Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 329: Jiajing’s great cause of restoration made the bureaucrats anxious!

Yangzhou Post Station.

Lu Bing was sitting in the inn opposite the post house with his legs crossed, looking around.

Then he grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the empty plate on the table nearby.

And then.

While cracking melon seeds, he talked to Qiu Mian, the innkeeper who was half bent over and holding a bamboo hat.

"I have solved your problem for you."

"No one from the prefectural government will bother you again."

"But you can't drive away the vendor named Wang Rong who sells brown sugar cakes under your eaves. You must take good care of him and report any situation about him to me."

"Besides that, if you encounter any more trouble, you can report it to me."

"Also, if there are any orphans who are homeless, please take them in for me."

As Lu Bing spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his lapel and placed it on the table: "Also, if you want to find me, go to Yangzhou City to find this person."

Qiu Mian quickly picked up the note and agreed with a smile: "I've remembered everything, please rest assured!"

Because Lu Bing helped him deal with the evil official in the prefectural government who wanted to take over his store, Qiu Mian called Lu Bing his benefactor.

At this time, Lu Bing put down his right leg that was pressing on his left leg, then stood up, threw the unfinished melon seeds on the plate on the table, and said, "I'm leaving."

"Farewell, benefactor!"

Lu Bing waved his hand, tugged at his leather belt, then took the hat from Qiu Mian and put it on his head.

Subsequently.

Lu Bing left the inn and walked towards Yangzhou Inn.

Outside, the scorching sun is burning the earth, making people feel like walking into a furnace.

As soon as Lu Bing walked to the gate of the inn, sweat appeared on his forehead.

The postman wanted to stop him, but when he saw Lu Bing lift up his robe to reveal the waist badge of "Northern Pacification Office", he consciously moved to the side pavilion and held his breath.

After entering the post station, Lu Bing asked about the accommodation of Huo Tao and his group and then came to Huo Tao.

Zhang Tong came out first after Lu Bing came out and said with a smile, "You are getting more experienced!"

Lu Bing smiled slightly and asked Zhang Tong: "Did you encounter any trouble along the way?"

"What do you think?"

Zhang Tong smiled knowingly.

Lu Bing pulled out a prescription from his sleeve and handed it to Zhang Tong: "I asked a famous doctor in Liangzhe for a prescription to prevent seasickness. I tried it and it works. I'll give it to you. The sea is not as stable as the river."

"You have a heart."

Zhang Tong took the prescription and said something with a smile.

At this time, Lu Bing had already started talking to Huo Tao.

"Your father and mother asked me to tell you that they are doing well now, so you don't have to worry."

Lu Bing also mentioned Huo Tao's family.

Huo Tao nodded and asked, "Thank you for protecting my family. I'm sure you didn't come here just for this, right?"

Huo Tao already knew that Lu Bing was the imperial envoy sent by the emperor, so he started to call Lu Bing that.

"nature!"

Lu Bing replied, and then asked Huo Tao, "I believe that the envoy has encountered warnings from those who do not want the imperial court to go on a tour to Japan?"

Huo Tao nodded.

then.

Huo Tao asked Lu Bing: "So, what does your superior want me to do?"

"Cooperate with them first!"

"To lure the snake out of its hole."

Lu Bing replied.

Huo Tao nodded.

Lu Bingze bowed and said, "I shouldn't stay here for long. Goodbye!"

Huo Tao and Zhang Tong bowed and said goodbye to Lu Bing.

After arriving in Nandu, Huo Tao pretended to be sick and sent people to get medicine with great fanfare.

Upon hearing this, many bureaucrats and gentry in Nando who were relatives or friends of Huo Tao came to visit him.

Zheng Shenfeng, a doctor from the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, also came to the Nandu Hucheng Posthouse to visit Huo Tao. After seeing Huo Tao, Zheng Shenfeng smiled and said frankly while waving a Japanese fan: "The illness of the Qianxian is just what they want."

"I wonder who Bu Lang is talking about?"

Huo Tao asked.

Zheng Shenfeng laughed: "Why does the judge ask when he knows the answer? Didn't the judge receive their letter?"

"So, Bu Lang knows who is threatening me with my family?"

Huo Tao asked hurriedly.

Zheng Shenfeng shook his head: "Of course I don't know. I was just delivering a message for them. They only gave me a letter and asked me to do this."

