Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 149 Chuang Wang is here
"You mean, Wei Zhongxian also received bribes from those salt merchants?"

At Maoshi on the second day, when Zhu Youjian rode slowly northward, Lu Wenzhao told him beside him that Wei Zhongxian had received a bribe from a salt merchant.

Lu Wenzhao followed on horseback, and after Zhu Youjian asked, he explained:

"It doesn't count that he accepted bribes. Those salt merchants found Ke Shi, and then paid [-] taels of embellishment fee, and invited Ke Shi to embellish his pen and write inscriptions."

"After the Ke family accepted it, it took a long time to realize the intention of the salt merchant, and then asked Wang Tiqian to deliver a letter to Wei Zhongxian."

"How about Wei Zhongxian's performance?" Zhu Youjian asked indifferently, while Lu Wenzhao said:
"Many salt merchants also expected that he would not help too deeply, so they just hope that he will hand over the civil servant's memorials to the case every day."

"It's nothing." Nodding slightly, Zhu Youjian said again:

"They can quarrel if they want to. Now that Ye Xianggao is in power, he will naturally balance the party struggles of all parties, including the one against me."

"With his help, don't worry too much."

"Yes!" Lu Wenzhao nodded, and Zhu Youjian said again:

"Nanzhen Fusi and Beizhen Fusi, have you got any interesting evidence and information?"

"There are a few." Lu Wenzhao told Zhu Youjian about the cases he knew:

"Nanjing Wei Guogong's mansion and a group of big and small nobles cover up the Lianghuai salt merchants to sell illegal salt. This group of salt merchants used the imperial court's salt as a cover to sell a large amount of illegal salt."

"They spend nearly one million taels of silver every year to buy salt for official salt, and then sell multiples of private salt, and finally make millions of taels a year, and take out part of it in the name of Runbi, and donate it to Nanjing Xungui and the south. Salt transportation, salt department."

"In addition, I also found out one thing..."

Speaking of this, Lu Wenzhao glanced cautiously:
"Among the nobles in the north, the Mansion of Gongshun Hou seems to be involved in the sale of salt and iron in Zhangjiakou..."

As soon as these words came out, Zhu Youjian reined in the horse under his crotch, stopped, and frowned tightly.

Zhu Youjian had already guessed the matter of northern nobles eating human blood steamed buns and fornicating with northern captives, and he also knew who the mastermind was.

It can even be said that this so-called mastermind subsidized Houjin in a disguised form, allowing Houjin to continue to grow.

This mastermind is the Gongshunhou Mansion that Lu Wenzhao said.

Gongshunhoufu is not a Han Chinese, but a naturalized Mongolian Tatar tribe.

They first served in the Yuan Dynasty, and returned to the Ming Dynasty in the [-]rd year of Hongwu, and were arranged by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang to live in a place where water and grass are convenient in Liangzhou.

In July of the third year of Yongle, Batu Timur led his troops to join the Ming Dynasty from Tatan, and was given the Chinese name Wu Yuncheng by Zhu Di, and was first granted the title of the governor of the right army.

Afterwards, Wu Yuncheng led the troops to make many military exploits, and was named Gongshun Bo by Zhu Di. After that, Zhu Gaochi gave the Marquis Mansion Iron Coupons and was promoted to Gongshun Marquis Mansion.

From this point of view, the Gongshun Mansion should be grateful to Daming.

But in the history of the late Ming Dynasty, although the things they did were hidden, they were exposed after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs.

In the memorial of Yan Mingtai recorded in May of the sixth year of Tianqi in "Ming Shilu", Yan Mingtai pointed out that in the smuggling activities of Hou Jin, "the ministers were enthusiastic", but he did not specify which ministers it was.

But among the honorable ministers, there is one person who is very suspicious, that is, Wu Weihua, the uncle of Gongshun Hou Wu Xibin.

