The Soul of the Han Dynasty in the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 542
The imperial censor and the impeachment in the matter are not groundless. Dongping Hou took the fact that he first created the facts and then forced the landlord to sign the lease. There is indeed a suspicion of bullying.

In the imperial study, the emperor looked at the memorials of the officials impeaching Huang Han, the secret reports of Jinyiwei and Dongchang, and the eloquent memorials of Xu Guangqi and Zheng Guochang, feeling thoughtful.

Cao Huachun, Wang Chengen, and Zheng Zhihui, one of the eunuchs who were the No. [-] figure in Dongchang, Si Lijian and Bingbi eunuchs, waited quietly when the emperor read the secret report without saying a word.

For a long time, Chongzhen said: "The Marquis of Dongping is so generous, he actually directly encircled millions of mu of good land and arranged for people to cultivate it without authorization. When he negotiated with the landlord for the land rent, he might inevitably use his power to overwhelm them? Why didn't Dongchang and Jinyiwei stand up for the sufferer?"

Wang Chengen, who has a sense of justice, got the information summary. He was about the same age as the emperor and far less cunning than Cao Huachun and Zheng Zhihui.
"Your Majesty, please act urgently. At that time, no one could predict when the thieves were going to make trouble. The common people fled or hid in the city, and a large number of fields were left uncultivated.

And because of the spring drought, there is no one to water the seedlings, and the land that has been sown is likely to fail.

If Dongping Houzhan had looked forward and backward at that time, it would have been impossible to complete the replanting of hundreds of thousands of acres of fields, and it would have been impossible to keep hundreds of thousands of acres of wheat seedlings, and it would have been impossible to harvest in autumn. "

Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen very calmly and said, "Wang Banban means that Marquis Dongping did nothing wrong? Didn't he use power to overwhelm others?"

Wang Cheng'en said: "I don't dare to discuss what is right and what is wrong, but I know that farming time waits for no one, and I have sorted out the owners of millions of acres of land, and I am afraid that I will not be able to complete the lease and plantation contracts one by one by the end of the year. Everywhere, food can save lives!"

Chongzhen nodded and said: "It makes sense. According to this, Hou Dongping has done nothing wrong with cutting the mess quickly. The lease contract signed is only a ten-year lease right, which has nothing to do with encroaching on other people's land."

Zheng Zhihui said: "Your Majesty, this old slave is personally responsible for investigating this matter, but it is true that all the owner's land has signed a ten-year lease, but..."

Chongzhen said: "Boldly tell me what is hidden in it, don't hesitate, I know what Dongping Hou does, and he is not the one who is willing to suffer."

Zheng Zhihui said: "Your Majesty is wise, the Marquis of Dongping really won't suffer, because there are 30 mu of fertile land that has already been lost to the owner's family, and these lands are naturally accepted by the Marquis of Dongping. benefit."

Chongzhen said very seriously: "Dongchang and Jinyiwei have checked in many ways that the owner of the 30 mu of fertile land really died of the scourge of bandits? Is there any situation where the heir died for no reason?"

Cao Huachun said: "Your Majesty, Marquis Dongping is a very proud man. He disdains to bully the weak. Dongchang and Jinyiwei have visited many original landlords. It can be concluded that Marquis Dongping did not commit murder to seize land."

After receiving the affirmative answer from Cao Huachun, the factory owner, Chongzhen's face softened a lot.

Wang Cheng'en said: "Your Majesty, this servant thinks that the cause of the incident is that the Marquis of Dongping not only encloses the land, but also completes the replanting during the farming season. It can be expected that there will be tens of millions of shi of grain harvest after autumn.

Nowadays, the price of grain is too high, and having so much grain means more than one million taels of snowflake silver.

Naturally, there are not many people who are jealous of such a big wealth. The landlords who want to get back the land are all related to the adults in the court, or they are the property of these adults in private. Of course they want to impeach Dongpinghou. "

Emperor Chongzhen understood the ins and outs, and couldn't help admiring Huang Han's decisiveness in his heart. He was so happy that he had offended many literati and bureaucrats.

He sighed and said: "There are so many acres of fields abandoned in the Ming Dynasty due to the scourge of bandits. Is it profitable to plant these 100 million acres? Seeing that people spend their time, labor, money, and grain to keep their harvests, they want to pick up cheap. It's abominable to dare to make trouble here!"

Cao Huachun said: "Your Majesty looks at the problem from a high-level perspective and hits the nail on the head. Those adults only saw the food that Dongpinghou was about to get, and completely ignored the money and food that Dongpinghou posted in the early stage.

What's more, this spring hundreds of thousands of bandits gathered at the southeast foot of Taihang Mountain. The situation in Zhangde Mansion and Weihui Mansion was severe. There was no "Red Banner Army" standing there, so how could so many ordinary people be able to farm with peace of mind? "

Chongzhen said: "Cao Banban's words are reasonable, and we will pay attention to this matter next time. If there is any disturbance, we must report back immediately. When the grain is put into storage after autumn, we must pay close attention to it. I just want to see what Dongpinghou will send this time What a fortune."

Cao Huachun bowed and agreed: "This old slave wakes up, if the Marquis of Dongping goes too far, he will never stand idly by."

Hundreds of memorials impeaching Dongping Hou for being domineering and occupying other people's land were kept by the emperor.

There are too many censors, and if there is no wind in the matter, there will be waves of three feet. There are ready-made powerful Huang Han as targets. These officials not only write impeachment memorials, but even spit directly in the court hall.

For this reason, Zheng Guochang and Xu Guangqi, who knew the inside story, had to quarrel with many officials, which led to several quarrels at court meetings as if they were in a vegetable market.

The emperor was also watching coldly, he wanted to see how Huang Han would arrange the grain after it was stored in the warehouse, if the grain was still loaned to the common people as before, it would be fine to pay it back.

When he found out that Huang Han was selling grain at a high price, he was ready to argue whether those land leases existed for personal gain.

At that time, the emperor would find a few unconvinced landlords to accuse Dongpinghou of how he oppressed others, and in the end he would definitely give Huang Han a severe punishment, and it was logical to confiscate part of the grain.

Unexpectedly, the turn of events came in late August, and the emperor never expected how Huang Han would use the food that was about to be obtained this time.

The Marquis of Dongping foresaw the harvest and sent a memorial to implore the emperor to issue an order to mobilize the peasants along the Zhanghe, Weihe, and Nanyun to dredge the river, and promised to provide the peasants with rations and labor remuneration with the harvested potatoes and sweet potatoes.

After reading and rereading Huang Han's memorabilia, the emperor Longyan was delighted, and he said to Wang Cheng'en, who was waiting beside him: "Relief with work is really wonderful. Many young and middle-aged people get money and food as rewards on the river construction site. Naturally, you won’t become a vagrant or a rogue.”

Wang Cheng'en browsed through Huang Han's memorabilia at a glance, and knew the general content. Seeing that the Son of Heaven was happy, he felt happy and said jokingly:
"His Majesty promised to mobilize hundreds of thousands of laborers to dredge the river for money and grain at this time. These laborers can earn back money and grain without consuming the family's grain reserves in autumn and early winter, so that too many families will no longer have to worry about spring famine."

Wang Chengen thought of the childhood days of Shengdou Xiaomin, and Chongzhen's face was full of joy when he heard it.

(End of this chapter)