I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 280: Somewhat Disappointed Gao Gong

In the duty room of the Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue, Gao Gong couldn't wait to ask: "You said Zhang Shuda impeached the Liao King who was enfeoffed in Jiangling?"

"Yes, Lord Xinzheng." Zhang Siwei was breathing slightly. He had run all the way from the sedan chair outside and had not yet fully recovered.

"Uncle Zhang impeached the King of Liao, listing ten crimes including debauchery, tyranny and murder, extravagance, breaking the law, and not mourning during the national mourning period, which is disrespectful. The one that received the most attention was plundering and occupying the fields and houses of the people in Jiangling and other places!"

After Zhang Siwei finished speaking, Gao Gong and Ge Shouli took some time to digest it.

The Liao vassal state was an important vassal state in the Ming Dynasty.

The first Liao king, Liao Jian Wang, was the fifteenth son of Emperor Taizu and one of the nine great kings of the Hongwu period. During the Jianwen period, Emperor Jianwen was worried that the Liao king and the two uncles, the King of Yan, would collude, so he issued an edict to recall Liao Jian Wang and re-grant him to Jiangling City in Jingzhou.

After Chengzu Fengtian quelled the rebellion, he also punished King Jian of Liao several times, but still allowed a branch of the Liao vassal to continue to pass on the throne.

Zhu Xian, the contemporary Liao king, was intelligent and learned, skilled in writing, and proficient in poetry and prose. He was particularly fond of palace and business, and his self-made lyrics, erotic songs, dramas, and legends were the most unique.

When the late Emperor Jiajing was alive, he was favored and trusted by the late Emperor because he worshipped Taoism and magic. He was rewarded with many titles and gifts and was the best among the royal family for a time.

What’s even more interesting is that Zhang Juzheng came from a military household of a guard. His grandfather and father had always been students in the Liao King’s Guard. It was not until Zhang Juzheng passed the imperial examination, became a scholar-official, and entered the Hanlin Academy that his father left the military and left the Liao King’s Palace.

It is very meaningful that he came forward to impeach the King of Liao!
Ge Shouli sighed, "Snatching and occupying farmland? Zhang Shuda's impeachment memorial kills two birds with one stone!"

Gao Gong frowned, his face darkened, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Zhang Siwei's eyes swept across his face several times, but he continued to speak.

"What Lord Chuan said is absolutely right. But was this memorial written by him his own will, or was it written at the behest of someone else?"

"Uncle Zhang is not a person without his own opinions. This should be his own intention."

Ge Shouli answered uncertainly, then he and Zhang Siwei turned to look at Gao Gong.

Gao Gong's head was also buzzing.

He originally still had some expectations.

The incident in which Cai Guoxi knelt down in front of Xu's house had far-reaching consequences.

It is very difficult to handle. If it is handled too harshly, it will force Xu Jie to resign and disrupt the current balance of the court.

If it is not dealt with, it will set a bad precedent and the new policy reform of land surveying will be greatly affected.

The Xu family has occupied hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, a huge amount. You don’t take action against such a typical case, but only target people like us and bully the honest people, right?
On one side, there was the balance of political affairs, and on the other side, there were new policy plans. Gao Gong and all the officials in the court were waiting to see how His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would handle the situation.

Unexpectedly, the Prince and Hai Rui worked together so well despite being thousands of miles apart.

Xu Jie also reacted quickly. He immediately sent his second son back to Songjiang with a handwritten letter, and asked his eldest son to kneel at the gate of the Songjiang government office to apologize and give up 300,000 acres of land.

The Xu family barely managed to escape from this turmoil.

But Gao Gong knew that was not enough.

The impact of the Xu Mansion incident on the land survey has not yet been completely eliminated.

If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince holds the Xu family in high esteem and then lets them go easily, it will still make some people in the world dissatisfied, and will make the aristocratic families and wealthy people who have occupied the land feel lucky.

Gao Gong had been waiting quietly for Xiyuan's final decision on Xu Jie.

If the punishment was too light and he didn't have to show up, Zhu Heng, who was actually in charge of the land survey work in the local area, would have something to say, and the hundreds of censors and Jinshi candidates who followed him to the local area would have something to say.

If the prince really punished Xu Jie, Wang Lin and others would hear the news and impeach him to death to see if they could force him to resign.

Anyway, he won't lose anything. If he's lucky, he can force Xu Jie to leave and join the cabinet himself.

As a result, Zhang Juzheng impeached the King of Liao for occupying farmland.

Gao Gong had a deeper understanding of Zhang Juzheng and a clearer view of the current political situation.

He sighed and replied: "If it were the emperor, Zhang Shuda's memorial would have been submitted.

But now Xiyuan is in power, and Zhang Shuda must have tried to test His Highness's opinion. Maybe Zhang Shuda had already written this memorial and secretly showed it to the prince. Then His Highness asked him to wait until the right time. "Ge Shouli and Zhang Siwei both understood what Gao Gong meant.

