I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 554: The monkeys will scatter before the tree falls
The leader was less than 30 years old, with a square face. When he wasn't smiling, he looked cold and fierce, which made Ren Boan feel cold in his heart.

Suddenly, the leader smiled with a bit of amiability and friendliness, and his cold and fierce look just now immediately turned into a naive look.

Seeing his expression change quickly, Ren Boan couldn't help but mutter in his heart that this guy is also a veteran in the world.

"Are you Ren Boan, who was recommended by Lord Hai?"

"Yes, that's me."

"My name is Su Feng, and I'm a clerk in the Nanjing Bureau of the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division."

Ren Boan's heart was pounding.

I never expected that the place Hai Qingtian recommended me to was actually the Jinyiwei Yamen.

Ordinary people cannot tell the difference between Fengchensi, Yiweisi and Zhenfusi within Jinyiwei, and their hearts tremble at the mere mention of the word Jinyiwei.

Su Feng waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave. Only he and Ren Boan were left in the room, still continuing to praise.

"You are truly a talent. You have managed this Buddhist Lahu Association, with dozens of martial arts masters, in an orderly manner. Each of them performs their duties, and there is no chaos.

This ability is not something that even ordinary Hanlin masters have. Tianjieyuan has made a fortune with you."

Ren Boan replied cautiously: "To answer the master, these are just tricks to support the family, not worthy of public display."

"In the eyes of those Imperial Censors, it is not worthy of being on the stage. But in the eyes of us Jinyiwei, it is a great skill.

And your nephew, well, nephew-in-law, Huangfu Tan, is also a very capable person. He is good at everything he learns. After staying in the Tianjie Courtyard for three or four months, he has transformed himself into a great monk. "

Ren Boan secretly groaned in his heart. His family's background was known to everyone, especially by the Jinyiwei. Anyone would feel terrified.

"It's all about the master," Ren Boan decided to get straight to the point. If he kept going on like this, his heart would not be able to bear it. "When I came here, Mr. Hai told me that he had found an opportunity for me to redeem myself and make meritorious contributions."

Su Feng smiled and asked, "Are you from Yifu family?"

Yifu is an elegant name for idle people in the Ming Dynasty.

At first, there were two kinds of idlers. One kind depended on the government for a living, flattered the clerks and servants, and then took advantage of the power of others to bully the people.

The second type is wandering around the streets, not doing their job, and taking whatever they can get their hands on. One of the names given to them in later generations is street urchins.

Later on, the term "yifu" also included those who made money through unconventional means, such as bluffers, bachelors, and lawyers, who mostly relied on their brains and mouths to make a living, which was different from the young fighters who relied on their fists to make a living.

After Su Feng asked, he explained, "Don't be nervous, I was also born in Yifu, and later I worked as a salt smuggler and a pirate.

Five out of ten of us in the Jinyiwei are not from decent families.”

Ren Boan sensed Su Feng's kindness, calmed himself down and said, "To answer the master, I passed the imperial examination, but I offended the Grand Master, so I had no hope of passing the imperial examination, so I became a Yifu."

"Have you passed the imperial examination?" Su Feng understood the meaning of Ren Boan's words.

I am a scholar and a learned person, different from you.

"I also passed the examination for the title of scholar when I was fifteen, but I failed the examination for six years. Some classmates laughed at me and said that I was not suitable for the examination for the title of juren or jinshi.

In a fit of anger, I ran to take the military examination, and passed. After just one year of training in the army, by chance, I was recruited into the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

So, it’s all fate.”

Haha, a successful candidate?
It seems like everyone is born a scholar?
I am not only a literary scholar, but also a military scholar, so I am both civil and military.

Ren Boan's face felt a little hot.

Su Feng smiled and asked, "Mr. Ren, have you ever visited a bank?"

Ren Boan's heart trembled, and he asked about the main business.

The visit is closely related to the inspectors.

The Inspector General of the Imperial Court had two main responsibilities when he toured the country on behalf of the emperor. One was to supervise local officials; the other was to review files, investigate prison cases, and arrest local treacherous people.

After the Zhengde and Jiajing years, there emerged a business of helping the imperial censors to improve their political achievements and make money, which was called "fangcha" or "wocha".

The inspectors were cunning people who looked for faults among local officials and wealthy families. They would then threaten the parties involved and give them money to avoid disaster.

Otherwise, they would wait until the Inspector General arrived in the area, and then bring a group of people with them to stir up trouble, and under the banner of public indignation, they would file a complaint before the Inspector General.

The people around the inspectors had long been in touch with them, responding to them from inside and outside, colluding with them from top to bottom. Sometimes the inspectors knew that the accused was innocent, but according to the law, if the people reported it, the inspectors had to respond.

