The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 494: Relatives by marriage are most easily exploited

Luo Sigong really didn't expect that Wanli would suddenly come back.

He never expected that Wanli would summon him as soon as he came back.

Originally, when Wanli was in the capital, he basically sat on duty in the palace, waiting to be summoned.

Since Wanli was not in the capital, he did not stay in the palace for long.

He is eating at home now.

As soon as the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict from the palace came, he quickly dropped his bowl and ran to the palace.

Fortunately, the Jinyiwei Back Street was not far south of the imperial city, so it didn't take him much time to run into the palace.

When Wanli heard that Luo Sigong had arrived, he immediately comforted him, "Xier, don't worry. Xiaobing probably didn't embezzle so much money on his own initiative this time. He was probably being used by someone.

I will order Luo Sigong to conduct a thorough investigation. The person who used him is very likely the person I am looking for. He may have made a great contribution this time. When the time comes, I will not only not punish him, but will reward him. "

what?
Upon hearing this, Queen Wang asked in disbelief, "Your Majesty, is this true?"

pretty close.

Wanli smiled slightly and said, "I'm not kidding. Just wait for good news."

After saying that, he stood up and walked towards the imperial study.

At this moment, Luo Sigong is waiting in the imperial study.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli asked, "How is it going? Have you found any clues about the three great families of Puzhou during this period?"

Oh, these guys are really hiding deep.

Luo Sigong sighed inwardly, then slowly shook his head and said, "No, we have been keeping a close eye on Han Yu, but this guy only associates with the upright officials in the court and has never had any contact with the three major families in Puzhou."

I'm afraid this move is a failure.

He knew that Han Yu was Zhang Siwei's son-in-law and Yang Bo's grandson-in-law. How could the people of the three major families in Puzhou not know this?

They are not fools. On the contrary, they are very smart and quite cautious.

It's such an obvious trap, it's unlikely these guys would jump into it.

It seems that he made a useless move from the beginning!
Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "What about the Zhejiang Party? Has there been any movement recently?"

These guys are hiding deeper than each other.

Luo Sigong shook his head helplessly and said, "No, Shen Yiguan seems to be getting more and more honest. He has already accepted the Zhejiang Party in the court."

These guys are all smart people.

I think these guys have figured out all my tricks.

It seems like we need to change our tactics. We can't always play the feint to the east and attack in the west.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then instructed: "Select a thousand elite secret guards to secretly investigate the emperor's uncle Wang Bing. Set out early tomorrow morning."

what?
You asked me to check the Queen's biological brother!
Luo Sigong was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he said carefully: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask you what we are secretly investigating, Your Majesty?"

You don’t even know, it seems like these guys are really good at keeping secrets.

Wanli explained in detail: "In the past two years, my uncle Wang Bing has embezzled more than 10 million taels of lamp oil.

This matter was extremely abnormal, because the Queen's family was not the kind of greedy people, and the King's uncle Wang Bing could not spend all the lamp oil money even if he swallowed so much.

More importantly, these lamp oils have to be transported and sold to turn into money. I estimate that many naval officers and soldiers have been secretly bribed by others.

We have a lot to check.

For example, why did the king's uncle Wang Bing suddenly embezzle so much lamp oil?

For example, how was the lamp oil transported out, where was it transported to, and who exchanged the lamp oil for money.

I guess this was done by people from the three major families in Puzhou. Their roots are basically in the northwest, and our oil refinery is not far from their nest.

They probably had their eyes on the oil refinery and the king's uncle Wang Bing for a long time. Since they dared to take action, they probably had many backup plans prepared. This matter is probably difficult to investigate.

Tell the people you send to stay out of sight, to investigate secretly and silently, and not to miss any clues. If a thousand secret guards aren't enough, send another thousand."

Is this uncle of the emperor, Wang Bing, mentally ill?
More than 10 million taels were embezzled in two years!

Seeking death?
This matter is indeed extremely abnormal. A normal person would not be so unscrupulous.

He could do such an abnormal thing. Is there really something wrong with the king's uncle Wang Bing's brain?
Luo Sigong nodded slowly and said, "I understand, Your Majesty. I actually left quite a few secret guards there, especially in Pingyang Prefecture and Xi'an Prefecture. There are several hundred secret guards left there.

If His Majesty is anxious to investigate, I will send a secret order eight hundred miles away, and we should have news back soon."

You still have a trick up your sleeve, right?
well.

Wanli nodded without hesitation and said, "Then quickly send the secret order. I really want to know what's going on over there."

Luo Sigong was really quick. On the fourth day, early in the morning at about noon, he actually ran to the palace to ask for an audience.

At this moment, Wanli was holding his legitimate son Zhu Changxun in the imperial study and reviewing memorials.

When Luo Sigong walked in and took a look, he was stunned.

Because the other four princes have been crowned kings, but the legitimate prince has not yet been crowned king.

What is this called?

He was stunned for a moment, then quickly bowed and said, "Your humble servant greets His Majesty, and His Royal Highness the Third Prince."

The emperor's legitimate son Zhu Changxun had a personality very similar to Queen Wang's. He was very well-behaved and obedient. He just sat in Wanli's arms without moving or saying a word.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "How is it? Have you found out anything?"

Luo Sigong nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, last night the secret guards over there urgently reported that not long after we set out for the expedition to Japan last year, a masked Persian beauty suddenly appeared in the residence of the uncle of the king.

Moreover, there are more and more Persian beauties in the father-in-law's mansion, and there are already several of them now."

