I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 737: Mercy Without Saving Others

The ministers in the Taiji Hall still remember clearly what happened in the three major cases in Jiangnan.

First, they investigated the cheating in the Southern Examination, and then followed the clues to the intermediary Tianjieyuan, and then they found the soldier armor and the fake monk.

Yaoshou!
During the investigation of the banned book case, they found the Fuxing Society. They originally thought it was just a small group of children from wealthy families who liked to eat, drink and have fun, but it turned out to be a clique plotting treason.

The cases were finally brought together and turned into a shocking case, which caused a huge wave and swept away a large number of Jiangnan gentry families.

Now you come again!
The civil and military officials looked at Zhu Yijun anxiously, waiting for his words.

"Summon Song Gongliang to the palace."

"Yes!"

After a while, Song Gongliang, dressed in bullfighting clothes, walked into the main hall.

"I, Song Gongliang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, come to see His Majesty."

"Excuse me, Song Gongliang. Tell me what the Yiwei Division has found out."

"According to the order."

The civil and military officials looked at him with different expressions, especially Xining Marquis Song Shien, who had the most complicated expression.

Everyone knows the responsibilities of the Yiwei Division, which is to investigate major cases such as treason and rebellion.

Zhu Xizhong and Gu Huan's hearts were pounding and they were terrified.

Is the Emperor going to take ruthless action and wipe out all the old nobles?

The current situation clearly shows that the emperor has been cautious in every step and has already quietly put a noose around the necks of the nobles. Now he needs to pull it tight.

Is there any room for maneuver?

The two suddenly remembered that before entering the Western Garden, Zhu Xixiao talked to Lu Tong, the Marquis of Runing, who was practicing boxing in front of the Nanhua Gate, and then brought back the words "Noble Concubine Song".

Concubine Song must be referring to the emperor's concubine, Song.

She was the daughter of Song Yingqing, a wealthy merchant from Wu County, Suzhou, and she was backed by the rising industrialists of Jiangnan and the southeast.

By the way, Concubine Song also has a third brother, Song Yaoshi, who is in the Western Expedition Army. He has a great chance of being granted a title and becoming a new noble.

Why did Lu Tan mention her to Zhu Xixiao?

It's definitely not without reason, but what does it mean? Is it an opportunity to break the deadlock?
If it was an opportunity for the nobles to break the impasse, it was certainly not Lu Tong's idea. He was good at commanding the army, strategy and employing troops, but not at tactics.

If it wasn't his idea, then who pointed it out to him?
In this game of chess, besides the emperor, Pan Yinglong and the nobles, are there any other people?
Zhu Xizhong and Gu Huan were filled with thoughts when Song Gongliang spoke loudly.

“Your Majesty, my colleagues, the Jinyiwei Zhenfusi Jingji Bureau provided several important clues to the Yiweisi while assisting the Beijing Taxation Inspection Bureau in investigating a case.

One of them is that some people are waiting for an opportunity to buy smoothbore rifles and short guns.

So the Yiwei Division immediately sent people to investigate the matter, and first found the person who provided the clue, Xu Yunpeng, the leader of the Jinpeng Sect in the capital. He was the leader of the local hooligans in the capital and the head of the gang.

They gathered a group of local hooligans and formed the Jinpeng Sect, which had been entrenched in Datong Bridge, controlling a group of porters and exploiting them. At the same time, most of the thefts and trafficking crimes in Datong Bridge were committed by the Jinpeng Sect.

The noble man behind Jinpengmen and Xu Yunpeng is Guo Yingqi, the heir of Wudinghou Mansion."

Wuding Hou Guo Dacheng's face changed.

You bastard, I took all precautions and even arranged my nephew Guo Yingyong to be a shield and a bixi in the Wuding Marquis Mansion. I never thought that you would collude with gang members and become their behind-the-scenes umbrella, and most importantly, you were involved in the gun case.

You are an unfilial son. Don’t you know that after the 42nd year of Jiajing, the imperial court has strictly monitored muskets and artillery, and private possession of firearms is strictly prohibited. Anyone who touches firearms will be punished.

