The outline of the southern capital city is in the shape of a monkey's head, and the imperial city is located on the protruding position of the monkey's mouth.
Therefore, even though it is across the Imperial City, the closest location to the palace city inside is the Chaoyang Gate area.
However, the distance between Chaoyang Gate and the Imperial City was very small, so there was no way for everyone to stand, and the city was outside Chaoyang Gate.
You can only make noise outside Xi'an Gate in the west and to the west side of Chengtian Gate in the south.
Different from Beidu, there is an area with inverted convex characters outside Chengtian Gate, which is "Qianbu Corridor".
The protruding sides of the "Ganbu Corridor" are where the various government offices of the imperial court were located, and the end of the "Ganbu Corridor" is the Hongwu Gate.
There are officers and soldiers in charge here, and ordinary people and scholars are not allowed to enter.
Shouting outside Hongwu Gate is almost twice as far away as shouting at Xi'an Gate.
Many scholars are locals or have been hanging out in Nandu for a long time, so of course they will not act stupidly now.
Before, outside Xi'an Gate, that is, the Gennan Street and North Street of Xihuangcheng to the east of the moat were full of people.
Li Ruolian didn't count them carefully. In short, they were densely packed in a long strip, and there were many people holding huge banners and writing letters in response to their demands.
However, these demands are all nonsense, such as cutting business taxes, abolishing factory guards, abolishing the brave guard camp, deposing the prince...
After reading this, the factory guards and defenders who had been guarding this place felt as ridiculous as farting.
These scholars are just a bunch of losers who need to be dealt with. While they talk about being loyal to the emperor and serving the country, they also demand that the prince be deposed.
It seemed that the crowd was furious and would not give up unless the goal was big enough, but the factory guard actually came out to arrest the person, and he immediately ran away and even dropped his shoes.
This arrest was mainly carried out by Jin Yiwei, supplemented by Dongchang. The total number of personnel dispatched was only more than a thousand people, which was far smaller than the number of scholars.
But fortunately, we had horses as a support, otherwise we would not have been able to capture more than 800 scholars without deliberately using force.
As for the hundreds of casualties, most of them were caused by stampedes and accidental collisions in the chaos.
The factory guard really wanted to kill him. It would be great if the soldiers present could survive half of it.
"Why are you arresting us? We are scholars! Are you acting under the guise of the Holy Order?"
Even though Chen Mingxia's hands were tied up by the Jin Yiwei, he still did not forget to argue. Although the scholar was not an official of the imperial court, his status was transcendent.
"You thieves are covering up profiteers, evading taxes, and trying to make excuses. It's really hateful!"
Xiaoqi, who led the team, deeply hated this kind of scum. He was a typical duplicitous person who claimed to be loyal to the emperor but actually deceived him.
"You are clearly deliberately slandering us! His Majesty misunderstood the slander and attempted to seize Min's advantage. As scholars, how can we stand by and watch?"
Chen Mingxia believed that he had the advantage of righteousness. Even in front of the emperor, he could still tell a convincing truth.
"Hmph! Are you good at using your words? Okay, okay! Go to the imperial prison and try your best!"
Xiao Qi no longer argued with the man, and forcefully pulled away the rope that tied the other man's hands, dragging him away like an animal.
"Who is Donglin Chen Mingxia?"
A commander-in-chief came from a distance. He had asked several times before. The arrested scholar only said that he had seen this person and did not know where he was.
"That's right!"
Chen Mingxia didn't know what the other party's intention was, but he instinctively replied that it would be best if he could release himself directly.
"Come with me to see the saint immediately!"
The general Qi just explained in a few words, and the small Qi handed over Chen Mingxia to the other party, and then led the remaining soldiers towards the prison.
"We are also Donglin scholars!"
"Yes! Why didn't Your Majesty summon us?"
"I'm waiting to see Your Majesty!"
"Yes! Your Majesty has been misled by traitors, and we must stand up to you!"
Seeing that Chen Mingxia received special treatment, the remaining arrested Donglin scholar was immediately unwilling to continue leaving.
