I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 839: Some things and some people can't be forgotten
Zhu Yijun pointed to a stack of documents on the imperial desk and said to Feng Bao.

"Feng Bao, divide these four documents among the four of you."

"Yes."

Feng Bao picked up the documents, which had been folded into four copies, and handed them to Zhang Juzheng, Liu Dashi, Pan Yinglong and Song Gongliang in turn.

Zhang Juzheng first put on his tortoise-shell reading glasses, then unfolded the document and began to read it carefully.

After reading one page, he had an idea.

He was very familiar with the above content.

After reading it, Liu Dashi was furious and said, "Your Majesty, the Qianguo Mansion is rotten to the core. It is no longer the pillar of the southwest. It is a borer in the southwest. They are taking advantage of Yunnan and are a pest to the country!"

Pan Yinglong and Song Gongliang looked at each other.

If this is true, the emperor will not only have to deal with Mu Chaobi and his son, but also eliminate the Qianguo Mansion that has been passed down for two hundred years.

why?
The Duke of Qian has never offended the emperor!

But Mu Chaobi offended the emperor's grandfather, Emperor Sejong.

In order to stabilize the Yunnan border, Emperor Shizong swallowed his anger and not only did not punish Mu Chaobi, but also allowed him to inherit the throne of Duke of Qian.

This was a rare occasion when he suffered a great loss at the hands of his subjects, and he could only swallow his anger and grit his teeth!
Could Emperor Sejong, who was vindictive, swallow this humiliation?
He definitely couldn't swallow it, and he must have whispered in the emperor's ear many times back then.

The Emperor is the good grandson of Emperor Sejong, and he will definitely avenge his grandfather if he gets the chance.

Besides, what the Duke of Qian's Mansion has done over the years has crossed the emperor's bottom line. New and old grudges must be settled together. Not only must Mu Chaobi be finished, but the Mu family, which has been passed down for two hundred years, must also be stripped of its title!
The emperor is so cruel.

Zhu Yijun said to Zhang Juzheng: "Master Zhang, most of the information about Yunnan was compiled by the cabinet and summarized in your hands, and then reported to me.

You are very familiar with the situation, please tell us about it."

Zhang Juzheng did not refuse and shook the document in his hand, "Your Majesty is right, most of the information in this document was compiled by the cabinet during the land survey.

When the cabinet was summarizing the land survey and census work, it found that the land survey and census work in the entire Ming Dynasty was the most difficult and the area that encountered the greatest obstacles was not Jiangnan.

Jiangnan calmed down soon after being taught a lesson.

The most difficult areas were Sichuan and Yunnan, especially Yunnan. Not only were the mountains high and the forests dense, but the local chieftains, government officials, tyrants, and the Mu family not only did not support the survey, but also used all kinds of despicable means to prevent the survey.

Finally, the court summoned Mu Chaobi to Beijing. In order to successfully succeed to the throne, his son Mu Changzuo temporarily changed his attitude and supported the land survey in Yunnan, which was then completed.

The results of the land survey were finally analyzed and evaluated to be 70 to 80 percent credible, but they are still shocking. ”

Zhang Juzheng complained a few words and then got to the point.

"According to the census data of the first and second years of the Wanli reign, the Ministry of Revenue finally calculated that there were 4,522,400 mu of farmland in Yunnan in the third year of the Wanli reign.

The registered private land of the Chief Secretary is 1,799,300 mu, accounting for 40% of the land in the province.

The military garrisons had 1,117,100 mu of farmland, accounting for 25% of the province's farmland.

The Duke of Qian’s mansion had 1.486 million acres of farmland, accounting for 33% of the province’s farmland.

The 120,000 mu of land owned by the chieftains accounted for a very small proportion. Moreover, most of these chieftains were unwilling to allow the working group to survey the land. These 120,000 mu of land were all registered by the government, and the rest of the land was hidden.

Based on the land donated by more than a dozen chieftains during the Yunnan chieftain system in recent years, it is estimated that the amount of land hidden by the Yunnan chieftains is about two million mu*.

The Ministry of Revenue must wait until the work of converting natives to officials in Yunnan is completed before it can work with the Yunnan Provincial Administration Office to re-survey the area."

