Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 738 It’s interesting only when you peel off the layers one by one!
Zhou Zhitai had always wanted to get rid of his identity as the son of a maid, but from the moment he entered the officialdom, an invisible hand had always been controlling him.

He resisted and was angry, but finally compromised.

The reason is very simple. This world and this officialdom are completely different from what he imagined. Everything he learned from the books of sages is so ironic when compared with reality.

One is wonderful.

One is dirty.

After Cui Chengxiu pointed out his identity, Zhou Zhitai calmed down and lowered his head. No one knew what he was thinking at this moment.

"Lian Xian!"

"Lian Xian!"

Under this situation, Li Kuilong, Tian Ji and others had complicated expressions. They looked at Zhou Zhitai, then at Cui Chengxiu and wanted to say something, but were interrupted by Cui Chengxiu.

Cui Chengxiu seemed calm on the surface, but at the moment he was very excited. He knew that he had touched upon a truth, and if he could follow these clues, he would definitely find something!
"You are right. The tax resistance in Zhejiang is indeed manipulated by someone in secret." Zhou Zhitai said in a hoarse voice after an unknown amount of time.

"This matter is related to the Lianghuai bandit rebellion. The reason why such a thing happened is because of the court. Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has been arbitrary and has not listened to the advice of the court officials. He has done many things that harm the interests of others."

"When someone approached me, I refused. After all, if such a trend arises, the emperor or the central government will not sit idly by and watch."

Cui Chengxiu listened quietly, but pointed behind him. Seeing this, Tian Ji hurriedly lifted his robe and walked to the side, and recorded what Zhou Zhitai said truthfully.

"In fact, your guess is correct."

Cui Chengxiu narrowed his eyes and said, "No one expected that Qi Jin would lead his troops to Lianghuai and cause such a big commotion. Not long after the tax resistance in Zhejiang appeared, Qi Jin started a massacre in Lianghuai. This undoubtedly disrupted a lot of your deployments, right?"

"Yes."

Zhou Zhitai said calmly: "Originally, according to the original plan, we wanted to let the Lianghuai bandit rebellion spread to Yangzhou Prefecture, so that the grain transport north of the Yangtze River would be suspended, and if there was a tax resistance trend in Zhejiang, we could try to stop the grain transport south of the Yangtze River."

"Whether it's the central government, the capital, or the northern Zhili, they all rely on grain transport for supply. Once there is a problem with the grain transport, the grain supply will be cut off."

"I don't need to explain how much impact the interruption of grain supply will have on the above. I'm sure you, Cui Chengxiu, should also be aware of it, right?" Having said this, Zhou Zhitai raised his head and stared at Cui Chengxiu.

Cui Chengxiu nodded and said, "I know. A man-made famine will occur. At that time, the price of grain will change three times a day and will be driven up to a level that is unacceptable to the world."

"Yes."

Zhou Zhitai said with some emotion: "If this is really accomplished, then Northern Zhili will definitely be in chaos. It's a pity that Qi Jin's killing has scared many people."

At this point, Zhou Zhitai sneered.

Obviously he looked down on some people.

"So the tax resistance in Zhejiang was instigated by the Zhejiang and Chu parties in Beijing and the people in Zhejiang?" Cui Chengxiu raised his eyebrows and said to Zhou Zhitai.

"When Zhejiang is not peaceful, Huguang is also not at peace, especially the Yangtze River, where there are endless boats sailing back and forth. If I am not mistaken, smuggling on the Yangtze River has been going on for a long time, right?"

Zhou Zhitai looked at Cui Chengxiu in surprise.

He didn't expect Cui Chengxiu to know about this. "A canal that runs from north to south and a Yangtze River that runs from east to west, there are too many secrets hidden in it." Cui Chengxiu said with a smile.

"Whether it's grain or silver, they only account for a small part of it. Is this correct? From tea, porcelain, silk, raw silk, to salt, iron, sugar and other scarce products, the people involved are like crucian carp crossing the river."

"Haha~"

Zhou Zhitai laughed, stared at Cui Chengxiu and said, "It seems that I have misjudged you. You are the head of the cruel official of the Integrity Bureau, but you are quite capable."

"I am convinced that I was defeated by you. You are right. Whether it was the bandit rebellion in Lianghuai or the tax resistance in Zhejiang, these were just the initiations."

"This... is indeed an introduction."

Cui Chengxiu raised his eyebrows slightly, but stared at Zhou Zhitai jokingly, "If some people knew that you, Zhou Zhitai, claimed to be their man, but secretly worked for another group, how would they feel?"

For no reason, Zhou Zhitai's hand trembled slightly.

"You, what do you mean?"

Zhou Zhitai looked at Cui Chengxiu and said.

Ok?
Tian Ji, Li Kuilong and others looked at each other with different expressions on their faces. Obviously, they did not expect that their own Lian Xian would say this.

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What does it mean to work for another group of people?
"not understand?"

Cui Chengxiu raised his eyebrows slightly, staring at Zhou Zhitai with a half-smile, "You just said so much, but it's just one point, that is, tell the emperor and some people in the court not to do things too drastically, don't force people to death, otherwise what will happen to the southeast provinces is unpredictable."

"Whether it's the Lianghuai bandit rebellion or the Zhejiang tax resistance, it's just a farce being used by others. If this matter ends here, the best result is that some people in Beijing will be arrested, some people in the local areas will be arrested, and Your Majesty will stop making trouble."

"In this way, some very hidden things can be saved, such as the official farmland under the jurisdiction of the southeastern provinces, the stolen part of the weaving, and the salt in the southeastern provinces."

Zhou Zhitai was silent.

Although he tried to appear calm, he was actually panicking at the moment.

"You don't have to speak."

Cui Chengxiu continued, "But your attitude just now makes me more certain. If I am not mistaken, you should still be a student in Beijing, right?"

"Zhou Zhitai, you are indeed not simple. In order to get rid of your status as a maid, you even let the wolf into the house and wanted to destroy some things. I consider myself a ruthless person, but compared to you, I am still a little bit behind."

“You don’t understand at all!!”

Zhou Zhitai suddenly became excited and stared at Cui Chengxiu angrily, "Have you ever been hungry since you were a child? Have you ever been called a bastard? Have you ever experienced your mother being beaten and you were powerless to do anything about it?"

"You didn't!!!"

"I originally thought that I could get rid of all this by escaping from there, but this idea is so ridiculous. Since I can't get rid of it, I'll just destroy it completely!!"

Looking at the emotional Zhou Zhitai, Cui Chengxiu suddenly felt a little sympathy for the man in front of him. Although he had not experienced these, he had similar experiences. There are too many things in this world that cannot be changed by just one effort. After all, the gap between people seems very close, but in fact it is like a chasm that cannot be crossed at all. The more you know, the more despair you get in the end.

(End of this chapter)