Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 276: Unite all forces that can be united and disobey orders!
There are undercurrents throughout the Jiangnan region.

After this meeting, the Jiangnan smuggling group, which was forced into a desperate situation, decided to unite the forces of all the Jiangnan gentry to resist Zhu Youtang's orders.

If it were any other emperor, this fight would most likely only take place in the court and be resolved by political means, and would never lead to any bloodshed.

The reason is very simple, because before Zhu Youtang, only two emperors, Emperor Taizu Gaohuang Zhu Yuanzhang and Emperor Taizong Wenhuang Zhu Di, held military power and could command all the troops in the world.

In addition, other emperors had military power that came and went, and at most they could command the three major camps around the capital.

The emperor could not even give orders to the border troops stationed in the north, let alone the garrison troops in the south and the Ming navy stationed in the southeastern coastal areas all year round.

If Emperor Xuanzong could really command the troops from the southern garrisons, the Ming Dynasty would not have been defeated in Jiaozhi and forced to recognize the independence of Annan.

The Ming emperors loved to play political tricks to balance the forces of various parties. For example, there was a smart emperor in later generations like Jiajing, who was so smart that he was almost a demon. He used mature political wisdom to play with all officials in the palm of his hand.

Is this because they like to play power games?
This is because they have no military power. If they could command 100,000 soldiers, they would be like Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, killing all the officials and causing rivers of blood.

At this moment, Zhu Youtang was truly able to command hundreds of thousands of troops, so the Jiangnan gentry were all very clear about this.

This matter could never be easily resolved without bloodshed in the imperial court.

Once we take action, it will be like declaring war on Zhu Youtang, and the real result must be decided on the battlefield!

Therefore, it is obvious that the first forces these senior officials in Nanjing contacted were the thousand-household guards in various parts of Jiangnan.

The conflicts among the guards in the Ming Dynasty have been analyzed many times before.

To put it simply, the chief officers of the local garrisons illegally occupied the fertile farmland of their soldiers and turned the regular garrison soldiers of the imperial court into their own personal slaves.

These military officers and thousand households have become de facto large landowners.

According to the Imperial Edict, occupying the land of the soldiers in the garrison was a serious crime punishable by death by slow slicing.

Therefore, when Wang Yan and Yang Jizong were investigating the number of acres of land throughout the country, what they feared most were not the local landlords and gentry, but the officers of these garrisons.

From the provincial commander-in-chief, to the prefectural commander, to the county commander-in-chief, all the military officers, not one less, will not be able to escape!
For this purpose, Zhang Sheng specially went to the Jiangnan Commandery in Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province.

The commander-in-chief was in charge of military and political affairs, was affiliated with the Five Prefectures and took orders from the Ministry of War, and was the highest military commander in the local area.

The position of the commander-in-chief was higher than that of the local governor and the provincial judge.

As soon as Zhang Sheng arrived at the gate of the Jiangnan Military Governorate, Jiangnan Military Governor Cao Lei was already waiting at the gate with his entourage.

"Master Zhang, if you have anything to say, just send someone to tell them. Why did you come here in person?"

Cao Lei bowed and saluted to Zhang Sheng.

Cao Lei, who held real power, behaved very politely towards Zhang Sheng, the Minister of Finance of Nanjing.

Although both of them were of the second rank and Cao Lei had more power than Zhang Sheng, Cao Lei still did not dare to neglect Zhang Sheng.

One reason is that Zhang Sheng is a native of Hangzhou and his family is powerful.

Secondly, the six ministers of Nanjing could be summoned to the capital by the emperor at any time to serve as the six ministers of the six ministries.

For example, the current Minister of Personnel, Wang Shu, was previously the Minister of War in Nanjing.

With a transfer order, he went from being a semi-idle official to an official of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, all the forces in Jiangnan were relatively respectful to the six ministers of Nanjing.

Zhang Sheng returned the greeting, and said politely but anxiously, "Commander Cao is too polite. This is a matter of great importance. Minister Zhang Peng originally wanted to come here in person to inform you, but unfortunately he is busy with affairs in Nanjing and cannot leave."

"That's why I came here on behalf of Minister Zhang Peng to discuss important matters with you."

In Nanjing, the minister with the greatest power and the highest status was not the Minister of Personnel, but the Minister of War.

Cao Lei was shocked and doubtful when he heard Zhang Peng's name, and he dared not neglect it: "I wonder what is the reason for all the gentlemen to mobilize so many troops?"

Zhang Sheng looked around and said, "This is not the place to talk. Let's go inside and talk."

Cao Lei seemed to have finally realized what was happening, and he quickly bowed and said, "Master Zhang, please come in."

