Wanli Ming Emperor

Chapter 239 Heaven brings joy to people, go to the Autumn Society

It can be read as regional discrimination and written as local protectionism, but the former sounds a little more euphemistic.

Of course, even though the emperor was so careful with his wording, the faces of the ministers in the hall still turned pale and red.

Who is this trying to hit?
Are they Xu Guo, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Yin Zhengmao, the Minister of War, who were both from She County, Huizhou Prefecture?

Or are they the two southerners who are the leaders of the court, Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue?

Or is it trying to bring out something?
These two things are not small if you say them, but they are really big if you say them.

The internal strife in Huizhou Prefecture began during the Jiajing period, from commercial taxes to silk taxes, and now to land disputes. The new and old grudges are almost like a war between two countries.

The North-South dispute is a historical legacy since the founding of the People's Republic of China. From the North-South List Case, to the Sino-French dispute, and even the two capitals of the north and the south, they are all external manifestations of this issue.

Is regional discrimination unacceptable?
Why don't you ask Chen Wude why the position of Chief Censor of the Censorate is vacant now, and why he, the Deputy Chief Censor, is not even qualified to take over?

Because he, like the Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng, is from the south!
There is an unwritten consensus in the imperial court that the two persons in charge of the Cabinet and the Censorate must be from the thirteen provinces and cannot be from the south or the north at the same time.

This was the case in the imperial court, let alone among the common people - even the emperor himself had to consider the place of origin when choosing his concubines.

The court officials who left room for maneuver were still in deep thought.

Xu Guo, who was hit first, reacted quickly.

"Your Majesty, I am from Huizhou Prefecture, how can I avoid it?"

Almost as soon as the emperor finished speaking, Xu Guo picked up the words "Huizhou Prefecture" and pasted them directly on his forehead.

Yin Zhengmao followed closely with a slow half beat: "I am also a native of Huizhou Prefecture, so I should avoid it."

Not only were they from Huizhou Prefecture, they were also from the same county.

But it is obviously not so easy to escape at this time.

Zhu Yijun was displeased: "If that's the case, then I just mentioned the dispute between the North and the South. Doesn't that mean that all the civil and military officials in the court, including me, should avoid it?"

"It's not a criminal case, why are you avoiding it?"

After criticizing him, Zhu Yijun consoled him by saying, "I need you two ministers who are familiar with the people of Huizhou Prefecture to answer my questions and resolve my doubts."

Xu Guo, who had been somewhat complacent just now, felt like he was walking on thin ice again after just a few words.

He hesitated: "Your Majesty, I have been away from home for many years, I don't know the details..."

Zhu Yijun just looked at Xu Guo quietly with a smile on his face, which made Xu Guo's scalp tingle and he stopped talking.

Fortunately, the emperor did not make things difficult for Minister Xu.

Zhu Yijun looked at Yu Maoxue, the Left Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, who had remained silent during the shift, and asked curiously, "Yu Qing, you are from Wuyuan County, Huizhou Prefecture, why are you silent?"

The internal strife in Huizhou Prefecture began during the Jiajing period, was brought to the surface in the third year of the Longqing period, and lasted until the eighth year of the Wanli period. Why was there no result after so many years?

It is because there are so many high-ranking officials from Huizhou Prefecture that more than forty of them can be included in the biographies of famous officials.

Although She County had Xu Guo, Yin Zhengmao, and Wang Daokun, the other five counties also had plenty of people. People like Hu Zongxian, Zhu Xi's disciples, this censor, that attendant, and even Cheng Dawei from the Qiushi Academy, all asked Xu Jie to help submit their petitions.

Yu Maoxue, the Left Censor of the Household Department, was one of them.

He was obviously prepared. When the emperor asked, he immediately stood up with his head held high and his chest puffed out: "Your Majesty, I have been holding back a lot of anger about this matter, and I want to express it, and I don't want to avoid it!"

After saying that, he did not forget to glare down at Xu Guo.

Yu Zuo Jieshi Zhong's attitude is really eye-catching.

Have a look.

If everyone had this attitude, it would be reasonable for the six counties of Huizhou Prefecture to almost raise an army for a decisive battle.

Zhu Yijun couldn't help but shook his head: "If that's the case, please tell us what happened."

Even though you have read the report, you still have to listen to the perspective of the person involved.

