"My ambition in this life, Ruan Dacheng, is to be a solitary and loyal minister, without cliques, bribes, corruption, or speculation!"
Ruan Dacheng said and cupped his hands towards the north.
Dong Qichang looked at him in disbelief.
"Don't believe it!"
But Ruan Dacheng became even more angry and slapped Dong Qichang again, making Dong Qichang's face fatter and redder.
Then, Ruan Dacheng waved his hand and asked: "Do you think all officials in the world form cliques for personal gain like you?"
With that said, Ruan Dacheng threatened Dong Qichang in a low voice: "You'd better be honest, listen to our arrangements, and stop talking like this. Otherwise, don't blame me for not reminding you. As long as I tell Xiaoge Say the old man, and then ask hundreds of officials to impeach you, saying that you are resisting taxes and treason, and it will be a disaster for the nine clans! So, you must obey my arrangements honestly, do you understand?"
Dong Qichang also understood.
After hearing what Ruan Dacheng mentioned about Xiao Ge Lao, Dong Qichang also realized that the situation in the DPRK must have changed, and if he wanted to survive now, he had to be obedient.
Therefore, Dong Qichang hurriedly kowtowed and said: "I understand! I don't dare to rebel, and I don't dare to slander Shangguan. Please forgive me, Lord Ruan!"
"Very good, you should immediately write an initiative advocating for the gentry all over the world to pay back their taxes and publish it in Chongwen Temple. In addition, you should write a letter of repentance for tax arrears. At the same time, you should write a memorial and submit it to the emperor, and give strict instructions to the world. The gentry's paying taxes is a behavior that ignores the national law, and requires the court to severely punish these people. It is best to confiscate the family and exterminate the clan. To be more harsh, it even requires the gentry all over the world to pay all taxes as the first family discipline! This is reflected When you are loyal and aware! Do you understand?"
Ruan Dacheng spoke.
"understand!"
Dong Qichang answered respectfully.
But Dong Qichang's heart was bleeding. He knew that Ruan Dacheng was forcing him to admit defeat to the emperor and the court on behalf of the Jiangnan gentry.
"Write it immediately! Otherwise, even if His Majesty does not punish your nine tribes, we will advise him to punish your nine tribes!"
Ruan Dacheng threatened as he spoke.
Therefore, Dong Qichang had to go back to his study under the coercion of Ruan Dacheng and write a document about "paying taxes is honorable".
And this time.
The treasury of the Dong's Mansion has also been opened, and the grain and money have been taken out, and then they have been counted, inspected, and shipped away by people from the West Factory.
However, what Dong Qichang is most distressed about now is not the confiscated grain and money, but the proposal and confession he has written now. It is undoubtedly equivalent to the entire Jiangnan gentry submitting to the court, and it will undoubtedly make him Dong Qichang change from a prisoner to a prisoner. Lin Jingzhong's famous figure turned into a coward who was shamed by scholars.
But this was the reason why Zhu Youxiao sent Ruan Dacheng from Chongwen Temple to Jiangnan, which was to force some powerful officials who represented the Jiangnan gentry to compromise with the imperial court.
An hour later, Ruan Dacheng was so satisfied that he took Dong Qichang's "calligraphy treasure" and left Dong's mansion.
As a famous calligrapher in history, Dong Qichang pursed his lips, his old eyes became cloudy, and looked towards the north after seeing Ruan Dacheng leave.
"His Majesty!"
Dong Qichang then knelt down, roared, and then cried: "Even if the guilty officials are guilty, you can't send soldiers here! Your Majesty! You let those border town warriors who kill without batting an eye to collect taxes, It is really an insult to gentlemen! Your Majesty! Why are you so mean and ungrateful? Are you really not afraid that a hundred years from now, you will be notorious for all eternity?! Your Majesty!"
…
"Who cares about what happens after his death? Let him get infamy. I don't care about the floods after his death. As long as he can hold great power while alive!"
Zhu Youxiao said while looking at a pile of memorials to the imperial court to set up the Western Factory to recover the Fu Fu.
In Zhu Youxiao's view, any emperor these days who cares about reputation will be tricked to death by these civil servants.
Therefore, after Zhu Youxiao saw these memorials asking him to withdraw from Xichang in the name of asking him to stay as the emperor, he didn't pay much attention to them.
