The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 560: Out of reach
After the emperor had made clear arrangements for the famous scholar Zhang Dai, he chatted with Li Dingguo for a few minutes and immediately issued an edict to appoint Li Dingguo as the deputy governor of Yinzhou and enter Yinzhou by land. The reason why he was appointed as the deputy governor was because Sun Kewang was also a deputy governor.

"Sun Kewang achieved great success in the Battle of Sakhalin. He killed five Rakshasas by himself and personally chopped off their left legs. This young man from Tangshan acted with lightning speed, and I admire him greatly."

When Liu Zhaosun said this, Li Dingguo's expression changed. The emperor pretended not to know the grudge between Sun and Li, and continued:
"He was highly recommended by Prime Minister Ma, and you were highly recommended by Lord Sun (Chuan Ting). I believe that neither can be neglected, so I have decided to give both of you a chance. Whoever arrives first will be appointed Grand Commander of Yinzhou, and all Yinzhou affairs will be managed by him from now on."

Such an arrangement is not intended to balance the two forces, but is just a euphemism for the dangerous future.

Let’s not talk about who arrives first or last. We should be thankful that someone can reach the other side of the ocean alive.

Emperor Wuding's subtext was that only one of Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo could survive.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty,"

Emperor Wuding's expression changed slightly, and he turned to look at Zhang Dai who was still kneeling on the ground.

"Mr. Zhang, please speak up, but breaking off the engagement or something like that is out of the question, and you shouldn't mention it. This is about Yinzhou's century-long plan, not a fantasy novel."

Zhang Dai hesitated for a long time, then mustered up the courage to ask:

"May I ask, Your Majesty, how far is this place from Yinzhou? Will I travel by land or by water? Is there a post road connecting here?"

Pei Dahu swung his scabbard and cursed: "You thought I was letting you travel around Jiangnan, and you still wanted to take the post road! You used public power for personal gain and abused the post stations. I don't know how much money and grain you spent..."

Emperor Wuding waved his hand and forgave the famous scholar from Jiangnan for his unruly and freedom-loving early life, and signaled Pei Dahu not to beat people in public.

"Twenty or thirty thousand miles is always a long way. We can take a boat or go overland. Going overland will be colder, and we might freeze into icy lumps. Going by water will be warmer, and might even melt the snow. And we have to go to southern Liaoning to take a boat and travel with Sun Kewang and the others."

Zhang Dai, not knowing where he had heard that Sun Kewang had a bad reputation, quickly shook his head and said:
"No, no, I would rather go by land and go with General Lee."

"Good," Liu Zhaosun smiled at Li Dingguo, "General Li, it seems you are quite popular."

"Mr. Zhang, while you're on the road, please take good notes and use all the ink you have in your belly to write a few more articles. When you return, I will publish a collection of your works. I've already thought of a title: 'Journey to Yinzhou East on the Japanese Ship'."

