While the Supreme Emperor devoted himself to studying the Longsha Prophecy, hoping to obtain the art of immortality, his son, the seventeen-year-old Emperor Liu Kan of Guangde, was anxious about the implementation of the new law.
Although the preliminary preparations for the New Deal were quite sufficient, and the original two provinces were even temporarily reduced to a few provinces in Songjiang, Suzhou, the pressure that Emperor Guangde encountered when the real estate clearance began was far beyond his imagination.
More than 200 inspectors sent to twelve prefectures and counties in Jiangsu encountered varying degrees of resistance in various places.
As of the end of February, the progress of the New Deal was slow, and inspections were sent to various places. For one reason or another, Qingzhang Mu almost stalled.
Some people took the initiative to resign, some were impeached for accepting bribes, some lingered as prostitutes in brothels, and were beaten, blackmailed, and tortured by local gangsters...
Successful reforms are always similar, but failed reforms have different tragedies.
What shocked the little emperor the most was that the two inspectors sent to Wuxian and Jiading disappeared. In the end, no one was found alive or dead.
The little emperor has shouldered a burden that originally did not belong to his age.
When your time is peaceful, there must be someone carrying the burden for you. This principle was also applicable to Daqi more than 300 years ago.
In the second year of Guangde, on the morning of the sixth day of March, Liu Kan summoned the civil and military ministers to discuss countermeasures.
"My father's literary and military strategies are unparalleled in ancient and modern times, and his wisdom is unparalleled. He can be compared to Yao, Shun, Tang and Wu, the merits of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the magnanimity of Guangwu, the bravery of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the ambition of Xianzong to quell tyranny, and the benevolence and forgiveness of Renzong of the Song Dynasty." ····None of them are as good as the Supreme Emperor. However, my father has admired Xuanxiu regardless of everything for a long time. Now I will temporarily leave the important affairs of the court to my disposal. I have been practicing Zuo for a long time and have shallow virtues. In order to unite the world, I still have to rely on you. All of you who love me, please help me!"
Liu Kan looked at the ministers with bright eyes.
He was once dissatisfied with his father's manipulation of power. Now that his father is bent on delegating power to himself - at least letting the military and civil affairs take orders from him - he realizes how difficult it is to govern a large country.
Just like the advancement of this new policy, it is difficult to move forward, and all the previous achievements will be lost in one careless move.
Seeing that all the ministers were silent, Liu Kan had no choice but to continue:
"Wu Shanyan, the governor of Taicang, sent a memorial the day before yesterday. Have you all read it?"
Qi Chengming system.
The memorials sent by the governors of various provinces and states to the capital, as long as they did not involve military secrets, were generally published simultaneously in the Dibao, similar to the public notice system of later generations.
Autumn of the forty-sixth year of Wanli.
A few months before the Saarhu War, the imperial court published Yang Hao's troop dispatching strategy, time, and location in full, directly informing the world (although the Ming army's strength was more than five times exaggerated). In fact, these are routine operations of the Ming Dynasty. Later generations do not know the inside story, and it is biased to only say that Yang Hao did it alone.
The Minister of Punishment was the first to stand up and said: "Your Majesty, I have read Wu Shanyan's impeachment memorial against Zhang Jinglue. The statement stated that 'Zhang Yunxiu will be punished for his eighty-three crimes' is really nonsense! Absolutely ridiculous! Please report it to me immediately." Send the raincoat guards to Taicang Prefecture, arrest this guy for interrogation, uncover his accomplices, and kill them all!"
Zhang Yunxiu had only been in Taicang for less than a month, and the local county officials sent memorials to impeach him like snowflakes one after another to Nanjing.
In these memorials, the crimes committed by Zhang Yunxiu and his colleagues are too numerous to describe.
At that time, Yuan Yingtai slandered the Supreme Emperor as a "crime punishable by death", which pales in comparison to this.
From "raping the common people" and "corruption and bribery" to "robbing women of the people" and "taking advantage of others by clever means" and what else, "in the name of reform, the reality is to carry out looting"...
Out of protection for Zhang Yunxiu, Emperor Guangde ignored the impeachment memorial and pretended he had not seen it.
However, the impeachment intensified and spread from Taicang and Suzhou to other states and counties. The charges of impeaching Zhang Jinglue were eventually upgraded to:
"Collude with Japanese pirates and intend to rebel."
What's even more terrible is that every piece of evidence is not groundless, there are witnesses and physical evidence.
This is difficult to handle.
The emperor can leave a memorial, but he cannot ignore public opinion, otherwise the situation will only get worse if it is delayed.
Liu Kan pulled out a memorial from the imperial eucalyptus, waved it to the ministers, and handed the memorial to the young eunuch Fang Xining.
