Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 498 Xia Yan was killed, and the cabinet was shocked!
After Zhu Houcong said this, Xia Yan smiled awkwardly, then had to bow and agree. He did not dare to object to the emperor's desire to benefit the gentry who had shown their loyalty to the court.

Next.

Zhu Houcong started talking about other things.

"There is another purpose for sending troops to Annan this time."

"That is to prepare for another voyage to the West in the future!"

"To go to the West again, we need a larger number of shipping and maritime trade talents, as well as more support from forces."

"In this case, the court needs to open the sea."

"Nowadays, maritime trade is controlled by the imperial merchants of the court."

"But the imperial merchants have many disadvantages after a long period of time. According to investigations, some imperial merchants relied on the support of the imperial court to force purchases and sales, and even became an important tool for powerful officials to gain benefits."

"Whether silk can be exported to the sea or not is up to you, Lord Xia, to decide."

"This results in some low-quality goods with backgrounds being exported, but they cannot be sold at a high price, while some good goods without backgrounds cannot be exported."

When Zhu Houcong got to this point, he asked Xia Yan, "Lord Xia, is this true?"

"Your Majesty, I am wronged!"

"These are all those villains who are slandering me. They are not happy with my insistence on the national policy of clearing the land and thus they are slandering me like this!"

Xia Yan hurriedly knelt down and began to argue with a pale face.

Zhu Houcong nodded: "Of course I believe you, but I also believe that any rumors cannot be completely groundless. Although the business model of imperial merchants controlled by the court can directly bring a lot of benefits to the court, the court's direct participation in trade is indeed prone to corruption, which in turn affects the development of trade, and then affects the increase in the total amount of wealth in the world, and then affects the total tax revenue."

“It’s not worth it!”

Zhu Houcong then stood up, put his hands behind his back and sighed.

Xia Yan nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is right. The reason why the Imperial Merchants were established at that time was because all the gentry in the world advocated a ban on the sea and only wanted to smuggle. In order to ban smuggling and prevent the overseas barbarians from being unable to trade and causing more pirate troubles, Your Majesty showed mercy and established the Imperial Merchants to open up the official trade route. However, official trade has led to corruption, which has accumulated resentment overseas and affected trade routes. Now it is indeed necessary to adjust it."

"I humbly believe that we can lower the restrictions on imperial merchants. Any merchant who is willing to pay a certain amount of customs duty to the court can be granted the title of imperial merchant, allowing them to represent the court in the sea to do business! In this way, we can increase the number of imperial merchants and let them compete with each other."

"Furthermore, we can sell the ports and warehouses in the Zhitong District that now belong to the imperial court to all the imperial merchants."

"The imperial court is only responsible for collecting official taxes from the Maritime Customs Office and the Maritime Customs Branch Office in the direct-controlled areas every year."

Xia Yan also proposed reform measures at this time.

“This is like opening the sea.”

"Very good!"

"Then spread the word and have someone submit a petition to open the sea. Let the wealthy families in Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong and other coastal areas who are advocating opening the sea know. Whether the court can open the sea depends on their performance in the next expedition to Annan."

Zhu Houcong then started talking with a smile.

"Yes!"

Therefore, Xia Yan organized the cabinet's secretaries to copy various ancient documents in the Wuying Palace.

Including the Yongle Encyclopedia.

The Ming Dynasty's inner court would select and appoint many scholars to serve as Zhongshu Sheren.

Among them, the largest number of people are Zhongshu Sheren in Wuying Palace.

But the most powerful person was the Zhongshu Sheren of the cabinet.

Because these Zhongshu Sheren would be exposed to confidential matters, most of them were children of powerful officials who had poor qualifications and failed to pass the imperial examinations.

The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet also tended to recommend the sons of old acquaintances whom they were familiar with to serve as the Cabinet's Secretaries.

Yang Shou, the grandson of the former Prime Minister Yang Pu, once served as a secretary of the Secretariat.

Therefore, after arriving in Beijing, he lived in the home of Chen Ling, the grandson of Liu Daxia, who was currently serving as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat.

After Yang Shou handed over the documents of Yongle's expedition to Annan, Chen Ling sighed and said to Yang Shou, "What a pity, now that the documents have been returned to the court, it will be easier for the court to conquer Annan. By then, it will be difficult for us to monopolize Annan's smuggling routes as before."

"fine!"

"The wealthy families along the coast will not let the imperial court easily succeed in attacking Annan by sea. At that time, the imperial court will still have to attack by land. Even if it succeeds, it will still cost a great price."

"Maybe because it was too difficult to fight, the court gave up."

"And my Yang family has already copied an old document from Annan. In the future, as long as the imperial court abandons Annan again, we will be able to regain control of Annan's trade routes."

"Then life will still be as beautiful as before."

Yang Shou said this and looked out the window hopefully.

outside the window.

