Daming, originally wanted to destroy it, but the system came

Chapter 344: Suffocate the bold to death and starve the timid to death?

As the saying goes, the bold will be starved to death, and the timid will be starved to death.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang hated corrupt officials so much that there were still people who were bold enough to commit crimes.

When Zhu Yu's memorial was delivered to Zhu Yuanzhang's Long Case, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed.

In front of all the civil and military officials in the court, Zhu Yuanzhang directly smashed Zhu Min's memorial to the ground.

Just when the civil servants were excited, thinking that Zhu Yu had finally angered Zhu Yuanzhang and would be punished.

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed his finger at the civil servants and shouted angrily: "You really deserve to die."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then looked at Emperor Hongwu with pale faces, seemingly at a loss.

Then Zhu Yuanzhang issued an order: "Come here, take off Qin Sheng's black gauze hat, drag him down and put him in prison, and punish him when I am free."

Qin Sheng, the censor of Zuodu, collapsed on the spot and hurriedly shouted: "Your Majesty, I don't know what I have committed. I am unjust. It must be that the Dian King resented me in the first place, so that's why."

He guessed that he must have been mentioned in Zhu Chu's memorial.

In fact, his guess was correct.

But he still wants to go against the wind?

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed in anger, gritted his teeth and said: "Qin Sheng, Qin Sheng, this memorial was sent from Suzhou Mansion. You really don't know what it is about? Do you still want me to tell you? As Cai Xuan, as the prefect of Suzhou , embezzled tens of millions of taels of silver, what a great job you guys did."

Qin Sheng was stunned, and finally understood in his heart that the Dong Chuang incident had happened.

The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty exchanged looks with shock.

Embezzled 10 million taels? This is a cruel person.

This is more than the national tax revenue for next year.

Zhu Yuanzhang even shouted angrily: "I never thought that you would be so bold. When I killed Guo Huan, the people didn't understand. There were even people with ulterior motives who took the opportunity to say that I was cruel and cruel."

"But look at it, look at it. Cai Xuan is taking advantage of the natural disaster to ask for food relief from the court, and at the same time he is levying excessive taxes while the court is reducing taxes in Suzhou. He is eating both ends."

"Ten million taels of silver and one hundred thousand taels of gold are even worse than those of Guo Huan and others. Throughout the ages, there have been many people who were corrupt and perverted the law, but there are really not many who went so far."

"It's because I'm too kind-hearted and soft-hearted. It's all because of my lack of talent and weak virtues, and I have exhausted my ability to control them."

All the civil and military officials were in panic. Your Majesty, please don't be humble. You really have no mercy.

God, if you feel that you are soft-hearted, how many people will you kill?

In fact, it's no wonder Zhu Yuanzhang was so furious.

The Guo Huan case was a sensation at the time. It was a major case that affected the whole country. It was also one of the four major Hongwu cases and had wide implications.

But the Guo Huan case involved officials from six ministries and several state capitals, and the amount of dirty grain involved in the case amounted to more than 24 million shi.

However, now Cai Xuan actually used his own power to steal the money and food of a whole government without anyone noticing.

In fact, with the wealth of Suzhou Prefecture, the wealth of one prefecture is comparable to that of several prefectures.

The level of harm caused by Cai Xuan is already higher than that of officials from the Six Departments in the Guo Huan case.

What makes Zhu Yuanzhang even more chilling is, how did he do it? Qin Sheng alone could protect him so completely? So airtight?

I'm afraid it's not that no one knows, it's that no one speaks up.

Jiangnan aristocratic family, and the children of the aristocratic family who serve as officials, haha.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered secretly, knowing that the Jiangnan aristocratic family had always looked down on him. After all, they were an aristocratic family and so prominent.

But now they have to bow their heads to a peasant emperor with mud-legged background. How could they be willing to do so?

What's more, now that he is old, these people's thoughts have begun to come alive again.

After he dies, can Yunwen really scare them?

Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously glanced at Zhu Yunwen, but saw that Zhu Yunwen seemed unmoved by this matter, and couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.

If it were Zhu Chu who was here, he would definitely have jumped on his feet and cursed, he would have scolded these damn officials as dogs, and he would have even killed Cai Xuan's family himself, right?

Yun Wen cares about reputation and feathers, so of course he is not willing to touch such a thing that will dirty his hands.

It seems that the evidence is conclusive that it was Cai Xuan who committed the crime.

But just wait, Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation will never get better.

