Huangming

Chapter 88 Selling the country for personal enrichment, exterminating nine generations of relatives.

"Good! Someone has come to claim this matter. Come in quickly, let me see who this hero is!"

Liu Yiju strode into the hall, knelt down, and said, "Your subject, Liu Yiju, the Second Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"Grand Secretary Liu is a minister who carries on the legacy of the dynasty. He truly possesses the integrity and uprightness of a scholar. Now, let me say what needs to be said."

Although Liu Yijuan kept his head down, his words were firm and powerful.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to retract your earlier statement."

Zhu Youxiao asked, "Why?"

Liu Yizhu immediately said, "Your Majesty! If the ruler is not discreet, he will lose his ministers; if the ministers are not discreet, they will lose their lives! What Your Majesty just said has truly broken the hearts of all the people under heaven."

Your Majesty has been assassinated, and we, your subjects, are filled with anxiety and fear day and night, wishing we could take your place in suffering. Every official in the court is concerned for the safety of the Emperor and Father; not a single person harbors any secret joy, and no one dares to attempt a coup.

Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have been diligent in governing and loved by the people. All the officials of our Great Ming have praised you: Heaven blesses us with such a wise ruler; it is truly a blessing for all the people and a fortune for all the court officials. Why then does Your Majesty chill our hearts of loyalty?

The Han Feizi (a classic Chinese text) states in its chapter "Two Handles": "A wise ruler governs his ministers with nothing more than the two handles of punishment and reward." Now, Your Majesty holds the power of life and death, so why do you allow the corrupt officials of the Eastern Depot to extort and blackmail with their records? This only causes fear among the ministers and destabilizes the court.

Therefore, I humbly beg Your Majesty at the risk of my life to retract those hurtful words you just uttered!

What a silver tongue!
To argue with these people, you really need an extra mouth.

"Then tell me, if all the civil and military officials in the court are loyal ministers, then who is the traitor who murdered the emperor?"

You want me to calm down?
Well.

Where is your sincerity?
Seeing that the emperor was gradually being persuaded, Liu Yijun immediately said, "It is Wang Dayu, a merchant from Jin. He is extremely rebellious and dared to assassinate the emperor. I beg Your Majesty to execute his entire family as a warning to others!"

Is it only implicated in the case of Wang Dayu, a Shanxi merchant?

Isn't that letting you off too easily?
"A Shanxi merchant could persuade the chief eunuch of my Imperial Kitchen, and even plot to assassinate the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty? His audacity and ability are simply too great."

Zhu Youxiao turned to Wei Zhongxian and asked, "Is there only one Wang Dayu?"

Wei Zhongxian immediately shook his head and said, "Shanxi merchants Wang Dengku, Fan Yongdou, Jin Liangyu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, Huang Yunfa, and several border generals from the Nine Border Regions are all connected with Wang Dayu."

Liu Yiju finally understood.

The emperor wanted to punish these Shanxi merchants.

However, if the emperor's wrath could be appeased, what are a few Shanxi merchants?
“If they are truly guilty, under the laws of the Great Ming Dynasty, traitors who kill their emperor will have nowhere to hide, and we, your subjects, will naturally not dare to disobey Your Majesty’s command.”

Zhu Youxiao rose up, his sleeves billowing, his eyes gleaming like cold stars, finally revealing his fangs.

"I have ascended the throne by the mandate of Heaven, yet I have allowed treacherous villains to infiltrate the palace! I have now dispatched three thousand Zhejiang soldiers to the capital to guard it overnight. At the same time, I have issued an edict appointing Marquis of Dingyuan Deng Shaoyu, Marquis of Yongkang Xu Yingyuan, and Marquis of Fengcheng Li Chengzuo to take charge of the Five Military Commands and recruit good men from good families to form the Imperial Guard."

Even my safety cannot be guaranteed. Who would dare to disagree with mobilizing and recruiting troops?
Zhu Youxiao, with his sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, exuded a murderous aura. He slammed his hand on the imperial desk with a thunderous sound, his voice like the clash of swords, and declared: "Anyone who obstructs the mobilization of troops or criticizes the provisions shall be punished as regicide, and their entire family shall be exterminated!"

Enraged by the emperor's actions, Wei Chao dared not delay and immediately declared, "This servant will immediately deliver the imperial decree to the Ministry of War. Anyone who delays will be executed on the spot!"

"slow!"

Zhu Youxiao looked at Liu Yizhu at this moment.

"All nine clans of Shanxi merchants are to be imprisoned by imperial decree, and the Eastern Depot is to be ordered to interrogate them for one month to extract evidence of their crimes. Anyone involved in the assassination case will have their head displayed at Chongwen Gate within five degrees of kinship, and all the goods traded by the merchants will be used to pay the military expenses!"

"What does the Second Grand Secretary think?"

They plundered Shanxi merchants and recruited and mobilized troops.

Is this the outcome the Emperor is aiming for?

reject?

Can?

If he refuses, wouldn't the emperor use this as an opportunity to launch a major attack?

What if following the trail uncovers even more sordid things?

If he agrees, wouldn't Liu Yiju be forced to shoulder this enormous burden?

"Your Majesty, I am an old minister."

Liu Yizhu stammered and dared not give a clear answer.

"hehe."

Zhu Youxiao sneered and said, "You are a loyal minister, yet you cherish your reputation so much. Just now you said that you wish you could suffer in my place. If trouble really comes, how can I trust the Second Grand Secretary, how can I trust the civil and military officials of the court to really suffer in my place?"