In the early Qing Dynasty, there were not many Han people who could be named Marquis. They had to be at the level of Zhang Yong, Shi Lang, Tian Xiong, Ma Degong, Tan Yi, and Tan Hong. Your son is actually a Marquis.

There were quite a few descendants of nobles who survived the Ming Dynasty, but few of them were able to restore their titles. It can be seen that Wu Weihua's title was obviously not to give preferential treatment to the nobles of the previous dynasty, but Wu Weihua had a real contribution.

Although Wu Weihua took the initiative to ask to "appease" Shanxi, which can be regarded as a credit, but it is far from reaching the level of being a marquis.

Moreover, this person is so active, and he is still very relaxed on the way to appease Shanxi. It is not difficult to imagine that he may have a certain influence in Shanxi.

This force can't be his, it's more likely to belong to Gongshunhoufu.

Therefore, before Lu Wenzhao spoke, for Zhu Youjian, it was just a guess without evidence.

Then after Lu Wenzhao opened his mouth, Zhu Youjian could be sure that Gongshunhou's Mansion must play a major role among those who have long been involved in selling prohibited materials outside the Great Wall!

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian frowned tightly, and continued after a few seconds:

"Let the Fusi of Nanbei Town continue to investigate. In addition, it is best for the Fusi of Beizhen to infiltrate into Jianlu and gain the trust of Jianlu."

"It may be very difficult to infiltrate Jianlu." Lu Wenzhao said with a look of distress:
"Although they trust the Han people on the surface, they are very vigilant in their hearts. Most of the Han merchants who have private relationships with Hou Jin are Liao merchants who have traded with old slaves for decades. If they are others, they may not believe it. "

"Then look for an opportunity to dig out the merchants from the Liao Dynasty and instigate rebellion!" Zhu Youjian said, shaking the rein and continuing to ride.

Lu Wenzhao didn't say much, but followed Zhu Youjian, and continued:
"Beizhen Fusi has already investigated the situation in Shanxi and the southern part of Beizhili."

"Except for the three towns in Shanxi, most of the guards in Shanxi and the southern part of Beizhili have already been destroyed, and there are only more than [-] guards who can be pulled out."

"So judging from the experience of abolishing them at the beginning, it is not difficult to abolish them, mainly in the three towns of Shanxi."

"As for the three towns in Shanxi, according to the investigation by the Fusi of Beizhen, they defended the Great Wall for [-] miles, with thousands of stone forts, each with a team of soldiers and horses, and after Yang Zhaoji and others were transferred, there were still seven battalions of soldiers. The horses are local."

"Besides, the generals of the local guards also have about [-] to [-] servants under their command, and there are probably more than [-] people. The total number of soldiers and horses may be around [-] to [-]."

"If we can abolish the three towns in Shanxi plus all the guards in Shanxi, as well as the southern guards in Beizhili, it will involve sixty-one guards and forty-five guards."

After Lu Wenzhao finished speaking, Zhu Youjian said:

"That is to say, [-] military households and [-] million mu of military farmland are involved..."

"Yes." Lu Wenzhao was a little surprised, he didn't expect his highness to be so good at mental arithmetic.

"Let's count his [-] people. These family members and battalion soldiers can all play a role in expanding the army later. Since this is the case, there is no need to recruit troops." Zhu Youjian said to Lu Wenzhao:
"Send a quick horse to inform Cheng En, and tell him to stop recruiting troops."

"Yes!" Hearing this, Lu Wenzhao let Yitiqi take a step ahead, and then escorted Zhu Youjian to slowly rush towards Yanshan Camp.

Just as they were on their way, the permanent dynasty of the Wenhua Palace in the capital also began.

Accompanied by the lashing of the clean whip by the Great Han General, the beating of the bronze bell by the Minister of Honglu Temple, the sound of singing announced the beginning of the Chang Dynasty.

"Start playing if there is something to do, and leave the court if there is nothing to do."

