By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Shanxi merchants could do whatever they wanted, they could be dogs for the Jin people, and they could sell the interests of the Han people to their heart's content.

But now, the imperial power is flourishing, and it has really reached the point of using knives and guns, and Shanxi's officials, gentry, haoqiang, and businessmen can only be arrested.

Datong, as an important town in Shanxi, has always been a thorn in Zhu Qiyu's side and a thorn in his flesh. In the past ten years, Jin Yiwei has already collected the list, and as soon as he entered Datong City, he arrested people according to the order, and the whole family was sent to a specially built prisoner camp outside the city.

Then they raided the house, and did not let go of gold, silver, treasures, shops, and land.

All of a sudden, in Datong City, the wind was loud, and the ghosts were crying wolves.

Zhang Yong and Wang Qin personally went into battle to raid the largest ones.

Li Bing was forced to be helpless, so he could only follow behind with a hard head. has offended so many people, this is considered to be a thief ship that can't get off.

Wang Shan casually picked up the copied treasures and looked at them, while comforting Li Bing from time to time.

Li Bing muttered in his heart: In the past, the great eunuch Shu Liang was polite when he saw you, but now the other two great eunuchs Zhang Yong and Wang Qin are also respectful when they see you, with such a hard background, of course you are not afraid, you really don't have a backache when you stand and talk.

But thinking about it, Li Bing also understood that as a governor, if he didn't rush forward desperately for the emperor, he would only die faster.

More helpless than Li Bing are the officials, gentry, haoqiang, and businessmen in Shanxi. The emperor's timing was too vicious, and now that Meng Yuan has been destroyed, there is no external danger. The authority of the internal emperor reached its peak, and no one dared to compete with it.

It has been exactly ten years since the change of Tumubao, and it is not too late for a real gentleman to take revenge.

No one could have imagined that the two brothers were fighting to the death, but now the younger brother insists on avenging his brother.

Isn't that ridiculous!

……

In the Hehuan Palace, Zhu Qiyu sneezed several times in a row.

"Gee, who's scolding me? If this is done together, it will rain at night. ”

Lin Xiangyu said with a smile: "I guess, it is your several imperial concubines who got together to bury you." You've been feeding and licking your feet all day, so it's no wonder that no one scolds you. ”

Zhu Qiyu snorted coldly: "I'm at home behind closed doors, playing with my own sex slaves, how I want to play, what's the matter with them." ”

Lin Xiangyu smiled again: "Then it could be that your son is scolding you?" ”

Zhu Qiyu snorted again: "Come on, it's been ten years, and I have never said a word to any of my sons." Wherever I met, I was amiable and extremely gentle.

It was as if I were their son.

It's all like this, and if they still scold me, it will be too unconscionable. ”

Lin Xiangyu said with a smile: "Husband, this emperor is really ridiculous, it's the first time I've heard of an emperor who is so polite to his children." Ordinary people have already been powerful and arrogant. ”

"When you don't do it, I have a lot of respect for you. In fact, as long as you don't mess with me, I'm quite gentle with everyone. ”

"Mm-hmm, that's true. That's the Shanxi people scolding you, this time it's too ruthless. ”

mentioned Shanxi, Zhu Qiyu immediately showed a vicious expression: "This is called killing a hundred people, let the whole world know that there is a price to be paid for bullying the king, not to change the emperor, just pat the ass and have nothing."

Otherwise, today they will pit Zhu Qizhen, and tomorrow they will also pit our children and grandchildren.

When the Ming Dynasty was at its peak, they could still be restrained from harming. At the end of the dynasty, the pit was finished in three strokes and two strokes. ”

Ning Xiang sat on Zhu Qiyu's lap and asked with a smile: "In addition to revenge and Liwei, the husband still likes the wealth of those people, right?" ”

"Mmmmmm, we have been fighting with Meng Yuan for a year, and we have consumed a lot. A lot of money was spent, but the benefits were very small.

So I had to use the wealth of the old men in Shanxi to make up for the shortfall, and then nationalize their land and rent it to the common people to cultivate. ”

Zhu Qiyu hit the small abacus loudly, but the government and the opposition were helpless for a while.

……

On June 27, Nanjing garrisoned the Yamen.

Today, the Nanjing Garrison Yamen has officially become the center of power in Nanjing.

The former prince who lived in Nanjing for a short time has gone to Changsha to become a vassal, and the former emperor who has lived in Xiaoling for a long time has also returned to heaven, and the ministers no longer have any scruples.

After several changes in the garrison of Nanjing, all of them have been replaced by the emperor's people.

Moreover, the elite soldiers in Nanjing, only Xiaolingwei remained, and they were completely controlled by the emperor.

So now no one in Nanjing dares to compete with the emperor.

Several garrisons and six important ministers gathered at the garrison yamen every three days to discuss politics.

On this day, everyone chatted, and Zhou Xuan said to everyone: "It's too hot, there was a summer epidemic in the prison in the capital, and I fell ill a lot. I'm going to put them all but those who are repeat offenders and let them come back when it's cooler. ”

Zhou Xuan was speechless, and everyone else was taken aback. This kind of thing is rare, everyone has heard of it, Tang Taizong Li Shimin did it, and he released it as a repeat offender.

