"Your Majesty, a total of 626 wealthy merchants and gentry people from the two governments participated in the execution. A total of 103 people were led by the execution. All of them are dead. More than 2,000 of their family members are doing hard labor.
A total of 13,360 hectares of cultivated land and silver..."
"Hey, why are there always some people who can't see the situation clearly or recognize themselves? Do they have to kill a group of people to be honest?"
After listening to Yuan Keli's report, Chongzhen sighed with emotion.
In the final analysis, it is all caused by greed.
"Your Majesty, dozens of gentry and wealthy businessmen from Xi'an and Fengxiang Prefectures are kneeling in front of the Chief Secretary's Office, and the number is still increasing!"
Just as Chongzhen was about to speak, Du Yinxi came in and said something urgently.
"You know you can't bear it, why don't you give in?"
Chongzhen sneered: "Let them kneel down. No one is allowed to touch you before noon tomorrow. If someone leaves in the middle, don't stop them, but write it down for me!"
Also, check who didn’t come and write it down for me! "
Du Yinxi left quickly to convey Chongzhen's will.
More and more gentry and wealthy businessmen were kneeling in front of the Chief Secretary's office, and more and more people were watching.
The voices of the people's discussions were unpleasant, including cursing, scolding, scolding, pointing, etc.
Although these wealthy businessmen and gentry were angry and embarrassed, no one dared to move at this moment.
The court's harshness and swiftness of action shocked them all.
What they thought was impossible, the emperor actually ordered more than a hundred of them to be killed, their homes confiscated, and they were exiled.
Although there has been no trouble with them in the past three days, those stores that have closed or those that have increased prices have directly put seals on them.
The official seal on the seal was a joint effort between the Chief Secretary of Shaanxi Province and the Jin Yiwei. If the Jin Yiwei targeted him, he would have to shed his skin even if he did not die.
Without Jin Yiwei's permission, this seal would be affixed forever, and these shops would be sealed forever.
If you want to kill them, it's just a matter of words. Jin Yiwei handles the matter. Whatever the crime is, that's the crime.
In this fear, they could only come to the Chief Secretary's Yamen and ask His Majesty to forgive them.
But after kneeling for a quarter of an hour, no one came out to pay attention to them, as if they didn't see them.
Within half an hour, everyone's legs were numb and there were thick beads of sweat on their faces.
For an hour, several people's bodies were swaying, and finally they fell to the ground. However, they tried to get up and continue kneeling, but they were really powerless.
These people who fell to the ground seemed to be a signal, and within half an hour, everyone fell to the ground.
I don’t know whether they were really fainted or fake. Hundreds of people were lying in various positions in front of the Chief Secretary’s Yamen. The scene was a spectacular one.
On an April day, it was okay to have the sun during the day, but after the sun set, the night wind started blowing.
Hungry, thirst, urgency to urinate, bloated feces, body cold, leg numbness and other various feelings combined together, coupled with the night wind blowing, the feeling is very refreshing.
But even so, no one dared to get up and leave.
They only hate themselves for coming so early, because they would suffer less if they come later.
I hate myself for joining this so-called confrontational alliance to put pressure on the imperial court.
I hate myself for being so greedy. I can't live a good life, but I have to do something.
If not done well, they might be beaten with dozens of military sticks, or their homes might be ransacked, or even their clans might be exterminated.
The sun rose in the morning, and the sunlight shone on everyone. The wealthy businessmen in front of the Chief Secretary's office slowly woke up like a mass grave, full of the smell of urine.
Nine out of ten wealthy businessmen and gentry have peed their crotch, whether it happened for the first time or countless times.
In anxiety and fear, at noon, a sound of footsteps woke up the groggy wealthy businessmen. They reluctantly got up and knelt down, looking at the gate of the Chief Envoy's Yamen.
"Master Zheng, we were wrong. We should not have confused the people and caused conflicts. We should not have closed shops and raised prices, causing chaos. Please forgive us for the sake of fellow villagers!"
"Master Zheng, please ask His Majesty for us and ask His Majesty to forgive us once. We are willing to donate all the cultivated land. We have brought the land deeds."
"Sir, give us a chance to change our ways. We accept beatings and punishments. We just ask that no one in the family be implicated!"
…
At this moment, each of the wealthy businessmen no longer looked as arrogant and domineering as they did before, looking down on all living beings from a high position. Some of them were just humble and frightened.
Looking at the begging wealthy businessmen and gentry, Zheng Chongjian sighed softly, can't you just do business and make money? You have to do something.
Now it seems that there is no way to end it, so why bother begging for mercy again?
"I don't know whether Your Majesty will forgive you, but if I were to handle this matter, I would kill you all directly."
"As for your suggestion of donating cultivated land to the imperial court, it is even more ridiculous. Don't you, the official and the imperial court, know your plan?"
After Zheng Chongjian finished speaking, all the wealthy businessmen and gentry were stunned.
What's our plan?
At this point, what else do we have to plan? How else can we calculate?
If you keep causing trouble again and again, you don't even know how to seek death!
"Sir, we really didn't count..."
"Shut up!"
Zheng Chongjian shouted angrily and interrupted the richest businessman's explanation: "No plan? Okay, I'll tell you about it!"
“The imperial court issued a strategy of planting first and paying back later, and nearly 60% of the people now have land.
In addition to what the people led by you have confiscated in the past few days, more than 200,000 people can still buy it. Adding the ones they own, nearly 90% of the people have land.
Are there any human species in the land in your hands? Or how many more can be planted?
There is no other way out except being abandoned, and land taxes have to be paid, so farmland is a hot potato.
Is the court now short of land? Of course there is a shortage. If you donate the land to the imperial court, then you don’t have to pay the land tax.
You can range from a few hectares to dozens of hectares, and your land tax is dozens to hundreds of taels a year. How much less land tax does the court have?
It is said that it is donated to the court to solve the urgent need of the court for lack of cultivated land, but secretly it is said that the court is using this method to force you to get the cultivated land in your hands.
In order to survive, you have no choice but to donate, causing fear among wealthy businessmen in other prefectures and counties.
Okay, at this point, you are still scheming against the imperial court. Do you really think that I don’t dare to kill you? "
Damn it...
All the wealthy businessmen and gentry were speechless.
Where is this thing going? What's going on in your head?
But if you think about it carefully, this is really the truth.
"Sir, we swear we don't think so!"
"It doesn't matter whether you think so or not. What matters is that the people and other wealthy merchants and gentry will think so. How will you let the court deal with it then?"
The wealthy businessmen are very distressed. They used to work hard to get the farmland in hard currency, but now they can't give it away for free. How can this be justified?
What's more... what's more, they donated the land to the court, and the court sold it to the people. The people also had to pay land taxes, and the court had no losses!
But they dare not say this now.
"Forget it, since you are sincerely donating, I will accept it. I have made it clear.
First, this is all your own fault. If you don’t cause trouble, will the court cause trouble for you?
Secondly, since the imperial court dares to accept it, it has the confidence. If anyone uses this as an argument again, the end will be the same as the group of people killed yesterday. "
Zheng Chongjian's sudden change stunned the wealthy businessmen and gentry who were about to continue begging.
They really want to ask Zheng Chongjian, where are your righteous words just now? Where was your righteousness just now? What about the little comment you just made?
But when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.
"Okay, let's all go and register next door. After registration, everyone goes back to their homes!"