Persian beauty?

It turned out to be the work of the three great families of Puzhou!
The death of the late Emperor Longqing seems to have been linked to a Persian beauty. To gain control of government, Gao Gong presented the emperor with an extremely alluring Persian beauty. From then on, the late Emperor became obsessed with the harem and neglected state affairs, and Gao Gong was soon promoted to Prime Minister.

As for the relationship between Gao Gong and the three major powerful families in Puzhou, it seems that some people in later generations are still trying to explain it.

Gao Gong was also known as Gao Xinzheng, and was obviously from Xinzheng, Henan. What relationship could he have with the three major families in Puzhou?

In fact, Gao Gong’s ancestral home is Hongdong County, Pingyang Prefecture, not far from Puzhou.

Moreover, the three major wealthy families in Puzhou had long since developed from Pingyang Prefecture to Taiyuan Prefecture, Datong Town, and Xuanfu Town, and Hongdong County was the only way. Many wives and concubines of the Zhang, Wang, and Yang families came from Hongdong and nearby places such as Jiexiu and Pingyao, including the Hongdong Gao family.

Wang Chonggu and Zhang Siwei were actually distant relatives of Gao Gong.

It was because of this relationship that Zhang Siwei became Gao Gong's favorite disciple.

The Persian beauty presented by Gao Gong was bought by the three major wealthy families in Puzhou.

If these guys in the Longqing Dynasty could be bought, then these guys in the Wanli Dynasty could naturally be bought as well.

Even heroes find it difficult to resist the temptation of beautiful women, let alone Wang Bing, a young man full of vigor and vitality.

It seems that this kid is just like the late Emperor Longqing, who is so bewitched by the Persian beauty that he doesn't even know what he is doing.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Who sent the beauty? Have you found out?"

This is not that easy to check.

Luo Sigong said carefully: "Your Majesty, this may take some time."

Well, the three major powerful families in Puzhou are hiding very deeply, and it is not easy to find them out.

Wanli pondered and said, "Send the message over and tell them not to rush, take their time, and never alert the enemy.

This time we must follow the clues and dig out all the members of the three major families in Puzhou and eradicate them completely!"

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

Wanli nodded slightly and then waved his hand.

Luo Sigong quickly bowed and took his leave.

Wanli, however, fell into deep thought as he looked at his precious son in his arms.

These guys, after taking advantage of the princes, now take advantage of the in-laws. Their methods are truly despicable.

He will not be fooled easily, but the question is, what about his descendants?
Royal relatives are too easy to be exploited, especially relatives by marriage.

Because of the rules set by the Ming Dynasty's ancestral teachings, the empress and all the concubines in the harem can only be selected from the common people.

How could children of common people be a match for those old-timers in officialdom? Those civil servants with ulterior motives could easily manipulate the relatives of the emperor into running around in circles with just a few tricks.

In history, Empress Dowager Li's brothers, including Concubine Zheng's brothers, were all taken advantage of.

Now Queen Wang’s brother has also been used.

These people are really hard to guard against.

Seeing Wanli staring at him without saying a word, little Zhu Changxun couldn't help but whisper, "Father, what's wrong?"

This successor should be trained well. Not only should he be taught how to review memorials, but also how to be a ruler.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then asked, "Xun'er, do you know who the uncle of the emperor Luo Sigong just mentioned is?"

He didn't seem to mention any names.

Little Zhu Changxun shook his head in confusion and said, "I don't know."

Wanli said patiently, "Think about it again."

Let me think about it?
By the way, my mother was crying a few days ago, but she stopped crying after my father came back. My father seemed to want to order Luo Sigong to investigate.

Little Zhu Changxun suddenly realized, "The uncle he's talking about is the eldest uncle!"

Well, not bad. It seems your brain is still working well.

It's not easy for someone so young to react so quickly.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Yes, it's your uncle, Xun'er, you must be careful in the future. The royal family is the easiest to be exploited, especially the relatives by marriage.

Your uncle was exploited, and so was my uncle. Some officials will do anything to gain personal gain, and their methods are despicable."

interest?

Little Zhu Changxun was quite puzzled and asked, "Are they using my uncle to make money?

Their tricks are too easy to see through, aren't they? My mother saw through it quickly, and I saw through it too. Aren't they afraid of being beheaded if they're discovered?"

What you see is just the surface.

Wanli shook his head slightly and patiently taught: "Xun'er, you don't know, some people will risk their lives for money.

Many corrupt officials are willing to risk their lives for hundreds or even tens of thousands of taels of silver. They actually know very well that they may be beheaded if they are found out, but they just can't control their hands.

The profits of several million or even tens of millions of taels a year are enough to make many people risk their lives. Do you know about the Japanese invasion during the Jiajing period?

What they were actually fighting for was just a few million taels of profit a year. Do you know how many people died for that little bit of profit?

During the Jiajing Japanese invasion, tens of thousands of Ming soldiers were killed, and tens of thousands of pirates and Japanese pirates were also eliminated. Civilians along the southeastern coast suffered heavy casualties, with nine out of ten houses left empty. That's at least tens of millions."

Are these people so reckless for money?

Upon hearing this, little Zhu Changxun couldn't help but frown slightly.

Seeing this, Wanli couldn't help but nodded secretly.

This little guy is good, very calm, neither impatient nor rough, and he is the material for a wise ruler in a prosperous era.

However, it still needs to be taught well.

A wise ruler in a prosperous era needs more than just calmness.

(End of this chapter)