They had been braving the biting cold wind for more than an hour, so naturally they wanted to be treated so favorably at this time.
"Daydreaming!"
The commander-in-chief sneered, then led Chen Mingxia through Xi'an Gate and walked towards the palace.
When Chen Mingxia arrived, there were already many people standing outside the hall, most of whom were Chen Mingxia's old friends.
Including Peng Bin, Xu Fuyuan, Zhou Maoyuan, Chen Zilong, Chen Zhenhui, Gu Yanwu and others, respectively from Donglin, Fushe, Jishe and other gangs.
"Meet the Xuanshizi~!"
With a shout from the chamberlain, these sage-minded scholars finally had the opportunity to express their powerful relationship to the emperor face to face.
"Long live, long live, long live my emperor!"
No matter what your thoughts are, after entering the main hall, you must kneel down and salute first. As long as you consider yourself a subject of the Ming Dynasty, you must do this.
"Who is Chen Zilong?"
Chongzhen planned to start with this official's son first, and the others would kneel down and wait for orders. They were all guilty, so they were not qualified to enjoy the free treatment.
"Excuse me, the student is none other than Chen Zilong!"
"Get up and answer!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"If I remember correctly, what your Majesty Chen heard is that he was a Jinshi in the 47th year of Wanli, and he was a minister of both punishment and work!"
"Your Majesty, that's right!"
"If I remember correctly, you are already a student!"
"Your Majesty, that's right!"
"Did you know that our court has issued an order that the students are not allowed to discuss matters?"
"Excuse me, the current imperial court wants to implement the bad policies of the past, and students have no choice but to do so!"
"Oh? Bad government? Tell me what kind of bad government the imperial court has implemented? How could I not know?"
The civil servant who had already given way to the middle of the hall and pushed aside felt sorry for the son of a colleague.
Since your father can reach the rank of minister, how can you, a son, get involved in the anti-tax petition?
If your majesty is in a good mood, maybe you can be spared from death. Otherwise, if you are sent to the mining area to mine, life will be worse than death!
"Your Majesty, students think that commercial tax is bad government, and the harm caused by commercial tax is the worst of all! If the court instead of abolishing commercial tax, instead increases commercial tax, merchants will be unprofitable and the selling price will increase. When everything goes up, the people will not be able to be self-sufficient, which will cause serious harm. The imperial court wants to seize Min's wealth and give it to merchants, causing thousands of people to live in poverty. Our Ming Dynasty will definitely be harmed by this bad government. Students often think about the future of the country, why? Can you turn a blind eye?"
Chen Zilong felt that although it was his first time to meet the Holy Spirit and he was a little nervous, he felt much more relaxed after his impassioned speech, and he should have made it clear what he wanted to express.
"Merchants are unprofitable! That's right! Do you know how much a Yangzhou thin horse sells for?"
"...students don't know!"
"Do you know who Yangzhou Shouma is mainly selling to?"
"……this……"
"I am here to tell you personally that the low price of a Yangzhou thin horse is two to three hundred taels, and the high price is more than a thousand taels! The buyers are mainly merchants, and they are the unprofitable merchants you just mentioned! Since If there is no profit, how about spending a lot of money to buy a thin horse? Chen Zilong, how about you explain it to me? "
"……student……"
Chen Zilong did not expect that the emperor would mention the Yangzhou thin horse to him, and actually connect the Yangzhou thin horse with the merchants. The emperor's rebuttal had an obvious intention, which was to say that the merchants made money but refused to pay taxes.
