December 7, the seventh year of Jianwen, Fujian.
The Chief Envoys represented by Zhao Fang, Lu Junsheng, and Xu Yin, the Inspection Envoys represented by Zhou Zhixin and Zhao Zhi, the Du Commander Shisi represented by Tan Yuan and Liang Yuhua, Liang Wei and Zhu Zirong As the representative of the Xingdu Commandery Division, Shi Si gathered in Fuzhou.
Yu Xin, the governor of Fujian, walked out from the back of the hall and sat down. All the officials saluted. After Yu Xin returned the courtesy, he said solemnly: "I have called you here today, firstly, to convey the imperial decree, secondly, to open a way for Fujian, and thirdly, It’s about rectifying the health center. Let’s talk about the first thing first, Zhao Fan.”
Zhao Fan was in his early forties, in his prime, full of energy and strong in action. He walked out, touched his three-inch beard, and said to the officials: "I believe you all have an understanding of the current situation in Fujian. My Lord Chief Envoy, let's talk about civil affairs. Before leaving Beijing, the emperor told us to eliminate the many problems caused by Wang Zhonghe's rebellion in the shortest possible time and clarify the reasons why Wang Zhonghe and his party extorted and exploited businessmen and people. means."
Yu Xin nodded slightly. Zhu Yunwen's selection of Zhao Wei as the chief envoy was indeed a good choice. This person is very organized and can understand priorities.
Zhao Fang explained his policy direction: "All prefectures and counties must abolish all policies that are not in compliance with the imperial regulations during the Wang Zhonghe period before the beginning of spring, and cancel all policies that are not in compliance with the imperial regulations." The taxes that should be collected should be checked clearly in the prefecture and county treasury, compiled and reported to the Chief Envoy. After the tax is calculated by the Chief Envoy, the refund that should be refunded to the people will be exempted from the tax! Quanzhou Port and Taiping Port will be collected by the Chief Envoy. Take personal jurisdiction, strictly investigate collusion between businessmen and officials, and secretly evade taxes. Once discovered, severe punishment will not be spared..."
The merchants colluded with the Shipping Company to smuggle goods, causing the Shipping Company a lot of losses and destroying market competition. As a result, Fujian's commerce was dominated by five companies. However, three of these five companies were involved in Wang Zhonghe's rebellion. Among them, Yu Xin seized the money, and more than 1.7 million taels of silver and treasure notes were seized. Yu Xin did not give these money to the Ministry of Household Affairs, but directly left it with the Fujian Chief Envoy to support the reconstruction of Fujian. .
However, the properties of Wang Zhonghe, Qi Dong, Guo Qing and others were confiscated and sent to Peking. As for how much money was spent, Yu Xin didn't bother to ask. Anyway, it was subsidized to build the new city.
Based on Zhu Yunwen's will, Zhao Fang clearly informed the county and local government offices of the work priorities and directions. Finally, he looked at Yu Xin: "Governor Yu, can you add anything?"
Yu Xin smiled peacefully and then became dignified: "Chief Minister Zhao made it clear that I have no need to add anything to the governor. I just hope that you all can work together to solve the crisis."
All the officials responded in unison.
When Zhou Zhixin saw Yu Xin looking over, he stood up and said: "The Inspector General has also received the emperor's decree. Punishment should not be used indiscriminately or lightly, nor should it be used leniently on those who know the law and break the law. During Wang Zhonghe's period, he controlled various government offices. Many unjust and wrongful convictions were made. According to preliminary statistics, there are more than 2,700 prisoners in the Fujian dungeons, of which more than 1,600 were framed for offending Wang Zhonghe and his associates."
"I, Zhou Zhixin, know that the prefecture and county yamen can also resolve cases and judge cases, but this time is different from the past. The Prosecutor's Office will take over all criminal and prison cases related to Wang Zhonghe. If you say that I have overstepped my authority, you can directly If you report to the Emperor that I bullied my colleagues and took away your power, you can also file a petition for impeachment, but before the Emperor removes me as an Inspector, I will personally review every case and send all files to the Inspectorate within a time limit!"
When the prefects and county magistrates from all over the country heard this, they couldn't help but take a deep breath. They all knew that Zhou Zhixin's Ming Dynasty had a cold face. Who would have thought that he was so powerful and would risk his life as soon as he took office.
