The arrival of people from Shandong with great fanfare made Li Kangxian, Wang Yingxiong and Lin Ma extremely nervous, thinking that something big had happened.
When Wang Zesheng opened his mouth, it turned out that it was only about businessmen, and the three of them couldn't help but feel angry.
"Mr. Wang..., our Ming Dynasty has its own laws, and it is only because your merchants behave badly that they are punished. Or maybe it is your merchants' misbehavior that incurs the anger of the people. The reason for this cannot be explained."
Li Kang doesn't want to talk anymore.
He is a dignified minister of rites and an important minister of the country, but he has to discuss a lowly businessman with a traitor here, without losing his status.
Opposite him, Wang Zesheng's face was as cold as ice.
"So, the imperial court is planning to breach the contract?"
"Hmph, you don't understand what Uncle Zong said? The imperial court has its own rules and regulations on this matter, how can I allow you to comment on it?"
Lin Mao reprimanded him, and then almost opened his mouth to blast Wang Zesheng and others away.
This person is an upright official, but he is also a famously confused official in history.
Wang Zesheng looked over with a smile and asked: "Servant Lin, do you know who Zheng Zhilong is?"
Lin Mao was stunned, not expecting him to take the topic so far.
It turned out that after Zheng Zhilong surrendered, Lin Wei's subordinates wrote a memorial "The righteous Zheng Zhilong has merit for accepting Zheng Yiguan" in order to claim credit for him.
Lin Wei didn't know that Zheng Zhilong was Zheng Yiguan, so he made an approval and granted Zheng Zhilong an official rank.
This has now happened.
The court didn't know, and Lin Wei didn't know either.
But Shandong knew it.
In Shandong's eyes, the imperial court is now no different than a sieve.
Such anecdotes are known to everyone within the Shandong government and are all treated as jokes.
Therefore, Wang Zesheng said it casually, just to tease Lin Yao for his stupidity.
Later, Chongzhen also learned about this matter.
When Lin Wei was giving a lecture to Chongzhen, Chongzhen asked casually: "I wonder, are Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Yiguan the same person? Or two people?"
Lin Zhuo knew something was wrong. After he went back to investigate, he blamed himself and was frightened. He felt that he had committed a serious crime of deceiving the emperor, so he simply committed suicide by swallowing gold.
After teasing Lin Wei, Wang Zesheng's face turned cold and his tone became tough.
"The implementation of the agreement is evidenced by heaven and earth and cannot be blasphemed. In view of your words and deeds, we have the right to believe that you have deliberately violated the agreement. In view of this, we will take any necessary measures to safeguard our interests. Hereby
, I formally represent Shandong to inform you of the disciplinary measures we will take, including but not limited to cutting off the canal, and not limited to force. If you cannot give us a satisfactory answer before noon tomorrow, our measures
It will take effect immediately."
canal!
It’s the canal again!
When I heard that Shandong was going to cut off the canal again, Li Kangxian, Wang Yingxiong, and Lin Ma all felt numb.
Can you change the gameplay?
But there is no way, who says this method is effective?
As long as the center of the Ming Dynasty remains in the capital, the canal will be the backbone of the Ming Dynasty.
Pinch and get it right.
Moreover, Wang Zesheng revealed that Shandong’s countermeasures were not limited to blocking the canal, but even included armed attacks.
Can Zhili stop Shandong's military front?
Obviously, it's impossible.
Li Kangxian no longer had the airs he had before, his expression was shivering and he was restless.
"King... Your Majesty, please be patient. Why... haha... Why do you need to do this?"
That's what weakness is.
If you don’t have a trump card, you won’t be able to be assertive at the negotiation table.
Seeing that he was showing signs of surrender, Wang Zesheng decided to pursue the enemy bravely.
"The rioters who targeted our Shandong province this time must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others. The imperial court must guarantee the safety of our Shandong merchants and industries in the future, and no further violations of the agreement will occur."
After saying that, he smiled proudly and pushed over a piece of paper.
There are lots of names on it.
"I'm not afraid to tell you that I, Shandong, have all the rioters under control this time. If the imperial court does not punish them, I, Shandong, will take action. Any consequences and criticism caused by that time will be borne by the imperial court."
Listening to his murderous words, Li Kangxian and the other three were completely paralyzed.
This was the first time they had seen such a style of conduct. It was aggressive and even more domineering than Ye Xian who had attacked the capital city.
"This...this...this..."
Wang Yingxiong was covered in sweat and frightened.
He is known for his tough personality and has the spicy temperament that Sichuan people have had since ancient times.
However, in such national affairs, personal character has no role at all.
The strength shown by Shandong is backed by strong strength.
Not only did they say it, they also did it.
This is the correct expression of strength.
With Wang Yingxiong's original intention, it is absolutely impossible for him to accept such persecution.
The worst case scenario is death.
He is not afraid of death.
However, this is not his personal matter, but a national matter.
A person's life and death are small matters, but the king's and kingdom's matters are big.
As a result, a tough and important minister was so embarrassed that he was unable to advance or retreat.
Wang Zesheng is like a newborn tiger, with unstoppable fierceness.
"Zhang Pu and Zhang Ximing, who are from Taicang, have repeatedly written articles attacking our country in Shandong, and they are very serious. The court must also explain this matter, otherwise we in Shandong will definitely not give up."
Shandong decided to attack Zhang Pu.
Not only will there be verbal debates, but there will also be physical blows.
Of course, with Zuo Mengeng around, he would naturally suffer losses one after another.
Zuo Mengeng knew very well that to deal with Zhang Pu, Shandong could not take action himself.
Shandong can have an ideological confrontation with him, but it must not cross the line.
Otherwise, even if Zhang Pu is killed, it will add a halo to him and put him on the altar.
Shandong does not need to take action, but it can rely on the court's help.
The deep meaning behind this is...
Once the imperial court could not withstand the pressure from Shandong, it really punished Zhang Pu. No matter what the effect was, I am afraid that the traditional scholar-bureaucrats would immediately abandon their moral integrity with the imperial court.
After all, the scholar-bureaucrat class stood with the imperial court. They waved and shouted to fight for the imperial court.
As a result, the imperial court took action against them, how could it not be chilling?
Zuo Mengeng was not sure whether the Ming Dynasty could sense the insidiousness or have a premonition of the harm.
He only knew that the current imperial court had the motive to punish Zhang Pu.
First of all, Zhang Pu jumped too much.
As a country scholar, he repeatedly interfered in government affairs and could even influence the appointment and decision-making of cabinet elders.
Based on this alone, Chongzhen could not tolerate him.
Secondly, Zhang Pu was Zhou Yanru’s behind-the-scenes adviser.
Now that Zhou Yanru has been dismissed from office, all his power has been lost.
The person who controlled the court was Wen Tiren, who was also Zhou Yanru's mortal enemy.
How could Wen Tiren miss the opportunity to cut off Zhou Yanru's gang members?
It can be said that Zuo Menggeng's request for the Ming Dynasty to punish Zhang Pu at this time was just an excuse.
Even if the knowledgeable people in the court were aware of the danger, it would be strange if Chongzhen, who was so powerful, and Wen Tiren, who was gearing up, did not take advantage of the opportunity.
"The above are all our demands from Shandong. If you do not give us a satisfactory answer before noon tomorrow, you will bear all the consequences."
Wang Zesheng's words were as sharp as a sword, which was like giving an ultimatum.