Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 85 Predicting All Your Predictions
"What did you say? Say it again!"

Li Shanchang's heart skipped a beat. He stood up abruptly and leaned forward, his face almost touching the face of the person who came to report!
His voice instantly rose an octave.

The words were spoken so quickly and aggressively that even the tone of voice changed.

Where is the trace of the calmness and wisdom he had when talking to Li Qi just now?
The candle flame, which was originally as small as a bean, flickered a few times to the limit and then stood up and continued to shine brightly.

But at this moment, the wind brought by Li Shanchang's sudden standing up blew away the fire, and it could no longer hold on and was completely extinguished.

The room suddenly fell into darkness.

The blue smoke produced after the candle was extinguished rose silently, and the unpleasant smell of burning oil also spread and penetrated into people's nostrils.

But at this time, no one wanted to light the candle, including Li Qi, who was afraid of the dark and hurried back after hearing the noise.

My entire mind was occupied by what this person said, which was no less than earth-shattering news!

They had no time to think about anything else.

"Master, it's... it's the Jinyiwei who suddenly launched a large-scale arrest. They arrested officials who came to file tax returns from various places."

The visitor did not dare to delay and quickly repeated the story briefly.

When he said this, his voice trembled a little.

On the one hand, the news was indeed shocking enough, and on the other hand, she was frightened by her master's reaction at this time.

You know, even before in Zhongdu City, the emperor suddenly told his master that his son had arrived in Zhongdu City in advance.

And then he took his master out of the labor group and rescued the three princes. His own master's reaction was not as big as this time.

Li Shanchang confirmed the news again, his breathing became heavy unconsciously, and he felt dizzy.

This news is really too sudden, too shocking and too hard to accept!
How dare the Emperor?!

It was obvious that he had hit the emperor's weak spot this time!
It was obvious that the emperor had no choice but to surrender in the face of his unstoppable attack, and he had already surrendered to him.

But why did it suddenly become like this now?
Feeling dizzy and extremely shocked and angry, he instantly realized that he had been fooled by Zhu Yuanzhang!

The previous invitation for me to preside over Zhu Laosi's wedding, as well as Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Dajiao's banquet for me in Kunning Palace, were not true surrender to me.

But to numb myself.

Let yourself relax your guard and then strike suddenly.

It turned out that in this matter, it was his son who had been very accurate in his judgment, and it was he, as his father, who had made a mistake.

Zhu Yuanzhang actually dared to do this!
The tinder was blown out and the candle was lit by the housekeeper, dispelling the darkness.

But it couldn't dispel the depressing atmosphere in the room which was filled with indescribable panic, shock, anger and many other emotions.

In the room where light had returned, Li Shanchang's eyes met his son's. He could see that his son was full of panic and seemed to have a lot to say.

This made Li Shanchang even more nervous, and his face couldn't help but turn hot.

After just a brief eye contact, he looked away.

This was the first time in many years that he had actively looked away from his son.

The flickering candlelight made his face look gloomy and uncertain.

She tried hard to suppress the extreme embarrassment of bringing shame upon her son.

Li Shanchang forced himself to calm down and not think about anything else.

The most important thing at this moment is to focus all your attention on the matter itself.

We must make appropriate decisions quickly to deal with this emergency.

But if you want to make a correct and effective decision, you must first understand the emperor's intention and confidence.

It is precisely for this reason that Li Shanchang is becoming more and more confused the more he thinks about it.

Because he could not see Zhu Yuanzhang's confidence and true intention in doing so.

He led local officials to fight against the imperial court. Zhu Yuanzhang had no good feelings towards these local officials and wanted to kill them as soon as possible. Li Shanchang could understand this.

But even looking at it now, Li Shanchang still felt that Zhu Yuanzhang could only swallow his anger and would never do such a thing.

Because these local tax officials had done nothing wrong and had nothing that could be used to seriously accuse Zhu Yuanzhang of.

Even if Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to punish someone, he had to find a convincing charge, otherwise it would not be enough to convince the public.

Especially now, with such a sudden big move targeting so many people at once.

If there is no definite evidence of guilt, then he will just wait for me to bring my men and fight him to the death!

Just wait for great turmoil to happen in the world!
Zhu Yuanzhang was not that kind of person.

