Jiangnan gentry, this is a very embarrassing topic for civil servants.
In the past, when the Yuan Dynasty was in decline, there were wars all over China. The red scarves of various tribes rose up in the grass and raised the banner of anti-Yuan. The land south of the Yangtze River has always been rich and prosperous, so it is naturally coveted by all forces. This beacon of rebellion eventually spread across the south of the Yangtze River.
Bureaucrats and gentry have always been the real local snakes in the south of the Yangtze River. In order to maintain their wealth forever, most of the Jiangnan gentry chose to succumb to the rebel forces. After all, whether it is the rebel army or Yuanting, they need to rely on them to control the land south of the Yangtze River.
When Zhang Shicheng came, they assisted Zhang Shicheng; after the Zhu family came, they surrendered to the Zhu family. When the Ming Dynasty was founded, these people naturally rose to the top and became the officials of the Ming Dynasty. Except for the change of a stricter boss, life does not seem to be much different for them. A high-ranking official has to do what he has to do and just accept the property.
But now that Yang Xunwen said this, His Majesty actually wanted to question the wealthy gentry? This made many officials panic.
You need to know that they themselves are wealthy gentry. Most of them are officials in court and gentry at home. If there is no property or tenants in the family, how can the vast majority of them claim to have a "scholarly family" and "farming and reading family inheritance", and how can they have the capital to ascend to the Emperor's Hall?
As for the "hoarding" mentioned by Ru Taisu just now, this is a common thing. If you don’t hoard, how can you make profits? How can we take the opportunity to accumulate land during disaster years?
In the past, Emperor Yuan had no control over it for decades, but you, surnamed Ru, had no control over it!
"Your Majesty." An official immediately came out and bowed and said: "This court meeting is to discuss the affairs of the Fifth Highness."
"I believe that the merchants are willing to donate food to His Majesty the Fifth Prince because he admires my great virtue and takes the initiative to offer it. There is absolutely no exploitation. If this is not the case, why don't the merchants complain?"
"This is the merit of my Ming Dynasty's enlightenment and the virtue of His Majesty's sage. Your Majesty, Your Majesty, your Majesty's rescue and treatment of the victims is not only innocent, but also meritorious. Yang Xunwen was in a hurry and spoke without meaning. Please give your Majesty a clear warning."
After flattering Lao Zhu and Zhu Su, he gently and deftly put the pot back on Yang Xunwen's head. Don't blame us for being unjust if you, Yang Xunwen, don't open any pot.
"Really?" Lao Zhu looked at Yang Xunwen.
Yang Xunwen's face changed from green to red. After a while of confusion, he finally bowed down and said, "Yes. I have no status."
"I'm willing to take the blame for my lies."
If His Majesty decides to deal with the Jiangnan gentry, that will be a big deal that could shake the world.
In comparison, the impact of having the fifth prince take charge of the Imperial College would be lighter...
"In this case, this crime does not exist." Lao Zhu said. "As for the hoarding of food that harms the people... I have a department to thoroughly investigate the merchants in Suzhou."
"If it really happened, his family's wealth would be lost and put into the national treasury."
"We will never tolerate those who dare to harm the people."
Although he knew that it was not appropriate to deal with these people aggressively at this time, Lao Zhu would not miss it if he could take the opportunity to attack them.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Ru Taisu was quite satisfied after hearing this. Although the civil servants below were not good-looking, they did not say anything.
His Majesty made it clear that he would only investigate Suzhou, which is already an excellent result. Besides, after a thorough investigation by "Yousi", Hu Weiyong's party has been eliminated from all civil servants. Aren't the so-called Yousi themselves just themselves?
Since I am checking myself, there is a lot of room for manipulation in what kind of "degree" I want to check.
"The two crimes are over, there are still three crimes, you continue." Lao Zhu said to Yang Xunwen. Yang Xunwen now has a face as golden as paper. I was impulsive and spoke out to others, but by mistake, I offended all my colleagues.
Because of this matter, the colleagues standing behind him will definitely not help him continue to stand out, so as not to provoke His Majesty's hatred. Now I can be said to be fighting alone...
Yang Xunwen gritted his teeth, and now he had no choice but to bite the bullet and said, "The minister continued. The third crime is 'pretending to be a king and giving orders to officials'."