"please."

With Zhang Sheng's previous words in mind, Cao Lei took Zhang Sheng to a safe and private room.

After Cao Lei dismissed his attendants, he said to Zhang Sheng, "Master Zhang, this place is very safe. If you have any questions, just tell me."

Zhang Sheng nodded, and without wasting time, he got straight to the point: "Wang Yan and Yang Jizong found 700,000 acres of hidden land in Feng County."

“And there are more than 400,000 acres of land that have been sold and bought without being registered.”

"I wonder if Commander Cao has heard of this matter?"

Cao Lei's heart sank and his brows suddenly furrowed.

"Yes... I have heard a little bit about it."

Cao Lei had not only heard about it, he was so anxious that he couldn't sleep.

Although Feng County did not have a thousand-household garrison, if Wang Yan conducted a thorough investigation, he would find that none of the garrison officers in the entire Jiangnan region were clean.

As the commander-in-chief, he would be the first to be caught and taken to the capital to be tortured to death.

Because of this matter, he hasn't had a good night's sleep for half a month, fearing that one day in the middle of the night, he would be arrested by the guards under Zhu Youtang and brought to Beijing for execution.

Zhang Sheng smiled slightly, knowing that Cao Lei was just being stubborn.

They and Cao Lei are in the same boat, so Zhang Sheng didn't want to beat around the bush with Cao Lei and went straight to the point.

"Your Majesty's policies are harsh and cruel. You are not only measuring the land, but also investigating smuggling and opening up the sea to the West. You won't leave us a way out."

"Now, waiting for an investigation is a dead end. Only by resisting tyranny can we have a chance of survival."

"Commander Cao, do you have the courage to join us in planning something great?"

Bang!

With a crisp sound, Cao Lei's legs went limp and he fell to the ground.

"what?!"

Cao Lei looked at Zhang Sheng in disbelief, his eyes filled with shock and fear: "My Lord, what do you mean by that, you want to rebel?!"

Zhang Sheng frowned, his expression unhappy: "What do you mean by rebellion? That's too harsh of you to say."

"Your Majesty is unkind. This is called resisting tyranny. If Your Majesty was willing to give me a chance to live, why would it have come to this?"

"But...but..."

Cao Lei still hesitated: "We have no name for our master, so how can we not be branded as disloyal and unfilial, and be laughed at by the world?"

"No! No!"

Zhang Sheng knew very well that this was an excuse Cao Lei came up with because he was afraid of taking responsibility.

But in fact, Zhang Sheng has already figured out a way to deal with this last omission.

"Who told you that we have no reason to be a disciple?"

"Hmm?" Cao Lei's eyes widened as he looked at Zhang Sheng. Zhang Sheng smiled and said slowly, "Ning Wang of Nanchang Prefecture in Ganzhou will raise an army to purge the emperor's entourage on the grounds that Your Majesty was bewitched by the treacherous eunuch Wang Zhi, was extremely violent, and had persecuted all officials."

"When the time comes, we will all respond with one voice. If it succeeds, it will be another good story of the Jingnan Campaign. Even if it fails, if people want to criticize us, they should criticize Prince Ning for his rebellion and his rebellious heart."

"Prince Ning?!"

Cao Lei was horrified, his eyes full of disbelief.

Prince Ning was the only prince whose fiefdom was located in the Jiangnan region. The first Prince Ning was Zhu Quan, the seventeenth son of Emperor Taizu.

Zhu Quan was originally granted the fief of Daning. Like Prince of Yan Zhu Di, he was one of the thirteen frontier kings who guarded the frontier at that time.

During the Jingnan Campaign, after Prince of Yan Zhu Di raised his army, he took Prince of Ning Zhu Quan with him and fought from north to south, all the way to the city of Nanjing.

This was the only time in history that a vassal king successfully rebelled and became emperor.

During the Jingnan Campaign, Prince Ning Zhu Quan's outstanding field command made great contributions to Zhu Di.

In the first year of Yongle, Zhu Di, in order to both reward and fear Prince Ning, changed his fiefdom from Daning to Nanchang and let him be a vassal in the wealthy Jiangnan area.

Zhu Quan was a man who could really live long. He lived until the 13th year of the Zhengtong period. He bypassed his son and passed the throne directly to his grandson, the current second King of Ning, Zhu Dianpei.

Zhu Dianpei was already 72 years old and had been in power for 41 years. He was no longer able to handle affairs.

All affairs of the Ning Wang Mansion are under the charge of the current Ning Wang's Prince Zhu Jinjun.

Zhu Jinjun was the future third King of Ning. He was not well-known in history because he died a little early. He was promoted to King of Ning in the fifth year of Hongzhi's reign and died in the tenth year of Hongzhi's reign.

