King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 821 Editing Song Ziyu

He Gujin went home first, while Wang Pei'an, who drank porridge with the emperor, went back to the yamen first after the meal. He wanted to arrange suitable people to patrol Jiangbei.

And the most suitable person, after learning about the Jiangbei uprising, was already waiting in Wang Pei'an's duty room.

Wang Pei'an was not surprised at all to see Li Ziheng when he entered the room. He also knew the purpose of his visit.

"Sir, the civil unrest in Jiangbei is mostly caused by local officials colluding with the gentry and exploiting them excessively... I would like to volunteer to go to Jiangbei to punish the lawless and save the people from suffering!"

Li Ziheng spoke enthusiastically, but Wang Pei'an had no expression on his face. He just walked towards the desk. He also had a lot of things to deal with.

"You don't have to worry about going to Jiangbei for now. I will send someone else!"

"Who to send?"

It was indeed very impolite to directly question the boss in this way, but Wang Pei'an didn't care about it.

"The one sent is Liu Yan!" Wang Pei'an replied.

The people who could be sent out by Wang Pei'an at this time were naturally honest officials in the strict sense. They just couldn't give up everything like Li Ziheng, but they were still rare among officials.

"It would be more appropriate for me to go, please consider it seriously!"

"I have made up my mind about this matter. I have other plans for you."

"What's the matter?"

"It's the end of the year, and the various ministries and agencies need to settle their expenses. You can take a look at these accounts. This matter involves the upper and lower government offices, and it is a top priority!"

"But……"

Picking up the pen, Wang Pei'an interrupted, "Go out, don't disturb me while I'm working. Delaying me is delaying state affairs!"

Li Ziheng was still not convinced, but at this moment Wang Pei'an showed an attitude of not wanting to communicate, so he could only step down first and then find an opportunity to make suggestions.

In the blink of an eye, another two days passed, and the Beizhenfusi and Jiangbei Anchasi reported back the latest situation.

The common content among them was that the Sizhou City had been occupied by the mob, and the prefect and other officials below him were arrested in a panic. A total of six people were executed in public.

The difference in the reports is that the Censor said it was the White Lotus sect that instigated the uprising, while the Jiangbei Thousand Household said it was the people who were displaced and could not survive that ultimately led to the uprising.

A day later, a report came from the Jiangbei Military Commissioner, saying that the rebellion in Sizhou had expanded and a large number of refugees were heading towards Fengyang Prefecture.

Fengyang is the capital of Jiangbei Province, the central capital designated by the imperial court, and the place where the tomb of the Zhu family's ancestors is located.

These people rushed towards Zhongdu, and their direction was very obvious: they were heading for the Zhu family's ancestral tomb.

So at this time, Zhu Jinghong really couldn't sit still anymore.

After all, even for a man like his father, although there were rebellions from time to time during his reign, there was no mention of anyone heading for the ancestral tomb. At most, the Japanese pirates only wandered around the Xiaoling Mausoleum a few dozen miles away.

For example, less than five years after he came to power, a rebellion broke out in the ancestral homeland of the Zhu family. This could be said to have set a precedent.

Zhu Jinghong then immediately issued an edict, ordering Henan, Shandong, and Nanjing to send troops to quell the rebellion. At the same time, he sent Shi Chong, the deputy governor, to Jiangbei to take charge of many matters related to the quelling of the rebellion.

On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the grand court meeting was held as usual. Everything went according to plan and the court officials did not notice anything unusual about the emperor.

In fact, Zhu Jinghong had already issued an edict two days ago, but it is still on the way. This time he issued an edict urging all the military commanders to mobilize troops, but it will not have any effect for the time being.

Around the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, his first edict would be delivered to each dusi one after another, and then these would have to be conveyed to each garrison again. Even if they were to be mobilized, it would take at least three to five days.

It would take at least another four or five days for the soldiers from other places to arrive in Jiangbei. In other words, no matter how Zhu Jinghong urged them, due to the current communication conditions, it would take at least ten days for the soldiers from each dusi to arrive.