Yes, I can't afford to offend him. Wang Zhonghe's case involves too many things. No one wants to wade into the muddy water. You, Zhou Zhixin, want to swim in it and you are not wet yet. Then you can swim. The case master will send it to you. Do you want me? Send it over too, no need, okay, I'll do as you say.
Yu Xin admired Zhou Zhixin's vigor and uprightness. Such an official could easily offend the powerful and his colleagues, and had few friends. However, in today's world, there should be more than just those who are flattering, easy-going, and unprincipled.
If the Ming Dynasty wants to have long-term peace and prosperity and prosper for thousands of years, it needs men with backbones to stand up to the sky and the earth, not afraid of strong winds and huge waves, not afraid of the collapse of the sky and the earth, regardless of the winds from east to west, north and south, and remain unmoved without changing their original intentions.
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Zhou Zhixin is a man with a backbone, he is upright, incorruptible, and courageous. He is excellent for investigating unjust and wrongful cases and sweeping away all illegal officials.
Yu Xin praised Zhou Zhixin: "The inspector Zhou is determined to clean up the dirty things for the court. I hope you will not make a wrong step and be swept away. After you go back, tell the officials that the court has a plan. Those who surrender and confess will be lenient, and those who conceal and resist will be punished once it is verified. The crime is aggravated. The mastermind is already in the capital, and the remaining people who have not yet been dug out will probably not lose their heads. It would be better to give an account as soon as possible, so as not to be punished with a stick and then exiled."
The warning made all the prefects and magistrates tremble.
Although Wang Zhonghe was arrested and many people were confessed, in addition to Wang Zhonghe and other party confidants, there was also a group of flatterers and secret helpers. , officials who actively curry favor, these officials, the court and Yu Xin did not move.
Just because you are not moving at this time does not mean that you will not move forever.
Under the leadership of Yu Xin, Fujian's administrative team has been rebuilt, especially the capable Zhao Fang and the upright Zhou Zhixin who have led the Chief Executive's Department and the Inspector's Department, which are enough to get the local government offices back on track in a short period of time.
Once normal operations of the government offices are restored, it will be time for liquidation. Tumors and pustules cannot stay on the body forever, otherwise they will kill people.
As for Dusi and Xingdusi led by Tan Yuan and Liang Wei, their tasks are not complicated. They are to rectify the guard station and strengthen the sense of faith of the sergeants in the guard station.
It is worth mentioning that Yu Xiang, a former member of the Qianhu Institute in Jianchang, Jiangxi Province, played an outstanding role in quelling the rebellion and was transferred to Fujian Dusi as a commanding officer. He was responsible for the training of troops at the garrison and concurrently served as the governor of the garrison.
Yu Xiang jumped directly from the fifth rank to the third rank and became a senior general of the Ming Dynasty. His promotion was promoted by the court as a model.
There are thousands of households in a mainland guard station. Although they do not enjoy the policies of the New Army, they still train and prepare their sergeants according to the policies of the New Army. They are always ready to fight and remain ready to fight at any time. The imperial court will not forget such talents. Nor will he be stingy with promotions.
The arrest of Yu Xiang, a typical example, was the result of the cooperation between Zhu Yunwen, the Ministry of War, and the Fifth Army Governor's Office. It was to ease the conflict between the guard post and the Fifth Army Governor's Office and the court, which had not yet implemented the new army strategy, in order to buy more time.
Of course, Yu Xiang's own ability, merit and dedication are also worthy of being awarded the title of Commanding Officer by the imperial court.
Yu Xin gave many suggestions for the reconstruction of Fujian, controlled the direction from the overall situation, and proposed the strategy of "trade between two ports and paper and ink printing in three provinces" and determined the development of industries. Considering that Fujian has many mountains and few fields, Yu Xin encouraged People left the impoverished mountainous areas and entered the cities to work...
Late at night, Yu Xin wrote quickly and gave Zhu Yunwen advice, hoping that the imperial court could exempt Shaowu, Jianning, and Yanping from taxes. When he wrote, "The plague is raging, weeds bury corpses, and people are like ghosts, and they are still afraid of people." , I felt a sudden shock in my heart, and then it became extremely difficult to breathe. After I stood up, I lost my strength and fell straight to the ground.
