A group of kneeling scholars knew very well about Hou Fangyu's usual whereabouts and expenses, which were beyond the reach of ordinary people from humble backgrounds.
Just to meet the famous girl Li Xiangjun on the flower boat on the Qinhuai River, the silver needed for one trip is enough for ordinary people to support themselves for several months.
Of course, this does not mean that Li Xiangjun is not worth the money, nor does it mean that Li Xiangjun deliberately charges so much money.
It's just that flower boats have boat ladies, who are equivalent to floor ladies. People also need money to operate flower boats.
Moreover, Li Xiangjun is good at singing and dancing, and is also good at calligraphy and painting. Among other things, his music is like mountains and flowing water, and his dance is like a fairyland on earth.
Hou Fangyu fell in love with Li Xiangjun at first sight, and Li Xiangjun also had a good impression of Mr. Hou.
In view of this, Hou Fangyu also wants to further narrow the distance between them...
Due to Li Xiangjun's special status, Hou Fangyu did not dare to mention this matter to Hou Xun. He still needed to consider the matter in the long run.
But the good times did not last long. The prince sent people south and took several beauties from the Qinhuai River north.
This made Hou Fangyu and other scholars very angry, and they all accused the prince of using his power to bully others and win love with a sword!
After drinking, Hou Fangyu took advantage of his drunkenness and even called the prince a dog prince!
When he heard that Fang Yizhi had taken refuge with the prince, he scolded Fang Yizhi for being the prince's lackey!
In the past, the four young masters of Nandu were forcibly separated by the prince, and they also took away the love of others. It was really too much to deceive others!
It is said that the factory guards sent by the prince took away a total of eight beautiful women, who were rumored to be used as singers and dancers in the mansion.
Originally, the actual function was the same as that of Jiangnan scholars, but the scholars believed that there must be a first-come, first-served basis.
It would be unfair to take advantage of the prince's reputation and jump in line to grab people without even saying hello.
But being angry, after everyone brainstormed several times, they found that they couldn't come up with any good ideas.
Snatch it back again?
Stealing people from the hands of factory guards is like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth!
Do the scholars have this ability?
Even if you don't have one, you can still spend money to hire some charlatans.
However, after contacting around and hearing that the factory guards were to be dealt with, all the people in the world declined...
In the eyes of industry insiders, this is not robbing people, this is pure seeking death!
To take the initiative to provoke factory guards for one thousand eight hundred taels of silver is to live an impatient life!
If the factory guards can't defeat Donglu, why can't they deal with this group of people?
After asking around, no suitable manpower was found. The disappointed Hou Fangyu, while missing Li Xiangjun, could only hold his arms around the beautiful woman he had just met and drink to soothe his sorrows...
Some scholars who had always been at odds with Hou Fangyu laughed when they saw this. Even if Li Xiangjun was married into the Hou Mansion, she was just a concubine. Now she has become a phoenix. Isn't it wonderful?
Hou Fangyu, who couldn't stand such comparisons, almost started a fight with the opponent. After everyone's dissuasion, the two sides failed to fight as they wished.
However, everyone is a scholar. Except for a few people such as Hou Fangyu, most people feel that since they can't touch the hem of Li Xiangjun's skirt, rather than making others easier, they might as well let the prince take it away.
Isn’t it fair and reasonable if no one can touch it?
How virtuous and capable is Hou Fangyu, that he dares to steal this girl and make it his own?
It's just relying on his father Hou Xun, this kid is nothing.
These words are not alarmist, because Hou Fangyu, like Gu Yanwu, has failed many times.
It's just that the Hou family has power and the Gu family has money, so they can try again and again.
Otherwise, if you just study and don't work, you will die of poverty. How can Hou Fangyu have free money to play on the banks of the Qinhuai River?
When chatting with Hou Fangyu, don't mention his father easily, otherwise he will take it as an excuse to hide and provoke.
