I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 195 The picture shows the dagger (first update)
"The Minister's words are wrong."

The first person to stand up was Yang Changkui, the left minister of the Ministry of War. He was originally from Songjiang Prefecture. Among the wealthy families that Bi Ziyan wanted to pay back the debt this time, the Songjiang Yang family was among them.

"Although there are debts in Jiangnan, it is not because they don't want to pay, but because the taxes in Jiangnan are too heavy, especially Songjiang Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture. This has been the case since the dynasty, so although Jiangnan owes taxes, it is wrong, but it is really reasonable. But it turns out that Bi Ziyan wantonly made things difficult and insulted the gentry just because of this matter, which is really a disgrace to his gentleness."

The man became more and more angry as he spoke. At first he was still opposing Wang Yingjiao, but now he has begun to plead with Zhu Youxiao.

"Your Majesty, the pursuit of tax arrears will not be like this. Please remove me and be strict with yourself. By then, Jiangnan's tax arrears problem will be solved."

Zhu Youxiao just wanted to laugh when he heard this. What kind of bullshit argument is this? It's gangster logic.Complete nonsense.

"This is really the most ridiculous thing in the world. The Jiangnan tax system was established after the founding of the country. Why was it not owed in the founding of the country? Now it is owed. To put it bluntly, it is not the reason for the heavy taxation, but the reason for the powerful gentry clan. Some local officials colluded with them to conceal the report. If you deliberately default on taxes, we will wait to cancel them once the new emperor ascends the throne according to the old practice."

"Besides, heavy taxes are heavy taxes, and arrears are arrears. These are two different things. As for the matter of recovering tax arrears discussed today, please do not change the topic or deliberately provoke the issue, Minister Yang."

As soon as Wang Yingjiao heard Yang Changxu's remarks, he immediately refuted it. The two were not the same thing at all.

But Wang Yingjiao was not the only enemy of Yang Changwei. When someone refuted it, some people immediately spoke out against it.

"The gentry and the country belong to the same body. This Bi Ziyan acts recklessly and insults the gentry, which will definitely make the court lose heart to the gentry and the people. He has been in arrears for tax arrears for many years. How can he be compared to the prestige of the court? Please ask your Majesty to depose Bi Ziyan." Be strict, otherwise the imperial court will lose heart in Jiangnan if it continues for a long time."

"Yes, think about it. Less than half a year after Fang first took office, powerful officials came to blackmail him. His majesty and elegance were wiped out."

Several people from the Zhejiang Party also stood up to support Yang Changkui, scolding Bi Ziyan as a traitor to the country and demanding that the emperor must depose him.

Zhu Youxiao looked at the people at the foot of the steps and felt that it was very ridiculous. These people could ignore the imperial court for their own benefit. Although he had known the faces of these people for a long time, seeing their faces at the scene was really shocking. Let him be extremely disappointed.

He then gave Wei Zhongxian a signal, and Wei Zhongxian immediately shouted.

"quiet!"

Everyone in the audience fell silent instantly, bowed and looked down at the emperor, waiting for Zhu Youxiao's lecture.

However, Zhu Youxiao was not in a hurry to express his position, but continued to ask.

"Don't just say it to the courtiers. You, all ministers of the six ministries and ministers of the cabinet, should also tell you how you should view this matter and how to deal with Bi Ziyan."

The emperor was forcing them to express their stance. This was everyone's first thought after hearing this, so everyone turned their attention to Liu Yishen, the chief assistant. However, Liu Yishen was still in no hurry to express his stance. He looked old-fashioned and didn't care about his own affairs. A high-hanging look.

Zhu Youxiao was not in a hurry to ask him. Instead, he turned his attention to others. Since the Zhejiang Party was opposed, he should ask the Zhejiang Party for its opinion first.

"Sun Ruyou, tell me."

