Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 244 Hai Rui has a son, the miners riot!
As the ancient capital of Six Dynasties, Jinling has been prosperous since ancient times.

Emperor Taizu Gaozu made the capital here and named it Nanjing because most of his subordinates were from Jiangnan and did not want to leave their hometown because of their wealth and status.

Emperor Chengzu Wen seized the throne from his nephew Emperor Jianwen and moved the capital to Shuntian, calling it the capital.

Due to various concerns and needs, Nanjing was established as the capital, and its old name was retained. The six ministries and nine government offices were still established, with the same rank as the six ministries and nine government offices in the capital, and they were responsible for supervising the provinces, prefectures, and counties south of the Yellow River.

As a result, the power of the six ministries and nine government offices in the capital was weakened by half in the unified Ming Dynasty, and all major policies of the central court were sent to the six ministries and nine government offices in Nanjing, ostensibly for discussion but actually for restraint.

Another important responsibility was to have various departments in Nanjing transport silver and grain from the wealthy southern regions to the capital to supply the central court.

Therefore, there were two crucial positions among the frontier officials of the two capitals and thirteen provinces in the Ming Dynasty: one was the Governor-General of Zhejiang, which was once held by Hu Zongxian, and the other was the Governor-General of Nanzhili, which was once held by Hai Rui.

During the New Year, with light snow falling, the Qinhuai River is filled with lights, oars, and flowing lights. It is the most charming time, attracting countless literati and scholars to display their literary talent and compose poems.

However, a convoy of carriages and horses escorting a prisoner van appeared on the official road, which ruined the view.

Riding on the front horse was the Zhejiang Governor Wang Yongji, his head and shoulders covered in snow. Protecting him on the left and right sides were soldiers sent by the Southern Zhili Governor's Office, and in the middle were two horse-drawn carriages.

The gate is in sight.

Wang Yong pulled the reins, and the horse hooves of the entire team quickened, and the wheels of the prison cart also rolled faster.

……

Governor's Palace.

From the hour of Mao to the hour of Wu, just a few short hours.

But for Hai Rui, it seemed as if several decades had passed.

The official document appointing him as the Minister of Rites had been delivered to him, but this time, due to state affairs, he was not in a hurry to set off.

At the end of the Mao hour, Hai's wife suddenly went into labor. For nearly two hours, all he could hear was his wife's screams of difficult labor.

Hai Rui, accompanied by Xu Wei, was outside the house, wandering around the room, worried about his wife's delivery.

Xu Wei was used to seeing Hai Rui being cautious, calm and decisive, but this was the first time he saw Hai Rui like this. He couldn't help but sigh that he really cared about him.

But it should be so. Hai's wife is not much younger than Hai Rui, and she is already over 40 years old. It is indeed difficult for her to give birth to a child now.

Thinking of this, Xu Wei did not say anything to persuade him, and could not help but think of himself.

He is now forty years old and has married three wives. His wife, Pan, died young after giving birth to a son. He then married Wang, but she was jealous and could not tolerate his eldest son, so he divorced her. He then married Zhang, who gave birth to a son, but he accidentally killed her after drinking.

The eldest son Xu Mei had a lot of rifts between him and his father because of Wang's affairs, which have not been resolved to this day.

The second son, Xu Zhi, bore resentment because his biological mother was murdered, and the father and son had not spoken to each other for many years.

There is no difference between having a wife and children and having no wife and children.

Hai Rui was extremely anxious, Xu Wei was worried, and people in the Governor's Office, from top to bottom, didn't even dare to breathe.

At this moment, Wang Yongji suddenly arrived and bowed to Hai Rui from a distance and asked, "Mr. Minister, has my sister-in-law given birth?"

The official document from the Ministry of Personnel has been sent down, waiting for Hai Rui to go to Beijing to take up the post. Now, he is worthy of the title of Minister.

Wang Yongji and Xu Wei greeted each other by their courtesy names.

"not yet."

