Yangzhou is slow, it turns out that it is not only slow in rhythm, but also contemptuous to the emperor.

In the gentle lapping of the waves of the Millennium Grand Canal, Lin Run told Shen Mo the story of Yangzhou people's treatment of Jiajing......

There are many big households in Yangzhou City, among which the big salt merchants are the mainstay, these people have deep roots, and they are the real masters of Yangzhou City. When they decided to do this, even the prefect of Yangzhou could only cry out in vain.

As a result, the rich ranked among the top five in the country, and the prosperous Yangzhou City was one of the best, and only greeted Emperor Jiajing with regular courtesy. These guys who lack virtue have made the imperial dock very plain, and anything that seems too luxurious, what can be moved will be moved, and what can't be removed will not be seen by the emperor if it is smashed directly.

So when Jiajing's dragon boat arrived at the imperial pier of Tianning Temple, he did not see the colorful shed of ten miles, nor did he see the gold paper that was withdrawn. Even the Yangzhou gentry who came out to greet him, none of them wore silk clothes, which was too far from what he imagined, Jiajing asked strangely: "The ancients dreamed of Yangzhou once in ten years, this should be a prosperous and rich place, why does it not look as rich as the north?" ”

At that time, Yuan Wei and several other ministers were serving on the emperor's side, and when they heard the emperor's question, everyone looked at Yuan Wei. Yuan Wei had no choice but to whisper: "Your Majesty, what you said is the old yellow calendar, the current Yangzhou City, but now it is not what it used to be......" At this time, the people who said bad things about Yangzhou City were not enemies with Yangzhou people, but had been bought by big households.

In fact, in order to maintain a low tax rate, the big families in Yangzhou City were by no means stingy, and in order to keep the illusion from being punctured, they bribed the emperor at any cost...... For example, knowing that Yuan Wei was elegant and didn't like the smell of copper, he collected the picture scrolls of Wu Daozi and Yan Liben, and the manuals of Wang Xizhi and Su Dongpo and gave them to him.

Not only bribed Yuan Wei, but also the other concubines around the emperor also got something, almost one of them did not leak, and they had short hands and short mouths, so no one would expose the truth at this time, but helped the people of Yangzhou to deceive the emperor together.

They told Jiajing that there were three reasons why Yangzhou City had become poor: First, the Japanese invaders harassed Jiangdong, and the military expenditure and grain of nearly 100,000 troops in northern Jiangsu had been raised by the Yangzhou government.

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Second, when Premier Yan Maoqing was in power, he implemented chaotic governance, which made salt merchants extremely difficult. Jiajing asked, "Isn't Yan Maoqing's salt tax already exempted?" ”

Everyone: "The salt tax is the table, the salt policy is the foundation, the amount of salt tax will only be related to the skin, only the salt government is corrupt, it will hurt the root." "Actually, what they are talking about is that Yan Maoqing changed the method of salt harvesting. At this time, the state monopolized salt sales, and the merchants of the salt works could not sell it in the market after producing salt, which was a capital offense. Instead, it must first be transferred by the Imperial Salt Administration's Salt Envoy, that is, the approved amount, which is consistent with the official approved amount, before it can be allowed to be sold.

The amount of officially approved sales is the number of salt quotes in the hands of each salt merchant. In fact, because the cost of obtaining salt is too high, the profit margin for the legal sale of 'regular salt' is very low...... Of course, this low is relative to the 'residual salt'. The so-called surplus salt is the surplus after the completion of the normal salt, and I don't know when the salt administration acquiesced to the sale of a certain amount of surplus salt in addition to the regular salt...... In this gray area where taxes are not paid, the profits are too amazing, and because the salt merchants distribute the whole country, they cannot verify a certain amount of specific amounts, so that the sales of surplus salt are far more than that of regular salt, and even the sale of regular salt is all in the name of surplus salt!

Therefore, there was a situation in which the salt merchants complained about the high tax rate on the one hand, and on the other hand, they wantonly evaded taxes to get rich.

When Yan Maoqing was in office, he actually changed the method of learning salt, regardless of surplus salt and regular salt, as long as the salt went out of the salt field, it had to be taxed, which continued to make the salt merchants' wealth?

