Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 182: When faced with a weak spot, the head of the Imperial Household Department was afraid!

at this time.

Outside the Wang family hall.

It has started to rain.

It hit the green banana leaves with great force.

Tick-tick.

Wang Ao glanced through the wooden window with ice cracks, then sighed slightly.

"I understand what you said."

"At the beginning, Yang Xindu and his men wanted to sacrifice the emperor to save the world."

"The emperor is unwilling, so he wants to save the world by sacrificing Nanzhi."

"Because Zhu Kunshan is from Gusu, other noble families in Nanzhi who are unwilling to give up the benefits to the court choose to sacrifice Suzhou and obstruct the national policy."

"But the emperor is wise and has prevented the Suzhou gentry from becoming victims. Instead, they have become victims."

"So, it's not an exaggeration to say that they are tying themselves up in knots!"

Wang Ao shook his head when he said this.

Gu Qing nodded and said, "Lord, but."

Wang Ao stopped Gu Qing from saying anything more and said, "It's not that I won't plead for mercy, but if I can really pray for the grace of God and pardon many of them in the future, I want you to go back and tell them a message."

"Please give me some advice, Mr. Ge."

Gu Qing quickly stood up and bowed.

Wang Ao said: "Don't focus on your own selfish interests! Don't hesitate to fight against each other for this! You should think more about the world and your hometown, and learn from it!"

"I will convey it myself."

Gu Qing replied.

Wang Ao added: "In terms of reputation in the court and the country, the most prestigious person in the world today is Liu Luoyang (Liu Jian), the former prime minister of the two dynasties!"

"I'm afraid even if I come forward to plead for mercy, it won't work!"

"Besides, the emperor is determined to take a large amount of silver from Nanzhi in order to bring the world's financial power to the imperial court. If I plead for mercy, His Majesty will think that I don't want him to do this and have selfish motives, and he will be even more unwilling to show leniency!"

"If Liu Luoyang comes forward, he can ask the emperor to be lenient to the nobles on the grounds of preserving the country's literary fortune!"

Gu Qing was delighted after hearing this, and agreed:
"That's what the elder said!"

"If it was Liu Luoyang who came forward, the emperor would certainly be more willing to believe that he was acting out of a public interest, and would also be more willing to believe that it was not just the scholars and officials in Nanzhi who did not want the court to implicate the gentry, but that the scholars and officials in the world did not want the court to implicate the gentry!"

"Moreover, if Liu Luoyang comes forward, the scholars and officials from other provinces will have to follow suit and plead for mercy. Otherwise, it will not be enough to prove that they are honest and selfless!"

"Exactly this!"

Wang Ao said with a smile.

Gu Qing added: "But Lord Liu is, after all, the Prime Minister of two dynasties, and his reputation is known all over the world. He is a red banner in the hearts of the people of the world, and his integrity is very upright!"

"It would be difficult for ordinary people to persuade him to interfere in government affairs, even if I am born later. It is inevitable that someone like the Lord who is also a well-known minister and imperial tutor can persuade him!"

"Of course I must write to him."

"In any case, the imperial court may not succeed in restoring the power of money, but it cannot easily set another example of wantonly persecuting the gentry!"

As Wang Ao spoke, he ordered people to prepare pens and ink.

The Liu Jian mentioned by Wang Ao is indeed a very senior person.

He was the chief minister during the Hongzhi and Zhengde dynasties.

He became famous throughout the world during the Hongzhi period.

At that time, there was a saying that went, "Liu Gong is decisive, Li Gong is prudent, and Xie Gong is particularly eloquent."

The "Liu Gongduan" here refers to Liu Jian.

originally.

Liu Jian's prestige was high enough during the Hongzhi Dynasty.

As a result, during the Zhengde period, he became even more powerful because of his confrontation with Liu Jin. He became the kind of person that Liu Jin hated but could not kill.

