Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 148 A City of Frightened Birds

All of a sudden, many people left Nanjing.

Some people went out from the Jinchuan Gate in the north and then turned east, continuing on the land route.

Some people went out from Dinghuai Gate in the west and took a boat directly, some went in other directions, and some went down the river to Zhenjiang.

Some people went out from Zhengyang Gate in the south and rushed to various places in the south of the Yangtze River.

Zhang Yi seemed relatively calm and was still working at the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing.

But there was no one else in his office, and the few remaining officials in the Ministry of Revenue did not see what he had done today.

Zhang Yi had been sitting there for a long time, but still couldn't decide how far this matter should be pursued.

You don't have to touch him, do you?

The Nanjing Minister of Revenue is the symbol of the interests of the entire Nanzhili and the three provinces of Zhejiang, Huguang, and Jiangxi. He is an important link in the entire Ming Dynasty salt tax interest chain. He is too much...

It was just that someone smuggled some private salt. If the Nanjing Minister of Revenue was held responsible for this, then the whole of Jiangnan would be convinced that the emperor would sooner or later take major actions in Jiangnan.

If he was only directly involved in this case... Zhang Yi knew that he had no responsibility, as Geng Dingli himself said that he had arranged it.

He is the one who thinks of the ideas and does the work.

As for what they talked about face to face that day, it was nothing more than saying something like "Your Majesty may not know the importance of grain transport to Jiangnan" and so on, and it did not fall into the ears of others.

Not to the point of... Are we going to be like a frightened bird? Or should we rebel as early as possible, as Mr. Xiao said?
Duke Wei went to the outskirts of Nanjing yesterday. The Xiaoling Mausoleum is on Zhongshan Mountain, not far away... The Xiaoling Guard is right there.

Can’t…

The Ministry of Rites not far away was relatively quiet, and Ye Xianggao was not in the yamen at the moment.

Because the family received a letter, and the person who wrote the letter was Wang Xijue.

Ye Xianggao was reading the letter in his study.

In the letter, Wang Xijue talked about what he knew about Ye Xianggao and mentioned Ye Xianggao's close friend Wang Xihou.

[In the 17th year of the Wanli reign, I saw a newly minted Jinshi named Wang Xihou, and naturally I wanted to talk to him...]

Ye Xianggao could hardly remember what happened, but he did remember that Wang Kangguo had a conversation with Wang Xijue at that time.

He passed the imperial examination six years later than Wang Xihou. At that time, he was in the Hanlin Academy. Wang Xihou was soon appointed as a magistrate in Shunde Prefecture.

[Speaking of the two of you knowing each other since childhood and sharing hardships, it was when the Japanese pirates were rampant in your hometown of Fuqing...]

At that time, Ye Xianggao was only two years old, and his family fled for refuge. Wang Xihou was three years old, and the two families hid together.

[She lived on a few square meters a day, living under the eaves, without a bed. Her mother's legs were dampened by cold, and she still suffered in her old age. Fortunately, Qi Jiguang, the Marquis of Zhenyi, defeated the Japanese nest in Niutian, and the Japanese invasion in Fuqing was initially suppressed. On the way back home, the ship encountered a strong wind, and she was also a narrow escape from death.]

[Your Excellency Jin knows the dangers of Japanese pirates. Nowadays, there are mad and daring bandits in Jiangnan pretending to be Japanese pirates to intercept and destroy grain and kill transport soldiers. How many families have lost their pillars? Your Excellency Jin, we are in the court and it is difficult for us to make this matter a small matter. Your Majesty has just ascended the throne and you should be considerate of your subjects. Such a major case and tragedy should not be ignored...]

The meaning is the same. Wang Xihou was also a rare honest official. During his three years in office, his achievements were ranked first, and he was "recommended five times". However, he was eventually impeached and returned home because he offended his superiors.

This time, Wang Xijue has recommended Wang Xihou to be the magistrate of another prefecture.

And you, Ye Xianggao, have been appointed as the Minister of Rites of Nanjing, and have personally experienced the Japanese invasion. Can you fully cooperate with the imperial envoy in this matter?

This time Jiangnan was indeed too outrageous. Without an official of sufficient weight, and unable to warn the rest of the officials, gentry and wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan, how could the three cabinet ministers who came from Jiangnan persuade the emperor to calm down his anger?

Didn’t you see that Lord Shen personally sent Xiao Daheng to Jiangnan? Although he was born in Shandong, he was a general of the Zhejiang Party!

Ye Xianggao put down the letter, walked out of the study in deep thought, and then said to the housekeeper: "You arrange two capable people to take some money back to Fuqing. Brother Kangguo is about to be reinstated. Go pick him up and go to Nanjing to say goodbye first."

Wang Xijue did him a favor, but Ye Xianggao was not so sentimental.

After all, he did not petition for the reinstatement of his childhood friend.

Now facing the olive branch thrown by Wang Xijue, Ye Xianggao began to think about his intentions.