Zhu Youxiao, who was wearing regular clothes, sat at the head of the Wenhua Palace. Looking at the many servants of His Highness, he seemed to know what they would say today.

"Long live, Yang Tingyuan, the censor of the Procuratorate, impeached His Royal Highness King Qi for selling private salt, disturbing the official salt, and causing the official salt to be corrupted!"

"The ministers and bureaucrats gave Yao Zongwen the impeachment of His Royal Highness King Qi for conniving at enclosing land with soldiers and horses, and not giving out enough land in the guard to the people!"

"minister……"

Just at the beginning, more than [-] of the more than [-] ministers in the palace stood up and accused the Imperial Horse Supervisor and Qi Wang Zhu Youjian for their actions.

To this, Zhu Youxiao didn't respond, he just asked, "Is there any more?"

His eyes were calm, and he didn't seem to care about this kind of impeachment.

To put it bluntly, there are always a small number of people who can speak for the northern salt merchants, and they cannot reach the energy and level of the Lianghuai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang salt merchants.

What's more, since the reign of Hongzhi, it has long been no surprise that clansmen sell private salt, and Zhu Youxiao doesn't think it will become a big deal.

It's just that sometimes, Zhu Youxiao still underestimates some people...

"Minister Gao Panlong impeached King Qi. As a prince, he supports himself with his troops. Please the imperial court return the Shangzhi Sixteen Guards and Shangzhi Twelve Arch Guards to Ji Town, re-establish the governor of Ji Town, and guard against northern captives outside the pass!"

Your mother and maidservant too!

When Gao Panlong stepped forward, Qi Chuzhe Xuankun and other officials from the five parties said the quintessence of the Ming Dynasty in their hearts.

Not to mention them, even Liu Yixiu, Zhao Nanxing, Zhou Chaorui, Yuan Huazhong, who belonged to the Donglin Party, almost scolded them.

They have never seen such an "ideal" person. Do they really think that a few sentences of impeachment can seize military power from the emperor?Or the kind of robbery with hundreds of thousands?
"In Gao Hanlin's opinion, do I still need to hand over the Three Guards of the Imperial City and the Great Han General to the Governor of Ji Town?"

Zhu Youxiao suppressed his anger, and told the three guards of the imperial city and the general of the Han Dynasty.

The three guards of the imperial city, these are the four guards of Jinwu guarding the imperial city, the five guards of the government army, the three guards of Yanshan, the left guard of Huben and others by Zhu Youjian, and finally compiled and trained the three guards of dragon tiger, flying bear and Yiluan .

As for the generals of the Han Dynasty, they were the emperor's guards and court guards who participated in the training of Wanping Camp and Daxing Camp.

This military power is based on the Sixteenth Guards and Twelve Battalions, which Zhu Youjian specially left for his royal brother.

Therefore, in fact, Shuntian and Yongping have a total of [-] guards, but Zhu Youjian only mentioned the [-]th guards, and never mobilized the reason why the three guards of the imperial city were never mobilized.

Only the emperor himself can mobilize this army, and it is also the soldiers and horses that Zhu Youjian has no one to defend the imperial city after Zhu Youjian wanted to prevent riots in the capital.

Even if Zhu Youjian programmed such soldiers and horses, he didn't intervene at all.

He didn't even intervene in military pay, food, training, these things after the soldiers and horses were trained.

But it was such soldiers and horses that even Zhu Youjian was taboo, but Zhu Youxiao asked whether they should be handed over to the so-called Governor of Ji Town.

The emperor was angry, no accident.

Even Gao Panlong, after hearing the words, also said in a low voice: "The three guards of the imperial city are the barriers defending the imperial city, and they are the emperor's private army. How can Governor Ji Liao mobilize them?"

"That's according to Gao Hanlin's intention! Aren't the Shangzhi Sixteenth Guards and Shangzhi Twelve Arch Guards my private army?"

