The Yanzheng Yamen’s accounts can only be said to have no accounts.
After looking through many account books over the years, Li Yunze said what the hell was going on.
The account books are in a mess.
The dates are confused, the characters are confused, and even the numbers are confused.
It's like one page records that in a certain month of a certain year, a certain amount of salt was delivered to a certain salt merchant.
How much exactly was it, and how much did the salt merchants spend on salt?
Not a single thing was recorded.
Also, in a certain month of a certain year, how much salt is produced from the salt field.
Which salt farm produces salt, how much salt is produced, and to whom is it produced?
Not a single thing was recorded.
Li Yunze threw this kind of account book directly on the chubby belly of Salt Patrol Censor Zhang Yang.
Li Yunze, who was sitting on the chair, sneered, "Is this how you patrol the salt censor?"
No one thought that Zhang Yang would dare to talk back at this time.
"Long live, I am a Jinshi scholar!"
Looking at Zhang Yang who looked upright, Li Yunze was a little stunned and said, "What?"
Zhang Yang said angrily, "I am a Jinshi, but I have to do despicable things all day long, such as greeting people and sending them off, and keeping accounts and calculations. I don't agree with you!"
This time Li Yunze finally understood. The way he looked at Zhang Yang was like looking at a fool.
"Huh~~~"
Li Yunze raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, "Tell me directly, are you greedy for ink? To be honest, there are all the royal guards out there. I advise you to use rat tail juice."
"Over the past few years, I have received a total of more than 47,000 taels of infringement."
It's really good of Zhang Yang to say such words without any guilt in front of the emperor.
"It's very difficult for me to live in Yangzhou. Even a banquet here will cost hundreds of taels of silver. If I don't invade the classroom, I can't maintain my dignity at all. The salary given by the court is too little."
Looking at Li Yunze, who looked naturally arrogant and silent for a moment, he casually said, "For the sake of your honesty, I will leave you with a complete body."
His eyes signaled Luo Yangxing, who was standing aside, "Hang him up on the flagpole!"
When Xu Hongji and others hurried over, they looked up and saw the Salt Patrol Censor hanging on the flagpole.
The expressions on everyone's faces were wonderful.
This is the Salt Patrol Censor!
Even though he was only a seventh-rank official, he was in charge of the salt affairs in both Huaihe River and Huaihe River, so he was definitely in a position of inferiority and power.
But how long did it take for people to hang the flagpole?
A row of brightly armored soldiers stopped everyone and said, "This is an important place, and you are not allowed to trespass without purpose!"
Lingbihou Tang Guozuo stepped forward and shouted angrily, "Bold! We are nobles of the imperial court!"
What responded to him was the sound of a series of knives being drawn.
Tang Guozuo, who was used to being domineering in the land south of the Yangtze River, was so angry that he trembled all over, "Rebellion, you are going to rebel!"
"Who wants to rebel?"
Li Yunze strode out with a riding crop in his hand, his eyes swept over the people in front of him, and finally landed on Tang Guozuo, who was standing at the front.
"Which one are you?"
"Long live." Tang Guozuo saluted hurriedly, "I am the Marquis of Lingbi, Tang Guozuo."
"Oh." Li Yunze nodded, "I've heard of you."
Tang Guozuo was overjoyed. The new emperor actually knew that he was about to become famous.
Before the smile on his face fully bloomed, Li Yunze followed up with "It's on Wei Ni's list."
Tang Guozuo ‘(°ー°〃)’
"You paid for Wei Zhongxian to build a living shrine, right? And you got the crown prince's protection because of it, right?"
Tang Guozuo, who was sweating profusely, trembled all over and said, "My lord, my lord."
I have been a minister for a long time and I don’t know what to say.
He had indeed done this, and there was no way he could justify it in front of the emperor.
"The purpose of my trip south this time is to clean up the remnants of Wei Ni." Li Yunze's eyes playfully said, "I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that I met you, the remnant, here."
The remnants of Wei Ni are like a basket, anyone can fit into it.
Even if Nine Thousand Years Old is dead, he is still picked up and used by Li Yunze over and over again.
No way, it's so useful.
Hearing that Li Yunze's tone was wrong, Wei Guogong Xu Hongji hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, "Long live, I dare to guarantee it."
'Snapped!'
A loud sound from the riding crop interrupted Xu Hongji's words.
Li Yunze's eyes turned to him, "Have I allowed you to speak? Or do you mean that you look down on me?"
Xu Hongji smiled helplessly, he already understood that the emperor wanted to use them as a raft to establish his authority.
But he had no choice but to kneel down and salute, "I don't dare. I'm guilty."
The nobles may seem to be powerful, but in essence, they are just like the eunuchs, and they all exist dependent on the emperor.
The emperor wants to repair you, even to the point of expelling you.
What can you do? Revolt?
Others don't know it clearly, but Xu Hongji knows it very well.
Longxiang's three battalions of nine thousand troops were by the emperor's side at this time.
The other two battalions of 6,000 soldiers and horses were led by Cao Bianjiao, who had wiped out the bandits in southern Jiangxi and seized the king of heaven. They were stationed outside Yingtianfu City at this time!
Your Majesty, you have been on guard against them.
Ying Tianfu has more soldiers and horses, but their combat effectiveness is not worth mentioning.
Back then, dozens of Japanese pirates were able to fight their way to Yingtianfu City, which was simply a shame.
