I am the carpenter king

The north wind is howling, and the weather is rare in August. The black clouds are very low, and a flash of lightning flashes from time to time, followed by the thunder that is very dull.There were no pedestrians on the road anymore, and occasionally someone walked by, but they were tightly wrapped in clothes and walked forward with difficulty against the wind.

In the palace of the imperial envoy, Zhou Jiamo stood at the door, staring at the dark sky, and sighed softly.How many years have passed, how many years have I not cared about this kind of weather, and my book business spirit seems to have been wiped away long ago.Ever since I arrived in Nanjing, I suddenly remembered how I felt back then. I was young and frivolous, and I seemed to be many years younger.

The wind is getting stronger and stronger, and the sky is getting darker and darker. After nightfall, I feel like I can't see my fingers.The heavy rain that had been brewing for a day finally fell, hitting the roof tiles hard, as if trying to vent something.

Ordering the old servant to brighten the oil lamp, Zhou Jiamo sat in front of the desk, and what was placed on it was not the books of various schools of thought, but the dossiers of Nanjing this time.I kept thinking about what to do next.After thinking about it, there is no good way, but to wait for Wuyang.As long as Wu Yang speaks, it doesn't matter whether there is evidence or not. Zhou Jiamo has already thought about this.As long as they are involved, it is not an exaggeration to arrest them all, and there must be no unjust, false or wrongly decided case.

In the room not far away, Luo Sigong was also sitting in the room, maybe it was because of the weather, Luo Sigong always felt restless.Standing beside him was Dang Han who had just returned from Hangzhou. Although there was still a trace of fatigue on his face, his expression looked very serious.

"There's no need to send someone to investigate the matter in Hangzhou. It's meaningless. I just don't want you to waste time there." Luo Sigong explained while looking at Dang Han with a smile.For Dang Han, Luo Sigong never simply regarded him as his subordinate.

"It's fine for the adults to be the masters. Dang Han does his bidding!" Dang Han didn't really care about it in his heart. Numerous facts proved that Luo Sigong's actions were all right.You don't have to think too much about it, just execute it.

Slowly nodding his head, Luo Sigong frowned and said, "Dang Han, you said people from Nanjing. Would they be so honest and wait to die?"

Shaking his head, Dang Han sighed, and said helplessly: "My lord is in the officialdom, so many things are clearer than those of a lowly position. The incident in Nanzhili has a long history, and it can be said that it is intertwined. The words of the local rich are even worse than the words of the emperor." Be useful."

Talking with Dang Han, there are not so many scruples, Luo Sigong signaled Dang Han to continue.Luo Sigong naturally could see this clearly, the emperor is in Beijing.The imperial power can naturally move well in the north.Nanjing was originally the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and its yamen structure is similar to that of Beijing, enjoying a high degree of autonomy.Because the emperor cannot sit in Nanjing, the people here are even more unscrupulous.

"The emperor has made up his mind this time. It stands to reason that neither the case of embezzlement of military pay nor the case of disaster relief in Yangzhou is actually a big case. The simple handling is just that the governor of Nanzhili was dismissed from office and ransacked his home. He is punishing a group of officials. That’s enough, the matter in Hangzhou is simpler. But the emperor obviously doesn’t want to deal with it like this. Thinking about the Sacred Heart, a lord is much better than a lowly official.” Although he didn’t care much about what he said, Dang Han still didn’t make it clear, or it’s okay to say so far .

Luo Sigong naturally understands, it knows better than anyone else, it will mean that you, a rich family, have strong financial resources.The influence on the court has been growing.In the past few years, they still relied on buying officials to achieve their goals, but relying on buying is not reliable after all.These big families then paid for the establishment of academies, trained their own family children, and gradually increased their influence in the officialdom.

The Donglin Party that was swept out by the emperor at the beginning, and the Qizhe Chu Party that is still active in court.All belong to this column.Even Fang Congzhe and Liu Yijing, the chief ministers of the cabinet, are all from these parties, which shows how influential these families have been on the court.

Among them, although the Qin Party in Shanxi is not strong, the Shanxi merchants standing behind them are also very strong.These people weaved a big net with financial resources, tightly wrapped the imperial power, and let the court formulate policies according to their wishes.Buy the people who put you in the place, and gradually strengthen your own strength.

"The emperor first swept out the cancer in Liaodong, and suppressed the people of the Donglin Party with the help of the Liaodong incident. Then there was the Zhangjiakou incident. The emperor wiped out the traitorous route of Shanxi smuggling. The salt in Yangzhou, no matter whether it is Jiangsu or Zhejiang The big families, or Shanxi merchants, were all eliminated by the emperor one by one." Seeing that Luo Sigong was silent, Dang Han spoke again.