When Emperor Chongzhen asked such a question, Chen Zhenhui, who was close to Hou Fangyu, also felt that something was fishy.
Chen Zhenhui also asked about this before, and Hou Fangyu explained that it was just a donation, and every family had it.
The "each family" mentioned here is a group that has more than one person and enjoys preferential treatment from the court.
If wealthy people without fame do not want to pay taxes, they can only name their property to someone else, such as the Hou family.
For this reason, a lot of money must be filial to the Hou family. One year of mourning means one year of filial piety.
Otherwise, if things are revealed, the Hou family has a deep foundation, so nothing will happen, and the party that contributed will be in bad luck.
Chen Zhenhui now began to doubt her judgment. Was the money Hou Fangyu spent really just a donation?
The Hou family is a family of officials, and so is the Chen family. Doesn't Chen Zhenhui know the tricks used by merchants?
Although Chen Zhenhui also likes to recite poems and write poems, and enjoy romance, she is not as playful as Hou Fangyu, even regardless of the cost.
Hou Fangyu really accepted a large amount of silver from the merchants. It didn't need to be too much, just 1,800 taels of silver, which was enough to wipe out the Hou family.
His father, Hou Xun, defended merchants and opposed the increase in commercial taxes. Looking at this matter alone, there seems to be nothing wrong with it.
However, if the Hou family accepted gifts from merchants, especially cash, the combination of the two would be fatal!
The emperor said that Hou Fangyu accepted the money sent by Donglu. Of course it was a joke, but his actual intention couldn't be more obvious.
To take a step back, if something goes wrong with the merchants and banks, but nothing will happen if you donate?
That is something that the imperial court has no intention of pursuing. Once it can be traced, who can guarantee that the matter will be handled without leakage?
As long as one drop leaks out and is exploited by factory guards, the consequences will be unimaginable...
"Do you not know this person? Or are you pretending not to know this person in front of me? If Hou Fangyu spends dirty silver, and you spend it with him, you will be guilty of the same crime!"
Seeing a group of scholars who were silent, Chongzhen frightened them.
"Your Majesty, the students are willing to report Hou Fangyu. This man told the students that money is earned through donations!"
The person who spoke out was Peng Bin, who had just been appointed as the second minister by the emperor. Peng Bin was struck by five thunders.
If he hadn't been in the main hall, he would have been scared to death. After racking his brains for a long time, he couldn't come up with a solution.
When the emperor asked about Hou Fangyu's money, which seemed to come from unknown sources, Peng Bin felt that he had to grasp this life-saving straw.
It is better for one person from Hou Fangyu to die than to die for his whole family!
As long as he is exempted from the death penalty, he can agree to anything else.
"Students have also heard Hou Fangyu mention this matter, and he proudly told the students that money is not as important as power. With power comes money. This has been true since ancient times!"
Seeing that Peng Bin actually started to counterattack, Chen Mingxia was not a fool and knew what to do.
It doesn't matter whether what he said is true or false at this time, the important thing is to drag Hou Fangyu into the water and let himself ashore successfully!
When Xu Fuyuan, Zhou Maoyuan, Chen Zilong, and Chen Zhenhui saw this, they couldn't help but sigh in their hearts, is this a Shenzi thing?
He was just called a traitor, and now he is about to surrender to the emperor...
How could it be embarrassing for the other scholars who had sworn to advance and retreat together to suddenly commit such an act? ? ?
"Hou Fangyu really said this?"
“Students are willing to write as proof!”
“Students are also willing to write as proof!”
"Okay! Big companion! Write down everything you two know about Hou Fangyu!"
"yes!"
Originally, Chongzhen was still worried about how to deal with the father and son Hou Xun and Hou Fangyu, mainly because of the lack of strong evidence.
Now, there are only two certifications, and they are from people who are close to Hou Fangyu, so their testimony should be more convincing.
As for the physical evidence, Chongzhen did not believe that the factory guards who went to search would find nothing.