Gong Linghai, the prefect of Songjiang, came to Shu five days ago and said that the Japanese troops preparing for Chongming Island had captured a stranded Japanese pirate ship on the sea, captured the first Japanese pirate from Kyushu and the second Japanese pirate from Osaka, and found a secret message from the prisoners.
It is said that it was written by the Tokugawa shogunate to Zhang Jinglue. The two parties agreed on a time to capture Nanjing, take the head of Emperor Guangde, and reward Zhang Yunxiu with ten boxes of jeweled Japanese swords and eight Japanese beauties.
The excerpt from Tokugawa Iemitsu’s letter to Zhang Juzheng’s son is as follows:
"...My wife has lived in this world for less than a hundred years since ancient times. How can she live here in depression for a long time? What's more, I and Tatar Qi have the hatred of killing my father and destroying the country! I have been lying on the firewood for twenty years, wearing a million pieces of armor, but I am nothing. According to the plan, we now want to make a false road to Korea, transcend the mountains and seas, and go straight to Qi, so that the five hundred states can be converted into customs, so as to implement the king's government for hundreds of millions of years. This is the family's long-cherished ambition.
I heard that Jinglue had gained a son (referring to Liu Kan), and when he came to Taicang, he found it convenient. He used a partial force to land in Songjiang and directly captured the head of the thieves. I personally conquered Liaodong, swept holes and plowed the courts, and drove out the Tartars. Qi, restore China! ·····”
Fang Xining read aloud the "secret letter" seized by Songjiang Mansion in front of the ministers.
The officials were in an uproar.
The eunuch's melodious voice spread far away, and even Lin Yu, who was standing at the door of the hall, turned back frequently. The giant was deeply shocked by the shogun's arrogant plan...
To Liu Kan's embarrassment, the prefect of Songjiang published this memorial in the Di newspaper, titled "All the People Capture the Japanese Spies". From then on, the whole world knew that Zhang Yun had established ties with the Japanese.
No matter what the facts are, no one can bear the big hat of Tongwa.
Everyone in the main hall knew very well that this was the plan of officials from various Jiangsu provinces to force Zhang Jinglue to death.
To be fair, this kind of frame-up is too crude and cannot withstand scrutiny. Anyone who has watched the scene of Jiang Qian stealing books in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" will understand what is going on.
Sometimes, though, the strategy is to keep it simple!
As long as it can successfully evoke the tragic memories of the Japanese pirates among the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and as long as it can turn fear into anger, the purpose of the memorial will be achieved.
As for whether it was really possible for Zhang Yunxiu to collude with Tokugawa Iemitsu, and how the Japanese pirates sent ten boxes of gold and silver jewelry and eight Japanese beauties to Zhang Jinglue thousands of miles away, the angry people would not consider it.
This is building momentum, which can also be called leveraging.
Everyone was worried about Zhang Juzheng's youngest son.
There are sporadic Japanese pirates along the coast, as if they are stuck in the throat, and the Supreme Emperor wishes he could pull them out in one fell swoop.
The shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu is exactly what the Emperor calls the evil dragon. If he is killed, the Emperor will ascend to heaven.
At this juncture, with such a thing, it would be difficult for Zhang Yunxiu to carry out his management strategy, and it would be hard to say whether he could save his life, let alone a new policy.
Zhang Pu stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the Taicang mob was affected by the Suzhou government and went on strike. There are no trackers on the South Canal. The canal is blocked and cannot pass. There are even thugs and bluffs harassing the military base. If a decision is not made for a long time, it will definitely lead to trouble. If it becomes a riot like that in Suzhou, I suggest that we send out a large army to suppress it immediately and kill all the people."
Qian Qianyi grinned: "It's just a book business."
After saying that, he bowed his hands to Emperor Guangde and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, although I don't know about the army, there is a shortage of troops in various places. As everyone knows, we have a large army of 123,000 soldiers and horses, stationed in the north and south, and we have to guard against bandits and Japanese pirates... At this time, we have rashly allocated the garrison troops. , marching into Suzhou and Hangzhou, if the victory fails, or if it is delayed for a long time, there will be immediate civil uprisings in other prefectures and counties, such as Linchuan in Jiangxi and Changsha in Hunan. What will be done at that time?"
Liu Kan had already considered the issues raised by Qian Qianyi, which was why Emperor Guangde was reluctant to increase his troops in Taicang.
"I don't know what the bachelor said. It's just that the situation in Taicang is extremely dangerous. How should we deal with it? Can we mobilize the troops to surrender..."
Qian Qianyi frowned and said: "No, although the Ming army in the south of the Yangtze River is large, it is inextricably linked with the wealthy gentry and colludes constantly. If there is a change, these people will immediately turn against each other. When the time comes, the soldiers and the people will coerce each other, and Wu Min If we do the opposite, Jiangnan will be in chaos."