After hearing this, Sun Ruyou came out of the queue, bowed his head and said:

"Your Majesty, recovering tax arrears is what the court should do, but Bi Ziyan is too hasty, too much, and his methods are too direct. Laozi said: Hard is easy to break, soft is long-lasting, Bi Ziyan is too direct , it will indeed be disgusted by Jiangnan, if it is done by someone with a kind and honest personality, the effect may be better."

Sun Ruyou's words were not as direct and sharp as those of other members of the Zhejiang Party, but the meaning was the same, that is, he needed to be replaced, and this person could no longer be used.

"Very well, does anyone else mean the same thing?"

At this time, Zhou Jiamo, the official minister, also stood up.

"Your Majesty, I am also like this. Bi Ziyan is good at managing money, and he is indeed capable, but his methods are indeed cruel. How can he torture the gentry to ask for back taxes? Besides, when he captured Li Sancai in Jiangnan, he also tortured him. After all, Li Sancai He was once an important minister of the imperial court, and if he commits corruption, his crime will not lead to death."

"Furthermore, the former Chief Assistant Fang Congzhe was bullied in this way just after taking office. This will inevitably make all officials feel sad after hearing this. Therefore, I also seconded the proposal, hoping that the overall interests of the imperial court can be taken into consideration and Bi Ziyan be dismissed."

This week Jiamo used to dislike Fang Congzhe, but now he also speaks for Fang Congzhe. It seems that Bi Ziyan has really aroused public anger.

However, Zhu Youxiao overheard something in his words. This Zhou Jiamo believed that Li Sancai had been an important minister of the imperial court, and even if he was corrupt, he would not be punished with death.

Although he was really angry after hearing this, Zhu Youxiao had to admit that this was the common perception in the late Ming Dynasty.

Before Jialong, scholar-bureaucrats still had a sense of shame, and corruption was still secretive and not so unscrupulous. However, by the Wanli Dynasty, corruption had become upright. It can be said that no one is not greedy. Without corruption, there is no way to gain a foothold in the court. People like Hai Rui are indeed a minority.One reason for this is that the cost of crime is too low.

Unlike in the early Ming Dynasty, officials who committed more than ten taels of silver were stripped of their skins and turned into grass. In the late Ming Dynasty, officials who were corrupted by ink were rarely killed. At most, they were dismissed or exiled. However, they were fine and could continue to be corrupt in another place.

That's why Zhou Jiamo said these words. It shows that they don't think corruption is a big deal at all, but Bi Ziyan wants to be tortured so severely. What is his intention? He also insults the gentry and forces them to pay back taxes. He is really a cruel official and a traitor. .

In the court, everyone saw that the Ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel expressed their support. Everyone became bolder and came out one after another. Even Huang Jiashan, the Minister of the Ministry of War, also spoke out in support of Bi Ziyan's dismissal. Now three of the six ministers supported Bi Ziyan's removal. Yes, half of the other officials in the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers also supported it, including many people from the Donglin and Zhejiang parties.

"Please also ask Your Majesty to remove the traitor!"

"Please also ask Your Majesty to remove the traitor!"

······
They knelt down one after another, hoping that the emperor would issue an order to remove Bi Ziyan, so that Zhu Youxiao felt that if he was not removed, the court would be ruined.

This is to force the palace. Zhu Youxiao looked at the people kneeling under the stage, his face became more and more gloomy. He had been thinking about this for a long time, and it seemed that he would not give up until he achieved his goal.

Wei Zhongxian also looked at the emperor at this time. With so many people questioning the emperor, he had long been dissatisfied as the eunuch in charge of the ceremony. Now as long as the emperor gives the order, he will arrest these people immediately.

Zhu Youxiao didn't care, how could he be such an easy person to give in? He was just curious in his heart, who was instigating these people.

But before he could speak, someone came out to refute these remarks.

"Your Majesty must not listen to the slanderous words of these people. They say that traitors are harming the country. In my opinion, the so-called traitors are them."