Xu Guo and Yin Zhengmao looked at each other.

Others may not understand the hidden truth of the infighting in Huizhou Prefecture, but they know it very clearly.

To be precise, it was not an internal fight within Huizhou Prefecture, but She County of Huizhou Prefecture, which was fighting alone against the other five counties of Huizhou Prefecture - don't ask why it could fight one against five without losing the upper hand, the two outstanding people from She County are the second answer.

Seeing Xu Guo's evasive gaze, Yin Zhengmao sighed and slowly stepped out of the line: "Your Majesty, the current situation in Huizhou Prefecture is caused by very complicated reasons."

This is not a grudge caused by just one or two things.

To be honest, Yin Zhengmao was instilled with hatred for Lin County by his family when he was a child.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh and make a long story short: "This matter started in the early years of Jiajing. There were signs when he compiled the prefectural annals."

"At that time, the editor said that although the merchants in Huizhou Prefecture had surplus wealth, most of them did not own land. Farmland was owned by farmers. Taxes and labor service were heavy. Merchants with tax grain could still support it, but farmers were suffering..."

The taxes in Huizhou Prefecture were much heavier than those in other prefectures.

What is the reason?

Because there were too many wealthy merchants in Huizhou, they appeared to be very wealthy and tempted the court to collect taxes. However, the merchants did not own land, so the burden naturally fell on the farmers.

So which two counties have the most businessmen?

Of course it is Xiuning County and She County!
This was not only the idea of ​​the compilers of the prefectural annals, but also the consensus of Huizhou Prefecture for a long time - inheriting the commercial tradition of the Song and Yuan dynasties, the people of the two counties never stopped going out to do business, which was also the basis for the prosperity of Huizhou merchants.

Thoughts often breed behavior.

"…So, in the 17th year of Jiajing, Fu Can, the magistrate of Xiuning County, wrote a letter to the governor and chief censor Ouyang Duo."

"There are many rich people in the two counties, but they don't own land. It would be better to increase the corvée and taxes and raise the capitation tax in Xiuning and Shexian counties by 60%!"

Yin Zhengmao's face flushed slightly, and it was obvious that he felt a little angry when the matter was mentioned.

You are the magistrate of Xiuning County, so you just need to take care of your own affairs. Why do you want to involve She County?
The people of She County could not help but be angry at the magistrate of Xiuning County as they were charged a poll tax for no reason. Even though Fu Can was commended by the court and praised by his colleagues, he was still regarded as a woman who gave birth to a child without an anus in the streets.

The other four counties that had harmed their neighbors also began to hate the city.

"Afterwards, the people of the two counties, led by Wang Daohong, knelt down and made a memorial..."

At this point, Yin Zhengmao suddenly knelt down and could not stand up. He choked with sobs and recited aloud: "The six counties are one county, and the people of the six counties are one people. Because the people of the two counties are merchants, they are burdened with heavy burdens. But are all the people of the two counties merchants..."

This look made the court officials frown in confusion.

Only Xu Guo standing aside was moved. This was a famous article that the scholars in She County had memorized since childhood! There was no school that didn't teach this article!

Yang Ziyun said that it is not right for a father to judge his son. Confucius said, "It is not the lack of wealth that is worrying, but the inequality of wealth." Isn't that the case?

How dare I ask where the resentment in She County comes from?

After Yin Zhengmao finished reciting, he rolled up his robe, wiped his face roughly, and raised his head suddenly: "Your Majesty, the six counties are one county, and the people of the six counties are one people. This statement has been denied by all the counties in Huizhou Prefecture!"

"The people of She County dare not disobey!"

When I shouted that we were a family, no one wanted to listen. If that was the case, we wouldn't be a family anymore.

Looking at Yin Zhengmao's indignant expression, Zhu Yijun tapped the table with his fingers, speechless for a moment.

Of course, he could see at a glance that there were many unreasonable aspects in Xiuning County Magistrate Fu Can's proposal.

Are all the people in She County merchants? Are there no merchants in the other four counties? Why should the peasants increase their taxes just because the merchants are rich?

If Fu Can had any kindness, he would at least design a plan for how to levy taxes on wealthy businessmen instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach like this.

This is purely for the purpose of making money!
Don’t ask what Sejong was doing at the time. He was so happy about making money that he simply “reported it but didn’t report it.”

