In fact, Zheng Michang had vaguely guessed Hu Zongxian's purpose of convening everyone at this moment.
After all, right now, the most important things in Zhejiang are nothing more than two things.
First, the mulberry seedlings planted earlier have matured and will soon produce silk. Second, Zhao Zhenji, the new governor-general of Zhejiang and governor of Zhejiang, is about to take office!
"This time, the Governor summoned me and others, it must be for these two things!"
Afterwards, Zheng Michang was seen suppressing all the chaotic thoughts in his heart, straightening his robes, riding in a sedan, and leaving the Chief Envoy.
On the way to the Governor's Palace in a sedan, Zheng Michang opened the sedan curtain, looked at the bustling crowds on both sides of the road, and said with emotion.
"Sigh, I don't know how long this situation can last!"
Zheng Michang knew very well that many people in the court were waiting for this opportunity and were preparing to make a fortune.
They only need to buy raw silk from the people at a low price, and then sell it, making several times or more than ten times the profit!
In addition to the common people who plant mulberry seedlings, officials and businessmen from both the government and the public can get a share of the pie!
Now, the mulberry seedlings have officially matured, and people have begun to pick mulberry leaves one after another. After a while, silk will be produced, and by that time, someone will be unable to hold back and take action first.
"Mr. Yange, Mr. Xiaoge, it will be up to you when the time comes!"
Zheng Michang thought so, and immediately lowered the sedan curtain, ordered the sedan bearers to speed up.
…
After the sedan stopped at the gate of the Governor's Mansion, Zheng Mi Chang got out of the sedan with the help of his servants.
Afterwards, Zheng Michang looked at the all-too-familiar Governor's Mansion in front of him and stepped into it without any hesitation.
When Zheng Michang came to the meeting hall of the Governor's Mansion, Gao Hanwen, Ma Ningyuan, He Maocai, Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou and others were already present.
"Hey, by the way, why did the Governor call Qi Jiguang and the others here?"
Zheng Michang looked at Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou who were sitting not far away, with a look of doubt on his face.
Then, Zheng Michang went straight to his seat and sat down.
When He Maocai saw Zheng Michang arriving, he quickly waved and greeted him: "Old Zheng, why are you here at this time?"
When Zheng Michang heard this, a bitter smile appeared on his face, he sighed helplessly and responded.
"Alas, the Chief Envoy's office has been busy again recently!"
When Gao Hanwen on the side heard this, a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face, and he nodded his head slightly and said to himself.
"That's right. Now the mulberry seedlings have officially matured, and the people are busy picking mulberry leaves. The Chief Envoy also needs to collect relevant information!"
Ma Ningyuan, who was not far away, looked very satisfied. After all, his teacher Hu Zongxian was about to be transferred to the capital, and he would have a backer in the future!
At this moment, Hu Zongxian was seen entering the meeting hall of the Governor's Mansion with his hands behind his back and taking steady steps.
When everyone saw Hu Zongxian's arrival, they all stood up from their seats and saluted him respectfully.
"I've met the Governor!"
Hu Zongxian looked around and saw that everyone was already here. He nodded and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Well, everyone, sit down!"
After Hu Zongxian finished speaking, he sat down on his own. When everyone saw that Hu Zongxian had already sat down, they took their seats one after another.
Hu Zongxian looked at Zheng Michang, He Maocai, Ma Ningyuan, Qi Jiguang and others sitting on both sides, and he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart.
Everything that had happened flashed through Hu Zongxian's mind like a slideshow.
Afterwards, Hu Zongxian looked away, with a disappointed expression on his face, and said with emotion.
"Everyone, this should be the last time I summon everyone here to discuss matters!"
"Lord Governor!"
When Hu Zongxian's words fell, everyone present was also quite moved by this. After all, Hu Zongxian was a rare boss in the Ming Dynasty who was both capable and considerate of his subordinates!
Qi Jiguang, who was not far away, had a reluctant expression on his face when he heard this. It can be said that without Hu Zongxian's support, Qi Jiguang would not be where he is today!
Whether it was to annihilate the Japanese pirates along the southeast coast, or to quell the rebellions in Fujian and Jiangxi, or even to lead a large army to Jintang Island and arrest Wang Zhi, Hu Zongxian took him with him.
It is precisely because of this that Qi Jiguang accumulated a lot of credit and was promoted as fast as a rocket, quickly reaching the rank of General Zhaoyi!
Zheng Michang on the side saw the sad expressions on everyone's faces and quickly stood up and changed the topic.
"Speaking of which, Lord Governor, has the order from the imperial court been issued?"
After hearing this, Hu Zongxian pondered for a moment and responded: "Well, it should have happened in the recent period!"
Hearing this, Zheng Michang stood up from his seat, leaned down and saluted Hu Zongxian respectfully.