Hai Rui was nervous and shook his head, asking, "Did the trip to Kaihua and Dexing go smoothly?"

end of last year.

A rebellion broke out among miners in Kaihua and Dexing counties under Quzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang Province. Governor Wang Yongji put it down immediately. Hai Rui, the governor-general of Southern Zhili, also reported the news directly to the capital.

Some officials in the court who were interested in this matter even wanted to blame the civil unrest on Hai Rui, and on the national policy of requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes and serve as officials together.

But the national policy was an unshakable thing, and Hai Rui was also a favorite of the emperor. As soon as the rumor started, the cabinet elders joined forces to crush it, and then ordered Nanzhili to find out everything as soon as possible.

Wang Yongji nodded and said, "It went smoothly. We have found out everything. It was completely the government forcing the people to rebel!"

Xu Wei handed over the tea, Wang Yongji drank a sip of the tea and said in a deep voice: "The coal mine in Kaihua started leaking gas a month ago, and the miners knew that there would be a fire, so they were unwilling to go down to the mine. However, the mine owner bribed the eunuch of the Mining Department, and the Mining Department ordered the Kaihua County Magistrate to send soldiers to escort the miners down to the mine to dig coal.

Everyone held a lamp in their mouths, and in less than an hour, everything got very angry and the entire coal tunnel was engulfed in flames. None of the more than 400 miners could get out.

The copper mine in Dexing has been mined for four years, but the mine owner has been unwilling to transport wood to reinforce the mine roof. He also bribed the eunuchs of the Mining Bureau, who ordered the Dexing County Magistrate to send soldiers to escort the miners down to the mine to dig coal.

Not long after they started digging, the entire mine collapsed, and only a dozen of the more than 300 miners escaped.

So many people died in the two mines, but the mine owners were so unscrupulous that they refused to pay even a little money to comfort the orphans and their mothers. The victims reported the case to the county government, but the two corrupt county magistrates, Kaihua and Dexing, actually arrested more than a hundred of the victims and put them in jail.

Many people reported the case to the state government, which arrested more than a hundred people, which caused the riot.

There is only one reason. Led by the Mining Bureau in the palace, Kaihua and Dexing, from the county government to the state government and the prefectural government, all received commissions from the mines every year. This disaster led to this. How could the people not rebel!

It has nothing to do with the national policy of officials and gentry paying taxes and serving as officials together.

Now we have arrested hundreds of rioters, but only two corrupt officials have been arrested. My Lord, the court has made it clear that I will work with the new Zhili Governor Zhao Zhenji to deal with this matter. Starting with these two people, I will work with the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate to strictly investigate the local officials, and then report to the court. If anyone is found, we will arrest him. "

Hai Rui and Xu Wei just listened and didn't say a word to him for a long time.

Xu Wei looked at Wang Yongji and asked, "Who said hello? You don't want to let such a big case go?"

Hai Rui was even more direct and asked, "Why didn't you arrest the eunuch of the Mining Department and the prefect of Quzhou Prefecture?"

Since it is an obvious matter, then Quzhou Prefecture, Kaihua, Dexing, one prefecture and two counties should have been wiped out at once, but Wang Yongji only caught two "small fish" and brought them back, which is obviously not in line with common sense.

Wang Yongji's face turned bitter, and he sighed, "Who else do I need to greet? My Lord, you have the imperial sword, but I don't. The eunuchs of the Mining Department are under the control of the palace. I can only make a secret petition to the emperor to investigate, but I can't arrest anyone.

The prefect of Quzhou Prefecture is named Yang, the son of a high official. If I can't find evidence of corruption and abuse of power, how can I dare to arrest him?"

The inner court and the outer court are two systems.

People in the inner court can move people in the outer court, but people in the outer court cannot move people in the inner court.

The eunuchs of the Mining Bureau can only be dealt with by the inner court. Even as a provincial governor, they have no authority.