But does he care? Don't care at all.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced coldly at the officials who were from Jiangnan aristocratic families, and finally stared hard at Qin Sheng, who was paralyzed on the ground, and said: "Qin Sheng, Qin Sheng, I originally had high hopes for you, but this is how you repaid us? Back then? For your sake, we have taught my tiger son a lesson. As Mao'er said, you dogs are really dogs that can't spit out ivory. You are full of benevolence and morality, but you are full of male thieves and female prostitutes. Come on, pull Qin Sheng out. They scraped off the skin and stuffed it into grass, and beheaded the whole Qin family, implicating the nine clans."

With Zhu Yuanzhang's temper, if you not only betrayed him, but even took bribes, you would definitely be punished with thunder.

There is no way to escape the destruction of the nine tribes, and Qin Sheng will also be stripped of his skin.

Even if this did not satisfy his hatred, Zhu Yuanzhang even ordered: "Send an imperial edict to Chu'er and ask him to kill Cai Xuan's entire family, especially Cai Xuan. Let us chop him into pieces."

Lingchi execution means cutting off the body's flesh piece by piece with a knife until it hurts to death in the end.

It is said that Lingchi executions will not cause death on the spot, and some may even last for several days.

If you can't die on the same day, you will have to be sent to the cell at night, where you will be fed and treated, and you will continue to beheaded until the next day.

It can be described as extremely cruel torture.

It is said that when the Guo Huan case broke out, in addition to Ling Chi, there were also naked iron beds with boiling water; iron brushes to sweep away the skin and flesh with iron brooms; It is called a pole, which is tied with a pole that looks like it is half suspended; there is an intestine, which is also hung on a rack and hooked into the valley with a hook and comes out; there is a peeling, where the skin of a greedy official is peeled off and placed on the side of the public seat so that the successor can see it. And as a warning.

In addition, there were dozens of torture methods such as picking off the tendons, chopping off the fingers, cutting off the feet, amputating the hands, torture, and castration.

But even so, it could not deter these corrupt officials. It can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang said that he was still soft-hearted.

Of course, others may not think so.

"There is also the Gu family in Suzhou City. They knew about it and did not report it. They are guilty of conspiracy," Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly.

As soon as these words came out, everyone trembled.

Is this going to take action against the Gu family?

Is this going to wipe out the Gu family?

"Your Majesty," Xu Da and Tang He spoke together, then looked at each other, and they could see the worry in each other's eyes.

Tang He hesitated for a moment, and finally Xu Da spoke and said: "Since His Highness the King of Dian is in Suzhou City, I believe that His Highness has his own opinions and will never favor anyone. Let's leave it to His Highness."

"Huh?" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and looked at Xu Da displeased.

Zhu Yuanzhang's plan was also very simple. Everyone could see it. He planned to take the opportunity to destroy the Gu family.

And isn't this paving the way for Zhu Chu?

Once Cai Xuan is eliminated, and then the Gu family is destroyed, the entire Suzhou Prefecture will be decided by Zhu Chu.

As long as Zhu Chu arranges for one person to become the prefect of Suzhou, this huge granary will be Zhu Chu's reserve from now on.

The most important thing is one more thing.

Cai Xuan only embezzled for a year and already has such a huge fortune. Even if there are disaster relief food funds included in it, it won't be so much, right?

And the Jiangnan family still dares to cry poverty to themselves?

Jiangnan is obviously so wealthy, but Jiangnan's tax revenue is less than that of other poor state capitals.

Is this how your Jiangnan family repays me?

You deserve to die.

According to records from the early Ming Dynasty, in the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu, eight prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River, namely Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Yingtian, Jiaxing, Huzhou, and Hangzhou, levied a total of 6.86 million shi of rice and wheat, accounting for 6.86 million shi of rice and wheat in the country. Twenty-three percent of the total tax revenue.

Among the prefectures, Suzhou is the largest, and the tax and grain taxes paid by Suzhou alone are nearly one-tenth of the country's total.

This is because more than 60% of Suzhou Prefecture is official land, and it can be said that almost all taxes and grains come from these official fields.

Zhu Yuanzhang had enough tolerance for the Jiangnan family.

By the Qing Dynasty, it was said that the tax share of the six provinces south of the Yangtze River was enough to reach 41% of the country's total.

So when Kangxi went to the south of the Yangtze River and saw the poverty in the south, he said, "I have heard about the rich land of the south of the Yangtze River, but now I look at the thoroughfares of towns and cities, and it seems that it is full. The richness of the countryside and the simplicity of the people are not as good as those in the north."

But that being said, taxes still have to be paid as usual.

So Zhu Yuanzhang was really angry.

He suddenly remembered what his son Zhu Chu liked to say, that is, in his life, Zhu Chu did not like to give face to shameless people. Since it was shameless to give face, he would simply not give it to him.

