"Do you know why eight years ago, a certain person gave up his high position and salary, resolutely left Shenyang, resigned and returned to his hometown to benefit his country?"
Taicang Zhoucheng West Street, the Wang family's residence, the secret room in the living room.
Wearing a Taoist robe and an elegant look, Wang Heng stroked the few beards on his chin and calmly scanned the people in the room.
In this small secret room, the most powerful people in Taicang City gathered:
The patriarchs of the four major families, Eunuch Cao of the Weaving Bureau, Cai Guan, the head of the South Canal Hu Pass, and Kou Zhenhua, the commander of the Taicang Guards Station, were all present.
At the door of the secret room, two slaves of the Wang family watched outside cautiously.
The room was noisy, people were whispering, everyone was talking about their own things, and they were all talking about the inspectors from Nanjing.
Zhang Juzheng's son Zhang Yunxiu turned out to be a cruel official.
Kang Yingqian's son Kang Guangxu is not a good person either.
University lecturer Dai Li is more like a musketeer lining up to shoot, and he is meticulous in judging crimes.
And that butcher Li Zicheng...
In the past few days, the inspector has been preparing to clear the land.
The wealthy households in Taicang Prefecture were trembling.
Eunuch Cao raised his head and looked at Wang Heng, saying neither yin nor yang:
"It must be that the Prince of Guizhou is too incompetent to draw erotic pictures, so the Emperor of Qi did not favor you and drove you back."
A group of old men burst into laughter.
As the only son of Wang Xijue, the former chief minister of the dynasty, Wang Heng's path to the imperial examination is difficult to describe.
At the age of thirty, this playboy managed to win the imperial examination. Such an achievement was considered to be at the bottom of the Taicang Wang family.
Fortunately, he was good at calligraphy and painting. Because his illustrations of "Jin Ping Mei" were very popular, he was introduced to the Supreme Emperor by Kang Yingqian. Liu Zhaosun specially recruited him as the emperor's disciple, and he was barely considered a Jinshi.
In the early years after Daqi was founded, Wang Heng had been painting cats and dogs in Shenyang, and occasionally went to the Ministry of Punishment to paint corpses.
That was the most painful time for Wang Heng, sweeping the floor in a gentle manner and relying on others...
Wang Heng wrote to the Supreme Emperor every day until the eighty-seventh letter requesting resignation was submitted. Wang Heng finally moved the Supreme Emperor and Wang Heng was able to leave the capital.
After returning to Taicang, Emperor Hongguang immediately rewarded the prince with an official position. Wang Heng was not polite and became the magistrate of three counties in one go. With the help of his father's disciples and former officials, he repeatedly jumped between Qi and Ming Dynasty, often helping others to get official positions. , became a pimp in Jiangnan officialdom.
Wang Heng felt good about himself. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, this man was an old man from the previous dynasty and a giant of Jiangnan officials.
Daqi's implementation of the New Deal in Jiangsu was to fundamentally eradicate the original interest system.
Wang Heng did his part and became a representative figure of the opposition to the reform.
As a court painter, he had experienced many wars with the Supreme Emperor and had a deep understanding of the upper echelons of the Qi Kingdom. These experiences were his capital to become the light of Taicang.
Wang Heng didn't look at Eunuch Cao. Although he was born in Juren, he looked down on eunuchs without eggs, let alone an eunuch from the previous dynasty.
"Stop laughing!"
Wang Heng slapped the table hard and said angrily:
"I didn't call you here today to joke with you! If you want to joke, go find Zhang Yunxiu to joke. The deadline for the tenth day of the second lunar month is coming. After the tenth day of the lunar month, do you think you are still in the mood to joke?"
Everyone was speechless.
Eunuch Cao, who was laughing and joking just now, straightened his face and glared at the official boots under his feet.
Zhang Jinglue set a deadline for landowners and farmers in Taicang Prefecture to measure their fields on February 10th.
By February 10th, if the household's land account book has not been handed over to the inspector, the civil affairs officer will directly measure the land. Based on the account book comparison, all the extra land will be confiscated, and the land tax owed to the country will be doubled. For example, If one hundred taels are owed, three hundred taels will be handed over.
It is said that in an edict issued by the Supreme Emperor specifically to resolve doubts about the new law, he explained it this way:
The extra two times the interest was used to repay the arrears of interest and the inflation of more than two hundred years since the 25th year of Hongwu.
Everyone is confused about inflation, but they all know about interest.
Co-author: The Emperor wants to usury...
According to this collection standard, each of the four major families will have to pay millions of taels of silver.
