Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 103 gives the exclusive right to make secret reports and invites the Southern School Kong family to come to Beijing!

Duke Yansheng Kong Wenshao, who was born with a broad face and light brows due to his foreign ancestry, trembled like the surface of water in the wind after reading these letters.

"People like Yang Xindu cherish their lives when faced with a big event!"

"Now, they want me, a descendant of a saint, to curry favor with the Heavenly Family for their own glory and wealth!"

"Have they got the priorities wrong? My ancestors are their teachers, not them. As a family with a thousand years of history, it is not their turn to teach us how to do things!"

then.

Kong Wenshao complained to Kong Chengzhen, the magistrate of Qufu and a close relative of the clan.

Kong Chengzhen also nodded and said: "If it was the former Yuan Dynasty, it would be fine, but the world today is not the world of the former Yuan Dynasty, why do we have to do this."

Let’s talk.

Because of the natural class antagonism, many people in the Yanshenggong Mansion have always looked down on the Zhu family, the royal family of the Ming Dynasty.

From the first generation of Yansheng Duke Kong Kejian in the early Ming Dynasty who initially refused to meet Zhu Yuanzhang, to later when Yansheng Duke's family still secretly only worshipped the tablets granted by the Yuan court in the Confucius Temple, they always felt that the Ming Dynasty royal family, the Zhu family, were descendants of bandits and did not feel that the Ming Dynasty royal family was qualified to be respected as the royal family by their Kong family.

After all, in the eyes of many clansmen in the Yanshenggong Mansion, their Kong family is a thousand-year-old family, nobler than many aristocratic families of this era, let alone in front of the Zhu family who came from commoner origins.

of course.

Many people in Yanshenggong Mansion are only arrogant behind the scenes.

If the time really comes when someone holds a big knife and can decide the fate of his Yanshenggong Mansion, they will still kneel when they should.

And now is the time when things are happening behind the scenes, so Kong Wenshao is so disdainful, and Kong Chengzhen also bluntly said that now is not the former Yuan Dynasty, so they don’t have to pamper the royal family too much.

"Father, the Minister of Justice wants to see you."

At this time.

Kong Wenshao's younger brother Kong Wenli came to Kong Wenshao and reported that Shandong Governor Wang Xu wanted to see him.

Kong Chengzhen couldn't help but sneer after hearing this: "He's here to lobby for Yang Xindu and the others."

“So what if I’m a lobbyist?”

“Although Wang Zhongcheng is an official of the imperial court, he should understand that there is only one cloud in the land of Qi and Lu, and that cloud is our Yanshenggong Mansion!”

"It's not the court that allows him to serve as an official here comfortably, it's us!"

Starting from the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the power of local gentry expanded.

Many local officials can basically only act according to the wishes of local dignitaries and gentry.

For example, during the Wanli period in history, in the case of the Ding silk incident in Huizhou, the local officials were basically dealt with in any way the local gentry wanted.

Some local officials were even captured and beaten by the gentry, and some government offices were even demolished. Some daring gentry even set up new government offices.

Therefore, it takes great courage and clever tactics for local officials to stand up for the people and crack down on the powerful.

As the Yanshenggong Mansion is the most powerful force in Shandong, Kong Wenshao naturally dares to say so now.

After Kong Wenshao said this, he asked Kong Wenli to bring in Wang Xu, the governor of Shandong.

As the governor of Shandong, Wang Xu did not act arrogantly when he met Kong Wenshao and Kong Chengzhen. He took the initiative to bow and greet the two of them.

then.

Kong Wenshao then asked Wang Xu: "Zhongcheng suddenly visited, I wonder why?"

"I think the Duke knows that, too."

"Your Majesty was very angry about the attack on Wang Yangming, the imperial envoy, in Shandong. He originally intended to not allow Shandong scholars to participate in the next year's special examination. After Mao Gelao and others begged him, he showed some mercy and asked us to solve the case within a month. If we succeed, he would not revoke this grace for Shandong scholars."

"Please consider the people of Shandong and tell the emperor the truth. The emperor will naturally not do anything to your family. This will prove your loyalty to the court. In this way, the emperor will be very happy and will treat your family with more courtesy!"

Wang Xu said.

After hearing this, Kong Wenshao couldn't help but get furious, and his wide face twitched a few times.

Kong Chengzhen even sneered.

Wang Xu smiled awkwardly and asked Kong Wenshao, "What do you think?"

"I see."

"I will think about this carefully."

Kong Wenshao also replied with these two sentences with a smile, and then ordered them to leave.

After Wang Xu left, Kong Wenshao completely lost his composure and kicked over the coffee table in front of him, gasping for breath.

"Skeleton!"

"They are all weak bones!"

"It was they who asked us to take action against Wang Yangming, and it is also they who are asking us to apologize to the court now."

