The problems Zhang Fujing had to face when he arrived in Shandong seemed daunting, but in fact they only required determination.
Zhu Houcong did not lack this determination, and Zhang Fujing was even more courageous and courageous.
Shandong is not far from the capital. Zhang Fujing arrived at Jinan Prefecture and met with the governor of Shandong and senior officials of the Third Division of Shandong and others.
When he met Gao Zhong, he felt like he was being fed cake again.
"...There are so many clues and irrefutable evidence?"
In front of Zhu Houcong, he said that after coming to Shandong, he would first investigate the illegal activities in the Shenggong Mansion.
Now, just like when Wang Ziyan was beheaded in Guangdong, His Majesty had already prepared the whetstone for him as soon as he arrived in Shandong.
Gao Zhong smiled and said: "Your Majesty has an order, who dares to delay? All the things our family was ordered to get from Jinyiwei and the people in the inner factory in Shandong are here. If there is new news in the future, our family will send people in time. Send it to the headquarters."
Zhang Fujing has the title of Minister of Rites, so as the governor, he should be called the Ministry of Affairs.
"Thank you, Eunuch Gao." Zhang Fujing saluted, "I have to read it carefully first and then see how to act."
"In addition, there is another matter that the ministry needs to know."
Zhang Fujing asked solemnly: "What's the matter?"
"Yesterday, Duke Yan Sheng's Mansion has submitted a petition to the capital." Gao Zhong also put away his smile, "It was a joint debate. In addition to Duke Yan, the magistrate of Qufu, the three clans of Kong Yan and Meng, and the Yanzhou The prefect, co-prefects, and elected officials, as well as the governor of Shandong, the left and right administrators, and the envoys should all sign their names."
"...Really?"
Zhang Fujing nodded when he saw him, remembering the polite and wary smiles of so many people who greeted him before.
After a while, Zhang Fujing could only sigh.
Yes, if he found many problems in Shandong, wouldn't it be suspected that so many officials who had served in Shandong were derelict in their duties?
And the Yanshenggong Mansion has been entrenched in Shandong for so many generations. How big is the network of interests between it and every Shandong official?
Now that Zhang Fujing is approaching fiercely, that argument is not only the reaction that Duke Yan Sheng must make, but also a test by Shandong officials against His Majesty, the important ministers in the court, and Zhang Fujing.
"Let's just argue." Zhang Fujing thought for a while and then smiled, "Let's not talk about Yan Shenggong and Kong Yan and Meng San. I know the thoughts of other colleagues."
The most interesting thing about debate is that people can be "convinced".
Now that the situation has become so obvious, are these high-ranking officials in Shandong really so guilty?
The more Shandong is at the forefront of the storm, the more it plays the role of role model after being "convinced".
Behind this, it is nothing more than talking about how to deal with existing problems.
Zhang Fujing, who came from Guangdong, is already quite experienced.
But now, he no longer needs to test like he did in Guangdong.
After carefully reviewing the achievements of Jinyiwei Shandong Walking and Inner Factory Shandong Cicada Master over the past few years, Zhang Fujing set off for Qufu early the next morning.
"Since you have come to Shandong, why don't you go to the Confucius Temple first? Your Majesty has ordered to worship Confucius in August this year. I, the governor, will offer sacrifices to our ancestor on behalf of the emperor, and all the people in Shandong will follow suit."
How to offer sacrifices if the ceremony has not yet been decided?
The order was issued and spread to Yanzhou, Qufu and Yanshenggong Mansion. This question hovered in the minds of many people.
Nowadays, the 27th day of August every year is celebrated as the birthday of Confucius. Every February and August, the imperial court did have a practice of sending officials to worship Confucius.
But now this sacred command has been made clear: before August 27th, or earlier, the Confucius Sacrifice Code will definitely determine the result.
Because the sacrificial rituals need to be prepared in advance.
The first thing Zhang Fujing did when he arrived in Shandong was to supervise this year's August 27th memorial ceremony for Confucius.
There is less than two months left!
…
"Pavilion, it's been nearly two months without rain!"
In Yangzhou Prefecture, standing in front of Jiang Mian were Wang Gao, the supervisory censor who went to South Zhili to inspect water conservancy, Yin Xiayan of Yingtian Prefecture, and Huang Zongming, the prefect of Yangzhou.
In the Ming Dynasty, there was actually no such title as cabinet. Fei Hong had previously served as governor of Sichuan as a cabinet minister, which was more like being demoted.
But now, Jiang Mian came to Nanzhili with the dignity of a cabinet minister. In the past few days, the officials of Nanzhili have changed their titles to show their respect.
Jiang Mian's face was serious. In recent months, he had indeed not seen any rain in southern Zhili.
