Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 286 The head of the evil son, ransacking the house and asking the crime

In mid-March, the wildflowers in Tianshou Mountain are all over the sky.

After Zhu Youtang finished all the worship process, he came to the Ming Tower of Fangcheng in the Changling Tomb, looking at the golden Yan'en Hall in front of him in the setting sun, and admiring a corner of the largest imperial tomb.

A year is neither long nor short, but there seems to be no change here, as if it will still look like it is now in ten years.

The status of the imperial mausoleum is extraordinary, as long as the Ming Dynasty still stands in Huaxia, it is unlikely that anyone would dare to come here to disturb the eternal sleep of the emperors of all dynasties.

Zhu Youtang feels a faint sense of intimacy here, and it seems to be a good choice to come here to relax every six months or a year.

In the past year, he has worked hard to promote the development of this country.

Salt administration has achieved remarkable results. Qingzhang farmland is being implemented in an orderly manner, foreign trade is also developing smoothly, and various water conservancy constructions have also received attention. Now it is preparing to break the financial situation.

Just wanting to do things is easy to offend people after all, especially when it harms the interests of vested interest groups, it is inevitable to guard against the counterattack of this group.

Zhu Youtang knows that this road is not easy to walk, and he may even become a real loner, but he knows that if he does not lead hundreds of millions of compatriots to go out, he will be killed in the future.

Liang Fang looked a lot older. Since she was the general manager of the imperial tomb, she also personally received Zhu Youtang throughout the whole process, and she was standing behind Zhu Youtang at this moment.

When he saw Zhu Youtang for the first time, he almost mistakenly thought that the young emperor standing in front of him was the first emperor. Zhu Youtang was obviously much more mature than last year.

Although he stayed in Tianshou Mountain all the time, he also knew about some major events of the imperial court, but he knew that the emperor in front of him had been working hard to govern, and had achieved remarkable results.

However, he knew that the resistance from the civil servants group was greater than he imagined. The late emperor actually wanted to create a prosperous world, but he was still discouraged after all kinds of resistance.

Now he only hopes that Zhu Youtang can break through all the resistance within the dynasty, not be obstructed by interest groups, and fulfill the late emperor's wish to create a prosperous world.

Feng Ma and several other commanders of the [-]th Battalion followed, and they were leading their capable men to guard the surrounding area, seeming to be loyally guarding the emperor's safety.

Just at this time, a messenger came up through the Lingxing gate below and passed the east side of the five stone offerings.

Liu Jin has been by Zhu Youtang's side all the time, and when she learned that it was the latest news from the capital, she respectfully presented the latest information to Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang was bathing in the gentle spring breeze. After reading the latest news just sent, the corners of his mouth involuntarily raised slightly.

Although he is a high-ranking emperor, after touching their cheese, those dignitaries who are obviously parasites of the dynasty want to go against their will.

Fortunately, I have arranged a backhand in advance, and now through Wang Yue, I have killed the spirit of the powerful class. Presumably, those powerful people know that this financial rectification is irreversible.

But now, with the latest news from the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Shuntian government office, those parasite dignitaries must have started to panic.

"Your Majesty, is there any good news from the capital?" Liang Fang asked curiously when she noticed that the corners of Zhu Youtang's mouth were raised.

However, Zhu Youtang shook his head lightly, his eyes turned lonely and he replied: "This is not good news! After Wang Yue killed those troublemakers, the household department checked the account books very smoothly, but the Shuntian government office During the process of assisting in the investigation, eighteen murder cases have just been discovered!"

"Eighteen murders? How could there be so many murders in the capital at once?" Liang Fang's eyes widened, and she asked in surprise.

Liu Jin, Ma Feng and the others were also full of doubts, turning their heads to look at Zhu Youtang curiously.

Although the capital has a large population, it is normal for there to be a few bloody cases, but it is unimaginable that there are eighteen bloody cases all at once.

Zhu Youtang looked down at the pine forest bathed in the setting sun with his hands behind his back, and explained bitterly: "According to the information sent by the Ministry of Households and the Shuntian government office, these eighteen murders are probably just the beginning! The Ministry of Households is in the process of checking the accounts. In the process, some people who were in heavy debts were found missing, and the Shuntian government stepped in to investigate. Judging from the latest investigation by the Shuntian government, each bank has a group of collectors, and these collectors are not serious. The death of a person was only caused by the collection personnel of one bank, and other banks may also be guilty of bloody crimes!"

The financial rectification this time is like opening a Pandora's box. Checking the books of these [-] stores now may reveal the crimes of the rich and powerful.