Since he dared to act so ostentatiously, he must have found an opportunity to strike a fatal blow.

These tax collectors from all over the country must have some serious evidence that could fall into the hands of the emperor.

But he racked his brains but couldn't figure out what the handle was.

What these tax officials are doing is no different from before!
For a moment, Li Shanchang felt like his head was about to explode.

Unable to see through the emperor's true intentions, he couldn't come up with a corresponding response.

Otherwise, it is likely to backfire.

All his efforts here fell into the emperor's plan.

For the first time, Li Shanchang felt that his wisdom was not enough.

For someone like him who has been in a high position for a long time and holds great power, this completely uncontrollable change in the situation is the most uncomfortable for him.

It was also at this moment that someone came hurriedly to report that Prime Minister Hu Weiyong came to ask for a meeting.

"Let him in immediately!"

Li Shanchang, who had been silent for a while and whose forehead was sweating due to intense thinking, immediately responded.

After saying this, he immediately walked out of the study and went outside to greet them in person.

In the past, Li Shanchang saw that Hu Weiyong was always very arrogant, so he sat in the room and waited for Hu Weiyong to come and see him.

At this time, he actually went out to greet him for the first time.

From this we can see that Li Shanchang had been thrown into chaos by Zhu Yuanzhang's unexpected attack.

……

"En Xiang, this is bad, the Emperor has suddenly made a big move!
The Jinyiwei...are dispatched in large numbers to arrest people everywhere!

Targeting those local tax officials.

As soon as the students heard the news, they rushed to Eun-sang!"

Hu Weiyong suppressed his secret joy at seeing Li Shanchang come out to greet him in person, and spoke with some eagerness.

"I already know. Minister Hu, do you know what the Jinyiwei are targeting?"

Li Shanchang's way of addressing Hu Weiyong unconsciously changed from Xiao Hu to Hu Xiang.

Hu Weiyong noticed this change and felt even better, but on the surface he became even more impeccable.

He moved closer to Li Shanchang and lowered his voice, saying, "En Xiang, they said they were mainly targeting the empty seal documents.

Anyone found with a blank seal will be arrested and taken away."

boom!
The words Hu Weiyong spoke in a low voice were like thunder from a clear sky, which frightened Li Shanchang so much that he shook his body.

All previous doubts and confusions disappeared at this moment.

Replaced by a lot of astonishment and horror.

It turned out to be targeting documents with empty seals!
This practice of bringing documents with blank seals to the capital for reconciliation has existed since the Yuan Dynasty.

Such a fine tradition was naturally inherited fully by the many officials who came from the Yuan Dynasty.

In addition, the emperor did not know much about matters involving money, such as taxation, and this had been the case for all these years, and nothing had ever happened.

So much so that many people have become accustomed to it.

Even Li Shanchang was the same.

This is also why, before this, when Li Shanchang learned that the emperor suddenly took action against many taxpayers, he could not figure out why the emperor did this.

As I said, many things are light and weigh less than four ounces when not weighed, but once they are weighed, they cannot be weighed down by a thousand pounds.

"En Xiang, you must think of a solution quickly. The emperor has come with ill intentions this time. If we don't come up with some good solutions, I'm afraid the situation will not be very good."

Hu Weiyong urged from the side, with a certain degree of anxiety in his voice.

He looked like he was wholeheartedly thinking about Li Shanchang.

After all, Li Shanchang was a man who came from troubled times and always held great power.

After understanding the emperor's purpose, although he was panicked by the emperor's sudden action, he still made a decision immediately.

"Immediately find a way to urgently spread the news and have those who haven't been found yet quickly destroy the empty seal documents in their hands!"

Li Shanchang gave the order in an urgent and aggressive voice.

"Send a message to Tang Shengzong, Lu Zhongheng, Fei Ju, Zhao Yong, Wu Liang and others, and ask them to come up with some tricks to delay the Jinyiwei's arrest!"

"Eun Xiang, when the students arrived, checkpoints were set up at many locations on the street.

It is not easy to get a summons.

Don't let them be captured by the Jinyiwei."

Hu Weiyong reminded carefully.

Li Shanchang nodded to show that he understood.

Looking at the person who quickly carried out his orders after they were given, Li Shanchang's anxiety did not decrease at all.

