After Fengxi entered Fujian, he didn't really want to fight with local officials and families. The emperor's instructions to him at the beginning were just to control the people here, not to raise any major cases.
However, due to the recent many actions of the imperial court and the recent scandal in Zhejiang in the 17th year of Hongzhi, some large clans in Fujian have actually begun to adopt a defensive posture.
After that, Yu Zichu took the position of commander of the capital, and was sent by the imperial court.
As a result, after a series of actions, the local noble families and officials took the initiative to resist the chief envoy and the capital commander, making it difficult for Fengxi to move forward.
If he does nothing more and only knows to leave the problem to the incoming Governor-General of Zhejiang and Fujian, what will he do as the chief envoy?
In fact, this struggle is a matter of determination. Fengxi knew that the emperor was ready to disrupt the place.
On the one hand, the strength of local clans is indeed strong. As the saying goes, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. The local people stick to each other. It is possible for these three people, the chief envoy, the inspector general, and the general commander, to give orders and not move people.
But in the ordinary sense, the way to be an official says: Officials do not rely on the local government and cannot achieve results if they do not cooperate with others. This is because local forces are also in the government.
There is me in you, and you in me. If things get serious or trigger a civil uprising, the lives of the three commanders themselves will be in danger.
When the fight comes before the emperor, it won't be a matter of who is right or wrong. But once the place becomes unstable, the emperor will naturally focus on stabilizing the overall situation. The sacrifices were made by the officials who challenged the local government.
But that's not the case at the moment, because it's not the three envoys who are competing with these people for their willpower, but the emperor.
Just like the Jiangnan memorial case in the early Qing Dynasty, it was the emperor who wanted to fight the gentry in Jiangnan. Tens of thousands of people owed money and food to a large scale? These barbarians from the north will take away all your honors! There is also a prostitute among them, and he deliberately owes a penny but refuses to pay. To put it bluntly, it is provocation. What can you do to me?
What did the Manchu and Qing government do? Not even a penny in arrears! The same goes for removing fame! Therefore, there is a saying among the people that "exploring flowers is not worth a penny".
This is the difference between Fengxi and previous Fujian chief envoys. No matter what memorials these local clans and officials wrote or what methods they used to complain, the emperor always trusted Fengxi.
Therefore, in the chief envoy's office, Fengxi was very confident.
In the wheelchair, everyone saw such a cripple with a face as dark as water, "I would like to advise you not to have so many ideas in your mind. Originally, the imperial court did not want to do anything in Fujian, but don't anger the superiors. By then, I will not be here. I’m talking to you, but Jin Yiwei is here to talk to you.”
"After you return to the government office, just appease the people and supervise the food and salary management, and everything will be safe. I also know that it is the time of summer grain harvest, and some people want to take advantage of this time to fight with me. Hey, go back and tell me Those who give you money, whoever has the guts to do so, then try it, when the people have no food, I will ask the emperor to open a rich warehouse to help the victims!"
"If you are still not convinced, then go back to forge weapons and train servants. It is best to defeat me as the chief envoy. Anyway, I have bad legs and feet and can't run away. It depends on which of them has the courage to take me. The officer’s head is on his head! Anyway, it’s not a loss. On that day, I will enter the loyal ministers’ temple, and my descendants will enjoy the glory and wealth. They? Raised an army to rebel and kill the imperial officials. It is light to kill the nine tribes!”
….
The Fujian Provincial Government has a total of eight prefectures and one state, namely Fuzhou Prefecture, Yanping Prefecture, Jianning Prefecture, Xinghua Prefecture, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Shaowu Prefecture, Quanzhou Prefecture, Tingzhou Prefecture, and Funing Prefecture; a total of 57 counties.
Today, there are more than forty people in the chief envoy's office, among whom the prefects of Quanzhou Prefecture and Tingzhou Prefecture did not even come.
Fengxi's method is also very simple, withdraw.
As a result, Fujian's officialdom was in chaos this summer, and everyone was in danger. By July, various memorials could be placed in front of the emperor's court.
There were also voices in the court saying that Fengxi was too rough and unreasonable as a local official.
But Zhu Houzhao knew Fengxi's difficulties, and the problem was not his. It was because the locals were afraid of a repeat of what happened in Zhejiang, so he took the initiative to start
If you don't cooperate with him, the purpose of making trouble is to defeat the officials sent by the emperor and tell him to get out.
This violated Zhu Houzhao's bottom line.
With the opening of the sea coming soon, how could he possibly gain the morale of others by giving in?
Therefore, the first wave of trouble ended with Fengxi's victory.
After the former inspector Lin Jiaqing resigned, local clans and officials were shocked.
After coming out of the Chief Envoy's Yamen, the two prefects, Kong Rui of Jianning Prefecture and Lu Mengguang of Yanping Prefecture, were so frightened that they hid together to comfort each other.
What's next?
Kong Rui's face was full of sadness, "The man named Feng Laizi was not driven away, and there was a man named Zhang Li. Most of the memorials he handed over fell into the sea and there was no movement. It's like a storm is about to come."
Both of them are young old men. They are very old. They originally planned to return to their hometowns after making a little money, but now they are fine. The Zhang and Guo families have evidence of giving away money.
And they weren't afraid at first, because the former Fujian Chief Envoy and Inspector General could be said to be their protective umbrella. If anything happened, the taller people would always take the blame.
Well now, the big flag on top of the city changed its appearance overnight!
"Zhang Yiwen was so anxious that he peed his pants. He was looking for me everywhere all day long. What do you think we can do?" Lu Mengguang was more vulgar and snorted.
