It's not that the two of them were frightened because they saw the shocking data in the memorial; it's that they probably guessed what the emperor wanted them to do, and that's why they were frightened.
Tax arrears and preferential exemptions for officials and gentry were two major taboos in the Ming Dynasty. Only those who truly had the heart to serve the country and the people would touch it;
And Zhang Pu? It can be seen from his control of the imperial examination. Is he really serving the country and the people? If this is really the case, doesn't he know how serious the harm to the country is by cutting off other people's normal scientific research path?
As for Wu Changshi, let alone that. In the original history, for the sake of power, he even poisoned Zhang Pu and tried to replace him. From this, it can be seen that he can truly serve the country and the people?
And both of them are in the officialdom. How can they not know what will happen to them next if they come into contact with these two things?
Emperor Chongzhen kept looking at the two of them. When he saw the change in their expressions, he knew what they were thinking. He immediately sneered in his heart, aren't you the leader of Fushe and the leader of Qingliu? Just now you swore that you would serve the country and the people and be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, so it is up to you to do this!
In fact, when Wen Tiren was the first assistant, he had already realized the harm of Fushe to the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, he wanted to rectify Fushe at that time. However, the power of Fushe was too great. Even if Wen Tiren was the chief assistant, there was nothing he could do. Not only could he not restrain the growth of Fushe, he even implicated his brother Wen Yuren. He was accused of crimes by the local officials behind Fushe and was arrested. In prison.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen saw that although Zhang Pu and Wu Chang had finished reading, they still lowered their heads and pretended to read the memorial. He sighed softly and said: "This time I went out, I really realized what it means to have no cockcrow for a thousand miles." , the bones are exposed in the wild! You may not know, but I feel deeply saddened by this situation. Behind each bones, how many relatives’ tears and longings are there? Behind every broken wall, how many families are there? People's families are broken up and people are killed? I just heard that you, like me, are thinking about relieving the people's worries. I believe you and the others will be very sad when they see such a thing, right? "
When Zhang Pu and Wu Changshi heard this, they finally understood why the emperor praised the two of them from the beginning of their meeting. It turned out that he had laid a trap for them to jump into, and they couldn't help but feel speechless.
But for the two of them, not to mention that they are in front of the emperor now, even if they are not in front of the emperor, they must at least show pain for this kind of thing and show that they are serving the country and the people, because this is the basis for their fame. The so-called Qingliu leader, the gentleman of the Ming Dynasty, must behave like this!
Therefore, no matter what they thought in their hearts, they all expressed their stance to Emperor Chongzhen. They were indeed very sad.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he became serious and pointed at the memorials in their hands and said: "The reason why we are in such miserable situations is because the imperial court has no money and food, and it is unable to provide relief in the face of natural and man-made disasters. And if these arrears of tax are returned, If those Dingtians who are exempted from exemptions can pay taxes to the court, I believe that such tragedies will not happen to the people again."
At this point, when he saw that Zhang Pu seemed to want to speak, he sneered in his heart and said first: "Therefore, the two of you, Qing, are young and promising, and have a strong energy of their own. I just saw and heard the two Qings. I am loyal to the king, serve the country, and serve the country and the people. If I don’t leave this matter to the two of you, I feel that my talent has been buried!”
Zhang Pu and Wu Changshi heard this and complained in their hearts, knowing that the emperor would say this. However, these two things really cannot be done!
Thinking like this, they glanced at each other and saw that there was no intention of agreeing first in each other's eyes, so they knew that the other party actually wanted to take over the whole thing themselves. But, is it possible? Who is stupid?
So, they turned to look at Emperor Chongzhen again, and in a hurry, they wanted to say something to refuse.
However, Emperor Chongzhen still did not give them a chance to speak, and his voice turned a little colder and said: "I know that this matter is very difficult, and I am afraid that it will provoke the revenge of some unscrupulous officials. But you can rest assured, I am here, any No one can touch you, but I still have this responsibility. Of course, you can't live up to my expectations, and you have to take responsibility. Otherwise, you will learn from the past just at the beginning of the year."
The lesson he mentioned was that at the beginning of the year, many officials refused to go to court on the pretext of illness. At that time, Emperor Chongzhen severely punished a group of people. Even Fang Fengnian, a minister in the cabinet at the time, did not escape. He was demoted several levels and became the prefect of Dezhou.