In an agricultural society, the purchasing power of residents is generally very low, and private lending has such high profits, it is naturally accompanied by crimes.

Unfortunately, after his cultivation since he ascended the throne, he not only has Wang Yue who dares to kill the powerful, but also Song Cheng is also a rare Song Qingtian.

As long as I can give them enough support, not only can I take the opportunity to rectify the financial chaos, but also let the crimes of the rich and powerful be liquidated.

This……

Liu Jin and the others looked at each other in blank dismay, originally thinking that the powerful were just oppressing the common people, but they never expected that someone would do such a frenzied thing.

A single bank has already committed [-] murders. If every bank is like this, then the capital's financial industry is simply ignoring human lives.

"Your Majesty, there is a sentence that I don't know if I should say it or not!" Liang Fang hesitated for a moment, and immediately asked seriously.

Zhu Youtang smiled bitterly, as if he had guessed what Liang Fang was thinking: "Liang Fang, are you trying to persuade me to stop?"

"I don't dare to persuade you, and I can't persuade you. It's just that Emperor Jingtai's illness is very strange. I hope that His Majesty can... pay more attention to your health, and at the same time strengthen precautions. You must remember the lessons of Tumubao!" Liang Fang knew the dangers of the court, Then seriously remind.

Zhu Youtang knew that the path he had chosen was doomed to be difficult to gain the approval of the elite, so he nodded lightly: "I am so comfortable staying in the palace, and I have no experience in marching and fighting, so I can't do stupid things like imperial conquest!"

Not to mention that my military actual combat level can be said to be zero, and how many people have already regarded myself as a thorn in the side, so it is naturally impossible to fight in person.

"Your Majesty is holy!" Liang Fang felt relieved when she saw that Zhu Youtang had listened to her warning.

Zhu Youtang found that there were still fewer people around him who he could truly trust, so he turned his head to look at Liang Fang and said seriously: "Liang Fang, would you like to go back to the palace with me?"

"Your Majesty, my maidservant is old, and I would like to ask Enyun, my maidservant, to guard the tomb here!" Liang Fang was very moved, but she still knelt down and refused.

Seeing Liang Fang's loyalty to Xianzong, Zhu Youtang was both happy and helpless.

Although he is a high-ranking emperor, he is gradually drifting away from the powerful class, so he needs to beware of those around him.It's just that in this era of greed for profit, how can we guarantee the absolute loyalty of those around us?

Zhu Youtang quickly cleared up his mood, but there is no need to be too pessimistic.

Although there are treacherous and loyal ministers like Ye Qi, there are also officials like Wang Yue who care about the people, and Liu Jin, Guo Yong, Zhang Yong and others around him are equally loyal to him.

Generally speaking, after the end of the spring festival, the emperor stayed in the palace at the foot of Tianshou Mountain for one night, and then returned to the capital in a mighty way the next day.

It's just that there were some changes in the situation this time. Zhu Youtang did not drive back to the capital immediately the next day, but chose to stay in the Tianshou Mountain Palace.

To the outside world, it cannot be said that Wang Yue and others are allowed to investigate the dignitaries, but because the Queen Mother, who has not left Beijing for many years, is accompanying her, so she has to pray for the late emperor here for a few more days.

The city of Beijing has ushered in another spring rain, and the families of the rich and powerful in the capital have a more sad face.

The Ministry of Accounting has already checked the accounts of each store indirectly, mainly implementing the hardware regulations on private lending during the Taizu period, and directly dealing with violations.

For banks that violate the principle of "one profit for one cost", no matter how many new contracts the borrower signs during the period, all of them must use the principal of the first loan for their own consumption as a reference.

For example, the last time Yu Ming borrowed money was to bury his wife, so the principal was only two taels of silver. As for the subsequent loan to repay the debt, there was no need to bear it.

Since the non-loan amount of Yu Ming's debt repayment has exceeded two taels of silver, all the loan relationships between the bank and Yu Ming are invalidated, and the household department will destroy the IOUs of the bank.

Although a small number of dignitaries disagreed with this plan, most of the dignitaries still chose to compromise, and also gave up those IOUs that had been difficult to extract money from.

For banks that violate the principle of "the monthly interest rate does not exceed three cents", once the monthly interest rate is higher than three cents, all IOUs are required to be changed to three cents per month.

The Ministry of Household Affairs did not discuss this situation with the bank, but asked the bank to make changes directly, otherwise the court would not recognize the legitimacy of the IOU.

