I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 954: Emotional
Yang Jinshui, wearing a Feiyu suit and a three-peaked hat, walked in slowly with his waist bent.

"May Eunuch Yang be safe!"

"Eunuch Yang, nice to see you again!"

"Eunuch Yang, you really want to kill us!"

"Eunuch Yang, we are relieved to see that you are in good health."

At the gate, various voices rose and fell. Yang Jinshui greeted everyone with a kind smile.

"Song Gong, you are getting younger and younger as you grow older."

"Mr. Song, Mr. Song, are still so elegant and dignified."

"Mr. Chen, your beard has turned a little greyer. Time is merciless."

"Mr. Shen, I heard that you had a serious illness two years ago. Are you well now?"

"Mr. Wu, you are still as charming as ever."

"Miao Gong, well, you are still so gentle and elegant."

After some greetings, the crowd surrounded Yang Jinshui like stars surrounding the moon and entered the Tingyue Pavilion of the Yaoyue Pavilion.

Yang Jinshui was carried by everyone to sit in the middle seat at the top.

Song Yingqing, as the father-in-law of the emperor, sat first on his left, and the first on his right was the highly respected Chen Zenian. The rest of the people sat down in turn.

Yang Jinshui looked at the sixty-plus people filling the entire hall and couldn't help but sigh.

"We are all old acquaintances. Back then, Yang was ordered to go south to set up the Coordination Office. We were ignored at that time. We first met in a teahouse in Hangzhou.

What teahouse?"

Chen Zenian narrowed his eyes and answered, "Fanghua Teahouse in Tianjiu Lane, Wulin Gate, Hangzhou City."

"Yes, Fanghua Teahouse. The name is a bit strange. It is said that the owner of the teahouse, You Si Niang, was once the top scholar in the West Lake Flower Boat. Later, she married and opened this teahouse.

Is the teahouse still there? How are You Si Niang and her husband? "

Someone from Hangzhou immediately responded, "To reply to Eunuch Yang, Fanghua Teahouse is still there, and You Si Niang and her husband treat each other with respect. They have a son and a daughter. The daughter is married to the deputy manager of the Hangzhou branch of Wells Fargo Bank. The son is said to be studying at Yuhang Middle School and is expected to be admitted to Zhejiang University."

Yang Jinshui had a look of relief on his face, "The lonely white rabbit looks around as it wanders east and west. Clothes are never as good as new, and people are never as good as old. It's rare, it's really rare. You Si Niang and her husband are rare, and so are people like us.

We all met at a very young age.

I remember that my family made a serious mistake in the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau and was punished by Emperor Shizong. Fortunately, my godfather tried his best to plead for mercy, and I was only sent to Chaotian Temple to confess my sins.

Later, with the recommendation of my godfather, the emperor appreciated me and gave my family a chance."

Yang Jinshui squinted his eyes and recalled quietly.

"I came to Hangzhou to set up the Coordination Office under the secret order of the Emperor. At that time, the Emperor was still the Prince of Yu. I came to Hangzhou to revisit my hometown.

The more glorious it was in the past, the more miserable it was then.

You were also a group of frustrated people at that time.

Mr. Song, you were the second shopkeeper of Kunyuanxiang in Suzhou at that time. You were very capable and well-known throughout the southeast. You worked hard for ten years and turned Kunyuanxiang from a small silk shop into one of the top five silk merchants in Suzhou.

But the shopkeeper won't tolerate you. He is the boss's brother-in-law, jealous of your talent and ability, targeting you everywhere, and even setting a trap to destroy your family."

Song Yingqing said sadly, "Yes, at that time, Song was imprisoned. Thinking of my old mother, my wife and my young son, I was panicked and wanted to die immediately.

Thanks to the help of Eunuch Yang, Song was cleared of all charges and restored his innocence.

Song had nothing to repay, only his talent. So he joined the Coordination Office.

Yang Jinshui deliberately asked: "What about the current situation of Kunyuanxiang's chief shopkeeper and the boss?"

“At first, Song didn’t bother to argue with them.

It was only in the fourth year of the Wanli reign that the southeast was cracked down on tax evasion, and Kunyuanxiang was found to have evaded a huge amount of taxes. The owner and the chief manager were both imprisoned for half a year, and were sentenced to ten and fifteen years in prison respectively, and were exiled to the South China Sea to perform forced labor.