Zhang Dai quickly kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace.

~~~~
That day, the emperor, his ministers and his two companions had a long and heart-to-heart talk in the Taisho Palace, from early morning till dusk.

Liu Zhaosun asked the two to go back and rest early. In the next period of time, Li Dingguo would have to visit various military groups to recruit two hundred members, and he would also be responsible for collecting food and supplies.

It was time for the Emperor to go to bed.

The two men bowed and left. Liu Zhaosun was stunned for a moment, and the scene of Kang Yingqian selling King Kong Powder in Jieze County emerged in his mind.

"If Lao Kang were here, he would definitely make things clear for these corrupt officials."

After an unknown amount of time, Liu Zhaosun yawned, and the chief steward Dongfang Zhu said attentively: "Your Majesty, it's time to turn over the cards. Who will you go with today..." "I'm in a bad mood now."

Under the cover of night, the city of Shenyang was exceptionally quiet. From time to time, one or two fireflies flickered their wings and flew over the lush imperial garden.

Emperor Wu Ding ignored Dongfang Zhu's question, left the throne, strolled to the entrance of the imperial garden, and looked up at the night sky. Because of the promotion and use of steam engines in recent years, the use of coal has increased everywhere, and coupled with hot air balloon flights and artillery tests, the smog is serious, and the sky in front of him is becoming more and more dirty.

The sky now is a dirty sky
The stars are no longer visible in the imperial sky
The sky is not actually high, and the sea is not far away
The human heart is actually higher than the sky and farther than the sea
Liu Zhaosun stood there for a long time. Dongfang Zhu did not dare to interrupt the emperor's thoughts and stood quietly beside him.

"Li Dingguo just said that the Henan silver shop stole the money deposited by General Kang. Thousands of merchants in Zhongzhou were not spared. What a bunch of rats! And in Huguang, my brother-in-law is making money. He cut corners on the project, abused the labor force, and had no regard for the lives of the people. He only wanted to fool me with auspicious signs! Today they found a white deer, tomorrow they caught a five-legged toad! The world in Henan, Huguang and other places is about to change. It's really horrifying!"
"Dongfang Zhu,"

Liu Zhaosun put down the Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup he had picked up and said sternly, "Tell me, how should I punish these people? Who should I send to investigate this time? How should we investigate?"

"His Majesty,·····"

Dongfang Zhu hesitated to speak, as the saying goes: a stranger should not alienate a relative, and an inferior should not seek a superior. Although Eunuch Dongfang was a favorite of the retired emperor, he was only a eunuch in the final analysis, with no soldiers or power. If he really fell out with the local officials outside the palace and got angry, few leaders would be afraid of him.

The water in Henan and Huguang is very deep, it can be said to be bottomless. The governor of Henan, Ge Yewen, has followed Liu Zhaosun since the Wanli period, and is a confidant of Ma Shiying. He has a complex network in the upper echelons of Da Qi, and it is even more difficult to talk about Huguang. The governor is a person who does not care about anything. The ones who are really in power are Qin Jianxun, the chief of the Fourth Corps, and Jin Dajiu, the Duke of Chengguo. Qin Jianxun, needless to say, has the power of the southwestern chieftains behind him, and he is also a person who cannot be offended easily. As for Jin Dajiu, he is the brother of Empress Dowager Cisi Jin Yuji, and has the support of Jin Yinghe and the Korean faction behind him. He has a close relationship with Pei Dahu, Lin Yu and others of the Imperial Guard. In short, these people are not only confidants of the emperor, but also powerful figures, and they are all people that Dongfang Zhu cannot afford to offend.

"I believe that listening to both sides leads to enlightenment, while believing only one side leads to ignorance. Before the matter is clarified, we should send someone to investigate further. We can issue an imperial decree to inquire about the local money and grain amounts and compare..."

Liu Zhaosun interrupted Dongfang Zhu with an unhappy look on his face. He was very dissatisfied with this Tai Chi and vague approach.

However, the ruling foundation of the empire relies on these royal relatives and trusted ministers. These people are extremely powerful, and even if Emperor Wuding wants to share power with them, it is impossible to do so.

Because the gene of totalitarianism is the high concentration of power. Unless one is the only one who can do everything in the world, sending people out will only lead to such an outcome.

"Although I know that Li Dingguo will eventually become like them, colluding with the corrupt and forgetting his original intention, I will not give up now. Kill them! Tianxin City is only half built, and the south hasn't been pacified yet, and they are already emptying the national treasury. These rats, relying on the Qi Dynasty's land system to make money, are even more hateful than the corrupt officials of the former Ming Dynasty! They are truly sucking the marrow out of my bones!"

Over the years, Emperor Wuding sent at least 800 imperial envoys and spies to inspect Henan, Huguang, and Shandong. He thought these people were loyal, but he didn't know that many of them had been bribed by rats like Jin Dajiu, and the news they brought back to him was always that the world was peaceful and that disasters were happening in various places and rescue was needed.

Liu Zhaosun suddenly remembered a major case that occurred during the Qianlong period, the Wang Danwang case.

In the Wang Danwang case, local officials at all levels colluded to deceive Emperor Qianlong, and a total of 102 officials embezzled more than taels of silver.

According to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, these officials would all be executed.

Qianlong drew a red line: anyone who embezzled more than 20,000 taels would be sentenced to death.

After the trial, a total of 28 officials were sentenced to immediate execution, 51 officials were sentenced to beheading with a pending reprieve or execution in the autumn, and another 46 were exiled to the frontier to perform hard labor.

Emperor Wuding was sharpening his knife and secretly set a target for killing in his heart. He was preparing to start from Huguang and gradually carry out a thorough purge in various provinces.

(End of this chapter)