After Zhang Juzheng finished explaining the situation of farmland, population, and taxes in Yunnan, Zhu Yijun glanced at the four people and asked, "Everyone, have you figured out the secret?"

After a few seconds, Zhu Yijun answered himself, "Yunnan has 4,522,400 mu of farmland belonging to the imperial court, and the Duke of Qian occupies 1,486,000 mu, which is more than 30%.

That’s not all!

The Duke of Qian had always been in charge of the Yunnan Military Region. To put it bluntly, the military farms in Yunnan actually belonged to the Duke of Qian’s Mansion. The imperial court could not collect a single grain of the military farms, as all of it went into the granary of the Duke of Qian’s Mansion!

The remaining registered civilian land of the provincial government is 1,799,300 acres. The Duke of Qian's Mansion will also collect taxes on behalf of the government and charge a 15% handling fee.

The goose is being plucked of its feathers. The goose was not fat to begin with, and now it has been plucked naked!

Every year, the Ministry of Revenue allocates 200,000 taels of silver to Yunnan as a military aid, which is directly allocated to the Duke of Qian’s Mansion. He takes 40% first, and the remaining 60% is distributed to whoever he wants. "

The four of them listened silently, knowing in their hearts that the above points alone had crossed the emperor's bottom line.

Before this, the emperor had endured for several years in order to stabilize Yunnan.

For a proud and arrogant person like him, the more he endures, the angrier he becomes, and the more brutal his revenge will be!

The Duke of Qian’s Mansion is about to be destroyed!

Zhu Yijun slammed the table, "Not only that! Look at the good things that the Duke of Qian's Mansion has done over the years! The food and wages that the court sent to the Yunnan border troops were first passed through the Duke of Qian's Mansion, and 30% of them were lost.

I haven’t learned anything else, but I have clearly learned the bad habits of some civil servants!
I also asked the Ministry of War to compile a list of military officers. From the Zhengde period to the Jiajing period, nearly 80% of the officers above the rank of Qianhu in the Yunnan Dusi Guards were from the family generals of the Duke of Qianguo’s Mansion.

Hearing this, the four people's faces changed.

The Duke of Qian's Mansion has committed several of the things that the Emperor hates the most: occupying farmland, embezzling military funds, and privately usurping military power. You guys think your deaths are not fresh enough!

Zhu Yijun's voice became increasingly stern.

"Yunnan no longer belongs to the Ming Dynasty, it belongs to his surname Mu.

In the 32nd year of Jiajing, Dao Nuomeng, the envoy of Cheli, led his troops to invade the border, burning, killing and looting. The local area was in a state of emergency. The governor immediately sent a letter to the military governor to send troops to resist the enemy. However, the military governor replied, "Mr. Mu is ill, and it is not appropriate to send troops."

What happened? The border troops of Yunnan Dusi were not fed with food and wages from the Ming Dynasty, but with food and wages from the Mu family? Lord Mu was sick, so tens of thousands of border troops were sick with him?
Why was Dusi unwilling to send troops?

Dao Nuomeng raised an army for no other reason than to join forces with the Mu family to smuggle contraband items, and he had a dispute over the spoils with the Mu family, so he raised an army to collect the debt.

Mu Chaobi was afraid that the matter would become a big deal and his dirty deeds would be exposed to the world, so he quietly suppressed the Yunnan Regional Command and stopped sending troops. He also secretly sent people to negotiate with Dao Nuomeng and compensated him with some money and food before he gave up.

Mu Chaobi shamelessly submitted a memorial to the court, saying that he had appealed to the emperor's emotions and reason, and had defeated the enemy without fighting, which led Dao Nuomeng to voluntarily withdraw his troops and submit a memorial to apologize.

He even took credit for himself!"

Zhu Yijun was furious!

Zhang Juzheng, Liu Dashi and Feng Bao who were standing nearby suddenly realized that the emperor at this moment was simply a younger version of Emperor Shizong.

Especially when he shouted "He even took credit for himself", the expression on Emperor Shizong's face when he shouted "All this is my money" in the Renshou Palace in the Western Garden is not only very similar, but exactly the same.

The three of them couldn't help but shrink their necks.