"I would like to congratulate the Governor in advance on his promotion!"
After that, other people in the meeting hall also stood up from their seats one after another, looked at Hu Zongxian who was sitting at the top, and said in unison.
"Congratulations to the Governor on your promotion!"
Hearing this, Hu Zongxian couldn't help but feel a look of relief on his face. He stroked his beard and gave instructions.
"Sit down, everyone, sit down!"
After everyone sat back to their seats one after another, Hu Zongxian turned his eyes to Zheng Michang and asked.
"What's the current situation of the people who plant mulberry seedlings?"
"Your Excellency, the mulberry seedlings in Zhejiang have officially matured, and people are busy picking mulberry leaves. In places such as Yuyao and Qiantang, raw silk has even begun to be produced!"
When Zheng Michang saw Hu Zongxian asking him about this information, he did not dare to hide any information about it. After considering the words, he told him all the information he currently had.
After Hu Zongxian learned the news from Zheng Michang, he was quite excited. He could not help but clenched his fists and said with emotion.
"Alas, now that things have happened, I finally see the results!"
Everyone present was deeply touched by Hu Zongxian's words. After all, there were many difficulties when converting rice into mulberry. Not only was it met with resistance from the people, but there were also incidents of destroying embankments and flooding fields.
Then, the relief food prepared in advance was insufficient, and the people who planted mulberry seedlings almost rebelled!
After going through numerous difficulties and obstacles, the conversion of rice to mulberry in Zhejiang was finally successfully implemented.
Now that the mulberry seedlings are mature, all we need to do next is to purchase raw silk from the people at a high price. The court does not need to worry about the rest.
Once the people see that planting mulberry seedlings is profitable, they will take the initiative to join it without even needing supervision from the government.
Then, Hu Zongxian looked away from Zheng Michang and followed up with instructions.
"The more we get to this time, the less we can let down our guard. Check carefully to see if any suspicious businessmen have recently entered Zhejiang!"
Zheng Michang on the side immediately looked stern when he heard Hu Zongxian's words. He stood up from his seat and responded in a deep voice.
"Don't worry, Governor, my subordinates have sent people to check everywhere. If any merchants with suspicious behavior are found, they will be thrown into prison!"
"Um."
When Hu Zongxian heard this, he nodded and responded in a subtle way.
After that, Hu Zongxian looked at Zheng Michang who was standing aside, and then gave instructions.
"There will still be some time before the new governor-general of Zhejiang and governor of Zhejiang takes office. During this period, you, the chief envoy, will be responsible for all affairs in Zhejiang!"
"Yes, Lord Governor, I will definitely live up to your trust!"
Afterwards, Hu Zongxian asked everyone to leave after explaining some precautions.
…
Capital City, Yan Mansion.
That day, after getting off duty, Yan Shifan was called to the study by Yan Song.
"Father, do you have anything to do with your child?"
Yan Shifan looked at Yan Song, who was sitting behind the desk with his eyes lowered and silent, and asked cautiously.
Hearing this, Yan Song opened his cloudy eyes, glanced at Yan Shifan, and then asked.
"Yan Shifan, has the Ministry of Personnel's transfer order regarding Hu Zongxian been issued?"
"To tell you my father, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has officially issued a transfer order to transfer Hu Zongxian to the capital, and His Majesty personally sent Eunuch Lu to urge him!"
When Yan Shifan saw Yan Song asking about this matter, he did not dare to hide anything and immediately told everything he knew.
"Um."
After Yan Song learned the news, he responded in a subtle way, and the expression on his face relaxed.
"Father, logically speaking, transferring Hu Zongxian to the capital is a sure thing, isn't it? Why are you doing this..."
Before Yan Shifan finished speaking, Yan Song sighed helplessly and turned to explain.
"Right now, the sooner Hu Zongxian is transferred out of Zhejiang, the sooner he can stay away from the troubles that will follow!"
When Yan Shifan on the side heard this, a look of understanding appeared on his face. He turned his eyes to Yan Song and confirmed.
"Father, what you mean is that Xu Jie and the others might..."
Seeing that Yan Shifan had understood what he meant, Yan Song nodded, took his eyes away from Yan Shifan, and spoke to himself.
"Well, that's right. Your subordinate Zheng Michang mentioned in his letter that the local mulberry seedlings in Zhejiang will be officially mature by mid-August at the latest. By that time, Xu Jie and the others may not be able to hold back. , take action first!”
"Before that, transferring Hu Zongxian out of Zhejiang will keep him as far away from the following disputes as possible. After all, there are many people who secretly want to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune!"
When Yan Shifan heard this, his face was full of gloom, he clenched his fists and said in a deep voice.
"These damn insects!"
