who are they?
Wang Hua’s question is a good one.
Mei Kejia said: "In the first year after coming to Zhejiang, I thought they were those big businessmen with good heads, faces, names and surnames. Zhongcheng may have heard of them, such as Fei Rongjia from Taizhou, Wei Huiqiang from Huzhou, Huang Zongliang and Song Xiaowen from Hangzhou. . But after fighting against them later, I also felt that they are all well-dressed and well-educated. Who would think that they would live long enough to fight with the Prince of the East Palace? Not at all. So I was puzzled."
"Then in the second year, I was wondering whether it was the prefects of various prefectures in Zhejiang, the governors, the governors and other officials. They also have names, but when I think about it more, it is still the same. They will take the initiative to fight with His Highness. No? No."
"Then who is it? I didn't figure it out until last year or this year. The people His Highness is looking for don't have a specific name at all! If there is a name, such as Huang Zongliang of Hangzhou, who is behind all this, then what happened On the contrary, it is simpler. Even if the power of this name is greater, what will happen? Your Highness is the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty. With a decree, the Jin Yiwei can take people away, but why did things become like this? "
"Because the difficulty in this matter is that there is no name. If there is one, it would be Zhejiang and Fujian. It is the large and small businessmen, clans and officials who rely on their money, not only the places, but also the capital. These are the Everyone."
Within the scope of Mei Kejia’s understanding,
Of course this is difficult.
Because it is impossible to arrest everyone and kill them all,
"master,"
The butler in the governor's office was brought here by Wang Hua. He had been with him for more than ten years and took him with him wherever he went. His shout brought the shocked Wang Hua back to his senses from wandering in the clouds.
"What's wrong?"
The man replied: "People from the Chief Envoy's Yamen and the Inspector's Envoy's Yamen are here."
Mei Kejia's face was expressionless, but in fact his emotions were all in his heart: It came in such a hurry.
"I got it. Boss Mei, don't leave yet. I still have a lot to say to you about Zhejiang. Now, you go inside and listen. See what these two have to say."
Mei Kejia didn't say anything. After standing up and bowing slightly, he went to the back and sat down.
The chief envoy of Zhejiang was Li Yancai, the right chief envoy of Huguang, who was transferred to the post, while the administrative envoy was still held by the original person named Dang Shanji. Unlike Li Yancai, he was not related by marriage to anyone.
He is a typical Ming Dynasty official.
Such an official thinks about himself 70%, his superiors 30%, and not the common people at all.
Wang Hua had just received the baptism of "real struggle with the people for profit," and he didn't think that the two people who came to his door now had good intentions.
"My subordinate Li Yancai (Dang Shanji) has met Zhongcheng."
They saluted, and usually they could sit in the same seats, but it seemed that they didn't this time...
Wang Hua was born in the imperial examination and was an official valued by the prince. He had successively served as You Yude of Zhan Shifu and Chief Envoy of Shandong. He was rich in experience and had considerable background.
If you really want to show off some momentum, you can still show off, it just depends on whether you want to or not.
Now that he met these two people, Wang Hua wanted to put on airs.
So he returned to the main seat and sat down, keeping his distance from them and keeping a straight face. ….
Li Yancai and Dang Shanji looked at each other. They were a little confused about the temper of the new governor.
The governor was a permanent official position for a while, but it was not during the Hongzhi period. It was a bit like an "inspection team". It felt like it was specially sent by the emperor for some purpose.
So this belongs to the 'upper difference'.
The local magistrate must not be offended, otherwise he will report you to the emperor after he returns to Beijing, which will be a fool's errand.
"Zhongcheng." Li Yancai, the chief envoy, spoke first. "The lower officials didn't want to disturb Zhongcheng's rest. The lower officials also just arrived as chief envoy to Zhejiang a few days ago. After arriving, they heard about the current incident that was causing trouble in the court. It's a matter. The official is thinking about how to deal with this matter, and ultimately it depends on what Zhongcheng wants."
Wang Hua replied: "Since it is an important matter, it doesn't matter whether you rest or not. Just tell me."
Li Yancai winked at Dang Shanji.
Then the inspector spoke, "Zhongcheng may have heard about it. It was about the corruption of Eunuch Wei, the eunuch guarding Zhejiang. Eunuch Wei was so greedy for money that he even took the initiative to ask for bribes. In the court, Liu Shangshu also reported it to His Majesty. I implore your majesty to recall the internal officials for the livelihood of the people of Zhejiang. According to the officials, Eunuch Wei will return to Beijing in the near future."
"Yes." Although Li Yancai came to Zhejiang for the first time, after all, he was a civil servant and naturally didn't have a good impression of eunuchs, so he was naturally happy. "However, Zhongcheng and Eunuch Wei also have countless connections in Zhejiang. . We came here today just to discuss with Zhong Cheng, what should we do with those people?"
Wang Hua raised his eyebrows,
Mei Kejia was very clear about officials' thoughts.
He hit the nail on the head when he said these people would come to test his attitude.
"Has Eunuch Wei been captured? Where did you get the news? Why did this court never know about it?"
The governor's question caused Li and Dang to hold back for a while.
"Everyone in Zhejiang already knows this."
"What's the use of everyone knowing. Did the imperial edict say so, or did the prince say so? Or, did Da Sima say so to you?"
They both shook their heads, "No, no."
Li Yancai didn't want to go all the way in vain. He frowned in thought and thought of a way, "Zhongcheng, His Royal Highness loves the people. Wei Bin is the eunuch of the East Palace. If something like this happens, His Highness will not ignore it." . The imperial edict only lasts a day or two. Even if something happens, the overall situation of Wei Bin returning to Beijing will not change."
Wang Hua would not overthrow him easily. He just wanted to know what the two people would say next.