Xia Yan said solemnly: "The disaster situation in Yingtian Prefecture is beginning to show. Yingtian, Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Huizhou, Ningguo, Chizhou, Taiping, Anqing, and Guangde and Taicang prefectures will all have bad harvests! If this continues , autumn grain is also a problem." [Note: Volume 41 of "Records of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty", Renshen in July of the third year of Jiajing, to avoid the summer tax in Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Huizhou, Ningguo, Chizhou, Taiping, Qingshi, Guangde, Taicang and two states. There is a difference. 】
He didn't say anything about the more serious problem, but Jiang Mian knew it.
The scale of the disaster was not small, and no one could have predicted it in advance.
Next, first of all, there must be disaster victims, and later on, manpower will be needed for disaster relief and stabilizing food prices. Can there be chaos at this time?
And now this drought has affected areas that are heavily taxed in the Ming Dynasty. South Zhili is like this, and Huguang, Zhejiang and other places must not be much better. If the grain tax is set back this year, the court will have less leverage to deal with obstacles to the implementation of the new law.
The most unpredictable thing is that the benefits that new laws such as water conservancy rectification and corvee procurement will bring to the people will not appear this year. However, the old accounts that have been raised in many places and the current drought will make many people feel uncomfortable. This year I feel hot-headed and not full.
Seven advisers rushed to the local area. The reason why they were able to calm down the situation was because without the support of the people, the local area would not really be in chaos.
But if there are disaster victims and refugees, the problem will be different.
Now there is still discussion about worshiping Confucius!
Jiang Mian said in a deep voice: "First report the disaster situation truthfully, and I will report it as soon as possible."
The issue of worshiping Confucius has caused an uproar in Jiangnan, and I don't know how many officials and gentry are discussing it.
The impact of this on ordinary people cannot be underestimated.
How many poor families are trying their best to educate their children, hoping that their descendants will be able to make a difference through studying and taking the imperial examinations.
Now some people are talking in the countryside that the imperial court should replace the current Four Books and Five Classics with practical studies. It is not enough to be literate and read the Four Books and Five Classics first. You also have to spend a lot of time and money to study objects. Only in this way can you become an official in the future.
Doesn't this make it more difficult for those children from poor families in the future?
Jiang Mian has already reported this discussion.
Because of the discussion about Confucius's sacrifice, it did seem that there was strength in numbers for a while.
The subtle influence of Confucius over thousands of years cannot be underestimated.
When Jiang Mian was the governor-general, he hurriedly drafted the document and sent it to each government, and then rushed to Nanjing.
He had to meet Zhang Jin and Guo Xun.
Letters to Huguang, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang have also been sent out.
Now Sun Jiao really feels that he is too old. Of course, staying in Huguang is for the overall interests of the emperor and the new law. However, the storms this year have only been in the hearts of people who cannot see the eyes, but not in the fields. A few drops of rain.
Now, King Liao of Jingzhou Prefecture is seriously ill again.
Gu Shilong lost some weight again, and he only said to Sun Jiao: "It will take another month for the Shenji Battalion's forward selection to arrive in Huguang!"
The march of three thousand generals seemed small in scale. However, with people eating horses and weapons and equipment, even if the army can travel more roads in a day without the pressure of military conditions, it will still be far less than the speed of an ordinary three or five people.
Sun Jiao gritted his teeth: "If the King of Liao dies, it will be difficult to predict when the news comes out! In addition, there will be natural disasters, and it is inevitable that someone will provoke it. Gu Hou, you and I will have to hold on for the next six months!"
"Of course I'm fine." Gu Shilong looked at him worriedly, "Ge Tai, you are the head of the country, you can make decisions without waiting for the will! In order to prepare for disasters, you are destined to do it, so leave it to me!"
The problem now is that the speed of message exchange is too slow.
Faced with the current situation, to be honest, taking the initiative would have the best effect, at least it would have a deterrent effect.
But Sun Jiao didn't think so.
The old party has always been doing things secretly. Even the changes in the Fifth Army Camp and the Sichuan Changes were nothing more than making preparations and waiting for some fires to be burned first.
His Majesty had already taken the initiative to deal with the impeachment of Li Xiang's body and the fifth military camp, so he first captured many people from Sichuan, South Zhili and other places in the name of treason.
The fire was extinguished a little first.
But the "fire" brought by natural disasters is not effective only through shock.
It is necessary to prevent some people from coercing the victims and refugees so that they can do anything, and it is necessary to rely on enough officials to prepare for disasters.
If we take the initiative to take action in the bureaucracy, the first result will only be chaos in the bureaucracy, which will then lead to ineffective disaster preparedness and disaster relief.
