Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 206: Issue an order to crack down severely and act with swift and resolute force!
The fact that Huguang Governor Xiao Cong was dismembered by thieves was an unprecedented event for the court officials.

Because, the Ganzhou Rebellion in which the governor was killed, which should have happened in the first year of the Jiajing reign, was successfully avoided in this life.

You should know that the governor is a high-ranking official who tours the local areas on behalf of the emperor.

Therefore, if a governor was killed, it would be considered a challenge to the authority of the imperial court, and it would inevitably make people think that there must be a serious problem of theft in Huguang.

"How rampant must the thieves be to be able to chopped even the governor into pieces."

Even the Minister of Rites Wang Zan, who was more concerned about the reform of ritual politics, could not help but discuss this matter with his fellow townsman Zhang Cong when he entered the palace.

Zhang Cong narrowed his eyes and said, "This shows that the reform of the official system to strengthen the inspection power of local government is imperative!"

After Zhang Cong said this, Wang Zan understood instantly.

As the two of them arrived at the Wenhua Hall, they saw the cabinet ministers, the Minister of War Wang Yangming, the Minister of Revenue Sun Jiao, the Minister of Works Zhao Huang, and the Minister of Public Security Zou Wensheng all arrived.

Soon.

Zhu Houcong also arrived in the hall, and after all the ministers saluted, he said:
"Just now, I received a report from the Jinyiwei of Huguang, saying that the governor of Huguang, Xiao Cong, was hacked to death by thieves. There is evidence of his clothing seal and the escaped servants. It is said that after Xiao Cong left the Liao Palace, he and Wu Dinghou went to see Mr. Yuan off, and did not bring many people with him. Therefore, the thieves caught him and took the opportunity to rebel."

Speaking of it.

Zhu Houcong said sternly: "But even so, it can be seen how much these Huguang thieves do not take the imperial court seriously!"

"My intention is to crack down severely!"

"It just so happens that Huguang is now implementing a reform of the civil service system, increasing the salaries of local officials, increasing the number of local officials, and especially increasing the number of inspectors. We can use this opportunity to establish a temporary crackdown regulation."

"This year, in Huguang, compared to normal times, those who can be severely punished will be severely punished, those who can be simplified in the trial process will be simplified, and those who cannot be arrested will be arrested. In particular, for emergencies, local officers and soldiers are allowed to suppress them on the spot and report them afterwards. If there are unjust, false and wrong cases, they will be impeached and corrected afterwards."

"I wonder what you think?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Zhang Cong was the first to step forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have no objection! The fact that the governor is involved shows that the bandit problem in Huguang is already very serious. Only this can serve as a warning to the local bullies and bandits, and let them know that the majesty of the court cannot be desecrated!"

"I have no objection. If the killing of the governor can be ignored, it will encourage the bandits to rebel against the people. I am afraid that there will be stubborn and law-breaking people who will follow suit!"

"If this happens, the local areas will be unstable, and if the local areas are unstable, the border towns will be unstable, and if the border towns are unstable, the country will be unstable!"

Yang Yiqing followed up.

But Grand Secretary Shi Yan always felt that this matter was not that simple. He knew that these ministers did not dare to make it clear, so he decided to make it clear himself and stepped out of the line and said:
"Your Majesty, the killing of the governor is indeed a national event! And Your Majesty has already made the decision, there is nothing to say."

"But I have thought about it again and again, and there is still something that makes me feel uneasy. However, there is still something that makes me feel uneasy. If I don't speak out my uneasy feelings, and I don't dare to speak out my words for fear of offending others, then what use will Your Majesty have for me, and how can I repay my loyalty to you, Your Majesty, and my father?"

"I think that what the Jinyiwei reported may not be true, and the testimony of the servants is a solitary testimony, which may not be true. We should order the inspector or the provincial procuratorate to find out whether the thieves exist and whether they are really rampant, and then decide whether to crack down on them severely."

"Otherwise, once the crackdown is issued, the number of unjust deaths will increase dramatically, which will also be a threat to the harmony of heaven!"

Zhu Houcong secretly sighed that although Shi Yao was upright, he was indeed pedantic. When he was the Minister of Personnel, he was able to magnify his strengths and cover up his weaknesses, but when he became a Grand Secretary, his strengths were concealed and his weaknesses were magnified.

"What the elder said makes sense, but it takes a lot of time to go from the imperial court to Huguang, and the inspectors and the procuratorate have to send people to investigate. In addition, the thieves' whereabouts are elusive, so if the court decides to crack down on them after they find out that it is indeed the thieves, it will take a lot of time. By then, who knows how many innocent officials and civilians will be killed."