Even if you really have nothing, there is still a way to create physical evidence!
Faced with the sudden opportunity to make meritorious deeds, can Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia just write about this incident?
Of course not, I will think hard and integrate what I heard directly from Hou Fangyu's mouth and what I heard from others. As long as I find it useful, I will put it on the paper.
"..."
Chen Zhenhui was powerless to stop it, and now she knew that she could not turn the tide.
He didn't believe the saying "Young Master Hou attracts hatred" before, but looking at it today, what he said is true!
Not to mention anything else, almost half of the people in the southern capital city knew about Hou Fangyu and other scholars competing for Li Xiangjun.
Previously, Hou Fangyu got a beauty and flaunted it everywhere. Later, Li Xiangjun was picked up by people sent by the prince, and the scholars who were bullied by him felt that their great revenge had been avenged!
His father, Hou Xun, was imprisoned by the emperor before, so Hou Fangyu turned his tail between his legs and became a good man. After his father was reinstated, he began to show off his power again...
In the eyes of many poor people, Hou Fangyu is a prodigal who "defies his father and bullies others".
Without his father, he would have to be beaten every day, and he would be beaten until he could no longer utter arrogant words!
"Chen Zhenhui! Chen Zilong!"
"Students are here!"
"I know that you two have a good relationship with Hou Fangyu, but I will not deliberately embarrass you. I hope that you can abandon the secret and turn to the light, and write down what you know about your father's acceptance of benefits from merchants. As evidence, I can guarantee that you will Your Majesty and everyone in your family will be forgiven, and the benefits will not be confiscated. This evidence is mainly used to punish merchants, are you two willing?"
"..."
"Don't worry, you have nothing to say, I promise I won't settle the score later!"
"Students are willing!"
"Students are willing!"
"Okay! Get the pen and ink!"
The targets of this campaign were mainly merchants, and some extremely bad local officials. Obviously, "Er Chen's" fathers were not among them.
If all the officials who accept benefits from merchants are really cut off, I'm afraid there won't be a few errands left in the whole of Southern Zhili. Who else can we expect to collect the taxes?
Being able to develop two officials' sons as internal agents, even if Chongzhen summoned them in vain, not to mention that there are two "second ministers" who collaborated to frame another "second minister"...
as big as World, nothing is nonexistent!
Today, the ministers saw an extremely shocking scene.
The son reported on his biological father, and the two ministers reported on the other ministers!
If Hou Fangyu knew about Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia who reported him, he would be so angry that he would vomit blood!
The two ministers finished writing first, Peng Bin wrote fifteen pages, and Chen Mingxia wrote seventeen pages.
Of course, they don't just write about things, including time, place, and who was involved. These elements are all added.
In this way, it looks more like it is indeed true. Whether it is true or not requires relevant personnel to come and answer questions.
Hou Fangyu would never have thought in his wildest dreams that Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia had already thought of putting him to death.
Since dozens of people were involved in the written evidence, these people would instinctively bite Hou Fangyu to death in order to save their lives!
If there was no powerful person as a guarantee, the Hou family and his son would probably die.
The second assistant, Gao Hongtu, secretly looked at Qu Shichun, and the first assistant and Hou Xun left Donglin together...
Chen Tailai, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, also glanced at Qu Shiqi a few times. In all likelihood, the case will be tried by him personally.
The key to this case lies in whether Hou Xun and Hou Fangyu and his son both received benefits from merchants.
Secondly, if Hou Xun was honest, did he know that Hou Fangyu accepted the benefits from merchants?
Finally, if Hou Fangyu confiscated the benefits given by merchants, how much donations did the Hou family receive based solely on the donations from wealthy households?
But as long as one thing is certain, Hou Fangyu can be convicted, and that is that the Hou family accepted donations!
Preferences and exemptions are the special treatment given to scholars by the ancestral system, and dedication is not the ancestral system, and it is even an act that violates the royal laws of the court!
