Zhu Quan admitted it and could not tolerate him denying it.
Zhu Panxuan didn't know the pros and cons and said anxiously, "Father, are you confused? When did our family start smuggling?"
While talking, he blinked his little eyes and twitched the corners of his mouth, making others think they were mentally retarded.
"Shut up, I!" Zhu Quan cursed and looked at Li Qing, "Yes, I am the one who did it. What happened?"
He is risking his life, isn't it just smuggling?
Can you still kill him?
"Since Prince Ning has pleaded guilty, the case is over." The chief envoy immediately decided the tone, "It was just selling some goods to the sea, which is not a serious crime. I wonder what the imperial envoy plans to do...?"
Li Qing glanced at the chief envoy and said, "We still need to ask the emperor for instructions on how to judge the case. I am only responsible for judging the case."
He could see how complicated Prince Ning's network was.
Everyone, from the county magistrate to the chief envoy, may have received benefits from Prince Ning. This chief envoy seemed to be fair, but in fact he was speaking for Prince Ning, and at the same time he was speaking for himself.
It has always been a taboo for emperors for local officials to make friends with vassal kings, especially for an emperor like Zhu Di who joined a large sect from a small sect and once served as a vassal king. This is absolutely intolerable.
Once the news reaches Zhu Di's ears, both Zhu Quan and these local officials will be in bad luck, especially the officials.
Things have to be done one by one. Li Qing is currently busy with many things and has no energy to care about this.
Furthermore, once this kind of thing is taken care of, the implications will be huge, not to mention him, even Zhu Di will have a headache.
Li Qing could control King Ning, but he couldn't control King Ning's Jiangxi officials. And once he really touched King Ning, what would the other vassal kings do?
It has only been about twenty years since Jingnan. It would be great fun if a careless and nervous vassal king from all over the country started a chaotic dance of demons.
"Case closed!" Li Qing said simply and neatly: "I will report the matter of smuggling to the emperor truthfully. In the meantime, I hope that Prince Ning will cooperate with you."
Li Qing never mentioned Zhu Quan's friendship with officials. Zhu Quan gradually relaxed and his tone was not as arrogant as before:
"As long as it is a reasonable request, I will naturally cooperate."
"That's good," Li Qing nodded, "Prince Ning is a member of the royal family, so he can be exempted from prison. However, after all, there is a mistake first. Is it okay to stay in the house and not go out for the time being?"
"Okay." Zhu Quan readily agreed.
Li Qing smiled and added: "Your Majesty is kind-hearted. The sea ban will be lifted sooner or later, so I won't punish you too harshly. However... I also ask Prince Ning to stop smuggling immediately."
"Okay." Zhu Quan nodded.
Li Qing turned to Xiao Lizi and said, "Search the smuggled goods immediately and count them as soon as possible."
Then, he said to the chief envoy: "Please arrange manpower in advance to transport the stolen goods to Beijing."
"Your Majesty, the imperial envoy is polite, this is the duty of the lower official." The chief envoy of Jiangxi Province hurriedly cupped his hands, feeling greatly relaxed, "The lower official will start making arrangements after returning to the government office."
There are some things that will be good for you and me if we don't check them out, but we will live forever if we check them out.
Li Qing is so "generous", so naturally King Ning and the Chief Envoy want to "reciprocate the kindness".
Everyone gives each other face and is in harmony.
Jin and Liu were in a state of confusion. It seemed that King Ning was fine, but would they be able to live well in this case?
Li Qing knew what the two of them were thinking and said to Zhu Quan, "Your Majesty has a broad mind, so he won't embarrass them, right?"
Zhu Quan glanced at the two of them sideways and hummed: "That's natural."
"Yes." Li Qing said to the two of them, "You can go back. Remember, if you continue to smuggle before the imperial court opens the sea, your family will be confiscated and your clan will be confiscated!"
The reason why Li Qing helped the two of them speak was not out of kindness, but because their smuggling had matured, or in other words, they had formed an industrial chain.
When the sea ban is lifted, direct trade will be possible.
There is no way, the biggest beneficiaries of the sea opening can only be these rich gentry. The poor cannot do this business, but they can make some small money in the market created by the sea opening.
In fact, Lao Zhu Jinhai was also worried that the wealthy gentry would become bigger!
But he never thought that even if the wealthy gentry got the lion's share, the people's lives would be able to improve to a great extent.
At the same time, it can also increase Ming taxes.
When Jin and Liu heard that they could leave, they quickly kowtowed and said respectfully: "Yes, yes, the common people will remember it."
Then, he kowtowed to Zhu Quan: "Your Majesty has a broad mind and an open mind..."
"Okay, okay, get out."
Zhu Quan waved his sleeves, and the two of them rolled away.
After the dust settled, everyone left one after another, and in the end only Li Qing and Zhu Quan were left.
"Marquis Yongqing is such a good trick!" Zhu Quan looked angry, but in fact he was trying to cover up his guilty conscience of making friends with officials.
Li Qing was very cooperative and immediately expressed his bitterness: "Your Majesty, my subordinates are also ordered to run errands, and they can't help themselves..."
Barabara...
"Okay, I won't care about your previous mistakes." Zhu Quan looked magnanimous, and then asked tentatively, "How do you plan to write the memorial to the emperor?"
"Hmm... I think it's up to you, the prince, to write it." Li Qing said with a smile, "If the prince can take the initiative to plead guilty, I think the emperor will definitely be lenient."
