The dignified cabinet elder was in the capacity of the governor of Nanzhili, but who would have thought that he would be assassinated, which fully exposed the seriousness of the problem of the Jiangnan gentry group.

Although the Ming Dynasty learned from the experience and lessons of the previous dynasty, respected Confucius and Confucianism, and took the scholars and doctors of Jiangnan as the foundation of the dynasty, it could not become a bargaining chip for the Jiangnan gentry to be favored and arrogant.

Even if the Ming Dynasty moved the capital to the north, it was in order to better resist the northern nomads going south, but it could not be a reason for you to ignore the imperial court because the Emperor Shangao was far away.

On the contrary, the current gentry clique in Jiangnan not only resisted the decrees of the imperial court, but also dared to make a black hand against the local cabinet elders and Qincha in the shadows.

"The thief is not outside, but also in Jiangnan!"

Zhu Youzhu always thought that the enemy of Huaxia becoming strong was outside, but now he suddenly discovered that this Jiangnan class was the first major tumor of the Ming Dynasty.

It has been more than 100 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and his emperor has been in power for nearly five years, but who would have thought that the current Jiangnan Guanshen Group has no monarch and no father.

After accumulating wealth with the help of geographical advantages, the Jiangnan gentry group did everything possible to strengthen itself, not only jointly evading taxes and evading taxes, but even not planning to pay taxes to the imperial court at all.

It's just that the productivity of a country is limited, and the expenses of the imperial court are often fixed. Once you can't collect taxes from you, you can only make up for it from others, but it will often squeeze out the living space of others.

In the original history, the reason why the Ming Dynasty finally fell was to a large extent that the imperial court was unable to collect taxes from the wealthy Jiangnan gentry, which led to the whole country falling into complete chaos due to financial problems.

It is precisely because of this that the Ming Dynasty would not have fallen under the iron cavalry of the north, but the selfishness of the Jiangnan gentry group harmed the entire nation.

Time is set back to the present, and today's Jiangnan Guangentry Group has become the most urgent problem to solve.

If the imperial court's silver abolition order is because it infringes on their vital interests, so they choose to resist, this may be easier for people to accept.

But when the elder of the court went to Jiangnan as a messenger, he almost lost his life on the way to Suzhou, which was simply a naked provocation to the imperial court.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger, beware of hurting the dragon body!" Liu Jin saw Zhu Youzhi who was in a rage, and out of loyalty, he seriously dissuaded him.

Zhu Youzhu brought the tea cup to his mouth, but found that it was already cold, so he asked someone to arrange for new tea to be delivered, but he had slowly calmed down.

Although the Jiangnan gentry group dared to move Wang Yue made him very angry, he knew that anger alone could not solve the problem, and now he needed to come up with a feasible plan.

Soon after, several eunuchs went to the six ministries to summon them.

When Zhu Youzhu summoned a few important ministers, he often chose to meet directly in the Heart Cultivation Palace, and also intervened in their discussions from time to time.

The cabinet's current cabinet in Beijing is always the first assistant Liu Ji and the second assistant Xu Qiong, and the duty room of these two is arranged outside, so they only need to announce the call to come in.

The six departments are located in Dongjiang Mixiang and Xijiang Mixiang, and when they were summoned, Jia Jun, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Liu Xuan, the secretary of the Ministry of War, Liu Zhong, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and He Cong, the secretary of the household department, came as soon as possible.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, presumably it won't be small!"

"Don't guess, let's go in and face the saint together!"

……

As soon as several important ministers met outside, they already knew that something must have happened, otherwise the emperor would not have summoned them together.

Like Zhu Youzhi's propaganda of "empty talk to ruin the country, hard work to prosper the country", Hongzhi has always been very pragmatic in doing things, and he will never call them for no reason.

Liu Ji's whole person became more and more calm, and in the face of Liu Xuan, the secretary of the military department, and others, who were speculating, he led everyone to visit Emperor Hongzhi who summoned them.

"Wang Ge Lao was assassinated?"

"Who is so daring?"

"Jiangnan is really lawless!"

……

After learning that Wang Yue had been assassinated on his way to Suzhou, even Liu Ji's eyes widened in shock, and the six important ministers present couldn't help but be angry.

Although there was an accident among some officials in Jiangnan last year, it is not easy for them to speculate, after all, it is possible that this is indeed an accident.

Wang Yue was ordered to go south as a cabinet elder this time, not to mention that Wang Yuegui was a cabinet elder, and he was also a Qincha identity, but he was actually attacked by a secret arrow.

At this point, the problem of the Jiangnan gentry group can be directly raised to several levels, and even become the most important problem for their Ming court.

"It is said that Shandong is out of Diao people, and I think this Jiangnan is even more of a tiger's den in Longtan!"

During his tenure as the governor of Shandong, although he was also targeted by local forces, he did not dare to stumble secretly, but he did not expect that Jiangnan would dare to poison the dignified Qinchage elders, and he also pointed the spearhead at the Jiangnan gentry group.