Zhu Youxiao took a closer look and found out that it was Zuo Guangdou, the governor of Tianjin. He was originally not qualified to come here to participate in the imperial edict, but because he wanted to ask about the situation of the farmland, he asked him to participate with Zou Yuanbiao, the governor of Gyeonggi. Unexpectedly, at such a critical moment moment, he spoke out in support of Wang Yingjiao.

He stood up and looked around at the people who were kneeling to demand Bi Ziyan's dismissal, with disdain in his eyes.

"It is natural to pay back taxes in arrears, otherwise how can the imperial government maintain its finances? Besides, even the gentry in this dynasty have to pay regular taxes and corvee, but there are exemptions and exemptions for miscellaneous servants. There has never been a precedent where tax arrears can be waived.

It is natural for Bi Ziyan to pursue evading tax arrears. Those who have been high-ranking officials in the imperial court or have served as chief assistants should know the difficulties of the imperial court and sympathize with the imperial court, instead of pushing back and obstructing, maliciously obstructing, and secretly trying to get what they want for their own selfish interests. They jointly deposed the feudal officials of the imperial court. "

These words spoke to Zhu Youxiao's heart, and he treated Zuo Guangdou differently. As expected, one should not judge a person by what he said, but by what he did at critical moments.

As soon as Zuo Guangdou's words came out, Zou Yuanbiao, the governor of the capital, slowly came out to support. With the two of them as examples, some court officials also came forward to support Bi Ziyan, but the number was still very small, even half of Sun Ruyou and others. not here.

"Very good. It seems that there are supporters and opponents among the courtiers. It seems that there must be a conclusion on whether to remove Bi Ziyan today, otherwise we will not let it go. It's just that the six ministers said it just now, Have the cabinet ministers not expressed their opinions yet? I also want to hear your opinions."

At this moment, it's time for Tu Qiong to meet.

Although it was surprising to see Wang Yingjiao, Zou Yuanbiao and others supporting Bi Ziyan, Ye Xianggao and Han Xu had no choice and had to take a stand now.

In order to save Li Sancai, he took advantage of the Zhejiang Party's antipathy towards Bi Ziyan and secretly made a secret agreement with Shen Guan, Sun Ruyou and others to impeach Bi Ziyan.

As long as he is replaced, the move to seize the power of the Nanjing Household Department is cancelled, and replaced by someone from the Zhejiang Party, the Jiangnan gentry will naturally pay all the taxes owed in Jiangnan.By then, Li Sancai's matter will have subsided, and Ye Xianggao will have nothing to hold on to, so he can concentrate on promoting equalization of land and labor in Gyeonggi, and then wait for an opportunity to unseat Liu Yishuo.

It's just that the current situation has deviated from Ye Xianggao's ideas. He originally wanted to impeach in a low-key manner, but he then tried to persuade him in private, but he didn't expect that Wang Yingjiao would directly detonate the bomb.The emperor supported Bi Ziyan in this way, and he would be furious when he heard the courtiers say this. I am afraid that not only will he not be deposed, but his support will be even stronger.

But things can't always go as he wants. Now that things have come to this, he can only go all out and take down Bi Ziyan.

So Ye Xianggao, Han Xu and Shen Guan looked at each other, then stepped out of the queue and bowed and replied:

"Your Majesty, governing a big country is like cooking small dishes. Although Bi Ziyan served the country, his methods were too hasty. I think this will not only be ineffective, but will cause dissatisfaction among the gentry and even backlash."

"Besides, it has already violated the Ming Dynasty Laws by severely interrogating people who have served as officials in the court. Therefore, I would like to ask Your Majesty to think twice and issue an order to reprimand him."

Ye Xianggao said this very euphemistically, but the meaning was also very obvious, that is, if Bi Ziyan is not good enough, the emperor should be replaced as soon as possible.

After Ye Xianggao finished speaking, Han Xu also came out to support him, but Shen Guan did not come out to support him as expected, and he still stood there and didn't understand.

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(End of this chapter)