Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 243 Then plow the south!!!
The Li Mansion is a large and noble mansion.

There are always several guards guarding outside the palace.

Inside the mansion.

Li Shanchang's eldest son, Li Qi, looked at Li Shanchang with a puzzled look on his face and said, "Father, why did you call Xia Zhibai home? His Majesty has not made any specific decision on the salt policy yet. If your father called Xia Zhibai so suddenly and His Majesty heard about it, it might damage your image in His Majesty's heart."

"Besides, father, you are the Grand Master of the dynasty, and Xia Zhibai is just a fifth-rank official. Why do you still look up to him?"

Li Qi paced back and forth in the lobby.

He returned to Kyoto some time ago in order to find out the truth about the salt administration. In fact, he had secretly intervened in the affairs of the south this time, and even had interests involved, so he was particularly concerned about it. As a son-in-law of the current dynasty, he seemed to be in a glorious position, but in fact he was very frustrated.

The salary given by the court was not enough for daily food and clothing.

And most of the time, I had to look at Princess Lin'an's face, which was very uncomfortable.

The court didn't give him money, but he needed to spend money, so he had to find a way on his own. Last year, the steam-powered salt production industry was booming in the south, and he was secretly involved. Now he has made a profit from it, and he has received a lot of the profit. Naturally, he is not happy for the court to strengthen its supervision.

He was even more unhappy about the court's changes in the salt policy.

As a result, they have to spend extra money.

Li Shanchang frowned, took a deep look at his eldest son, and said, "Stupid!"

"What do you want me to say about you?"

"Do you think you can interfere in the affairs of the Southern Salt Administration?"

"You now have the title of a duke of the imperial concubines, and you have been trusted by His Majesty and have been commissioned many times to provide relief to various places. But you must always be clear that the reason you have been so highly appreciated by His Majesty is not because of your own talents, but because of Princess Lin'an."

"Don't you know the temper of His Majesty?"

"Hate evil as much as you hate evil."

"I hate corrupt officials to the core."

"There is no shortage of dirty tricks behind the scenes in this incident in the South."

"Once His Majesty is determined to investigate, do you really think you can escape?"

"Don't think that I don't know the situation in the south just because I'm in Kyoto. It's you, the sons of meritorious service, who valued the huge profits from selling salt and put these steam engines everywhere, which eventually led to the riots in the south. As a son-in-law, the most important thing for you is to protect your feathers."

"Why don't you understand?"

"I taught you for so many years, but what have you learned?!"

Li Shanchang was so disappointed with Li Qi that he couldn't help but point at Li Qi's nose and curse him.

Li Qi shrank his head in embarrassment, not daring to look Li Shanchang in the eye.

He was still very afraid of his father.

Li Shanchang looked at Li Qi coldly for a few times, and could only sigh and said, "Do you know what Xia Zhibai wrote in the letter to me?"

Li Qi shook his head.

Li Shanchang said in a deep voice: "He told me that the South is about to face a disaster, and His Majesty is determined to take action against the South. All the things you did behind the scenes will be exposed by the court one by one!"

Li Qi's face changed slightly, and he said in disbelief: "Father, this is impossible."

"Hasn't your majesty decided yet?"

"Besides, it was my father who submitted the petition this time, along with many old ministers. Even if Your Majesty is angry, he will still be cautious. How could he listen to Xia Zhibai's one-sided words? Moreover, the salt administration involves a wide range of issues, so how could Your Majesty not know? Why is the change so urgent?"

Li Qi looked unconvinced.

He knew how important his father was in His Majesty's heart.

What's more, this time it was not only his father who submitted a memorial, but also Fu Youde, Wang Bi, and even he, the son-in-law, had submitted a memorial. The number of people who submitted memorials alone far exceeded that of Xia Zhibai's side. How could His Majesty not weigh it?
Li Shanchang snorted coldly and said, "I didn't believe it at first either."

"But Xia Zhibai was right about one thing."

"Your Majesty is just suspicious."

"Your Majesty is obviously dissatisfied with the South. Otherwise, with your resolute style of doing things, why would you not make a decision for so long? The reason why you haven't made up your mind is not that you haven't made up your mind, but that you are considering how to suppress us old ministers."

"Your father is indeed the Grand Master of the dynasty."

"But he's just a Grand Master."

"In your majesty's eyes, it's nothing."

"Looking back and thinking about it, I regretted submitting the petition."

"The South had just calmed down. At that time, the South spent money to avoid disaster and handed over nearly 20 million shi of grain. It showed its attitude and loyalty to the court and showed enough sincerity to Your Majesty. But now? The South is in turmoil again."

"What do you think His Majesty will think?"

"Your Majesty, do you think that the South is just pretending to be obedient?!"

Li Qi's expression changed slightly.

He looked uneasy and said, "That shouldn't be the case. The Guo Huan case is the Guo Huan case, and this time it's the salt administration. How can the two be confused? And Xia Zhibai is only a fifth-rank official. Can he really convince His Majesty? Can he really make His Majesty believe it?"

Li Shanchang sneered and didn't want to say more.

He said in a cold voice: "Go back to the South as soon as possible and deal with all the things you did in the South."