So he nodded, "In that case, what do you think about those people? Who are those people?"
Dang Shanji was overjoyed and immediately said, "That is the owner of Mei Ji, Mei Kejia. This person has sinister intentions. He has been bribing Eunuch Wei since the eleventh year of Hongzhi. So in just a few years, Mei Kejia Jia then made a profit of tens of millions, and all the prefectures and counties in Zhejiang Province took the lead in supplying raw silk and tea to Meiji!"
Although Wang Hua doesn’t know Zhejiang very well,
But he also understands the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
Wei Bin is still fine now.
There was no trial for Yuzi, and neither was Wei Bin. Why did the inspector in Zhejiang say this? It's a bit too strong to express my bias in this way. ….
But he also thought of what Mei Kejia said before - please enter the urn.
In fact, he didn't understand something, so he would still ask questions later.
And now...
Wang Hua turned to Li Yancai, "What is the opinion of the Chief Envoy Yamen? Do you agree?"
"I don't know much about this matter, so I still have to listen to Zhongcheng's wishes. However, businessmen who bribe eunuchs must be punished according to law."
[By the way, currently the best one for reading and listening to books, @
this person? "Dang Shanji is testing again.
"How to write the eucalyptus scroll naturally depends on the prisoner's explanation." Wang Hua narrowed his eyes and said, "What? Can the Yamen determine the eucalyptus scroll at will?"
Dang Shanji was stunned and said hurriedly: "Of course not. It's just..."
At this point, he stopped himself because he felt Li Yancai tugging at him. Then he led him to leave.
Wang Hua did not stop them.
When they arrived outside, Dang Shanji asked Li Yancai, "Why didn't you let me talk just now? Governor Wang's attitude towards Mei Kejia is ambiguous."
"This is the first time we meet, you ask such a question? What's the urgency about Mei Kejia? As long as we verify that he has accepted bribes, it won't be too late to come to the governor's office. If we don't deal with Mei Kejia then, he will be using his power for personal gain. As long as he says nothing , that’s fine, we can go to the memorial. When dealing with Mei Kejia, we still need him to speak. In this position, you can’t avoid him.”
When Dang Shanji heard this, he thought it was right.
"I just came here today to have a face-to-face meeting and test him out. If he doesn't fall for this trick, it will be useless to pursue him any further."
so,
Li Yancai and Dang Shanji left.
And Mei Kejia also walked out from behind, "Zhongcheng."
Wang Hua looked at the middle-aged man and said, "It's a pity that you don't study and become an official."
"Zhongcheng promoted me, I would like it too, but it's a pity that I don't have that blessing."
"I still show some intention to protect you, otherwise, they will become suspicious."
"Yes, it is appropriate for the Prime Minister to be more cautious during the first meeting."
"But there is one thing I am not clear about." Wang Hua wanted to continue the previous conversation, "You said that there is no named person in Zhejiang who wants to go against His Highness, but you also said that you want to invite you to the urn. Isn't this contradictory?" ….
"It's not a contradiction. It's nameless because everyone is pushed by the situation. If you tell someone from the beginning that you are an enemy of the prince, then I don't think anyone will choose that way, but step by step Pushed on this road, there is no way. Some people even don’t feel that they are against His Highness, but feel that Eunuch Wei is greedy for money. And when we invite you to the urn, we invite the lost, and if you are lost, you are lost. , it is useless to cry out that you are wronged when you are arrested."
"Yeah. Where were those two people just now?"
"Let them come, let the merchants behind them come too, and cut off my supply. This year, let them collect the raw silk from Huzhou and other places, and we will collect it."
These words were harsh, but Mei Kejia showed no expression at all.
It's not the right time for Wei Bin's incident to happen.
How could officials in Zhejiang dare to attack Mei Ji?
"This will take time. And, do you really think they will believe it? Do you believe that I, a person from Zhan Shifu, do not put the interests of the prince first?"
"Zhongcheng, you might as well give it a try."
It's hard for Mei Kejia to say this. What does it mean to put the prince's interests first? Don't use this sentence to deceive others.
Wei Bin is still the prince's personal attendant. Has he taken the prince's money?
These officials, big and small, all think about whether their own pockets will be bulging, so naturally they think the same thing about others. To use a literary expression, who you are is who you see.
If the interests of the emperor and the prince are put first, then in the end they are all officials of the Ming Dynasty. There is no difference whether they are from Zhan Shifu or not. The world should be clear, but what is the actual situation?
Everyone is thinking about how to make more money.
Therefore, if the governor of Zhejiang also wants to make some money, it is not strange to them, but it is a sign that he knows how to be an official.
Mekojia was certain of this.
Because the cost of fighting a Zhejiang governor far exceeds assimilating him. Even if there is only a 10% chance, you must give it a try. What if Wang Hua is the same kind of person as them?
Of course, if it doesn't work, then try to find a way.
"Then be careful lately. They all seem to have sources of information, and they already know about Wei Bin's downfall. If I don't clearly support you
..."
"For the time being, they still don't dare. Oh, by the way. One more thing." Mei Kejia took out a ledger from his arms, "What is recorded here is the money I sent to Eunuch Wei, from the eleventh year of Hongzhi to Hongzhi Seventeen years, a total of 800,000 taels of silver, but I don’t know how much he spent or how much others gave away. Zhongcheng should also fight with them about how to deal with this silver. If the eucalyptus is If we let them do it like this, at least half of the money Eunuch Wei earned will disappear."
Wang Hua sighed in his heart,
The court is short of silver,
Your Majesty is short of silver,
All the money has gone to these places!
If Donggong hadn't thrown a child in Zhejiang, how could the full picture of these things be seen clearly?
This is true for Zhejiang, but what about the whole country? In the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, it was not just officials in Zhejiang who were corrupt, right? .
royal hired cat
