King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 585 They actually bullied me like this

Although Chen Taimin was hunched over his waist at this time, in the eyes of the officials at the scene, his image was extremely tall.

It is said that after being an official for a long time, there will be no scholars, but at this time, Chen Taimin pointed out the fault of Jun's father, which made the officials on the scene clearly feel what it means to be a scholar-bureaucrat.

As the leader of the government, Chen Taimin saw the problem more thoroughly. Li Shuo supported the restructuring, and he had already speculated on this matter.

Of course, he is not the only smart person in North Korea, but in order to protect themselves, these people chose to remain silent and watch his efforts.

After all, the country of Korea belongs to the Li family, and they can do whatever they want, as long as things don't end badly.

But the problem now is that if the Li family and his son make a big move, it will inevitably lead to the wrath of the superior country and a conquest, which will greatly damage the interests of everyone.

So at this time, these shrewd and intelligent people, led by Chen Taimin, all stood up and followed Li Shuo with great force.

In other words, Li Shuo's appearance not only failed to calm his subordinates, but actually caused even greater waves.

Of course, most of the people who advise are refined egoists, and their words should be tactful and subtle, but everyone's meaning is very clear.

Li Shuo's combination of punches indeed played a big role.

"I can assure you all that after our government implements the new system... all the Anton military taxes originally collected will be exempted!"

"I'm telling you clearly that the envoys from the Rakshasa Kingdom and Japan have had secret talks with Gu a few days ago... They will fully support Gu's cause!"

As the saying goes, catch the thief first and catch the king... With so many people on the scene admonishing him, if he wanted to control the situation, he had to capture Chen Taimin first.

Just because he didn't want to be angry anymore, Li Shuo did not see the ministers on the grounds of illness, and handed over the general affairs to Li Xuan, who himself controlled everything behind the scenes.

The soldiers of Andong Xingdu Division came from the Jurchen tribes and North Korea, as well as several Mongolian tribes to the east.

Indeed, from a higher level, they are not only Li Shuo's ministers, but also the Ming Emperor's ministers.

"Anyone who dares to speak nonsense again will be punished by law!" Li Shuo said firmly.

"Prime Minister Chen...the king is your minister, and it is a crime of disrespect for you to disobey your father!" Li Shuo said coldly.

"Your Highness, please take back your order!"

Chen Taimin's behavior of accusing his king and father as a subject shocked everyone present and made most people more confident.

Chen Taimin said this not only to Li Shuo, but also to remind the officials present to understand the seriousness of the matter and stand firmly on their own position.

Exempting from this tax will save a huge amount of expenditure for these scholar-bureaucrat families who are rooted in the local area.

Li Shuo watched his father experience this feeling of grievance many times, and he himself experienced it many times after he succeeded to the throne.

Li Shuo has strong control over the army, but don't think that all the generals present are really devoted to him.

Regardless of whether it is based on the principles of the emperor and father of the Ming Dynasty, or the essence of the teachings of the saints, they can openly and honestly advise the emperor.

In order to win over his subordinates as much as possible, Li Shuo chose to explain the situation in person instead of breaking with everyone directly.

"Your Highness...please take back your life!" Chen Taimin said this while kneeling, exactly like Bigan's living image.

Therefore, Li Shuo must eradicate Chen Taimin and his gang members.

"That's enough... clever words and confounding right and wrong are all your usual tricks. Do you think that Gu, a child with a dirty mouth, can deceive you?"

Analyze that the situation is good, then offer benefits, then "reason", and finally threaten...

People's hearts are as elusive as water. When some people started to think of luck, the courtiers began to waver.

"Everyone... the promulgation of the new system is not a rebellion, so how can we end up in the situation that Chen Taimin said!"

"The only crime I am guilty of is the death of my family. However, Your Highness's crime... will lead to a conquest by the imperial court, causing the lives of the people to be devastated, and the hundreds of years of North Korea's foundation to be destroyed in one fell swoop!"

The civil and military classes were, to put it bluntly, the ruling class, sharing power with the royal family to govern North Korea.

"Come here... capture Chen Taimin and hand him over to the Yijin Mansion for interrogation!"

They are all eating out of the same pot. Now that the royal family's behavior may throw the pot into the fire, how could these generals not be worried.

Of course, these people did not object openly at this moment, and they had already proved that Li Shuo was really strong and held the gun barrel firmly in his hand.

"Your Highness wants to punish me, but I dare not defend myself. However, I would like to ask Your Highness... Isn't it also a crime of great disrespect for you to disobey His Majesty and tamper with the system?"

Basically, the several Xingdusi in the Ming Dynasty did not support themselves with their own money, but relied on neighboring tribes or chieftains.

What makes Li Shuo even more angry is that these people are clearly thinking about their own selfish interests, but they all talk about the teachings of saints and accuse him as a king from the moral high ground.

Chen Taimin, who was in charge of political affairs, was a second-class Jinshi during the Zhangwu period of the Ming Dynasty, the leader of Korean literati and officials... and the person Li Shuo hated the most in his life.

