Hui Shiyang's report was no different from the report Chongzhen received, and Zhu Youzhen was relieved. The gentry and landlords who were confiscated this time were almost all rich and powerful families on the edge of Taihu Lake.

The average family property of these people is about 230,000 yuan, and according to the average annual income of ordinary people in Jiangnan last year of 65 yuan, their family property is about 300,500 people's annual income.

In the current situation, being able to make these people do what they ask them to do is already quite loyal. wants to let them have a clean breeze on their sleeves and do things for themselves hungry, Chongzhen can't even think of such a good thing.

With more than 2,890 yuan and 340 million yuan from the sale of 99-year treasury bonds, he will not have to worry about money in the next three years. The only bad thing is that most of the more than 2,890 yuan are fields and Zhuangzi, and the cash accounts for less than one-third of the total amount, and it is extremely troublesome to realize it.

In fact, the most valuable of this wealth is the lake fields opened by the gentry from Taihu Lake, these fertile lake fields are about 110 yuan a mu, and they are still in a state of price and no market. The paddy fields that are worse than the lake fields are about 80 yuan per mu, but so many paddy fields are thrown out at once, I am afraid that the price of fields in the south of the Yangtze River will be suppressed by 2030, which is obviously not conducive to the imperial court.

Of course, the most important thing now is to confirm the crimes of these gentry and landlords, otherwise these fields will not fall into the hands of the imperial court. Since the Criminal Department did not produce any moths, and honestly reviewed it according to the investigation file of the special case team, Zhu Youzhen had no interest in staying in the Criminal Department.

He picked up the teacup that was put aside, took a sip of hot tea gently, and then said to Hui Shiyang: "The tea leaves of the Criminal Department are really not good, and I will ask the Internal Affairs Office to send some new tea this year after I go back, so that you can take a short rest and drink a good cup of tea after being busy." That's it for today, I'll go back to the palace first. ”

Seeing that the emperor simply said to leave, Hui Shiyang hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please stay, the minister still has something to say to Your Majesty." ”

Zhu Youzhen stood on the steps and looked at him and said, "Oh, Hui Shangshu, please say, as long as you don't intercede for the people involved in the Taihu Lake bandit case, I will always give you a convenience for your sake." ”

Hui Shiyang, who was gagged by Chongzhen's words, was suddenly a little speechless, but he quickly recovered and hurriedly said to the emperor calmly: "The minister doesn't want to intercede for these gentry families, the minister just wants to ask Your Majesty to think about it again."

The Taihu Lake area is the essence of the south of the Yangtze River, and the number of local gentry and landlords is several times more than that of other places, and the children of these families may not become usable talents in the hands of His Majesty in the future.

Local land rents and commercial taxes have always been levied by these gentry and landlords on behalf of the government, and they are also the first force to suppress the localities. Now that so many gentry and landlords have been beheaded and exiled at once, the minister is worried that the Taihu Lake area may be chaotic for a long time in the future before order can be restored, which may be contrary to the significance of His Majesty's crackdown on the bandits in Taihu Lake. ”

Zhu Youzhen stood in place and thought for a long time before he moved, walked in front of Hui Shiyang and said: "It's okay to let the local chaos happen, Jiangnan Chengping has been peaceful for too long, and those gentry don't know what war is like."

Soon after I ascended the throne, I led my troops and Jianyu to fight to the death. But these gentry can still eat a banquet of 10 taels and a table; On the one hand, he wrote to the imperial court suggesting that the additional levy should start with the people in the north first, on the grounds that after the recovery of Liaodong, the people in the north benefited the most, while the south of the Yangtze River hardly benefited.

There are also people who claim that the weight of the tax in Jiangnan is the first in the world, and the tax of just one county has already covered the tax of one or several governments in the north. Therefore, the levy should be collected from those areas with lower taxes...

The reason why I didn't move them before was because Jiangnan was the land of wealth of the Ming Dynasty, and if I moved them, I am afraid that the world would be even more difficult to clean up. But what else am I afraid of today? If you don't take advantage of this time to clean them up, will you have to wait until the country is in crisis again, and then let these people pinch the lifeblood of the court and bargain with me?

I think that for some rotten sores, the flesh that should be dug up, the amputation of the limbs, don't look ahead and backward, wait until the rotten sores grow all over the body, then the gods will be incurable. ”

Even if Hui Shiyang felt that he had a thousand words to say in his stomach, he was blocked in his throat at the moment and couldn't get out. At this time, he finally understood the emperor's intentions, and realized that it would be difficult for these gentry and landlords involved in the case to exonerate themselves.

Although he did not have a good impression of the Jiangnan gentry on weekdays, as a native of Shaanxi, he was also dissatisfied with the selfishness of the Jiangnan gentry and landlords. These people are still trying to default on the taxes and grain payable to the state when the country is troubled internally and externally, but they live in luxury and erosiveness on weekdays, and spend a lot of money to pursue famous prostitutes and celebrities.