"I can tell you that among the salt merchant ships sailing on the river now, seven or eight out of every ten ships, or even nine ships, are private salt, while there are very few official salt. Why is this? It is because private salt does not need to be taxed! Everywhere Collusion between officials and businessmen, especially officials in Lianghuai and Huaihe, generally colluded with salt merchants to evade taxes, causing the annual vested salt tax amount of the court to drop sharply. After the salt merchants and officials benefited, they could spend a lot of time and money, and when they arrived in Yangzhou, one person purchased two horses Even the best thin horse won’t blink! Chen Zilong, you speak good words for businessmen every day. Have you ever come into contact with businessmen? Do you know their income and life? If you don’t know anything at all, you will come to the conclusion that the imperial court is exploiting businessmen, which is to watch the sky from a well and work behind closed doors. That's right! The income from tea classes in Zhejiang is only a few hundred taels of silver per year. Even if it is calculated based on one thousand taels of silver, the imperial commercial tax is 30 taels, and the silver price for selling tea is only 30,000 taels. Chen Zilong, what do you think of Zhejiang? Can you only sell this amount of tea every year? If you were to investigate this matter, what should you do? Are you collaborating with such profiteers? Or are you incompatible with them? "
"..."
Chen Zilong never thought that the emperor would say such words that could be combined with the actual situation, and he had no way to refute it for a while.
Because all he knows are general principles and are completely divorced from the actual situation.
He had no idea how salt merchants lived.
I have only seen Yangzhou Shou Ma and heard of its high price, that's all.
If the salt merchant can really spend a lot of money and easily buy Yangzhou thin horses, this has nothing to do with the unprofitable determination.
"Before I moved to Nandu, I stayed in Yangzhou on the other side for a while, so I naturally knew some inside information. As we all know, Concubine Tian came from Yangzhou. When local officials and merchants saw that I would not accept the benefits, they gave them to Concubine Tian. Chen Zilong , have you ever known what the salt merchant gave to my noble concubine? A colorful coral over seven feet high! Is this thing produced in Lianghuai? No! It was purchased from Guangdong! It is said that it cost more than ten thousand taels! This Can this thing revive the Ming Dynasty? Of course not! Can this thing repel the Donglu? Of course it can't! However, this thing can please me. This is the original intention of those salt merchants in giving gifts! Chen Zilong, do you think I should accept it like this? Should I accept a gift? Is it a wise king if I accept it? Is it a wise king if I don’t accept it?"
"..."
The salt merchant actually acted like this?
Chen Zilong cursed in his heart. If this happened, wouldn't it mean that the efforts of the scholars were in vain?
If this matter is really true, then we must draw a clear line with the Lianghuai salt merchants in the future to avoid being implicated.
"In the second year of Chongzhen, I issued an order to restore the reputation of Donglin and repair Donglin Academy. This year is the twelfth year, which is exactly ten years! I know that you, Xia Yunyi and Du Linzheng also established it in Songjiang in the second year of Chongzhen." Jishe' has similar ambitions to Donglin. However, ten years have passed, Donglin is still stubborn, claiming to eliminate bad government and stop increasing the number of dispatches. In fact, he takes it as his own duty to resist the imposition of commercial taxes and desperately increases taxes on farmers! Zhang Pu and Zhang Caier I spent 400,000 taels to buy the positions of two ministers from me. Since the day they took office, these two people have frequently written letters asking me to order the court to reduce commercial taxes. Their intentions are obvious. Otherwise, the money behind them is How can the Lord let these two people off so easily? The 400,000 taels of silver spent on buying an official position are just deducted from the commercial tax to be levied! I want to know, do you think the court should levy less commercial tax and more agricultural tax?"
Chongzhen now regrets it terribly. Wei Zhongxian should have completely uprooted Donglin back then, otherwise why would he be so troubled now?
Dong Lin is just a bunch of white-eyed wolves who retaliate for kindness and revenge. He really misjudged these sanctimonious people.
Except for a few like Shoufu Qu Shiqi, everyone should go to guard the border or mine!
"...or..."
"Do you think that merchants are human beings and farmers are not human beings?"
"...students don't dare!"
"Have you read "Guanzi Xiaokuang"?"
"Students read it!"
"Scholars, farmers, and merchants! Businessmen are the lowest, and farmers are more than one level higher! Today's scholars excuse merchants and deliberately suppress farmers. Was this strategy taught by a saint? Or was it taught by His Majesty Taizu Emperor Gao?"
