Fu Shanhe

Chapter 141 White Lotus Sect

Yin Zhiming did not decide to cause trouble here on a whim.

As one of the major families in the southeast, the Yin family secretly controls businesses throughout the southeastern provinces.

Relying on his reputation as a clean leader, he is well-connected everywhere, and Guangxi is no exception.

The situation began to change until their people discovered a gold mine there.

In the early stage, the progress was very smooth because the relationships among all parties were well managed.

After the gold was refined, the output far exceeded expectations, which soon attracted attention from all sides.

When the interests reach a certain level, the identity of a short-selling boss is no longer enough.

Under normal circumstances, when something like this happens, everyone sits down to talk, divides up the shares of the gold mine, and the problem is solved.

But those guys didn't follow the rules. Even though they had shown enough sincerity, they were still swallowed up by the other side, along with their people and mines.

Naturally, the Yin family could not tolerate suffering such a huge loss.

The tribesmen found him, hoping to use official power to retaliate against these chieftain forces.

Since clan interests were involved, Yin Zhiming personally wrote to officials in Guangxi seeking help, but the result was that no one could help.

The local officials were not stupid. They knew that the relationships between the local chieftains were complicated and any carelessness would lead to chaos.

His reputation as a scholar alone was not enough to make him risk losing his job and take action against the local chieftain.

In order to retaliate, the Yin family secretly funded the local White Lotus Sect, hoping to use the power of the cult to seek revenge.

However, the chieftain has soldiers under his command, and he can't be harmed by ordinary minor disturbances.

It happened that a party dispute broke out at this time. Yin Zhiming came up with a plan and planned to use the power of the Qingliu Group to create opportunities for the rebel party.

……

Instigating a rebellion is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

After the plan was made, the party struggle continued.

With its own people holding it back, the once powerful Qingliu Group is now nothing more than a powerful group.

People in the streets and alleys were discussing the overthrow of eunuchs, and everyone agreed to impeach the eunuch party together.

The emperor's desk was piled with memorials of all kinds.

The content of the impeachment is both laughable and sad.

They either criticized Zuo Guangen for his disheveled clothes or said that his steps were not in accordance with the rules and undermined the royal dignity.

Even using an extra basin of ice in the summer or an extra pound of coal in the winter was criticized.

The memorials submitted under real names were full of trivial matters.

The content of the anonymous memorial was extremely shocking.

What about sleeping on the dragon bed overnight, bullying the queen mother, confusing the royal bloodline, holding troops and placing a group of ministers under house arrest, tampering with the will and supporting a false monarch to take the throne...

It feels like a vivid wild history.

The truth is not important, the content is made up as explosively as possible.

Ji Zhaoshun, who was diligent in his work, was furious after seeing the contents of the memorial.

The content of the memorial submitted in real name was relatively normal, but since it kept harping on trivial matters, it was still impeachment after all.

If it was dealing with an ordinary eunuch, any reason would be enough, but the problem was that Zuo Guangen was the regent.

Even though it was the first time in the Dayu Dynasty that eunuchs were appointed as regents, Ji Zhaoshun felt extremely ashamed and was unable to make a fuss about it.

The appointment was confirmed by Emperor Tianyuan's will, including his succession to the throne, which was also part of the will.

To deny Zuo Guangen's position as assistant minister was to deny the legitimacy of his succession.

These contents alone would not make Ji Zhaoshun angry.

No one would have evidence of a crime written on his face. In his impression, Zuo Guangen must be a treacherous person since he was able to deceive the late emperor.

It is understandable that the officials could not find any other evidence of crime at the moment.

What he could not tolerate was the anonymous memorial, the content of which was so outrageous that it even dared to mention bullying the empress dowager and the debauchery of the court.

Once this explosive news got out, he, the emperor, would become a joke.

No matter how you accuse someone, you can't use this kind of crime!
All the memorials he was able to see had been screened by the Imperial Household Department.

Ji Zhaoshun had no access to any impeachment that had real weight.

The fact that such a devastating memorial could appear in front of him was clearly a subtle indication from the eunuch party that the Qingliu were talking nonsense.

But in Ji Zhaoshun's eyes, this was just a demonstration.

As an emperor, how could he be threatened by a eunuch?

He originally thought that Zuo Guangen was the late emperor's man and could have simply expelled him from the court, but now he has the intention to kill him.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

"Master Pang, there are two parties fighting in the court. As the Prime Minister, are you not going to intervene?"

Ji Zhaoshun said dissatisfiedly.

According to the original plan, if the two gentlemen launched the anti-eunuch movement and the cabinet followed suit, they could remove Zuo Guangen from the list of regent ministers.

Without the status of an assistant minister, there is no need to discuss the matter of dealing with a eunuch in the court.

"Your Majesty, I have warned you in the court, but you..."

Pang Hengsheng hesitated to speak.

The party struggle got out of control, but it was not his fault as the Prime Minister.

If Ji Zhaoshun had not interrupted him several times, he would definitely be able to suppress all the chaotic voices.

"Prime Minister, you are pretending to be confused in front of me!"

Ji Zhaoshun couldn't help but scolded.

They are all thousand-year-old foxes, it is impossible for them not to hear the hidden meaning in his words.

All party disputes are just excuses. The real purpose is to take down Zuo Guangen and establish authority.

As long as this loophole was opened, the pattern of eight regent ministers controlling the government would be broken.

As an emperor, Ji Zhaoshun could naturally take back some power in advance.

“Your Majesty, some things cannot be rushed.

After your wedding next year, you can take charge of the government.

If you feel that some eunuchs are not convenient to use, just replace them directly."