"His Fifth Highness once boasted that he was the 'King of Wu', and used this to use Suzhou officials as subordinate officials to issue orders to him; please note that His Highness had not yet established a vassal state at that time..."
Halfway through his words, he caught a glimpse of Lao Zhu's disdainful look, and felt that this crime in his heart was not painful to Zhu Su. After all, the kingship and other things are the old Zhu family's own business. If they use this to criticize the prince, as long as the emperor himself doesn't mind, what can anyone do?
So, he used extremely fast speed to pass over this crime and continued: "The fourth crime is 'forcibly kidnapping female relatives and committing unethical debauchery'."
"I heard that there is a 'nursing camp' around His Highness. They are all ordinary civilian girls, but they were incorporated into the army by His Highness."
"How can there be women in the army? Your Highness needs these women to accompany you when marching and fighting. I'm afraid it will be an insult to His Majesty's statement..."
"What nonsense are you talking about, you thief?" The one who scolded this time was Chang Mao, who was standing among the martial arts heroes.
"Nursing camp, those are kind-hearted women rescued by His Highness. They practice medical skills and accompany the army to rescue wounded soldiers. I don't know how many brothers have been brought back from hell."
"You dirty bird official! How dare you use them to frame His Highness?"
Chang Mao had also received rescue in the nurse camp for some minor injuries, so when he looked at Yang Xunwen, who had verbally humiliated the female soldiers in the nurse camp, he looked like a wolf like a tiger. Yang Xunwen felt even more frightened, but he could only say with a straight face: "The military camp is full of men, and women's reputation is more important than heaven. How can any good woman be willing to join the military camp?"
"If they weren't forcibly taken into the military camp, then why? The Duke said that those women were rescuing the wounded soldiers in the camp... Let's talk about how dirty the wounded soldiers' camp is. How can a woman from a good family help?"
"You..." Chang Mao became even more angry and wanted to go out and beat him, but the censors in the palace were already on guard because of Ru Taisu's previous beating. At this time, I kept trying to persuade Chang Mao not to behave inappropriately in front of the palace.
Although Chang Mao was the Duke of the country, he received the title from Enyin, and he was a junior. He did not dare to be too presumptuous in front of the palace. Although his face was red with anger, he could only glare at Yang Xunwen.
Zhu Su was also very angry. If Yang Xunwen was just criticizing himself, that would be fine. But at this time, there is no limit to implicating others, not to mention the poor people in the nurse camp.
Those people were ashamed of themselves because they had been humiliated by Japanese bandits. The hope of life has finally been rekindled now. If I receive such bad words again, will I have to return to the walking zombie appearance before?
Zhu Laowu was about to go into battle in person to refute Yang Xunwen, when a voice came from the front of the noble team:
"Master Yang's words are quite funny."
"Can't the female family members help us in the army? When we were in Haozhou last year, the Queen Empress helped us cook and sew clothes. The Queen Empress sewed His Majesty's first fiery red war coat and sent it to the military camp. Of!"
"Even when Yuan Tarzi is attacking the city, the Queen is also bringing a group of female relatives under the city tower, helping to carry the wounded soldiers and deliver soup and rice. Why do you think the female relatives can't enter the military camp and can't do anything? "
Zhu Su was stunned and turned around to see that the person speaking was none other than Xin Guo Gong Tang He, who was standing at the forefront of Wu Xun. Tang He also felt Zhu Su's gaze and winked at Zhu Su quietly.
Zhu Su suddenly understood and nodded gratefully to him.
"This this……"
Yang Xunwen was blocked again. Now that Xu Da is away, Tang He is the first person in the ranks of nobles in the court. He followed Lao Zhu when he was still a soldier. In terms of seniority, he was more senior than Xu Da, who is now the number one in the army.
The Battle of Haozhou he mentioned was the first battle that Lao Zhu participated in when he was under Guo Zixing. At that time, Yang Xunwen was still an "obedient citizen" of Yuanting! Using Empress Ma's old stories from that period to refute it, how could Yang Xunwen dare to accept it?
Is it possible to say that Queen Ma is not a kind-hearted woman?
Aren't you afraid of Lao Zhu's warning from the nine clans?
He raised his eyes, and sure enough, the emperor above him looked extremely unkind. Yang Xunwen's knees went weak, knowing that there was nothing he could do.
The last sin of "criticizing sages and being unworthy of coaching" cannot be uttered no matter what.
(End of chapter)