So even if Xu Da and Tang He wanted to dissuade them, Zhu Yuanzhang had no intention of showing mercy.

Until the commander of the Jinyi Guards, Jiang Wei, took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced over.

Jiang Yu's whole body was trembling. Emperor Hongwu usually kept his anger calm, but now he was angry, and he was even more terrifying than the angry lion and tiger.

But he still said bravely: "I dare not hide my humble position. Gu Wen, the head of the Gu family, has taken refuge with His Highness and has become a long-term official of the Dian Prince's Palace. I am afraid that Your Highness has other uses for the Gu family. I hope Your Majesty will tell you clearly."

"Oh? They are very cunning," Zhu Yuanzhang sneered. If it weren't for Jiang Yu, he really wouldn't mind uprooting the Gu family.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care at all what others thought of him, and he didn't care if his hands were stained with blood. As long as he thought it was worth it, he didn't mind bearing all the infamy to pave the way for Zhu Chu.

If Zhu Chu still finds it somewhat troublesome, then let him do it.

As for whether the Gu family really deserves to die, does it matter?

If Gu Wen knew what happened in the court, he would probably be extremely grateful for the decision he made at that time.

But in fact, Gu Wen didn't fully intend to join Zhu Zhen at the beginning. He just wanted to show his good will, and was forced to that step by Zhu Zhen step by step.

But now it seems that it was Zhu Zhen who saved the Gu family once.

After all, Gu Wen was from a wealthy family, so how could he guess the emperor's thoughts?

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, you, the Jiangnan family, clearly knew about Cai Xuan's affairs but did not report it. This is already considered to be an accomplice in the death penalty.

But since Chu'er has taken over the Gu family, I'm afraid it does have other uses.

Zhu Yuanzhang gradually calmed down his anger. When it was time to kill Qin Sheng's entire family, he naturally followed his words and kept no one alive.

As for Cai Xuan, he didn't need Zhu Yuanzhang to issue an order, because he knew Zhu Yu's temperament, and a proper Xiao Hongwu would probably be no less murderous than him.

The Cai Xuan case broke out, shocking both the government and the public.

However, before the influence of the imperial court reached Suzhou, the people of Suzhou were already numb.

Because on the very next day, Zhu Zhen actually had tens of millions of taels of silver and one hundred thousand taels of gold confiscated and walked around the city in front of the people.

Countless people were shocked, what a fortune that was.

Even if it can't be said to be a mountain of gold and silver, it's almost the same.

Originally, the people still had the attitude of eating melons and watching the show.

But with one word from Zhu Chu, the people broke through their defenses.

"Fellows, this money was originally a disaster relief fund distributed to you by the imperial court, and it was also tax-free for a whole year. It is equivalent to saying that this is all your money, but it was embezzled by this dog official, and you are still like this Indifferent?"

As soon as these words came out, the eyes of the people turned red.

It is said that on the way Cai Xuan's family was escorted to the execution ground, the people were so crowded that they threw rotten eggs, rotten vegetables, and of course countless stones at the family.

In the end, Cai Xuan died on the way before reaching the execution ground.

But even so, Zhu Zhen still beheaded Cai Xuan. Otherwise, the people would not be angry.

After all, it was he who stirred up public outrage.

In addition, the Cai family can be considered to be composed of elders and younger ones.

But Zhu Zhen was unmoved. When he said he would kill the whole family, he would do what he said and kill every one of them.

Originally, Gu Wen wanted to persuade him, but thought it would be enough to just kill the first culprit.

However, Zhu Ming asked him: "Since Gu Changshi comes from a noble family, he should also know that if a wise person comes out of the family, or if someone becomes a high official, it will benefit the entire family, whether now or in the past dynasties. After all, Your Gu family, didn’t you rely on the efforts of your ancestors to get where you are today step by step?”

"Since you have received the support of your family and ancestors, I would like to ask, have the Cai family also enjoyed happiness? They are eating the dividends obtained by corrupt officials, and they are no less than eating the flesh and blood of the common people. .You tell me they are not guilty?"

"Why implicate the nine tribes? Why do they want to kill everyone? It's because they are also guilty. After eating steamed buns with human blood, you still want to say that you are innocent?"

Zhu Zhen even laughed, it couldn't be that simple.

Gu Wen had nothing to say.

But Gu Wen frowned and seemed to still be unconcerned.

Zhu Ming shook his head and said no more, knowing that the Gu family had quite a conscience and could not bear to see such a cruel, even heartless and cruel situation.

But doesn’t this kind of womanly kindness harm good people?

Again, you plead for corrupt officials and their families, but who will give justice to the people who have been harmed by corrupt officials?