As a result, the two sides quickly became hostile, and the two Huai salt merchants, who had always held a conservative political attitude, quickly fell to the Xu Party, and the Jin merchants, who were in the same mood as them, also followed against the Yan Party, which objectively exacerbated the fall of the Yan Party.

Of course, there is no point in saying these now, who is right and who is wrong, can only be left for future generations to comment, now that Yan Luoqing has gone into the wilderness, he naturally let the salt merchants attack, and he can't defend himself.

Under the persuasion of the people around him, Emperor Jiajing allowed him to play. So Yan Maoqing's changed salt policy was stopped, everything returned to the original point, and the world was peaceful.

In the mouths of officials, there is a third reason, that is, with the prosperity of foreign trade, Suzhou has risen, giant businessmen have flocked to it, Yangzhou City has been much worse than before, and even the entertainment industry that depends on fame is very depressed. Under the constraints of various factors, Yangzhou City is unknown in the eyes of His Majesty today.

Jiajing was very sympathetic to Yangzhou City's plight, so he no longer blamed them for neglecting the holy drive, but he had a long-cherished wish, that is, he wanted to see what the world-famous Yangzhou Qionghua looked like? Qionghua is a unique flower, 'the flower is as big as a plate, white as jade, there is a poem to praise and say: 'The Oriental Ten Thousand Trees compete for flowers, the world is unparalleled only this flower, and praise said'The bright moon is divided into three states, there are two in the Qionghua tree, but only bloom in Yangzhou Qionghua Guanwushuang Pavilion, and the rest of the places are not seen

Hearing that the emperor wanted to appreciate Qionghua, the officials and gentry of Yangzhou City were frightened, because the Qionghua Temple was located in the bustling city, where the romance could not be hidden. I had to look at Yuan Wei with a smile, which means, you continue to fool.

Yuan Wei complained bitterly in his heart, the money of these salt dealers is really difficult to take. But since he got on the thief ship, he could only support them to the end, he secretly wiped his sweat, and said to Jiajing: "Your Majesty, this Qionghua, don't look at it."

"Why?" Bei Jing said strangely.

"In the past, Emperor Yang of Sui made a special trip to Yangzhou to see Qionghua along the Grand Canal, but he lost all the country." Yuan Wei stubbornly said: "So the emperors of later generations are very shy of this flower, not to mention far away, just say that Emperor Wuzong of this dynasty, so the king who likes to hunt for curiosities, when he came to Yangzhou, he didn't look at Qionghua, and he wasn't worried about hindering the national fortune?"

"The famous Yangzhou City, isn't there anything worth visiting?" Jiajing frowned and said, obviously dispelled the idea of kidney flower, after all, no matter how good Qionghua is, it can't compare to the throne, he can't provoke this bad luck.

"Your Majesty," Yuan Wei whispered, "The reason why this place is famous is not because of the beautiful scenery, but because of the ...... There are a lot of Qinlou Chu Pavilions, so the ancients dreamed of Yangzhou once in ten years, and won the name of Qinglou Bo Xing, just by virtue of this, it is enough to become famous in China. said in a low voice: "Which celebrity came to Yangzhou, all."

; , the romance of the factory section, although many of them are apocryphal, but everyone is willing to meet

Of course, Jiajing could hear the deep meaning of his words..."This kind of fireworks land is not a place where the emperor should stay, if you don't want unscrupulous literati to arrange it, let's leave the mouth quickly."

Listening to his words, Jiajing pondered for a while, so far he was interested, only stayed in the palace for one night, and after eating a meal of 'light and tasteless Huaiyang cuisine, he was finally completely disappointed in this place, and set off for the south in the second evening, leaving Yangzhou City, which made him feel that it was not worthy of the name.

After listening to Lin Run's narration, Shen Mo couldn't help but shake his head and smiled: "It's really pitiful to think about the emperor, although he is known as the only one, but what the people below don't want him to see, he can't see it, and if he doesn't want him to know, he doesn't know."