That's what he does.

Once a case is filed and a few lawsuits are filed, the defendant will most likely lose all his property.

Woocha means that professionals find faults of officials for the inspectors, and either submit impeachments to improve their political achievements, or threaten them secretly to make money.

The inspectors were either paid a certain amount of money or given convenience when they visited and extorted money.

The person who specializes in this trip is called a visitor, and the leader is called a clan leader. A group of people may number from dozens to hundreds, and each has his own duties.

Suzhou was the most prosperous area, divided into eight major divisions, eight minor divisions, and sixteen groups of heroes.

"In reply to the master, I have been doing this for two or three years, but this matter is too vicious, so I will switch to another job."

Su Feng nodded: "I know that when you first went on the visit, you wanted to take revenge and target those school officials for causing trouble.

After revenge, you will switch to another line of work. However, Shao Jian, the biggest visiting line leader in Suzhou, is obsessed with you and says that you are born to do this.

But what he said is bullshit. You are smart, steady, and can handle everything well. Of course, you are born to do this and that."

Ren Boan sighed inwardly.

These days, even Hai Qingtian can’t be trusted.

Making amends for one's crime by the Jinyiwei?

The Imperial Guard is a huge quagmire. Once you fall into it, there is no way you can get out in your lifetime.

But I've already walked through this door, what can I do if I don't do it?
Do you really think that the Jinyiwei is a public toilet where you can come and go as you please?

Ren Boan cupped his hands and said, "Master, if you have anything to say, please tell me."

So sensible!
He is born to be a Jinyiwei.

"This matter is simple and difficult at the same time. The first step is to let Master Shao of Suzhou fulfill his wish."

"It's all for the master. What wish did he have?"

"It's a wish that you've been thinking about, brother."

Accompanied by Shu Youliang, Wang Shiqiu and Fang Zhiyuan, Hai Rui strolled around Nanjing. After a long walk, Shu Youliang was curious, "Master, why are you interested in pawnshops? You go into every pawnshop you see, and never miss one."

Hai Rui laughed: "Youliang, are you familiar with this place?"

"I know this place. When we were poor, we often came here to get something for emergency.

Sometimes we are so poor that we even want to peel off our own skin and pawn it. But later we realize that we have actually been peeled off by it.”

"Do you know how many types of pawn shops there are?"

"I don't know. I know that in the capital's South City, West City, and East City, the merchants there are kind and less exploitative."

Hai Rui said slowly, "In our dynasty, pawnshops are divided into civilian pawnshops, official pawnshops, and royal pawnshops.

There were relatively few royal and official pawnshops. Since the emperor came to power, the royal and official pawnshops were merged and changed into credit offices under banks to engage in asset pledge.

The pawnshops in various places were mostly run by private pawnshops, and the private pawnshops were mostly run by Huizhou merchants, followed by Shanxi merchants, and then Fujian merchants. The pawnshops opened by the three merchants had different styles, which could be recognized at a glance.

It’s just that traditional pawnshops have been impacted and squeezed by bank credit offices. In economically developed places such as Shanghai, Ningbo, Beijing, and Suzhou, pawnshops are becoming less and less, and they are replaced by credit offices or credit banks.”

Shu Youliang was surprised and asked, "Master, how come you know all this?"

"After the first year of Longqing, the Taichang Temple often organized Beijing officials to attend these economic lectures, and I attended every class."

"Master, are you still so eager to learn at your age?"

"You never stop learning!" Hai Rui continued, "In addition to the pawnshops in Huizhou, Shanxi, and Fujian, there are also pawnshops run by Buddhist temples.

In the pre-Song and Yuan dynasties, Buddhists opened the most pawnshops. When the Ming dynasty was first established, Emperor Taizu issued a strict order that Buddhists should not be involved in pawnshops. As a result, Buddhist pawnshops almost disappeared.

Shu Youliang chuckled, "A dog will always eat shit. How can those Buddhist monks give up on such a lucrative way?"

"Yes. After the Xuande reign, the imperial Buddhist temples in the northern and southern capitals gradually opened pawnshops. The Dalongshan, Longfu, and Gongde temples in the capital, and the Tianjie Temple in Nanjing were among the most prominent.

Not only did they pawn items, they also lent money at high interest rates in violation of the law, squeezing the people dry.

In the first year of the Longqing reign, I severely cleaned up the temples and shrines in the capital. I cleared out all the pawnshops in the Buddhist and Taoist temples. Now only the one in Nanjing is left.”

