The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 377: Frame-up
The southeast is in chaos again.

This is really a mess.

It seems that the Japanese pirates have not yet caused chaos in the southeast after landing.

However, the relatives and friends of the local tyrants and gentry have thrown the southeast into chaos.

The little emperor is clearly framing someone!

This kid actually dared to play this trick on them, how could this be tolerated?
They have always been the ones framing others, how could they have ever been framed?

It's turned upside down!

At this moment, the local forces are really not afraid of becoming the emperor.

As the saying goes, the emperor is far away and the mountains are high. Can the emperor really manage the local areas personally?

More importantly, they are all local tyrants. Even a strong dragon cannot defeat a local tyrant. How dare the little emperor frame them so openly? How can this be tolerated?

The Zhejiang Party secretly called out, and the relatives and friends of the local tyrants and gentry immediately became extremely angry.

These guys were much more powerful than the craftsmen when they made trouble. Running to the government office to appeal for justice was child's play for them. Beating drums, knocking on doors, and shouting everywhere were nothing compared to them. There were even more who rushed into the government office to make trouble and even caught and scolded local officials.

They made the provincial and county towns a mess, and many government offices were unable to manage themselves. The entire southeast was turned into a mess in an instant.

Wanli hasn't received the news yet.

Early that morning, around noon, he was walking towards the imperial study with a pleased look on his face, preparing to review memorials, when Luo Sigong suddenly approached, holding an envelope and bowing, saying, "Your Majesty, this is bad. The southeast is in chaos. Last night, I received many secret reports, and this morning, Governor Zhu sent our people to deliver the secret letters."

Is the Southeast in chaos?
Upon hearing this, Wanli took the secret letter, tore it open, and couldn't help but snort coldly.

The relatives and friends of those local tyrants and gentry actually dared to lead the riot and force Zhu Guozuo to let him in!

Because this is clearly a frame-up.

Zhu Guozuo didn't know whether to let them in or kill them. There were too many people causing trouble, and the southeast was in chaos.

This is clearly a frame-up.

so what?
He has ordered people to frame them, and there is no way for those local tyrants and gentry to escape the charge of colluding with the Japanese pirates. The evidence is irrefutable!
Do these guys still want to cause trouble?

Are all the people under his command vegetarians?

The Zhejiang Party must have known that these guys could not cause any trouble, but they still instigated them to make trouble, and when the trouble got out of hand, they had to send troops to suppress them.

You want me to send troops, right?
Okay, I'll show you what suppression by force is.

Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then said decisively: "Sigong, you will gather 10,000 elite Jinyiwei soldiers and take the navy's fast ship to Nanjing.

Tell Zhaolong not to rush. I will mobilize the navy's fast boats to pull the Jinyiwei's war horses over, and will gradually pull the Shenshu Camp over. He can take action after all the troops are here."

This is going to be a tough one.

Luo Sigong quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

While they were discussing, the chief minister of the cabinet, Shen Li, came with a pile of memorials, looking worried.

When Shen Li saw Wanli and Luo Sigong standing in the corridor talking, he was stunned.

Seeing this, Wanli asked directly: "Zhonghua, what's wrong?"

Shen Li quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, many officials have reported that their relatives and friends were inexplicably arrested by the navy. The navy also accused them of colluding with the Japanese pirates. They all said it was a frame-up and that their relatives and friends could not have had any collusion with the Japanese pirates."

With so many memorials, you want to play tricks on me by not blaming everyone, right?

The Zhejiang Party is really angry this time and is causing trouble everywhere.

Wanli picked up the memorial, read it, and said with some disdain, "Are they so sure that the navy officers and soldiers framed us?"

How do you say this?

Shen Li thought for a moment, then said carefully, "Your Majesty, they probably all think that the charge of colluding with the Japanese pirates is too serious. They probably don't want their relatives and friends to have their homes confiscated and beheaded."

Who made your relatives and friends serve as pawns of the Zhejiang Party?

You also want to be pawns of the Zhejiang Party, right?

Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then said coldly: "You should approve all these memorials. Whoever says that their relatives and friends will not collude with the pirates should write a letter of guarantee for their relatives and friends. If it is found that their relatives and friends have indeed colluded with the pirates, they will be treated as accomplices."

Is this an attempt to implicate someone?
It seems that they submitted the petition only to plead for mercy. If they were asked to provide their own guarantees, would they dare?
These guys most likely wouldn't dare to do that.

Anyone who dares to do so is mentally ill.

This kind of thing had happened in the Ming Dynasty before. When the emperor was in power, frame-up and even fabricated rumors would count as crimes.