Zhu Youjian scolded angrily, even got up and picked up the memorial and threw it at Gao Panlong.

It's just that Gao Panlong didn't evade, instead he took a step forward and said:

"It is said that it is the emperor's private army, but I have heard rumors that the Shangzhi Sixteen Guards and the Shangzhi Twelve Gong Guards only know the king of Qi but not the emperor. If such soldiers and horses are not taken back in time, it will be difficult..."

"Enough!" Zhu Youxiao clenched his fists and stopped Gao Panlong's next words.

His anger was not because of fear and surprise at Gao Panlong's words, but because of someone who wanted to alienate him from his younger brother, and who wanted to take away the military power from him.

But this person is still a powerless minister who was knocked down by himself to the Hanlin Academy to be responsible for editing.

If discussing matters with Qi Chuzhe Xuankun, Donglin Liu Yixiu and others, Zhu Youxiao still needs to give the other party some face and prevent the court and the local government from being alienated, then he has no patience for Gao Panlong!
"Where is the big Han general?!"

When Zhu Youxiao shouted out, many ministers were terrified, and Gao Panlong was also stunned on the spot.

Immediately afterwards, a group of twelve people, the big Han generals in mountain armor, walked into the hall quickly. The sound of the armor colliding made everyone feel a little dry.

The big Han general entered the palace, and after several months of training, they were far more powerful than before.

They stood on the left and right sides of the main hall, and turned around, making everyone almost hold their breath.

Gao Panlong was also stunned, but after he was stunned, his self-righteous and lofty temper also came up, and he said loudly:

"King Qi is a chaotic king who has brought disaster to the country. If we don't rectify it at this time, Daming will surely encounter catastrophe in the future!"

"Pull it down!" Zhu Youxiao's eyes were sharp, as if he was about to eat Gao Panlong.

The hearts of many ministers were suspended, and Liu Yixiu and others were also worried that Zhu Youxiao would make a decree to kill Gao Panlong, and planned to dissuade them.

But unexpectedly, Zhu Youxiao said in the next second: "Twenty court battles!"

"Follow the order!"

Hearing this, the big Han general immediately stepped forward to set up Gao Panlong, but Gao Panlong who was set up was still cursing:

"Have pity on me, Guo Zuo, who lived in the Ming Dynasty for more than two hundred years! Long live! The minister is loyal, you must take back the military power! Long live..."

Gao Panlong was taken out, and because of his disruption, many officials who were still talking about Yumajian and Zhu Youjian also shut up.

In the current situation, it seems that whoever speaks will suffer. It is better to wait for the emperor to calm down first, and then continue to impeach with memorials.

But Gao Panlong's words gave them a breakthrough.

Yes, the prince in charge of military power and the young and energetic emperor are above the history books, but if they are in the same dynasty, they will be separated from each other.

Although the king of Qi, Zhu Youjian, had military power, once he lost the support of the emperor, he could only end up in the feudal domain after a big marriage, and the lonely old man would end up in the feudal land all his life.

Yao Zongwen was thinking about how to separate the two brothers Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian, but Zhu Youxiao suddenly said:

"Disperse!"

After that, he walked away, leaving only the many ministers with their heads bowed.

After Zhu Youxiao left completely, some Qi Chu Zhe Xuan Kun and other party officials looked at the officials of the Donglin faction with a sneer on their faces.

Some Donglin officials who took money from salt merchants to impeach Zhu Youjian were also helpless, while Liu Yixiu and others frowned even more.

Among them, Yang Lian frowned. After the ministers and workers dispersed, he also prepared to leave and went to the official department to continue working.

But after walking out of the Wenhua Palace, he looked at the East Palace in the distance, with mixed feelings in his heart.

During this period, loose and contradictory matters within the Donglin Party began to erupt continuously, not to mention exhausting Liu Yixiu, and also making Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others very irritable.