Leaving behind a pair of children who were young and helpless, Song secretly asked someone to sponsor them so that they could go to school. Now one of them is a sailor and the other works in a cotton mill, and both have started families.

Song was born in poverty and almost starved to death. Fortunately, his old boss appreciated him, took him in as a worker, and taught him carefully. Although his boss is unkind, how can Song let his old boss die without descendants?

"Good!" Yang Jinshui shouted, "Loyal and righteous, Lord Song is benevolent and righteous!"

Everyone cheered along, but some people showed disdain on their faces.

It's just hypocrisy, just to save face.

A woman's kindness, if she does not remove the roots of the grass, will surely cause trouble in the future!
Yang Jinshui then said to Chen Zenian: "Mr. Chen was a ship captain at that time. He was thrown into prison for colluding with Japanese pirates and was waiting to be executed in the autumn."

Mr. Chen, with white hair and beard, leaned on his cane and sighed, "Eunuch Yang is right.

Chen's ancestors followed the eunuch Sanbao to Southeast Asia, and the next six generations were all sailors. Our Chen family's footprints can be found everywhere in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea, but we never took the northern route.

Looking back now, everyone knows what the Japanese pirates were all about.

It was nothing more than those aristocratic families whose houses were confiscated and whose families were exterminated, seeking the benefits of maritime business, bribed and colluded with Japanese pirates to engage in smuggling wantonly in order to avoid the imperial court's maritime ban. As a result, they could not stop playing with fire, and the disaster spread to the southeast.

These scoundrels saw that Duke Ruzhen and Duke Zili led Duke Beishan (Lu Tong), Duke Daichuan (Liu Tao), General Qi, General Yu, etc. to wipe out the Japanese pirates in Zhejiang and report victory after victory. In order to absolve themselves of their guilt, they randomly singled out 20 to 30 boatmen including Chen and falsely accused them of being the leaders of the bandits who colluded with the Japanese pirates.
Fortunately, Eunuch Li was very perceptive and saw through their slander, cleared our name, and recommended us to Eunuch Yang's coordination office."

Yang Jinshui nodded and said, "Yes, it was with the help of Mr. Chen and other ship captains that the shipping company of the Coordination Office was established. It is the reason why we have the Ocean Shipping Company and China Merchants Group today."

Eunuch Yang turned to the other people and told them about their trivial matters.

These people also responded one by one, and followed Yang Jinshui to sigh about the past. The dozen people sitting in the first row were a little restless, with an impatient look on their faces.

Yang Jinshui said to Miao Chuanzong: "Miao Gong, you were still a peddler walking around the streets, carrying a load on your shoulder, selling needles, thread, cloth and shoe uppers to the common people."

Miao Chuanzong waved his hand and said: "Eunuch Yang, a hero does not ask where he came from. Let the past be the past. Now that the Ming Dynasty is thriving and flourishing like the rising sun, we should look forward to the future."

A dozen people around him immediately echoed him: "Yes, Lord Mu is right. Eunuch Yang, let the past be the past, we should look forward."

"Yes, now that the Ming Dynasty is flourishing, we are fortunate to be part of it! We should make persistent efforts to continue the revival of the Ming Dynasty."

Yang Jinshui looked at them with a kind smile on his face.

After they finished talking and their voices gradually faded away, I asked a question.

"Without the affection of the past, what qualifications do you have to imagine the future?"

Looking at Yang Jinshui's kind and amiable smile, Miao Chuanzong and others were confused for a moment.

Was what the damn eunuch just said a sarcastic remark or a simplistic remark?
Song Yingqing, Chen Zenian and other experienced people immediately understood what was going on and realized that their guess was correct. The banquet at Yaoyue Pavilion was not a good one.

But they have a clear conscience and are not afraid of anything.

With drooping eyebrows and lowered eyelids, he watched Yang Jinshui's performance quietly.

Yang Jinshui leaned back in his chair, straightening his body, and seemed to have grown much taller.

"Recently, some rumors have spread in the southeast, saying that 70% to 80% of the wealth of the Ming Dynasty was created by them, but they are frustrated and frustrated.

It is also said that the two provinces and one state in the southeast paid nearly half of the taxes of the Ming Dynasty, but the money was diverted to the southwest for the policy of converting natives into officials, and to the northwest for the policy of afforestation.