"Instead of doing this, it would be better to just issue an order for a severe crackdown."

Zhang Cong then refuted Shi Yan.

Shi Yan then asked Zhang Cong: "What if a large number of people who were not killed were killed?"

Zhang Cong said: "We should trust our colleagues in the local government, and we should trust the cabinet minister even more, because the local officials were appointed by the cabinet minister when he was the prime minister."

"What Zhang Qing said makes sense."

"Master Shi, you must be confident!"

Zhu Houcong looked at Shi Yan with a smile.

Shi Yan was speechless.

The Minister of Works Zhao Huang thought that this was a good time to bully Shi Yao, a gentleman, in order to win the favor of the emperor. After all, gentlemen are easy to bully and there is no need to worry about retaliation.

Therefore, he also said at this time:

"Your Majesty! I think that because most of the officials in the world were appointed by Lord Shi, Lord Shi might be afraid that he would be implicated in an unjust, false or wrong case, so he opposed the will of the Holy Lord."

After hearing what Zhao Huang said, Shi Yao excitedly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no such intention!"

Zhu Houcong knew that Zhao Huang was a hypocritical villain, so he dared to bully Shi Yao, a gentleman, at this time.

But he had to admit that a gentleman like Shi Yan could only be wronged by a villain like Zhao Huang. After all, no one with a kind heart would have the heart to bully someone.

"Since you don't mean that, don't object, lest you arouse suspicion!"

"Also, I still say the same thing, Master Shi, you must be confident!"

Therefore, Zhu Houcong just nodded and said a few words.

Shi Yao nodded his head in agreement, and could only say angrily: "I am willing to take back what I just said. I agree to crack down severely for a period of time to prove that I have no selfish motives!"

Next.

Zhu Houcong asked other people again.

The other cabinet ministers and nine officials had no objection.

then.

The matter was thus settled.

Zhu Houcong used Xiao Cong's death to achieve his own goal, making him a real sacrifice for the reform and forcing the nine ministers of the cabinet to agree to a severe crackdown in Huguang.

The fundamental reason why Zhu Houcong launched a severe crackdown in Huguang region was not to eliminate thieves, but to verify the strength of the local government of Huguang after the reform of Huguang's official system. At the same time, to prevent local forces that opposed his low-interest loans from causing chaos in the local area by pretending to be thieves.

However, Zhu Houcong had always lacked a reason to convince the ministers in the court, or to make the issuance of the decree of severe crackdown seem justified. So, he had been waiting for this opportunity.

Coincidentally, Xiao Cong gave him this opportunity.

Naturally, he would take advantage of this opportunity.

Because the Governor of Huguang, Xiao Cong, died an untimely death, it was necessary to appoint a new Governor of Huguang.

After discussion, the cabinet recommended that Shu Sheng, who had been promoted to the position of Shaoqing of the Imperial Household Department, be transferred out of the capital to serve as the Governor of Huguang, and requested an imperial decree to allow Gui E, the Deputy Director of the Military Selection Department, to also leave the capital to serve as the Deputy Envoy of Huguang and the Military Preparations Commissioner of Jingzhou and other places.

As for the former Deputy Envoy of Huguang and Military Commissioner of Jingzhou, Tu Zun, he was ordered to retire because of his ineffectiveness in patrolling the local areas.

Zhu Houcong naturally agreed to this.

He could also see that the cabinet was beginning to recommend people who were willing to work to important positions.

Because Shu Sheng had experience in suppressing bandits in Shandong, and even had the courage to suppress local dignitaries.

Gui E, needless to say, was well-known for his daring actions. When he was a county official in the local area, he repeatedly offended his superiors and subordinates. When he was an imperial censor in Beijing, he dealt with the monks, nuns and unscrupulous businessmen in the capital so that they were terrified at the mention of his name.

Before the two men left Beijing, Zhu Houcong summoned them to meet.

Generally speaking, the emperor seldom summoned governors or even military governors.

But the situation this time is special.

Through this special summons from the emperor, Shu Sheng and Gui E also realized that the emperor attached great importance to what they were going to do in Huguang.

It is worth mentioning that Shu Sheng and Gui E are both from Anren, Jiangxi Province, and both have military backgrounds.

However, Shu Sheng was a Jinshi in the 15th year of Hongzhi, and Gui E was a Jinshi in the 6th year of Zhengde.

