Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 146: The nobles split and are ready to take action

Zhu Houcong did not express his opinion immediately.

This is for him.

This is where political reform becomes truly difficult.

The reform-minded bureaucrats who supported him were not the so-called saints and gentlemen who were selfless and only cared about the country and the people.

In reality, as living people, they are not as perfect as recorded in history because of the tradition of three taboos for the venerable.

As the local ruling class, they, their families, and the people in their hometown would also do things that were against the court and violated the law of the country.

Just like now Xie Qian and other Zhejiang eastern gentry are involved in smuggling.

This has almost become a common situation in Fujian and Zhejiang.

Not to mention a great scholar like Xie Qian, according to Zhu Wan, who was the commander of the coastal defense of Zhejiang and Fujian in history, even Lin Xiyuan, a famous Neo-Confucianist at the time, was involved in smuggling and even sheltered pirates.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong had no reason to protect Xie Qian, Wang Yangming, Zhang Cong and other Zhejiang eastern gentry. He should have handled the matter impartially and sent senior officials to inspect the coastal defense of Fujian and Zhejiang.

But if Zhu Houcong did this, it would be tantamount to that he, as the emperor, would grant officials who opposed the reform the power to deal with the backbone of his reform.

but.

What is strange is that the reformists at that time were basically mainly from Zhejiang.

Zhang Cong, Wang Yangming, and even Xie Qian, who was later reinstated into the cabinet by Emperor Jiajing, were all from Zhejiang. Wang Yangming and Xie Qian were even from Yuyao.

But it’s actually not surprising.

Because, historically, the Fujian and Zhejiang gentry were the ones who advocated opening up the sea, in stark contrast to the Nanzhi gentry who advocated banning the sea.

That’s right, many of the nobles in the Nanzhi region were opposed to opening the sea.

For example, Zhu Wan, the minister who worked most hard to ban maritime operations during the Jiajing period, was from Suzhou.

Mao Cheng and Zhu Xizhou, who belonged to the same party as Yang Tinghe and Peng Ze, who clearly proposed strengthening the maritime ban in history, were also from Suzhou.

However, in fact, it was not just the Nanzhi nobles who advocated strengthening the maritime ban.

Before the Japanese invasion, the literati in most regions, except Fujian and Zhejiang, advocated strengthening the maritime ban.

This also gave the ritualists an opportunity to carry out their conspiracy.

Because as long as Zhu Houcong also sent ministers to Zhejiang to strengthen the ban on maritime affairs and inspect the maritime borders, and according to the official system, officials could not serve in their hometowns, the court would have to send ministers to inspect the coastal defense. If they wanted to inspect Fujian and Zhejiang together, then the ministers could not be from Fujian and Zhejiang, and people from other regions had to be selected.

If someone from another region serves as the Minister of Maritime Defense, he or she will most likely be someone who advocates strengthening the maritime ban, and will definitely be a maritime ban advocate whose morals and abilities are impeccable.

Just like, in history, there was a strong-willed person like Zhu Wan who was willing to commit suicide to express his protest and became the imperial envoy to inspect Fujian and Zhejiang.

Zhu Houcong had to admit it.

He's not the only one who can scheme openly.

Those who oppose reform will also use open strategies.

Wang Yangming's face looked extremely ugly at this time, and his heart was burning with anger.

Because he discovered that these people wanted to plot to kill his father, and were not even willing to sacrifice the lives of the entire city's people. They also wanted to use open conspiracy to directly expose the crimes of these Zhejiang eastern gentry in the court.

This is equivalent to turning the table over.

No longer would we cover up each other's ugly deeds just because we are all scholars.

It means that you want to unite with the emperor, strengthen central power, increase my taxes, and prevent me from becoming a local tyrant. Then I will also unite with the emperor to crack down on your smuggling and cut off your source of income.

Let's stop being so friendly now.

You say that I am unfaithful for not paying taxes actively, then I can also say that you are unfaithful for making profits by smuggling.

Everyone can accuse each other of being a traitor.