"Whether to increase taxes or not is ultimately the wise decision of the Emperor. It would be a bit shameless to blame the people of other counties, isn't it?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

Yu Maoxue looked like a crowing rooster, with his head held high. "On the contrary, She County took revenge for personal gain and instigated lawyers to petition the government, wanting to distribute the silk tax of its own people to the five counties. This is abusing public power for personal gain and is extremely shameless!"

It was rare for the ministers to pry into other people's family affairs, so at this moment they all looked very interested.

Zhu Yijun waved his hands again and again: "Yu Qing, please explain it clearly."

Yu Maoxue did not hold a high official position, so he deliberately took a few steps forward.

He pointed at Xu Guo and Yin Zhengmao and said angrily without any courtesy: "She County has a population tax of 8780 pieces of raw silk every year, which has been paid since Emperor Gao was still the King of Wu!"

"As a result, from the Jiajing period until the fourth year of the Longqing period, every once in a while, lawyers would file petitions at the governor's office, intending to distribute the tax equally to the other five counties in Huizhou Prefecture!"

After all, it's real money.

She County was dissatisfied because it had to bear an additional share of the poll tax; the other five counties were also furious when they saw that they would also be levied a silk tax.

When it comes to the point of raising an army and fighting a decisive battle, each party's position will naturally be indestructible.

When Yin Zhengmao heard this, he became furious and subconsciously put his hands on his waist.

Xu Guo's eyelids jumped, and he quickly held down Yin Zhengmao, and responded hastily: "Nonsense! It's not the silk for the population, it's the summer tax silk! This tax should be shared by the six counties!"

"The people of your five counties have been exploiting their neighbors for their own benefit. It's not enough that you have been shirking responsibility for two hundred years. You dare to confuse right and wrong!?"

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun gave Zhu Xixiao a wink.

The latter understood what was going on, stepped forward to stop Yu Maoxue, and forced him back to his own class.

At this time, Xu Guo turned around and saluted the emperor: "Your Majesty, in the first year of Wu, Taizu collected silk taxes from six counties at the same price as wheat."

"The following year, the summer wheat harvest in the six counties was poor, and the cost was 8780 bolts of silk!"

“Is it just She County that has to bear the burden?!”

Now that Xu Guo has come forward, there is no turning back. Even if he may be suspected of being a fellow villager, he has to continue speaking.

His face was blazing with anger, and he kept talking: "Sharing, sharing, are all the people from the other five counties dead? Why should only the people of She County bear the burden?"

"Besides, this matter started in the 14th year of Jiajing, and people have filed complaints with the governor's office. How can we take revenge for what happened in the 17th year of Jiajing!"

"The governors Chen Kezhai and Song Maoxi still have files left. At that time..."

Starting from the 14th year of Jiajing, Cheng Peng and Wang Xiang, two citizens of She County, began to petition for this matter. They bypassed the local government office with related interests and submitted a petition directly to the governor's office, hoping that the six counties would share the tax.

Chen Kezhai, the governor of Yingtian at that time, and Song Maoxi, the inspector, issued instructions as usual, requiring Huizhou Prefecture to conduct a thorough investigation.

The Huizhou Prefecture was submissive and kept dragging its feet until the two governors were promoted and transferred.

She County continued to appeal, and the succeeding governors Ouyang Duo and You Jujing also issued instructions, ordering Huizhou Prefecture to summon the six counties for deliberation.

The Huizhou government was submissive and continued to delay the matter until the governor and the provincial governor both passed away, and until the petitioner died.

Of course, someone will always remember this kind of thing.

In the third year of the Longqing reign, new petitioners appeared.

It was just dragged over to Huizhou Prefecture again.

Yu Maoxue was pushed back to the last position, and he had to raise his voice a little: "You are confusing right and wrong! You are not a human being!"

"It is recorded in the prefectural annals that the imperial court discovered that She County was in arrears of summer wheat and ordered them to pay the 'summer tax raw silk' to the Nanjing Chengyun Warehouse. It is clearly recorded! What does it have to do with the other five counties?!"

"When Cheng Peng and Wang Xiang, two troublemakers from She County, complained to the governor's office, the then Huizhou prefect Feng Shiyong personally inspected the registers and found that She County alone paid this tax!"

The emotions on both sides were intense and fistfighting was almost imminent.