Sun Jiao hesitated for a while and then said: "No! Now it is even more important to remain as still as a mountain. Disaster preparedness orders can be conveyed to the local area first. I believe that His Majesty will have the decree to come down as soon as possible!"
Sichuan is further away from the capital, and Fei Hong was not in Chengdu at the time, but the final result still proved that the emperor's advance arrangement was effective.
Drought takes time to accumulate, and many places must have already reported that there will be little rain this year.
In Jingzhou, in the Liao Prince's Mansion, how could Zhu Zhige's younger brother Zhu Zhizhen take care of the disaster?
If there is a disaster, it is a good thing for him.
At this time, the emperor only needs stability in the world.
If Zhu Zhige dies like this this time, the emperor needs to quickly choose a new Liao king and give him more gifts to appease the clan.
"Since Sister-in-law Wang said that, I, as the younger brother, should still apologize."
An expectant smile appeared on Zhu Zhichen's lips: "First send me some good ginseng, and then continue to look for famous doctors and hermits with superb Taoism."
Wild ginseng is naturally good wild ginseng, and famous doctors are also real famous doctors.
You don’t need to do this yourself.
It took ten days for the envoy sent by Zhu Houcong to rush to Jingzhou Prefecture.
During these ten days, there was still no rain.
The drought is getting worse.
The magistrate of Jingzhou had received orders from Sun Jiao to begin disaster preparations. He not only sent official documents to all counties, but also personally left the government office to inspect the disaster situation.
Wang Bangrui, the water patrol censor of Huguang, clearly saw that the water levels of the lakes and rivers he had stepped on before had dropped a lot.
The mud on the cracked shore has been dried in the sun, and there are also the sun-dried carcasses of fish and shrimps on it.
As he walked into some villages, he watched the Jingzhou magistrate greeting the people, assuring them that the government was already preparing for disaster relief and that there was no need to worry about food and taxes this year.
The people called him Lord Qingtian, as if they had not seen such a good official for many years.
The people in Jingzhou Mansion have been making decisions for the people recently, and they are really biting their tongues at the Liao Prince's Mansion. In this place, the people are grateful to them for the time being.
Wang Bangrui also came because the Jingzhou government impeached the Liao vassal for their past occupation of people's fields and tampering with water conservancy.
Now the Jingzhou magistrate is saying there: "Many of my petitions have been approved. Now that the summer grain has only been taken back, the autumn grain is very difficult, so you don't need to worry! Wang Yushi is also here, Jingzhou Mansion is reorganizing The water conservancy project can be started now! In addition to providing food to the victims, the reconstruction of the water conservancy project also requires labor and employment. I will ask you to provide work in lieu of relief. By then, every family can send strong men to the construction site, and there will be a bowl of food for sure. Let’s eat!”
While they all expressed their kindness and gratitude, Wang Bangrui only noticed that he rarely mentioned His Majesty and the imperial court, but kept emphasizing his request as a royal minister.
Wang Bangrui is only the water patrol censor, and other irrelevant matters are not within his scope of authority.
Looking at the large dry fields in Huguang in the scorching summer weather, Wang Bangrui's expression was extremely serious.
Things are really getting worse.
It was here that he parted ways with the Jingzhou magistrate—he still wanted to visit Wuchang Mansion.
The reorganization of water conservancy cannot be delayed during the farming season. Before the summer grain is planted, only some prefectures where there are no feudal princes have started some construction.
The next batch will have to wait until the autumn grain is harvested.
Now, are there any other prefectures and counties that do not expect it to rain at all and are now saying that autumn food is difficult?
Are you now promoting work-for-relief?
In the Wuchang Prefecture, Sun Jiao also received a report from the Jingzhou Prefect that he had "excessively used too much force" in disaster preparedness. The news came from Jin Yiwei and the inner factory after being coordinated by Gu Dayong.
There was anger in his eyes: Next, wouldn't the people affected by the disaster place all their hopes on the government?
No matter how dry the weather is, those who need to raise seedlings and prepare to plant autumn crops need more supervision!
Even if the weather is dry, to what extent will Huguang be short of water? If we want to organize labor to reorganize water conservancy, we might as well organize labor to build water trucks or even think of ways to carry water to irrigate the fields!
His Majesty's first decree has come: besides condolences to the King of Liao, he also asked him to help with the matter of inviting famous doctors to diagnose and treat the King of Liao.
After Sun Jiao made arrangements, several famous doctors from Wuchang Prefecture were invited on the carriage to Jingzhou Prefecture.
Among them were the two people who had treated the King of Chu.
When they arrived at Jingzhou Mansion, they were naturally warmly received by the Jingzhou Prefect and the officials of the Liao Prince's Mansion.
See a doctor first, prescribe medicine and then entertain.