Even if money is paid, all the land they have occupied over the years will be cleared and distributed to the Jiangnan farmers who have been annexed and bankrupted by them.
If we really do this, everyone's life will be difficult to live by.
The inspectors have been sharpening their knives in the past few days. In three days, on the tenth day of February, Liu Zhaosun's eagle dogs will start killing pigs.
These desperate wealthy gentry members were treated as dead horses and treated as live doctors. They secretly gathered together and came to the Wang family to find the prince's pimp to discuss countermeasures. Wang Heng is famous for his wide connections and wild ways.
"In three days, Zhang's land will be cleared. Those of you sitting here, none of you can escape. It's still a good idea to confiscate your family property. I don't know if you can save your life!"
Everyone whispered for a while that Mr. Cai from Chaoguan had his account books copied just yesterday by a Tatar named Li Zicheng. He was tortured for an hour at the Yamen of Zhoucheng and refused to admit his guilt. After he was released, he worried that his time was short. I was in panic all day long. Suddenly I heard Wang Heng's threats. I was so frightened that I lost my mind and said loudly:
"Master Wang, save me, find me a boat, leave Taicang overnight, go to Guangdong..."
Several other Jin gentry present also begged Wang Heng for mercy, as if the prince had the power of life and death over these people.
"enough!"
Wang Heng saw that the atmosphere was almost done, he waved his hand and said angrily:
"If you believe me, prepare money first. Only when you have money can you do things easily!"
Eunuch Cao asked in a low voice: "May I ask what Mr. Wang wants to do?"
Wang Heng said with a stern expression: "Since ancient times, the barbarians have not had a national destiny for a hundred years. Liu Zhaosun usurped power and killed the king. The national destiny was only more than ten years at most. I met this man many times when I was in Shenyang. Liu Zhaosun was irritable and mean, with poor planning and a woman. Zhiren, he survived many catastrophes because of luck, but good luck will always run out."
Some of the people who had heard of the Battle of Hetuala and the Battle of Beijing nodded in agreement, saying that Liu Zhaosun was such a person.
"Not only Liu Zhaosun himself will be short-lived, but the Qi State he established after usurping power, according to someone, is also in a precarious situation and will not survive for long."
After hearing this, everyone agreed, and Eunuch Cao sneered: "I have been breathing for more than ten years, and it looks more and more stable. Prince Wang, you are joking again."
Wang Heng ignored the eunuch and continued:
"The State of Qi is so aggressive that it wants to fight everyone. Not long ago, refugees in Huguang rebelled. Various circumstances indicate that the demise of the State of Qi is imminent."
"Soon."
A room full of dignitaries looked like drowning people, grabbing at straws and looking at Wang Heng expectantly.
"Master Wang, what's your plan?"
"Young Master Wang wants to save me and wait!"
·····
Wang Heng tried to imitate Liu Zhaosun's actions, waved his hand to the big businessman in front of him, and said with infinite heroism:
"No need to panic."
"If you are willing to believe someone, you should pay the money first. You are a desperado. Life must be bought with money. Without money, it is difficult to move."
Eunuch Cao interrupted again: "Yin? It would be great if the money could send Zhang Yunxiu away, so that our family would not waste so much energy! Even the work of the weaving bureau has stopped."
Just as Master Cai was about to agree, Wang Heng said: "I am not a briber to the court, Eunuch Cao, you are wrong."
Eunuch Cao's eyes shone brightly and he smiled and said:
"Young master, do you want to take advantage of others? Just kill Zhang Yunxiu..."
He made a throat-cutting gesture on his neck, and everyone was in an uproar. Assassinating the imperial envoy was a serious crime that would destroy the nine tribes.
Zhang Yuan whispered: "Brother Yuchen, think twice."
Wang Heng waved his hand and said: "A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. You are all members of the public family. Don't you know this truth?"
"Besides," Wang Heng glanced at everyone with a sharp look:
"When we find out the fields you have occupied for hundreds of years, according to Liu Zhao's grandson's words, you will be skinned and the three tribes will be killed!"
Finally, Wang Heng concluded:
"Whether you wait to die or fight to the death and make a good situation, please think about it!"
A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake, this is the truth, but Zhang Yunxiu has guns and soldiers, how can he fight against them?
Everyone started whispering again.
"Everyone! Everyone! Don't worry, I have my own plan. I don't care if Zhang Yunxiu comes back or not. It will be too late for Liu Zhaosun to regret it."
"Pay the silver first, ten thousand taels per household..."
