Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 201: Killing people with swords, helping the people under the order, the wealthy and powerful were forced to make concessions!

"Marquis Wuding, what do you mean?"

Xiao Cong asked.

Guo Xun shouted to the bamboo forest where the soldiers were hiding, "Brothers of the Imperial Guard, come out!"

At this time.

Taibao Zhu Liu came out with his Jinyiwei.

Seeing this, Xiao Cong looked at Guo Xun in astonishment: "You lied to me?"

Guo Xun said: "You don't really think that all officials in the world are not loyal, do you?"

"you!"

Xiao Cong couldn't help but point at Guo Xun, shaking with anger.

Guo Xun put his hands behind his back and walked over to Zhu Liu: "You guys can take it away."

"Your Majesty has already given us the Imperial Guards a secret order. If we encounter officials who pretend to obey but actually disobey, we can secretly chop them into pieces and falsely accuse them of being thieves, as a guide for the new policy."

Zhu Liu said this and looked at Xiao Cong: "Come here! Kill him right here with your swords, and don't spare any of his followers!"

"Yes!"

then.

A large number of Jinyiwei drew their swords and walked towards Xiao Cong.

Seeing this, Xiao Cong could not help but step back and looked at Guo Xun coldly:
"Marquis Wu Ding, do you know what the consequences will be if you betray the gentlemen of the world like this?"

"What will be the consequences?"

Guo Xun asked.

Xiao Cong shouted: "My fate today will be your fate in the future!"

"what!"

At this time.

Several Jinyiwei had already stabbed their knives into Xiao Cong's body.

on the spot.

Xiao Cong's body was filled with holes.

The whole person fell to the ground, covered in blood.

at that time.

Many more blades fell, like white lightning.

Soon.

Xiao Cong became minced meat.

All his followers were killed.

Zhu Liu ordered his Jinyiwei scribes at this time: "Write a report saying that the governor's office encountered thieves and killed them! Then report it to the court quickly!"

"Yes!"

Guo Xun accompanied Yuan Zonggao to Shishou.

at that time.

The bright moon hangs high in the sky, casting mottled shadows of the trees.

The crackling torches of the guards attracted moths and made Yuan Zonggao's haggard face look even more solemn.

"They said that I taught His Majesty to be so mature and powerful."

"In fact, they don't know that your majesty is already very powerful, and is a wise ruler sent by heaven."

“That’s not something I can teach.”

At this time.

Yuan Zonggao even smiled and took the initiative to talk to Guo Xun without any reason.

Guo Xun smiled after hearing this: "But if His Majesty didn't have you, many things would indeed not be accomplished. Xiao Cong was not wrong."

"Eating the emperor's salary is the only way to be loyal to the emperor."

"In this life, the only virtue I can try my best to practice is loyalty!"

Yuan Zonggao suddenly spoke meaningfully again.

Guo Xun didn't say anything else and just remained silent.

But Yuan Zonggao continued to ponder over what happened today.

Yuan Zonggao always felt that these people were not just trying to retaliate against him. After all, revenge on a retired old man like him would at most be a warning to those who chose to be loyal only to the emperor, and would not really have much impact on the emperor.

Therefore, Yuan Zonggao instinctively wondered what these people would do if they really wanted to prevent the emperor from reviving the system.

It is said that civil servants always think three times: thinking about danger, thinking about change, and thinking about retreat.

Yuan Zonggao was already an old man, and he no longer thought twice about himself. He had long been indifferent to death. He just couldn't help but think twice about the young emperor who had accompanied him to the capital.

"The Tomb of Emperor Xingxian in Anlu Prefecture!"

"This is the only place that is vital to Your Majesty!"

Yuan Zonggao suddenly stopped, looked at Guo Xun and said.

Guo Xun was shocked by Yuan Zonggao's sudden seriousness.

But he soon understood what Yuan Zonggao meant: "What do you mean?"

"Marquis Wuding, although I just learned that you are a loyal person to His Majesty, if that is the case, then I believe that there is trust between you and the emperor that others do not know about, and the emperor must have a deep meaning in asking you to come to Huguang."

Yuan Zonggao said.

Guo Xun nodded, and immediately ordered more night guards to be sent to Anlu Prefecture.