The Longxiang troops around Li Yunze were all real soldiers who were not paid for free, and they were well paid and well trained. Their combat effectiveness was far beyond what the Jiangnan useless Ming army could handle.
Don't say that these nobles of Yingtian Mansion don't have the courage to rebel. Even if they had the courage, they couldn't do it.
Seeing Xu Hongji's surrender, Li Yunze turned his attention to Tang Guozuo again.
"How could Tang He, the unrivaled hero, have a useless descendant like you? Since you like to curry favor with Wei Zhongxian so much, then go to Wei Zhongxian's hometown to guard his tomb. As for the title of Marquis Lingbi, for Tang He's sake,
Select the worthy members of the clan to inherit."
Tang Guozuo immediately collapsed to the ground.
His mind was in chaos.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
Only when he finally came to his senses did he realize that his title was gone!
But so what?
Do you want to jump up on the spot and punch the emperor with his old fists?
Don't be kidding, even if you are not afraid of being cut into pieces, you are still afraid of being expelled from the title passed down from your ancestors. You are afraid that the plaques of your ancestors will be smashed into pieces by the royal guards. You are afraid that when you go to the execution ground, all the nine tribes will gnash their teeth and sing.
'Thank you! Because of you, the nine tribes are buried together!'
In the end, Tang Guozuo, who had grown much older in an instant, gave a trembling salute.
"Thank you, my lord."
Li Yunze turned around and returned to the Yanzheng Yamen. Everyone outside watched silently, watching the stooped Tang Guozuo leave step by step.
At this moment, the people who have been running rampant in Jiangnan for many years finally felt what it means to be afraid!
This is the emperor. One word can determine life and death, one word can determine prosperity and decline!
After everyone dispersed, many big salt merchants in Yangzhou City gathered together to hold intense discussions.
"What should we do now? The emperor has made it clear that he is here for the salt business!"
"The relationship between the DPRK and China, the relationship between nobles and nobles, and the relationship between the royal relatives and relatives. So much money is spent on weekdays, and it is time to contribute at this time!"
"Stop talking nonsense, there is no big boss in the court who can speak in front of the emperor."
"You have all seen what you are like before. A marquis, the emperor was killed by just one word."
"The royal family and relatives may be of some use, but water from a distance cannot quench the thirst for nearness."
"How about we go on strike?"
The fierce quarrel suddenly fell silent, and everyone turned their attention to the salt merchant who proposed a strike.
The man waved his hands repeatedly, "That's what I said."
"This is a solution." The person who spoke was Jiang Chun, the real boss of the Lianghuai Salt Industry.
Whether it is official salt or private salt, Jiang Chun is the one who makes the biggest salt.
Picking up the tea bowl and gently stroking the tea leaves with the lid, Jiang Chun said slowly, "But not now."
"This is a lose-lose tactic. Even if it forces the emperor to give in temporarily, it will offend the emperor to death. Do you want to have a better future?"
Jiang Chun's eyes were sharp: "This emperor is different from the previous ones."
He pointed his hand in the direction of Yanzheng Yamen, "He came to Yangzhou on horseback and with an army!"
Jiang Chun emphasized his tone.
"This is an emperor on horseback!"
There is a completely different difference between the emperor on horseback and the emperor who stays in the Forbidden City all day long.
Moreover, Li Yunze is still so young. If he really offends him to death, he will definitely not end well.
Even noble people can be killed easily, let alone a group of salt merchants.
Many salt merchants said in unison, "Please Mr. Jiang to come up with an idea."
"First of all, everyone must be prepared to bleed." Jiang Chun drank tea slowly. "When the emperor wants to discuss salt affairs, we will give him as much as he wants."
As soon as these words came out, the hall immediately exploded.
The excited salt merchants talked all over the place and had all kinds of fierce quarrels.
It wasn't until Jiang Chun placed the tea bowl heavily on the table that the salt merchants gradually became quiet.
"What time do you think it is now?"
Jiang Chun looked a little ferocious, "The emperor's knife has been placed on our necks! Are you still thinking about good things at this time? Is it really easy to talk about being an emperor?"
"Do you know how many people the emperor killed on his way south? All the banknotes on the Grand Canal were destroyed!"
"Jiang Xingshou." A salt merchant said, "We all know what you said, but we can't give as much as the emperor wants. Let's not say whether it can be taken out. Even if it can be taken out, what will happen every year?
"
Jiang Chun sneered, "The emperor has entered Yangzhou City with a knife, and you are still pretending to be dumbfounded."
"According to the regulations on salt affairs, you can pay as much as you need. If you really want more, then you will be poor. In short, we must try our best to send the emperor away first. Ming Dynasty is so big, he can't keep staring at us.
Yangzhou, right?”
"As long as the emperor leaves, there will naturally be room for negotiation if we pay money or something in the future. We have plenty of ways!"
"Of course, if the emperor really forces us to die, then we will fight to the death and strike!"
After taking a breath, Jiang Chun picked up the tea bowl again.
"Furthermore, as long as you are a human being, you must have preferences, even the emperor is no exception."
"The late Emperor liked to be a carpenter. Now, Your Majesty, I think he is young and strong, so let's first select a group of beauties to present to him."
A salt merchant retorted, "How can the emperor's three palaces and six courtyards be short of beauties?"
"Confused!"
"The beauties in the palace all pay attention to being dignified and polite. We want to give the emperor a style that he has never seen before."
Jiang Chun narrowed his eyes, "Young man Mu Ai, of course he wants to pick out the unique ones. What we in Jiangnan are most in need of are unique beauties."