If Hu Weiyong had come half an hour earlier and issued such an order himself, he could have saved many people.

But now, it's too late, and the effect is better than nothing.

"Hu Xiang, do you have any good ideas to teach me?"

Li Shanchang stopped being arrogant and looked at Hu Weiyong and asked.

Hu Weiyong shook his head: "En Xiang, you should still call me Xiao Hu. In front of you, I will always be your student.

This... this incident happened suddenly, and the students never expected that the emperor would be so cruel!

If you say you're going to fall out, you're going to fall out.

There are also empty documents with seals, so this matter is really difficult to handle.

This is the only way now, and Eun-sang, your way of dealing with it is very good.

When we get to the imperial court, the students will argue with the emperor and stand firmly on the side of the Prime Minister and all the officials!"

After saying this, he thought for a moment, looked at Li Shanchang and said, "How about... Prime Minister, you go meet Liu Bowen and ask him to contribute to this matter?

If he's willing to help, I think there will be a lot of room for maneuver."

"He won't help."

Li Shanchang shook his head decisively.

"I don't know what kind of magic potion the emperor has poured into Liu Bowen, but his heart is now with the emperor.

Even the emperor and the literati no longer pursue sharing the world.

This guy has always been at odds with us. Seeing us in trouble now, it is extremely rare that he doesn't add insult to injury.

How could they possibly lend a helping hand?"

Don’t you want to share the world with the emperor and the scholars?

Hu Weiyong was stunned when he heard this.

But he quickly spoke: "En Xiang, the situation is different now. Many officials who filed tax returns in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were also arrested by the emperor.

The Jiangsu and Zhejiang party was headed by Liu Bowen.

When this happened, Liu Bowen was also unable to sit still.

Don't even think about staying out of it.

If he really ignores everything, it will be difficult for him to get many people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to listen to him in the future.

When people's hearts are scattered, it's hard to give orders."

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

He couldn't tell Hu Weiyong much about what happened after Liu Bowen came to his place a few days ago.

Liu Bowen will not help in this matter.

And he also can't afford to lose face with this person!

"Immediately tell those people in the Ministry of Revenue to clean up this mess and wipe their butts clean!"

Li Shanchang suddenly remembered the Ministry of Revenue and hurriedly gave instructions to Hu Weiyong. Since the emperor came here for the empty seal, the Ministry of Revenue would inevitably be implicated.

At this time, the Ministry of Revenue should take the opportunity to clean up the mess urgently, so as to reduce the number of people implicated and reduce some of the guilt.

Hu Weiyong was the prime minister, and at that time he was unimpeded in traveling around the capital, and the Secretariat was above the six ministries.

It would be best if Hu Weiyong could do this.

Hu Weiyong immediately responded and prepared to do as he was told.

As a result, after taking a few steps, someone came running towards him again out of the darkness.

"Master, the Imperial Guards have taken control of the Ministry of Revenue."

Hu Weiyong stopped in his tracks, and his expression changed involuntarily under the light of the lantern.

The emperor's actions were so quick and ruthless!
He hadn't even thought of this move.

The emperor actually took action against the Ministry of Revenue while searching and arresting other officials!
This is the Ministry of Revenue!

Li Shanchang's expression became more and more ugly, so gloomy that water could be squeezed out of it!
The dog emperor doesn't even leave himself a chance!
Even beneath his robe, his body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

I don’t know if he was angry or scared.

"I'm going to see the emperor right now! He must stop this wrong behavior!
By doing this, he is causing unrest in the world!

It is to disregard the world and the people!
It's retrograde!
He must be stopped!"

Li Shanchang suddenly gritted his teeth and said this, his expression looking ferocious.

He looked like he was ready to risk it all.

It was normal for him to react in this way, because Zhu Yuanzhang's action, which was completely unconventional, directly dug up his ancestral grave.

Why was this Duke of Korea so arrogant? Why did he dare to challenge the emperor?
One of the most important reasons is that he has been in charge of the central government for a long time, and he was the one who promoted and appointed many officials.

Even Hu Weiyong, the only prime minister in the Secretariat today, was recommended to the emperor by him when he left office.

The phrase "disciples and former officials are all over the world" seems to have been created specifically for him.