The three cabinet ministers were all around seventy years old and were all from Jiangnan.

Among the twelve Shangshu in Beijing and Nanjing, only Zhu Guozuo and Ye Xianggao were from the Hanlin Academy. Although they were born in Fujian, which is also south of the Yangtze River, they cannot be said to be from Jiangnan.

At least Fujian’s taxes are managed by the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing.

Thinking about the previous dispute over the newly added gold flower and silver, Ye Xianggao's heart began to beat fast.

Could it be that after Xiao Daheng came, he would not leave? Shen Yiguan made such an arrangement, probably to let the emperor watch the powerful Zhejiang Party in the court leave a general.

The emperor and his ministers are jealous of each other... Shen Yikuan needs to prove himself.

Wang Xijue's son was selected as the second place, and he also needed to prove himself to the emperor and the court and the public.

The person who came to try the case now was a general of the Zhejiang Party, but it was Wang Xijue who wrote to him, and Shen Shixing had previously used the word "Wo" without the human character.

It shouldn't be a big deal, but Geng Dingli... a mere fourth rank, is definitely not strong enough!
"Get your horses ready!" Ye Xianggao made up his mind and said as he returned to his study, "After I finish writing the letter, you will go to the Imperial Envoy's headquarters and personally hand the letter to the Grand Secretary!"

Over at the Yongwei Camp, Geng Dingli's three servants were being guarded and kneeling outside under the scorching sun.

Sweating profusely and terrified, Xiao Daheng and the others went to rest after lunch.

Geng Dingli was still sitting on the bench inside, which was the only remaining benefit he received as a "revolutionary member".

At 5:15 p.m., one of the three servants fainted from the sun. Xiao Daheng and his companions came out and continued to interrogate the case.

He asked about every detail, only asking about the details of the past few days, and repeatedly determined that Geng Dingli was only one of the masterminds and the instigator.

The questioning continued until almost dusk, when Qin Liangyu came in wearing a military officer's robes: "Eunuch Cheng, Governor Luo, Deputy Captain Yao and Commander Qin Banghan of the Left Wing of the Yongwei Battalion in Nanjing have arrived to deliver the evidence."

Xiao Daheng looked at Geng Dingli with a smile.

Qin Banghan came in to report, with four people behind him carrying two wooden boxes.

Xiao Daheng left the presiding judge's seat and walked over to look at the box placed not far in front of the three Geng family servants.

Before the box was opened, Xiao Daheng looked at Geng Dingli, then at the three men, and said meaningfully, "Geng Dingli, you'd better make amends and confess. If I really want this imperial envoy to investigate carefully and summon more people to the court, will you say that they are all false accusations against you?"

"…I still say the same thing! I ordered Cheng Bosong to rob the grain, but I didn't do it!"

"Do you think this imperial envoy is only asking about this case?" Xiao Daheng pointed at the box. "If I find other problems, will this imperial envoy, as the Minister of Justice, ignore them?"

"…The Imperial Envoy can ask about any case he wants to ask about. What can the dismissed officials do?"

"Very good." Xiao Daheng suddenly looked at one of the three Geng family servants, "On the second day of the second month, what are you doing in Jingjiang, in the middle of the Yangtze River, north of Changzhou Prefecture?"

He was questioned for a long time in the morning and was exposed to the sun at noon until he was sweating profusely and felt exhausted. At this moment, the man felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave when he heard the words.

"...Cao...Caomin..." The man suddenly heard him asking about the day a few months ago, and his teeth chattered, "Caomin...don't...remember..."

"You don't remember when you went to Jingjiang, or where you went, or what you did in Jingjiang?"

"I...I..." He was the one who had heatstroke at noon, but now he really fainted.

Xiao Daheng didn't care and asked someone to splash water on him to wake him up, then he looked at Geng Dingli leisurely.

"Jingjiang is surrounded by rivers on three sides, and there are endless boats coming and going. The Cheng family has a farm in a secluded bay on the west side of Jingjiang River. It has both a warehouse and a dock, and they employ some boat builders to repair their own boats. Your nephew-in-law has also bought two shops in Jingjiang County, and each of them has been managed by his son."

Geng Dingli clenched his teeth and looked at Xiao Daheng.

"Geng Dingli, I came all the way south without any entourage, and the officials along the way knew my whereabouts. Jingjiang knew that something happened to the Cheng family, but you haven't heard anything until today."

After saying that, he looked at the little man who had just been awakened and asked, "You went to Jingjiang again five days ago. You remember what happened five days ago, right?"

"I...I'm going to buy...buy..."

"Why would the dignified Jiangdu Censor have to go to Jingjiang to buy something?" Xiao Daheng looked at Geng Dingli with a sneer, "Do you know that he stayed in Jiangyin and did not cross the river to Jingjiang before returning? What a pity..."

Geng Dingli's pupils shrank and he clenched his fists.

(End of this chapter)