Many times, the knife didn't fall on my body, so I didn't feel any pain, so I could stand and talk without back pain.

Zhu Chu glanced at Gu Wen. He was from the Gu family and the head of the family, so naturally he could take it easy.

But even he may not understand the difficulties of the people.

In the end, the young and old of the Cai family were executed.

And there is no such thing as Qiu Hou asking to kill him. Since the evidence is conclusive, it is natural to kill him immediately.

It's just that Zhu Min wanted to arouse public anger and make them realize that they were not unrelated people. The money was obtained by Cai Xuan from them.

So after beheading Cai Xuan's family, the people still refused to leave, but looked at Zhu Zhen one after another, their eyes flashing with strange brilliance.

It's like shooting yourself in the foot.

"Your Highness, why did you have to say so much before?" Even Gu Wen couldn't understand.

Originally, it didn't matter if the people watched indifferently. Anyway, the evidence of the crime was available, the stolen money was found, and the beheading of those who deserved it was over.

But you insist on shouting like that, as if you are afraid that the people will not know that Cai Xuan has looted the people's fat and the people's anointing.

Now, this money has been reported to the court. I think I know that such a huge sum of money must be put into the national treasury.

Now it's up to you what to do.

Gu Wen looked at Zhu Zhen from the side.

However, he didn't know why Zhu Chu did this. Only Zhu Chu himself understood.

If it doesn't arouse public outrage, what's the point of killing corrupt officials?

They must know that this corrupt official was killed for them.

The Gu family has always had a good reputation in Suzhou Prefecture, and the people also have great trust in them.

But this is not what Zhu Zhen wants to see.

Therefore, Zhu Ming aroused public anger, and the people finally began to resent the corrupt official Cai Xuan.

And what happens after the public’s anger is calmed?

Looking at the expectant eyes of the people, Zhu Zhen shouted: "It is impossible to give you this money. These must be turned over to the national treasury."

As expected, the people showed expressions of disappointment.

After all, it doesn’t mean it needs to be handed over to the national treasury.

Even if it is said that Cai Xuan plundered the people's wealth and anointing from them, the result still has nothing to do with them.

Then no matter how much you say, what's the use?

Zhu Ming was secretly amused, but he also understood what the people were thinking. To put it bluntly, everyone would only care about their own interests, regardless of whether they were selfish or not. After all, all dynasties followed the policy of obscuring the people.

You have already adopted the policy of obscuring the people, but you still try to make the people understand you? Do we need the common people to awaken their patriotic feelings for their country and the world?

Do they understand?

So who made the people ignorant? Isn’t it you?

So Zhu Zhen no longer titillated people, but continued: "However, I will ask the emperor for instructions to reduce the tax for the entire Suzhou Prefecture for one year. Not only was the disaster relief food money swallowed up by Cai Xuan, he also used the imperial court to I have levied and extorted money without permission in name, which has made you suffer."

"Although I won't give you any money, I promise you that you will all have a good year this year. This year's bumper harvest will all be yours. There is no doubt that I have eradicated the Zhang family, a family that has done many evil things, in Liyang County. They distributed all the confiscated fertile land to the people, opened warehouses to store grain, and even left the Zhang family’s grain reserves to pay taxes on the people’s behalf.”

"I keep my word. These are the actual benefits for you. I will never let my fellow villagers suffer."

Hearing this, the people looked at each other and then burst into cheers.

In fact, although ten million taels of silver may seem impressive, everyone can guess that with the current population of nearly one million in Suzhou Prefecture, if it is really distributed, it will not be evenly divided into a few taels of silver.

But if the tax can be reduced or reduced for one year, even if it is only for one year, it will be close to the compensation of 10 million taels, and the compensation can be directly paid to everyone, which will further eliminate the possibility of corruption.

In fact, this is the real benefit.

Because what people in ancient times feared most were various miscellaneous taxes.

In an instant, Zhu Ji easily won the support of the people.

Even the loyalty of the local people began to rise rapidly. In addition, the Suzhou prefect was beheaded. During this gap, Suzhou Prefecture was also systematically included in Zhu Chu's territory.

It is equivalent to saying that Zhu Zhen directly increased the population by one million again.

Of course, this is only approved by the system, and the court will not approve it.

Zhu Zhen's tax system only increased resources, rather than actually arranging the tax money and grain of Suzhou Prefecture for him.

Zhu Zhen looked at Gu Wen again and laughed secretly.

Your Gu family is already quite famous in the local area. If I don’t do this, how can I win over people’s hearts?

I'm afraid Suzhou Prefecture only knows the Gu family but not the court, right?

(End of this chapter)