Wei Guogong asked, "Do you want to report to the Holy Lord and make a decision?" ”

Zhou Xuan shook his head: "It's too late, it's time to play the book back and forth, at least ten days." Even if the Holy God had approved it, all the prisoners in the prison would have been infected by the epidemic. ”

When Wei Guogong heard this, he stopped talking. Anyway, Wei Guogong just asked casually, no matter what, the consequences must be borne by Zhou Xuan himself.

If all the prisoners run away, it will be fun.

Xun Gui had no opinion, Zhou Xuan looked at Zhou Chen again, and Zhou Chen asked Yuan Cheng and Yan Li: "Yuan Gong, Yan Gong, what do you two think?" ”

Yuan Cheng saw Yan Li: "Old Yan, say it, I'll listen to you." ”

Yan Li looked at it, good guy, no one wants to be responsible, they all want me to take the blame.

After thinking for a moment, Yan Li chose to carry the pot on his back. I want to have prestige, I want to speak strongly, and I can't do anything.

So Yan Li praised Zhou Xuan greatly, cherishing the people, benevolence and generosity, etc., and expressed his willingness to share the responsibility with Zhou Xuan.

With Yan Li's words, the others unanimously approved Zhou Xuan's proposal, and while immediately writing a recital and reporting it to the imperial court, Zhou Xuan presided over the temporary dismissal of minor offenders in prison.

Several people discussed some other political affairs, and then they were about to disperse, when the edict and official document sent by Beijing arrived.

Everyone had to gather together and read the edict and the official documents.

When he saw that the emperor ordered him to make sixty overseers to run the salt administration, Yan Li was overjoyed. This is the difference in fatness, the difference in beauty.

To translate the emperor's edict into the vernacular was to have Yan Li take full authority to select sixty reliable eunuchs and put them on the salt administration to practice. As long as there are achievements, the next step will be to focus on cultivating these eunuchs.

And according to the emperor's hints, Yan Li could recognize these eunuchs as godsons. The power of Yan Li suddenly became greater, and he jumped into a hot eunuch almost instantly.

Yan Li also knew that this was the emperor's reward for his meritorious service in guarding the filial piety tomb. If it weren't for the fact that there were still outsiders, Yan Li would immediately have to kowtow nine loudly to the north.

If there is a clear purpose, there must be a secret purpose. Soon, Yan Li left the garrison yamen and hurried back to the Imperial Horse Prison.

Sure enough, the secret decree has already arrived one step ahead, and the secret decree is more detailed and comprehensive than the explicit purpose. Even made it clear who should receive the affection, Yan Li knew that it was Shi Niangniang who spoke for him, and the emperor agreed, so he got such a fat difference, so he quickly knelt on the ground, bowed to the north, and thanked the emperor and Niangniang.

In just a few years, Yan Li has changed from a small eunuch who looks at the warehouse to a big internal official who is in charge of all the royal affairs of Nanzhili.

After kneeling down, Yan Li ordered his subordinates: "Pass the order, all the internal officials and envoys of Nanzhili can sign up, and select sixty people to supervise the salt administration." ”

Everyone hurriedly responded in unison, as long as it is related to the salt administration, it is all fat.

At the same time, Zhou Xuan came to the prison of the Criminal Department and ordered the jailers to take out all the minor offenders and concentrate them in a small square.

The prisoners didn't know why at first, but they only heard Zhou Xuan announce to everyone in a loud voice: "Now that the summer epidemic is rampant, the prison is dark and damp, if you continue to stay in the prison, I am afraid that you will catch the epidemic and give your life in vain."

So sign up and go home. When the weather is cool and the epidemic passes, I will order the official to inform you, and summon you to come, and the two sides are cheap. ”

The prisoners were stunned, is there anyone else who does things like this?

Zhou Xuan was still there waving his hand to drive people away, telling the prisoners to register and go home quickly.

For those who are far away from home, the criminal department also pays for the travel expenses.

On the fifth day of the seventh month, Zhu Wenfang, the prince of the prison state, received a report from Nanjing.

Zhu Wenfang smiled at He Yi and said: "Summoning you is coming, this Zhou Shangshu is really interesting." ”

He Yi replied: "Zhou Shangshu is indeed a rare talent. ”

Zhu Wenfang asked, "Is he a close confidant of his father?" ”

He Yi shook his head: "No, in the words of the Holy Lord, Zhou Shangshu belongs to technocrats. That is, the administrative ability is extremely strong, but it is not involved in political struggle. If the imperial court wants to be stable, it needs more such talents. ”

Zhu Wenfang asked again: "What about Li Bing?" ”

"Li Bing, it's similar. He was not a confidant of the Holy Lord, but he was powerful and dared to offend the powerful.

In fact, his own political tendency was also to restrain Shanxi's powerful to annex land and encroach on Weisuo.