Seeing how tolerant he was, Zhu Quan had a smile on his face, "That's fine. I won't get involved in the smuggling matter anymore. How about we stop this matter?"
"Of course." Li Qing nodded, "As a senior official, I naturally don't want to get into trouble."
"So good."
…
The next day, Zhu Quan wrote a letter of apology.
Li Qing didn't even look at it, so he sent someone back to Beijing.
Seeing this, Zhu Quan completely believed that Li Qing did not want to cause trouble and felt relieved.
Three days later, the cargo inventory was completed, dozens of carts of smuggled goods were escorted to the capital, and Li Qing's journey to Jiangxi ended.
Then, we moved to Fujian.
It was already the end of March when we arrived.
After not seeing each other for two months, Yu Qian had lost some weight, and his behavior became less and less like a civil official and more like a military general.
After exchanging a few words, Yu Qian briefly talked about the progress.
"In other words, all the smugglers and bandits have been eliminated now, and only the Japanese pirates are left, right?" Li Qing asked.
"Yes." Yu Qian nodded: "These Japanese pirates and smuggler bandits are completely two types of people. Bandits are buying and selling, while Japanese bandits are robbing. There is an essential difference."
"Have you figured out the island they are stationed on?"
Yu Qian shook his head: "I originally thought that they would take the initiative and wait for work, but unexpectedly..."
"Unexpectedly, they have been holding back, haven't they?"
"Yes." Yu Qian looked solemn and said, "I suspect that someone is treason with the Japanese."
"There is no need to doubt that someone has been designated to communicate with the Japanese." Li Qing sneered, "You don't need an official to handle this matter. I will handle it."
"Yes." Yu Qian cupped his hands, "Do you want me to go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang first?"
Li Qing thought for a while, shook his head and said, "No need, just rest here, we will go together then."
"Master Shangshu, the emperor only gave us half a year." Yu Qian reminded, "It's almost half over now. The bandits are easy to clear, but the Japanese pirates are difficult to suppress. Plus the time wasted on the road..."
"Don't worry, it's not difficult to eliminate the Japanese pirates." Li Qing was quite confident, "You and I don't even need to take action."
Yu Qian was skeptical, "May I ask, Lord Shangshu, if you have any clever ideas?"
"Is this enough?" Li Qing took out "It's Like I'm Personally Visiting" and put it on the table.
Yu Qian hurriedly saluted, and then said: "That's enough. We can mobilize troops, but... there is no information?"
"There will be." Li Qing smiled and said, "Go and call the chief envoy and the commander. You will know when the time comes."
Yu Qian didn't know what was going on and did as he was told.
…
Yu Qian was very efficient. Five days later, the Fujian and Fujian chief envoys and commanders arrived together.
"The humble minister Yang Qing (Liu Hai) respectfully greets the Holy Ann."
"Good morning, Holy Gong." Li Qing replied in a high-spirited manner, "Both of you, please rise."
The two stood up and bowed: "I have met the imperial envoy."
"Well, sit down."
After a few simple polite words, Li Qing got down to the topic, "I am here mainly to clear out the Japanese pirates."
After a pause, his tone became serious, "Your Majesty heard that there were Japanese pirates along the coast of Fujian and Jianzhou, but Thunder was furious!"
The two of them were shocked and hurriedly clasped their hands and said: "This official is guilty of negligence."
"Is it just a crime of negligence?" Li Qing's voice suddenly turned cold: "Sit back and watch the Japanese pirates plunder, resulting in the persecution of the people, and even the destruction of their families. How can this be dismissed with just a crime of negligence?"
"One of you is the highest civilian official, and the other is the highest military official. Look, what are you doing?" Li Qing sneered:
“Thieves are smuggling! Japanese pirates are rampant!
Such a big thing has happened in Fujian, if I don’t kill you, where is the justice of heaven!?”
"ah?"
The two of them were horrified, heartbroken, and angry at the same time. Isn't this too over the top?
"You're not convinced, are you?" Li Qing sneered.
"I don't dare." The two of them didn't dare to talk back, but they were really dissatisfied.
They are all high-ranking officials in the province. Even if they really go to the top of the line, they are not guilty enough to be beheaded!
But they soon gave in.
Only Li Qing said calmly: "In the eighteenth year of Yongle, Tang Sai'er rebelled, and Shandong's political envoys, participating in politics, participating in discussions, serving as inspectors, acting as deputy envoys, and serving as ministers... were executed for the crime of connivance and inaction!
Are you convinced or not?!
Wherever the traitors go, all the officials will be killed!
Are you convinced or not?!"
Li Qing's eyes were cold and his tone was cold: "Or do you think the emperor has sentenced him to a serious crime?"
"I...I don't want to...don't...don't dare!"
Their hands and feet were cold and they were trembling with fear. It had only been a few years, so of course they remembered it.
At that time, they were still gloating about their misfortune, but they never thought that one day it would be their turn.
Now, the two of them were frightened.
Sweat dripped down from his forehead, and his body was shaking like chaff.
Li Qing took out "It's Like I'm Personally Visiting": "Open your eyes and see, what is this?"
The two of them stared wide-eyed. Those four bright words were like a reminder, and their faces immediately turned green.
The effect of this gold medal is no less than that of the King's Order Flag. At this moment, the two of them really believed that Li Qing was here to kill them.
"My lord, please spare my life, Your Majesty, spare your life...!"
Their voices trembled, and their kowtows were like pounding garlic.
Everyone in Yu Qian was dumbfounded. This minister... was too barbaric, right?