Ge Shouli stroked his beard and said: "It seems that the prince wants to use the King of Liao as an example to show the world his determination to survey the land.

The royal family princes are more honorable than the chief ministers of the cabinet, and they have a greater deterrent effect on the local areas. "

Zhang Siwei curled his lips, "Prince of Liao? He is a royal family member. If you really count, he should be five generations away from the emperor and the prince.

For the prince, such a distant yet honorable clan member is the most suitable to be the chicken to scare the monkey! "

Gao Gong nodded: "The King of Liao is probably just an excuse. The Crown Prince will take action against the royal family."

"imperial clan?"

Ge Shouli and Zhang Siwei looked at each other and agreed with Gao Gong's speculation.

The late Emperor Jiajing formed his own lineage, and now most of the princes in various places have distant relations with his branch.

These members of the royal family are of no use at all except for giving birth to children, which wastes a lot of money and food.

Emperor Taizu originally intended to let his own family members help guard the world, but after the efforts of Emperor Chengzu and subsequent emperors, these princes were really useless except for eating, sleeping, giving birth and being greedy, and they became a huge burden.

The prince wanted to bring them out as examples and sacrifices to promote the new policy, to show his determination, and to reduce the burden on the national treasury and the internal treasury.

Zhang Siwei glanced at Gao Gong, who was unwilling to give in. "Starting with the King of Liao, if they start to attack the royal family, the whole world will be shaken. I believe the turmoil in the Xu Mansion will soon disappear."

His words sounded somewhat regretful, yet also somewhat gloating.
-
In the South China Sea, in an area west of Luzon Island and south of Hainan Island, four 3,000-ton Wusong ships were lined up in a row.

The howling southeast wind made the hard sail of the mainmast rustle, and the triangular sail on the bowsprit was blown up.

The ship left four white trails on the blue sea and sped northward as fast as a galloping horse.

The price of riding the wind and waves is that the ship constantly rushes to the top of the waves and then falls into the trough, ups and downs, and swaying unsteadily.

Chen Guichang, the third manager of Guangzhou Yongshun Heng, stood on the poop, holding onto the railing, his body swaying with the ups and downs of the ship.
"Captain Jiang, how many days will it take to reach Wanzhou Port?"

he asked loudly.

Since the Coordination Bureau extended its influence to Guangzhou, maritime trade in the South China Sea has flourished. The Navy Bureau expanded the Wanzhou Port in the southeast corner of Hainan Island and built a military and civilian port, the New Wanzhou Port. The Left Team of the Pinghai Camp was stationed here, dedicated to protecting the Ming Dynasty's merchant ships in the South China Sea.

Jiang Chuantou was in his forties, and his face, neck, palms and arms were all tanned and shiny.

"We are estimated to be one and a half days away from Wanzhou Port. The wind is strong now, so we should arrive around noon tomorrow."

"I heard that the Annan Mo family is involved with the Spanish, and the Zheng family is working with the Dutch. The situation is changing rapidly, and the South China Sea is becoming increasingly unstable."

"Yes." Captain Jiang sighed, "There have been more and more pirates in the past two years, and our ships sailing to Malacca and Siam have been robbed several times.

I can smell these bastard pirates across the sea. They are all from the Mo family and the Zheng family, pretending to be them with the support of the Spanish and the Dutch."

"I heard that the Spaniards fled to Luzon Island from the east and got involved in the South China Sea so quickly. Our South China Sea Navy is somewhat unable to control the situation.

By the way, Captain Jiang, I heard that the Xuanwu Navy has added twelve 6,000-ton sailing ships. These national treasures should be transferred to the South China Sea. It would be a waste to leave them in the North China Sea. "

Captain Jiang replied: "I have a brother who sails in the north. Last time in Quanzhou, I heard him say that the East Japanese have not been completely pacified, and it seems that something has happened in Korea.

The imperial court wants to keep them in the north to keep the situation under control. The Japanese invasion in the southeast is a pain in the ass. And the capital must be protected.”

Chen Guichang still shook his head: "Nowadays, if you go fishing in the East, you are in danger of death. Where are the pirates? It's a waste, too much of a waste. They should be sent to the south. There are too many forces here. Some people have grown weeds in their hearts!"

Captain Jiang nodded, "Yes, the wind and waves in the South China Sea are getting stronger and stronger. The voice of our Ming Dynasty is being covered up, and some people can't hear it."

"So we should transfer the Xuanwu navy south and fire a few rounds here, and those defeated soldiers will be able to hear the voice of the Ming Dynasty again."

Captain Jiang smiled and shook his head, looked at the sky, and ordered: "Hoist the full sail and try to reach Longtou Island in Wanli Shitang before nightfall and rest there for the night."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)