Chen Ling's son Chen Ting walked in and said, "Father, Xie Shibo from the cabinet brought news that His Majesty has issued an order to build government-run libraries in various places, all of which will be named libraries. Those who are well-versed in ancient and modern times will be selected from the sons of the military to manage the libraries, and civilians who have bought bonds from the Ministry of Revenue will be allowed to enter the libraries to borrow books. In addition, His Majesty has asked the people in the Secretariat to copy the old documents of the expedition to Annan and the voyages to the West. In the future, these copies will be placed in various libraries, starting with the libraries of the thirteen provincial governors in the two capitals. The Ministry of Revenue has issued a decree ordering the prefects of the two capitals and the provincial governors to submit budget requests for the construction of libraries."

"How could this be?"

"How can such an important ancient document be allowed to be borrowed by so many people in the world?"

“Can this be shown to so many people in the world?”

Yang Shou stood up with a look of astonishment.

"Yes!"

Chen Ling also echoed in anger and disappointment, and asked with his hands spread out:

“How can this be made public?”

"We can't just open up this kind of information that can enlighten people and increase their wealth to the public just because we're worried about our bureaucrats stealing from us!"

"Even if it is strict governance, it is better than directly opening up knowledge!"

"Not only that, His Majesty is also preparing to open the sea!"

"Everything depends on the outcome of the expedition to Annan."

"In the Zhongshu Department and the Six Departments, the bureaucrats from the coastal areas were all running around happily telling each other, and some had even gone to the Ministry of Revenue to buy bonds worth more than 100,000 silver dollars!"

Chen Ting then continued speaking with a serious expression.

"We still need to go to sea?"

"How is this possible?"

Yang Shou was even more surprised. He fell to his knees on the ground with a thud, raised his head and cried, "Oh, God, why are you always against us?"

"It's over!"

"It's really over now."

"The Xingming Bank forced us to slash the interest rates on loans, the hidden fields were surveyed one after another, and the smuggling routes we monopolized were also cut off. How can we support the hundreds of people in our Chen family and the thousands of maids and servants?"

Chen Ting also slumped in his chair, muttering to himself.

"Father, uncle."

"Are you all right?"

Chen Ting asked with concern at this time.

"Sell your property."

"Also, try to let all the servants out of the house."

"Let's strictly control the children and make them study. If they don't study, they must learn a skill. For those who don't cooperate, let's split the family. Without the huge income, we can't maintain a big family."

Yang Shou then turned around and spoke to Chen Ling.

Then Yang Shou stood up, wiping his tears and saying:

"The world has really changed. Our Majesty is a true saint! He really wants to make the Ming Dynasty prosperous day by day. That's why we, who only rely on the blessings of our ancestors to enjoy honor and glory, have to spit out the food in our mouths bit by bit, so that the Ming Dynasty is no longer a Ming Dynasty that we can take and take at will!"

"We, the noble families, cannot expect to be both honest and wealthy in the future."

Chen Ling nodded and looked at Chen Ting: "Choose six of the nine concubines in your house, pair them with boys and send them out, let them get married and start their own families in the name of adopted sons and daughters, and give each of them two hundred silver dollars!" Chen Ting was shocked after hearing this.

"Father, don't!"

"Those were all carefully selected by my son, and each one is as precious as a treasure. If you let him give away so many, the incense of our Chen family will be affected!"

Chen Ting knelt down immediately and began to speak very reluctantly.

His father Chen Ling immediately slammed the table and stood up, saying, "What incense! What kind of family situation is this? You are still thinking about hiding a beautiful woman in a golden house, and thinking about beautiful women everywhere! You don't know how to be more capable. Forget about signing up to be an official in Donglai and Risheng and make achievements. Think about how to do some business with the little capital in the family! Do you really want to live off your savings like this?"

"Annan is about to be incorporated into China again. If the smuggling route is cut off at any time, how can you support it?"

"Those seductresses of yours spend at least a thousand silver dollars a month on cosmetics. Is your salary as a secretary enough for that?!"

After Chen Ling finished his lecture, Chen Ting asked, "Why can't you release your concubines first?"

"I'm going to beat you to death, you unfilial son! You'd rather let your parents suffer than yourself!"

Chen Ling couldn't help but get furious, and picked up a feather duster beside him to hit Chen Ting.

Yang Shou immediately hugged Chen Ling and said, "Please calm down! My nephew was just confused for a moment. After all, he is a man who values ​​love. A husband and wife are bound by love for a hundred days. How can he be willing to give up so easily?"

Chen Ling stopped fighting because of Yang Shou's persuasion.

Yang Shou looked at Chen Ting and said, "Don't blame your father. If you want to blame someone, blame Xia Yan, the treacherous minister. He is just like the previous prime ministers. He only knows how to curry favor with the emperor. That's why he did such a thing to bully the gentry and forced you to marry the beautiful girls in your house to the slaves in your mansion."

"Yes, thank you for your guidance, uncle!"

Chen Ting kowtowed and replied.

Next, he had no choice but to do as his father ordered, forcing his concubines to marry the boys in the mansion and leave the house.

Soon, Chen Ting discovered that he not only lost many beautiful concubines, but also his monthly salary was reduced a lot, and the supplies in the mansion were not as good as before.

This made Chen Ting even more angry.

What Yang Shou said made him agree more and more, and he felt that it was Xia Yan who caused him to be so miserable now.