Accepting donations is tantamount to covering up others to evade taxes, or at least the charge of being an accomplice.
The specific sentencing level depends on the amount of money involved.
If you donate more than a thousand taels, the Hou family and his son will die!
Some people may say that there are people from other families who donated more than a thousand taels, and there are many who even got more than 10,000 taels.
But the current problem is that Dong Lin takes the lead in resisting the tax, Hou Xun opposes the increase in commercial taxes, and Hou Fangyu becomes a traitor!
Three crimes are reduced to one, who can be spared the death penalty in the end by this shackles? ? ?
What Chen Tailai is thinking about now is not whether the Hou family and his son are guilty, but what the holy will is.
Most of the emperor's skills were learned from the prince. How did the prince behave?
Whenever you want to convict a stubborn person, you will collect evidence of his crime.
Instead of first having evidence and then relying on the evidence to arrest people.
The advantage of this is that as long as you want someone to die, that person must die!
Because the evidence cannot be found, it can be created!
Except for those officials who have been promoted to official positions, how many of the moths who have received benefits are clean?
The prince can send people to ransack his house, or he can find someone to report him. He can be killed by both internal and external methods!
This is what Emperor Chongzhen is doing now. Once the Hou family's property is reduced, what Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia wrote will become a reminder for the Hou family and his son!
As for Chen Zhenhui and Chen Zilong, do you think they are stupid and took the initiative to report their fathers?
Those two "Old Chens" are both Donglin!
Being born like this is extremely sensitive at this time!
Wouldn't it be smart to show goodwill to the emperor first and enjoy the treatment of being pardoned?
On the contrary, if you resist the emperor's good intentions and are implicated afterwards, if you want to be treated like this, it will be extremely difficult!
Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia both knew they had to swim desperately to the shore. How could Chen Zhenhui and Chen Zilong not understand this?
Chen Zilong's father, Chen Suowen, died of illness thirteen years ago, but Chen Zilong was still able to marry the daughter of Zhang Guiduan, the county magistrate, two years later. One can imagine the strength of the Chen family in Songjiang.
The scholars who can enter the palace this time can only be divided into two categories: relatively wealthy and extremely wealthy in terms of family background. Almost none of them is from a poor family.
People who can influence the situation in Donglin, Fushe, Jishe and other gangs are from relatively good backgrounds, and they are usually willing to spend money and gather friends.
Even if the first assistant is Qu Shichun, whose grandfather Qu Jingchun has won the Huiyuan, the Qu family can enjoy preferential treatment and receive the benefits of donation.
Qu Shichu himself became a Jinshi at the age of 27. In terms of age, he is the same as the second assistant Gao Hongtu and the commander-in-chief Sun Chuanting (who were also Jinshi at the age of 27), but there is no doubt that Qu Shichu's current status is higher.
Seeing Chen Zilong and others, Qu Shichu seemed to see himself in his youth. However, at that time, the court was controlled by the traitor Wei Zhongxian, and Zhongliang was either imprisoned or ostracized by him.
Now that Wei Zhongxian is gone, the emperor can already take action personally in order to achieve his goal. There is no need for people like Wei Zhongxian to charge forward...
Saving the Hou family and his son was undoubtedly a very difficult and thorny task for Qu Shichun. Not only could he be dismissed from office, but he would also be implicated.
Qu Shishu himself had never received any decent benefits from merchant Shenzi. At most, they were just some small and worthless gifts.
But I still participated in many dinner invitations. Although it was a compromise, I was inevitably criticized by others.
As the evidence becomes increasingly unfavorable, this will not do anything to save the Hou family and his son.
Hou Xun's opposition to the increase in commercial taxes had already offended the emperor.
His son Hou Fangyu became the second minister. Although it is said in the heavenly book, there is no direct evidence.
But if Hou Fangyu accepts the benefits from merchants on his own, or if the Hou family accepts too many contributions, the end will be much worse than not really becoming a second minister...
