Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 265 Xia Zhibai, are you kidding us?!

This stagnant atmosphere only lasted for a short while.

Wang Xuanfan said, "Since you have asked, we should answer truthfully."

"The orders have been passed down."

"For this reason, we have followed the court's request and continued to provide food to the cooks to maintain their daily lives. Now the situation in the area has calmed down to a certain extent. However, after this incident, the original Kaizhong method is obviously no longer applicable."

"The imperial court is unwilling to bear so much money and grain."

Xia Zhibai shook his head. He looked at Wang Xuanfan and said in a deep voice, "I am asking about the completion, not to listen to your empty words. I am here mainly to attend two conferences, one is the official and business conference, and the other is the workers conference. I wonder if the salt merchants from all over the country have been notified, the list of local salt factories has been submitted, and whether the candidates for the conference have been selected. When will it be held, and which officials will attend the conference?"

“That’s the information I want.”

Wang Xuanfan raised his face slightly. He glanced at Zhou Ziliang, who had already looked away, and seemed unwilling to say anything more. Seeing this, Wang Xuanfan smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Excellency, this is indeed a bit embarrassing for us."

"We are the Zhejiang Provincial Secretary."

"How can I manage other chief secretaries?"

"If we manage it, that would be a big problem."

"The only thing I can tell the Imperial Envoy is that I, the Zhejiang Provincial Government, have completely followed the court's wishes and have passed on the decree. I have also been exerting pressure, but I am a very busy Zhejiang Provincial Government official and cannot possibly be all-inclusive or always pay attention."

"Your Excellency should also know this."

"The autumn harvest has just ended, and we will soon be entering military service."

“The south has a lot of water, lakes and rivers, and the waterways need to be dredged in a timely manner. So what has been accomplished specifically?”

"I really can't answer it at the moment."

"But I can recommend an official, Li Benmo from the Salt Transport Department. He is the Zhejiang Salt Transport Commissioner. After receiving the imperial order, the Zhejiang Provincial Administration Department immediately conveyed the imperial order. However, the salt administration is not a local Zhejiang political affair, so it is difficult for us to interfere too much."

"Please forgive me, Envoy."

Wang Xuanfan spoke calmly and turned his attention to Li Benmo.

When Li Benmo heard what Wang Xuanfan said, his face turned dark. He knew that these people came to him for no good reason.

This time he put all the blame on himself.

All the formalities before, showing loyalty to the court, demonstrating determination and attitude, were all for this moment, to put the blame on himself.

Li Benmo still sits firmly.

Seeing that Li Benmo did not stand up, Wang Xuanfan showed a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes and took the initiative to remind him: "Li Yanyunshi, didn't you hear the question from the imperial envoy just now? The envoy wants to know how you are doing on this matter? Why don't you report to the imperial envoy as soon as possible?"

Hearing Wang Xuanfan taking the initiative to lead him towards him, Li Benmo couldn't sit still even if he wanted to.

He stood up, his face stiff and filled with displeasure.

He bowed slightly to Xia Zhibai and said, "How dare I neglect the orders from the court?"

"It's just that the Imperial Commissioner may not know that in the past, our Salt Transport Bureau was indeed responsible for the production and sales of salt. However, with the advent of steam-powered salt, our main responsibility has now become collecting taxes. Production and sales are not controlled by us at all. But you can rest assured, sir."

"Although the Salt Transport Bureau has been busy settling the cooks recently, it has not forgotten to pass on the order."

"The specific list of salt companies is being compiled."

"I think it will take only a few days for me to give you an answer."

"But if you ask how many people will participate, I can't give you an answer. It's not within my authority, and I dare not overstep my authority. At the same time, I have legs on the merchants, and if they insist, I can't do anything about it."

"But you may rest assured, my Lord."

"I have already sent all the officials of the Salt Transport Bureau out."

"I will definitely pass the message door to door and deliver the imperial edict."

Li Benmo was still saying some unclear words.

Xia Zhibai nodded.

He looked at Xie Min and the others standing by and suddenly said, "Yushi Xie, did you write down what these two officials said truthfully?"

Xie Min's eyes flashed with cunning, and with a bit of confusion, he said: "I have written them all down."

Hear the words.

Not only Wang Xuanfan and Li Benmo, but even Zhou Ziliang and Tang He were stunned.

For a moment, I was a little confused about what kind of medicine Xia Zhibai sold in his gourd.

Wang Xuanfan was surprised and asked, "May I ask, Your Excellency, why did you write down these words?"

Xia Zhibai covered his right hand with his left hand, clasped his fists slightly in the direction of Yingtian Prefecture, and said, "I will report this to His Majesty."

"Report." After hearing Xia Zhibai's words, Zhou Ziliang, who had been calm, froze in his place. A hint of panic appeared in his eyes for the first time in a long time. He laughed dryly and said, "My Lord, why are you doing this? How can such a small matter be worth reporting to His Majesty?"