……

……

Saying.

At the Liao Palace, Zhu Zhige waited all night but received no news of Yuan Zonggao's murder. He even took the initiative to send people to look for him outside the city. They searched almost the entire area within a hundred miles outside Jiangling City but still could not find any trace of murder.

Zhu Zhige couldn't help but ask Jue'an in a panic the next day: "How could this be?"

The eminent monk Jue'an also looked confused.

Afterwards, Jue'an said to Zhu Zhige, "Your Highness, please be patient, but I will go to the governor's office to ask the chancellor myself! If that doesn't work, I will go to Shishou myself to see the person and the body. Yuan Zonggao is the emperor's teacher after all, and it is impossible for him to return to his hometown without being known."

Zhu Zhige nodded after hearing this and said, "What about the tomb-destroying matter in Anlu Prefecture?"

"Don't do this for now until the situation becomes clear!"

Jue'an replied.

Zhu Zhige then asked Jue'an: "If Yuan Zonggao is not dead, does it mean that among Xiao Cong and Guo Xun, there are people from the Fourth House?"

"It's hard to say!" Zhu Zhige's heart tightened. "Doesn't that mean that my insult to Yuan Zonggao might still be known to the people in the Fourth House?"

“It’s hard to say!”

Jue'an frowned and replied.

Zhu Zhige immediately jumped up and clapped his hands: "What should I do?"

"If I had known, I shouldn't have listened to you!"

Zhu Zhige also complained about Jue'anlai.

Jue'an hurriedly advised: "Your Highness, don't worry. It won't be too late to think of a way to deal with it after I go and find out."

"Then go quickly!"

"I must know as soon as possible whether Yuan Zonggao is dead or alive!"

As Zhu Zhige said this, he asked someone to prepare a horse for Jue'an.

……

……

For Yuan Zonggao, sleeping in peace in his bed at home was something he had been looking forward to for a long time.

And now, he has realized this wish.

When he returned home to receive the emperor's favor, he did not forget the emperor's instructions.

Therefore, on the third day after he returned home, he instructed the head of his family to open Yuanji Money House in Shishou County, which was authorized by the Ministry of Revenue.

At the same time, he also asked the household servants in charge of lending in the mansion to take the money and lend money in the countryside in the name of Yuanji Money House.

Yuan Zonggao set the interest rate of his own money shop very low, only one in twenty per year.

This prompted many poor peasants who were worried about how to pay the summer taxes to come and borrow money. Many shrewd wealthy businessmen also came to borrow money. After all, for them, such a low interest rate was almost the same as giving it away for free.

However, Yuan Zonggao knew that Zhu Houcong gave him a low-interest loan of 200,000 silver dollars so that he could better help the common people, rather than to make it easier for wealthy businessmen and farmers to profit, so he was not afraid of trouble and ordered his own money house to impose restrictions, that is, low-interest loans could only be used for small loans, and only small loans were issued.

This means that the money that Zhu Houcong gave him basically benefited the common people who really needed money.

Shishou County, Yaosuo Town.

Ding Cunye, a local refugee, survived last year thanks to Zhu Houzhao's full use of the imperial treasury for disaster relief in the first year of the Jiajing reign. He also worked and reclaimed more than ten acres of terraced fields in the mountainous area near his hometown.

Therefore, he began to prepare a loan to buy a working ox.

After all, human farming is not as efficient and productive as oxen farming.

But when he arrived in the town and inquired about borrowing money from the Yuanhui Temple in the town, he learned that the temple's interest rate was as high as five percent.

This made him worried.

For him, the interest rate of 5% was too high. Even if he lived frugally, he could not repay the loan.

"Must I still pull the plow myself?"

When Ding Cunye was feeling depressed about this, he learned that Chen Gui, a servant of the Yuan family, came to the town to lend small sums of money at low interest rates.

He immediately went to ask around and came to Chen Gui, the servant of the Yuan family, and asked Chen Gui: "Master, is the loan of Master Yuan's family really so low?"

"Yes, our master returned to his hometown to help the people in response to the emperor's grace, not for profit. In other words, the emperor asked our master to help you."

Chen Gui replied, sitting on a stool in a teahouse, patting his knees with his hands.

"Your Majesty is still the best!"

