weaving

"Very good. Since you have no objection to Zhu Futai's intention, the rest will be easy to handle."

Director General Jun Bian Yongqing stretched his body and said to everyone lazily: "Our family is also feeling a little tired, so I won't hinder your waiting here."

Jiang Yuxu, the governor of Xuanda, hurriedly responded: "Since Duke Bian feels tired, it is not convenient for us to force him to stay. When everything here is settled, we will go to the post to report to Duke Bian in person."

"No need."

After Bian Yongqing stood up, he rejected Jiang Yuxu's kindness and said casually: "The emperor ordered our family to supervise the Yongyi Army and urge Uncle Yongning to lead the troops south as soon as possible to help suppress the bandits in Henan Province.

This is related to the Yongyi Army going south to aid Henan, so our family is naturally bound to shoulder the responsibility.

Catching the traitors, confiscating their property, and collecting evidence are your equal parts. You guys just agreed that you don't need to bother our family because of this, and we don't want to meddle in other people's affairs. "

Under the attention of everyone, Bian Yongqing walked to the door and suddenly stopped. He looked back at Jiang Yuxu and said to him: "In order to let Governor Jiang know, our family has sent a letter to Beijing to inform the emperor about what happened here." Grandpa."

"Your Majesty, what do you have to say..."

Jiang Yuxu wanted to get something out of Bian Yongqing's mouth, but he never thought that Bian Yongqing would walk away immediately after speaking, not giving him the chance at all.

Watching the supervisor Bian Yongqing leave, Jiang Yuxu had no choice but to shake his head. He looked at Zhu Zhifeng, Wei Jingyuan, Cai Maode and others who were still in their seats. Finally, his eyes fell on Zhang Cheng and said: "What happened?" At this point, we can only do what Zhu Futai wants."

When Zhu Zhifeng heard this, his body trembled, and he hurriedly continued: "My job is just to tell the truth. It is better for the governor to negotiate with Wei and Cai to make decisions."

Obviously, everyone agreed with Zhu Zhifeng Shicai's proposal, but a new round of confrontation began surrounding who should write the report to the court.

The reason why Bian Yongqing said goodbye was to avoid this matter. He was not even willing to join him.

However, Bian Yongqing also made his position clear before leaving, that is, he came here to supervise the Yongyi Army, and his first priority was to send troops to aid Henan in order to relieve the crisis of Feng.

As for profiteers and slave-trafficking, those are all your local government affairs in Xuanda, and he has no intention of getting involved, but one thing is that Yongyi's military aid to Henan cannot be delayed.

Seeing that everyone is blaming each other, they all want to get a share of the confiscated property to alleviate the financial shortfalls of the provinces, but they do not want to take the name of the initiative.

Jiang Yuxu, the governor of Xuanda, finally spoke: "As ministers of the imperial court, we should always think of the emperor's great kindness, and our actions should take state affairs as the most important priority. We must not ignore the emperor's kindness and do self-interested things, which will ruin our reputation for many years. "

He glanced at everyone and then said: "The Duke has something to say before leaving. The most urgent task is to deal with the bandits who are running amok in Henan Province. It is the intention of the Emperor and the Ministry of War to take advantage of the opportunity of the slaves under Jinzhou to return in vain to deal with them with all their strength. Stabilize the crisis situation in Henan Province.

Yongning Bo's Yongyi Army is the main force in suppressing bandits. The emperor has ordered Yongning Bo to march into Henan Province. Therefore, there should be a conclusion on the issue of slaving and profiteering merchants, so as not to miss the military period. We are waiting for you. I'm afraid I can't afford it. "

Jiang Yuxu blamed everything on Zhang Cheng and Emperor Chongzhen. Why couldn't Zhu Zhifeng, Wei Jingyuan, and Cai Maode understand the meaning?

Finally, it was agreed that the affair of traitorous traders and enslavement originated from the Xuan Mansion, so Zhu Zhifeng, the governor of the Xuan Mansion, and Zhang Cheng, the commander-in-chief of Xuan Town, jointly submitted a report. One letter was sent directly to the court, and the other was sent to Jiang Yuxu, the governor of Xuan Dynasty.

However, Wei Jingyuan and Cai Maode only talked about the affairs of their own provinces and reported the facts to the governor's office, and then governor Jiang Yuxu reported to the imperial court accordingly.

After a lot of bargaining, they finally followed the distribution plan agreed upon by Zhang Cheng and Bian Yongqing in advance. Although they were allotted some real estate and shops, they also had more room to maneuver in the process of selling and discounting. , and what they were fighting for in the end was nothing more than tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Uncle Yongning didn't like these petty profits at all. He actually wanted to confirm the tone of the report to the court with Jiang Yuxu and others today. As for allocating tens of thousands of taels of silver to the governors, it was a trivial matter.

The most critical among them are Xu Dingguo, deputy commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province, and brothers Lai Tianlu and Lai Tianshou, deputy generals of Xuanfu. After all, they are military attaches of the imperial court of third rank or above. How to determine their deaths is the core of today's issue.