Pang Hengsheng persuaded earnestly.

This was not only his opinion, but also the opinion of several other ministers.

The emperor disliked Zuo Guangen, so the problem was very easy to solve.

After you take power, you can just reward him and let him retire early.

After a few years, he faded from the sight of the ministers and Zuo Guangen became the emperor's household slave.

You can kill or chop up the emperor as you please, but as long as you don't bring it up in public, everyone can pretend not to see it.

But it’s not possible now, as he is still the regent.

As the chief minister of the cabinet, he needs to consider issues from the overall perspective and cannot flatter the emperor on matters of principle.

As for offending the emperor, this was inevitable. Conflicts between the power of the prime minister and the power of the emperor had occurred throughout the dynasties.

Anyway, he is over 70 years old and his body cannot support him to work as the Prime Minister for a long time.

"What the Prime Minister said makes sense. I was too reckless!"

After the two of them stared at each other for a while, Ji Zhaoshun said helplessly.

The general trend is not on our side, so we have no choice but to show weakness.

Deep down in his heart, he had serious doubts about the loyalty of his ministers.

These people wanted to intervene just to deal with a eunuch, obviously not taking him, the emperor, seriously.

It was this doubt that made him lack confidence and confront the ministers head-on.

There are so many cases of powerful officials killing their kings in history books that Ji Zhaoshun had to think more about it.

Even though he replaced many people in the palace, he still felt insecure deep down.

His eagerness to take power was partly due to instigation from others and partly due to inner anxiety.

It's just that there's no one to talk to about this kind of thing.

……

As party struggles intensified, Li Mu, who was far away in Yangzhou, also felt the pressure.

The Qingliu manipulated public opinion and constantly forced the officials to take sides.

Those who can gain a foothold in the court are obviously not ordinary people.

How could I be willing to be forced to take sides?

They openly supported the Qingliu faction, but secretly kept in touch with the eunuch party, and their main goal was to bet on both sides.

"Your master has lost his mind, isn't he?"

Li Mu scolded without any politeness.

As a military commander, impeaching people is not his job.

Even if they wanted to overthrow the eunuch party, it would be the censors who would lead the charge and the officials who would set up the stage and perform.

In previous party struggles, military generals were rarely seen.

The main reason for doing this is to control the political struggle to the stage of literary struggle.

Even if the situation gets out of control, it will only result in a few more unlucky people being dismissed from office.

Once military generals are involved, the political struggle may turn from verbal to physical at any time.

It doesn't matter if you fail in the court struggle, you can just launch a military coup and take it back with force.

Once a precedent is set, there will be countless more.

"Commander Li, this is our master's letter.

After you have read it, it won’t take you long to decide whether to join the anti-castration alliance.”

The middle-aged man said confidently.

After taking the letter and opening it, Li Mu smiled with disdain.

You want to blackmail him with just a list of names? That's obviously too naive.

He had seen many similar scams in his previous life.

If the anti-castration camp really has such great energy and can gather so many people's support.

Not to mention overthrowing the eunuch party, even dethroning the emperor and taking the throne himself is possible.

“Go back and tell your master that military officers should not get involved in factional disputes. This is a rule established by Emperor Taizu.

Although I want to overthrow the eunuchs, it is not convenient for me to get involved.

As for the great cause of fighting eunuchs, I will ask your master to complete it for me."

Li Mu lied seriously.

……

One month later, Fengshan Sentry Post.

"Zhou Qi, is the news confirmed?"

The old man asked with concern.

A large amount of military equipment and supplies passed through their territory.

There were only a dozen soldiers escorting it, so it looked like a piece of fat meat delivered to the doorstep.

The White Lotus Sect has been entrenched in Guangxi for hundreds of years.

During this period, more than a hundred uprisings of varying sizes were launched, and more than 90% of them did not result in any significant action.

A big reason for this is the lack of weapons.

As soon as he organized his believers to launch an uprising, he was suppressed by government troops.

If a batch of weapons could be obtained before the uprising, the situation would be very different.

"Elder Zhu, don't worry!
Among the soldiers in charge of the escort, three were my disciples.

Half of the conscripted laborers were Christians.

All the military equipment and supplies were loaded by our people themselves.

During the transportation, it never left their sight.

It is said that there was unrest in the south, and the court sent supplies to the border troops.

There were eight hundred spears alone, including one hundred muskets and two cannons.

If we seize these supplies, we will have the weapons to start our rebellion.

With these guys in hand, even if the truth is exposed, those soldiers from East Lanzhou won’t be able to do anything to us!"

Zhou Qi promised solemnly.

When he received the news, he didn't believe it either.

But his disciples all insisted that it was true.

In order to verify the news, he went to check it out in person.

From a distance, the gun tip filled with cold light left a deep impression on him.

"Since it has been delivered to my door, I will suffer the consequences if I don't take it!
Zhou Qi arranged for our people to put laxatives in the food tomorrow.

The rest of you, gather your followers. We are going to do something big this time!"

Elder Zhu immediately gave the order.

In recent years, conflicts between natives and Hakkas in Guangxi have intensified, creating favorable conditions for the spread of the White Lotus Sect.

As an ancient rebel organization, the White Lotus never misses any opportunity to establish a paradise on earth.

A few days ago, when he was traveling in the north and communicating with fellow believers from various provinces, everyone revealed their intention to stir up trouble.

Everyone agreed to launch an uprising together on the birthday of Maitreya Buddha next year to overthrow the corrupt rule of the Dayu Dynasty.

It is indeed a little early to start now, but plans cannot keep up with changes.

Dayu has strict control over military equipment. If you miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to get weapons again.

(End of this chapter)