You kid actually dare to come up to me.

Guo Dacheng continued to listen in fear.

"Xu Yunpeng said that the one who was looking for the smoothbore rifles and pistols was Guo Yingqi, the son of Wuding Marquis. It is said that they organized a hunting club called Shenwu Society.

I often went hunting in the mountains and jungles of Jizhou, Changping, Miyun, etc. I was tired of riding and shooting, and wanted to try powerful firearms.
Following this clue, I found that the Shenwu Society had obtained sixty-five bird guns from Jiangnan."

With a thud, Wuding Hou Guo Dacheng collapsed to the ground.

Everyone was too busy to pay attention to him and continued to stare at Song Gongliang's mouth, paying attention to every word that came out of his mouth.

"The Yiwei Division traced these 65 bird guns and found that they were made in Ningbo Prefecture in the 42nd year of Jiajing, specifically for suppressing the Japanese pirates. Each gun was stamped with a number.

However, the steel seal marks on these 65 bird guns had been worn off. The Yiwei Division found out through various channels that these 65 bird guns were originally equipped to the Jinxiang Guard in Zhejiang.

Later, the officers and soldiers of Jinxiang Guard were reorganized and incorporated into the Wuxiang Army. They were equipped with smoothbore rifles, and these 65 bird guns were allocated to the Sixth Infantry Regiment of Zhejiang Camp Guard. In the third year of Longqing, the Sixth Infantry Regiment reported that 450 bird guns were scrapped, including these 65.

Now the Yiwei Division has formed a special task force and rushed to Zhejiang to investigate the case thoroughly. At the same time, they are also tracking down the 450 bird guns that were scrapped in the same batch to see if there are any others that are still out there."

The Ming army went to the southeast to suppress the Japanese invaders. Ningbo and other places built more than 100,000 bird guns and distributed them to the Japanese invaders. After the suppression of the Japanese invaders, the troops were reorganized into new armies, or reorganized into battalion guards, and some even became naval forces and marines, with various destinations.

Naturally, these bird guns were also dispersed to various armies. Later, the entire army replaced with smoothbore rifles, and this batch of bird guns were eliminated. Some were used to equip the new Korean army, and the rest were destroyed.

With 100,000 muskets going through such complicated changes, there are bound to be some that slip through the net.

The key point is that sixty-five of them fell into the hands of the Shenwu Society.

Shenwu Society, as soon as you hear the name, it means that the second generation of honors gather together to show off their strength and fight in the wild.

Zhu Yijun asked: "Sixty-five bird guns fell into the Shenwu Society. Who are the people in this Shenwu Society?"

"In reply to the emperor, the Shenwu Society was initiated and organized by Guo Yingqi, the son of Wuding Marquis, Zhu Jixun, the son of Funing Marquis, Xu Wenwei, the son of Yongkang Marquis, and Li Lang, the brother of Fengcheng Marquis. The core members are Chen Yingzhao, the son of Ningyang Marquis, Tan Guofu, the brother of Xinning Earl, Sun Shiliang, the brother of Huaining Marquis, Sun Yungong, the son of Yingcheng Earl, Fang Tangjing, the nephew of Nanhe Earl, and 16 others. There are 31 ordinary members."

Song Gongliang read out the names one by one. Except for the eight families of Chengguo Duke's Mansion, Zhenyuan Marquis' Mansion, Yangwu Marquis' Mansion, Gongshun Marquis' Mansion, Xining Marquis' Mansion, Lingbi Marquis' Mansion, Anyuan Marquis' Mansion, and Wu'an Marquis' Mansion, the rest of the noble families had their sons and nephews participating. Even Zhang Yong's nephew from the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion and Xu Tingxian, the fifth son of Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi, were ordinary members.

The Taiji Hall was deathly silent. The only sound was the breathing of the crowd, like the sounds of restless insects and frogs before a storm.

At this time, those who are interested can be sure that the Shenwu Society is the same as the Jiangnan Fuxing Society.