But obviously, the other people were thinking about how to divide the spoils. Since Bian Yongqing supported Zhang Cheng's actions, it indirectly proved Emperor Chongzhen's intention. Naturally, they did not dare to violate it openly.

Xu Dingguo, Lai Tianlu, Lai Tianshou and others are all dead, what else can be done?
Therefore, the charge of colluding with profiteers and enslaving the country was firmly pinned on their heads. Even though they were dead, they still had to bear the infamy.

You must know that the Ming Dynasty's finances have long been unable to make ends meet, so the first priority of the provincial ministers is to clean up the accumulated tax money. The court also uses the tax money they turn in as the most important indicator of evaluation.

The real estate shops that Zhang Cheng allocated to them today are all in the best locations in major cities. They are either Feng Shui treasures or prosperous areas. Once these are sold and discounted, it will be a huge fortune.

According to Zhang Cheng's prediction in advance, each of the three governors was given an additional 20 taels, while the Xuanda Governor's Office was given an additional 50 taels. After deducting what each party deserved, the money was handed over to the court. .

The governor's yamen had all benefited from the house raids, so there was no need to stay any longer. After lunch, they all hurried back so that they could send people to cooperate with the Yongyi Army to count and register the proceeds of the house raids.

…………

At this moment, the one who was in the worst mood was undoubtedly Jiang Yuxu, the governor of Xuanda.

When he was the governor of Xuanfu, he was quite disapproving of Zhang Cheng's actions. When he was appointed governor of Xuanda, he thought about how to beat Zhang Cheng so that he would be in awe and not be too presumptuous.

But before he could make any move, Zhang Cheng actually took action first, adding such a new dimension to his affairs that stirred up all the three towns of Xuanda.

However, it was this action of checking out profiteers that finally gave him a clear understanding of Zhang Cheng's strength.

In his view, although Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, and Li Fuming, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi, acted together with Zhang Cheng, they were still attracted by the huge benefits of confiscating their homes, and they may not really be of the same mind as Zhang Cheng.

But even so, it should not be underestimated. He, Zhang Cheng, could go behind his back today and induce Wang Pu and Li Fuming to do such a big thing. He even killed a deputy general in public, divided the two generals, guerrillas, guards, and Qian. There are more than ten generals waiting.

It can be seen that in his eyes, he does not take himself seriously at all. If he is not punished and restrained, there is no telling what kind of ridiculous things he will do in the future.

However, what made him even more worried was that even though Zhang Cheng acted so boldly, he had to protect him for the sake of the overall interests of the court.

In the Battle of Jinzhou, Jiannu lost troops and generals, wasted national power, but did not gain a single profit. Now Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng has taken drastic measures to kill all the profiteer groups who smuggled slaves, so that Jiannu can no longer rely on external blood transfusions. I am afraid that for a while It would be difficult to recover even after a while.

The Ming Empire could take advantage of this opportunity to mobilize its troops and generals, concentrate its superior forces to attack the intruders who were ravaging Henan, and reverse the decline in Henan Province. In this way, it might be possible to realize Emperor Chongzhen's long-awaited wish to revive the Ming Dynasty.Jiang Yuxu saw this very clearly, and he knew very well that the current weight of Zhang Cheng and his Yongyi Army must ensure that the Yongyi Army can send troops to Henan as scheduled no matter what.

Furthermore, he had just taken over the post of Governor of Xuanda. If he and Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng were to fall out at this moment, delaying the military and national affairs of marching into Henan to suppress the bandits, he, Jiang Yuxu, could not afford it.

What's more, from what Bian Yongqing said, he could also guess Emperor Chongzhen's attitude. He must stabilize the situation in the three towns of Xuanda, both for the country and for himself.

Everything is about national affairs!

These words were used by Jiang Yuxu to comfort Zhu Zhifeng, Wei Jingyuan, and Cai Maode, and they were also the principles he followed throughout his life.

However, although Jiang Yuxu maintained a high degree of consistency with Zhang Cheng in his memorial to the court, he truthfully reported the evidence of the crimes of Fan Yongdou and other profiteers, and also confirmed the crimes of Xu Dingguo and the Lai brothers, and fully protected Zhang Cheng.

But in private, he sent a secret message to Emperor Chongzhen!
…………

Daming capital.

The whole court was extremely noisy, but several cabinet elders were extremely calm. Even the disciples who came to the door were refused to receive them. Both the cabinet and the palace remained silent about the ransacking of Yongning Bo's house.

Mountains of ballads and memorials are like stones sinking into the sea, without even a single wave...

In the end, everyone finally realized that they had no other way to deal with Zhang Cheng except to curse. Everyone was so angry that a little sadness could not help but flow into their hearts.

