May 9.

Xu Hongji, the Duke of Wei in Nanjing, and hundreds of officials in the south of the Yangtze River jointly issued an urgent report to the imperial court: Xujiazhuang in Xinghua County committed rebellion, monopolized sea salt, wantonly raised prices, and rebelled to attack the imperial army, causing tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians to be killed and injured...... The reverse shape of Xujiazhuang has appeared, and if the imperial court does not send troops to exterminate it, the consequences will be unimaginable!

Soon after this joint letter was sent to the capital, it immediately attracted great attention from the court, and the cabinet ministers, civil and military officials, and nobles asked to meet the emperor and ask to deal with this great matter.

The next day, the court meeting of the Jinluan Palace was held.

Zhu Youzhen, who was sitting on the dragon chair, immediately heard the voices of impeachment and toughness one after another.

"Your Majesty, Xu Jiazhuang is reversed! Just a businessman, dare to openly rebel and make trouble, completely do not take the prestige of our Ming court in their eyes, Your Majesty, if you don't deal with it in time, my Ming country is in danger! ”

"Merchants are in turmoil, unprecedented, if this case is opened, the Ming Dynasty will never have peace! The minister requested to suspend the encirclement and suppression of the Liukou, first mobilize heavy troops to destroy the rebellious Xujiazhuang, get its property to enrich the treasury, and then use it to suppress the Kou Pingliao, which can be described as killing three birds with one stone. ”

"This Xujiazhuang can't tolerate indulgence anymore! The minister is willing to lead the troops to go on the expedition, raise their own money and food to quell the chaos, and remove this scourge for the Ming Dynasty! ”

"Your Majesty, Xu Jiazhuang used strange tricks and ingenious things to hollow out the gold and silver of my Ming Dynasty; annex land, invite people's hearts, recruit displaced people, and build estates that do not obey the king's law; Now it monopolizes the salt industry, chokes the throat of the people of the Ming Dynasty, and is guilty of making trouble, attacking the soldiers and horses of the imperial court, lawlessness, madness, and let it go, the Ming Dynasty's rivers and mountains will fall into the hands of Xujiazhuang! ”

"Demon merchants like Xujiazhuang are far more harmful than rogues and Tartars, and they must be eliminated first, and there will be no future troubles forever!"

"Your Majesty, please listen to the public opinion of the world, and issue an order to extinguish Xujiazhuang!"

“……”

In the face of so many ministers shouting loudly, they demanded action like a cuckoo crying blood to eradicate the voice of Xujiazhuang.

Chongzhen Zhu Youzhen was a little happy and emotional.

If it weren't for Fang Yizhi showing him the self-defense video of Xujiazhuang yesterday, through the perspective of many low-level people, he saw the general picture of this 'salt merchant change', and on the premise of knowing nothing, in the face of the unanimous crusade of the ministers and hundreds of officials, he might have really 'obeyed the will of the people' and issued a holy decree to eradicate Xujiazhuang, so that the most important financial and tax place of the empire was also caught in the flames of war.

Of course, Xu Jiazhuang also has problems, and he is not a good bird, as the emperor, Zhu Youzhen is not so easy to fool.

However, Harbour City promised to hand over 300,000 silver dollars to the interior every year, and pay a tribute of 8,000 stones of fine snow salt (equivalent to 0.2 taels per catty) for the use of the royal family, which added up to 500,000 taels per year.

Not only has it added a new source of revenue.

Fang Yizhi's "Royal Farm Plan" also has an economic foundation for implementation, and as long as one hundred royal farms can be built within five years, and each farm brings 50,000 taels of income per year, the financial problem of the Ming Dynasty will be solved, and there will be no shortage of money and food, and there will be more energy to clean up this erosive mountains and rivers.

Perfect.

Although Zhu Youzhen is a little wary and jealous of Xujiazhuang, for the sake of silver, this jealousy can only be placed after solving other problems.