There is only one light at midnight.
Yu Xin looked at the dancing candlelight, and scenes from the past flashed through his eyes. More than fifty spring and autumn images turned into moments, and finally became a sentence: "When you come back, go teach the prince."
Alas, it is fate...
Early the next morning, the person who delivered the meal was horrified to find that Yu Xin was dead. Wu He and others from the Security Bureau who were responsible for guarding and protecting Yu Xin were even more horrified.
Shortly afterwards, Zhao Fang, Zhou Zhixin, Tan Yuan and others arrived one after another, and Yue Sihai from the Security Bureau also rushed over. They cordoned off the scene immediately and called in the imperial doctors Wang Chang, Wu Shanqiao and others who had just returned to Fuzhou.
Everyone is heavy-hearted and in pain.
Yu Xin was a very capable official. He was upright, aboveboard, and decisive in his actions. He was highly valued by Zhu Yunwen and was assigned to Fujian for rectification and served as governor. He held the power of the three departments, which showed the trust of the court.
But such an outstanding official died in Fujian!
Yue Sihai did not stay in the room and watch Wu Shanqiao, Wang Chang and others investigate. Instead, he interrogated Wu He and others outside.
Wu He was forced to panic and swore a poisonous oath: "Master Tongzhi, if I took a nap last night, you would kill my whole family. Our brothers are from the capital and stand on countless night posts. How could we be distracted, let alone protect Yu?" I am not the only one who is the governor, but there are also eight brothers below. Is it possible that everyone has taken a nap???????????????????
Yue Sihai had a gloomy face: "I'm asking you now for your own good. Such a huge thing happened. Once it is proven that someone poisoned me and you didn't notice anything, then we will have no choice but to commit suicide to apologize!"
A sergeant from the Security Bureau said: "At midnight last night, there was indeed a little movement in the room. It's just that Governor Yu stayed up late every day to review documents and handle government affairs. He rummaged for things many times and still made some noise. We asked too many questions. , Governor Yu was upset and said that we had interrupted his train of thought, and he only asked us to keep an eye on the doors and windows, and we were not allowed to enter the room or inquire."
Yue Sihai knew Yu Xin's temperament, and there were so many things going on in Fujian. Before Zhao Yi and Zhou Zhixin arrived, there was a backlog of many things. Now, although Zhao Yi and others are sharing the burden, the government affairs in Fujian are not much less. Working hard day and night, with only one or two hours of rest every day, even a piece of iron can hardly endure it.
After Wu Shanqiao and Wang Chang investigated, they gave the result: there were no symptoms of poisoning, and it was attributed to heart disease caused by overwork.
Yu Xin died suddenly.
Fortunately, he was not poisoned, but died of illness, which made the security bureau heave a sigh of relief.
Zhao Feng, Zhou Zhixin and others were very sad when faced with Yu Xin's death. This colleague who had worked together for a short time, this governor who worked hard for the people, this minister who devoted himself to sharing the worries of the court and the monarch, died quietly.
Zhou Zhixin picked up the half-volume document on the desk. After reading it, he burst into tears and said with choked eyes: "Governor Yu spent his life serving the country and the people, and he was a national scholar! I would like to request an order to build an ancestral hall for him as a memorial to future generations. Pay homage."
After Zhao Fan saw it, he repeatedly agreed: "It bears my name."
An urgent document was sent to the capital by Lin Zhaoxue personally.
Five days later, Zhu Yunwen received the bad news and was devastated.
Xie Jin was in grief, Yang Shiqi looked up to the sky and sighed, all the officials in the six ministries were sad, and even some people in the capital couldn't help but burn a few sticks of incense after hearing the news that Yu Xin died of illness in office.
With Yu Xin gone, Zhu Yunwen lost an effective assistant.
There was no governor in Fujian, and Zhu Yunwen did not send another one. Yu Xin had already planned everything when he was in office, and the rest of the execution was a matter for Zhao Yi, Zhou Zhixin, Tan Yuan and others.
Considering Yu Xin's character and merits, Zhu Yunwen posthumously named him the Crown Prince and Grand Master. This was the first Crown Prince and Grand Master in the Jianwen Dynasty, the first official of the first rank named by Zhu Yunwen, and an upright person who died.