They are all flashy and ostentatious showpieces.

Some even said that the Ming Dynasty's recovery of the Western Regions and the expansion of the distant Genxun Continent were wasteful and a drain on national strength.

Then they pointed their fingers and said, "Take from the people and use it for the people. The Southeast has paid so much taxes, why not return it to the people of the Southeast?"

We don’t need the sun and the moon to shine brightly, we just want to live a good life in peace and stability.”

The hall of Tingyue Pavilion was completely silent, with only Yang Jinshui's voice echoing clearly.

"After hearing these words, we are all confused. Could it be that those famous scholars from the southeast who talked nonsense and harmed the country have resurrected and crawled out from underground?"

This sentence made Miao Chuanzong and others change their expressions, and more than ten of them had indignant looks on their faces.

If Yang Jinshui hadn't been so powerful, they would have jumped up and refuted him immediately.

Yang Jinshui shook his head and made a clicking sound.

"You are talking in the earpiece, as if the unprecedented prosperity of the Ming Dynasty since the Wanli Reform was all caused by you.

Without you, the Ming Dynasty would be no longer a country!

Isn't that right, Duke Mu? "

Yang Jinshui called out their names directly and swept his eyes over the faces of the dozen or so people around Miao Chuanzong.

Miao Chuanzong's face changed several times, and he pretended to be calm and answered: "We have worked hard and devoted all our energy to repay the emperor's grace, which is why the Ming Dynasty is so prosperous now..."

Song Puti suddenly interrupted and said, "Miao Gong, it's not just you and me who have worked so hard and devoted our energy, but also millions of businessmen, industrialists, and farmers."

Yang Jinshui nodded with relief: "Young Master Song is a reasonable person.

It is precisely because the whole Ming Dynasty worked together and united under the guidance of the emperor that we have this glorious era. "

Yang Jinshui laughed, "The Emperor often told us that it was the hundreds of millions of Ming people and the masses who created history and established this unprecedented prosperity.

The emperor did not dare to take all the credit for himself, but he did not expect someone to take all the credit for himself. "

Miao Chuanzong and the others' faces changed drastically, and they quickly argued: "That's not what we meant! Eunuch Yang, please don't misunderstand!"

"We are loyal to the Emperor, how dare we have any improper thoughts!"

Some even straightened their necks and blushed as they said: "We are the great contributors to the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty's industry and commerce, the great contributors to the Industrial Revolution, and the mainstay of economic construction. This is an indisputable fact..."

Yang Jinshui looked at these old friends and sighed in his heart, the emperor was right, everything will be revealed in the face of time.

Although these people have boarded the ship of the new era and made many contributions, they are essentially the same as those who have not boarded the ship and are desperately trying to hinder the progress of the ship.

Getting on board was just a temporary solution for them. They were just like those people, selfish and treating public property as their own...

Yang Jinshui got straight to the point, "More than ten days ago, a group of rebels in Shushan Lake, Shandong, intended to ambush the emperor on his southern tour."

Hearing this, everyone was shocked and terrified.

The faces of several people who were concerned were pale and their backs were covered with sweat.

"These people were discovered by the General Security Bureau long ago, and a dragnet was set up to capture them all. The rebel leader Kong Xiuwen and others were all captured, and 120 Longqing Type 2 smoothbore rifles were also seized."

"What? Longqing Type 2 smoothbore rifle? This is the standard weapon of the army!"

"That's right. After tracing this batch of firearms, it was found that in July of the tenth year of the Wanli reign, due to the impact of Typhoon No. 11, the warehouse of the Coastal Defense Corps in Dongning County (Kaohsiung) of Liuqiu County was destroyed by a mudslide, and 221 smoothbore rifles and part of 47 short guns were reportedly damaged."

Everyone couldn't help but exclaim.

Someone actually reached out to the Coastal Defense Corps and secretly hid so many standard weapons, and also linked it to the major case of treason to assassinate the emperor. This is no small crime, and the entire family will be executed and the three clans will be exterminated!
Yang Jinshui stared at him with his eyes, like a tiger or wolf seeing its prey.

"Mr. Wu Baojin, can you tell me how these weapons ended up in the hands of the rebels?"

(End of this chapter)