Zhu Yijun continued to curse: "You have no sense of shame! You are not a human being!

What is Mu Chaobi doing? Not only did he lie to Grandpa Huang, but he also slapped him hard in the face! ? " Zhu Yijun's anger erupted like a volcano, and he shouted while holding up the document in his hand.

Zhang Juzheng and the other three were as silent as cicadas,

They knew the emperor's temper very well. He had very strong self-control and was able to control his emotions without showing his emotions on his face.

Such rage is really rare.

However, after hearing the charges mentioned by the emperor, Zhang Juzheng and other three felt that Mu Chaobi was very lucky to be alive today, all thanks to the help of Mang Yinglong of the Toungoo Kingdom.

Zhu Yijun took a few deep breaths, slowly calmed himself down, then picked up the teacup and took two sips of tea.

"The prince was recommended to be the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou. He was stationed in Kunming and trained the Yunnan border troops. He found more than 190 officers who violated military discipline, embezzled military pay, and condoned smuggling, and all of them were executed.

The last untrained Dusi of the Ming Dynasty, all the frontier troops of the garrison were fully trained in the fourth year of Wanli.

Mu Chaobi is a vicious wolf, and the Duke of Qian's Mansion is a local snake. The wolf's claws and fangs have been pulled out, and it's time to settle the accounts.

Zhang Xiang, Liu Zuodu, Feng Wu, Song Gongliang!"

"Chen is here!"

The four of them responded quickly.

"The Censorate, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Central Military Commissioner's Office, and the Imperial Guard formed a joint investigation team and immediately rushed to Kunming.

The court sent a letter to the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, Ling Yunyi, and the Governor of Yunnan, Wu Wenhua, asking them to cooperate in first sealing up the account books of the Duke of Qian's Mansion, the Yunnan Regional Military Commission, and temporarily detaining the relevant persons.

Leaving aside other things, let's start from the first year of Jiajing and see how much land the Duke of Qian's Mansion had occupied, how much military pay it had embezzled, how many retainers it had promoted, how much contraband it had smuggled, and how many foreigners it had colluded with.

I will investigate every account, every historical account, every account of sin, and then make it known to the world.

Let the people of the world see what kind of depravity the descendants of King Zhaojing of Qianning have become, who ruled southern Yunnan alone for ten years for the sake of the country and the people, developed military farms, encouraged agriculture and sericulture, respected scholars, and stabilized the borders.
Let the world see the crimes they have committed. Emperor Shizong tolerates them, I tolerate them, but God cannot tolerate them, and the laws of the Ming Dynasty cannot tolerate them!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

Zhang Juzheng and the other three knew in their hearts that Mu Chaobi was finished, and the Mu family of the Duke of Qian, which had ruled Yunnan for two hundred years, was also finished.

After asking Qi Yan to escort Zhang Juzheng and the other three out of the West Garden, Zhu Yijun got up and left the Ziguang Pavilion, returning to the Inner Garden in the north along the path beside the lake.

It was late autumn now, osmanthus flowers were in full bloom, and the refreshing fragrance of osmanthus filled the air everywhere in the West Garden.

“It’s the season of sweet-scented osmanthus again.”

Zhu Yijun took a deep breath and said to Feng Bao without turning his head, "Feng Bao, Qinglong Mountain is my eternal auspicious place. The Ministry of Works has issued a blueprint. I have carefully read it and made several changes.

When the Imperial Astronomical Observatory has calculated an auspicious date, you will help me supervise the construction."

"The slaves obey the order."

"But some of my ministers said that I did not follow the ancestral rules and did not enter Tianshou Mountain, which was very inappropriate."

Feng Bao, who was standing behind him, bowed slightly and replied, "Your Majesty conquered thousands of miles and revived the Ming Dynasty. This was truly an epoch-making feat, and your achievements are comparable to those of the Second Ancestor. Building a new mausoleum is only natural."

Zhu Yijun looked back at Feng Bao, smiled and waved his hand: "Tian Shou Mountain is too crowded, I will find another spacious and auspicious place. The only regret is that it is too far away from the emperor."

“After His Majesty dies, he will definitely return to heaven and reunite with Emperor Shizong. Then, he will live as long as the heaven and earth, and turn into the sun and the moon, shining forever on the Ming Dynasty.