Lin Run nodded and smiled: "Although I don't approve of these people's practices, I am happy to see this kind of result, like the way in the north, the cost is too great, I hope Yangzhou will become an example, so that the following prefectures and counties will be smarter." ”

"Eighty percent of the time." Silently took a sip of tea and said: "The scholars in the south have always been unruly, and they are not as revered by the emperor as the northerners, so it is not unusual to do this kind of thing." ”

"Yes, Lin Run sighed: "I have also been an official in the north, and I did find that the difference between the north and the south of our Ming Dynasty is not small, and the gap between each other is not small...... Some people even say that the reason why the Ming Dynasty is not well governed is because it is always the southerners who are in power in the court, and they only think about the south in everything, regardless of the life or death of the north,,,,。 ”

Shen Mo shook his head and smiled: It's a bit far to say this, when you and I are ranked as ministers, it will not be too late for the senior township. said Zhengse: "You said that you were waiting for me on a special trip, what the hell did you."

"Hey, look at my bad memory." Lin Run couldn't help laughing and said, "I'm happy, and I forgot about business." ”

"It's not too late to say now," Shen Mo poured him tea and said softly, "Say it, what's the matter." ”

That's the case, Lin Run lowered his voice and said, "I want to participate."

people,,"

"Then semblance." Shen Mo couldn't help but smile and said: "You are Lord Yushi, you can join whoever you don't want to participate in?" ”

"This person is not trivial, his identity is unspeakably expensive, his status is unshakable, without your help, I can't participate, I can't even participate in him. Lin Run said in a deep voice.

"Who the hell is it?" Shen Mo was intrigued and asked.

"King Yi." Lin Run never sold Guan Yu, he spoke like a human being, and said to the point: "To be precise, the sixth generation of Yiwang Zhu Diantao!"

"King Yi Zhu Dianheng? Shen Mo's face couldn't help but move, because this was not the first time he had heard of this name, just a few days ago, Hai Rui had taken this person as an example, and bitterly criticized the imperial family's misdeeds and harm to the Ming Dynasty......

Yiwang Fan is the room of the Ming Dynasty, the ancestor is called Zhu Yi, is the grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang and Ge Lifei born to the twenty-five sons, because the twenty-sixth son Zhu Nan died, so King Yi became the youngest son of Zhu Yuanzhang, Hongwu twenty-four Mu was named King Yi, on the domain of Henan Mansion; Yongle died of illness in ten years, and he was called King Yili.

The Ming Dynasty was overflowing, and he was able to get such a bad slander without rebellion and disrespect, and the first generation of Yiwang Zhu Yi was definitely a talent, he didn't learn any good things from his father and brother, but he inherited the brutality in his bloodline, and did mischief in the vassal country, and brutalized the people...... He often went to the city with bullets and swords to hunt, and when he encountered people who could not be avoided, he would slash and make blood splash all over, and he actually liked to wear this kind of blood-spattered clothes. and ordered men and women to mix for fun in the public, he is definitely the most absurd and shameless of the sons of Taizu, there is no one, after his death, Lichen also played a request to strip off his title, but Zhu Di did not agree in order to stabilize people's hearts.

Zhu Yi's successors are also quite like his ancestors, until the sixth Yi King Zhu Dianheng finally developed this evil tradition to the peak. According to Hai Rui, this person is greedy, stubborn, cruel to his subordinates, insults the gentry, beats the courtiers, invades the school palace, ** people's daughters, and forcibly occupies people's houses! Luoyang Mansion Yin advised him to stop in moderation, so Zhu Dianlan sent someone to arrest him to the palace and ripped off his beard and hair. It is said that he robbed more than 400 other people's wives, forcibly occupied more than 3,000 private houses, and voted more than 700 women over the age of 12, and other wealth, which caused the people of Henan to complain.

"It's all superficial." After listening to Shen Mo relay Hai Rui's words, Lin Run shook his head and said, "If it was just absurdity and cruelty, I wouldn't be in such a hurry!" said with a stern face: "Actually, I set my eyes on Zhu Dianji a few years ago, and it is rumored that he is arrogant and unsubdued. I have been secretly investigating him, and it has been verified that in the name of repairing the mansion, he forced the Fangcheng Palace, the Tongcheng County Lord's Mansion, and the Luoyang County Prison to all his strengths, encroached on the official titles, bought more than 100 houses at a low price, and forcibly recruited blacksmiths and leathermen in Henan to enter the mansion. The actual manufacture of weapons and armor can be seen in its intentions and measurements.