These disciples and former officials spread across the country are Li Shanchang's greatest confidence, and each one is like one of his roots.

And now, the emperor's approach is to cut off the root that he is most proud of and that he thinks no one can do anything to!

Although this local tax official who came to file taxes was inconspicuous among the many officials from various places.

It seems that even if these people suffered a major blow, Li Shanchang would not be seriously hurt.

Moreover, this blow was caused by the practice of printing blank account books for many years, and had little to do with him.

But this is not the case.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the emperor was doing this to retaliate against the local officials who had obeyed his orders as the Duke of Korea and opposed him.

If he had not stood up at this time, he would have saved so many local officials.

Then other officials in various places will be disappointed in me and will no longer dare to follow me.

It doesn't work if you talk to yourself.

To use Hu Weiyong's words about Liu Bowen, people's hearts are scattered and it will be difficult to give orders in the future!
Zhu Yuanzhang was really cruel!

How dare you make such a big fuss!
Before, he always felt that when he ordered all the government officials to confront the emperor, he was hitting the emperor's weak spot.

Who would have thought that the emperor would stab his own vitals with a backhanded knife!
After all, I was a little careless and underestimated the emperor.

If this matter is not resolved properly, not to mention continuing to build the capital city, I will have to struggle to survive in the future!
It no longer has the former majesty.

It is precisely because he understands this that Li Shanchang is now really anxious.

After he said this, he walked out, not wanting to stay for even a moment.

"father."

Li Qi, who had been stunned by the sudden terror and had not spoken much, could not help but shout at this moment and stepped forward to hold Li Shanchang's hand.

"What are you doing? Now people have a knife on your father's neck, and you still want to persuade me?

shut up!
I must go to the palace to see the emperor now!"

Li Shanchang finally couldn't help it and scolded his son.

He shook his hands vigorously, broke free from Li Qi's pull, and continued to move forward.

Full of vigor and full of disappointment.

"Dad, what I want to say is...it's still early, far from time to open the door."

Li Qi's voice sounded a little aggrieved.

Li Shanchang, who was walking out with full of vigor, stopped.

"Yes, Prime Minister, it will take a long time before the palace gates open. We won't be able to see the emperor in the past, so why not wait a little longer?

Marquis Jiangyin and Marquis Pingliang will not sit idly by, and there may be good news."

Hu Weiyong also tried to persuade them from the side.

"I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to take any action."

Li Shanchang shook his head, his voice sounding very dull.

"Even at the Ministry of Revenue, the Emperor could think of sending people to take action immediately. How could he not make arrangements for the military?

Xu Da is now in the capital, and Li Wenzhong, the Duke of Cao, is the emperor's nephew.

The Emperor had already formed in-laws with three dukes in a short period of time before this, and these in-laws weren't formed for nothing."

The more he spoke, the uglier Li Shanchang's expression became.

He had long known the emperor's intention, but he didn't take it seriously at the time.

But now, when combined with the emperor's other methods, it makes people so uncomfortable!
This bastard was scheming all along and had been plotting against me from the very beginning.

Every step was flawless!
What Li Shanchang said was absolutely correct. In Xu Da's mansion, the relaxed and joyful atmosphere of the banquet was instantly destroyed by the noise coming from outside and the reports from their personal soldiers.

Many people present had their expressions changed drastically.

Wu Liang, Marquis of Jiangyin, Fei Ju, Marquis of Pingliang, and others stood up and prepared to say goodbye to Xu Da.

Xu Da pressed his hand downward into the air, signaling everyone to sit down.

"It's so rare for us to get together, how can we let such a small matter affect our mood?

It's just that the higher-ups are taking action against local civil servants.

We are all military generals, there is no need to worry about these things, and there is no need to get involved.

Come on, let’s keep drinking. We won’t leave until we’re drunk!”

Xu Da greeted everyone with a smile, and his personal guards closed the door of the room.

At this moment, those who had stood up sat back down after being stunned for a moment.

Even those who were extremely anxious had to suppress their anxiety and continue to drink here.

I also had to try hard to chat and laugh, and try not to reveal the anxiety and strangeness in my heart.

No matter how hot-tempered a soldier is, he can't get angry in front of General Xu Da.

One by one, honestly...

