Chapter 720: Adding Insult to Hardship and Sending Charcoal in the Snow

Previously, a large group of subordinate officials of the Yamen of the Guangdong Political Department were worried that Zhang Yue would take away his own authority and affect his own interests, but now, they are all happy to have a person with the highest official character, who is best enough to shoulder the responsibility, and now they are all reporting everything in every detail. For a few days, seeing that the collection of summer taxes in various counties had begun to take shape, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But at this moment, a military letter from Datengxia was placed on the desk in the lobby.

"Another 40,000 stone of military rations to be requisitioned? Does the Marquis of Zhenyuan know that the flood here has just receded, and the rice fields in many places are still submerged in water until now! ”

The summer tax is only in August, and the autumn grain is only in February, which is the rule of taxation in the imperial court. Guangdong is the south, and it is customary to use rice as the staple food, supplemented by pasta, so there is far more rice than wheat on the cultivated land. Since the previous hurricane did not affect the whole territory, more than 5,000 stone of summer tax wheat was finally successfully collected after emergency verification, but next year's autumn grain of 1 million stone rice was greatly affected, because the rice fields of many prefectures and counties in Zhaoqing Prefecture of Guangzhou Prefecture were soaked in water.

Born at this juncture, the price of rice in the grain bank is getting higher and higher, and the government granary is unable to stabilize the grain price because it does not have much storage. If the military rations are requisitioned, it means that not only will the granaries of Guangzhou and Zhaoqing have to be emptied, but also the neighboring state capitals will have to take out their family funds.

glared at the senator who slapped the table angrily, and Xu Tao, who was a member of the left political team, turned his head to look at Zhang Yue, and said carefully: "My lord, can this matter be accommodating with the Marquis of Zhenyuan?" ”

Seeing a large group of subordinate officials all watching him, Zhang Yue couldn't help but be angry and funny. These guys were in charge of their own mess at the beginning, and they wished that he wouldn't touch anything, but now they are asking for instructions early and reporting late, and they all have changed their faces. Now this question is even more wonderful - isn't it because the first generation of Zhenyuan Marquis Gu Cheng is a martyr, and Gu Xingzu is Gu Cheng's grandson, and he wants him to use the power of his own family to suppress others?

These people don't want to think about it, the Gu family has been in Guizhou since the Hongwu period, and although Zhu Di was demoted, it was only the auxiliary son Zhu Gaochi who guarded Beiping, and the Yuanhou of the town was only rewarded for the merit of guarding the city and the credit of Guizhou during the Hongwu period. Although the Gu family is not as good as the Mu family in Yongzhen Yunnan, Gu Cheng's sons are all officers in Yunnan, and now the Marquis of Zhenyuan, Gu Xingzu, Yongle was named a marquis for thirteen years, and then he has been guarding Guizhou, and he doesn't look at the face of the big man in the capital at all. As far as he knew, Guangxi was not only a rebellion of the Datengxia barbarians, but also a rebellion by the people such as Qin Gongwang. In this kind of emergency military situation, if there is a delay in military rations, who will bear it?

"This matter is a document issued by the Ministry of Households, not just a military order from the Marquis of Zhenyuan, you need to figure it out."

For a while, there was silence all around, and Xu Tao, who originally made the proposal, secretly regretted it. Since there was nothing to refute and oppose, all the political and senators waved their hands and retired. However, Xiang Shaoyuan, the political envoy of Youbu who came out to do business with illness, did not leave, but stood up and walked over slowly, and whispered to Zhang Yue: "Lord Zhang, once the military rations are transferred, there will be no surplus grain in the granary, and this matter has to be prevented. At this time, it is better to levy the amount of this military ration from the local wealthy households. I know that Lord Zhang cares about his reputation, but the reputation of the people is what matters, and those businessmen can't make any splash. ”

"It's not a matter of fame." Zhang Yue shook his head, saw Xiang Shaoyuan coughing and bent down, hurriedly stepped forward to help him sit down, and then said, "After the catastrophe, the rich hoarded rice and grain, and the grain merchants raised the price of rice. It's just that if you want to apportion, you have to have a statute for apportionment, otherwise they will call out the sky, but there will be no grain of food, and what will happen at that time? ”

"It's just a group of wealthy businessmen who are not benevolent to the rich, can they still resist the government? If it is at that time, as long as it relies on a migration order from the imperial court, it is enough to bankrupt his family! ”

Seeing that the sick and weak Xiang Shaoyuan suddenly showed a chilling and cruel expression, Zhang Yue couldn't help but be slightly stunned, and even smiled bitterly. The migration of wealthy households was not pioneered by the Ming Dynasty, it has existed since the Han Dynasty, but it is rare to see such an absolute one used by the Ming Dynasty government. The Hongwu Dynasty moved the people of Shanxi and other places to Shandong, and the Yongle Dynasty transferred the rich people of Jinling and Jiangnan to enrich Beijing.