For example, Wang Yingjiao's new tax law was supported by Liu Yixiu, Yang Lian and others, but it was obstructed and opposed by most of the Donglin officials.

They all believe that the most important thing right now is to reduce the land tax first, and then collect miscellaneous items.

But the problem is that if the land tax is reduced first, then once the miscellaneous and commercial taxes are not paid, the court's finances will be even worse, which will lead to the expansion of payment arrears.

But collecting the land tax first, and then discussing and adding miscellaneous items, this behavior is not recognized by everyone.

Therefore, Yang Lian and the others are now in an embarrassing situation, that is, the internal opinions cannot be unified.

But if those other Qingliu's opinions were ignored, their new law was probably rejected before it came out of the cabinet.

If the law is not changed, then they will not show value, and the emperor will naturally not favor them.

Such a situation was inherently dangerous, but something like Gao Panlong happened in the end.

In this way, I am afraid that Donglin's weight in the emperor's heart will continue to decrease.

"How to do……"

Yang Lian asked himself, but no one could give him the answer.

With the reform of civil servants, it might be possible to get through with the support of the emperor during the Wanli period, but it is no longer going to work at the moment.

Even if there is another Zhang Juzheng, it will be difficult to carry out reforms in a short period of time under the obstruction of many interest parties.

Without the support of the middle-level, the reforms that high-ranking officials want to implement are moons in the water, flowers in the mirror, and cannot be realized after all.

Yang Lian returned to the official department, and dealt with the promotion documents of officials from all over the place in a daze. At the same time, Zhu Youjian also brought people back to Yanshan Camp.

But as soon as he returned to Yanshan Daying, he saw a group of ragged people at the south gate of the camp, besieging the gate.

"Why don't you recruit me! I asked you yesterday, and you said you are still recruiting today!"

"Didn't you tell me that, you are not old enough, besides, King Qi ordered you not to recruit troops just now."

At the south gate of Yanshan Daying, a young man dressed in patches and holding a sheep pole in his hand was arguing with the chief banner officer of the Jinwu Guard at the gate.

The Chief Banner Officer talked to him nicely, but he didn't want the young man to say:
"You first said to recruit people, and then said no to recruit people. I have traveled more than two thousand miles, so why are you saying no to recruit people now?"

"Hey, you kid, why can't I make sense to you." The chief banner officer had a headache, and at this time the soldiers also saw Lu Wenzhao and Zhu Youjian who were riding their horses.

"Your Highness!" The chief banner officer bowed to the soldiers at the south gate, while Zhu Youjian said:
"How is this going?"

"Returning to Your Highness, this group of people came from Shaanxi to join the army, but they were underage, so they failed to join the army, so they made a fuss here."

The chief banner officer explained, and the group of ragged people next to him knelt down immediately when they heard the word Your Highness.

Zhu Youjian looked at the young man who had previously argued, and said with a smile:
"You're interesting, you dare to make a theory when you're too young?"

The young man lowered his head, not daring to vent his anger, and Zhu Youjian smiled even more when he saw this: "What? You only dare to argue with him, but not with me?"

"Tell me, what's your name."

"My name is Li Hongji, from Mizhi, Shaanxi. Others call me Huang Wazi." The young man finally opened his mouth, but Zhu Youjian frowned at this opening.

Li Hongji, isn't this Li Zicheng's name before the uprising?Moreover, this young man is from Mizhi, Shaanxi, and his nickname is Huangwazi, just like Li Zicheng.

"Do you understand swords, guns and sticks? How old is it now? Who is in the family?"

Zhu Youjian raised his eyebrows and asked, and Li Hongji said:

"My parents barely have two acres of land in Mizhi. My second brother tends sheep for a Juren at home. The family can't support people. I heard that they have ten acres of land when they join the army, and each family member has three acres. So I took my third brother with me. coming."

After that, he stretched out his hand to pull a ten-year-old child next to him.