"That's right! Zhang Juzheng's reform back then didn't hurt the interests of these big families in the end. In the end, it was nothing. Mr. Xu Ge in Jiangnan took up 24 mu of land alone. In a place like Jiangnan where every inch of land is precious, that What a wealth and power it is. Although Zhang Juzheng moved to Mr. Xu Ge, so what? The big family in the south of the Yangtze River is still there!" Sighing, Luo Sigong took over the words, with a bit of helplessness on his face.

Nodding his head, Danghan continued: "The emperor has long seen that these big families are a cancer of the Ming Dynasty. If they are dug up, the Ming Dynasty's vitality may be greatly damaged. If they are not dug up, they will ruin the Ming Dynasty sooner or later. Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has continued to train troops in Liaodong and Gyeonggi, firstly to build slaves and Tartars, and secondly probably to quell the rebellion. You have experienced all these things, and you must understand very well in your heart."

Luo Sigong naturally understands this point, and now the matter has come to the last moment, no matter whether it is Liaodong or the Beijing camp, they are all strong and strong at this time.The Jiannu and Tartars had been beaten to half-mutilation. Emperor Tianqi did not try his best to destroy Jiannu and Tartars, but instead turned his attention to these great families.In the eyes of Emperor Apocalypse, the threat of these aristocratic families is probably much greater than that of Jiannu and Tartars.

"My lord, after the emperor's recent years of politics, although the imperial treasury doesn't have much money, everyone knows that the emperor's internal treasury has silver. The army is strong and the northwest frontier has stabilized. Even if someone rebels, the imperial court will not care too much Now the emperor values ​​Guozijian and Guowujian even more, obviously he wants to train officials to replace those from aristocratic families. The emperor has far-sightedness and foresight, which is far beyond ours!" Dang Han's eyes flashed with admiration, for Emperor Tianqi The admiration has reached the extreme.

Luo Sigong didn't say anything, but the expression on his face became serious. When things got to this point, it was useless to say anything.People like myself are just pawns of Emperor Tianqi, if you don't want to be abandoned pawns, then try your best to do your part as pawns.

"My lord, please see Governor Zhang!" Outside, Captain Jin Yiwei's report suddenly came to mind, and there was a hint of impatience in his words.

Governor Zhang, surnamed Zhang Mingche, is a fifth-rank official.This fifth-rank official is actually not that valuable. You must know that there are post officials in various post stations, and they are in charge of guards of honor, carriages and horses, and receptions in the post stations. They are low-rank officials.Zhang Che's responsibilities are similar to those of Yicheng, but this is a concubine of the emperor, so naturally it cannot be managed by unqualified officials.

For this Governor Zhang, Luo Sigong still has some impressions, because this governor is not the only one in the whole circle.But the one who is in charge of these yards of his own is Governor Zhang.According to Luo Sigong's thinking, all these governors should be driven away, because they are likely to be spies.

But Luo Sigong also knew that it was impossible, it would be a bit overwhelming to do so, if it was an ordinary post station, it would be fine, this imperial envoy would never be able to do it.It's raining so heavily outside, I don't know what this Governor Zhang wants to do with me.

Turning his head to look at Dang Han, Luo Sigong said with a smile: "Go and bring him in! We are our own people who cook, and this Governor Zhang is quite reasonable. It must be the same for coming here so late. If you have something to do, don't delay!"

"Yes, my lord!" Dang Han nodded, walked out quickly, and time came back with a thin man, who was none other than Zhang Che.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Che, sees my lord, so I really shouldn't disturb you late at night!" Zhang Che saluted Luo Sigong, with a very respectful demeanor and a hint of flattery on his face.

Luo Sigong nodded calmly. Luo Sigong was really not interested in Zhang Che, and said, "Master Zhang must have something to do, tell me something!"

"Yes, my lord! The subordinates found a big box in the back. I don't know who left it behind. Show it to your lord!" Zhang Che didn't straighten up, but said respectfully.

"Big box? What's in it?" Luo Sigong grasped the point at once. This box must not be simple, otherwise Zhang Che would never have brought it to him.

Zhang Che glanced at Dang Han on one side, saw Luo Sigong nodding, and then said, "Return to your lord, it's a corpse! The officer was worried that something might be involved, so he brought it up to show your lord, but he was afraid of scaring the snake, so he didn't say anything along the way." .”

"Corpse? There is actually a corpse in the palace of the imperial envoy? Is it an old corpse?" Luo Sigong suddenly became suspicious, and asked with a frown.

"My lord, no, it doesn't look like he died for a long time." Zhang Che shook his head and said with a serious expression.

After glancing at Dang Han, Luo Sigong said to Zhang Che again, "Someone bring it in!"

Nodding his head respectfully, Zhang Che walked out and called to a few people outside to bring the box in.But the person at the door was very cautious, took the box from those people, and carried it into the house.

Zhang Che walked to the side of the box, with a serious face on his face, and said to Luo Sigong, "My lord, I'm going to open the box!"

Luo Sigong nodded, and Zhang Che stretched out his hand to open the box without hesitation.A person in night clothes was lying inside, with blood on his face and body, and no specific appearance could be seen. (to be continued..)