Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 125 The Nine Clans are Strong and Weighed by Their Soldiers

The latter content is exactly the meaning of Geng Dingli's question.

"Your Majesty, calm down..."

"Even if there were vacancies in previous years, and even if the leading military officer had not made the decision, there wouldn't have been so many problems." Zhu Changluo's eyes flashed coldly, "Jiangnan is so confident!"

Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue knelt on the ground, feeling very unhappy.

Li Sancai and Geng Dingli also filed a complaint against the two of them, saying that the grain-producing families of the five prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Jiaxing, Changzhou and Huzhou had delayed the payment by various means, which prevented the grain transport troops from crossing the Yangtze River until February 15.

He did speak up for the "robbed" grain transport troops: they had been collecting grain for such a long time, and they had been going to the private warehouses of the grain chiefs instead of the official warehouses of the water department. The transport troops were exhausted, so they were attacked by the Japanese pirates at night.

In addition to the five ships of grain being looted, two ships were burned by rockets from the Japanese pirates, resulting in over a hundred casualties.

Shen Yi Guan didn't have to face all this at the moment, as he was still marking the papers as the chief examiner of the imperial examination.

"Your Majesty..." Shen Shixing said helplessly, "Now the reports from the Caohe River show that a total of more than 40,000 dan of grain has been lost. This is a small matter. The new gold and silver orders and the selection of officials in the two capitals are the big issues..."

"Is 40,000 shi a small matter? Is it a small matter if Japanese pirates invade the Jiangnan Canal?"

Zhu Changluo didn't know that the Japanese pirates were quite capable and could skillfully operate the Ming Dynasty's grain boats and travel freely at night.

"Your Majesty! Calm down..."

Shen Shixing looked at him: You are the emperor, don’t you know which issues are more important?

Zhu Changluo's eyes became even colder: "I know that the addition of the gold flower and silver list and the selection of officials from the two capitals are important matters, but this is not a reason for Jiangnan to do it so obviously to make me consider what is the important matter! Even if they warn you two, I will not agree!"

Shen Shixing smiled bitterly: "If Longjiang Zuowei and others are innocent, then the grain officer and grain chief of Suzhou Prefecture are guilty, and the officers and soldiers of Caojiang are guilty; if Longjiang Zuowei and others are innocent, there is still evidence that the grain transport troops carried local goods beyond the limit and even deliberately embezzled grain; if the officers and soldiers of Caojiang and the grain transport troops are guilty, then Xinjianbo, Xiangchengbo and others should all be punished; if the governor of the grain transport and Caojiang Du Yushi are punished, how can we convince the public?"

He kowtowed tremblingly: "Your Majesty, grain is the most important thing!"

"Grain is naturally the most important thing." Zhu Changluo said coldly, "You are right. Who is not guilty? Who doesn't know that the grain transport, salt law, and banknote customs along this canal are all things that cannot be investigated in depth? But I want to investigate in depth! Fighting against the court, it depends on whether they dare to continue."

Shen Shixing couldn't help but remind him: "Your Majesty! Don't move rashly..."

Wang Xijue said, "Just investigate the case of the Japanese pirates who robbed grain. Your Majesty, leave this case to me!"

Shen Shixing looked at him.

"Can Lord Wang find out?" Zhu Changluo also confirmed his sincerity.

Wang Xijue said: "The gold and silver were arranged by a single person. It was first said that they were arranged from Beijing to the prefectures and counties. This was originally a cover, and it was followed by the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue. This result is that the court does not want to investigate further and is more concerned with peace. I will send my own servants to Taicang to find out who is pretending to be a Japanese pirate."

This is something that none of the three said explicitly.

Of course we cannot rule out the possibility that Japanese pirates may still sneak in, but why rob food when there are other options?
Both of them came from Suzhou Prefecture. They received the white grain from the five prefectures. How could they have the time to purchase precious goods for transportation north?
Now Wang Xijue directly said that he could let people from his hometown start from private and clearly say that they were disguised as Japanese pirates.