A lot of things could have happened in ten days. After all, only two days had passed before the rebel army captured Sizhou and headed towards Fengyang.

In fact, Zhu Jinghong's worries were justified, and his subordinates were more worried than him, especially the civil and military officials in Jiangbei, who would do anything to quell the rebellion.

The rebellion broke out suddenly, and there were not many garrisons in Sizhou City, so it was not surprising that it was captured, but it still took seven days.

Seven days was enough time for the Jiangbei Military Command to react. On the one hand, they mobilized troops to guard Fengyang, and at the same time, they used troops from the north and south to suppress the rebel army and prevent it from advancing westward.

On the third day of the twelfth lunar month, there was a civil riot in Sizhou. On the fourth day, Sizhou was under the city walls. On the fifth day, the prefect and related officials were killed. On the eighth day, the rebel army marched westward towards Fengyang.

On the tenth day, a fierce battle broke out between the government troops and the rebel army in the southeast of Wuhe County. The Fengyang vanguard and central guard, with a total of 6,000 troops, defeated the rebel army of more than 40,000.

The rebel army may seem to have a large number of people, but when faced with a real army, especially a well-trained and well-equipped army, they are as fragile as paper.

More than half of the 40,000 men had already fled before the battle began, and half of them ran away again when the fighting started. The tens of thousands of diehards who were left behind were scattered like birds and beasts under the heavy blows of cannons and muskets, leaving only a pile of corpses on the ground.

However, although this battle defeated the rebels, only more than 3,000 people were killed, and the remaining rebels fled in all directions, which still posed a huge threat.

Therefore, the Jiangbei Military Commander issued another order, asking the garrisons in various places to temporarily hold their positions and only transfer the Fengyang Vanguard and Central Guard as reinforcements, dividing them into three groups to kill the rebels in all directions.

At the same time, the Jiangbei Censorate also ordered the government offices of all prefectures and counties to organize young and strong people to protect themselves and minimize the harm caused by the rioters.

Qian Sheng missed the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. Zhu Jinghong received the good news from Jiangbei, and at this moment he felt relieved.

The fact that the ancestor was disturbed was secondary. He was mainly embarrassed because it was really too humiliating.

As relevant information was gradually transmitted back, the truth of the matter began to surface.

To put it simply, in recent years in Jiangbei, especially in Sizhou, land annexation has been too serious, causing many people to lose their land and become tenants.

It would have been fine if they had become tenants, and even if their lives had become much worse, they could still hold on by enduring the hardship. However, in the past two years, the imperial court had repeatedly increased taxes, causing many people to go bankrupt and lose their land.

Even so, the scale of the tenants was simply larger and more people lived a hard life. However, the large number of Japanese slaves purchased this year completely destroyed the livelihoods of the tenants.

Those slaves only needed to be fed, and the landlords didn't have to collect rent at all. After feeding these people, the rest was their wealth.

By this time, more and more people could no longer make a living, and this place had become a powder keg as early as a year ago.

The officials were only concerned about whether tax revenue was collected and paid no attention to the conflicts at the grassroots level. Eventually, under the instigation of the White Lotus Sect, a rebellion broke out.

The Jiangbei Provincial Administration had the heaviest responsibility among them, after all, they were responsible for governing the people, so Zhu Jinghong ordered the dismissal of the Provincial Governor Bai Hongxuan and imprisonment.

The Jiangbei Censorate, the Circuit Inspectorate and the Chief Censor were all working under criminal liability.

………………

"On the 18th day of the twelfth month of the fourth year of Qiansheng, the Emperor went to the Hongde Hall and summoned the generals of the Five Military Command Office to discuss how to quell the rebellion..."

"On the morning of the 19th day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor went to Zhaoren Hall and summoned officials from the Ministry of Revenue to inquire about the civil affairs of Jiangbei. He ordered the Ministry to formulate a policy to comfort the people of Sizhou. After the meeting, the emperor asked the Minister of Revenue He Gujin about the officials in Jiangbei. Gujin gave a detailed report, confessed that he had made inappropriate use of people, and pleaded guilty in front of the emperor. The emperor smiled and comforted him!"

