The next day.
On the pillars under the high platform outside the imperial tent of the camp, several criminal officials who had been captured by the Jin Yiwei overnight had been tied to the pillars.
Zhu Yijun was sitting on a dragon chair covered with half-used cushions, looking at the arrested officials: "Do you know why I arrested you?"
"Know!"
Xue Hongyan, the prefect of Zhending, replied with a penitent look on his face.
Zhu Yijun asked again: "Do you regret it?"
Xue Hongyan replied: "I'm sorry! The criminal failed to live up to His Majesty's expectations for the criminal. I'm sorry for Your Majesty's cultivation. I feel extremely guilty!"
As he spoke, Xue Hongyan choked up.
"Everyone regrets it once they find out, but when they don't find out, they become more bold than the other!"
"It has been so many years since the decree was issued to prohibit the private gift of Chiyi official tickets to Jin gentry, and the decree to permanently exempt the world from corvee service. The Ministry of Household Affairs was even asked to allocate funds for you to organize scholars to preach and study. The results have always been Turn a deaf ear.”
"I'm too lazy to say any more. I'll go to the Nine Springs and ask for forgiveness from my ancestors."
After Zhu Yijun said this, his face sank: "Behead!"
"yes!"
So, Wei Peng and others once again walked toward the prisoners with knives. After the prisoners were forced to kneel on the ground, they all raised their knives.
Uh-huh!
Uh-huh!
Uh-huh!
On the spot, heads fell to the ground, stained with blood on the snow. When blown by the cold wind, they all solidified into blood porridge.
The officials and soldiers present were also more solemn.
Zhu Yijun returned to his tent after that, and said to Qi Jiguang, Wang Xijue and others who followed him: "This personal expedition can be regarded as letting all officials in the world know. The consequence of provoking rebellion is that I will come down personally to make them even more uneasy." !So, don’t really think that power comes from the emperor and not from the people. If you don’t regard the people as human beings, you can just talk about the new rituals. You must know that the emperor’s power comes from the people, and the emperor treats the new rituals. It’s not just words!”
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"All officials in the world should have this understanding. If they don't have this understanding, it won't be a pity even if their body and head are missing!"
Qi Jiguang first agreed.
Wang Xijue also followed: "I agree, the people are the foundation of the state, and the state is the people. I believe that anyone who reads the books of sages has this awareness. It's just that there are a few people who have the awareness but don't have the perseverance to do it."
"Of course I believe that officials are not stupid people! I believe that they are all very enlightened! But they often become enlightened and only regard the wealthy gentry and rich people they come into contact with as citizens!"
"Yu thought that there were people in the world who were drowning, so he drowned himself; Ji thought that there were people in the world who were hungry, so he wanted to be hungry himself. This is why he is so anxious. It is difficult to do this!"
"Including today's execution of these lawless criminals, I'm afraid there will still be many people who dare to bully the people because they don't know how painful it is because the knife has not been cut on their heads."
"In any case, I still say what I said. I don't expect all of them to love the people as much as Hai Rui. As long as most of them don't take the initiative to harm the people, I will be very satisfied with them."
After Zhu Yijun said this, he asked Liang Menglong, the deputy privy envoy in charge of the march, how long it would take before the army would break camp. After Liang Menglong answered, Zhu Yijun went to rest without mentioning it, while Wang Xijue remained silent in the tent for a long time.
Qi Jiguang couldn't help asking: "What is Mr. Ge thinking?"
Wang Xijue smiled slightly: "It's nothing. I just hope that the bureaucrats and scholars I see next can give me some credit."
It was the middle of the twelfth lunar month in the nineteenth year of Wanli.
Zhu Yijun crossed the Yellow River and officially entered Shaanxi.
Huayin County.
On this day, when the red sun was shining high, Zhu Yijun walked towards Huashan Mountain in Xiyue on the white snow, and he still came incognito, while Qi Jiguang and Wang Xijue did the same, walking with him.
Ding ding!
While walking towards Huashan Mountain, Zhu Yijun heard the sound of stone cutting, and followed the sound. Then, he saw many people quarrying stones here, and there were people dressed as officials supervising here.
Seeing this, Qi Jiguang couldn't help but frowned and said to Wang Xijue in a low voice:
"Your Majesty does not take the main road and does not visit large cities and towns, but only seeks small towns. If you do this, you will probably see many situations where the new policy of permanently eliminating corvee has not been effectively implemented and the people are still being levied and extorted by the government."
"I know His Majesty will do this, but I still don't want to believe that in a place that is difficult for the court to detect, no official is willing to implement the new policy, rest with the people, and benefit the people."
Wang Xijue said with a somewhat depressed expression.
Qi Jiguang also frowned and looked ahead.
"Who are you and why are you here?"
At this time, Shen Jun, the magistrate of Xi'an Prefecture, appeared here with his soldiers and asked about Zhu Yijun and his party.
Zhu Yijun turned around and said, "Pass by and take a look."
Although he had participated in the imperial examination, he had not met the emperor in person, and did not know Zhu Yijun and others. And because he was in a hurry, he only pondered for a while without asking any more questions, and then looked at the quarry ahead. : "Take all the officials and operators of this quarry!"
"Wait!"
As soon as Shen Yi finished speaking, a big man in soap-colored robes walked out of the pavilion next to the quarry, holding a teapot in his hand. He bowed to Shen Yi and asked, "This official?" It must be the prince of the palace?"