Boom boom boom!
There was a rhythmic knocking sound on the imperial desk.

All the ministers subconsciously stood in awe.

Yin Zhengmao, Xu Guo and Yu Maoxue all knelt down and apologized.

Zhu Yijun placed his right palm on the imperial desk, raised his index finger, and tapped it again: "I remember this matter. Huizhou Prefecture had been in turmoil over the silk tax from the Jiajing period to the Longqing period."

"In the fourth year of Longqing's reign, he even sued Hai Rui, but there was no result?"

When Hai Rui was promoted to the magistrate of Chun'an County, he was well-known for his resolute resistance to additional levies, and he canceled as many unnecessary taxes and responsibilities as possible.

If he came forward to preside over it, Huizhou Prefecture would not dare to continue to drag it out. Yu Maoxue calmed down and bowed and replied: "To answer your majesty's question, the timing was unfortunate. At that time, Hai Gangfeng wrote, 'Looking to the prefecture to investigate and report the seizure'. As a result, within half a month, he was dismissed from the post of governor."

That's really unfortunate.

Zhu Yijun was wondering when Hai Rui would arrive in the capital, so he asked casually, "What's the point of the current battle?"

The silk case has been dormant for nine years since Hai Rui was transferred from Nanjing.

Now that the incident has started again, there must be some inducement.

Yin Zhengmao bowed and said sullenly, "Your Majesty, it is because the land disputes have arisen at the borders of the counties."

The ministers suddenly understood.

In fact, it is very simple to deal with such matters if there is a fair person to preside over it.

But the current situation in Huizhou Prefecture is obviously not appropriate.

The officials of She County will inevitably side with She County, and the officials of the five counties will stand on the side of the five counties.

What's more, the land survey of Huizhou Prefecture was outsourced to the gentry because Sun Piyang was lazy in his work.

Taking Xiuning County as an example, there were 310 Tuzheng, 4 Yuzheng and 33 Duzheng, all of whom were county gentry and prominent local officials.

When encountering disputes, if these gentry were willing to mediate, they would even pay out of their own pockets - "sometimes with land, if the land was comparable to that of the other lord, then they would donate their own land to resolve the dispute; sometimes with the value of the land, then they would pay the value of the land to resolve the dispute. The amount of money they paid was thousands, but not a single one of them was paid by a senior official."

As for those who don't want to make peace, they will naturally use their family property to fight and vent their anger.

If we apply this to She County and the five counties, I'm afraid no one will submit to anyone else. The officials and gentry will pursue every grievance, and the common people will fight for every inch of land.

Villagers even resort to violence over water sources.

If we talk about fighting for land...

No wonder it was said that Huizhou Prefecture was going to start a civil war.

"It's not just the dispute over land surveying. Some villagers have been promoted and used public property for personal gain, with the intention of gaining respect for the villagers."

Yu Maoxue added something sarcastic during class, his eyes never leaving Yin Zhengmao and Xu Guo.

Upon hearing this, all the ministers frowned at the same time. "Fellow villager" is not a nice word.

Especially when the emperor threatened to raze the mountain.

I thought Yin Zhengmao and Xu Guo would get angry and argue angrily again.

After waiting for a long time, there was no movement from the two.

The two of them actually accepted this without saying a word!

Yu Maoxue continued, "At the beginning of the year, Sun Piyang issued a document to Huizhou Prefecture, forcing the six counties to discuss it together..."

It was probably that an inexplicable wind blew down from the center, and Sun Pi Yang was like a wound-up spring, and in a fierce tone he demanded that Huizhou Prefecture organize the six counties to discuss the matter together.

The Huizhou Prefecture was really submissive this time, and the matter was finally brought to the table, with the six counties discussing the matter together.

"During this joint discussion, She County took the lead in submitting a petition, saying that the Ming Dynasty Code recorded that Huizhou Prefecture had to pay 8780 pieces of 'silk and silk for the population', but never mentioned that She County should pay alone."

"The 'people's silk' was tampered with into 'summer tax raw silk', so that the tax of the five counties fell on She County."

"There are countless people from the same hometown who signed this petition."