But Wang Yangming also knew that, after all, it was he who was the first to fall out.

after all……

Originally, Yang Ting and other ministers of the ritual-protecting faction intended to let the emperor recognize Emperor Xiaozong as their father, and then continue to follow the path of defending Cheng, making only minor repairs at most, or even trying to only let the emperor suffer grievances, and admonishing the emperor to be frugal.

However, Zhang Cong, his fellow townsman, first questioned the great ritual and even risked his life rather than agree with the ritual-protecting faction.

then……

The Great Ceremony went in the direction of not letting the emperor follow the system of Hongzhi, but of actively expanding the borders and making internal reforms during the Chenghua period.

It seems understandable that the Nanzhi gentry and other traditional bureaucrats who represent the ritual protection faction no longer cover up for themselves.

Wang Yangming now experienced the difficulty of reform.

For him, who was serving as the head of one of the Nine Ministers in the capital for the first time, the feeling of being a minister in the capital was indeed different from that of being a provincial governor in the local area.

At the local level, he is the only representative of imperial power. He can directly link his will with the will of the emperor, and no one can question it.

But in the capital, although he was the Minister of War, he could not represent the emperor alone, and the emperor's will could no longer be kidnapped by him.

He could only seek the emperor's support.

but.

His opponents could also seek the emperor's support.

and……

Just as he could use legitimate reasons to make the emperor unconditionally fight for his reasons.

His opponents could also use legitimate conditions to win the emperor's support.

Of course, to gain the emperor's support, it is not enough to have a legitimate reason, but more importantly, you need to offer some benefits to bribe the emperor.

What impressed the emperor about Wang Yangming was that he supported the emperor in strengthening his military power and in increasing taxes in the south.

Now, these ritualists who advocate strengthening maritime bans are also willing to express their support for the emperor's crackdown on smuggling and try to impress the emperor with the benefits of monopolizing maritime trade.

Now it is time for the emperor to make a decision.

Historically, when Jiajing was arguing over whether to ban or open the sea, he initially chose to support people like Zhang Cong and Xie Qian.

However, due to various reasons, Zhang Cong and Xie Qian left the court, and eventually the Xie family was exterminated. Therefore, Jiajing chose to support the maritime ban, but it also led to the Japanese invasion.

However, according to the historical trend, the sea was opened again later.

But later on, opening the sea became a formality, and the coastal clans preferred smuggling rather than going through formal official trade channels.

This was certainly because the coastal clans were unwilling to share the sea benefits with the court, but it was also the result of the decline of imperial power in the later period.

Zhu Houcong now has no reason not to follow the choice made by Jiajing at this time in history.

Because the Kaihai faction is relatively weaker now, they are willing to strengthen the imperial power and make more concessions.

The maritime ban faction was relatively less generous, even though they were willing to give the emperor some of the benefits of monopolizing maritime trade.

But as long as the imperial power is not truly strengthened, they will have the final say on how much the emperor can actually get.

The worst case scenario might be that after the emperor supports them in getting rid of Wang Yangming and others, they will directly say that there is no smuggling in the world anymore and there is no profit in maritime trade anymore. At that time, he, the emperor, can only suffer in silence.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong decided to stand with the Haipai faction, that is, the ritual-debating faction that advocated rituals and laws.

only……

In a court ruled by Confucianism, one cannot talk directly about interests and benefits.

On the surface, one still has to take the interests of the country and the people as the starting point, which is in line with the righteousness of the saints, so that one's choice can be justified.

This requires the ministers of the Ritual School who advocate opening the sea to explain their reasons in this regard.

But at this time, Wang Yangming did not express his opinion.

Other ministers who supported the ritual issue did not express their views either.

When Zhu Houcong saw this situation, he knew that this was because the power of the ritual protection faction was strong. After all, behind them were the gentry of Nanzhi, the north and even Sichuan, Huguang and other places.

Especially the Nanzhi gentry.

They controlled most of the Ming Dynasty's commercial goods that were sold overseas.

Such as cotton, satin, raw silk, white sugar, and tea.

What's more, he accounts for the largest proportion in the bureaucracy.