There are also some people who saw that direct attacks on Zhang Cheng had no obvious results, so they adjusted their strategies and tactics in a timely manner and shifted the focus of the attack to impeach Jiang Yuxu, the governor of Xuan Dynasty, as well as the governor of Xuanfu Zhu Zhifeng, the governor of Datong Wei Jingyuan, and the governor of Shanxi. Governor Cai Maode and others.

However, they selectively ignored Bian Yongqing, the supervisor who represented the emperor, and no one impeached him!
However, people like Jiang Yuxu, Zhu Zhifeng, Wei Jingyuan, and Cai Maode, who can serve as governors of a province, naturally have their own power.

They belong to various factions, each with their own network of connections, disciples and old officials, and supporters both locally and in the court. Impeaching them will inevitably lead to internal strife.

The officials were criticizing each other, and it was really chaos!
In late March, the palace suddenly issued several reprimands, which lifted everyone's spirits. However, nothing happened after that...

As the news from Xuanda came to Beijing one after another.

They adjusted their strategy again and focused on the proceeds from confiscating homes. They claimed that all the stolen property would return to the country and should be handed over to the Ministry of Household Affairs and put into the national treasury.

There is also the matter of traitorous traders and slaves. It is no longer just a matter of publicity. For the sake of fairness, it should also be submitted to a joint trial of the three departments and handed over to the Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Dali Temple officials for questioning and conviction.

On these two points, the cabinet ministers were surprisingly unanimous, and they gave great encouragement and support.

Moreover, they also heard that not only were all the traitors and profiteers arrested, but also many local officials and generals from Xuanda were also involved in the matter of slavery. Naturally, they could not let Yong Ningbo arrest and kill them.

They wrote to the court one after another, requesting that the captured officers and generals, together with the profiteers, be escorted to Beijing, handed over to the three departments for trial, and convicted and punished according to Ming law.

According to the laws and regulations of the Ming Dynasty, if an official commits a crime, any official in the capital or an official of the fifth rank or above who commits a crime must report the order and ask questions without permission.For those of the sixth rank and below, they will listen to the patrol censors, inspect the divisions, and divide the divisions into divisions. They will ask questions to understand, and then discuss the plans for hearing and reporting.

Even if officials in prefectures and counties commit crimes, their superiors are not allowed to question them without authorization, and are not allowed to issue the reasons for the crimes, and they are actually sealed and reported.

Although the Eight Families of Shanyou are famously descendants of merchants, they have been passed down for hundreds to more than a hundred years. Which family does not have a few Jinshi or even officers and generals?

As far as the Wang family is concerned, Wang Dayu, as the head of the family, not only introduced Wang Pu, the general soldier of Datong, but there is also one person in his family who is the county magistrate, and there are two Jinshi.

It can be seen that there are also many officials or generals in the Shanyou merchant family. If these people can be escorted to Beijing for trial after being arrested, then there will be a lot of room for maneuver...

After all, when it comes to understanding the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they are very clear and proficient, and even taking advantage of the loopholes of the laws of the Ming Dynasty is their best skill!
Although Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng has not yet made clear his attitude towards this, it is always right to put pressure on him in the name of the imperial court.

…………

Although there are divergent opinions from the outside world, Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng is firmly seated in the handsome office of Xuanfu Town and is not moved at all.

The confiscation of houses in various places in Xuan Da is coming to an end. According to various statistics recorded in the books, the total amount of gold, silver, jewels, jade, wealth, silk, etc. that were confiscated was nearly [-] million taels.

This amount can shock everyone's jaws...

It can also be seen from this that the major merchants in Shanxi are rich enough to rival the country, and they are indeed worthy of their reputation!
This is just the cash obtained from the inspection...

Of course, not all of these silver coins belong to major merchants. Some of them are also the family property of Xu Dingguo, Lai brothers and others. They are in cahoots with profiteers and collude with slaves. Naturally, Yong Ningbo will uproot them.

In order to truly control Xuan Town, and even the entire three towns of Xuanda, so that he can centrally mobilize his people, money, and material resources for his own use, Zhang Cheng has long wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of arresting profiteers to extend the tentacles of the Yongyi Army to all three towns.

Now, how could you let go of this perfect opportunity to establish your authority?
In particular, the military positions of deputy generals and generals such as Xu Dingguo and Lai Jia brothers, who have been deeply cultivated in the local area for a long time, are more effective in using them to knock down mountains and shake tigers.

As for the other guerrillas below, the many small military attachés such as the garrison, defense, and Qianhu are all in a state of being able to kill or not.

Only those who are stubborn will be beheaded and their homes confiscated. The rest, if their positions are critical, can be transferred elsewhere, demoted, or dismissed. Those minor military attachés whose positions are not critical can take the opportunity to beat them. Beating, that is.

Now, Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng has these gold and silver in his hands, and can do many things...

Moreover, in addition to gold, silver, pearls and jade, many physical objects were also seized during the house raid, such as a large amount of grain, rice, beans, cloth, salt, tea, coal, iron, Chinese medicinal materials and other various materials.

Many houses, fields, shops, banks, etc. belonging to profiteers were also confiscated. (End of chapter)