Liu Kan sighed and asked, "What about that?"
Qian Qianyi said confidently: "The current situation forces us to give priority to propaganda, and to fight against chaos as a supplement. Your Majesty, please immediately dispatch training officers from each regiment to Taicang to know the advantages and disadvantages, and the people will seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. If you know that the court's policy is true If they are good to themselves, they will not be fooled by those powerful people with ulterior motives, and the so-called civil uprising will be self-defeating."
"If a large army presses the territory, it will only be counterproductive. "Guoyu" has a saying, to be virtuous, do not watch the soldiers. Soldiers, when fighting, move when they move, and when they move, they are powerful; when they watch, they play, and when they play, there is no shock. (Note 1) You can pretend to be a sheep. We must send generals to prevent powerful people from knowing my true identity. When Huguang recruits are trained this spring and the new policy is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the power lies with me rather than the enemy, it will not be too late to eradicate the powerful people."
Liu Kan nodded approvingly.
"It's really the advice of an experienced person in planning a country. I learned it today."
"His Majesty!"
Zhang Pu took out the Feng Zuoshu from his body and played loudly:
"Your Majesty, what Grand Scholar Qian said is actually misleading the country and the people! Your Majesty, please read it."
"This is the Di newspaper sent back by my friend in Suzhou yesterday. It is an epitaph that records the process of the Suzhou civil uprising in detail."
Liu Kan was a little unhappy, waved his hand and said to Fang Xining: "Bring it here, let me take a look."
The Wu Min riot that occurred in Suzhou at the end of February had a very bad impact on the New Deal.
Later, casualties were counted and nearly a thousand civilians were killed. Among the inspectors sent to Suzhou, ten people were killed. Later, the imperial court deployed 3,000 troops from the Southern Zhili First Corps to suppress the civil uprising.
After this incident, Nanjing reached a compromise with the Suzhou Prefecture, and the settlement of the father-in-law and the commercial tax reform were temporarily postponed by the Suzhou Prefecture...
"Taicang cannot condone it, otherwise it will be like Suzhou. Even though I am a descendant of the south of the Yangtze River, for the sake of Daqi, I have to say that the southerners cannot be trusted!"
~~~~
The epitaph details how Suzhou's "common people" clashed with officials, and how the seven heroes died heroically in order to oppose the tyranny (the new law).
After Liu Kan finished reading, his face was ashen.
"This is unreasonable! Confusing black and white, you bastard! Who wrote this!"
Zhang Pu whispered: "Your Majesty, it's a Suzhou student named Qian Pu."
Qian Qianyi took the Di newspaper and read it word for word, sentence by sentence, and translated it into vernacular as follows.
The seven people in the tomb died out of righteous indignation while fighting against the traitors' harsh rule.
Now, prestigious scholar-officials in the county have petitioned the relevant court to bury them grandly, and to erect steles in front of their tombs to commend their deeds. Ah, what a grand and grand event!
The death of these seven people was only eleven months after the tombs were built and buried. During these eleven months, most of the children of wealthy families, high-spirited and complacent people died of illness, and too many unworthy people were buried after their deaths; not to mention those who had no reputation in the countryside. Woolen cloth? Only these seven people have a glorious reputation. Why is this?
I still remember that at that time, the inspector Zheng Yushi pretended to be powerful and used edicts to intimidate the people. (Zheng Zhidong, who was impeached for embezzling millions of silver taels and died for his country in the Suzhou Incident) ordered the Suzhou Weaving Bureau to stop weaving, ordered the banknotes to stop collecting taxes, and ordered the Jin gentry The weaver collected three million taels of silver as a fine.
That day, Suzhou's cries shook the heaven and earth. Officers in black uniforms came forward holding firecrackers and angrily shouted:
"You have embezzled national taxes for more than a hundred years, why are you still not paying now?"
Everyone couldn't bear it anymore, so they knocked the officer to the ground and beat him to death with sticks.
At that time, Wang Dehua, the governor of Suzhou with the title of Dazhong Cheng, was a party member of Zheng Yushi. He was the one who blackmailed the people of Suzhou.
The people in Suzhou hated him, and while he was yelling at him, they all shouted and chased him.
The Dazhong Prime Minister was able to escape by hiding in the toilet.
Soon, he transferred soldiers from the First Corps and asked the court for instructions on the charge of rioting by the people of Suzhou. He investigated the matter and killed seven people:
Yan Weipei, Yang Runiu, Niu Jie, Shen Chen, Zhou Wuyuan, Jin Longchen, Bu Haiwen.
These are the seven people who are now buried together in the tomb.
When the seven people were about to be executed, they looked happy and contented, laughed and drank, shouted Zhongcheng's name and cursed him, and died talking and laughing.