The so-called Anton Military Supplies Tax is actually the military salary given to Anton Xingdusi.

Chen Taimin was taken down by the guards. He wanted to speak but his mouth was covered. During the struggle, his black gauze hat was knocked off, and he was finally dragged out.

"Disobedient to the king and father, slandered the government of the country... the sins you have committed are unforgivable!"

In addition to the generals present, more than 90% of the civil servants present were kneeling on the ground and loudly admonishing.

Now that we have made up our minds, we must spare no effort to continue, and eradicating the opposition in the DPRK and China is the first priority.

Among these forces, North Korea is relatively rich, so they bear the heaviest burden.

"Your Highness... It is the duty of a humble minister to correct the faults of the emperor and his father. In the past, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty said..."

"Do you think Gu is fighting alone?"

"He is an alarmist, he is contemptuous of your Majesty, he is trying to bring trouble to the imperial court...Do you want to make a fool of yourself with him?"

Chen Taimin, the political leader, was also arrested. Combined with Li Shuo's combo punch just now, the courtiers were finally restrained.

It’s not the worst yet. If you step forward now, you will definitely get a bloody head. Why not take it one step at a time?
Everyone had similar thoughts, so the scene became quiet, and on the surface, things seemed to have calmed down.

However, Li Shuo's rhetoric can only deceive ordinary people. There are many smart and wise people present, and they will not be fooled easily.

How to serve in both positive and negative ways, and how to lead the way for the heavenly soldiers of the imperial court... has been put on the agenda of some people.

After the court meeting dispersed, the edict was promulgated and first spread throughout Seoul.

The promulgation of this formal edict soon caused a commotion on the streets, and people gathered at various signboards.

At a notice office in the northeast corner of Seoul, hundreds of people gathered to watch. However, most ordinary people could not read, so only a few scholars could read on site.

What’s funnier is that the text promulgating Hunmin Zhengyin still uses Chinese characters.

Most people didn't care about the correct teachings and were only interested in the tax exemption mentioned at the end of the edict. When they learned that the tax was exempted, cheers broke out at the scene.

For ordinary people, the Anton munitions tax accounts for 60% of the regular tax. It is certainly a joy to be relieved of such a heavy burden.

In fact, to put it another way, because of the existence of the Andong Military Supplies Tax, the North Korean royal family was deprived of 60% of their income. It was no wonder that they rebelled against the Ming Dynasty because their lives were so tight.

"Dad... Your Majesty exempted Anton from military supplies tax. This is really a great thing!" A young man in linen clothes in the crowd was very happy.

"With less money, my brothers and sisters will be able to eat more meat during the holidays, and my mother will be able to do less laundry and sewing..."

Next to the young man, the old man with a gloomy face nodded, and then asked instinctively: "It's just that the tax is exempted, who will make up for the shortfall!"

"Make up?" The young man looked puzzled.

"Yeah...this tax is given to the Ming Dynasty to raise soldiers. If we don't pay taxes, what will they eat?"

The young man couldn't figure this out and immediately replied: "It doesn't matter what he does, as long as it is a good thing for us!" Before the man finished speaking, he heard some scholars saying angrily: "With this restructuring, if the following people commit the above, they will be in great trouble. Cause big trouble!"

Several scholars at the scene were so anxious that they thought it was funny in the eyes of all the people, so some evildoers asked how to cause such a big trouble.

In North Korea, nobles could only study and take the imperial examinations. They regarded ordinary people as untouchables, so how could they talk to these people casually.

Under the spotlight of everyone, these people ran away directly. They wanted to discuss the matter with their classmates and ask their elders at home for advice.

"Junda, let's go home... I'm still waiting to take medicine!"

"Dad...let's go!" the young man named Junda said with a smile.

Like their father and son, most of the ordinary people at the scene left in a happy mood.

Spying on foreign news was the responsibility of Nanzhen Fusi, and the news of the promulgation of Hunmin Zhengyin was passed back to the Ming Dynasty by these spies as quickly as possible.

The information channel of Nanqianhu Station is to send it directly to the capital, instead of going around the corner and sending it to Jinzhou.

But fortunately, Chen Yuntai of Beizhen Fusi deliberately left his own people in North Korea before returning to China, and the news about these people was transmitted directly to Jinzhou.

As for Jinzhou, the imperial court held a grand meeting on the first day of September. In addition to praising Zhu Jinghong for his handling of the matter, it also sent an imperial envoy to North Korea.

The purpose of the imperial envoy was, firstly, to reprimand North Korea for its transgressions, and secondly, to praise North Korea for returning from its lost ways.

Of these two purposes, the focus is of course on the latter.

The imperial envoy set off on the first day of September, the first day of the lunar month, but the imperial envoy set out before that and arrived in Liaodong in mid-September.

On September 13th, the imperial envoy made a special detour to Jinzhou. This was the emperor's request to come over and read to Zhu Jinghong the decree that had been read at Prince Xiang's Mansion.