Moreover, Zhu Youxiao also brought the list of tax-paying gentry from Nanzhili handed over by Wang Yingjiao to the political hall, threw it in front of Fang Congzhe, and ordered:
"For large households that default on tax and grain arrears, all government officials involved in the affairs will be punished! All those who are famous will be expelled from their official positions! Those who have a fortune of more than 10,000 shi will be expelled from their official positions, and those who are famous will also be exiled to Yansui and Ningxia. Serve in other places! If someone in your family is an official, the official will be demoted two levels to a remote place. As a scholar, you will receive preferential treatment from the country, but you have no awareness of paying taxes and grains. You are really reading the book of sages in vain!"
Zhu Youxiao originally wanted to exile these gentry who should be exiled farther away, but now he found that the territory of the Ming Dynasty was indeed too narrow, so that he could not exile people to places that were too far away and too cold, such as Sakhalin Island, Go to these places in Siberia, or go to Nanyang to spread Han culture.
Fang Congzhe was quite horrified after hearing this. He really didn't expect that His Majesty would be so ruthless. Not only would he want to expel the unworthy gentry, he would also exile those who were seriously unworthy.
"I obey the decree!"
However, Fang Congzhe did not dissuade him because the gentry who were expelled were all Jiangnan gentry and formed the basis of Donglin officials.
In Shilin, although Donglin officials no longer have the greatest influence in the court, among Shilin, the gentry from Donglin still make up the majority.
Who said that the gentry from Jiangnan were the most successful in passing the Jinshi examination over the years?
Therefore, as a non-Donglin Party member, Fang Congzheba had no choice but to expel some Jiangnan gentry from their reputations.
As for the consequences, Fang Congzhe could also imagine that the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River would be even more dissatisfied, wishing that the world would immediately change the emperor or directly change the dynasty, or even find an ambitious vassal king to rebel.
But Fang Congzhe believed that as long as he, the civil servants and generals, were ready to respond at any time, there would be no need to worry that these Jiangnan gentry would successfully rebel with a certain vassal king.
Because in Fang Congzhe's view, as long as the people of the world can survive, and as long as the hundreds of thousands of border troops in the north are not in chaos, the world will not be destroyed. After all, Prince Ning Zhu Chenhao did not successfully rebel back then.
What's more, now that His Majesty the Ming Emperor is determined to reform and eliminate shortcomings, in Fang Congzhe's view, he must be ruthless and decisive.
After all, reforming and eradicating evils is not about treating guests to a meal. It requires human lives to succeed. It is impossible without killing a few officials who spoke out, or even some who started the rebellion.
…
"I, Taipu Temple Shaoqing Shen Yongmao, knelt down and begged Your Majesty to be more generous. It is indeed against the national law to pay taxes and arrears, and it is Shilin's crime to cut off the grain supply. I have ordered my family to pay the taxes truthfully, and I dare not default again. I also ask Your Majesty to take pity on the dignity of our gentry, stop the establishment of the West Factory, and transfer the border troops back to Jiubian to avoid instability in the border towns. I promise that I will never owe taxes or gifts again!"
"I, Zuo Tongzheng, Wang Tingxi, knelt down and begged Your Majesty to treat the people with kindness. This cutoff in grain transportation was not a deliberate attempt by our Nanzhili to disrupt the imperial government's plans. Rather, it was because we were dissatisfied with the treacherous people in the DPRK. The soldiers and the people below did not know the righteousness, so they did this violation. It is an act of national law, but I beg your majesty to forgive me for it. I have already sent a message to my family, and I must not default on taxes and grain, and violate the national law. However, I ask your majesty to stop setting up the west factory, and don't bully our gentry with arrogant soldiers and strong generals!"
…
"Your Majesty, please stop setting up the West Factory and don't bully our gentry with your arrogant soldiers and powerful generals!"
"Your Majesty, please stop setting up the West Factory and don't bully our gentry with your arrogant soldiers and powerful generals!"
"Your Majesty, please stop setting up the West Factory and don't bully our gentry with your arrogant soldiers and powerful generals!"
…
Go outside the left door.
A group of civil servants from South Zhili, headed by Shen Yongmao, Xu Tingxi and others, knelt down after learning that the imperial court had used tens of thousands of elite soldiers to form the West Factory and went south to impose taxes, and that the emperor ignored their advice. Here, I beg the emperor to stop setting up the West Factory and not to send arrogant soldiers to South Zhili.
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