"What have we, a family of a thousand years old, become in the eyes of these scholars and officials? Have we become a whore for them to play with? They can use us when they want to use us, and abandon us when they want to abandon us!" Kong Chengzhen also said with a sullen face, "We can't let these scholars and officials lead us by the nose!"

After venting his anger, Kong Wenshao sneered and said, "That's right! This new emperor of the Zhu family is indeed very powerful, but our Kong family is not under the control of the enemy! Does he think that he can threaten our Kong family by banning the exam?"

"The reason why our Kong family has been able to stand for a thousand years is not because of those gentry, but because of the influence of our ancestors. It is because this orthodox religion in the world was built by our ancestors!"

After Kong Wenshao said this, Kong Chengzhen asked: "Then what should we do? Should we apologize or ignore the requests of these civil officials and gentry?"

"What crime?!"

"My father killed so many people and never pleaded guilty. What crime should we plead guilty to?"

"We, the Kong family in Shandong, have no reason to apologize to the Zhu family. Not now, and not in the future!"

Kong Wenshao spoke in a stern voice, and then sneered:
"The new emperor of the Zhu family threatened to ban the exam, so we will fight back by refusing to pay taxes!"

"Not only will we avoid paying taxes, we will also unite with the scholars who obey our control to boycott the exams!"

"Inform our officials in all prefectures, states and counties that they don't need to collect taxes!"

"Also notify those scholars who are related to us, as well as those who originally left our palace, not to go to the capital to take the exam. They should also organize themselves and stop others from taking the exam!"

"Also, let the officials, servants of the rich and powerful, and local bandits in the prefectures, counties, and cities prevent those poor scholars from entering the capital. They would rather create some terrifying things to do this, and also capture some poor and handsome young men to be musicians and dancers to replace those who are old and sick in the prefectures."

After Kong Wenshao said this, Kong Chengzhen smiled and agreed, "That's how it should be, so that the emperor and those scholars and officials know whose territory this is!"

"Then it will be these scholars who will force the new emperor of the Zhu family to beg us."

Kong Wenshao also raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

……

Forbidden City.

After Zhu Houcong finished his court session that day, he summoned Wang Yangming.

"You have worked really hard to rectify the Lianghuai salt administration this time, but you have done a good job, and I am very pleased."

Zhu Houcong replied.

Wang Yangming said: "Thanks to your Majesty's great blessing, I was able to make a breakthrough."

Zhu Houcong then asked: "How much revenue has this initial rectification of the salt administration brought to the court?"

"Your Majesty, after confiscating the corrupt merchants and the offending households, we have obtained a total of 12 million taels of silver in the form of property. After paying salaries and subsidizing poor households and leaving 5 million taels of silver in the Capital Transport Commissioner's Office, a total of more than 7 million taels of silver have been sent to the capital this time."

Wang Yangming replied.

"Very good!"

Zhu Houcong smiled and nodded.

For Zhu Houcong, this was enough for the Ministry of Revenue to repay his loans and even have a surplus.

of course.

In order to strengthen central power, Zhu Houcong had no intention of stopping the reform and increasing the court's fiscal revenue.

Because he had asked Liang Chu to expand the court budget, not only to build an outer city, but also to increase the salaries of officials, establish new schools, and issue new currency.

This means that the foreign dynasty has to borrow new debts after paying off old debts.

Therefore, the reform will not end with the rectification of the salt industry, and Yang Tinghe's desire to return to the cabinet will remain an unrealistic fantasy.

to this end.

Zhu Houcong continued to ask Wang Yangming: "Did you gain anything from your trip back to Beijing by sea this time?"

"Your Majesty, I have learned from investigations that smuggling is rampant along the Shandong coast, and the biggest force behind this is the Yansheng family."

"So whether it's opening up maritime transport or combating smuggling in the future, it will all involve the treatment of the saint's descendants."

Wang Yangming answered truthfully.

Zhu Houcong nodded.

He knew that the outside world always thought that he would be afraid to take action against the descendants of the saint, but in fact Zhu Houcong had long wanted to take action against the descendants of the saint.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong said to Wang Yangming at this time: "After you return to Lianghuai, give these two secret boxes to two officials in Shandong, one is Deputy Envoy Shu Sheng, and the other is Councillor Cai Tianyou, and tell them that I have given them the exclusive right to submit secret reports, and that they must submit secret reports to the capital every ten days."

"The right to perform secret reports?"

Wang Yangming was quite shocked, but he didn't ask more questions and just bowed and nodded.

Zhu Houcong smiled slightly, and after meeting Wang Yangming, he said to the eunuch Gu Dayong: "Send a capable Jinyiwei to secretly go to the south to escort the head of the Southern Kong family to Beijing."

Gu Dayong was also shocked, but he also bowed and agreed.

(End of this chapter)