Xia Zhibai shook his head with determination.

He retorted: "It is wrong to say that you are a politician."

"I am travelling on behalf of Your Majesty, following Your Majesty's orders. How dare I act arbitrarily?"

"I will report everything to His Majesty."

"From now on, every time you officials report something to me, it will be recorded truthfully in this record."

"I originally wanted to tell you tomorrow, but since you are so interested, I will take advantage of this banquet to tell you in advance. From now on, you will not be answering to me, but to His Majesty, so please be careful with your words and actions."

"I am just a messenger."

Hearing Xia Zhibai's words, the faces of all the officials in the field changed.

Wang Xuanfan said uneasily, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Xia Zhibai said in astonishment, "Why is it inappropriate? I am an imperial envoy sent by the court, representing the will of the court, but you all know that I am only a fifth-rank official, how can I be the master of the salt administration? The only one who can make the decision in the world is His Majesty the current emperor."

"Report everything that happened in Zhejiang in detail and truthfully."

"This is the main thing I am doing in Zhejiang this time."

"Besides."

"This is a good opportunity to get the attention of the gods."

"How many officials in the world would want such a good opportunity?"

"I am doing this for your consideration."

"Only by bringing you closer to His Majesty can you better understand His Majesty's thoughts and make the most appropriate and perfect solution to this matter. This move will benefit the country and the people, as well as you."

“This is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.”

"Don't worry, everyone."

"I didn't come here to trouble you this time."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have told you what I was going to do in advance. If I really wanted to target you, wouldn't it be more convenient for me to come here quietly, or make some moves in secret, or report something in secret and impeach you?"

"But we did bring a supervisor with us this time."

"The purpose is to monitor the contents of the record to see if there is any fabrication or exaggeration, or deliberate targeting or framing. The purpose is to ensure that the contents of the record are true and come from your mouths."

"You can rest assured."

"Why are you all so panicked?"

"You all know that I, Xia Zhibai, am only a fifth-rank official. How could I allow Duke Xin and the Imperial Guard to come with me? I am here on behalf of Your Majesty. Isn't this obvious to anyone with a discerning eye? Why are you all still so surprised?"

"I'm a little confused."

Xia Zhibai looked at the officials with a harmless expression.

But Zhou Ziliang and others' faces had turned completely black.

How could they not know.

They were all tricked by Xia Zhibai.

Their calculations had long been seen through by Xia Zhibai, but Xia Zhibai had been playing along with them and had made targeted precautions early on. He had been playing with them from the beginning to the end, just like playing with monkeys, watching them perform on the side.

Hearing Xia Zhibai's words, Tang He was also stunned.

He was sure.

Zhu Yuanzhang never said these words in private.

It's absolutely impossible to say.

All of this was made up by Xia Zhibai, but it was well-made and made sense. Even if he didn't know Zhu Yuanzhang's situation, he would probably believe it. Even if he knew it was fake, he would have to be cautious.

Because Xia Zhibai really does what he says.

He did this more than once.

All of them were tricked by Xia Zhibai.

After Xia Zhibai's commotion, Zhou Ziliang and his people's wishful thinking was completely shattered, and their subsequent calculations could not be implemented. They dared to fool Xia Zhibai and dared not to take Xia Zhibai seriously, but they would never dare to fool the current emperor.

What a heroic person is your Majesty today?
How could I not see the little thoughts of these people?

Perhaps even if other officials noticed it, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

But Zhu Yuanzhang was not.

If he was really angry, he would not care about so many things and would just give the order to kill.

What's more, the Jinyiwei have already been sent.

Killing someone is just a matter of a word, no need to waste time.

Hua Lun and others were also stunned.

In fact, they had no idea what Xia Zhibai was going to do before.

When they entered the restaurant, Xia Zhibai told them to remember some things. They didn't take it seriously at first, but now when they heard what Xia Zhibai had done, they felt frightened and their scalps went cold.

They finally understood why Xia Zhibai brought Jie Min and Ding Zhifang along.

These two people, one is the Censor and the other is the Inspector.

All alive.

But all of them were fooled by Xia Zhibai.

Seeing that the officials remained silent, Xia Zhibai frowned and continued, "Since you are unwilling to speak, I will continue. The matter of salt administration should be dealt with as soon as possible, so we should make a quick decision. I have already notified them in advance. Even if there are some gaps in the communication between different places, it has been nearly a month, and it should have arrived by now."

"after all."

"I'm already here!"

"So I'd like to ask Minister Zhou to pass on a message for me."

"Three days later, a meeting of officials and merchants will be held. Those who fail to show up will be disqualified from producing salt."

"All their salt factory facilities will be confiscated!"

"I gave them a chance!"

(End of this chapter)