The child was a little scared, and held Li Hongji's hand tightly. This scene reminded Zhu Youjian of the scene in his memory of his royal brother holding his hand.

To be honest, Zhu Youjian doesn't hate Li Zicheng.

After all, in history, as far as Li Zicheng's experience is concerned, he was completely forced to rebel.

He lost his parents when he was young, and was kicked out of the temple. He then worked as a shepherd for a landlord named Ai in this town. After that, his parents and younger brother passed away one after another, so he had to go to Yinchuan as a postman to make a living.

As a result, the errand had not been done for a few days, because Chongzhen streamlined the station, and Li Zicheng happened to lose his official documents, which led to his dismissal.

Life is already like this, but Li Zicheng doesn't blame the court, he just thinks that he lost his job because of his carelessness.

After finally returning home from Yinchuan, he owed debts because of the severe drought in Shaanxi and the failure to collect food.

Because he could not repay his debts, Li Zicheng was sued by Ai Juren to the Mizhi County Yamen, and the county magistrate Yan Zibin "wandered around the city with weapons and would put him to death."

Li Zicheng's relatives and friends rescued him, and then Li Zicheng killed Ai Juren for revenge.

But misfortunes never come singly, Li Zicheng's wife Han Jin'er committed adultery with a Murakami man named Gai Hu, and Li Zicheng killed his wife again.

With two lives in hand, the government had to ask, and the lawsuit had to die, so he and his nephew Li went to Ganzhou, Gansu to join the army.

Life is like this, others would have rebelled long ago, but Li Zicheng was still able to join the army, which already shows that he did not want to rebel.

As a result, Li Zicheng joined the army at that time, because the commander-in-chief of Ganzhou was Yang Zhaoji, and he could barely eat a full meal, and he knew how to use swords, guns and sticks.

It's just that he didn't expect that after joining the army for half a year, Huang Taiji took orders to go south, and the change of himself broke out.

In order to keep Beijing, the imperial court urgently dispatched troops from all directions to defend the capital, while the Gansu frontier soldier Li Zicheng's troops marched to the capital with the general kingdom. Can go to the capital to fight against gold.

But at this time, the kingdom of the generals was withholding food, and the soldiers of the guards began to ask for the money to be released, but the kingdom was stubborn, and finally the kingdom of the generals and the local county magistrate were killed by the mutiny.

At this time, although Li Zicheng was a coerced person, he could no longer rebel.

Because he offended the local and frontier troops at the same time, there is no way for him to survive in the world.

The reason why Zhu Youjian said that he didn't hate Li Zicheng was because of Li Zicheng's experience, and in terms of Li Zicheng's attitude towards Chongzhen in history.

If Chongzhen did not hang himself, Li Zicheng would not mind making Chongzhen King of Song and conquering the world in his name.

Since Li Zicheng in history didn't mind, why does Zhu Youjian care now?
"Am I not confident in myself?"

Zhu Youjian chuckled in his heart, then looked at Li Zicheng and some young people behind him, thinking that there might be a few of them who left their names in history books.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian said to Lu Wenzhao:

"Arrange them to study and read in Yanshan Institute, and the same is true for the young people who fled from various places afterwards."

"A lowly official takes orders." Lu Wenzhao took orders, while Li Zicheng and others knelt on the ground and kowtowed:

"Thank you King Qi! Thank you King Qi!"

Yanshan Institute, they all know that it is a good place, where they can eat food, meat, and read books. For this group of young people in northern Shaanxi, facing the loess and back to the sky, it is definitely like a fairyland.

Zhu Youjian watched Li Zicheng kowtow, and then said to him:
"Your name sounds unlucky. I'll change it for you. From now on, your name will be Li Zicheng, and your third brother will be called Li Zijing."

After all, Zhu Youjian rode away, leaving only a group of young people who were still kowtowing...

　Two updates today, Chapter 2 at four in the afternoon
　　
　
(End of this chapter)