The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Chapter 491 Are You Determined?

If we can take this opportunity to clean up the officialdom in Jiangnan and restore justice to Jiangnan, the death of one or two innocent people will be worth it.

Before Xue Shao left, Xue Xuan said to him: "You can act according to the situation. If the emperor is determined, I am willing to go back to the imperial prison and die, just to make a way for His Majesty."

Xue Xuan laughed as he spoke: "If my death can help the court to recover, it will be more worthwhile than living a hundred years."

Xue Shao: "You want to die, but Lord Pan may not be willing. Lord Pan's family is even more unwilling to see their loved one die. We cannot decide other people's life and death."

"Yes," Xue Xuan sighed, "They are still too timid, picking on the weak. It would be better if they kept me in the imperial prison and released Pan Hong."

The more Xue Xuan thought about it, the better it was for him to stay in the imperial prison: "If I were poisoned today, I would die. By then, the students in Hedong and Hexi would be shocked and would definitely seek justice for me. The emperor could take this opportunity to attack the officials in Jiangnan..."

Xue Shao was speechless and quickly interrupted him: "Second Uncle, if it were you in the imperial prison, neither Wang Zhen nor Qingliu would poison you."

Xue Xuan rolled his eyes and said, "If they don't poison me, then Your Majesty can...Oh, the emperor is not that kind of person, but there is still me. If I am sure that Your Majesty is determined, I will poison myself immediately and give Your Majesty a perfect excuse."

Xue Shao turned around and walked back into the palace, too lazy to listen to his nonsense any more.

Xue Xuan started to think to himself, is there any way he could go into the imperial prison and get Pan Hong out?

Today is a day off, so Xue Shao shouldn't have entered the palace.

But during this period he had a good relationship with the emperor, and he was also responsible for teaching the emperor, so he could enter the palace during his rest time.

Zhu Qizhen was just playing archery with his younger brother Zhu Qiyu out of boredom. When he heard that Xue Shao was coming, he immediately dropped his bow and arrow and dragged Zhu Qiyu to find him.

As soon as they met, he asked, "Is there anything fun happening outside the palace recently?"

Xue Shao thought about it and shook his head: "There is nothing fun."

Zhu Qizhen didn't believe it: "Then there is nothing new in teahouses and restaurants? Isn't it said that there are new things to discuss every day in these places?"

Xue Shao said: "The most discussed topic outside the palace these days is that Wang Zhangyin was given a dragon robe and regained favor."

He said, "This is what your majesty did. Everyone in the court has talked about it. It is not a strange thing for you."

Zhu Qizhen frowned and said unhappily: "Why, Xue Qing also thinks that I did something wrong?"

Xue Shao shook his head: "Your Majesty does have feelings for Wang Zhangyin, but he is never confused about state affairs. It's just that he is used to using a knife and is reluctant to change it."

"Besides, it takes a long time to sharpen a knife. If you sharpen a new one now, it will take quite a while. It's normal that you don't want to change it."

Zhu Qizhen's eyes lit up, and he grabbed Xue Shao's hand: "The one who understands me is Xue Qing."

He felt like he had found a bosom friend, so he decided to take him to the center of the lake to have a chat: "There are too many people here, let's go to the center of the lake, where we can talk freely."

Turning around and seeing Zhu Qiyu standing behind him, he pulled him along, "Come on, brother Yu, let's go together."

Zhu Qiyu also followed with a smile.

Zhu Qizhen only brought a few of his trusted aides, including Cao Jixiang, on board, while Zhu Qiyu did not bring anyone with him.

There is a small island in the center of the lake, and on the island there is an open pavilion. Zhu Qizhen liked to discuss secrets here, and ordinary people could not eavesdrop.

If what was said on the island got out, it would be easy to find the source. Based on Zhu Qizhen's many years of experience, the things discussed on the island had never been spread out.

Zhu Qizhen leaned on the railing, enjoying the spring breeze, and pulled a green willow branch to swing it for fun, saying, "Don't I know that Mr. Wang is using my power to bully others? But there are people in this court who are more hateful than Mr. Wang. I have to use Mr. Wang to deal with them, so I have no choice but to be lenient with Mr. Wang."