Therefore, after the spit generous speeches of the hundreds of officials.

"The change of the salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River, I have already known in advance, the rights and wrongs in the inside, who is right and who is wrong, I have ordered someone to investigate clearly, the interests of the salt merchants have been damaged, the joint official army attacked Xujiazhuang, both roads suffered a fiasco, Xujiazhuang was forced to fight back, it is really helpless, but it is also a legitimate defense, all the ministers, the matter of exterminating Xujiazhuang, there is no need to discuss it again, in the future, in the land of Jiangnan, without the permission of the imperial court, no one can use the sword and soldiers, and the offender will be guilty of rebellion!"

Zhu Youzhen opened his mouth and said, not only making a qualitative conclusion, but also making a conclusion about the coffin.

Startled.

His Royal Highness and the ministers were all surprised.

Cabinet minister Wen Tiren came out and said: "Your Majesty, how did you know about the changes in the salt merchants? How can you jump to conclusions? ”

Li Tengfang, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, said: "The affairs of the world, the Son of Heaven and the scholars discuss together, how can Your Majesty make decisions on his own?" Xu Jiazhuang is so bold and reckless, he will rebel one day, if he doesn't deal with it in time now, how can he let it go gently, so Xu Jiazhuang won't be even more arrogant and do more things that harm the people, Your Majesty can't be confused! ”

Chen Yuyan, the imperial history of Zuodu, said: "Your Majesty, the ministers heard that a person named Fang Yizhi sent by Xujiazhuang recently bewitched His Majesty for three days and three nights with evil words? Your Majesty, the demons of Xujiazhuang are not credible, please kill them immediately! ”

Shoufu Zhou Yanru also stood up, wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeves, made tears, and said: "Your Majesty doesn't believe in us and other important ministers, but is familiar with foreign villains and spies sent by Xujiazhuang, and is as good as a confidant brother, as happy as Zhuge Liang, Your Majesty can know the rebellion of Emperor Wuzong, can you know the harm of Wei Zhongxian?" If Your Majesty dislikes us, you can be expelled from the court. ”

The official Zheng Zheng came out of the ranks, and said murderously: "Please Your Majesty kill the demons of Xujiazhuang, and return the court to a bright and bright country." ”

Another official also knelt down and said: "Your Majesty doesn't kill the demons, and if you don't give an order to eradicate Xujiazhuang, the minister can't afford to kneel!" ”

"Please kill the demons Your Majesty!"

More ministers knelt down, and they all said that if they didn't punish the demons and didn't destroy Xujiazhuang, they wouldn't get up!

Forced palace.

In the face of the palace-like approach of hundreds of officials.

Zhu Youzhen was very surprised, he didn't expect the ministers to react so violently, he all expressed the meaning of 'turning big things into small ones', none of the ministers cooperated, but insisted on fighting Xu Jiazhuang to the end, and put on an incompatible posture.

He was even dissatisfied with his proximity to the 'demon', and wanted to kill Fang Yizhi, the eternal sage he had finally looked forward to.

"Okay, good, you are all my good ministers, reversing black and white, playing right and wrong, my people have been forced to rebel by you, the situation in Liaodong is eroding day by day, and now even the good Jiangnan, you have to make trouble for me, you have to see the Ming Dynasty fall this day!"

"Do you think that my eyes are blind and my ears are deaf, and I can't tell right from wrong? Xujiazhuang monopolized the salt industry, and the price of coarse salt for 100 yuan a pound was reduced to 20 yuan for a pound of snow salt, and the interests of the salt merchants were damaged, and the interests of the officials and nobles behind the salt merchants were damaged, so they colluded together and sent troops without the permission of the imperial court, which is already a big crime! I don't care about this matter, but I don't give up, I have to stand up for the salt merchants and nobles in Jiangnan, form a party for personal gain, and I must pull the imperial army and mess up the heart of Jiangnan! His heart can be punished, his sin is unforgivable, I will send someone to investigate to the end and meet your expectations! ”

Zhu Youzhen was furious!

