Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 158 Zhu Di: Is this still my problem?! (Second update)

Prince Yan's Mansion.

Zhu Di put down his goose-wing knife, sweating all over.

He picked up the hot towel handed to him by the servant and wiped the sweat off his body. Zhu Di wiped very hard, almost rubbing his body red, then threw the hot towel on the shelf beside him. Finally, he sat down on the chair and drank the already warm tea.

"Go ahead."

"What have you found out?"

Zhu Di asked while drinking tea.

Yao Guangxiao smiled and nodded, continuing to play with the Buddhist beads in his right hand, and said with a smile: "Yesterday Xia Zhibai went to find the fifteen salt merchants in Beiping. He asked these salt merchants to give up the salt market voluntarily, and also gave these salt merchants two choices."

"Either you sell all the salt you earn from the salt permit or find another way to make a living."

"Or just follow him."

"Salt merchant?" Zhu Di looked up at Yao Guangxiao without much interest.

He had no good feelings towards businessmen, and had no intention of asking about the affairs between Xia Zhibai and the salt merchants. He had long heard the news that Xia Zhibai had taken over the entire northern salt market. It was normal for Xia Zhibai to settle for the next best thing and show off his power to the salt merchants since he had not made any progress in the iron mine.

"Get to the point." Zhu Di put down the tea bowl, a little impatient.

Yao Guangxiao turned the Buddhist beads in his hand faster.

He smiled and said, "These salt merchants are related to the generals in your Highness's hands."

"What?" Zhu Di raised his head suddenly, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, and then a hint of anger appeared, and he said: "You mean that some of my generals have colluded with the salt merchants?"

Yao Guangxiao nodded.

"Who?!" Zhu Di's eyes turned cold.

Yao Guangxiao shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter who it is. What matters is that Xia Zhibai knows."

"We all underestimated Xia Zhibai."

"If you really count this time, he really only brought one follower."

"He has never been to Peking before, doesn't know the situation there, and doesn't know anyone in Peking. Logically, he shouldn't have known about what's going on there so quickly. Maybe Xia Zhibai did this on purpose, to let us down and let our guard down. We were all careless."

"Xia Zhibai didn't bring any extra people."

"But the young man next to him became friends with the beggars in the city in just a few days."

"Right now." Yao Guangxiao paused, and said solemnly, "Many beggars in the city have become Xia Zhibai's spies. With the help of these spies throughout Peking, Xia Zhibai has obtained a lot of information in just a few days, including the collusion between military officers and salt merchants."

Speaking of which.

Yao Guangxiao also sighed secretly.

Xia Zhibai is too cunning and knows how to take advantage of loopholes.

In the past few days, he pretended that no one was on his side and could not do anything, but in just a few days, he caused a big incident.

This method of winning people over is so scary.

It’s also disturbing.

Zhu Di sat up from his chair.

He hadn't realized the problem at first, but after hearing what Yao Guangxiao said, he suddenly woke up.

Doesn’t Xia Zhibai have any extra manpower?

How do you check these messages?

beggar!

Zhu Di's face was gloomy, and he asked coldly: "Xia Zhibai bribed all the beggars in the city?"

Yao Guangxiao shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I don't know. In Beiping, because of the war, there are refugees from further north, as well as some displaced civilians. These people have formed a beggar army in the city, numbering nearly a thousand. With such a large number, I don't know who is listening to Xia Zhibai's orders."

"But many of them did become Xia Zhibai's eyes and ears for monitoring the entire city."

"If I hadn't discovered some clues during my private investigation, I would have been kept in the dark and would still think that Xia Zhibai was doing nothing and could only wait for the court to send someone over. If I continued to be so careless, I'm afraid that everyone in Peking would have seen through Xia Zhibai."

"You are in danger too, my Lord."

Zhu Di's eyes flashed with murderous intent, but he quickly hid it and asked impatiently, "What information did Xia Zhibai get from these beggars?"

"I don't know." Yao Guangxiao shook his head again.

Zhu Di was a little annoyed.

He glared at Yao Guangxiao in dissatisfaction and said angrily, "You don't know?! Then tell me, what do you know?"

"Xia Zhibai has done so many things under my nose, and you just told me that you just noticed it? You only know that Xia Zhibai is not honest at all?"

Yao Guangxiao smiled bitterly.

He really didn't know.

Before this, who could have guessed that Xia Zhibai was so good at scheming and doing such things secretly?
Yao Guangxiao was no longer interested in playing with his Buddhist beads. He put his hands together, said "Amitabha", and then continued: "Your Highness, Xia Zhibai's matter is too secretive, and it is difficult for the outside world to detect it. Even if I tell Your Highness, Your Highness may not care at first. The refugees and beggars in Beiping come and go, die and are reborn. There has never been a shortage of them. It is impossible to prevent them at all."

"Based on the current news."

"Xia Zhibai found these salt merchants and forced them to withdraw from the salt market through the information he collected."

"At the same time, have them convey a message to warn the military attachés involved."

“Let them give up the land they have occupied.”

“It’s a tough attitude.”