“Students don’t dare!”
"It's not that I don't dare, but I'm very brave! Dare every year! Dare every month! Dare every day! Just now you were loudly appealing outside the imperial city and came before me, how can you not dare?"
"..."
Chen Zilong had no choice but to kneel on the ground, not daring to answer easily. If he said the wrong thing again, he would be even more polite.
In fact, the salt merchant went too far. Chen Zilong had also heard a little about buying Yangzhou thin horses.
According to rankings, merchants cannot be compared with farmers, let alone surpass them and jump to second place.
"Let me ask you, if the Lianghuai salt merchants evaded a large amount of taxes and were audited by you, what should you do?"
"...Students will definitely punish him severely!"
"The imperial court wants to severely punish profiteers who evade taxes, and you want to stop them. What kind of situation have you put yourself in? Are you an accomplice of profiteers?"
"..."
"The imperial court cannot collect taxes. If it cannot allocate military pay to resist the Donglu's attack on the pass, causing the Donglu to seize the land in the north of the Ming Dynasty, can you be regarded as an accomplice of the Donglu?"
"..."
"You all want to depose the prince and disturb the foundation of the Yao Kingdom. The foundation of the Ming Dynasty will be unstable, and the bandits will benefit from it. If the dynasty changes, do you still want to be a minister?"
"...Students dare not die!"
These questions hit Chen Zilong's head one after another, but he dared not agree to any of them, otherwise his reputation would be ruined and he would be infamy for thousands of years.
I used to think that I was righteous and being able to help merchants was equivalent to upholding justice and doing my best for Min. I didn't expect that I would be regarded as an accomplice of profiteers in the end!
Chen Zilong did not dare to do such a perverse act of letting the Eastern captives or bandits destroy the Ming Dynasty because of a lack of tax collection. He was afraid that his ancestral graves would have to be dug up by the villagers...
"Just because you don't dare, doesn't mean that others don't dare. Liu Bowen, the strategist of the Immortal Realm, once calculated with his fingers that among you, there are those who have surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and you are proud of it!"
"..."
The scholars who had knelt and listened for a long time suddenly had their minds boiling over, and they froze on the spot, dumbfounded.
Surrender to the Qing Dynasty and become a second minister?
Your Majesty, are you kidding me?
Those who are lucky enough to enter the palace know each other well and can be regarded as benevolent people. How can they be so shameless?
"Your Majesty, this matter is no child's play, absolutely must not..."
"Do you think I'm kidding? My dear, please read Chen Mingxia's resume!"
"Yes! Chen Mingxia was going to be a Jinshi in the 16th year of Chongzhen. He was ranked third in the palace examination (Tanhua). He was later awarded the Imperial Academy to compile and write, and he was appointed to the Ministry of Household Affairs. In the 17th year of Chongzhen, the northern capital was captured by the rogue bandits. Later, he begged Li Ni to surrender. The Qing army entered the Pass in the same year, but the bandits were defeated and fled south. Chen Mingxia begged for surrender again to the Qing army, and was promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Later, he was impeached for forming a group for personal gain and to flatter the Qing Dynasty. Prince Rui Dorgon. Chen Mingxia tried his best to defend this and angered the government and the public. He was sentenced to beheading and later hanged. His son Chen Yechen was punished with a cane of forty and was exiled to Liaodong..."
When Wang Chengen finished reading the content about Chen Mingxia, not only Chen Zilong was dumbfounded, but the person involved, Chen Mingxia, was dumbfounded. Even the civil and military officials who had never heard this story were dumbfounded.
I didn't expect that Chen Mingxia would be such a despicable person. He first surrendered to the bandits and then surrendered to the Eastern captives. It was extremely abominable!
To put it bluntly, no matter how bad Li Ni was, he could still be considered a Han, but what if he surrendered to the Donglu? Where is the integrity?
Since you have surrendered twice and accepted two new masters, you have no integrity at all. The best thing to do is live!