This Shouling is only the place where the Emperor and Emperor Shizong passed away. It is not a big deal if it is thousands of miles away. Even if it is thousands of miles away, it is just a matter of lifting a foot for the Emperor and Emperor Shizong who have ascended to the ranks of gods. "

Zhu Yijun knew that Feng Bao's words were just words of comfort and didn't take them to heart.

He didn't want to build his mausoleum in Tianshou Mountain. Firstly, all the good locations there were taken. Secondly, he was a person who should have died but was not dead, and was a cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest.

In case the heroic spirit feels embarrassed, whether in heaven or on earth, it is better to start a new life and choose a place with better feng shui.

As for whether he would be like the Wanli Emperor in history and be discovered by future generations, Zhu Yijun was confident that it would not be so tragic.

If my achievements are put in the history books, if I am humble I can sit on the same level as Brother Ying. But if I am not humble, I will have to stand on a separate line at the top.

To excavate one's own tomb, that would be impossible unless aliens invaded the earth.

The autumn wind blew, and the lake surface was sparkling. Zhu Yijun looked at the waves and couldn't help turning his head to ask, "Did Lord Mingquan's Eastern Expedition Military Strategy Office arrive at Songmen Port?"

Feng Bao smiled and replied, "Your Majesty, I know nothing about what is happening at sea. I heard from the people at the Right Military Governor's Office that if we set out from Dongyu Port and sail at the speed of a clipper ship, it would take at least one and a half months to reach Songmen Port in Xiazhou.

Speaking of which, it will take at least twenty days for Lord Mingquan and his men to arrive."

"Well, I have already made a plan. When the Jinpu and Jinghan railways are completed, I will take a train to the south of the Yangtze River, first pay homage to the ancestral tomb in Fengyang, then pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing, then go up the Yangtze River to the two lakes, pay homage to the Xianling Mausoleum, then go north to inspect the Central Plains, and return to Beijing via the Jinghan Railway.

But I don’t know if I will have the chance to visit the two states of Xia and Shang with my own eyes.”

Feng Bao rolled his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I saw that the Ship Research Bureau has designed a steam-powered iron-hulled ship that can run as fast as flying even without wind, and is not afraid of wind and waves, and can travel thousands of miles on the sea as if walking on flat ground.

The Beihai Shipbuilding Bureau and the Jiangnan Shipbuilding Bureau have already tested the steam-powered wooden-hulled ship, and I believe that the steam-powered iron-hulled ship will also be built soon.

Then the Emperor might have the opportunity to take this big ship and visit Genxunzhou."

Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao with deep eyes, "You are just like when we were little, following my thoughts and making up stories to appease me."

Feng Bao's eyes were slightly red, and his smile was full of doting, "Your Majesty, I dare not coax you, but just think of a way to make you forget the unhappy things."

Zhu Yijun put his hands in his sleeves, looked up at the deep blue sky, and sighed slightly, "Feng Bao, there are some things and some people that you will never forget in your lifetime."

Thousands of miles away on the sea, the Anyang continued to sail with full sails. In the cabin, Hu Yinglin, who was used to vomiting and whose cheeks were sunken from vomiting, was completing yesterday's notes.

"Last night, we were on the deck looking at the stars with the Imperial Observatory's astronomical telescope, and we were fascinated. At that time, I couldn't help but think of a sentence the emperor said when he came to give us a lecture one day when we were taking the civil service exam and attending the Ministry of Personnel study class.

"There are two things in this world that are worth looking up to throughout our lives: the starry sky above our heads, and the conscience in our hearts."

After Hu Yinglin finished writing, he couldn't help but feel excited again.

The emperor said it so well, especially when we look up at the starry sky through a telescope and are immersed in it, this feeling makes us tremble involuntarily.

"Boom!"

There was a loud knock on the door, and then it was pushed open. Wang Shisong panted slightly and said, "Quick, quick, get on deck."

"Go up on deck. What happened?"

"You'll know if you go up and take a look!

Wang Shisong pulled Hu Yinglin and ran out.

When Hu Yinglin ran onto the deck, he was stunned by the scene before him.

(End of this chapter)