Especially after Liu Jin started the reform, every time a reform hurt the interests of some people, more people would miss Liu Jian and add all kinds of glamorous colors to Liu Jian.

True and false stories have been spread for so many years, not to mention the literati, even the common people are increasingly convinced that Liu Jian is the most respectable living prime minister in the world.

Therefore, even Zhu Houcong, before he ascended the throne, immediately sent an envoy to Luoyang, Henan, to ask Liu Jiancun about the granting of military honors after receiving the edict, and he did not dare to be disrespectful.

Because Zhu Houcong needed to gain Liu Jian's recognition in this way.

After all, only if Liu Jian acknowledges that he is the legitimate emperor can he truly gain recognition from the people of the world.

Of course, after receiving the gift of Ben from Zhu Houcong, Liu Jian did not really make things difficult for Zhu Houcong, but immediately presented a letter of thanks.

He never relied on his seniority to interfere in state affairs and imperial power. Even when there was a dispute over great ceremonies, he did not take part in it, but returned home and stayed at home honestly.

However, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop.

Liu Jian never expected that one day Wang Ao would bring him a letter asking him to plead for the rebellious nobles.

Although the Yanshan Guards defeated the rebels after the Lantern Festival in the second year of the Jiajing reign, the Suzhou gentry discovered the rebels' internal support at the beginning of the first lunar month.

Gu Qing even went to Wang Ao to plead for mercy on the third day of the first lunar month, not long after the Suzhou gentry discovered the traitor.

It was the seventh day of the first lunar month in the second year of the Jiajing reign that Liu Jian received Wang Ao's letter.

Because of the canal, transportation from Suzhou to Luoyang, Henan was not as inconvenient as in other areas. In addition, the Wang and Liu families had good connections with the government and could use fast ships and horses to send messages at any time. Therefore, it only took a few days for Liu Jian to receive Wang Ao's letter.

"Grandfather, you should take your medicine."

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Liu Chengxue, Liu Jian's grandson who had been serving Liu Jian, took Wang Ao's letter and Liu Jian's medicine to the warm room where Liu Jian slept.

Liu Jian is already in his nineties, and his health is not as good as before. He has more and more illnesses and often needs to take medicine.

In addition to studying, Liu Chengxue's main task now is to take care of his grandfather's medicine.

After Liu Chengxue said this, he took a brocade box from the maid, took out the small paper bag inside, and then after opening the small paper bag, he poured the pills as thin as mung beans into the palm of his hand, put them to Liu Jian's mouth, and began to serve Liu Jian the pills.

After Liu Jian finished eating and drank some water, Liu Chengxue picked up Wang Ao's letter and said, "Mr. Zhenze has a letter. Do you need to listen to it?"

Liu Jian was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

Liu Chengxue began to read.

After listening to this, Liu Jian sighed: "Wang Zhenze is making things difficult for me!"

"Why did Grandfather say that?"

After hearing what Liu Jian said, Liu Jian's grandson Liu Chengxue couldn't help but ask a question.

Liu Jian said: "If I block the emperor's will for the sake of the entire literati, I will be sorry for the current emperor; but if I don't do this, I will be sorry for the late emperor!"

"I'm sorry, late emperor?"

Liu Chengxue asked.

Liu Jian said, "Yes! The late emperor opened the era of Hongzhi Zhongxing, the foundation of which was to restore and abide by the ancestral teachings, not to change the politics of the world, and especially to protect our scholars and officials! If I ignore this matter, wouldn't it be contrary to the late emperor's expectations?"

Liu Chengxue asked, "But where is the emperor?"

"Wang Ao's letter represents the public opinion of the world."

"I have never dared to go against public opinion in my life."

"Even the emperor must follow public opinion!"

"If public opinion does not support him seizing a large amount of silver from Jiangnan, then I cannot support it either!"

"If the public opinion hadn't found me, I could have played dumb, but now that they have found me, I can't pretend I don't know."