For some unknown reason, the mine owner slipped and fell into the water and died. The two county magistrates of Kaihua and Dexing were willing to take all the responsibility and refused to blame anyone.

Yang Junmin, the prefect of Quzhou Prefecture, was the eldest son of the Minister of Personnel. When questioned, Yang Junmin frankly admitted that he had listened to his subordinates and wrongly arrested the miners who had filed a complaint, but he denied anything else.

Of course, as the prefect of a prefecture, Yang Junmin was to blame for causing the riot among the miners, but his crime was at most negligence, not even dereliction of duty.

Accept small sticks, and walk away with big sticks.

How to catch it?
"I was wondering why the appointment documents of the Minister arrived so quickly, and the court kept urging him. So this is the reason." Xu Wei laughed. His laugh was so cold.

On the surface, Hai Rui was promoted to the position of Minister of Rites in the imperial court in order to preside over a plan to open up community schools and enlighten the people.

But this might also be in line with the thoughts of the then Minister of Personnel, Lord Tianguan, who took the opportunity to let Hai Rui leave his post as Governor-General of Southern Zhili, so that he would no longer have to deal with the coal mine explosions and copper mine collapses in Kaihua and Dexing counties, and prevent the matter from being traced to his beloved son.

No wonder the clerk who came to Nanjing to deliver the appointment documents refused to leave and kept urging Hai Rui to go to Beijing to take up his post. If Hai's wife had not been about to give birth, which delayed the matter, this matter would probably have been left unresolved.

The new governor-general of Nanzhili, Zhao Zhenji, was a well-known "mature and prudent" man in Jiangnan. For the sake of the miners in the two counties, he would never offend the leader of the Jin Party who had stood firm in the government for decades.

"I'm afraid something bigger has happened at the court." Hai Rui pondered.

This year, Hai Rui was promoted not only in official position, but also his horizons were expanded from a county, a prefecture, and a province to a country.

Yang Bo was indeed powerful, and the Jin Party was indeed deeply rooted in the government, but no matter how powerful one person was, could he be more powerful than Yan Song, Yan Shifan, and Xu Jie? No matter how powerful the Jin Party was, could it be more powerful than the Yan Party and the Qingliu?

Under the authority of His Majesty, Yan Song and Yan Shifan were killed without a burial place, Xu Jie's life or death is unknown, and both the Yan Party and the Qingliu were wiped out.

The explosion at Kaihua coal mine and the collapse of Dexing copper mine caused riots among miners in the two counties. This incident has alarmed the imperial court and the emperor.

The emperor will certainly inquire about the outcome of the incident. With such a big mess, some people are bound to lose their heads.

It can be guessed that Yang Junmin, the son of Yang Bo, is definitely not a clean person. The riots of miners in the two counties were closely related to Yang Junmin's final arrest. Once evidence of embezzlement is found, Yang Junmin's head will most likely be in danger.

Even Yang Bo would be implicated because of his son's mistakes, as corruption in the Ming Dynasty was a matter of collective punishment.

In order to save his son's life and to protect his own position, Yang Bo had to try his best to remove the blame from his son.

At least, the corruption cannot be traced back to Yang Junmin.

To do this, Yang Bo has to do several things.

1. Kill the mine owner.

Second, persuade the magistrates of Kaihua and Dexing counties to commit suicide.

Third, let him, the Governor-General of Southern Zhili, come to Beijing as soon as possible and stop being responsible for the miners' rebellion.

4. Reach cooperation with Zhao Zhenji, the new Governor-General of South Zhili.

5. The court, or more precisely the cabinet, did not question the reported case.

There were only two people in the cabinet who could reach this power: Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng and Second Prime Minister Gao Gong.

Yang Bo was the Minister of Personnel, who actually controlled the Ministry of Personnel, so it was possible that he would be given a break.

But if Yang Bo and the Jin Party support the second prime minister, who holds the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, he can also use his tremendous power to cover up the matter.

Yang Bo obviously did the first and second things.