He won't be tolerant any longer, and he must teach this gang of selfish guys a lesson!

Seeing that the emperor was very rare and angry, he was very dissatisfied with them.

Some ministers panicked and knelt down to defend themselves, saying that they did not form a party, did not reverse right and wrong, and were just dedicated to the country.

A few officials were even more unconvinced, saying that it was Your Majesty who reversed black and white, and that the greed and evil of Xujiazhuang were known to the whole world, and the salt merchants, as victims, were guilty, how unfair is this? Your Majesty, don't go down in a stupor!

"Okay, if you want evidence, I will show you the evidence, if you see the evidence, you can still be hard-mouthed, and I will order someone to kill you with a cane!"

Zhu Youzhen viciously said to those officials with a murderous face.

Soon.

A white curtain was raised above the Jinluan Palace.

Qi Chunnian appeared again, fiddled with a projector, connected it through a laptop, and played several videos.

The first video is a video of the extravagant daily life of the salt merchants, such as the fried chicken tongue that uses up a thousand chickens, the gorgeous private garden comparable to the imperial palace, and the deformed Yangzhou skinny horse.

The second video: Records the miserable and desperate life of the salt workers in the stove household, boiling salt day and night, but without food and clothing, and enduring endless exploitation, the living conditions are simply shocking.

The third video: The salt merchants plotted how to deal with Xujiazhuang, and their greedy and arrogant faces were unobstructed.

The fourth video: The interrogation of captured soldiers after the defeat of the imperial court officials and soldiers, admitting that the purpose of their attack on Xujiazhuang was to 'make a fortune, kill people, and rob women'.

The fifth video: Dozens of heinous salt lord thugs and pirates are executed by the public trial, and everyone's crime is unforgivable, enough to be executed three times.

Video 6: After the cheap snow salt was put on the market in large quantities, the people's salt eating situation.

The last video: It is a video of Xu Jiazhuang taking the initiative to sue and defend himself, saying that he is a true loyal and patriotic, a good citizen of the Ming Dynasty who pays taxes in accordance with the law, and is not a profiteer who evades taxes and colludes with the powerful, and said on the spot that Harbour City pays 300,000 silver dollars in salt tax every year and pays 8,000 stones of the best snow salt, and there is an advertisement at the end.

These videos are finished.

There was silence in the Jinluan Palace.

Even the few officials with the toughest attitude were silent, not daring to question it again, angering the emperor.

After announcing the dissolution of the dynasty.

All the ministers of the court realized that in this confrontation with Xujiazhuang, they had lost the upper hand, and even if they attacked in groups, they could not change the emperor's decision, and their old method failed.

On the one hand, the persuasiveness of witchcraft such as video is obviously much stronger than their mouthful, so that after watching the video, they are powerless to refute it.

Secondly, they underestimated Xujiazhuang, far underestimated, this Xujiazhuang not only sent demons to bewitch the emperor, but also took the lead in seizing people, and the wicked sued first, so that the emperor stood on their side early, which was simply not about martial arts and was caught off guard.

Finally, there is a real temptation of interests, 300,000 silver dollars and 8,000 stones of superb snow salt every year, such a heavy bribe, how can the emperor not be moved? It is much more attractive than their mouthful of moral articles, and if they take such a big benefit, they will definitely stand on the side of Xujiazhuang.

Defeated.

This time, the courtiers were defeated, and the defeat was very complete.

But they won't be reconciled, if they don't suppress the demonic existence of Xujiazhuang, will there be room for them to speak and exist in the future? Can Confucianism continue? This is a life-and-death struggle, and the rogue sits on the country, okay; Jiannu swallowed the Ming Dynasty, and it was acceptable, but the threat of Xu Jiazhuang must die!

The fierce struggle has only just begun.