The Hongwu Dynasty was a clear proof of this. The emperor would declare that anyone who rebelled was a traitor and that all nine generations of his family would be exterminated. Anyone who dared to complain would be exterminated together with the others!
It seems that His Majesty is going to emulate the Hongwu Emperor. Shen Li nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Highness understands."

Wanli nodded slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Okay, pick out the memorials pleading for your relatives and friends and go and approve them."

Upon hearing this, Shen Li quickly flipped through the memorial.

Soon, he respectfully presented the next ten or so memorials, then took the remaining pile of memorials and bowed to take his leave.

Wanli looked at his back and fell into deep thought.

The Zhejiang Party played this trick on him purely to make things bigger and out of control.

It looks like this time we're going to have to do something big.

You guys want to make things out of control, right?
I will use force to deal with you!
Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then asked, "Have the navy officers and soldiers sealed the homes of those local tyrants and gentry?"

Luo Sigong nodded repeatedly and said, "It's all sealed, and we're just waiting to confiscate the property."

This house search also requires evidence of crime.

It's not okay to just copy without any evidence.

If this is done, the greedy officers will really find any excuse to copy others.

It’s just right. We can find more evidence against them and give these guys a good lesson.

Wanli thought for a moment, then decisively said, "First, have the secret guards go to the homes of these local gentry and find all their land deeds, indentures, and IOUs. Then have the secret guards secretly find the maids and servants who sold themselves and the artisans who borrowed money and grain.

Tell your secret guards to tell them to prepare a lawsuit to sue those local tyrants and gentry. If there is any grievance, they should seek justice; if there is any revenge, they should seek revenge. If those local tyrants and gentry have done anything illegal, they should file a lawsuit. If they don't know anything, then sue those local tyrants and gentry for colluding with the Japanese pirates.

In short, have your men take a petition, a contract of sale, or an IOU and exchange it with them. The more the better. Also, have them go and cause trouble with the relatives and friends of the local gentry. If anyone does, you can confiscate their property and give them food to ensure they have enough to eat."

Wouldn’t this make the Southeast even more chaotic?

Oh, I see. If the chaos gets too serious, there's an excuse to send troops to suppress it.

Luo Sigong bowed repeatedly and said, "Your humble servant understands."

Wanli thought for a moment, then gave detailed instructions: "After you receive these petitions, have the Jinyiwei take them to interrogate those local tyrants and gentry. You must make them confess to any crimes listed in the petitions. If they refuse, they will be severely tortured until they confess."

Uh, are you still trying to force a confession through torture?

Luo Sigong bowed repeatedly and said, "Your humble servant understands."

Wanli narrowed his eyes slightly and said coldly, "After those local tyrants and gentry have confessed, you told Zhaolong to send the Jinyiwei and the Shenshuying soldiers to confiscate their homes. Tell Zhaolong that anyone who dares to interfere or cause trouble will be arrested and charged with conspiracy. Their homes will be confiscated and they will all be executed!"

How much will this cut?
Luo Sigong bowed repeatedly and said, "Your humble servant understands."

Wanli was ready to use force to suppress the rebellion.

Soon, Luo Sigong assembled tens of thousands of elite Jinyiwei and sent two hundred speedboats to Nanjing.

Then hundreds of speedboats gathered, pulling tens of thousands of Jinyiwei's war horses towards Nanjing.

Then came the soldiers of the Shenshu Camp and their horses and chariots.

He was constantly recruiting people to Jinling City, but the relatives and friends of the local tyrants and gentry in the coastal prefectures seemed to be completely unaware of it and continued to make trouble, as if they would not stop until Zhu Guozuo was let in.

Little did they know that at this time, the secret guards had already dug out the indentures and IOUs of the local gentry and were secretly looking for the craftsmen and maids and servants.

When these people heard that they didn't have to pay back the money and that they could exchange their indentures for them with a petition, they naturally found someone to write a petition to exchange them without hesitation.

The secret guards also told them that as long as they made trouble with the relatives and friends of those local tyrants and gentry, and then raided their homes, they would give them food to ensure that they would have enough to eat!

It would be a waste not to do such a good thing.

Normally they wouldn't dare to cause trouble, but now it's a matter of whether they can fill their stomachs, so they're going to risk it and make a scene.

As for why they believed the secret guards' words so much.

It's very simple. Because they filed a complaint, the secret guards really exchanged their indentures and IOUs for them.

This is the same principle as the bounty on the standing tree. Once they get such a huge benefit, they will naturally trust the secret guards.

As a result, the southeast became even more chaotic, and all the coastal prefectures and counties were in turmoil.

Those local officials were so frightened that they kept submitting reports.

When Wanli saw the memorial, he just smiled coldly and ignored it.

This is just the beginning, and the scarier things are yet to come.

(End of this chapter)