Zhu Youzhu has now slowly calmed down, so he picked up the teacup and asked lightly: "Let's talk about it, what do you think about this matter?" ”

"Your Majesty, please remove the thief before leading the troops!" Liu Xuan, the secretary of the Ministry of War, respected Wang Yue very much, and said directly.

Liu Ji glanced at Liu Xuan with sincerity, but shook his head slightly: "This method is not appropriate!" Now the enemy doesn't know where they are, and our efforts outweigh the losses! ”

"Liu Ge's old words are reasonable! This time, Wang Ge was always attacked by hidden arrows, but he failed to capture the thief, even if he led the army forward, what could he do? Jia Jun, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, stood on Liu Ji's side and said.

Zhu Youzhu took a sip silently, not in a hurry to make a statement.

In fact, although sending troops to Jiangnan can exert pressure on the Jiangnan gentry group, it is not the best policy.

First of all, as Liu Ji said, this time he couldn't even find the person who released the dark arrow, and even if he sent the iron cavalry from Liaodong to Jiangnan, there was nowhere to exert his strength.

Secondly, the Jiangnan gentry group is a group of literati after all, what they pursue is resourcefulness, and they usually will not use force against the imperial court no matter how much trouble they make, you can refer to the later dynasty.

Finally, there are garrisons in Jiangnan and other places, even if the army is dispatched for deterrence, it is easy to block the open guns and difficult to defend against the hidden arrows, and it is impossible to solve the tricks of the Jiangnan gentry group to release hidden arrows.

It is precisely because of this that the Jiangnan gentry clique must be dealt with step by step, and it is necessary to adopt more ingenious methods to crack down on the Jiangnan gentry clique.

Liu Ji has now been promoted as the first assistant, so he took out the decisiveness of the first assistant of the cabinet: "For today's plan!" Immediately strengthen the defense of Wang Ge Lao, Wang Ge Lao stayed in Nanjing to recuperate from his injuries and take charge of the overall situation, and ordered all the local gentry in Nanzhili to promote the imperial court decree! ”

In fact, he was not very optimistic about Wang Yue this time, Wang Yue has brains and courage, but he is old after all, and he is still sick in Jiangnan.

However, this time it is facing the entire official gentry class in Jiangnan, and this time it is difficult to defend against the secret arrow, and maybe next time it will give Wang Yue a fatal blow in the dark.

The best thing to do now is for Wang Yue to sit in Nanjing with his body injured, and leave the rest to the local officials, which can not only push the imperial decree, but also prevent Wang Yue from continuing to fall into a place of crisis.

This......

Liu Xuan, the secretary of the Ministry of War, heard that Liu Ji was this plan, although he didn't think it was the best plan, but he didn't have a very good idea for a while.

The biggest problem now is that the capital is too far away from Nanjing, and there is not enough information, so it is really difficult to come up with a solution that can quickly solve the problem.

"Liu Ge Lao's method is very good!" Jia Jun, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, and others thought for a moment, and then expressed their support for this plan.

Although most of the important ministers agreed to Liu Ji's plan, the person who really has the right to make decisions is always the son of the great tomorrow, so they all looked up at Zhu Youji.

Zhu Youzhu knew that this was a better practice, but he suddenly asked seriously: "Ladies and gentlemen, how about Ruo I go down to Jiangnan in person?" ”

Although the risk factor of leaving the palace will increase, the current situation does not allow him to hide in the Forbidden City, but should go to Jiangnan to let the Jiangnan gentry know that there is an emperor in the Ming Dynasty.

Not to mention that the scholars of this era have always been loyal to the monarch, and the Jiangnan gentry group is not monolithic, so he can abolish the silver standard and implement the Hongzhi new currency with the power of the emperor in Jiangnan.

If any of the unsightly officials and gentry dare to jump out and sing the opposite, they can make an example of them on the spot, and everything will be much easier to deal with.

"Your Majesty, by all means!"

It's just that as soon as the words fell, even Xu Qiong immediately exclaimed.

It's not that they want to go against Zhu Youji, but Wang Yue has just been attacked by a dark arrow, and once Zhu Youzhu has three longs and two shorts, then the entire Ming Dynasty will change the sky.

Especially now that the prince of the Ming Dynasty is vacant, if something really happens, the whole of China may fall into chaos, and even the regime of the Ming Dynasty will be overthrown because of this.

Liu Ji and other important ministers thought of this, and looked at Zhu Youzhu with a very panicked face, but they were afraid that Zhu Youzhu would insist on going to the south of the Yangtze River.

Liu Jin seemed to have already guessed that this would be the situation, and looked at Zhu Youzhu sitting on the dragon chair with worried eyes.

Although Zhu Youji had already guessed that this might be the result, he still felt unhappy when he saw that the six important ministers were blocking him, and said: "Only by abolishing the silver standard, the Ming Dynasty will have a strong day, why can't I scrap the silver in the south of the Yangtze River?" ”

"Your Majesty is a golden body, and it is not appropriate to go to Jiangnan!"

"Your Majesty, you want to go down to the south of the Yangtze River, and you are afraid of losing money and labor along the way!"

"Your Majesty, the trip to Jiangnan is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly, and this is not a virtuous man's move!"