He is not afraid of being attacked, but he also does not want to be attacked because of brute force!

"If Lord Zhang thinks this is inappropriate, I can come forward and squeeze those merchants. According to the regulations, in fact, I am sick to the way I am now, and I should have taken the initiative to retire and resign. I'm also the one who stepped into the coffin with one foot, and it doesn't matter if this kind of offending people happens, those rich guys can't help me. ”

Zhang Yue really didn't expect Xiang Shaoyuan, the political envoy, to hate the rich so much, seeing that he gritted his teeth and had such a positive attitude, he had to dissuade him: "Brother Xiang's hard work, I understand, but now is not the time to use that kind of drastic method." I have just arrived, and many things have to rely on Brother Xiang and the rest of you, Brother Xiang is sick to take care of government affairs, this is enough, there is no need to rush this matter, I will try to deal with it completely. ”

Xiang Shaoyuan was stunned for a moment, stared at Zhang Yue for a long time, then nodded, and then staggered away. Seeing that the back of his departure seemed to be very lonely, Zhang Yue didn't have time to be sentimental, and immediately called Peng Shisan, and learned that he had made proper arrangements, and both commanded Li Long and Yu Liang, who were the envoys, had agreed to go to the banquet, and he immediately went back and changed into a set of civilian clothes, and only took a few entourages out of the yamen, and the first place he went to was not the Piaoxiang Building, but the Shibo Mansion.

Since he sent his confidants and family members to serve Qin Huaijin in the Shibo Mansion, Li Long and Yu Liang started an open and secret fight. One is to find out if Qin Huaijin still has treasures that have been hidden and have not been confiscated, and the other is to find out the officials who are in cahoots with Qin Huaijin. It stands to reason that one seeks fame and the other seeks profit, and there is no conflict, but the families on both sides will inevitably have a leak of news, so the two are wary of each other. After three rounds of drinking, they actually forgot the main person who was the owner of the city today and the disaster relief business that they wanted to talk about under the pretext, and you and I ridiculed each sentence.

"The people of the Dusi Yamen have been running around outside these days, and Lord Li's harvest is probably not small."

"How can my harvest be compared to Master Yu? I heard that Lord Yu, you have frequently visited the inspector in the past few days to discuss the bullet seals with each other, but you are ready to make a splash as soon as you make a move, right? ”

"Everyone can be punished for corrupt officials and corrupt officials, if they are let go, wouldn't they be sorry for the conscience of heaven and earth!"

"It's nice to say, your family is rich, and you come out to be an official and pay for it, how can other people have such luck as you?"

Seeing that the two were arguing, Zhang Yue never opened his mouth, until Li Long got up and almost pointed his finger at Yu Liang's nose, and then he coughed lightly. Seeing Li Long sit down stupidly, Yu Liang sneered with a sneer on his face, and then he said: "The two of you are in the third important position, why do you have to fight each other because of the words of outsiders? I invite you two today, in addition to the matter of relief, there is another thing I want to talk to you about. Just before I came, I went to the Shibo Mansion to meet Qin Huaijin, and he happily handed over the remaining money and the list of officials who had been involved with him before, and asked the two of you to take a look. ”

As soon as they heard this, the two people who were originally sitting on their feet were stunned all of a sudden. Seeing that Zhang Yue handed over two pieces of paper, the two quickly reached out and grabbed one each, and found that the thing in their hands was not what they wanted, they still glanced at it quickly, and then exchanged it with each other coldly. After reading the things written on it in one glance and ten lines, the two of them suddenly looked like ashes.

When it was over, he sent someone to ask the rich merchant to hand over the five thousand taels of gold that Qin Huaijin had hidden there, and when things didn't work out, he simply sent someone to intimidate and threaten, but the rich merchant really swallowed his anger and sent someone to send two thousand taels of gold, daring him to blackmail the wrong person at all. If someone sues for such a sum of money...... Thinking of this, Qin Huaijin couldn't help but grab the handrail fiercely.

Oh no, he has already recorded the list of officials who confessed to accepting bribes and colluding with human traffickers to secretly leave the country, and even joined forces with the same meritorious patrol according to the imperial history. Yu Liang was already remorseful and resentful, and his two hands were nervously hanged together. All he wants is to take a step forward in his career, and then return to Beijing to be able to enter the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but if it happens now, let alone the future, I am afraid that he will become a street rat!

"That damn old gelding!"