"Then why do you listen to them?"

Huo Tao asked.

Zheng Shenfeng smiled bitterly and said, "I have to listen. In the letter, they accurately recorded which officials I accepted gifts from when I was the head of the Ministry of Examination! And which senior officials I gave gifts to! This shows that the person behind the scenes is definitely a terrible clique, a clique that a fifth-rank official like me cannot afford to offend! Otherwise, they wouldn't have the evidence of my crimes!"

Huo Tao looked stern after hearing this.

"It's really scary!"

Zheng Shenfeng then looked at Huo Tao and said, "So, you can't afford to offend them!"

"Which official in the world is not greedy and does not take bribes?"

"From the Prime Minister to the lowest officials, from the upright to the honest officials, all are not immune to vulgarity."

"So, if this clique can get evidence of my crime, then they can also get evidence against many officials, perhaps including the Grand Secretary and the Minister of State."

"Now this clique does not want the inspection of Japan to succeed. It would be great if the deputy governor is willing to cooperate with them. If he refuses to cooperate with them and insists on stirring up trouble and promoting justice, I am afraid it will be very dangerous!"

"So they asked me to bring a message to you. They hope that the governor will not only pretend to be sick, but also cooperate with them and not go against public opinion and risk the world's disapproval by raising troops against Japan!"

After Zheng Shenfeng said that, Huo Tao smiled and said, "So what exactly do they want me to do?"

"Let them sneak into the ships patrolling the East Ocean and serve as cooks or something like that."

Zheng Shenfeng replied.

Huo Tao immediately refused: "No!"

"If I pretend to be sick and postpone my trip to Japan, at most the emperor will think that I am afraid of difficulties and cowardice. But if I do as they want, it will ruin the whole process of the inspection tour to Japan!"

"If the cooks were mixed up with their people, who knows if they would poison the soldiers or set fire to the ship?"

Huo Tao then went on to talk about the reason for his refusal.

Zheng Shenfeng sneered: "Is this something you can refuse?"

"If the deputy secretary refuses to cooperate with them."

"They naturally have many ways to retaliate against the gendarmes."

Zheng Shenfeng replied.

Snapped!
Huo Tao slammed his head and stood up, his eyes wide open, "I've already given up my future and pretended to be sick, what else do they want! They are not easy to mess with, but is the emperor easy to mess with?!"

"Although the emperor's anger may cause millions of people to die, it is only temporary."

“The Great Wall is still here today, but Qin Shi Huang is no longer with us!”

"If the envoys do not do justice to the emperor, they may lose their lives, but a hundred years or several generations after the emperor passes, the world will still belong to them."

Zheng Shenfeng said in a deep voice.

Huo Tao was silent.

Zheng Shenfeng continued to sneer and said, "The emperor is wise and knows that in order to achieve the goal of strictly banning the sea, he must first cut off the roots of the big families along the coast so that they cannot use external forces to gain a name to oppose the court. But the emperor will not expect that it is not just the big families along the coast who do not want the emperor to strictly ban the sea!"

"Similarly, it's not just the wealthy families along the coast who don't want the emperor to tour the East and make external advances!"

"All bureaucrats in the world who only want to be at peace and govern the people and seek wealth do not want to see the emperor monopolize the sea power, dominate the world, and then manipulate the scholars like domestic slaves, and even make all officials live in fear all day long, and have to tremble with fear to take a penny for their own use."

"So, the emperor's current tour of the East is certainly the best strategy for the rejuvenation of the country, but by doing so, he is not only going against the wealthy families along the coast, but also against the majority of bureaucrats in the world!"

"He has not given up his cause of revival until now! I don't know if he really doesn't understand that most of the bureaucrats in the world don't really want him to revive the country, but just want him to use the name of revival to let the officials and gentry of the world reap the benefits, or if he is pretending not to understand!"

"To be honest, when the previous emperor passed away and Yang Xindu took power, the policy he implemented was the best policy for revival that truly won the hearts of the people!"

"Such policies as cutting down on brocade clothes, reducing grain transport, and exempting taxes, which only save public funds, are all supported by people!"

"He just refused to listen! That's why today, a newcomer like Qianxian was fooled by him and was in a dilemma."

After Zheng Shenfeng said this, he took a big gulp of tea and then fanned himself non-stop.

"Okay, I promise them!"

(End of this chapter)