Which family has the financial resources to build two decent plank-roofed boats and some "Japanese pirates" who can speak Japanese?

Seeing that Wang Xijue was willing to stand up and cut himself off from the people in his hometown, Zhu Changluo looked at him and said, "The ship must have been burned and sunk somewhere long ago, leaving no evidence."

"The censors are impeaching, and now they just need witnesses." Wang Xijue bowed, "The officials in the two capitals need to change one of their candidates. Please appoint Yingtian Circuit Inspector Niu Yingyuan as the Left Assistant Censor-in-Chief, and then choose another person to fill the position."

When Shen Shixing heard him say this, he was moved.

"Your Majesty, I think it's OK. Since the two hundred thousand taels of gold and silver have been distributed to Nanjing, and Niu Yingyuan has been promoted to the position of Left Censor-in-Chief of the Beijing Censorate in the list of supplementary elections for Beijing officials, it means that Your Majesty will not respond with thunderous anger. Niu Yingyuan studied under Wei Xuezeng and has a good reputation..."

After that, he introduced Niu Yingyuan.

He was a Jinshi in the 11th year of Wanli's reign. He was a student of Wei Xueceng, the then Governor-General of the Three Borders who presided over the Ningxia Campaign. It was said that he "stood and served all day long without a sign of fatigue."

After passing the imperial examination, he started as a county magistrate. In order to relieve the people of the burden of paying tribute of hemp and ramie every year in Guangshan County, Henan Province, he specially recruited craftsmen to weave and pay the tribute. He was a person who was willing to do practical things for the people.

After being appointed as the Inspector General of Yingtian, his main task was to fight against the tax supervisor and specifically arrest his lackeys. He had a good reputation in the Nanjing officialdom.

Such a person has been an official for nearly twenty years. Although he has entered the fast lane of the Imperial Censorate, he has still not been promoted to the level where he can wear the red robe. This time he can really make some moves.

"I wonder if any court officials mentioned Niu Yingyuan after the cabinet's proposed candidate was announced?" Shen Shixing asked again. Zhu Changluo shook his head on the spot: "No."

Shen Shixing didn't know whether he had really read them all or whether he just wanted to show them that he would really read so many secret reports.

"In that case... Tomorrow is the end of the public notice period, so let Yuan Yu secretly announce the recommendation." Shen Shixing looked at Wang Xijue, "Now the Beijing Metropolitan Procuratorate is selecting the Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief, and the Prime Minister is planning to recommend him. We two have lived in the countryside before, and we have heard of Niu Yingyuan, and we think he is more suitable."

Wang Xijue nodded: Of course I think it is more appropriate now.

"No." Zhu Changluo said, "Since no one mentioned him, it means he is not popular in the officialdom. Didn't Chen Weizhi, the governor of Yingtian, submit his resignation letter? It is approved. Niu Yingyuan is promoted to the position of Left Censor-in-Chief and the governor of Yingtian! This is the recommendation of the Earl of Pinglu. It is a special favor from me."

Shen Shixing couldn't help but widen his eyes a little: "...Pinglu Bo?"

Xiao Ruxun was once under the command of Wei Xuezeng and made great contributions in the battle of Ningxia. Of course, it is no problem for him to help Wei Xuezeng's students now.

But Xiao Ruxun, a meritorious official, was actually able to recommend a civil official and succeeded. This was a bad signal for the emperor.

"I have just ascended the throne, it is the time to show my grace and promote new officials!" Zhu Changluo sneered, "I approved Niu Yingyuan's appointment based on the recommendation of Pinglu Bo, just to let the officials in Jiangnan think again. Either be bolder and see if your nine clans are strong enough! Or make trouble and see if I am afraid of the instability in Jiangnan! You are so brave to do these little tricks to show off your power to me!"

Shen Shixing was speechless and just looked worried.

Wang Xijue really shouldn't have pointed out the fact that he was pretending to be a Japanese pirate. Otherwise, there would be no way to avoid the possibility that it was "just an accident" in front of the emperor and his ministers.