Zhang Pu and Wu Changshi naturally knew these things, but compared to doing those two things, they could immediately weigh the gains and losses in their hearts. They would rather not be officials temporarily than offend so many colleagues.
Thinking this, the two of them looked at each other again, and both saw this meaning in each other's eyes.
However, before they could make excuses, Emperor Chongzhen's tone became colder again, and he said coldly: "I believe that you and the others will not let me down. Otherwise, they just lied to me in front of me. The idea of being loyal to the emperor and serving the country, serving the country and the people, and dedicating oneself to death are all lies. Those who commit the crime of deceiving the emperor will be punished by the head just taken off the head of Zhengyangmen City."
At this point, he softened his tone and said: "You and the two of you are the pillars of the Ming Dynasty. I believe you can't be so bold as to deceive me in person, right?"
"It's over, it's over, it's all over!" When Zhang Pu and Wu Changshi heard such an obvious threat, they cried secretly in their hearts, and even felt regretful in their intestines. If I had known this earlier, I should have been more reserved at that time!
Emperor Chongzhen had made it so obvious that the two of them had no choice but to agree. Otherwise, it’s not a question of whether you can be an official, but whether you can save your life!
The most important thing is that if you don't agree, it will be the crime of deceiving the emperor. Maybe their heads will be taken off and hung on the Zhengyang Gate. At the same time, it will be announced to the world that the two of them are deceiving the world and stealing their reputation. , They say that they must serve the country and the people, and be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, but if they are really asked to do things that are loyal to the emperor, serve the country, and serve the country and the people, they are afraid and dare not do it. This is completely different from the image they worked hard to create before.
Is this still clear water? Or a gentleman? Pooh! I don’t know what those officials and gentry think, but the vast majority of the people will see the truth about them. From then on, what will be left in history is their deception!
In this case, will he die unjustly or will he be willing to do so?
As long as Zhang Pu and Wu Changshi had a way to go, they would never touch these two things. However, Emperor Chongzhen now doesn't give them any other choice. Either they will be beheaded in public, or they can only accept these two things.
After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, he kept staring at the two of them. After a while, he noticed that the energy of the two people seemed to be obviously weakening. Then, I heard the two of them express their opinions one after another: "I will obey the will and dare not violate it!"
"Eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor are the duties of the minister. Your Majesty has a purpose, and I will do my best to complete it, even through fire and water." Since Zhang Pu agreed, he said it beautifully, "Urge Paying the arrears can bring immediate results. It is for the sake of the imperial court and urgent for the people. I am willing to take charge of this matter!"
When Wu Changshi heard this, he immediately wanted to curse, "You Zhang Pu, why are you so shameless? Didn't you agree to obey the emperor's orders? Why did you get the first one?"
Checking the limits of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry, and making up for back taxes are certainly more serious matters than collecting back taxes. After all, although most of those who are underpaid have official and gentry backgrounds, some of them are still rich peasants after all. But verifying the privileges and exemptions of officials and gentry is for officials of the Ming Dynasty. You can imagine how difficult it is!
At this time, Wu Changshi felt extremely regretful again. If he had known this, he should have taken the first step.
Thinking like this, he was naturally unwilling to give in, so he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen has some experience in collecting tax arrears. If Wei Chen does it, it should be able to achieve immediate results!"
"..." When Zhang Pu heard this, he was speechless for a moment. When he looked at Wu Chang from the corner of his eyes, he really wanted to curse and be shameless. He could say such words. He was obviously here to rob him!
Naturally, he would not give up, so he immediately followed suit and said that he also had experience in this regard.
The two people started to quarrel in front of the emperor, and the quarrel became more and more fierce, and the smell of gunpowder slowly came out.
Emperor Chongzhen probably didn't know that they were so noisy, but in fact they didn't want to check the privileges of officials and gentry. Haha, he claims to be a gentleman and the leader of the country, but he has such a face!
After letting them quarrel for a while and feeling that their relationship was completely broken, Emperor Chongzhen coughed and interrupted their quarrel.
I saw him smiling and saying: "I am very pleased that you and the two of you are so active. If that's the case, then that's it..."