"Bian Youshi, Ji Chengfeng, and other miraculous doctors prescribe a good prescription for the prince, and also ask two of them to report the princess on my behalf. The previous impeachment was actually due to the fact that there were many complaints from the people. I only hope that everything will be as it is. As long as it's old, it's good to be safe."
You Changshi and Zuo Chengfeng of the Liao Palace both nodded in agreement, and Zuo Chengfeng Ji Fu even said: "Our family will definitely report it to the princess, thank you very much."
The magistrate of Jingzhou smiled and watched them leave first. After returning to the government office lobby, he sneered when he saw the official document that Sun Jiao had sent here.
Isn’t this disaster preparedness?
Then, his eyes darkened.
How many people in the world want things to remain the same? This is true for the Chu vassal's prospective heirs, and this is the case for Liao vassal and other old people who cannot be replaced by the court.
But Zhu Zhichen, the prince of Guangyuan County, was looking forward to some new changes.
Now that His Majesty and the court are in full swing, the new law seems to have become a reality, and those who hope that things will remain the same are also looking forward to some new changes in this situation.
Now under the drought, there is an opportunity.
The Ming Dynasty had a vast territory and favorable geographical location.
But since this year, His Majesty and the imperial court have been aggressive. Once the proposal to worship Confucius came up, how many people have been reconciled?
Gu Shilong slammed the table angrily, looked at the person in front of him and asked coldly: "Is this what Xiang Falong said?"
The person who came to deliver the message was trembling with fear: "I am here under the command of the commander, so I dare not lie."
"Why are you so anxious? Where did the rumors come from?"
"...There are indeed many soldiers passing around."
Gu Shilong had a dark face.
How long has it been? Someone has already spread in the Yuezhou Guards in far away Yuezhou that there will be a severe drought this year, and grain will be put out in each warehouse to provide disaster relief. I am afraid that the wages and grains of each guard will be reduced, and the victims should be dealt with first.
"Go back and tell Xiang Falong that it's okay! I am in charge of Huguang, how have I ever shortchanged the guards' pay?"
After the people sent by Yuezhou Guard Commander Xiang Falong left, Gu Shilong gritted his teeth and called someone over.
"Si Cong! You are a stranger. Hurry to Yuezhou as soon as possible. I will send people to find you later. When I find you, you will directly take Xiang Falong to me on my order!"
Si Cong, who joined Sun Jiao on the way and stayed in Huguang, was shocked: "Master Hou, that's an entire Yuezhou Guard! There are only a hundred people in this humble position."
Gu Shilong narrowed his eyes: "What? From now on, your special service team will rely on more people to get things done?"
Si Cong was startled again: "I understand, I understand! I accept my order!"
He didn't quite understand why Gu Shilong wanted to take down the third-grade guard commander just because of this complaint.
Of course, Dusi is a military system, and Gu Shilong, the commander-in-chief, has great power. He can order Si Cong to do this.
But there is indeed a severe drought now.
Gu Shilong rushed from the Dusi Yamen in the southwest of Wuchang Prefecture to the Governor's Yamen without stopping.
This group of people has become more and more courageous. Some people from the local health office who had been avoiding trouble before actually dared to take advantage of the natural disaster to worry about food and wages.
He was on his way in a hurry, and the rushes from Huguang, Jiangxi, Nanzhili, and Zhejiang finally arrived in the capital.
Wang Zuo hurriedly asked to see him, and when he arrived in front of Zhu Houcong, he said solemnly:
"The drought in the south is getting worse and there are frequent changes!"
"Your Majesty, especially the Nanzhili Huizhou Prefecture, the people's silk silk tax that has been causing trouble before has not yet been decided. The Huizhou Prefecture ignored the disaster and rushed to pay the summer grain before the imperial decree was issued. It already looks like a civil uprising."
"The Yanzhou Prefecture in Shandong Province will take advantage of the fact that Zhang Fujing will offer sacrifices to Confucius on behalf of His Majesty next month, and will also send additional troops to urge the cattle, sheep and vegetable farmers to prepare and sacrifice rice."
"It has not rained since a light rain thirty days ago in the south. When the news comes to Beijing, scholars are already talking about it as a celestial warning and disrespect for the most holy teacher."
Zhu Houcong looked at the report with a gloomy expression.
Fu, I don't mean.
If you deliberately play with this homophonic meaning, is it an innuendo?
It's about Zhang Fu's submission to the Dao Shu, and it's also about the emperor not rejecting the Dao Shu.
"Calling everyone to discuss matters in the imperial study." After listening to Wang Zuo's report, Zhu Houcong continued to give the order, "Draw up an edict and reset the Confucius sacrificial canon!"
If you want to kill people, of course you have to start in the capital.
In a good atmosphere, will there be scholars and officials?