……

In the Grand Marshal's Office, Duke Cao Li Wenzhong also did not sleep.

He was fully armored and personally sat in the Grand Commandery, strictly ordering that no one was allowed to leave the camp without permission tonight.

Anyone who disobeys the order will be beheaded!
Li Wenzhong earned the title of Duke of Cao through his own hard work.

In addition, he had been in charge of the Grand Marshal's Office for a long time, and he was very majestic in the hearts of the soldiers under the jurisdiction of the Grand Marshal's Office, and those marquises were entertained by Xu Da with wine.

Under such circumstances, none of the ten elite soldiers led by the Grand Commander dared to make any unusual moves.

The troops in every place were under surveillance, and the Jinyiwei were carefully selected.

It is a sure thing to deal with some officials from other places who come from far away and have no roots in the capital.

A large amount of blank printing paper was seized, and a large number of local officials were arrested...

……

Minister of Revenue Liu Xin was in a very good mood.

All summer taxes have been paid into the capital, and the Duke of Korea has also stepped forward to divide the shares among the various parties.

You don’t need to do anything else next. Just follow the steps as in previous years, and you will reap a lot of benefits.

It is naturally impossible for him to eat such a huge share alone, but as the Minister of Revenue, he will definitely not take less.

As he thought about this beautiful thing, he remembered the very low salary set by Zhu Yuanzhang and the strict regulations against corruption and bribery.

I couldn't help but shake my head and smile to myself.

Zhu Yuanzhang, this old beggar, would never have imagined, even if he were beaten to death, how ridiculous the various rules he thought were clever were in the eyes of smart people like him!

After thinking about it for a while, I heard some noise outside.

I couldn't help but frown. Why is there someone making noise in the middle of the night?

But I didn't pay much attention to it.
No matter what happened, it had nothing to do with him, the Minister of Revenue.

He just took care of the accounts for Zhu Yuanzhang, the old beggar, that was all.

But it wasn't long before he thought otherwise.

"Are you sure you're seeing things? Are the Imperial Guards really arresting local tax officials?"

He asked in an anxious voice.

After receiving the confirmed answer from the person who came to report the news, it was like a bucket of water full of ice chips was poured directly on the head!

Even though it was August and the capital was still very hot and humid, he felt cold all over and broke out in a cold sweat in an instant!

How could this happen? How could this happen?!

How dare Zhu Yuanzhang, a beggar, do this!

After standing there for nearly half a quarter of an hour, his buzzing brain gradually regained some ability to think.

He began to think about what he should do next in this situation.

"Bring me my official robes!"

After a moment, he gave an order.

Soon, he was dressed with the help of servants.

Then he secretly made up his mind, left home, and rushed to the Ministry of Revenue overnight.

There was no way out. The dog emperor suddenly went crazy and arrested the local tax officials in such a high-profile manner. It was inevitable that the Ministry of Revenue would be involved next.

As the Minister of Revenue, he was the first to bear the brunt of the impact.

At this time, we must take the risk and rush to the Ministry of Revenue to deal with some things.

Otherwise, big problems can easily arise.

We encountered several checkpoints set up by the Jinyiwei along the way.

Fortunately, he was wearing an official robe and had a badge on his waist. After confirming his identity, he was able to approach the imperial city safely.

Seeing that it was about to arrive at the Ministry of Revenue smoothly, some important things could be quickly destroyed.

He breathed a sigh of relief and felt a little happy.

But then the Jinyiwei appeared again and stopped him.

He was anxious, but he couldn't get angry. Just like before, he introduced himself and handed his badge to the Jinyiwei in front of him for them to check.

Wait for them to verify your identity and let you go.

"Catch this man for me!"

But at this moment, the leading captain of the Jinyiwei suddenly shouted in a deep voice.

The Jinyiwei immediately followed the order.

Don't give him any chance to resist, just take him down directly.

"How dare you! You've arrested the wrong person! I'm the Minister of Revenue!"

Liu Xin was stunned for a moment, then shouted angrily.

"No mistake, the one arrested is you, the Minister of Revenue!"

(I can’t update the 10,000-word chapter any more. Starting today, I’ll write one chapter a day. However, each chapter will be at least 6,000 words, which is equivalent to three chapters of a 2,000-word chapter.)
(End of this chapter)