The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 79: The Frontier Officials Randomly Issue Orders

Wanli's killing spree lasted for more than ten days.

Those civil servants in the court who had ulterior motives were all frightened and walked on thin ice.

Zhang Siwei's party and Shen Shixing's party were like they had been stabbed in the neck, and they walked with their heads down.

Of course, this is just an appearance. We don’t know what these guys are really thinking.

As soon as the execution at the West Market Execution Ground was over, Wanli was ready to test the effect of this massacre.

Early in the morning at about noon, the sun rose vigorously and the sky was clear and cloudless.

The capital city seemed to have swept away the gloom of the past and became lively again.

Under the bright and clear sky, people are smiling more often on their faces.

In the imperial study of the Forbidden City, Wanli sat there with a slightly frown on his brow, his right hand resting on the table, moving rhythmically like a horse's hoof.

How to try this effect?

He pondered it secretly for a long time before ordering someone to summon the chief minister of the cabinet, Shen Shixing.

Shen Shixing was really like a timid mouse at this moment, and there was a hint of panic in his eyes when he looked at him.

After the emperor and his subjects exchanged greetings, he solemnly asked, "Lord Shen, how is the implementation of the 'Land Surveying Regulations' progressing?"

what?
You ask this.

This is too difficult. Those who own a lot of land are powerful.

Shen Shixing said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the Cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue have already sent letters to the local authorities, but it seems there hasn't been much progress."

The local authorities still don’t listen to me, right?

It seems that local officials also need to be killed.

Humph, wait until I have dealt with the three major powerful families in Puzhou, and then I will kill them one by one to see who dares to disobey.

Wanli snorted inwardly, then said with a hint of annoyance, "The cabinet will issue another document. This year's local examination will test this. Anyone who fails to complete the survey will be dismissed and investigated."

Are you going to use force too?

Didn’t you see the result of your mentor Zhang Juzheng’s tough approach?
Okay, I won’t offend you if I can’t afford to offend you. Do whatever you want. Anyway, the officials you dismissed and investigated won’t cause trouble for me.

Shen Shixing quickly bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Wanli asked again, "Where is Zheng Luo? Has the Ministry of Personnel summoned him to report on his work?"

Wu Dui was also scared.

Shen Shixing nodded repeatedly like a quail and said, "I've called him back, I've called him back."

It seems that the civil servants are afraid of the emperor who will kill anyone he catches, and the more brutal the killing, the more afraid the civil servants are.

If we listen to the civil servants' talk of benevolence, righteousness, and morality, then the imperial power will be taken away by these civil servants who talk about benevolence, righteousness, and morality.

After this killing spree, this guy no longer dares to go against me, at least not openly.

If you still don't behave, I will continue to kill you until you behave yourself.

Wanli nodded slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Retreat."

Shen Shixing hurriedly bowed and retreated respectfully.

Next, it depends on whether Zhang Siwei and his party in the court dare to go against me.

Wanli thought for a moment, then said aloud, "My dear uncle, draft an imperial decree to promote Datong Governor Jia Yingyuan to the position of Right Vice-Chief Censor of the Inspectorate and Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and Governor-General of Xuanda and Shanxi."

After receiving the imperial edict, Shen Shixing hesitated for a while, but still ordered someone to summon the Minister of Personnel Wu Dui to communicate.

He also wanted to see if this guy still dared to go against the little emperor.

When Wu Dui heard that Wanli was going to promote Jia Yingyuan, the troublemaker, to be the governor of Xuanda and Shanxi, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.

This is trouble.

He frowned and thought for a while, then asked, "Master Prime Minister, how about we wait a few days?"

Don't hurt me.

Shen Shixing shook his head repeatedly and said, "You know His Majesty's temper. If we don't approve him immediately, he will definitely be angry."

If the little emperor gets angry, the consequences will be serious.

What should I do now?

When Wu Dui heard this, a look of panic appeared on his face.

The little emperor is too cruel. He kills people without any hesitation.

Moreover, those killed this time were all people who were closely related to them.

Although He Qiming and Li Wenquan were not killed, their properties were confiscated and they were exiled.

This means that if he disobeys, his property will be confiscated and he will be exiled, or even beheaded. Is it necessary for him to take such a risk?
This is really confusing. Even if he sacrificed his life and property to block this for the three major families in Puzhou, what would be the use?
The little emperor could easily kill him and continue to confer titles.

Wu Dui frowned and pondered for a while, then he could only bite the bullet and nodded, "Okay, let's do it for His Majesty right away."

After saying that, he ran back and wrote a secret letter, sending it eight hundred miles in an urgent hurry to ask Zhang Siwei for advice.

In fact, he was also hinting to Zhang Siwei that the little emperor would kill people indiscriminately when he was sick. He didn't dare to openly go against the little emperor. You, Zhang Siwei, decide what to do.

Zhang Siwei hadn't replied yet, and Wanli issued another imperial decree, transferring Chen Rui, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor-General's Office, to the post of Governor of the Three Borders of Shaanxi and Gansu.
Xuanda, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu Town are all the territories of the three major families in Puzhou. It is obvious that he wants to compete with the three major families in Puzhou.

