The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 622 A strong dragon does not suppress a local snake

"Do you all know why, eight years ago, I gave up my high position and generous salary, resolutely left Shenyang, resigned from my post, and returned to my hometown to benefit my hometown?"

West Street in Taicang City, Wang Family Mansion, secret room in the living room.

Wang Heng, dressed in a Taoist robe and looking elegant, stroked the few hairs on his chin and glanced calmly at everyone in the room.

In this small secret room, the most powerful people in Taicang City gathered:

The patriarchs of the four major families, Eunuch Cao of the Weaving Bureau, Director Cai of the Huguan Gate of the South Canal, and Commander Kou Zhenhua of the Taicang Guard were all present.

At the door of the secret room, two servants of the Wang family were watching outside vigilantly.

The room was noisy, people were whispering and talking to each other, all discussing the inspectors from Nanjing.

Zhang Juzheng's son Zhang Yunxiu was actually a cruel official.

Kang Yingqian’s son Kang Guangxu was not a good person either.

Dai Li, a lecturer at the University Hall, was more like a musketeer firing in a line, and was meticulous in judging crimes.

And that butcher Li Zicheng...

The inspector has been preparing to survey the land in the past few days.

The wealthy people in Taicang Prefecture were trembling with fear.

Eunuch Cao looked up at Wang Heng and said in a gloomy tone:
"Prince Wang must have run out of ideas and couldn't draw any erotic paintings, so the Emperor of Qi no longer favored you and sent you back."

A group of old men burst into laughter.

As the only son of Wang Xijue, the prime minister of the previous dynasty, Wang Heng's journey to the imperial examinations is difficult to describe in a few words.

At the age of thirty, this playboy barely passed the imperial examination and became a juren. Such an achievement placed him at the bottom of the Taicang Wang family.

Fortunately, he was good at calligraphy and painting. Because his illustrations of "Jin Ping Mei" were very popular, he was introduced to the retired emperor by Kang Yingqian. Liu Zhaosun specially recruited him as a disciple of the emperor, and he was barely considered a Jinshi.

During the first few years after the founding of the Great Qi Dynasty, Wang Heng stayed in Shenyang, painting cats and dogs, and occasionally went to the Ministry of Justice to paint corpses.

That was Wang Heng's most painful time. He lost all his dignity and lived under someone else's roof...

Wang Heng wrote letters to the retired emperor every day until the 87th letter of resignation was submitted. Wang Heng finally moved the retired emperor and was able to leave the capital.

After returning to Taicang, Emperor Hongguang immediately rewarded Prince Wang with an official position. Wang Heng was not polite and served as magistrate of three counties in one go. Relying on the relationship with his father's disciples and former officials, he jumped back and forth between Qi and Ming, often helping others to get official positions, and became a pimp in the officialdom of Jiangnan.

Wang Heng had a good feeling about himself. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he regarded himself as a remnant of the previous dynasty and a giant in the Jiangnan officialdom. He took advantage of his seniority and promoted the younger generations, thus gaining a lot of fame.

The purpose of Da Qi's implementation of new policies in Jiangsu was to fundamentally eradicate the original interest system.

Wang Heng naturally became the representative of the opposition to the reform.

As a court painter, he had followed the retired emperor through many wars and had a deep understanding of the upper echelons of Qi. These experiences were his capital to become the pride of Taicang.

Wang Heng didn't look at Eunuch Cao. Although he was a juren, he looked down on eunuchs who had no testicles, let alone a eunuch from the previous dynasty.

"Stop laughing!"

Wang Heng slammed the table and said angrily:

"I didn't call you here today to joke around with you! If you want to joke around, go find Zhang Yunxiu. The deadline is February 10th. After the 10th, do you still feel like joking?"

The crowd was speechless.

Eunuch Cao, who had been laughing just now, now had a long face and glared fiercely at the official boots under his feet.

Zhang Jinglüe set the tenth day of the second lunar month as the deadline for measuring the land of all landlords and farmers in Taicang.

By February 10th, if the household's land account book has not been submitted to the inspector, the civil affairs officer will directly measure the land. Based on the comparison with the account book, all excess land will be confiscated, and the land tax owed to the state will be doubled. For example, if one hundred taels are owed, three hundred taels will be handed over.

It is said that the emperor issued an edict specifically to clarify the new law, which explained it this way:

The extra double interest was used to repay overdue interest and inflation that had occurred over the past two hundred years since the 25th year of Hongwu.

Everyone is confused about inflation, but they all know about interest.

So the emperor wants to lend money at high interest rates...

According to this collection standard, each of the four major families would have to pay over one million taels of silver.