Shu Youliang laughed even more happily, "I knew that the master was here to mess things up! The good days of these bald donkeys in Nanjing are over.

Damn, they don't want to be good people outside the world, they don't want to practice Buddhism, but they want to be greedy for the secular world under the banner of Buddha. Buddha has become their accomplice in making money!
Master, please take care of them.

Damn, I remember when I went to pawn my things, the pawn shop in Dalongfuyuan was the worst!"

After walking for more than two hours, Hai Rui and his party sat down in a small teahouse.

The waiter brought a pot of tea, placed four plates of snacks and then left.

Shu Youliang wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve, fanned himself with air, and impatiently took a sip of the hot tea, which caused him to stick out his tongue because it was so scalding.

“Tiancheng Pawnshop, Tianbao Pawnshop, Tiansheng Pawnshop, Tianfeng Pawnshop, my goodness, Tianjieyuan actually has four pawnshops in Nanjing, and they are all well-known in the industry.

Master, we looked at each house and saw many people coming in and out. These bald donkeys really made a lot of money! Master, didn’t you say that Emperor Taizu strictly prohibited monks from opening pawnshops? Tianjieyuan violated the rules, investigate them, investigate them severely.

Hurry up and dispatch the people from the Coast Guard and the Jiangshui Navy to arrest these bald donkeys. Master, our family was also deeply harmed by them back then, and we were cheated of a lot of money by the bald donkeys in the capital.

They are all bald donkeys, the ones in Nanjing and Beijing are all equally bad, they must be dealt with severely. "

Hai Rui shook his head: "Don't worry. Opening a pawn shop against the law is one thing. Lending money at high interest is even worse."

Fang Zhiyuan said from the side: "Master is right. Although pawning is exploitation, it is a matter of mutual consent. I don't want to pawn, but I can't stand being exploited.

Lending money at high interest rates is a very bad thing. Nine out of ten will return, and the donkey will roll over and over again, with interest on top of interest. The wealthy and powerful in the countryside lend money at high interest rates, and if the money cannot be repaid, they will take away the land and the house.

In the city, if you can’t pay back the loan at high interest, your house will be taken away, and your wife and daughter will be sold. I have traveled to many places and have seen many tragic cases of families being torn apart by high interest.

Such a wicked thing, but the Tianjie Academy is so prosperous. "

Shu Youliang said angrily, "Next time I go to Tianjieyuan, I want to see the Buddha statue in the main hall to see whether its eyes are open or closed.

If they were open, I would ask how the Buddha could have the nerve to watch these bald asses in the Tianjie Courtyard do such a wicked thing with their eyes open. "

Wang Shiqiu was so angry that his eyebrows were raised. "Master, I must be the vanguard in the search and seizure of Tianjieyuan. If those bald donkeys dare to say a word of objection, I will smash their mountain gate and push down the hypocritical Buddha statues."

Hai Rui picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said slowly, "Don't worry. Once we have collected all the evidence, we will deal with these black-hearted bald guys!"

At the Xu Mansion in Huating, Xu Kun hurriedly ran into the study in the middle courtyard and found his father.

"Master, it's not good!"

Xu Jie was writing a letter and Xu Ying was grinding ink beside him.

"Why are you so panicking!" Xu Jie stopped holding the pen in the air and looked up at Xu Kun with dissatisfaction.

"Master, I just received news that the scholars Yuan Fuzheng, Mo Shilong and others went to Dai Fengxiang's government office in Suzhou City to report our Xu Mansion.

Master, Yuan Fuzheng is the son of your old friend, and Mo Shilong has received great favors from our Xu family. How could they be so ungrateful!

They are not sentient beings, they are animals!"

Xu Jie had a gloomy face, and his face, which was covered with wrinkles and age spots, looked as if a layer of frost could be scraped off.

"What about Dai Fengxiang?"

Before Xu Jie finished his questions, a manager ran in in a panic.

"Master, it's bad. More than 20 family members rushed into the mansion and said they wanted to return the land they donated to you and also to ask for the rent they paid over the years."

Xu Kun was furious. "What? These people are so bold as to come to our Xu Mansion to cause trouble! Don't they know that our Xu Mansion is the Prime Minister's Mansion?"

As he was speaking, he heard loud shouting and cursing outside.

"Old Xu Jie, give me back my land!"

"The blood-sucking Xu Mansion, give me back my hard-earned money!"

The sound was as loud as thunder and menacing.

Xu Kun, who was furious just now, turned pale. He turned his head to look at Xu Jie and asked tremblingly, "Master, what should we do?"

Xu Jie closed his eyes in pain.

"The monkeys will scatter before the tree falls!"

(End of this chapter)