Therefore, the gentry in Fujian and Zhejiang, and even the wealthy families in Guangdong and Guangxi, also participated in smuggling. However, it was mainly the gentry in Nanzhi who provided them with the smuggled goods, and the officials who cooperated with them in smuggling the goods were also from the gentry in Nanzhi.

This meant that even if the Ritual Party decided to open the sea and legalize smuggling, they would not only need the emperor's support, but also had to win over the support of scholars and officials from more regions.

Zhu Houcong said: "This matter involves the reputation of the Yuangong family, not to mention that it is an old minister like Xie who represents the character of the ministers of the country. We must be careful, so I will summon Xie to the capital first and ask him in person before making any decision."

Xie Qian was a big shot in the Hongzhi Dynasty. During the Zhengde Dynasty, because of his opposition to Liu Jin, he was highly respected as a role model in the literati by the conservative officials who made up the majority of the country at that time.

Now it is not so easy for these conservative officials who have turned to the ritual protection faction to deny Xie Qian.

The emperor could also use the excuse that he could not easily deny a respected senior official and delay making a direct statement.

Tao Zhongfu had no choice but to agree.

Seeing this, Gu Dingchen couldn't help but close his eyes and sigh.

He knew that the emperor might delay by saying that Xie Qian was a person who could not be easily denied.

But he also knew that if he really wanted to uncover the true colors of the Zhejiang eastern gentry, he could not avoid Xie Qian.

Because Xie Qian, as a former cabinet minister, is indeed the largest smuggling family in Fujian and Zhejiang today.

Therefore, if one wants to investigate the smuggling situation in Fujian and Zhejiang, one cannot avoid Xie Qian.

Otherwise, if Xie Qian is not exposed now, he will be charged with deceiving the emperor in the future.

What made Gu Dingchen angry now was that a famous official like Xie Qian could not resist the temptation of money and profit, and even took the lead in smuggling.

But that's the reality.

Among the famous officials of the Qingliu clan, there were not only those who took the lead in smuggling, but also those who took the lead in annexing land and monopolizing important industrial and commercial businesses.

According to historical records, this situation will only get worse.

After this court meeting ended.

Grand Secretary Fei Hong took the initiative to send people to invite Wang Yangming, Zhang Cong, Xia Yan and Gui E to meet him.

Xia Yan and Gui E are his fellow Jiangxi natives, and are now rising stars in the officialdom. They are likely to become leaders of the Jiangxi gentry in the future.

Wang Yangming and Zhang Cong were from the same hometown of Zhejiang.

Fei Hong's intention in doing this is naturally obvious.

He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of the Nanzhi gentry attacking the Zhejiang gentry to allow his Jiangxi gentry to replace the Nanzhi gentry and become the main provider of commercial goods for the Zhejiang gentry and other smuggling forces, such as silk, cotton, and tea, so as to make Jiangxi more prosperous.

In this era, scholars and officials all put the interests of their hometowns and party members first, and even regarded the interests of their hometowns and party members as more important than the interests of the country.

So much so that when officials come to power and hold great power, they will especially like to cultivate local cliques.

This also led to party struggles in history, most of which were struggles between local parties.

Although Fei Hong was not very enthusiastic about reform, he was very enthusiastic about seeking benefits for his hometown. As long as the reform was beneficial to his hometown, he would also be active in reform.

of course.

Fei Hong also hoped that in this way he could gain the support of the Jiangxi gentry while also gaining the support of the Zhejiang gentry and even the Fujian gentry, so that he could become a more powerful cabinet minister in the future and have a better chance of becoming the prime minister.

"Your Majesty is still prudent!"

"On the contrary, some of our ministers, for their own selfish reasons, even slandered an old and loyal minister like Lord Xie!"

"Not to mention that they didn't rush to report the fact that Yuyao was surrounded by pirates, but instead rushed to report the false news that Shi'an Gong had passed away."

“Is this still the behavior of a scholar-official?”

"It's as if he was hoping that Shi'an would die."

"I am also deeply disgusted by this!"

Fei Hong first spoke up for Xie Qian and Wang Yangming in order to win the favor of these Zhejiang gentry.

(End of this chapter)