"What? Shen Mo was surprised: "You said he wanted to rebel? ”

"I dare not say anything about rebellion." Lin Run shook his head and said: "But there is no doubt that his guards are not only seriously overstaffed, but also have many dead soldiers among the people, and they also wantonly buy green forest horses and bandits. According to my observation, the bandits in Henan have more or less his shadow behind them. As he spoke, he asked Shen Mo and said, "You said that he is a prince, but he went to mingle with the robbers, what day can he have?"

Shen silently, Zhu Dianshan! has become a prince, but he is still trying to do a good job in the relationship between the masses, it can be seen that he is still not satisfied, but the status of the prince is already above 10,000 people under one person, and if he progresses, the only way to do this is to let the emperor move his seat.

He also set up Dongchang without authorization, privately set up edicts and prisons, arrested the people, and persecuted Zhongliang; He also spent a huge amount of money to buy weapons, and his guards were equipped with three-eyed firearms, which were said to be incomparable to the Beijing Shenji Battalion. Lin Run finally concluded: "In short, taking advantage of the internal strife outside the imperial court, there is no time to supervise these vassal kings, King Yi has expanded his strength in recent years, no matter what, the motive is absolutely impure." He said with a solemn face: "And the impact of this person is extremely bad, many vassal kings have followed suit and are ready to move, if they are not severely punished in time, they are afraid that it will cause a catastrophe at that time!"

After listening to Lin Run's words, Shen Mo asked softly, "Could it be that the officials in Henan are blind and dumb?" It's hard for King Yi to make such a big move, why didn't anyone say anything to the court?

"Why not? The magistrates sued him many times, but each time he was unharmed, but the person who denounced him soon became more moldy, first dismissed from office, and then died of death, so that everyone was frightened, and no one dared to meddle in their affairs. Lin Run asked him, "Do you know why?" ”

Shen Mo nodded and said, "He has someone in the court." ”

Silence —

"Yes." Lin Run said: "He took the route of Yan Shifan, and it seems that he also bought off the eunuchs of Dongchang, and he has a large amount of silver to pay filial piety every year, so he naturally shows that he has no worries." ”―

"But now Yan Shifan has stepped down." Shen Mo said softly.

"So he's more agitated. Lin Run said: "We have stepped up the recruitment of troops, looted people's wealth, and even started to hoard grain and grass, and their actions are very suspicious. As he spoke, he took out a thick booklet from his bosom, handed it to Shen Mo and said: "This is what I got from a special channel, since the second half of last year, all the money has been collected and disbursed, and almost all the expenditures have been used to buy grain, grass, iron, and horses, what do you say he wants to do?"

Shen Mo took it, flipped through it carefully, raised his head after reading it, and said in a deep voice: "Powerful soldiers and horses, there must be a plan!" As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Run and said, "Have you reported it?" ”

"No..."Lin Run shook his head in frustration and said: "I heard that the holy driver came to Yangzhou, so I hurried from Nanjing and asked to see the driver, but maybe my reputation is very bad, and those people don't even give me a gift; I don't know who Yan Shifan's accomplice is, for fear of leaking the news and making things complicated, so I didn't tell anyone, and said with a smile to Shen Mo: "Later, I remembered that you were also driving, so I asked around about your whereabouts, only to know that you asked the emperor for leave and got off the boat halfway, I guess you went to see Hai Rui, the prefect of Huai'an, and you have to come to Yangzhou sooner or later, so I plan to wait for you here for two days, but I can't wait, so I will go to Shaoxing and wait, and I can wait."

"What's the use of looking for me? Shen Mo smiled bitterly: "There is no conclusive evidence, just with this account book of unknown origin, if you want to eradicate a prince, eighty percent will be injured by the tiger instead of fighting the tiger."

"In any case, let the emperor be vigilant." Lin Run said in a low voice: "My champion."

Gong, the emperor's tomb, can be in Henan......