But even so, Hui Shiyang still felt a feeling of sympathy for the same kind in his heart, and he felt a trace of compassion for the end of these gentry and landlords. When he sent the emperor away, he was secretly relieved in his heart, knowing that his choice was still correct.

If he had followed the advice of those subordinates and tried to exonerate those Jiangnan gentry, this time the Taihu bandit case would probably have to be cleaned up even by the Criminal Department. The little power that Yuan Gong finally saved in the Criminal Department was about to be buried by that group of fools.

Although the emperor is young, he has firmly grasped the power inside and outside the court by virtue of his various achievements in quelling the rebellion of Lu'an, subduing the Mongol tribes, counterattacking the Houjin, and stabilizing the domestic economy.

Chongzhen has never encountered setbacks in everything he has done since he ascended the throne, and under such a sharp spirit, anyone who wants to stop in front of him will probably be crushed. Not to mention, now the Donglin Party is divided, and the scholars who worship the new school are more than one day a day.

As long as the emperor and the new scholars have been working together to promote the overall reform of the Ming Dynasty, then judging from the current situation in the court, there is no group in the court that can stop the reform from moving forward.

Now everyone either follows the trend and follows the reformist officials; Either retreat bravely from the rapids and run back to their hometown to enjoy the joy of the countryside; Or, just like Sima Guang, he will wait for the new policy of the reformist officials to be angry and resentful, and then come out to clean up the situation.

Yuan Keli hoped that Hui Shiyang would take this last road, but if he wanted to hide in the court, but he wanted to gain the emperor's trust, Hui Shiyang found that this road was really difficult to walk.

Zhu Youzhen, who returned to the palace, saw the handwritten letters and gift lists of the Russian tsar sent back to the capital by Jinyiwei. Zhu Youjian opened the letter written in Latin and glanced at it, then handed it to Lu Qi and said, "Give it to John Tang and let him translate it into Chinese." Those who have sent the letter back are those people, please invite them to come to Xiyuan to meet me tomorrow. ”

Lu Qi carefully held the tsar's letter, and reported a series of names in his mouth, Zhu Youzhen was a little surprised when he heard a name: "When did this Li Zicheng join Jinyiwei?" ”

Lu Qi thought for a while and said, "Li Zicheng is not a Jinyi guard, he is a bodyguard hired by the Russian caravan. The caravan returned in two groups, and our men wanted to explore the geography of the steppes of Central Asia and the distribution of nomadic tribes, but were attacked by the Kazakhs on the way.

He was the bodyguard who escorted the notes home and organized a unit to teach the Kazakhs some lessons. We wanted to know more about the fighting methods of those Kazakhs, as well as the combat effectiveness of the Dzungar tribes, so we also summoned him into the capital. ”

Zhu Youzhen thought for a while and said, "Well, let him enter the palace tomorrow as well, so that I can see what the heroes killed from the Kazakh tribes look like." ”

Lu Qi agreed and retreated, while Zhu Youzhen stood on the balcony and stared at the night outside for a while. Now there is no resemblance between this history and his memory, he is really a little curious, without the stage of the peasant rebel army, what kind of way will Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong leave their names in history?

While Chongzhen was in a daze, in the Dutch Merchant House in the capital, William Kick was writing a letter to Batavia under a kerosene lamp.

“… At that time, I was so stunned by the rudeness and arrogance of the Chinese delegates that I did not know how to respond to them.

… But behind the rude rhetoric of this Chinese representative, it is not a demonstration of the arrogance of a continental empire.

Although the Chinese Empire did not persecute the subjects of the republic in the name of religion, when they raised the banner of free trade, it was already a blow to the company's trade strategy in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and even the whole of Asia.

If the company acquiesces to the free trade spirit of the Chinese Empire, then the Chinese Empire, which controls the entire manufacturing industry in the East, will easily crush the trade network we have built up in Asia for decades, and the company will become a subordinate of the Chinese Empire.

I had thought that the expansionist strategy of the Chinese Empire in the seas would arouse the vigilance of countries such as Britain and Spain, which were also European countries.

But the reality is very cruel, both the British and the Spaniards are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the contradictions that arise between us and the Chinese Empire. In fact, I think they are favoring the Chinese Empire.

It is true that, under the protection of the Lord, the Republic fears no enemies, and I firmly believe that the Republic is invincible at sea.

But I beseech the Governor to remember that we are in a place more than 5,000 leagues from the Republic, but less than 600 leagues from the Chinese Empire.

It would be unwise to provoke such an arrogant and vast continental empire without the support of the European powers of the region..."

After carefully sealing the envelope with fire, William Kick handed the letter to his servant and instructed: "You will take the morning train to Tientsin early tomorrow morning, and give this letter to Captain John Fenberon, and let him send it back to Batavia as soon as possible." This letter is not to be seen by anyone but him..."