Therefore, Gui E had naturally heard of Shu Sheng's name in his hometown before he passed the imperial examination. However, he had never expected that he would go to Huguang to take up a post with this fellow villager and enter the palace to meet the emperor together.

But Shu Shengke did not have much expectation for his fellow villager to go to Huguang with him. Instead, he felt a little depressed.

Because Gui E was well-known for his love of contradicting his superiors, if the Minister of Personnel had not always been Shi Yan and had not been replaced in advance, it would have been impossible for him to be selected as the Imperial Censor simply because of his outstanding political achievements.

Therefore, no official would like to have someone like Gui E as his subordinate.

Shu Sheng was no exception. Naturally, when he saw Gui E bowing to him at Donghua Gate, he just returned the greeting reluctantly.

Gui E was always very smart. Seeing Shu Sheng like this, he said bluntly, "Are you unhappy that you have a subordinate like me?"

"No way!"

Shu Sheng denied it quickly. Although he was unhappy, he did not want to be enemies with Gui E. After all, they were from the same hometown and they would go to Huguang to work together. What's more, Gui E was a meritorious minister in discussing rituals and had long been in the emperor's favor.

But when Gui E asked this, Shu Sheng felt a little panicked, because he thought he was good enough at hiding his disappointment, but how could Gui E still see through it?

"You don't have to be so harsh. If you don't have any grudges against me, then as a fellow villager, you shouldn't be so indifferent when you see me."

When the fellow sees the fellow, tears well up.

Gui E obviously felt that as a fellow countryman, it was normal for Shu Sheng to be more enthusiastic after meeting him.

"I am naturally introverted, so don't think too much about it."

As Shu Sheng spoke, he took the emperor's imperial edict summoning them, gave it to the Jinyiwei on duty for inspection, and then walked in first.

Gui E did not say anything more, but followed, and together with Shu Sheng, he bowed deeply to Zhu Houcong: "I ask how your Majesty is doing."

"I am safe!"

Zhu Houcong replied with a sullen face.

Shu Sheng and Gui E saw that the emperor looked unhappy, and they became even more nervous.

Zhu Houcong said: "Marquis Wuding reported to me a case, saying that the Liao prince Zhu Zhige insulted my teacher! In fact, it was not only Marquis Wuding who saw this incident, but only Marquis Wuding was reported."

"But since it involves the royal family and it's only the one-sided statement of Marquis Wu Ding, it's not easy to make it public! However, when you get to Huguang, you must also seriously investigate with me to see if this matter is true or not."

After Zhu Houcong said this, the two of them bowed and agreed.

For the two of them, they knew that although the emperor only asked them to investigate whether the matter was true or not, he was also intentionally telling them that the reform in Huguang might be more complicated than they imagined, and that the power of the princes might be involved. In addition, there were probably not many people in the Huguang officialdom who were truly in the same mind as the court, otherwise many Huguang officials would not have seen Yuan Zonggao being insulted, but only Guo Xun submitted a memorial. Although some people might not dare to submit a memorial for fear of offending the princes, except for Guo Xun, none of the provincial judges, governors, and circuit governors reported to the Censorate. This really made people wonder whether there might be officials who were eager for Yuan Zonggao to be humiliated and therefore unwilling to offend the princes for Yuan Zonggao.

"It is not easier to implement the new policy in Huguang than in Nanzhi. First, there are the power of the vassal kings, second, there are the power of the chieftains, and third, it is the place where the mausoleum of Emperor Xingxian is buried. Do you have the confidence to implement the new policy given to you by the court?"

Zhu Houcong also asked about the two of them because of this.

Gui E bit his cheek tightly and bowed his hands heavily, saying: "I dare to die for my country!"

Shu Sheng glanced at Gui E, then bowed heavily and said, "Me too."

Zhu Houcong nodded.

The end of June in the second year of Jiajing.

When the two men arrived in Huguang, Shu Sheng immediately issued a document in the name of the governor, requiring officials above the rank of county magistrate to come to the governor's office to receive instructions within a certain period of time.

It is obvious that both of them are decisive and resolute people.

However, when the deadline arrived, the governor Meng Jing and three county magistrates did not come to the government office to receive instructions.

"Is this dissatisfaction with the two of us, or dissatisfaction with the court?"

Shu Sheng couldn't help but ask about Gui E.

"No matter who they are dissatisfied with, during the crackdown, since they don't obey orders, I will just order them to be arrested and questioned!"

Gui E said in a deep voice.

(End of this chapter)