"Also, let Wang Dewan go to inspect Yingtian. I will also order a thorough investigation of the Japanese pirates' grain robbery case! After that, I will appoint a group of new officials to fill the six ministries in Nanjing! Chen Lin is on the way. Whoever wants to make trouble can do so!" Zhu Changluo looked at Wang Xijue, "Why should Lord Wang go through the trouble of investigating secretly?"

"Your Majesty... Steady! The grain supply must be stable, Jiangnan must be stable!"

"No chaos!" Zhu Changluo insisted, "The bigger the commotion, the more reason I have to rectify the grain transport. Who can say it's wrong then? Are you afraid that there will be problems with the grain transport this year? Don't worry, I have already made arrangements and will never let the grain price in the capital soar!"

Then he looked at Tian Yi and said, "Send someone to Bozhou urgently, order Ma Qiancheng and Qin Liangyu, and the White Spear Soldiers to set out today, go through Huguang to the Yangtze River, then go down the river, go to Nanjing, and go north from the canal! Then tell the Jinyiwei to send someone with enough silver to buy food along the way!"

Shen Shixing felt that this was getting more and more outrageous: "Your Majesty, if we really start a war in Nanjing, there will be endless troubles next year and the year after. Just investigating the case of the Japanese pirates robbing grain is enough to shock people."

Even if Chen Lin went there, he might not be able to mobilize the navy immediately. The white-flag soldiers who were unfamiliar with the place could not be considered a large army. Could they really start a massacre in Nanjing?
"I didn't say I would resort to war. I just went to Nanjing." Zhu Changluo said slowly, "Officials in Jiangnan should know my style. I want to see how many of you are tough besides having loud voices and good writing skills! After seeing these white-pole soldiers and female generals, how many people dare to speculate about me with common sense? If the white-pole soldiers can go north this year, they can go south next year!"

Seeing that he had said this, Shen Shixing could only look at Wang Xijue with a helpless smile.

Wang Xijue didn’t know what the emperor had planned, but he thought it was quite exciting.

"Using both kindness and force is the best strategy." Wang Xijue bowed, "I thank your majesty for your protection. With all the measures in place, I will write a letter back to Taicang."

After that, he looked at Shen Shixing and said, "Suzhou Prefecture, Songjiang Prefecture, Changzhou Prefecture, Jiaxing Prefecture, and other places are not important. As for the exchange of transportation in Suzhou Prefecture, you and I should both advise against private exchange next year."

"That's how it should be."

The Ming Dynasty has had too many emperors. As long as gold, silver, grain and tribute can be brought into the capital, nothing else matters.

Jiangnan let them go free.

Although most of the people in Nanjing knew what was going on in the capital, they could not understand the emperor's true temperament and ambitions like Shen Shixing and others.

The sentence "I will never let the grain prices in the capital soar" was probably the reason why the emperor was furious.

In order to fight for something, the transport troops who were supposed to be in charge insisted on delaying using the excuse that Wang Chengxun was not there, and they also caused so many bandits, looting and damage.

The emperor and the civil and military officials in the capital will naturally not be short of food at the moment, but with such a big incident happening on the canal, it is hard to say what the price of food in the capital will be like in the future.

What will ordinary people do in that case?
The emperor had told them personally that "the foundation of the country lies in the people."

After receiving the order, Tian Yi took action immediately, and Wang Dewan was summoned to the Yangxin Palace.

After receiving the order, Wang Zhizhen appointed Luo Sigong.

"You were the one who sorted out the list of salaries in the imperial guards. I will be the bad guy in the cleanup." He looked at Luo Sigong, "I will petition His Majesty to transfer you to the Northern Pacification Division. Your first business is to go to Wuchang Prefecture to meet His Majesty's personal soldiers, and then take them to Nanjing and return from the Grand Canal!"

Luo Sigong's heart trembled: "Thank you for the promotion, Commander! I will definitely live up to the heavy responsibility!"

(End of this chapter)