"Minister of War Yin Zhengmao, Left Vice Minister of Criminal Affairs Xu Guo, Governor of Zhejiang Wang Daokun, Right Vice Minister of Nanjing Revenue Fang Hongjing, Right Vice Minister of Jiangxi Cao Lou, Former Right Vice Censor of the Censorate Wang Shangning, Former Left Provincial Governor of Guizhou Jiang Zhen, Former Censor of Guizhou Cheng Dabin..."

Yu Maoxue took more than ten breaths before he finished reading out the names of the officials who had signed.

Even Zhu Yijun couldn't help but glance sideways from time to time.

With this kind of situation, it’s no wonder that Sun Pi Yang, who loves to scheme, would bow down in submission!
Yu Maoxue snorted coldly: "They thought that the local officials, the central government officials, and a group of village gangs could overwhelm the people of the five counties, but they didn't know that the five counties were sincere and united! Under the power of force, a civil riot was induced!"

This statement is tantamount to putting all the blame on the senior officials of She County.

Xu Guo did not even turn his head, and said in a very blunt tone: "My hometown gave birth to me and raised me. Even if this matter is criticized by the party and the masses, I will fight for She County to make it clear!"

Yu Maoxue immediately responded.

The words come to your lips.

Boom boom boom!
The rhythmic knocking sounds on the imperial desk came again as expected.

"Okay, let me say a few words."

Even though Yu Maoxue was furious, he still didn't dare to contradict the emperor: "I wish you would die."

Yin Zhengmao and Xu Guo bowed together: "We are indecent."

Zhu Yijun shook his head.

He first set his eyes on Yin Zhengmao and Xu Guo: "Mr. Yin, Mr. Xu, don't collude with your colleagues and interfere with the laws of the country."

These words are heavy, but compared with forming a faction that would end a political career, they are easier said than done.

The two men fell to the ground and pleaded guilty.

Zhu Yijun looked at Yu Maoxue again and said, "County citizens Cheng Wenchang and Hu Wensheng, together with the county's elders and common people, have submitted a petition. The people are angry and are making a fuss. Was it Yu Qing who instigated this?"

Yu Maoxue's face changed.

After a moment of silence, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, before I intervened, tens of thousands of people had gathered in the five counties, sounded the horn to call for alliances, raised flags to form alliances, and demanded a pardon. At that time, the roads were blocked and the documents were blocked."

"I wrote a letter asking them to gather outside the government office, but I thought it is better to disperse than to block."

He obviously admitted it.

Zhu Yijun shook his head. From this, one could see how serious the situation in Huizhou Prefecture had become.

On the one hand, he linked up with more than a dozen officials in red robes to put pressure on the governor of Yingtian; on the other hand, he gathered tens of thousands of people, raised flags to form an alliance, and blocked the roads.

Simply appalling.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand: "Everyone, get up. This is not your fault."

Both sides hesitated for a moment and stood up cautiously.

Zhu Yijun looked around at his ministers and sighed, "Children and children are not getting along, it's mostly because the elders are immoral."

The ministers in the hall were stunned.

This internal struggle started during the Jiajing period. Who is the old man the emperor is referring to?

The pen in the hand of Zhongshu Sheren Yao Sanrang was immediately suspended in the air, and he didn't know how to bend the pen for a moment.

Fortunately, the emperor stopped at a certain point and did not directly call out Sejong's name.

Zhu Yijun looked compassionate and spoke earnestly: "I am called the emperor and father by the people of the world, so I am more or less the elder of the family."

"I have the audacity to mediate for the five counties. If you three feel it is fair, please come forward to persuade the villagers on my behalf. How do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng hesitated to speak.

He knew much more about this matter than the emperor imagined.

As early as the fourth year of the Longqing reign, a man named Shuai Jiamo from She County submitted a memorial for this purpose, saying that "She County has long been subject to heavy taxes, and the people are extremely distressed. Now that I have met a benevolent and wise ruler in power, I have made a statement and begged for an equal tax."

This memorial was not submitted in vain.

What does it mean to pray for equalization? The slogan of the Single Whip Law is to equalize taxes and labor service and relieve the people's hardship.

In other words, She County had long wanted to take advantage of Zhang Juzheng's new policies, and Zhang Juzheng naturally noticed this.

At that time, Zhang Juzheng was indeed tempted, but he felt that the time was not ripe, so he kept it to himself, preparing to wait until Gao Gong was removed, he was promoted to the prime minister and took charge of the new policy, and then he would bring it up to support the Single Whip System.