The Fuxing Society sent hundreds of Jiangnan families, led by Xu Jie and his family, to the underworld. Now, won’t the Shenwu Society send dozens of noble families to paradise?

The nobles looked extremely ugly.

Xu Qiaosong, Guo Dacheng, Zhu Gang and others looked at each other in bewilderment. They had never imagined that their group of people were so ambitious and wanted to find a way to seize military power and return to the imperial court, but they ended up falling into the emperor's trap unknowingly.

They all knew the fate of the Fuxing Society.

The timid Marquis of Fengcheng Li Huan and Marquis of Ningyang Chen Daji felt trembling all over, with beads of sweat on their foreheads that kept dripping to the ground.

Zhu Xizhong and Gu Huan looked despairing.

They did not despair for themselves, but for the entire noble family.

The Second Ancestor had conferred titles on sixty families of military meritorious service, and after two rounds of pruning, there were still forty-seven families. Now the Emperor had made it clear that he would only keep his eight families, and the remaining thirty-nine families would be pruned as well.

Hundreds of years of friendship had made the noble families still connected even if their bones were broken, but now most of that was going to be cut off.

Zhu Xizhong and Gu Huan felt cold in their hands and feet, their eyes went dark, and they were panicking. Don't think the emperor can't do it. He even dared to do it to the royal family of the same ancestor. Half of them were exterminated and 90% were made commoners. What was there that the emperor dared not to destroy among the thirty-nine noble families?
God!
Is there really no room for maneuver?

Concubine Song, what do you mean?
Zhu Xizhong and Gu Huan turned their heads at the same time and looked at Lu Tong. He stood at the edge intentionally or unintentionally, slightly isolated from the nobles. He stroked his beard, smiled and watched the excitement, leisurely and contented.

Zhu Xizhong and Gu Huan wanted to rush up to him, grab his collar, and ask Concubine Song what exactly she meant!
Song Gongliang continued to read for ten minutes, then presented the document with both hands. Qi Yan stepped forward, took the document, walked up the steps, and presented it to Zhu Yijun.

Zhu Yijun took it, glanced through it quickly, and threw it on the imperial desk.

The gentry and powerful are not good people, and how can the noble families be clean?

These nobles not only occupied a large amount of fertile farmland in the north and south Zhili, but they were also one of the main forces that encroached upon the military farms of the Nine Border Guards.

Civil servants come and go, but nobles remain forever.

The Huai salt and Yangzhou salt merchants, who were as wealthy as a country, had close relations with the Nanjing nobles.

As the nobles who settled in Beijing, they kept ruffians and gangs, and they kept a hand in brothels, restaurants, gambling houses, vegetable markets, cattle and horse markets, as well as porters at the Datong Bridge and Tongzhou docks. They would get involved in any profitable business inside and outside the capital.

Pan Yinglong was engaged in the construction of the South City and the demolition of old houses. The minions hired by the nobles rushed to the front line and made huge profits, but left hundreds and thousands of ordinary people displaced.

There are also theft, fraud, robbery, trafficking, and murder on the streets. Eight out of ten of these things are directly or indirectly related to them.

In the past, we have been holding back from taking action because we wanted to use one side to fight the other and we needed their help to unite the army.

At present, most of the officers and generals of the Ming army are hereditary military officers. The noble families are their soul and their leaders.

Now that the royal family, civil officials and gentry have been trimmed one after another, the new nobles who have been canonized by himself have also grown strong and have become the soul of the Ming army.

The old noble family can be trimmed.
Zhu Yijun's clear voice echoed in the Taiji Hall.

"I have worked hard to govern the country and eliminate corruption and reform for several years, thinking that the government and the people would be united, and the emperor and his subjects would work together to revive the Ming Dynasty. I never thought that it was just my wishful thinking.

He colluded with local ruffians and gang members, bullied the market, and committed crimes. In just three years, he actually amassed 7 million yuan in ill-gotten gains. He also organized the Shenwu Society and purchased bird guns.

By the way, they also selected brave warriors from the gangs and fighting groups to form the Shenwu Society Warrior Team, which numbered up to a thousand people. They were equipped with bows, crossbows, and horses, and also purchased firearms.

