Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 183 Jiajing used courtesy before using force, targeting the weak spots of the prime ministers of the two dynasties!
The twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month in the second year of the Jiajing reign.

The weather was slightly cold and the snow gradually stopped.

This day.

Liu Jian arrived in the capital.

Zhu Houcong naturally did not refuse Liu Jian's request.

Because he had no reason to refuse.

In any case, Liu Jian was a world-renowned prime minister of two dynasties, and he also represented a banner that the people of the world aspired for.

Now, Liu Jian took the initiative to request to go to Beijing to pay homage and attend his wedding. This was to give himself face and to show the outside world that they supported him as the new emperor.

Therefore, as an emperor, if he still wanted to show the people of the world that he wanted to make the world a better place and was not just doing it for his own selfish interests, nor was he a person who could not distinguish between good and evil, then he would not be able to refuse.

to this end.

Zhu Houcong also specially sent eunuch Zhang Yong from the Imperial Stables to pick him up with a hundred Jinyi officers.

Zhu Houcong did not send Gu Dayong or Qin Wen.

Because the former is one of the Eight Tigers, and the latter is the godson of Wei Bin, one of the Eight Tigers.

If Zhu Houcong sent them, he would probably anger the 90-year-old Liu Jian to death.

But Zhang Yong is different.

Although Zhang Yong was also one of the Eight Tigers, he had a good reputation among civil servants and literati.

Mainly because he was the main figure involved in the defeat of Liu Jin.

This gave the scholars and officials a good impression of Zhang Yong.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong had to send Zhang Yong to pick him up on his behalf so that Liu Jian would not be so resistant.

After Liu Jian arrived in the capital, everyone from the cabinet ministers to the students and common people came to the outside of the city to greet him.

"Mr. Huian has arrived in Beijing!"

"Mr. Huian has arrived in Beijing!"

Many people also spread the news and were as excited as if it were Chinese New Year.

Especially the wealthy families in the capital, they all remembered the Hongzhi Dynasty when Liu Jian was in power, and naturally they were extremely grateful to Liu Jian.

After all, many of these wealthy families in the capital had had enough of being exploited by the "Eight Tigers" in the inner court.

Therefore, both Yumin Daily and Wenbao had no choice but to report the incident.

In fact, many merchants have already begun to offer discounts and free celebrations on their products in the name of welcoming Lord Huian.

It seemed to have surpassed the grand occasion of the emperor's visit to the capital in the past.

And when Liu Jian arrived outside the capital.

Many soldiers and civilians gathered around him.

Many court officials and scholars shed tears because of this.

There is no way, Liu Jian’s reputation is too high!

Even civil officials like Yang Tinghe, who held the high position of Grand Tutor, and Liang Chu, the Prime Minister, could only behave as juniors in front of Liu Jian according to seniority among the literati.

Not to mention the nine ministers.

The civil servants who supported rituals were so excited that they could not control themselves.

Because strictly speaking, Liu Jian is the real "ancestor" of their Huli Sect.

They were all ministers who adhered to the ideas of Liu Jian and other old ministers in the Hongzhi Dynasty, namely "adhering to the ancestral system and governing the country with leniency and frugality".

From Yang Tinghe and others to Jiang Mian, Mao Ji, Fei Hong who are still in the cabinet, as well as Shi Yan, Lin Jun, Zhao Huang and others who are in charge of the six ministries and advocate the policy of peace and harmony, they are all inheriting the mantle of Liu Jian and Xie Qian.

Therefore, even a man of high status like Yang Tinghe had to be supported by his servants and stood in the distance to look on.

But he didn't dare go over.

Because he didn't dare to meet the people from the Rites Protection Party. After all, his reputation among the Rites Protection Party was not as good as before.

Who made him defect during the discussion of the great ceremony and during the retreat to the palace to save the Kong family?
He was also the first to present a congratulatory message to the emperor for the grand ceremony of recognizing Emperor Xiaozong as the emperor's uncle.

How could the ritualists not criticize and denounce him?

Even if there are people who understand him, it is not good to get close to him.

He himself was too embarrassed to see Liu Jian again.

but……

Yang Tinghe was indeed looking forward to Liu Jian's visit to Beijing.

When he saw Liu Jian being helped off the boat by his grandson Liu Chengxue, he could not help but stretch his neck and exclaimed: "Mr. Hui'an is still as elegant as ever!"

"Your Majesty is determined to make reforms, but you are still young and hot-tempered, so you are unwilling to follow the public opinion!"

"In order to avoid discord between the monarch and his subjects, I had to compromise, so I did not argue about the great ceremony or the Kong family affairs. Instead, I fanned the flames and was misunderstood by the gentlemen of the world. Naturally, I could no longer lead the subjects to argue in front of the monarch and prevent Your Majesty from obtaining a large amount of silver."