"I heard that the Prime Minister recently took in a thin horse as a beautiful concubine?"

On this day, Xia Yan had just entered the cabinet, and Li Shi, the second assistant who had arrived at the cabinet in advance, started talking with Xia Yan.

Chen Ting, who also served in the cabinet, heard it.

Xia Yan was also smiling and replied to Li Shi: "It was just that I saw that she was good at tea making and quite to my liking, so I spent some money to take her into the house, but I never thought that the father-in-law would find out."

"I heard it from someone, too."

"That skinny horse is a beautiful lady, a famous and elegant person in the capital, who doesn't know her?"

"Of course, I can't hide it."

As Li Shi spoke, he came to congratulate Xia Yan.

Chen Ting, however, was furious as he listened to this.

Because Xia Yan was actually taking in a new concubine, a skinny horse, which had always been very expensive and whose price had skyrocketed recently due to the decline in human trafficking, and he had to release six beautiful maids because of the reforms carried out during Xia Yan's administration.

This made Chen Ting feel even more that Xia Yan's reforms were not for the country and the people but only for his own enrichment.

Xia Yan naturally didn't pay attention to Chen Ting and other minor officials. He just told a secretary who was working in his duty room, "Don't brew the official tea of ​​the cabinet. Brew the tea I gave you."

"Yes!"

Li Shi also smiled and said, "I heard that the tea that Yuanfu drinks costs three thousand silver dollars per ounce. I think it must be of the best quality."

"No, it's just a little more expensive than the official tea."

"But there's nothing I can do. I just can't get used to drinking these official teas."

"How about I ask them to brew a cup for you, and if you like it, you can take three ounces to try?"

As Xia Yan spoke with a smile, he generously shared it with Li Shi.

Li Shi was not in a position to refuse, so he just bowed and said, "Then it would be disrespectful to refuse it?"

Bang!
After hearing the conversation between Xia Yan and Li Shi, Chen Ting became even angrier. After losing his mind, he threw the unfinished teacup of official tea supplied by the cabinet to the ground.

Xia Yan couldn't help but look over and frowned as he asked Chen Ting, "Young man, why are you so impetuous?"

"Who allowed him to enter the Zhongshu Department?"

"Whose family is he from?"

Then, Xia Yan seemed to want to fire Chen Ting.

Chen Ting was just breathing heavily at this time, and picked up a sharp piece of porcelain from the ground. He rushed towards Xia Yan on the spot, knocked Xia Yan down, and then rode on Xia Yan, cutting Xia Yan's throat frantically with the porcelain piece in his hand.

Li Shi and the others were unable to react for a moment, and when they came to their senses, Xia Yan had already grabbed Chen Ting's hand, preventing him from cutting again. At the same time, he opened his mouth and asked with great difficulty: "Why are you killing me?"

"Treacherous minister!"

"You aided the tyrant and bullied the gentry!"

"He should die!"

Chen Ting said through gritted teeth.

……

……

"Your Majesty, something happened in the cabinet. A secretary named Chen Ting killed the prime minister!"

Zhu Houcong, who was still sleeping at Wanbin's place, soon learned the news from Huang Jin.

Zhu Houcong sat up quickly after hearing this and asked: "When did it happen?"

"This morning!"

Huang Jin replied.

Zhu Houcong asked again: "Why?"

"It should be that he was dissatisfied with the Yuanfu's support for the reform, so when he killed the Yuanfu, he cursed him for aiding the tyrant and oppressing the gentry!"

Huang Jin replied.

Zhu Houcong was slightly stunned after hearing this, thinking: "I am also being scolded. Fortunately, the people in my harem are all selected from humble families, otherwise I am afraid that this reform that is not beneficial to the gentry will also lead to the emergence of such a lunatic in the harem!"

After thinking about this, Zhu Houcong asked Huang Jin: "The cabinet is in the palace, and everyone entering and leaving will be searched for sharp weapons. How did he sneak in and kill the prime minister?"

"He broke the teacup with broken pieces of porcelain."

Huang Jin continued to reply.

Zhu Houcong couldn't help but sigh: "How much do you hate Yuan Fu and me!"

"How is Yuanfu now?"

Zhu Houcong continued to ask.

Huang Jin: "He's dead."

"oops!"

“What a pity!”

"I haven't let him..."

Zhu Houcong almost blurted out that he was planning to let Xia Yan take more blame.

Zhu Houcong stopped talking halfway and just complained, "I have said long ago that the officials in the Secretariat cannot accept the sons of officials who have received favors. Although these people are close to me, they are also the sons of wealthy families, and the most powerful of the wealthy families. You are unwilling to do so. In order to do favors for your relatives and friends, you use all kinds of excuses to prevaricate. Now you are fine, right?"

"Tell the Second Assistant Li Shi, the Minister of Personnel Huo Tao, the Minister of Revenue Wu Wendi, the Minister of War Zhang Zan, and the Minister of Rites Yan Song to come to the Imperial Study!"

"In addition, arrest the murderer's entire clan. They dared to commit murder in the inner court and kill the prime minister. Such evil deeds should be punished as treason!"

(End of this chapter)