The two of them scolded fiercely in their hearts almost in unison, and then they all looked at Zhang Yue. Yu Liang is a civil official, thinking that Zhang Yue chose to uncover this matter at this time, it should never be to fall into the ground, so he hurriedly asked, "Lord Zhang, what Qin Huaijin offered...... Have you verified everything? ”

"I have ordered his butler to bring people over to the gold and silver treasures he hid, and they have been verified, and the corrupt officials he confessed, fortunately, Li Tiju is willing to cooperate, and they have all left real evidence, so there should not be much discrepancy."

It has been verified that these four words have given the two of them a heavy blow, and for a while, Li Long and Yu Liang have lost the strength to speak. However, at this moment, Zhang Yue changed his words and said: "After Qin Huaijin confessed this, he viciously said that he was dead, and he would not let the people who hurt him feel better. Because of the importance of the matter, I have already asked people to seal the Shibo Mansion. Then he asked the two of the servants, and they hurried over at once. Qin Huai is cunning, and the two of them sent people to monitor him, I am afraid that one of them will be taken advantage of by him. So, taking advantage of today's banquet to thank you for your help, I would like to ask, what kind of untrue information did he provide to you? ”

These four words suddenly aroused the anger of the two, but they were both people who had been in officialdom for most of their lives, and they didn't want to be easily taken advantage of, so they were vague and confused. After finishing the meal, when Zhang Yue sent them downstairs, he saw someone galloping at the door, and immediately rolled off the saddle and immediately stepped forward and said, "My lord, the Jingshi sent an urgent document for eight hundred miles." The matter was urgent, and the small one was immediately sent over. ”

Zhang Yue took it and glanced at it, and noticed that the two people next to him all showed extremely attentive expressions, so he smiled and said: "It's the cabinet draft, the Tao is just to watch Qin Huaijin, wait for the new eunuch Zhang Gonggong of the Admiral City to arrive, and he will be in charge of the interrogation, and the three divisions don't need to ask again." In this way, the trip I went to today was really eventful. Speaking of which, if it weren't for a wealthy businessman who came to plead his case, someone framed him for secretly hiding five thousand taels of gold from Gonggong Qin, and he gave two thousand taels because he couldn't stand the intimidation, I wouldn't have gone to the Shibo Mansion. Now I have told him to stay in another safe place, until the matter has been verified. ”

Zhang Yue said that it had been decided that Zhang Qian would take charge of the case after taking office, Li Long and Yu Liang had already changed their complexions, and when they heard the last sentence, Li Long was even more purple, and the fist hidden in the official robe couldn't help but clench tightly. And Yu Liang glanced at him, although he was a little gloating, but when he thought of his own affairs, his thoughts about watching the excitement disappeared immediately.

Yu Liang, who dispelled his hesitation, immediately laughed and said: "The three divisions and yamen should have worked together, if Lord Zhang has any dispatch, I will not be here to help." ”

At this time, he immediately realized that he heard that Zhang Qian and the Zhang family had some unclear connections, and if he wanted to smooth out the previous matter, he must have Zhang Yue's cooperation, so he also nodded and said: "If Lord Zhang has something to say, I will never say anything." ”

Seeing that the two of them were talking about this, they both hesitated, obviously waiting for themselves to speak, Zhang Yue smiled and raised his hand to invite everyone back upstairs. After sitting down, he said bluntly: "After the flood, because of the summer tax, the feudal division is already in a hurry, and at the same time, he has to appease the disaster relief, and he has to transfer military rations, and the money and food are really stretched. As for the officials Qin Huaijin confided in, this matter is too wide-ranging, and it is necessary to cooperate with the division. ”

The two of them were stunned when they listened. At this moment, no one wants what they thought was bad to turn into a good thing all at once. Although Li Long was skeptical, he felt that Zhang Yue would not speak in vain. And Yu Liang is not to mention, so he doesn't have to lose his trust in the imperial history of the inspector who is not in a high position but has a big power. After thinking about it, they couldn't think of a reason to refuse, so both of them nodded hurriedly.

"What Master Zhang said is extremely true, according to the prosecutor who is in charge of the criminal name correction, I will naturally do my best."

"This is a great good! Everyone has compassion for others, but it is difficult to find someone as thoughtful as Lord Zhang. ”

Seeing that the two showed their attitudes, Zhang Yue left them to discuss for a while before getting up to see off the guests. When he left, he took out the letter from before. The letter was written by Cabinet Minister Yang Shiqi, but it was not an official letter but a private letter, and the content was similar to what he had said before, but there was an extremely important sentence at the end.

"The ministers of the court or Yun Zhang Yuanjie will sharpen their knives every time they go to a place, and they will have a radical heart when they first arrive in Guangdong, and the emperor will not listen, and there are ministers in the palace The queen mother. I hope you will remember to be cautious and do not let people take advantage of it. ”

The meaning of this is very simple, it is nothing more than not wanting Guangdong to make countless heads fall to the ground. He also wants to be peaceful, but if others can't get along with him, then don't blame him for being polite.