"Fortunately, Lord Huian has come to Beijing!"

"With Lord Huian's influence in the imperial family and the court, he will surely lead the ministers to prevent Your Majesty from obtaining a large amount of silver and seize a large amount of benefits for the people! I think it will also prevent the harem from forcing Your Majesty to reject Lord Huian!

"Perhaps, Lord Huian can persuade the emperor to understand as soon as possible that using a traitor like Wang Anshi to govern the country will only cause chaos. Instead, using a gentleman like Sima Guang to govern the country, follow the old system, restrain one's desires, and save money is the fundamental way to ensure long-term peace and stability in the country!"

Yang Tinghe talked to himself hopefully.

Same as Yang Tinghe.

Many ministers of the ritual protection faction also hoped that Liu Jian's visit to the capital this time would really be able to prevent the emperor from obtaining a large amount of silver by punishing the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River.

After all, whether the emperor can punish the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River or obtain a large amount of silver, it will greatly damage the power of the gentry.

However, many ministers of the ritual faction were somewhat worried about this. Naturally, they could not help but worry that Liu Jian would force the emperor to abandon the new policy, or even force the emperor to abandon them.

Even Fei Hong is very worried now and does not want to actually see Liu Jian go to Beijing.

Since he is now in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, he is responsible for deciding how to spend the large amount of silver dollars that have newly entered the national treasury.

It means that he holds the Ming Dynasty's purse and can spend the money however he wants.

All government offices in the world have to look to him for advice.

Let all places in the world have to look to him for their opinions.

He could also approve more funds for his hometown of Jiangxi to be used for disaster relief, flood control, and even student aid.

He has surpassed the Minister of Revenue and become the number one god of wealth in the Ming Dynasty!
Therefore, Fei Hong now wants to support the emperor more than anyone else in punishing the Jiangnan gentry and obtaining a large amount of silver.

Because at that time, all the silver would enter the treasury controlled by him in the form of loans. If he did not have this power, he might oppose or even prevent the emperor from obtaining a large amount of silver, especially by implicating a large number of gentry, in order to preserve the status of the gentry and keep the money power in the hands of the local powerful families.

What if these nobles really rebelled?

But is it important?

It doesn't matter at all.

After all, only naive people care about right and wrong.

Mature people only see the pros and cons.

But Fei Hong has this power now.

Power has always fascinated the mind and made people rethink the pros and cons.

In the history of the Ming Dynasty, many scholars and officials tried their best to oppose the emperor before they came to power, but once they came to power, they were more active in opposing the people of the world than the emperor.

Especially during the Wanli period, when social contradictions intensified.

This also led to the famous dialogue between Wang Xijue, the prime minister of the Wanli period, and Gu Xiancheng, the leader of the Donglin Party.

Now, Fei Hong is like this.

In his current view, it is no longer important to him that the gentry in Jiangnan were implicated. What is important is that the emperor can use this opportunity to obtain a large amount of silver in Jiangnan, and then mint this silver into silver coins, and then lend them to the General Administration of Revenue. As the cabinet minister in charge of the General Administration of Revenue, he can use money to control the world and enjoy the pleasure of being the "God of Wealth".

Now when he thinks about the officials from the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, Ministry of Works and even the local governors fawning on him and begging for money, he still feels ecstatic and thinks it can nourish the body and refresh the mind better than any ginseng or cinnamon.

"Your Majesty is working hard to govern the country and wants to revive the money system to curb annexation and promote people's livelihood. I believe that Lord Huian also admires the emperor's ambition and came to the palace to strengthen his momentum!"

When it was Fei Hong's turn to talk to Liu Jian, he set a trap for Liu Jian, forcing Liu Jian to admit that he came to support the emperor, not to oppose him.

Liu Jian naturally heard the hidden meaning behind Fei Hong's words, and it was difficult for him to deny it.

After all, he couldn't really say that the emperor was wrong to work hard to govern the country and revive the money system.

But because of this, Liu Jian was a little angry. He didn't expect that Fei Hong, a young man who used to be quite docile, would become so sweet-mouthed but treacherous now.

"What are you talking about, Lord?"

"Mr. Huian is here to strengthen the emperor's prestige, but more importantly, he is here to advise the emperor to be lenient and benevolent, and not to affect the foundation of the country by being too eager for change!"

At this time, the Minister of Works Zhao Huang responded to Fei Hong on behalf of Liu Jian, and then he bowed to Liu Jian and said, "We all hope that you can come to dissuade His Majesty!"