Ding Cunye was overjoyed and quickly borrowed five taels of silver from Chen Gui.

After receiving five taels of silver, Ding Cunye walked happily towards the bull market, saying, "This is really a good year! The interest rate is 1/20. As long as I live frugally, I can pay back the principal and interest in half a year."

As for Chen Gui, after drinking tea and arranging loans for a few people, he picked up the box containing pens, ink, paper, inkstone, silver and money and continued to walk towards the town. As he walked, he beat the gong and shouted that he was ordered to help farmers by lending money.

At one time, many people came to ask, and soon many people tried to stop Chen Gui from borrowing money.

"Wang Sanshi, if you really can't pay back the loan you borrowed from our temple during the spring famine this year, you can sell your daughter."

"Otherwise, if the interest keeps compounding, it won't just be the daughter that needs to be sold, the land will also have to be sold. I'm thinking about you as well."

Zhou Fuyao, a lay disciple of Yuanjue Temple, was sitting on the thatched hut of the Wang family, holding a palm-leaf fan. He glanced at the fair-skinned girl in her teens who was kneeling next to the farmer Wang Sanshi, and was persuading Wang Sanshi to sell his daughter to pay off his debts.

Wang Sanshi looked at his daughter Xiaotao with hesitation.

Xiaotao also looked at Wang Sanshi with red eyes.

“What are you selling!”

"Master Yuan returned to his hometown to receive the favor and to benefit the people. He also sent people to our town to do this. Every household can come to him with a household ticket to borrow a loan of 1 in 20. The term is one year, and the limit for each loan is 10 taels."

"Brother Wang, the two taels of silver you owe the temple is nothing. Hurry up and go to the east of the town to find the Yuan family and borrow a few taels of silver from them to pay off the debt. It's better than selling your daughter here!"

At this time, Wang Sanshi's neighbor who sold tofu in the town came back with a load on his shoulder. He happened to hear what Zhou Fuyao said and couldn't help but interrupt.

After hearing this, Wang Sanshi couldn't help but ask, "Really?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

Wang Sanshi said to Zhou Fuyao, "Uncle Zhou, please wait a minute. I'll go see if I can borrow it."

Zhou Fuyao was quite unhappy, but he did not get angry directly. After all, they were from the same village, and the Wang family also had a clan, so he could not be too ugly when eating, so he said:

"I'll go with you!"

Not long after, Wang Sanshi brought his daughter Xiaotao and Zhou Fuyao to find Chen Gui from the Yuan family.

Wang Sanshi naturally happily borrowed money from Chen Gui to pay off Zhou Fuyao's debt.

For him, the Yuan family's interest rate was low. Even if he borrowed more, he could pay it back next year if he gritted his teeth. Naturally, there was no need to sell his daughter.

Zhou Fuyao, with a gloomy face, went directly to the home of Li Xu, the real owner of Yuanjue Temple and the local official, and reported the matter to Li Xu who was pruning potted plants.

Snapped!
After hearing this, Li Xu threw the scissors in his hand to the ground.

Zhou Fuyao knelt on the ground and said, "Master, calm down!"

Li Xu said: "Tell the abbot of Yuanjue Temple to lower the interest rate for small loans to 15%!"

Zhou Fuyao couldn't help but open his mouth wide after hearing this.

"Didn't you hear?!"

Seeing that Zhou Fuyao didn't move, Li Xu shouted angrily.

"Yes!"

Zhou Fuyao then hurriedly left.

Of course, Li Xu did not dare to openly confront the Yuan family and the imperial court, so no matter how angry he was, he could only obediently follow the interest rate cut. He even did not dare to lower the interest rate as low as the Yuan family, for fear that the Yuan family would think he was stealing the limelight.

Many merchants and commoners near Yaosuo Town who were unaware that the Yuan family was lending money under the imperial order and who still came to Yuanjue Temple to borrow money because they were short of money, could not help but tell others after seeing that Li's family temple Yuanjue Temple had increased the interest rate to 15%.

Not knowing the true situation, they told everyone that Mr. Li was very kind and did not make things difficult for the poor people.

But they didn't know that it was because the emperor asked the Yuan family to make concessions and benefit the people that they were willing to follow suit.

(End of this chapter)