Of course, after the new emperor ascended the throne, there were clearer and more definite plans from performance appraisal to land survey and tax reform. The idea of ​​using Huizhou Prefecture's tax collection as a raft was shelved. In history, it was Zhang Juzheng who sent a wave of wind from the central government to Huizhou Prefecture in the third year of Wanli, which triggered a civil unrest in Huizhou Prefecture.

However, there is always a fuse for a powder keg. If Zhang Juzheng doesn't blow the whistle, there is still Qingzhang to ignite the fire, and Xu Guo and others to cheer him up.

It was also for this reason that Zhang Juzheng was very concerned about the tax dispute in Huizhou Prefecture.

It is not easy for the emperor to satisfy both parties.

In the fourth year of Longqing, She County proposed two plans. Either the six counties should share the burden according to the population in accordance with the principles of the "Da Ming Hui Dian"; or the six counties should share the burden according to the land area in accordance with the "Huizhou Fu Zhi", converting it into wheat, silver, and silk.

The five counties naturally refused to do so.

In the fourth year of Wanli, the five counties took the initiative to say that they would share the burden of silk, but She County would bear the corvée labor of the young and strong people in the five counties.

She County refused outright.

In the seventh year of the Wanli reign, Huizhou Prefecture proposed a plan, saying that She County would continue to pay silk taxes, but would be given some exemptions elsewhere.

The people of the five counties saw this and refused to do anything about it.

Can we get tax cuts by making trouble? Then we will make trouble too! Almost all six counties went to the government office to make trouble.

It was only when Sun Pi Yang stepped in that the matter was suppressed, and he said that the governor's office would reconsider the matter and make a careful decision.

The confrontation between the two sides has now ended, and I am afraid that it will not be like a conflict in the school, where each side is beaten with a stick and the students who cause trouble can reluctantly shake hands and make peace.

No matter who tries to mediate, if something goes wrong, they will immediately blame themselves.

The same goes for the emperor.

However, the little emperor's words had already fallen into the ears of the ministers in Wenhua Palace, and even the prime minister had no right to take back the emperor's promise.

After a moment's hesitation, Yin Zhengmao and Xu Guo had already taken the emperor's orders: "Your Majesty, please make the decision!"

Yu Maoxue followed closely behind: "Your Majesty, I will uphold justice for you."

Although he was very angry, fortunately he didn't go to the point of resisting the referee.

Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Let's talk about the dispute over land first. This is the fault of the governor Sun Piyang. He passed the responsibility down to all levels and shirked the responsibility, so that the six counties of Huizhou Prefecture have no law to follow. Do you agree with this?"

To implement the policy, referees must play a role.

Sun Pi Yang, on the other hand, simply outsourced the work to the local gentry to do as they pleased.

No wonder in history, a Minister of Personnel did not want to assess and recommend officials, but instead came up with the method of drawing lots for promotion - Zhu Yijun was thinking that this guy might be a smart person who was trying to protect himself when the court was in turmoil, but he didn't expect that he was so irresponsible!
After testing this guy Sun Pi Yang, the conclusion was that he was of no use.

The three of them thought for a moment and then nodded in unison.

"I have already dismissed Sun Piyang, so I won't say more."

"Mr. Yao, draft an imperial decree immediately to transfer Ye Mengxiong, the prefect of Anqing, to be the prefect of Huizhou, and personally preside over the land survey."

The emperor appointed Ye Mengxiong as the general.

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat immediately agreed.

The three enemies of Huizhou Prefecture were silent for a moment, then bowed and said, "We trust Ye Mengxiong."

Ye Mengxiong, the only one who works hard on his own despite the province's widespread outsourcing land surveying method, is recognized as being impartial.

Zhu Yijun nodded slowly and continued, "As for the dispute between the poll tax and the silk tax..."

Halfway through his words, the emperor turned and looked at Zhang Hong.

The latter understood and shouted outside: "Bring the common people, General Jiamo, to the audience!"

The ministers were confused.

Only the eunuchs at the door heard the ancestor's voice and called out the names in unison, one after another.

Amid the doubtful looks of the ministers, the delight of Xu Guo and the disgust of Yu Maoxue.

A commoner dressed in coarse linen followed the chief eunuch Wei Chao closely and walked into the Wenhua Palace.

(End of this chapter)