During the Jia Shen coup, some civil officials did die for their country, but many more immediately defected to the rebel leader Li Zicheng.

"Can I trust your loyalty?" Zhu You sighed, then his voice cracked with murderous intent: "Enough! Since none of the officials are loyal, I'll have the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigate thoroughly! Find out the truth!"

Bitter!

Liu Yijuan was about to cry.

The emperor's sharp tongue left this old man hanging in the air.

If he did not agree to the emperor's request, he would be seen as a loyal and disloyal minister who valued his reputation.

What about the officials who went outside to plead guilty?

Are they all dead?

Why didn't anyone come in to help him out?

Liu Yijing gritted his teeth, and a fierce glint appeared in his withered eyes on his old, bark-like face.

"Your Majesty, as the Second Grand Secretary, I naturally obey Your Majesty's decrees. However, without the approval of the Grand Secretary, how can the government's orders be issued from the cabinet? I humbly request Your Majesty to summon the Grand Secretary to the palace for discussion!"

I agree, but I can't be the only one to take the blame!
Fang Congzhe, who was kneeling outside the East Warm Pavilion, trembled and had no choice but to raise his head.

Now, he can't pretend to be dead anymore.

"Summon the Grand Secretary to the palace!"

Lao Fang.

You already have enough problems to deal with, so one more won't make a difference.

Hey ~
Outside the East Warm Pavilion, Fang Congzhe sighed deeply, slowly rose, turned around, bowed to the cabinet ministers and the heads of the six ministries, and said, "I'm leaving!"

The wind howls, the Yi River is cold, the brave warrior departs, never to return!

Fang Congzhe is truly becoming a professional scapegoat.

"Your Majesty, I, Fang Congzhe, the Grand Secretary, respectfully wish Your Majesty good health."

After Fang Congzhe entered the hall and paid his respects to the emperor, he took a deep breath and immediately stated his position:
"Your Majesty believes that the Shanxi merchants, who colluded with eunuchs and spied on the palace, deserve the death penalty! I implore Your Majesty to issue an edict to the nine border towns, confiscating all their land and shops to fund the army. Now that the Zhejiang troops have reached the capital region, you may order generals such as the Marquis of Dingyuan to lead elite troops to various strategic locations to recruit able-bodied men:"
Those who are eighteen years of age or older and skilled in archery and horsemanship will be given five taels of silver as a settlement allowance, and will receive one and a half shi of rice per month. I also request that three hundred thousand taels of silver be allocated from the imperial granary to cast two hundred tiger-squatting cannons; thus, a formidable army can be trained within three months!

Check it out!

Check it out!

These are the true loyal ministers of my Great Ming Dynasty!

Zhu Youxiao tapped the dragon-headed table with his knuckles, a smile gradually spreading across his face. He said, "Your words are very much in line with my thoughts. However, the memorials from various provinces urging for funds are piling up like mountains, and the silver for casting cannons..."

"The hoards of the eight major Shanxi merchants amount to more than a million!" Fang Congzhe suddenly raised his voice.

“These people are illegally selling ironware to the Jianzhou Jurchens and smuggling tea and horses in the Hetao region. Their annual income is comparable to the Taicang Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue! Your Majesty only needs to issue an edict to have the Embroidered Uniform Guard confiscate their goods and assets, and military supplies can be prepared immediately. Why do you still need to rely on the Ministry of Revenue for funding?”

Wei Zhongxian then presented a secret document: "This servant has discovered that Wang Dengku has stored 100,000 shi of grain in Zhangjiakou, and Fan Yongdou has three silver vaults in Taiyuan City."

Zhu Youxiao's use of the assassination attempt on the emperor to target the Shanxi merchants was precisely because the Shanxi merchants were disloyal to the emperor.

These Shanxi merchants, what sense of patriotism do they have?

Smuggling of arms and strategic raw materials, such as iron pots, nails, knives, sulfur and saltpeter, and firearm parts such as musket barrels and cannon barrels, to the Jurchens.

By smuggling millet, wheat flour, and cotton clothing through the "Tea-Horse Trade," they supplied the enemy and enslaved the soldiers on the border when they were short of food and clothing, thus reaping several times the profit.

Even worse, some of them sold border intelligence and revealed the movements of officials, acting like lackeys of the Jurchens.

In addition, after years of doing business, he became incredibly wealthy.

If we don't slaughter such fat pigs, are we just going to feed them to the Jurchen slaves?

"Okay! Okay! Okay!"

The emperor clapped his hands and laughed, saying "Good!" three times.

He immediately said, "The plot to assassinate the monarch has now been uncovered! These traitorous Shanxi merchants, while receiving salaries from the Ming Dynasty, secretly funded the Jurchens and lined their own pockets by selling state weapons."

If such treacherous villains are not executed, where will the dignity of the imperial court be?
"Immediately order the Eastern Depot's agents to arrest all eight families and nine generations involved in the case, confiscate all their land and shops, and send them to the capital garrison; all documents related to treason and secret reports from the border shall be handed over to the Northern Garrison Command for public disclosure!"

of course
The assassination attempt on the emperor cannot be definitively classified; who knows if these officials might change their minds?

"As for those who joined the thieves, the Embroidered Uniform Guard should investigate them thoroughly and not let any rebellious or arrogant individuals escape justice!"

(End of this chapter)