Xue Shao just smiled. Just because Zhu Qizhen kept calling Wang Zhen "Sir", he knew that he still had a long way to go before he could deal with Wang Zhen.

Since we can’t deal with Wang Zhen, let’s deal with the deep-rooted and corrupt policies in Jiangnan.

Xue Shao took the initiative to bring up the situation in Jiangnan. “The burden on the people is getting heavier day by day. Your Majesty has issued several decrees to reduce taxes, but in fact, their taxes have not only not been reduced, but have increased.”

He sighed and said, "Your Majesty thinks that you have reduced taxes, which is a wise move by the ruler, but the people do not know. Or maybe they do know, but when they actually pay, the taxes they pay are getting heavier every year. If this continues, the people will be filled with resentment, and some people will inevitably stir up trouble, which will lead to many rioters."

Zhu Qizhen pulled hard, breaking the willow branch, and said coldly: "I know, so I want to keep Mr. Wang..."

"Your Majesty, relying on factional struggles to seize power is a very bad strategy," Xue Shao said with a worried look on his face. "You are the ruler of all people, the Son of Heaven, the father of the monarch. You should not cultivate factions or participate in factional struggles. Instead, you should eliminate factional struggles. All civil and military officials should work for you and the people of the world."

Zhu Qizhen stood up and said in a circle: "Do I want to cultivate a party? It's not because they forced me. I have already taken power, but you can also tell me why I issued several decrees to reduce taxes, but the taxes on the people are getting heavier day by day?
Because no one enforces the order!"

Zhu Qizhen became more and more angry as he spoke: "In the past, Prime Minister Yang told me that it was difficult for the imperial power to reach the countryside, but now it is not only difficult to reach the countryside, but also the counties, prefectures, and states!"

"Let me ask you, who are the eight prefectures in Jiangnan listening to?"

Xue Shao stared at him with sharp eyes and asked, "Your Majesty, are you determined to cure this serious illness?"

"I have!" Zhu Qizhen also looked at him with bright eyes and asked, "Do you have any good ideas, my dear?"

"If your majesty is determined, then don't look back, just move forward bravely." Xue Shao said: "You have made a good start now. Since you mentioned the Jiangnan Silver Mine, why not start with the silver mine."

"I heard that the family of Lord Jiang, the Salt Transport Commissioner, once secretly mined silver. Starting from him, we can not only investigate the silver mines in Jiangnan, but also investigate the salt tax in Jiangnan." Xue Shao's eyes became brighter as he spoke. "Your Majesty, the salt tax in Jiangnan. The account book submitted by Lord Wang of the Censorate this time is only for the five years of Fuzhou. The deficit in the five years is more than 80,000 taels. The salt tax in Jiangnan will only be more, never less!"

Zhu Qizhen opened his mouth and asked, "Start with Jiang Qing?"

Xue Shao nodded: "Yes."

He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "In addition to Lord Jiang, there is also Prime Minister Yang."

Zhu Qizhen stared at him with wide eyes, "Xue Qing, your uncle was able to get out of prison this time, thanks to Prime Minister Yang, and Prime Minister Yang has always been honest and fair. What can you find out by investigating him?"

Xue Shao said solemnly: "Prime Minister Yang is indeed honest and fair, but not all of his family members are honest and fair."

"Your Majesty, if I ignore the laws that Prime Minister Yang's family has violated just because he redressed my uncle's grievances, wouldn't that be forming a clique?" Xue Shao said, "As far as I know, Prime Minister Yang's eldest son Yang Ji has a very bad reputation in the countryside, but no news has ever reached Prime Minister Yang's ears. Have you ever thought about why?"

Zhu Qizhen pondered: "They are trying to please Prime Minister Yang, using him, and accumulating leverage over him."

Xue Shao nodded: "I don't know what crime Yang Ji committed, but I can hear his bad reputation just passing by Jiangnan, which shows that the mistake he made is not small. Your Majesty wants to clean up the Jiangnan officialdom, and Prime Minister Yang is a gap that must be crossed."

"Yang Shoufu is an honest man, he won't do anything, but he is from Ji'an. As long as he is still in the cabinet, the Jiangnan Qingliu will regard him as the leader, and they have Yang Ji as a handle in their hands, so Yang Shoufu has no choice."

Good night

(End of this chapter)