief from Luonan County in the west of the country, gathered more than 3,000 people and stole eight out of ten caves in Baihualing. They chased them for a long time but failed to capture them.
He was captured. In the case of Wu Jin, the imperial censor of Yunyang, eight people including the thief Shou Shu were killed. Nineteen of his party members, including Shi Chaofeng, and twenty-four people including Liu En were dispatched. The remaining information - "Muzong Ming Dynasty"
"Record"
Note 2: When the Ministry of War was overthrown, Zhao Xian, the governor of Huguang, reported that Linxiang County was stolen, officials and warehouses were robbed, and the county hall records were burned. Qiu Qiao was guarded in Dongting, Chen Xiao was patrolling the river, and the censor asked questions during the patrol.——
"Records of Ming Shenzong"
Chapter completed!