The third thing was blocked by an unexpected event, but there was a way to resolve it. Hai Rui looked at Xu Wei and asked, "Where is Zhao Zhenji?"

Xu Wei calculated the time and replied, "We are almost in Zhenjiang. If we walk faster, we should be there tomorrow."

Zhenjiang Prefecture is just to the east of Jinling, and the two places are adjacent to each other. It can be reached in one day by horse and carriage.

"That's fast enough." Hai Rui said in a cold tone.

Zhao Zhenji came so quickly, obviously he had received instructions.

The third thing can be caused by the fourth thing. As long as Zhao Zhenji enters Jinling, the Governor's Office must be given to Zhao Zhenji, along with the power to investigate and handle cases.

As for the fifth thing, Hai Rui did not have a clairvoyant eye and did not know what choice Yang Bo would make. He only felt that the Prime Minister would not help Yang Bo. If the Second Prime Minister took action, the court would be in turmoil again.

What the ministers who have the whole country in mind think is different from just one or two counties.

So many people died in the two mines and such a big riot was caused. The case had just begun to be investigated, and Hai Rui did not want it to end like this.

Hai Rui looked at Wang Yongji and asked, "Where are the magistrates of Kaihua and Dexing counties imprisoned?"

Wang Yongji was stunned for a moment and said, "He was locked up in the prison of the Neisi Yamen."

“Who’s watching?”

"Of course they are from the prison of the Neisi Yamen."

"broken!"

Hai Rui cried out "Not good" and subconsciously was about to walk towards the Neisi Yamen, but suddenly he heard a loud baby crying in his ears, and he stopped immediately. Instead, he was filled with endless ecstasy.

gave birth!

The wife of the sea gave birth!

"Congratulations, Minister." Xu Wei was the first to congratulate.

"Congratulations, Minister." Wang Yongji followed closely behind.

Hai Rui gritted his teeth. He had let his wife down so much in his life. At this moment, when his wife was at her weakest, he was more shaken than ever before. He turned and walked back into the house, saying to Xu Wei and Wang Yongji, "Wen Chang, Run Lian, go to the prison of the Neisi Yamen and guard for me for one hour. Just one hour. After that, I will interrogate the magistrates of Kaihua and Dexing counties.

During this time, do not let anyone get close to the cells of the two county magistrates, and do not allow them to eat or drink anything, to prevent them from being silenced. Go quickly!"

During the time he was in charge of Southern Zhili, Hai Rui did almost everything himself. The reason was simple: he could not trust anyone in the Jiangnan officialdom.

The owners of the coal and copper mines are all dead. If the magistrates of Kaihua and Dexing counties are also dead, there is no way to investigate this case further. Yang Bo will definitely try his best to close the case by saying that the two magistrates committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

Hai Rui vaguely felt that Kaihua and Dexing, like Chun'an caused by the Xin'an River flood last year, had major crimes behind them.

Involved are the inner court, the cabinet, the imperial court, and the upcoming Zhao Zhenji.

He must make a breakthrough on the magistrates of Kaihua and Dexing counties before Zhao Zhenji arrives, and make them confess the hidden reasons behind the coal mine explosion and copper mine collapse.

All those involved, no matter from the inner court, the cabinet, the imperial court, or the local areas, must not be let off.

Xu Wei and Wang Yongji knew the situation was urgent and said quickly, "Let's go now."

Xu Wei was not good at riding a horse, and Wang Yongji was also a little weak at riding a fast horse, but at this moment, both of them whipped the horses' buttocks hard, and the horses, in pain, flew away from the Governor's Mansion like an arrow from a bow.

Hai Rui entered the room. The midwife wrapped the newborn in silk. Although the baby looked wrinkled and had few hairs, it was so beautiful in Hai Rui's eyes.

"Congratulations to the minister on the birth of his son!" the midwife said loudly as if seeking credit.

"Good! Good! Good!"

(End of this chapter)