It's just that Shengshang's attitude towards Shanxi is much more radical than Li Bing's, so it seems that Li Bing seems to be a little conservative. ”

Zhu Wenfang nodded, and then sighed again, it is really difficult to be an emperor.

If you want to be an emperor and want to be a good person, it is even more difficult.

The following month was peaceful. Only Shanxi is constantly arresting, arresting, and arresting.

There were many officials in the court who sympathized with Shanxi, and people were panicked for a while.

At the beginning, there were also officials who stood up to intercede or admonish.

Zhu Qiyu personally ordered, arrested a group of officials, and dismissed a group of officials, and no one dared to stand up and speak out.

In two months, thousands of people were arrested in Beijing.

The three legal divisions were tried, and Zhu Qiyu personally colluded and publicly executed a large number of people. As long as it is involved in smuggling to Mongolia, it will be killed; There are also those who take and kill people; All the old accounts have been turned over, those who should be killed are killed, those who should be exiled are exiled, and those who should be sent to the Faculty Division are sent to the Faculty Division.

Previously, a large number of Xun, military generals, civil ministers, and Jinyi guards who reported to Agabarji were arrested, and all of them were beheaded.

Especially some of the nobles, at the beginning, the wives of their family dared to mock the imperial concubine in a weird way, but now the new and old hatreds are liquidated together, and all their female dependents are sent to the Jiaofang Division, so that the men of the Jingshi can work together to teach them the principles of life.

In the second half of the tenth year of Jingtai, the main purpose was to kill people, and the entire Jingshi was killed.

Almost every day, people are beheaded, and almost every day female dependents are sent to the Workshop Division.

Time flies, months pass.

It's the end of the year.

On December 27, Zhu Qiyu personally went out of the mountain to preside over the last court meeting of the year.

This time, the people came very neatly, and the civil officials of the fifth rank and above, the military attache of the third rank and above, the prince, the prince of the county, the duke, the marquis, and the uncle all participated.

Zhu Qiyu and Zhu Wenfang sat on the dragon chair together, were worshiped by hundreds of officials, and then began to listen to the six departments to make a summary of the year.

This year's protagonist is the household department, and Zhu Qiyu ordered Shen Yi, the head of the household department, to talk first.

Shen Yi's face was relaxed, and he said calmly: "Qi Qi Sheng, after a year of land and population inventory. In the Hongwu Dynasty, there were a total of 8.4 million hectares of grain, grassland, fields, and mountain ponds in the two capitals and 13 provinces, and before this inventory, only 4.28 million hectares remained.

After this comprehensive inventory, a total of 8.88 million hectares were recorded. ”

As soon as Shen Yi's words came out, there was a sound of discussion in the hall.

This is really ruthless, and the land that expropriates grain and grass even exceeds the era of Taizu.

In the past, after Taizu had inventoried the fields, he set a fixed amount of taxes to be paid in each province, and he collected a lot, but he didn't collect much.

Taizu said that it will always be a quota and will not be overcharged, so naturally in the future, the newly reclaimed land can be concealed and concealed.

This time it was the imperial court that was there to take stock of the land, while the emperor was tirelessly killing people.

In particular, what happened to Shanxi frightened the other provinces.

Therefore, the provinces are trying their best to inventory the land, so as not to be targeted by the emperor.

In the end, the amount of land in each province increased, and it actually exceeded the Taizu era.

Zhu Qiyu wanted to laugh in his heart, sure enough, Daqing was right on this issue, that is, he had to kill, kill to death. The benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, and wisdom of Confucianism are all in vain, and only by killing people can they solve the problem.

Zhu Qiyu also understands the difficulties of the gentry and heroes. What worries them the most is that they can't attract external forces now. In the past, there was also first, and then there was the Qing Dynasty, but now there is nothing.

For negative example, in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, everyone was looking forward to breaking into the king and entering Beijing, and quickly replaced Chongzhen, the terrible emperor.

As a result, it was indeed replaced, but Li Zicheng did not follow the script, tortured and plundered in the capital, and offended all the gentry officials.

At this time, the gentry officials had another option: to attract external forces, that is, the Manchu Qing Dynasty, into the customs.

I can't handle the imperial power myself, but I can bring in outside forces.

This is also the origin of the strange national policy of the Hongguang Dynasty's 'Lianyu Pingkou'.

Everything is produced in the context of the times.

Zhu Qiyu has enough historical lessons to attract, so he chose Jingtai to carry out a land inventory at this point in time.

Now that there are no foreign enemies, the gentry want to bring in a first, Dolgon, and the like, but they really can't find a secret target.

Moreover, Zhu Qiyu has just destroyed Meng Yuan, and his prestige is extremely high, plus all the elite combat power of the Ming Dynasty is under control, and he is not afraid of internal rebellion at all.

Zhu Qiyu hoped that someone would rebel, and the hundreds of thousands of pro-troops in the three battalions and three guards alone were enough to suppress the local rebellion.

Now I want to go on a killing spree, but I can't find an excuse. The local gentry are not stupid, with Shanxi Zhuyu in front, who would dare to send it to the emperor.

(End of chapter)

.