Without waiting for Shen Jun's answer, the big man said again: "I am a humble man with a rich name. I am a member of the family of Zhang Gong, a soldier in Nanben. Now I would like to report to the government that this quarry is an industry benefited by the old parents of this county. Please return it to the government." Please don't disturb the people, otherwise if you anger the fierce people of this county, I fear that none of you will be able to leave Huayin County."
After the wealthy Zhang family slave said this, he also looked at Zhu Yijun: "These guys look like they are well-dressed. They must be here to climb Mount Huashan. What do you think of this?"
"How else can I look at it? Of course I don't dare to meddle in other people's business."
Zhu Yijun said with a smile.
Wan Fu didn't say anything when he heard what Zhu Yijun said. He just thought that Zhu Yijun and others were interested.
At this time, Shen Yi said: "You, who have surrendered your status as a slave, are qualified to teach me how to do things. Do you want to teach me how to be a slave of a wealthy family like you?!"
After Shen Yan said this, he said: "Take them all! I have repeatedly ordered you not to use the people without reason anymore, but you just don't listen. It has been almost five years since your Majesty was exempted from the corvée service in Shaanxi. You powerful people are still colluding with the government to enslave the common people. I Even if I risk my life, I will still make you powerful people pay the price for resisting the Holy Oracle!"
As a result, Wan Fu and others were arrested by Shen Jun.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Yijun turned around and left with Qi Jiguang, Wang Xijue and others.
On the way back, Qi Jiguang and Wang Xijue breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at each other.
"I have said that I have never doubted that our Ming Dynasty did not have virtuous and loyal ministers, and there were no good officials who truly made decisions for the people. This Shen Jun has proved this to me."
"I also believe that there are many scholar-bureaucrats like Shen Jun who are ensuring that my good governance is implemented and protecting the people of the world on my behalf, and they are doing so very well. They are not because of me, let alone because of what I have given them. After having paid enough money, before I significantly increased their income, and the court could only make up the money with peppercorns and even owed salary, many of them were trying their best to protect the people of the world and benefit them."
"If not, how could the Ming Dynasty continue to exist even after the old rituals had collapsed for a hundred years? Why would people beg for their lives for the people one after another?"
On the way back, Zhu Yijun also talked about Shen Jun to Qi Jiguang and Wang Xijue, and also expressed some emotion.
But as soon as Zhu Yijun finished speaking, he saw a large number of Huayin people armed with swords, arrows, sticks and other things passing by people like him in a hurry.
"The corrupt official Shen Nong stole our road construction money, and now he wants to increase our taxes. Kill him!"
At the same time, there were fierce people passing by who were leading these people away while shouting words to arouse people's emotions.
"kill him!"
"kill him!"
"kill him!"
…
The common people who followed also raised their swords, arrows and clubs and shouted loudly, and followed the people who organized them in the opposite direction to Zhu Yijun and others.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Yijun probably guessed the reason, and asked Qi Jiguang, Wang Xijue and others: "Do you still remember what the millionaire said?"
"Remember!"
Qi Jiguang and Wang Xijue hurriedly replied.
Zhu Yijun then smiled and said: "If I don't believe my own ministers, who can I believe? You can't really just believe that these people organized by local right-wingers are really going to uphold justice, right?"
Zhu Yijun stopped as he spoke and watched as Shen Xiu and others who followed him gradually surrounded the people on three floors inside and three floors outside. He said with a sullen face: "Marquis of Nanchang, go immediately and wait for ten miles." The cavalry camp of Jinwu Guards outside is mobilized quickly. I don’t hope that there will be a third rebellion in Huayin County today. Even if it occurs, it must be suppressed quickly!"
Liu Wei immediately handed over his hand and said yes, and rode away from here.
At this time, Zhu Yijun continued to say to Qi Jiguang and Wang Xijue: "The strong people of the state are originally a blessing to the country, but unfortunately, all the court has always done is to benefit the people, and it has not yet had time to popularize education on a large scale, so it is still easy for right-wingers to The influence of public opinion, especially in this place where most of the people are farming, also forces me to continue to maintain the order where power comes from above. Today, even if Shen Yan commits the most serious crimes again, he cannot be killed or even beaten and humiliated. He can only be locked up. take!"
"beat!"
"Kill this bitch!"
At this time, the people who surrounded Shen were already rioting, waving their swords, guns and clubs and started beating him.
Upon seeing this, Shen Jun ordered his soldiers to resist.
As a result, there were casualties on both sides, but the people making trouble were outnumbered, so the soldiers of the prefecture's Yamen were beaten back steadily.
At this time, Qi Jiguang said to Zhu Yijun: "Your Majesty, these people have no intention of locking up the prefect in accordance with the "Great Edict", but they want to kill the prefect Shen Jun directly! It should be the powerful right behind them, and they don't want to follow the rules. Let the people know that arresting the prefect is not guilty according to the law, but I just want to instigate the people to beat the prefect to death, and then find a few people to take the blame, so that this riot is still illegal, and at the same time, the successor prefect will know to be afraid of the powerful!"
"Send the order to Liu Wei, and his cavalry will suppress the riot immediately as soon as they arrive!"
"In addition, let the Jin Yiwei keep an eye on a few suspicious ones and follow them after the people disperse."
Zhu Yijun ordered at this time.
(End of chapter)