Then, as if Yan Shifan suddenly remembered something, he looked at Yan Song not far away, and then spoke.
"Father, to be honest, according to the information that I have received so far, there are many people under our command who are thinking about this, especially Yan Maoqing. It is said that in order to make money, he has established a line with people from Qingliu. Got it!"
Yan Shifan bit Yan Maoqing's name very hard, with undisguised hatred in his tone.
When Yan Song heard this, his expression did not change at all. He glanced at Yan Shifan rather indifferently and spoke unhurriedly.
"Forget it, since Yan Maoqing is ignorant, let's take this opportunity to get rid of him!"
"Also, don't forget to put all the 13.7 million taels of silver that the Ministry of Industry lost last year on Yan Maoqing's head!"
When Yan Shifan on the side heard this, an uneasy look suddenly appeared on his face. He looked at Yan Song and asked.
"Father...Father, isn't the risk involved too great? After all, this is 13.7 million taels of silver. If the time comes..."
When Yan Song heard this, he immediately looked at Yan Shifan with a look of hatred for steel, slammed the table, and said in a deep voice.
"You idiot, you have already decided to get rid of this Yan Maoqing anyway, why not let him use his last remaining heat and smooth out the accounts by the way. Then there will be no evidence and no one will be able to find out!"
"Or do you really think that your little tricks can be hidden from His Majesty?"
As Yan Song said this, he glanced over Yan Shifan's body with an extremely cold gaze.
After Yan Shifan noticed Yan Song landing on him, his face was full of fear and anxiety, and his body began to tremble slightly uncontrollably.
Of course he knew what Yan Song was referring to.
Last year, Jiajing was renovating the palace, so he sent people to Yungui River to cut wood. After cutting down the wood, they were surprised to find that there was no suitable road to transport the wood out.
Because the cost of building roads was too high, they had no choice but to transport this batch of wood to the capital by sea.
The whole thing was planned by Yan Shifan. Before this, he had sent people to conduct research in advance.
It was discovered that there were no suitable roads near the Yunnan-Guizhou River that could smoothly transport the felled wood. Therefore, the only way to transport the wood was by sea.
Once you choose the sea route, there are a lot of things you can do in the middle, such as if the ship is accidentally capsized by wind and waves, or you can take a long way around, etc.
Those ships that encountered wind and waves and unfortunately capsized were all the work of Yan Shifan. Later, by falsely reporting accounts and reselling timber, Yan Shifan made a profit of more than 2.8 million taels of silver!
Yan Song took in the expression on Yan Shifan's face, shook his head, and then asked.
"Yan Shifan, do you know why His Majesty turned a blind eye to this?"
At this time, Yan Shifan had been frightened by Yan Song's previous words and had no time to think about Yan Song's words.
He thought that the whole thing was done perfectly, but Yan Song told him bluntly that Jiajing had seen through your tricks a long time ago. How could this not make Yan Shifan feel frightened?
Later, Yan Shifan came to his senses, and after considering his tone, he spoke cautiously.
"Father...Father, child...child doesn't know!"
"Because you are still useful to His Majesty, His Majesty keeps you here and turns a blind eye to you!"
"If one day you are no longer of use to His Majesty, then the things you have done will become your reminder!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Song glanced at Yan Shifan and told the cruel fact without any modification.
When Yan Song said this, his face was full of self-deprecation, and he said silently: "Oh, why am I, Yan Song, not like this?"
"All of us are under His Majesty's control. If one day His Majesty feels that I, Yan Song, are no longer useful, then my end will come!"
Afterwards, Yan Song suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his heart, looked at Yan Shifan not far away, and asked.
"So, do you know what to do next?"
"Yes, yes, father, the child knows!"
When Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, he suddenly came back to his senses, lowered his head, and responded tremblingly.
"Okay, it's getting late, you should go back and rest quickly!"
After Yan Song finished speaking, he put on an extremely tired look, waved his hands, and gave the order.
"Yes, father, please leave now!"
After the words fell, Yan Shifan bowed to Yan Song, turned around and left the study without any hesitation.
…
Only over a month had passed since the imperial court announced the proclamation against thieves, and then sent out troops to pacify Bozhou. Everything was planned in between.
During this period of more than a month, the Ming Dynasty clan and nobles, headed by British Duke Zhang Rong, were paying close attention to the progress of this war.
From time to time, they gathered at the British Government House to discuss their views on the war.
Although their opinions differed, their conclusions were surprisingly consistent. They believed that the imperial court would eventually successfully pacify Bozhou, but it would definitely take a lot of time in the process.
After all, the terrain in Bozhou is steep, easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, the Yang family has been operating in Bozhou for hundreds of years, and its power has long been deeply rooted!