"If I'm not mistaken, His Majesty has already made the decision. The reason why he hasn't come down yet is to give some people a chance to survive. If you don't hurry up, you, the prince consort, will probably become a dead prince consort."

"be quick."

"Do not challenge His Majesty's patience."

"Once your majesty raises the butcher knife, he will not recognize any relatives." "Everyone will be killed!"

Li Qi's face changed completely.

He looked at his father in horror with a struggle in his eyes. He was unwilling to give up the benefits he had just gained from the salt policy. However, his father was the emperor's think tank in the past and knew the emperor very well. Now even his father was uneasy, so how could he hesitate any longer?
Li Qi's expression changed again and again, but he finally decided to listen to his father.

Li Qi said, "I understand, kid."

"I will rush back and take care of the affairs in the south."

Li Shanchang said coldly: "You'd better really do this. Don't use your status as a royal consort as a talisman. There are no talismans in the Ming Dynasty."

Li Shanchang gave a reminder.

At this time.

A clerk came outside the house to deliver a message that Xia Zhibai had arrived.

Li Shanchang and his son looked at each other and said in a deep voice, "Please invite Xia Zhibai in."

Then Li Shanchang glanced at Li Qi and said, "You go down first."

Li Qi hesitated to speak, sighed, and left in disappointment.

Not long after.

Xia Zhibai entered Li's house.

As soon as he entered Li Shanchang's mansion, Xia Zhibai's eyes lit up.

Too generous.

As the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty, Li Shanchang's mansion was richly decorated and even had many magnificent buildings. Many of the decorations were as large as the imperial palace. The houses, platforms, and towers were still in the bracket-arch style, but different from the classical architecture of ordinary mansions, the style here was more majestic and simple.

The roof lines are mostly straight, with few carvings, and the colors are mostly brown and red. The overall style looks simple and domineering.

And the posture reveals elegance.

It can be said to be a combination of hardness and softness.

Xia Zhibai followed the clerk through two doors and entered a spacious living room.

Li Shanchang was wearing casual clothes and standing with his back to Xia Zhibai, giving people a sense of a towering figure.

Xia Zhibai bowed and said, "Xia Zhibai greets the Grand Master."

Li Shanchang did not turn around, still with his back to Xia Zhibai, and said indifferently: "You and I have different political views. His Majesty has not made a final decision yet. If His Majesty knows that you rashly wrote a letter to me, you know the consequences!"

"And you advised me to give up."

"You are so brave!"

Li Shanchang turned around suddenly, and a sharp aura came towards him.

Xia Zhibai stood tall, his face unchanged, he said sternly: "I have always been very courageous, and the Grand Master has known this for a long time. The reason why I wrote to the Grand Master is to make him take a step back. As the saying goes, when two tigers fight, one will be injured."

"The Grand Master is a loyal minister to Your Majesty, and his reputation is well-known throughout the country. I also admire him."

"It's just that since it concerns the stability of the South, I have no choice but to resort to this measure."

"Two tigers fighting each other." Li Shanchang sneered, his eyes full of disdain, and said: "You are just a fifth-rank official, how can you be on the same level with me? Since you know that I am your majesty's loyal minister, how dare you easily conclude that your majesty has made a choice and is on your side!"

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "Why would you scare me, Grand Master?"

"Since I came here alone, I came with sincerity."

Li Shanchang remained indifferent.

a long time.

Li Shanchang looked at Xia Zhibai and said, "Are you really that confident?"

Xia Zhibai nodded and said, "I am working for the people of the world, why can't I be confident? If even I am not confident, then what I do is really impossible. Grand Master, there is no need to test me like this. What I want to express has already been explained in the letter."

"I came here this time to ask the Grand Master for help."

"Let the South stop as soon as possible."

"Why should I help you?" Li Shanchang did not deny it, and sneered: "What good will it do me to help you? And do you really think that you can stir up the South by yourself? The South is not as simple as you think. It is so complicated in secret that even I don't want to get involved."

Xia Zhibai said: "The south is indeed not easy to control."

"Since the Song Dynasty, the economy of the South has been developing for a long time. There are many scholars and officials in the South. The gentry are rich and the area is not small. They can live well on their own. Therefore, it has always been difficult for people from other places to intervene. In recent years, they have been even more stubborn. But the Grand Tutor has forgotten one thing."

"The court has a knife in its hand!"

"Now that the South has shown signs of 'disobedience', with your Majesty's tyrannical character, how can you continue to tolerate this hidden danger? Through the Guo Huan case, the court has collected more than 20 million dan of grain. In the short term, the court will not be affected financially."

"When."

"What's wrong with plowing the South?"

"Your Majesty, have you ever been afraid of killing people?"

"As for the scholars and officials, there are always some who are afraid of death."

"If the South continues to riot, just as I wrote in my letter, the imperial court has temporarily suspended the Northern Expedition, and the North has deployed a million troops. I want to see if the South really dares to riot? Do they really dare to be forced to rebel by some people? If they dare to rebel, then the heads of the South will roll!"

"Kill all the millions of soldiers in Jiangnan, the sword on your waist is still bloody!"

"Master, can you calm down now?"

(End of this chapter)