Wu Dui still didn't dare to object, he could only wait for Zhang Siwei's reply.

Wanli actually also wanted to see Zhang Siwei's reaction.

Therefore, after the two imperial edicts were issued, he deliberately kept quiet for a few days.

The spies under Luo Sigong kept an eye on Wu Dui.

About five days later, Wu Dui seemed to have received a reply from Zhang Siwei.

However, this guy still didn't react at all, and Zhang Siwei's party in the court didn't make any movement either.

What did Zhang Siwei say?
Wanli simply stopped waiting.

You didn't react, right?
Then I started to throw random punches.

He summoned Gao Maocai, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Inspectorate, and questioned him in detail, and then began to issue imperial decrees at random.

He transferred the governors of Shaanxi, Pei Shen, Gansu, Wang Lun, and Yansui, Feng Shunyu, to Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou. The governors of Shanxi and Shaanxi were all replaced by Zhang Juzheng's old party members!

What he meant was to let Zhang Juzheng's old party fight against the three major powerful families in Puzhou!

This guy, all the provincial governors were randomly appointed!
Shen Shixing was dumbfounded when he saw the imperial edict.

Wu Duina was even more worried, as if he had lost his parents.

However, they still did not dare to object, and they approved all the imperial edicts issued by Wanli!
This was not the end. Wanli immediately issued a large number of imperial edicts, and almost all the newly appointed censors of the Inspectorate were sent to inspect the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty.

He wanted to follow Zhang Juzheng's example and forcefully push the "Land Surveying Regulations" to see how Zhang Siwei would react.

Not long after, Zhang Siwei finally responded.

Jia Yingyuan, Chen Rui and the censors he sent to Shanxi and Shaanxi all submitted memorials, saying that most of the border army generals and even garrison officers in Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, Pianguan Town, Yansui Town, Guyuan Town, Ningxia Town and Gansu Town were pretending to obey them but actually disobeying them, and did not take their orders seriously at all.

Zhang Siwei’s reply to Wu Dui was actually that it didn’t matter, the little emperor could do whatever he wanted!
Because they have deep roots in Xuanfu, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu, their relatives are everywhere, and many generals are their confidants who have been promoted by them.

It was useless for the little emperor to send governors and provincial governors over, as no one listened to their orders!

This is actually a secret contest.

Wanli launched this chaotic attack in order to take back the military power of the seven border towns. As long as the military power of the seven border towns was taken back, he could deal with Zhang Siwei and his gang without restraint.

The problem is, this trick doesn't seem to work.

The three major powerful families in Puzhou have been secretly operating in Xuanfu, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu for more than 30 years. Almost all the generals and garrison officers there have been bribed by them with benefits.

They are doing business with the Northern Tartars, and there are huge profits involved.

For example, many historical books record that one horse cost about six to ten taels of silver.

This price seems a bit ridiculous.

Because pork now costs thirty or forty coins per catty, a pig weighing three or four hundred catties can be sold for ten taels of silver, and a horse weighs at least seven or eight hundred catties. How can it be so cheap?
In fact, this is the price of buying horses from the Northern Tartars. As long as you have connections, you can buy horses from the Northern Tartars for about six to ten taels of silver per horse.

Moreover, you don't have to pay real money, just some food, cloth, tea and daily necessities. According to the prices inside the customs, the cost of these things is less than three taels of silver!
However, the price of horses transported to the interior of the country for sale is not the same. A horse sells for at least fifty taels inside the country, and a good war horse sells for over a hundred taels.

You can imagine how huge the profits are here.

There are also furs and cattle and sheep, and the profit is at least ten times more.

This is actually a regional difference. People outside the Great Wall do not produce grain, cloth, tea and daily necessities, so they raise cattle, sheep and horses.

Cattle, sheep and horses can be seen everywhere on the grassland, and there are only so many cattle, sheep and horses that can be fed on a piece of grassland. Sometimes they have to kill some of them and eat them to ensure that the grassland is not eaten bare.

As a result, cattle, sheep and horses naturally did not seem that valuable to them.

In fact, this difference also exists in later generations. Take tuna for example. The price of tuna in Japan in later generations could not reach hundreds or thousands of yuan per catty, but in those South Asian countries, the price of tuna is similar to that of ordinary fish, and one fish does not cost hundreds or thousands of yuan.

The profit here can be hundreds or even thousands of times.

After the three major families in Puzhou monopolized the business of the Northern Tartars, the profits were truly unimaginable.

They only need to let the border generals and garrison officers run errands and share some money, which is equivalent to binding them with interests.

There are so many people who are only interested in profit these days, and the governors and governors sent by Wanli don't pay them.

Moreover, the northwest is the world of the three major powerful families in Puzhou. These governors and governors want to punish these disobedient border army generals and garrison officers, not only can they not punish them, but they also have to be careful about their own lives.

Under such circumstances, naturally no one would listen to the orders of these governors and governors-general.

(End of this chapter)