After all, it was up to the Holy Judge. When Wu Changshi and Zhang Pu heard that the emperor was about to make a decision, they couldn't help but immediately lowered their voices and held their breath, waiting to hear what the emperor would decide.
"... Qing and the other two are responsible for checking the privileges and exemptions of officials and gentry in their respective areas and for collecting back taxes."
Hearing this, the two of them couldn't help but be startled. They didn't expect that the result of the fight was that neither of them was better than the other, and they both took on two things together.
In this way, Zhang Pu couldn't help but hate Wu Changshi because he wanted to rob him. Otherwise, he would just go through a call to pay back taxes.
And Wu Changshi naturally hated Zhang Pu. If you didn't rob me, would I be so unlucky?
Emperor Chongzhen didn't care what the two of them were thinking, so he continued: "Qing and the others are both from Jiangnan and are very familiar with Jiangnan, and Jiangnan is a heavy taxation area in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Zhang Qing patrolled Yingtian Mansion and Zhenjiang. and Yangzhou Prefecture, and Wu Qing will patrol Changzhou Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, and Songjiang Prefecture to supervise these two matters. Before next summer's grain harvest, I must give me a result."
Having said this, his tone softened a little and said: "As long as we do well, I will appoint you and the other two as governors, and then expand the scope to share my worries!"
They had only been admitted to Jinshi for a few years. If they had passed the qualifications normally, they would not have been promoted to governor so quickly. You know, the governor was a high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty, a high-ranking official in the border areas.
However, if they had a choice, neither Wu Changshi nor Zhang Pu wanted to become the governor so soon. It is true that this errand will offend too many people. Unknown to others, even the network of contacts they established through Fushe will fall apart as a result.
As for the restoration of society, it was actually the two of them, especially Zhang Pu, who were able to settle down and make a living today, which was the greatest political resource he obtained. With this network of contacts, it would not be difficult for him to not only become the governor, but also become the chief minister of the cabinet.
Thinking of this, Zhang Pu felt even more sad. Why did the emperor choose himself to do this? Could it be because both he and the Wu thief were teaching the prince? Think about it, this is really possible! Otherwise, if it was just a matter of restoring society, the emperor might have blamed himself long ago instead of waiting until now.
Thinking of this, Zhang Pu couldn't help but regret deeply. If he had known this, he would not have taken advantage of the emperor's absence in the capital to promote public opinion and spread his reputation to the queen. He would not have given lessons to the prince, and nothing would have happened today. Got it!
Having a good reputation is not a good thing sometimes!
Emperor Chongzhen didn't care what the two of them thought. For him, this matter could be regarded as killing two birds with one stone.
If the two of them go to their hometown, the place where they have the best reputation, to check the quotas of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry, and collect unpaid taxes, they will inevitably become enemies with the officials and gentry who originally supported them. In this way, even if Fushe is not closed, I believe Fushe will not have the same energy as before.
The second benefit is that if they can really accomplish this, collect taxes, and verify the quota of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry, it will be of great benefit to suppress the land annexation and fiscal crisis in the late Ming Dynasty.
If the two of them can break the situation, they can promote it nationwide. Even if they don't use future methods to make money, they can still meet the needs of ZTE.
However, Emperor Chongzhen felt that there was a high probability that it would not succeed. It will be difficult for the two of them to go to Jiangnan.
In this regard, Emperor Chongzhen will give them help, and it is best to succeed. If that doesn't work, then Emperor Chongzhen will come forward personally, or someone else will come forward to continue the fight.
Judging from the development of the situation, Emperor Chongzhen would not mind flipping the table if the commotion got serious, at least he already had the capital to flip the table at this time. Simply implement "officials and gentry work together as one, and pay food as one".
However, this is different from that in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. The Manchu and Qing Dynasties were able to introduce this because there were still their masters on the heads of the officials and gentry. Their master can get paid by doing nothing. Instead of the officials and gentry, they became the new highest-level parasites on the common people.
After the matter was settled, Emperor Chongzhen did not give the two of them a chance to have their own thoughts. He immediately issued a decree to the world and appointed Zhang Pu and Wu Changshi as Jiangnan Patrol Agents, dedicated to verifying the quotas of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry and calling for payment of arrears. Suddenly, the entire officialdom of Ming Dynasty was in a sensation.