"Yes, Your Majesty wants to set up a large-scale prison and conduct searches on the nobles who have committed crimes in order to obtain a large amount of silver."

"I hope Lord Huian can come and lead us to dissuade this matter, so that Your Majesty can know that punishment and reward should be based on public opinion."

Lin Jun followed up.

Fei Hong couldn't help but interrupt at this time: "But they did rebel. Not to mention crying in the temple, just setting up a council and eliminating the traitorous army without authorization is already a clear sign of being a rebel!"

"But they are true gentlemen who dare to stand up for the people!"

Zhao Huang replied at this time.

Fei Hong suddenly shouted excitedly: "You are a true gentleman even though you are rebelling?!"

Fei Hong couldn't help but be excited.

Because in the past, rebels surrounded his house, dismembered his relatives, and forced him to join Prince Ning in a rebellion, but he refused. Even when his ancestral grave was dug up, he did not give in. Therefore, he always attached great importance to the principle of loyalty to the emperor.

Zhao Huang said: "They are just young and hot-tempered, and were instigated by the lawless nobles to exterminate the nine clans of the Zhu family. What's their big mistake?!"

“No matter how young and energetic you are, you should be able to distinguish between what you should do and what you shouldn’t do!”

Fei Hong was so excited that tears came to his eyes.

Zhao Huang sneered and said to Liu Jian, "Lord Huian, as long as you take the lead in the fight, we will follow suit. If the cabinet doesn't fight, we, the nine ministers, will follow you!"

"At worst, if the emperor doesn't even listen to your words, I will die!"

Zhao Huang suddenly brushed his sleeves and spoke in a loud voice.

Liu Jian smiled with relief and said, "We'll talk about it when we meet the emperor!"

then.

Liu Jian was supported by his grandson Liu Chengxue and walked into the city.

Looking at the outer city that had been basically built, Liu Jian couldn't help but praise its grandeur.

And when he saw that the city was in good order and prosperous, with houses much more densely populated than the capital of the Hongzhi and Zhengde dynasties in his memory, and many wastelands that had been confined by the powerful were now planted with mulberry, hemp, vegetables and melons, and the streets were no longer covered in filth, he secretly sighed that the emperor was indeed working hard to govern the country and caring about the people's livelihood.

But Liu Jian hoped that the emperor would just do this!

There is no need to think about controlling the world's financial power. It would even be better to weaken military power so that the world can have peace.

After all, strengthening the military power and increasing the money power means a greater ability to seize the benefits of the world, and for this, one will compete with the world for benefits!

After all, in order to obtain a large amount of silver, they are not hesitant to punish the Jiangnan gentry in the name of dealing with traitors.

"Is Lord Huian going to the capital this time to persuade the emperor not to implicate the Jiangnan gentry?"

"Mr. Huian should dissuade Your Majesty from collecting large amounts of silver in order to gain the world's benefits!"

"Lord Huian, it's up to you to return the money and power to the people!"

……

At this time, many bureaucrats and gentry who protected rituals gathered around and spoke to Liu Jian.

Liu Jian could tell that they all wanted him to stop the emperor from implicated a large number of Jiangnan gentry and try to use this to control the world's financial power. It also made him more certain that it was the consensus of the world that the emperor could not control financial power.

Zhao Huang was even more excited because of this, and said to Lin Jun: "Sure enough, the momentum created by the arrival of Lord Huian is different!"

Lin Jun nodded.

Fei Hong's face was gloomy and his brows were furrowed. He was worried that Liu Jian would simply ask the emperor to not even set up the General Administration of Revenue.
Then as a cabinet minister, he would only be able to participate in drafting bills, and his power would plummet, wouldn't it?
"There is a will!"

"Master Liu, please don't kneel and listen to my orders!"

At this time.

Eunuch Mai Fu came here with several eunuchs and Jinyiwei to convey the emperor's decree to Liu Jian.

Everyone was very moved after hearing this, and praised the emperor for being considerate of his old ministers, knowing that Lord Liu was ninety years old and it was inconvenient for him to kneel and listen to the imperial edict.

At this time, Mai Fu announced the imperial decree, "The imperial decree says: The country has virtuous elders, which is a blessing to the world. Your coming to congratulate me is also a blessing to the royal family, so I grant you a dragon robe and your grandson a bullfighting robe. I also grant you a prince's carriage to enter the court and give you a banquet in the Jinshen Palace! I order the cabinet ministers and nine ministers to accompany you. I decree this!"

Zhu Houcong had found Liu Jian's weakness by reading his previous memorials.

However, the more Zhu Houcong understood his weaknesses, the more he pretended to respect his old minister.

This is his habit and he likes to do it because he thinks it appears civilized.

(End of this chapter)