……

Faced with the question thrown by Zhu Youji, the six important ministers present almost didn't even think about it, so they came up with the reason that Zhu Youzhu should not go to the south of the Yangtze River to stop him.

In addition to worrying about the turmoil in the Ming Dynasty, it also took into account the cost of going to the south of the Yangtze River.

The emperor's travel is not a trivial matter, even the security personnel are more than 10,000, and along the way, in order to welcome the emperor, it is natural to build corresponding supporting facilities.

Once the emperor needs to pass through the county seat, then the corresponding roads must be repaired, the emperor must build a temporary palace, and the personnel must also settle at any time.

As for the diet of the emperor's entourage, as well as the feeding of horses, and even the transportation of a large amount of materials, these things cost a lot of people and financial resources.

"Your Majesty, please think again!" Liu Ji exchanged glances with the others, and suddenly knelt down together to express his position.

Zhu Youzhu is not a completely unreasonable emperor, although he wants to see the picturesque Jiangnan of this era with his own eyes, but he also pretends to be his Chinese compatriots in his heart.

The emperor of the later dynasty liked to go down to the south of the Yangtze River, and every time he went to the south of the Yangtze River, it took a lot of financial resources, which eventually led to financial problems for the entire dynasty.

It is indeed beneficial to promote the abolition of the silver standard and the introduction of the new currency, but if it costs too much silver taels, it is indeed not a good plan.

Zhu Youzhu glanced at Liu Ji and other important ministers who were kneeling on the ground, and finally looked at He Cong, the secretary of the household department, and Jia Jun, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, and said: "He Qing, Jia Qing, the two of you will cooperate and calculate how much silver I have to spend in the south of the Yangtze River!" ”

"Command!" He Cong, the secretary of the household department, and Jia Jun, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, glanced at each other, and immediately said in a proper manner.

Although they were opposed to Zhu Youzhi going south to Jiangnan in their hearts, they were more worried about the emperor's safety, and the emperor's cost of going south of the Yangtze River was only secondary.

Both of them knew that Zhu Youzhu was a Ming monarch, and now that the emperor wanted to know the cost of going to Jiangnan, they would naturally check it carefully.

As for the emperor's final decision, no matter whether the emperor wants to go down to Jiangnan or stay in the Forbidden City, they will unconditionally support Zhu Youji's decision.

Compared with the cost of going to Jiangnan, it is equally important to deal with the problems of Jiangnan now, especially they do not want Dongying to use their own silver mine advantages to loot the social wealth of China in the future.

Zhu Youzhi picked up the information sent by Yin Zhi, and said with a smile on his face: "Yin Ge Lao's investigation in Zhejiang has made a good breakthrough, and after his continuous in-depth investigation, it has been confirmed that the golden ship was indeed robbed by the fleet of the Jiangnan Merchants!" ”

"Jiangnan firm?"

"Isn't Jiangnan Firm the one that evades tariffs?"

"Not only is it evading tariffs, they have already cooperated with the Otomo family to mine the silver mine in Kyushu!"

……

When he learned the news, Liu Zhong, the secretary of the Criminal Department, couldn't sit still, but he hatefully pointed the finger at this business established by the Jiangnan family.

Zhu Youzhi's mood was much better at the moment, but he still maintained patience and said: "The case of the robbery of the golden ship is already known to the world!" As long as the facts can be ascertained, the members of Jiangnan Firm can be liquidated in this way, and Jiangnan's resistance may be easily resolved. ”

"Your Majesty Shengming!" When Liu Ji and others learned of Zhu Youji's plan, they also gave it up one after another.

Originally, they could make a big fuss about tax evasion through Jiangnan Firm, but this matter was quite tricky to deal with, after all, they couldn't listen to Zhao Fu's godlike words, and it was not appropriate to impose a heavy sentence for evading tariffs.

If it can really be found that the gold robbery is related to the Jiangnan business, then they can uproot the entire Jiangnan business, and then they can achieve the goal of deterring the entire Jiangnan.

In March, it is a good time for spring rain.

In this increasingly prosperous ancient city, a broken carriage is swaying from the north gate of Suzhou into the city under the drizzle.

"Guest officer, the first floor of Suzhou City has arrived, please get off!" The groom who drove the car brought people to the front of the Moon Picking Tower, which looked quite strange and authentic.

His carriage was completely out of class, and all the people who took his carriage were just trying to get cheap, and scholars who had the status to take the exam usually did not take his books.

However, this well-dressed son and his entourage actually chose to take his car, and directly pointed out that they came to the largest green building in Suzhou City, which is really incomprehensible.

"What do you watch this son do?" A young man with a black face noticed that the young man accompanying him was glaring at him, but asked with a puzzled face.

The groom didn't understand which one the master and servant sang, so he emphasized flatteringly: "Guest officer, promise twenty dollars!" ”

"Tong'er, give the money quickly!" The black-faced young man straightened his collar and looked rightfully authentic.

Wang Ye rolled his eyes helplessly, but he obediently took out the copper money to settle the bill, but he didn't understand why the other party wanted to bring him to this kind of Fengyue place. (End of chapter)