"Your Highness, have you noticed something wrong?"

Yao Guangxiao raised his head and looked at Zhu Di.

Zhu Di was stunned. He looked at Yao Guangxiao suspiciously, not understanding what he meant.

"Something's wrong?"

"What's wrong?"

"Isn't it normal for salt merchants not to want to give up the salt market and seek protection from some officials?"

"It's just that which military officers in the army are involved."

"Have you checked it out?"

Zhu Di asked.

Yao Guangxiao shook his head and said seriously, "Your Highness has been tricked this time. Xia Zhibai has tricked you from beginning to end. Everything that has happened in the city was, to some extent, caused by Your Highness. Xia Zhibai just did some induction."

Zhu Di's pupils dilated slightly, and he was a little confused.

He raised his hand and said, "Wait."

"What did you say?"

"Is this my fault?"

"Monk, are you really not talking nonsense? When did I do these things? I have never cared about these things during this period of time."

Zhu Di looked surprised.

He was also confused by what Yao Guangxiao said.

Ever since the incident at the Peking Provincial Government, he had been trembling with fear, fearing that he had done something wrong again and caused His Majesty's displeasure, and had been careful with his words and actions. It was only when Xia Zhibai came that he felt really unhappy and gave Xia Zhibai a few cold looks, but he did not go too far.

How did this suddenly become his problem?
What’s the point!
Yao Guangxiao smiled, a hint of helplessness flashed across his eyes, and said: "Your Highness did not hear wrongly, the root cause of this incident lies with Your Highness."

"Because His Highness listened to Xia Zhibai's words and started investigating corruption in the army, the generals in the army would definitely panic and try to cover it up or solve it, which gave Xia Zhibai an opportunity to take advantage of it."

"He just caught the military officers and did the simple thing without going through too many circles. He directly discovered the collusion between the military officers and the merchants."

"Then, by threatening the merchants and making them panic, they went to the military officer again."

"Doesn't this back and forth prove that there is collusion between officials and businessmen?"

"Xia Zhibai relied on the pressure from His Highness and his own initiative to force these military officers to make mistakes in a hurry, exposing more and more problems. In just seven or eight days, I'm afraid Xia Zhibai has already obtained a lot of evidence of corruption by the generals under His Highness."

"If Your Highness had not been persuaded, you would not have thought of investigating corruption in the military."

“Peking is still a stagnant pool.”

"But His Highness moved."

"After Your Highness had made up your mind, it meant that Your Highness fell into a trap, and was then used step by step by Xia Zhibai, which led to the current situation."

Zhu Di's face darkened.

He already understood.

In the final analysis, he was persuaded by Xia Zhibai and actually started investigating corruption in the military.

This gave Xia Zhibai an opportunity to take advantage of. Xia Zhibai was cunning by nature, and he took advantage of the panic on all sides to widen the loopholes, eventually creating a completely selfless situation.

He was tricked by Xia Zhibai.

"These scholars are indeed treacherous and cunning." Zhu Di slammed the table in anger.

Then, he looked at Yao Guangxiao and said puzzledly: "But corruption does exist in the army."

"This can't be fake, right?"

Yao Guangxiao smiled bitterly and said, "It was because it was true that Your Highness was fooled and Xia Zhibai's evil plan succeeded. This is where Xia Zhibai is so smart. Nine of his words were true and one was false, and they were extremely inflammatory. If you are not careful, you will be bewitched and fall into the trap step by step."

"The key is that His Highness cannot be blamed."

"Because he was right."

“Corruption in the military is indeed very serious.”

"It's even more serious than Your Highness imagined."

"Based on what we have found so far, most military officers in the army have been involved in corruption, embezzlement and oppression."

"Military officers oppressed ordinary military households, those with more males oppressed those with fewer males, and those with fewer males oppressed orphans and widows. As for those who spoke out for justice, they were targeted and directly expelled from the army. Many people even went so far as to cooperate with merchants and landlords to sell those who intended to file a complaint into slavery, or simply broke their legs."

"There are countless examples like this in the military."

“It’s really shocking.”

"Collusion between officials and businessmen is, to some extent, a good thing."

"Because they only seek money and not life."

"Even Zhang Yu, who is relatively clean, bullies people on a regular basis. People like Qiu Fu and Li Bin, who have risen from the bottom, are even more unscrupulous when they become greedy. All of this stems from your highness' trust and closeness."

"To a certain extent, Xia Zhibai is right."

"There is something wrong with your Highness's military management."

“It’s still a big problem.”

"It is true that they can fight, are able to fight, and dare to fight to the death, but it is also true that military discipline is lax."

"Especially since Your Highness is too powerful in Beiping, even the soldiers under his command are a bit arrogant and domineering. Under such circumstances, how can there not be problems with military discipline?"

"Your Highness was open-minded in the past and never paid attention to these things."

"In the mind of His Highness, as long as a general can fight and win, he is a good general. As for the general's greed, he doesn't take it seriously. But now this window paper has been broken by Xia Zhibai."

"Your Highness should consider how to properly handle this matter."

(End of this chapter)