Kong Rui was on the same level as him, so he naturally agreed with him, "I'm just a businessman, and he always forgets his loyalty when he sees profit. If you're really annoyed, just don't see him."
But that’s all I’m saying.
The situation is urgent now. They are still grasshoppers on a rope, and they still have to see each other when they should.
It happens to be in Fuzhou Prefecture, and it won't take long.
When they arrived at the appointed garden, the two of them still behaved like officials. They entered the room with their hands behind their backs and their big heads raised, and took their seats.
Zhang Yiwen and these people have money and connections, but they are all businessmen anyway, and this position of superiority and inferiority cannot be messed with.
However, some of the Zhang clan were officials in Beijing, and the yamen they belonged to happened to be Taipu Temple.
Taipu Temple has been in the limelight recently, and it may rise to the top without warning.
Therefore, the two prefects will be a little more polite.
"If Feng Zizi is in the Chief Envoy's Yamen, I probably don't need to tell him. Boss Zhang should be able to find out."
Zhang Yiwen is in his forties. He is also the person who inherited the property of his ancestors. Like most merchant families, he cannot study himself, but he will devote all his efforts to cultivating his descendants.
….
His second son has now been admitted as a scholar.
"But it's nothing to say." Lu Mengguang was a little confused. "The words are a little harsh, but in fact they are just asking all localities to produce with peace of mind and pay money and food. No one of the three yamen is investigating any cases."
Zhang Yiwen took out an khaki envelope from his pocket and said, "I just got the news that the new emperor has sent the Minister of Civil Affairs, Wang Jia, and Wang Jizhi to take office as the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian. The two masters are well-informed, but the villain doesn't understand. There was no civil unrest in Zhejiang, Fujian and other places, so why did the imperial court appoint a governor of Zhejiang and Fujian?"
Kong and Lu were shocked and hurriedly snatched the letter and passed it to Xiyue, "This... is this true?"
"Zhang Yitian is a cousin in the small human race, and his behavior has always been prudent. If this kind of thing is not true, could he have made it up to deceive his family? Now everyone in the court is speculating on what your majesty is. The imperial edict says that Zhejiang , Fujian is an important land, and control requires people. How do you understand this?"
Kong Rui's butt felt as if there was a fire. It was so hot that he could no longer sit still. "So the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian is already on the way? Your Majesty is going his own way and has no governor for no reason. Isn't this taking national affairs as a child's play?!"
"Let's just talk about this here, the villain. Don't talk nonsense when you go out." Zhang Yiwen put the letter away, "And from the current point of view, the imperial court's actions in Zhejiang and Fujian are definitely not unreasonable."
"Why?"
"Your Majesty's reputation has spread far and wide, and the Lord of the Palace should know better than the villain. Although Fujian is far away from the capital, it has been more than half a year since the new monarch took the throne. Furthermore, when the new monarch was the crown prince, he had many prison terms.
country. Now that the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian is elected, it cannot be done casually, right? "
"The villain agrees with Boss Zhang on this point." Boss Guo Ji, who was standing next to Zhang Yiwen, also thought so. "Besides, the three envoys were replaced at the same time, as were the commanders of several guard posts. Such an action will not matter no matter what. It’s not random. I’ve been asking around recently, but I heard a rumor from a father-in-law. But I don’t know if it’s true or not.”
Kong Rui and Lu Mengguang were both anxious to death, and immediately began to urge, "You should say it first. Why do you need to be so tight at this time?"
Zhang Yiwen was also waiting until Brother Guo beside him slowly said these words, "Your Majesty, you want to break the sea ban!"
The people in the room were all locals, and both officials and civilians basically knew what was going on at sea.
If the sea ban is not lifted, then they can lower the prices of tea, porcelain and other commodities, and smuggle them out by joining forces with the government. The profits gained are divided among so many people.
In layman's terms, this business has a threshold. It's not like someone can just build a broken boat and go out to sea to make money.
In the final analysis, only a few people can enter the chief envoy's yamen and the prefect's yamen.
In this way, they are tied to the government, and everyone will benefit greatly.
No need to pay tax.
Now the imperial court wants to interfere, that is, to take some of the meat out of this profit chain.
Speaking of this, Zhang Yiwen became less worried, "If we want to open the sea, there will be a lot of noise. You must know that not all the money goes into our pockets. And not only Fujian, but also Zhejiang. Fujian does not There are vassal kings in Zhejiang. If the imperial court wants to get this money, it means taking money from the pockets of the vassal kings and clans from Zhejiang and Fujian. At that time, once civil unrest is provoked and the order to open the sea is issued, It’s time to stop if you don’t stop.”
Boss Guo said: "I just heard it and haven't confirmed it yet. After all, the sea ban is an ancestral system, and even His Majesty cannot change it easily. There is no need for the two princes to worry. Officials from all over the Ming Dynasty will definitely go to the Shu to oppose it. It is so unpopular. Your Majesty, the next generation of wise kings, should take back his life in time, right?"
Yeah?
This is true in theory.
Kong Rui was a little worried, and said quietly: "But the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian is Wang Hao. This is the status of the emperor's master."
The so-called vassal king no longer poses a threat in the eyes of a Qingliu literati of Wang Hao's level. On the contrary, if the vassal king exceeds the rules in any way, he will send you a memorial to refer to it.
Moreover, Wang Hao was once the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and many officials in Fujian were his disciples.
If the emperor really had his own way, who could they rely on to counter it? Looking at their power in the government, no one can defeat Wang Hao. It would be good if Wang Hao doesn't deal with them.
"...We also need to see how Zhejiang does it."
(End of chapter)
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