But the final result was beyond everyone's expectations. It only took the court more than a month to pacify Bozhou!
This result shocked everyone. At the same time, British Duke Zhang Rong also found out the details of the battle through various channels.
Today, British Duke Zhang Rong specially summoned Chengguo Duke Zhu Xizhong, Dingguo Duke Xu Yande and others to the British Duke's Mansion to discuss the next response.
In the hall specially used for entertaining guests in the British government, Zhang Rong saw that everyone had arrived. After coughing twice, he started today's topic.
"Ahem, everyone knows that not long ago, the imperial court sent troops to pacify Bozhou!"
"That is to say, soon, His Majesty will officially select clan members and noble disciples to serve in the southwest!"
"We are all members of the clan and nobles of the Ming Dynasty. We are like-minded, and we are both prosperous and devastated. We should help each other. Since His Majesty has given us this opportunity, we must seize it!"
At this moment, everyone also understood Zhang Rong's purpose of calling everyone here today.
Zhang Rong summoned everyone, mainly to express an attitude, that is, everyone is a clan and nobles, and they have the same interests with each other. Therefore, everyone should unite, unite with the outside world, jointly fight against those civil servants, and then restore the clan and the Honorable men and women, their past glory!
Zhang Rong's words were quickly recognized by most of the clan members and nobles present. After all, the children of those invited to the house by Zhang Rong today have already been selected into the list.
Zhu Xizhong, Duke of Chengguo, nodded slightly to Zhang Rong, stood up, faced the crowd, and then spoke.
"Well, the British Duke is right. All of you here are members of the Ming Dynasty's clan and nobles. Even if there are some conflicts of interest between you, you should focus on the overall situation and support each other!"
When Zhu Xizhong said this, he couldn't help but pause for a moment, and then continued.
"This opportunity is very important to our clan and nobles, and there is absolutely no room for any mistakes. If anyone dares to deliberately cause trouble behind my back, then don't blame me for being rude!"
After Zhu Xizhong finished speaking, he looked around. Most of the clan members and nobles present did not dare to look at him.
After Zhu Xizhong finished speaking, Xu Yande, the Duke of Dingguo on the side, also stood up and expressed his attitude.
"Yes, what Duke Cheng Guo said makes sense. If someone dares to cause trouble behind his back, then I won't turn a blind eye!"
Everyone saw Zhu Xizhong, Duke of Cheng Kingdom, and Xu Yande, Duke of Ding Kingdom, two of the top clansmen and nobles of the Ming Dynasty, standing up to express their opinions one after another. They did not dare to raise any objections to this and expressed their attitudes one after another.
Zhang Rong couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the matter had been settled.
After all, he had invited Chengguo Duke Zhu Xizhong and Dingguo Duke Xu Yande to his residence before this. After repeated discussions, the three finally established this policy.
Having said that, there is no doubt that the sons of the three of them will gain the greatest benefit from this matter.
Later, Zhang Rong saw that the atmosphere in the room was a bit depressing, so he immediately stood up and changed the topic.
"By the way, do you know why the imperial court successfully pacified Bozhou in less than a month?"
Seeing that everyone was attracted by this topic, Zhang Rong organized the words in his mind before speaking.
"It is said that the Ordnance Department has produced a new type of firecracker. Its power and range are much stronger than the matchlock guns used by the army in the past. In addition, there is also a type of firecracker called paper shell bullets. It is said that it can significantly increase the reloading speed of firecrackers!"
"The troops who went to Bozhou to counter the rebellion this time relied on the power of firearms to annihilate the Bozhou soldiers effortlessly..."
…
Since the Yang clan in Bozhou was exterminated, Guizhou Xuanwei envoy An Waquan has been living in fear.
He originally expected that it would take the court at least half a year to capture the entire Bozhou.
Unexpectedly, it only took the court more than a month to completely eradicate the Yang family with its deep roots.
This battle also made An Waquan clearly realize how terrifying the imperial court's strength was at the moment.
For this reason, he often worries that it will be his turn next!
After all, I have not been restless in recent years, not to mention that the imperial army is still stationed in Bozhou, not far from me!
With his own strength, he might not be able to last three days in the hands of the imperial army!
In order to alleviate the fear in his heart, An Waquan specially sent someone to visit the court and said that he was willing to obey all the court's orders. For this reason, he also increased the tribute that needed to be paid to the court in the coming year.
But soon, An Waquan learned a very unfavorable news for him.
That means many chieftains have already taken the lead and expressed their loyalty to the court!
What's more, they directly sent envoys to the capital day and night to express their loyalty to the court.
After An Waquan learned that many chieftains had sent envoys to the capital before him, he was extremely angry. In desperation, he had no choice but to follow the trend and personally sent envoys to the capital to express his attitude to the court. (End of chapter)