In addition, various civil and military officials from Yan and Liao Dynasties also received praises, and the scene of promotion and reward was a joyful one.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has really praised you...most of the people in the court are saying that you are the mainstay of the Ming Dynasty!"

To show that the imperial court valued him, the imperial envoy was Gao Zhiwen, the Minister of War. This man was also a capable minister promoted two years ago. He is now only forty-two-three years old.

"What's the mainstay...me...it's okay to talk on paper, it's them who can make things happen. Don't put money on my face!"

For Zhu Jinghong, credit for his position is both useful and useless, so he is not stingy in repaying credit to those below him.

Able to shoulder tasks, able to accomplish things, without taking any credit... How can people not want to follow such a person?

"Your Highness is too modest!" Gao Zhiwen said very seriously.

"Forget it, forget it...it's useless to talk about it. Mr. Gao has come all the way, and they are all ready to take over for you!" Zhu Jinghong pointed at the officials behind him.

This is of course the right thing to do. This is not only a banquet for Gao Zhiwen, but also an expression of respect for the imperial envoy.

The banquet was arranged in the evening. Unfortunately, although everyone was eager to drink, Gao Zhiwen, as the protagonist, did not drink much because he had to leave for North Korea the next day.

On September 14th, Gao Zhiwen left Jinzhou, and Zhu Jinghong felt that the affairs in Liaodong were over, so he planned to return to the capital first.

The news that Baochai had given birth had reached him a few days ago. He was relieved that mother and child were safe.

So right now, he was eager to return to Beijing to see his wife and children.

It was now September, and winter was about to begin. It would not be until November until he returned to the capital, so of course he didn't have to go to Jinling.

If he doesn't go to Jinling, he won't have a conflict with Lao Liu. This is his main purpose of delaying time.

But before leaving Golden State, he still had to take care of the remaining matters, but his return to Beijing was already on the agenda.

On the afternoon of September 15th, Gao Zhiwen had left Jinzhou for almost two days.

The sun was setting in the west, and Chen Yuntai had just returned from being on guard at Xue's house when he received a secret report from his subordinates.

This kind of secret report would be sent back every two days, and the content was basically the same every day, so he was not in a hurry to open it.

This guy is really a flatterer. He really followed the Dragon Guards and stood guard at the door for Zhu Jinghong.

After drinking tea and beating his legs, the guy slowly opened the secret report and slowly started reading it while playing with it.

After a few breaths, Chen Yuntai's breathing became rapid and he jumped up from the couch.

"Something big happened... Something big happened!" Chen Yuntai shouted.

So he pushed aside the woman next to him, walked into the room to retrieve his official hat, and ran out with the secret report in hand with panic on his face.

It was already time for dinner in the Xue family, but at this time, in the small garden behind the house, Zhu Jinghong was competing with Bao Qin on chess.

It can be seen that both of them are very anxious, but the reasons are different.

One is a bad chess player who can't win, and the other is a chess master who doesn't know whether he should win or not.

"Girl Qin... the princess is very good at chess. I have studied with her for several years, and now I have just gotten a glimpse of it!" Zhu Jinghong said proudly.

The development of things is under his control, and it is normal to feel satisfied.

"Brother-in-law... your chess skills really surpass me!" Bao Qin felt quite embarrassed.

"Haha... You are not bad, but you still need experience. Although I am not as good as the princess, I can still teach you..."

Before Zhu Jinghong finished speaking, he heard noises coming from outside, so he glanced at the door.

The sound was very noisy, including the sharp voices of the eunuchs and the rough voices of the guards, which sounded like they were quarreling.

The people around him know the rules, and it is indeed rare for this kind of situation to happen.

So Zhu Jinghong glanced aside, and Yu Hai, who was serving him, immediately walked out.

"His Royal Highness strictly orders that no one is allowed to trespass..."

"I said the matter is urgent, no delay!"

"The world is peaceful, what's the emergency?"

"I can't tell you clearly!"

"Zhang Baihu... don't just watch, kick him out first!"

"Eunuch Wang... we... may be in a real emergency!"

The above sentences are from eunuchs, Chen Yuntai and Zhang Lin respectively.

Under this "you chase me", the group of seven or eight people finally entered the courtyard. At this time, Yu Hai just walked to the door.

"What's wrong? So unruly!" Zhu Jinghong scolded.

In order to avoid her husband, Bao Qin consciously hid behind Zhu Jinghong. At this moment, outsiders could not see him through the pavilion.

"Your Highness, something big has happened!" Chen Yuntai said with his waist raised.

Picking up the tea cup, Zhu Jinghong said slowly: "What's the big deal?"

"The news I just got...North Korea promulgated Hunminzhengyin and changed it..."

Chen Yuntai told the whole situation, but Zhu Jinghong was so angry that his veins popped out and he crushed the tea cup in his hand.

Then he held the fragment, punched it on the chessboard, and then said angrily: "These bastards... I gave them a chance to live, but they bullied me like this!"

(End of this chapter)