Even if they paid the silver, all the land they had occupied over the years would be cleared out and distributed to the farmers in the south of the Yangtze River who had been bankrupted by them. If this were to happen, everyone would have no chance of survival.

The inspectors have started sharpening their knives these days. Three days from now, after the tenth day of the second lunar month, Liu Zhaosun's henchmen will start slaughtering pigs.

These desperate gentry, desperate to save their lives, secretly gathered together and went to Wang's house to find the pimp Wang Gongzi to discuss countermeasures. Wang Heng was famous for his wide network of contacts and wild ways.

"In three days, the Zhang family will have their land cleared. Those of you sitting here, none of you will be able to escape. Confiscating your property is the best option, but we don't know if you can save your life!"

Everyone was whispering. Cai, the official in charge of the banknote customs, had his account books copied by a Tartar named Li Zicheng yesterday. He was tortured for an hour in the provincial government office, but he refused to confess. After being released, he was worried that his time was running out and was in a state of panic all day long. Suddenly, he heard Wang Heng's threats and was so frightened that he was out of his mind. He shouted:
"Prince Wang, please save me, find me a boat, and leave Taicang to Guangdong overnight..."

The other gentry present also pleaded with Wang Heng, as if Prince Wang had the power of life and death over these people.

"enough!"

Wang Heng saw that the atmosphere was almost set, so he waved his hand and said angrily:

"If you all trust me, first prepare the money. Only with the money can we get things done!"

Eunuch Cao asked in a low voice, "May I ask what Master Wang is going to do?"

Wang Heng said sternly, "Since ancient times, no barbarian nation has lasted more than a hundred years. Liu Zhaosun usurped power and murdered the king, so his national prosperity lasted only a decade or so at most. I met him many times in Shenyang. Liu Zhaosun was impetuous and mean, poorly planned, and too soft-hearted. He survived several disasters, but it was all due to luck, but good luck always runs out."

Those who had heard of the Battle of Hetuala and the Battle of Beijing nodded in agreement, saying that Liu Zhaosun was such a person.

"Not only will Liu Zhaosun himself die young, but the Qi State he established after usurping power is also, in my opinion, in a precarious situation and unlikely to survive for much longer."

Everyone agreed after hearing this. Eunuch Cao sneered, "I've been breathing for more than ten years and I seem to be getting more and more stable. Young Master Wang, you are joking again."

Wang Heng ignored the eunuch and continued:

"Qi is a warlike nation, eager to fight everyone. Recently, refugees in Huguang rebelled. All these circumstances indicate that Qi's demise is imminent."

"almost."

The dignitaries in the room looked at Wang Heng with hope, like drowning men grasping at straws.

"What good plan does Prince Wang have?"

"Prince Wang, please save us!"

·····
Wang Heng tried to imitate Liu Zhaosun's movements, waved his hand towards the wealthy man in front of him, and said with infinite heroism:
"Don't be alarmed."

"If you are willing to trust me, you'd better hand over the silver first. As a thief, a desperate criminal, you have to pay for your life with silver. Without silver, you can't move an inch."

Eunuch Cao interrupted again, "Silver? If only the silver could be used to send Zhang Yunxiu away, it would save our family from wasting so much energy! Even the work at the weaving bureau has stopped."

Just as Master Cai was about to agree, Wang Heng said, "It's not someone who bribes the court, Eunuch Cao, you are mistaken."

Eunuch Cao's eyes gleamed, and he said with a smile:

"Young Master, do you want to rob your fellow thieves? Just take Zhang Yunxiu..."

He made a throat-cutting gesture on his neck, and everyone was shocked. Assassinating the imperial envoy was a serious crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of the clan.

Zhang Yuan whispered, "Brother Yuchen, think twice."

Wang Heng waved his hand and said, "A powerful dragon cannot defeat a local snake. You are all public servants. Don't you know this truth?"

"Besides," Wang Heng glanced at everyone with a stern look:

"Once we find out about the land you've occupied for hundreds of years, according to what Liu Zhaosun's son said, you will be skinned alive and your entire clan will be exterminated!"

Finally, Wang Heng concluded:

"Should I sit back and wait for death, or fight to the death and carve out a better life? Think about it!"

It is true that a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake, but Zhang Yunxiu has guns and soldiers, how can he fight against them?

Everyone started whispering again.

"Everyone! Everyone! Don't worry, I have my own plan. I will make sure that Zhang Yunxiu never returns, so that Liu Zhaosun will regret it too late."

"Pay the silver first, 10,000 taels per household..."

(End of this chapter)