Under the emperor's feet, you are amassing wealth, hiding soldiers, and secretly recruiting assassins. What do you want to do? Are you going to play the Gaopingling Incident for me?"

As soon as the words "Gaopingling Incident" came out, there was a thumping sound in the Taiji Hall, and all the nobles and civil officials knelt on the ground, shouting in unison: "Your Majesty is terrified!"

Looking at the courtiers kneeling in the hall, Zhu Yijun sneered: "What are you afraid of? It is me who is afraid!"

The officials and nobles who were kneeling on the ground had no choice but to say: "I deserve to die!"

Zhu Yijun continued to sneer: "If the evidence is proven, it doesn't matter if all the people are killed, just one family will be killed. Wang Rulong!"

"Chen is here!"

The Governor of the Beijing Camp, Wang Rulong, dressed in armor, walked in from outside the hall, raised his hands high and bowed.

"Take your soldiers and temporarily confine all the dukes, marquises and earls involved in the case to their respective mansions. No one is allowed to enter or leave at will."

"The minister obeys the order!"

"Shuntianfu!"

Pan Yinglong responded immediately.

"Chen is here!"

"You organize people to provide drinking water, coal, food, meat and vegetables to the dukes and marquises in the palace to ensure that they have a safe life. Don't let them starve, or they will say that I am mean to my subjects!"

Your Majesty, aren't you mean?
You are exactly like the mean Emperor Sejong!

The ministers lowered their heads and silently drew small circles in their hearts.

"I obey your order!" Pan Yinglong replied.

"Wang Cheng!"

Feng Bao and Yang Jinshui went to take care of Huang Jin's funeral, and the East Factory was temporarily supervised by Wang Cheng.

"The slave is here!"

"Bring the East Factory guards with you to assist the Jinyiwei and Yiweisi to investigate the Shenwu Society case thoroughly! I don't want to end up like Cao Fang."

"The slaves obey the orders!"

"Also, the Cabinet and the Censorate, don't just sit there and watch the fun. Those dozens of bird guns were originally destroyed by the Zhejiang local government, but what happened?
How did it leak out? What are people in Zhejiang doing? Don’t you need to investigate it carefully? "

Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji immediately responded: "I will immediately arrange a special investigation team to thoroughly investigate this matter."

"Alright, today's meeting ends here. Let's wait until the case is fully understood before discussing it. Disband!"

"As ordered! I respectfully send the Emperor off!"

The ministers left the Taiji Hall in twos and threes.

All the civil officials watched the funeral without thinking it was a big deal. They whispered to each other and looked very relaxed.

Each of the nobles looked as if they had lost their parents, with pale and dusty faces. Most of them were followed by two Jingjun soldiers. When they arrived at Nanhua Gate, they were handed over to the officers and soldiers of the Yulin Army waiting outside, who escorted them directly back to their respective mansions.

Zhu Xizhong and Gu Huan were among the few nobles who were not escorted by Jingjun and soldiers. They left Nanhua Gate and pulled Zhu Xixian into the carriage.

"Tell me quickly, what did Lu Tong mean when he told you about Concubine Song?"

Zhu Xizhong asked impatiently.

Zhu Xixiao spread his hands, looking helpless, "Brother, I don't know either."

"You didn't ask him?" Gu Huan asked from the side.

"I asked him, but he said he didn't know, he was just a messenger. I asked him who he was delivering the message for, but he refused to tell me."

The three of them looked at each other. The carriage was silent except for the clatter of horse hooves, which lashed their hearts like a whip.

In Ziguang Pavilion, Zhu Yijun sat on a chair with his eyes closed, resting.

He was wondering in his mind, to what extent the thirty-nine noble families involved in the case would be trimmed?
Should we cut the grass and root out the evil channels, or should we cut the beards and apply medicine?
Every choice has its pros and cons. Zhu Yijun needs to weigh the pros and cons and think carefully.

"Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yijun looked up and saw a eunuch standing at the door of the palace in a panic.

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, something big has happened!"

(End of this chapter)