"So, only I, a dying man, can put an end to the emperor's ambition! Perhaps, only I can make the emperor give up the reform and become a self-disciplined and ceremonial ruler who maintains the status quo!"

As Liu Jian spoke, he let out a long sigh and tears came to his eyes.

Because he didn't want to offend the emperor in this way.

But the scholars of the world asked him to do so, so he had to do so.

Therefore, Liu Jian asked Liu Chengxue to write a letter requesting permission to go to Beijing to congratulate the emperor's wedding.

It was already the twelfth day of the first lunar month in the second year of the Jiajing reign that Zhu Houcong received Liu Jian's request to come to Beijing to congratulate him on his wedding.

On this afternoon.

After Zhu Houcong received Liu Jian's memorial, he knew why he came to Beijing, even though he had not yet received the report from Zhang Wei, the Earl of Hui'an.

Zhu Houcong knew that Liu Jian was going to come to Beijing to make his appearance, which meant that the literati and officials really had no other way to stop him from obtaining silver by suppressing the rebellion and conducting large-scale property confiscations.

In Zhu Houcong's view, after all, this involves the struggle between imperial power and scholar power, so the scholars and officials in the world would not sit idly by and watch him easily acquire a large amount of wealth.

because……

If the nobles in Nanzhi were really implicated and their property were confiscated because of rebellion, it would mean that a large amount of silver would go into the emperor's pocket, allowing the emperor's financial resources to further expand to the point where he could manipulate the price of currency in the world, that is, he could determine the price of silver and gold on the market.

Therefore, these scholars knew that once the emperor had this ability, it meant that the emperor could plunder the wealth of the world at will without breaking the rules. He could even learn from emperors such as Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Ming and wage foreign military wars at will, thereby fulfilling every emperor's desire for expansion.

In this way, the power of scholars will naturally plummet.

Zhu Houcong believed that these scholars and officials had good financial knowledge.

Because financial activities have been carried out on this land for thousands of years. Lending money based on temples is secondary, and hyping products such as peonies is a common occurrence in history. Therefore, it is impossible not to realize the power that will be generated when the emperor possesses a large amount of silver.

"How much do you know about Liu Jian?"

Zhu Houcong also asked about eunuchs such as Gu Dayong who had dealt with Liu Jin during the Zhengde period.

Gu Dayong replied: "Your Majesty, this man is extremely stubborn and tough!"

"When the late emperor first ascended the throne, he, as the chief minister, and other ministers took advantage of the late emperor's ascension to the throne and forced him to kill all the slaves. The late emperor pleaded with him for us, asking him to only demote us to the southern capital because we had served him since we were young, but he refused! He insisted on asking the late emperor to kill us!"

"The late emperor has always valued friendship, so he had no choice but to follow Liu Jin's wishes and dismiss him and Xie Ge Lao."

"Stubborn and tough?"

"So he's more difficult to deal with than Yang Tinghe?"

"After all, Yang Tinghe at least knows when to compromise."

Zhu Houcong muttered to himself, and then asked Gu Dayong:
"Does this person have a weakness?"

Gu Dayong didn't expect that his emperor would ask this. He didn't expect that the emperor, who was always confident, would have moments of insecurity.

This reminded him of the late Emperor Zhengde. When Liu Jian and others asked him to kill people like him, the late Emperor Zhengde was also very hesitant at first.

Thinking about it this way, he no longer found it strange.

After all, who wouldn’t be scared when facing a prime minister of two dynasties like Liu Jian?

Gu Dayong is now only worried that Liu Jian will force the emperor to execute him, just like he forced the previous emperor.

Although Gu Dayong had this concern, he still chose to answer truthfully: "It seems not. The world thinks he is a selfless person, even many people in the inner court think so! Therefore, even the late emperor did not dare to take his life."

"Selfless?"

"Is that so?"

Zhu Houcong secretly complained, and then ordered: "Bring all the reports about him to me!"

(End of this chapter)