"On the evening of the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor was at Chongzheng Gate to hear government affairs. The Five Military Command Office presented a report on the suppression of the rebellion in Jiangbei. The Chief Censor Wang Pei'an requested the Assistant Chief Censor Li Ziheng to go to Jiangbei to thoroughly investigate the illegal activities. The emperor said that he would make a long-term plan!"

"On the morning of the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month, the Minister of Rites Jia Hua reported the matter of the eldest princess's enthronement, and the emperor said yes!" After transcribing the last word, Hanlin editor Song Ziyu put down his pen, looked out the window and saw that the sun was setting.

It didn't snow today and the weather was clear, so I could see the sunset.

Although the sunset was beautiful, Song Ziyu had no time to appreciate it. His heart was as calm as an ancient well.

He was the runner-up in the first year of Qiansheng, and now it is the fourth year of Qiansheng. Most of his classmates who entered the Hanlin Academy at the same time left the academy and took up their posts a year ago.

Most of these people went to the Ministry of Personnel, a small number went to the Six Ministries, and only a few stayed in the Hanlin Academy to work hard.

Song Ziyu was one of the people who stayed in the academy. He followed the advice of his teacher Jia Yucun and stayed in the academy to train talents and nurture future generations.

However, such life was too hard, especially compared with being an old rival, which made Song Ziyu feel even more disappointed.

His old rival was, of course, Feng Yuan, the number one scholar in the first year of Qiansheng. He had entered officialdom two years earlier and was first responsible for the preparation of the Royal Tiangong Academy. A year ago, he was sent to Nanjing as an inspector.

Jinling is already wealthy, and now with the opening of maritime trade, it is naturally an extremely prosperous place. Being an inspector here is a rare and lucrative job.

Feng Yuan's knowledge was indeed average, but he was very capable as an official and managed his duties in an orderly manner. Song Ziyu also heard that he was going to be promoted again.

Today is the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month. He just copied the daily records of the past two days, and tomorrow he will copy today's records. He has been doing this kind of work for four years.

At this moment, Song Ziyu suddenly lost his attachment to officialdom and thought about resigning and returning home to live a free and unrestrained life.

But as soon as he returned home, a servant came to report that Master Jia invited him to his house for a chat.

When he learned that it was his teacher who summoned him, Song Ziyu was not too excited. His hard work over the past few years had not been in vain, and he had become much more stable.

About half an hour later, Song Ziyu arrived at the Jia Mansion and his teacher was waiting for him in the study.

"Teacher, I have summoned a student here. What do you want to teach me?"

"I intend to recommend you to be the Chief Censor of Jiangbei. What do you think?"

The Chief Censor of Jiangbei had great power but a low rank, so there was no problem for Song Ziyu to be promoted, but this position was very sought after and people were generally not recruited directly from the Hanlin Academy.

"That place is a mess. I'm not asking you to go there to enjoy yourself. You need to think carefully!"

The place was indeed a mess right now, but Song Ziyu was more concerned about what the teacher wanted him to do.

Song Ziyu remained calm and replied, "If you have any instructions, please let me know!"

"There's a civil uprising over there, involving the provincial and county governments, and the government offices of various prefectures and counties. It has a wide impact and involves a lot of interests. In order to maintain the stability of the situation in Jiangbei... When you go there, you must find out the situation and be careful!"

As for how to be careful, in fact, it is just to investigate He Gujin's team, and don't touch anyone else.

The southeastern provinces are affiliated, and the scholar-official group has deep roots. If too many people are implicated, something big will inevitably happen, which will offend many people. This is unnecessary for Jia Yucun.

Song Ziyu understood what was meant, but he still had concerns: "Teacher, I'm afraid that His Majesty... won't let me go to Jiangbei."