The dignitaries knew that the first son-in-law of the dynasty had been beheaded, and now that they did not abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty, it would be a dead end if they disobeyed, so they chose to compromise.

With the in-depth investigation by the Ministry of Household Affairs, the crime cannot be covered up after all.

As reported to Emperor Hongzhi, they found that some debtors who could forgive their debts were no longer alive, and these debtors died at the hands of debt collectors.

After investigation, it was found that although the truth was covered up for a time, these poor debtors were beaten to death by the money collectors.

After making this discovery, it was no longer the household office that was busy. The Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and the Shuntian government office all intervened one after another, uncovering murder cases one after another.

"take away!"

"Shuntian Mansion arrests people!"

"Are you going with us, or do you want us to transfer the case to the Metropolitan Procuratorate?"

……

Zhao Dayan, the head arrester of the Shuntian government office, has been very busy recently. After a thorough case investigation, suspects surfaced one by one, and they are also arresting people all over the city.

It is worth mentioning that now there is less intrigue among the top court officials, and everyone is willing to help to remedy the problems that arise in the dynasty.

As a result of checking the list of high debtors, a large number of bloody cases were drawn. Other government offices did not choose to stand idly by, and the Ministry of Household Affairs gave a lot of help.

Among the [-] Xin Ke Jinshi, there are people who can't do arithmetic. In order to help the Shuntian Government Office and the Ministry of Criminal Affairs sort out the case as soon as possible, the Household Department Yamen also allocated [-] Xin Ke Jinshi to the two yamen.

Hai Kuan was one of the members who was transferred to the Yamen of Shuntian Prefecture. After facing some debtors who were beaten to death, he also recognized the face of these powerful people and began to enter the investigation very actively.

Although the murderers in the vast majority of cases are collectors, there are also some murders involving the children of powerful families, or even the heads of powerful families.

Wang Yue's Shangfang sword has become famous. After seeing that Wang Yue even dared to cut off the emperor's uncle, everyone knew how much he was worth, but no one dared to defy the arrest.

At least before the emperor returns, they can't confront the king's beheading, otherwise their heads will fall off in minutes.

one day!
two days!

Three days!

……

The dignitaries in the capital are missing their emperor like never before, but their emperor has not returned for a long time.

Zhu Youtang seemed to be in love with the Tianshou Mountain Palace, knowing that the rich and powerful in the capital were worried, but he let Wang Yue and others start to investigate like sitting on a Diaoyutai.

It's just that things never lack accidents, and during the investigation process of the Shuntian government office, a shocking case unexpectedly appeared.

Groups engaged in the private lending industry are not limited to royal relatives, meritorious and foreign relatives, but also some officials' families, and even retired officials are involved.

Ye Qi, the former left servant of the household department, was born in a wealthy Jiangnan, and his ability to make money is very good. He had already opened a bank in the capital to engage in private lending business a long time ago.

Although his son Ye Rongtian entered the Guozijian to study early, he was not suitable for studying at all, and instead had the bad habits of a dude.

After giving up the imperial examination, Ye Rongtian took care of his own business.

Ye Rongtian is not only lustful by nature, but also a very cruel person.

In order to force the sufferer to repay the debt, he even raped the sufferer's mother in front of the sufferer.The sufferer's mother couldn't bear the humiliation and committed suicide by throwing herself into a well. The sufferer wanted revenge and sneaked into Ye's house to set fire, but Ye Qi ordered her to break her legs.

This is just one of Ye Rongtian's evil deeds. Because he enjoys the pleasure of torturing people, there are roughly [-] crimes committed by people, and there are even more unimaginable practices behind him.

"Such a beast, be Ling Chi!"

"If you don't accept this person, it will be too much for heaven!"

"Ye Qi is incapable of teaching his son well, so he cannot escape the crime!"

……

As Ye Rongtian's crimes were dug up by the Shuntian government, the public opinion in the capital was immediately detonated, and the people in the city pointed their fingers at Ye Rongtian, the son of Ye Qi, the former left servant of the household department, who had committed numerous crimes.

Although the crimes of Huichang Hou Sunming and others were also uncovered during the investigation of the Shuntian government office, Ye Rongtian became the well-deserved leader of the crime.

Zhu Youtang originally wanted to delay his return to Tang Ling's Palace for another two days, but after learning of Ye Rongtian's many crimes, he immediately chose to return to the capital, and the first thing he did when he returned to the Forbidden City was to sign the imperial decree to search Ye's family.

(End of this chapter)