But he had a son who left a significant mark in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

That was the protagonist of the famous Ning Wang Rebellion, the fourth Ning Wang, Zhu Chenhao.

In the 14th year of Zhengde, Zhu Chenhao raised an army, gathered a force said to be 100,000 strong, attacked Anqing, and intended to capture Nanjing.

Forty-three days later, Zhu Chenhao was defeated and captured by Wang Shouren. He was taken to the capital and was executed in Tongzhou by Zhu Houzhao.

The entire incident of Zhu Chenhao's rebellion was also full of absurdity.

"Prince Ning is already over seventy years old. Would he still be involved in such things?" Cao Lei said in surprise.

"It was not Prince Ning who agreed to it, but Prince Ning's son. He had no choice in this matter. Whether he was willing or not, he had to agree to it."

Zhang Sheng did not explain, but Cao Lei's eyes fixed and his breathing became rapid.

Throughout the Jiangnan region, the various networks of relationships and interests of the upper class are intricately intertwined, and any single move can affect the entire body.

Zhang Sheng not only represented the court officials in the Jiangnan area, but also represented the aristocratic families.

Now, there is the top nobleman Prince Ning in charge, plus he is the highest military commander in Jiangnan.

This thing might actually work!

Cao Lei gasped a few times, as if he had found a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough in the chaotic fog.

"Okay, whatever you say, I will do it!"

"Resist tyranny and clear out the court for Your Majesty, today is the day!"

Cao Lei clenched his fists, his face firm, and finally made up his mind.

Zhang Sheng was not surprised by Cao Lei's decision.

But seeing this scene, he smiled as if relieved.

If they succeed in bringing the most important commander into their alliance, then the rest will be easy.

……

On the other hand, several landlords and gentry in Xuzhou Prefecture, including Sun, Wang, Zhou, and Li, were restless and had not been able to close their eyes for several nights.

Feng County is a county under Xuzhou Prefecture. Wang Yan investigated all the lands in Feng County thoroughly and found that they were all owned by these four major families.

This made them feel like there was a sword hanging over their heads, making it impossible for them to sleep or eat.

Coincidentally, someone from Nanjing came and invited them to discuss important matters.

Upon hearing the news, people from the four major families hurriedly got up and went to the appointment. A group of worried, frightened people sat together.

"Do you have any instructions for coming here this time, sir?"

The patriarch of the Sun family looked at the person sitting in the main seat respectfully and asked cautiously.

The person who came this time was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue of Nanjing. Like the capital, the six ministries in Nanjing also had a complete team of officials.

The Right Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue was not in a hurry to get to the point. He talked about this and that for a while, and only spoke after the heads of the four major families became extremely anxious.

"You all already know what happened in Feng County. There is no need for me to explain the consequences."

"If you still want to preserve the legacy of your generations, then there is only one way before you."

"As long as you do what I say, you still have a chance of survival."

"If not... then you can only wait for death!"

The Right Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue spoke very harshly, but the patriarchs of the four major families did not show any dissatisfaction. Instead, they spoke with a hint of joy.

"Sir, as long as we can survive this disaster, just give us your orders. We will definitely satisfy any requests you have!"

"Yes, sir, as long as we can keep this ancestral property, we are willing to go through fire and water!"

"Sir, please don't keep me in suspense. If you have any request, just tell me!"

"..."

"it is good!"

The Right Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue nodded approvingly and said, "Your task is very simple. From now on, let your servants and tenants revolt and cause trouble."

"The bigger the commotion, the better. It would be best if it could reach the emperor's ears and let His Majesty know that the entire Xuzhou is in chaos."

"Don't worry, the local Qianhu Suo in Xuzhou also knows about this matter, and no one will come to cause trouble for you!"

When the patriarchs of the four major families heard this, their faces suddenly changed and turned pale.

Isn't this... making them rebel?!

No, no, they just want to protect their ancestral property, but they don’t want to risk the lives of their entire family!
"Sir, how can this be possible? We...we..."

The four major families were so anxious that their faces turned pale and they waved their hands repeatedly.

The right assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue suddenly looked gloomy: "Idiot!"

"Don't you think about what kind of person the current emperor is? You have illegally annexed land and hidden good farmland without permission. You have committed a heinous crime punishable by the execution of nine generations of your clan!"

"Do you want to just sit there and wait to be caught by the factory guards and brought to the capital to be executed?!"

The words of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing suddenly made the patriarchs of the four major families freeze in their expressions. Even the words of refusal were stuck in their throats and they could no longer utter them.

(End of this chapter)