"I have been in the Imperial Academy for a long time and am not familiar with all the affairs. How could they entrust me with such an important matter?"

Jia Yucun shook his head and said, "You are worrying too much. The court sent Liu Yan to Jiangbei before, but after half a month, he has made no progress. Your Majesty has actually planned to replace him!"

"If we change people again, if we select people from the Inspectorate again, as long as it's not Wang and Li, it won't help if anyone else goes!"

After Jia Yucun finished speaking, he took a sip of tea and was about to continue speaking, but Song Ziyu said, "Your Majesty may not send Wang and Li, and we may not achieve anything even if we go!"

Looking at this quick-thinking student, Jia Yucun felt even more satisfied. After all, only those who can raise questions have the possibility of solving problems.

"First, the chaos in Jiangbei is still unresolved. The governors, prefects, and even the inspectors are all guilty. People are already in a panic. Your Majesty will not let the situation get out of control!"

"Secondly, Liu Yan went there to find out the truth, so he was naturally resisted by local officials. But it's different when you go there... You go there to help them get rid of the disaster!"

When Song Ziyu heard that he was investigating the case and was actually helping the local officials to get rid of the disaster, he didn't react for a while.

"You are not investigating the truth, but investigating Bai Hongxuan and his gang. There are many people willing to cooperate with you. You can dump all the dirty water on them and clear yourself from the blame!"

After hearing this explanation, Song Ziyu finally understood and suddenly felt that he was still far from his teacher's level.

"The student has learned a lesson!" Song Ziyu replied.

"Are you willing to go to Jiangbei? If so, I will recommend you to His Majesty at the court meeting tomorrow!"

Under normal circumstances, court meetings would basically not be held. However, the number of court meetings has increased recently to quell rebellions, so it is not surprising that there will be another one tomorrow.

“Students are willing to go!”

"Okay, you can go to Jiangbei to be an inspector for two years, and then change your post to another place after two years. You can go around the provincial court and the provincial government, and then you can come back and join the six ministries as an assistant!"

In this sentence, there is a gap of nearly four levels and eight ranks between the fifth-rank inspector and the third-rank vice minister, which is a journey that most officials cannot cross in their lifetime.

Without anyone's support, even if one comes from the Hanlin Academy, the probability of making the leap is only higher, but there is no guarantee of promotion all the way up. After all, the "accumulated" talents in the Hanlin Academy over the years are much more than the positions of officials in the six ministries.

"Thank you, my teacher, for your guidance!" Song Ziyu bowed solemnly.

The next day, before the court meeting began, He Gujin found Zheng Xianlin and went into the palace with his old partner.

"Brother Zheng, news came from Jiangbei that Bai Hongxuan committed suicide... The world is finally at peace!"

Hearing this, Zheng Xianlin almost immediately thought that it must be He Gujin who had done something to kill the person.

There is no need to even doubt this. After all, when He Gujin was working in criminal justice, he had done a lot of torture and frame-up, and killing someone was extremely easy.

Zheng Xianlin did not delve into this, but sighed: "Just because he is dead doesn't mean the court won't investigate!"

"Even if we investigate, given our current position, what can't we suppress if we join forces?"

A Minister of Personnel and a Minister of Revenue, when the two of them join hands, there is indeed very little that they cannot suppress.

"We? Lao He...the we you are talking about should not include me, right?" Zheng Xianlin said coldly.

He Gujin's smile disappeared, so he asked, "Old Zheng...what do you mean?"

"It's meaningless. You'd better take care of your own affairs. I don't want to get involved. You know the situation is different now. You and I are both important officials of the court. It's better not to get too close!"

After saying that, Zheng Xianlin didn't say anything more. Although he didn't want to see He Gujin get into trouble, he didn't want to be implicated by him even more.

Watching Zheng Xianlin walking away, He Gujin's face turned gloomy. He was very upset that Zheng Xianlin was not sensible.

But he had no way to deal with this old partner, after all, he was already the Minister of Personnel.

(End of this chapter)