The severed head was placed on the top of the city, and his expression did not change at all.
Suzhou tea merchant Tang Zhengang was also a righteous man. He spent 300 taels of silver to bury the seven people together.
well! When Zheng Yushi was in trouble, how many people in Da Qi could be so powerful and unyielding?
But these seven people were born among the people and had never been taught by poetry and books. Two of them were disabled, but they were inspired by righteousness and risked their lives regardless of death. What was the reason?
A few days ago, there were many treacherous ministers who pretended to be emperors and extorted money in the name of reform.
The treacherous villain Zheng Yushi and his accomplices gained power and rampaged across the south of the Yangtze River.
The whole world looked at him with side eyes.
However, only we, the people of Suzhou Prefecture, rose up to fight and killed the traitors, finally making it impossible to implement the harsh rule.
Zheng Yushi and his accomplices were frightened by the righteous people, and their conspiracy to usurp the throne finally failed.
Later, Zheng Yushi was surrounded by the people and hanged in his mansion for fear of crime. It must be said that it was karma and retribution, and it was also the credit of these seven people.
Today we build tombs for the seven martyrs and erect monuments on the embankment to inscribe their names. People with lofty ideals from all over the world kneel down and shed tears when they pass by. This is our sincerity.
Otherwise, how could the heroes be allowed to bow down in obeisance, sigh with regret on the tomb path, and express the lamentations of their lofty ideals?
········
Lu Xiangsheng is twenty-two years old this year. At a young age, he has already become a cabinet minister, a general and a prime minister. This is extremely rare in previous dynasties. His current status is second only to Qiao Yiqi. He has led troops. He is decisive and thoughtful. He has the ruthlessness of Sun Chuanting and the power of Kang Yingqian. He is a core figure in the third generation cabinet of Da Qi. Because of his temperament with the young Liu Kan It fit well with him, so he was particularly valued by Emperor Guangde.
Liu Kandiao looked up at Lu Xiangsheng and said angrily:
"I want to restore my father's literary prison and kill a group of people! Let's start with Qian Pu from "Tombstone Story of Seven People".
Lu Xiangsheng silently unfolded this elegant newspaper, read it hastily, and said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, as Grand Scholar Qian said, the time is not yet ripe. The Qian family is a big family in Suzhou and cannot be moved at this time..."
"Immature! He blatantly confuses right and wrong, compares Zheng Zhidong to a cruel official, criticizes Sang and Huai, humiliates me and my father, and mocks the monarchs and ministers of Qi. Why do you want to keep him?"
Liu Kan slapped the eucalyptus and stood up. With a crash, he pushed all the memorials on the eucalyptus to the ground.
"Your Majesty, calm down."
Fang Xining came up and picked up the memorials scattered on the ground and put them back.
Liu Kan's mood recovered slightly, and he waved his hand: "Grand Scholar and Lu Aiqing stay! The rest of the people, retreat from the court!"
The young eunuch immediately put down his work and followed several palace ladies out of the hall.
After everyone left, Liu Kan looked at the two of them and said anxiously: "My father gave me the power of life and death, but how come things turned out like this!"
Lu Xiangsheng comforted him and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Things will happen step by step. Just as the bachelor said, please send the instructor first."
Liu Kan pondered for a moment and asked: "What about Zhang Jinglue's collusion with Japanese pirates? Should he be called back to Beijing?"
Qian Qianyi said earnestly: "Your Majesty, you must not do it. Zhang Jinglue is a minister of the country. The Taicang Reform is imperative. He must not take a step back at this time. If he does, he will be like his father Zhang Juzheng and die without a burial place." "
"Your Majesty ignored the impeachment memorials and issued an edict to commend Zhang Jinglue for his meritorious service in implementing the new law. He did not mention anything else. I and Mr. Lu wrote to Zhang Jinglue again, asking him to work in peace in Taicang and refute the memorials impeaching him for colluding with Japanese pirates. As long as the outside world knows that the Holy One is still supporting Zhang Yunxiu, those who secretly want to overthrow Zhang Jinglue will not be able to use force, and if they cannot use force, their conspiracy will not succeed, and Taicang will not be in chaos."
Lu Xiangsheng looked at Qian Qianyi with admiration, and also felt that this man was old and wise.
"I'm just worried. Your Majesty is young and cares about feathers. I'm afraid..."
Qian Qianyi hesitated to speak.
Liu Kan put his hands on his hands and laughed: "I am not Zhu Youjian of the former Ming Dynasty. My father often taught me: a little fame is of no use to the world! Zhang Yunxiu is a good man. He went through fire and water for Daqi in the front. Of course I must support him!"
Note:
1. Mandarin "Sacrificing the Duke and Admonishing the Dogs and Rong"
