Baidu otaku as Chongzhen

Chapter 496

The first year of Chongzhen.

twenty days.

Nanjing.

As the news of Beijing's tens of millions of taels of salt spread to Nanjing, Jinyiwei, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly went out and searched the salt merchants everywhere. The ransacking of the house is completely different from the previous style of "civilized case handling", showing the true colors of Jin Yiwei.

If you add the salt merchants who donated their family wealth voluntarily before, then this case of salt merchants’ extortion has wiped out all the salt merchants in the Ming Dynasty, and no salt merchant can escape the involvement of this salt merchants’ extortion case. None of the salt merchants who had been on the sidelines, vacillating, or hoping to get away with it did not escape, and all of them were imprisoned. Compared with the previous salt merchants who voluntarily donated their family wealth, it goes without saying what awaits them.

The official circles in the whole south also fell silent. No one dared to intercede for those salt merchants who were suddenly imprisoned, and they didn’t even dare to look at these salt merchants. The news from Beijing was really scary, a total of 1000 million Compared with the previous salt class of less than one million yuan, it is a world of difference. Who would dare to get involved with them?At this point, it doesn't matter whether they are connected with the captives or not. Such a huge difference in salt class is here, no matter how you argue, it is useless. It is impossible to eat such a huge salt class in the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years. They are all fat and anointed by the people, and everyone in the world wants them to die!

When the news came from Beijing that Liulizhai had prepaid 500 million salt lessons, the entire southern officialdom was terrified. Rebuttal, at this time, everyone will understand the emperor's backhand.The emperor followed the general trend of the world and uprooted the salt merchants without mercy. It can be said that they were wiped out. The salt merchants were completely ended in the hands of the emperor!

Many officials also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that the emperor just wanted to run a salt merchant and did not intend to involve the officials. Otherwise, how many people would lose their positions and lose their heads.Since the emperor was merciful, he didn't dare to get involved in this matter again, for fear of implicating himself in it and becoming that dead ghost.Under such a general situation, it is impossible for anyone to stop it. It is only a mantis' arm blocking the car!

There are quite a few salt merchants who donated their family wealth and lived in the temple, and they took out extra family wealth and begged Xi Gonggong to send personnel to "supervise". This temple has no one to "supervise" it. It is really frightening to live in the eyes of people who eat people. One day those angry crowds will beat them to death.Public grievances have boiled over.

……

February 25.

Beijing.

Wenhua Hall.

After finishing all the miscellaneous matters, Yang Reform took out Xu Guangqi's report to himself, asking for instructions on how to deal with the salt merchants. After all, we have to go through the process that we should go through.

"This is Master Xu's report. It's a request for instructions on how to deal with the salt merchants. Everyone, please read it." Yang Reform said calmly, as if it was just a trivial matter.

After hearing the emperor's words, several cabinet ministers immediately looked at the emperor with different eyes.There are surprises, envy, and fear...

The thick report was circulated among several important ministers.Only then did Yang Reform begin to speak.

"Master Xu said that the people in the south are now full of grievances and heated discussions. The common people are eager to eat the meat of those salt merchants and gnaw their bones. Master Xu said that it is best to deal with this case as soon as possible and give the world an explanation, otherwise If the people's grievances continue to boil like this, those salt merchants will be buried in the belly of the people all over the world..." Yang Reform said flatly, glanced at the people in the Wenhua Palace, and said.

The people present, Sun Chengzong still looked calm and calm, it seemed that this matter had nothing to do with him, it was not a day or two for him to ignore political affairs, and everyone had already gotten used to it.

Some people were terrified. Everyone knew about the emperor's methods. Although the consequences of this incident were expected, the news from the south was still frightening. Thinking that people in the whole south would eat The meat of those salt merchants, who were involved with the salt merchants, even though they were in Beijing, they still felt chills down their backs.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I believe that we should deal with it as soon as possible. If it is later, I'm afraid something will happen!" The first person to speak out this time was not the chief assistant Shi Fenglai, but Han Yu. Although he had reached a compromise with the emperor, he knew The emperor would not "strike" his relationship, but when he thought of the people in Nanjing who would eat people, Han Yu felt scared. If this matter was delayed for a while, even the emperor might not be able to keep his "relationship" Well, even if the emperor doesn't manage his family's "relationships", in case something unexpected happens... Thinking of this, Han Yu shuddered.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I also think that it is indeed necessary to deal with it as soon as possible, and to give an explanation to the people of the world as soon as possible. Otherwise, if it is delayed, it will definitely be a bad thing." Immediately, more people came out to agree to deal with it as soon as possible and close the case quickly.

On this issue, whether it is the imperial party, the Donglin party, or others, they all agree to close the case as soon as possible. If the case in the south is not closed as soon as possible, I am afraid that there will be "people" who will eat it. At that time, who I don't want to see it either.

"Okay! Since you all agree to close the case as soon as possible, let's close the case as soon as possible. Next, let's talk about how to deal with it. Master Xu has also drafted some opinions on how to deal with it. Let's all discuss it." Yang Reform said flatly. Looking at the crowd, sure enough, when the emperor has to follow the trend, there is no need to press the bull's head to drink water by himself in this matter, as long as this situation is brought out, everyone has to agree to close the case as soon as possible, instead of having to deal with each other one by one. It is a waste of time and energy for no reason to check one by one.

It was agreed to close the case as soon as possible, and they began to discuss how to close the case. Everyone's eyes began to light up again. Xu Guangqi said in this report that some salt merchants were willing to break up with Tonglu salt merchants, and voluntarily donated their family wealth to help the emperor exterminate the Eastern captives. , this family's wealth is as high as tens of millions of taels, and the amount of silver that can be counted is more than 3000 million taels. Other shops, fields, houses, vehicles, boats, etc. need to be calculated separately. Such a huge sum Wealth can light up everyone's eyes.

Speaking of this question, the sound of breathing in the Wenhua Palace suddenly increased, and many people's hearts jumped to their hearts. This amount of money is really too much.Of course, everyone knows that this belongs to the emperor.

"May I ask Your Majesty, is there really such a huge amount of money that Elder Xu Ge claimed?" an official asked cautiously.

"It should be. Master Xu has always been safe in handling things. How dare you talk about things that don't happen?" Yang Reform said disapprovingly.

The minister asked, and immediately backed away, his eyes gleaming brightly, although he didn't expect him to have a share of the money, but such a big gossip, if you don't inquire, how can you brag to others when you go back?

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I believe that Zi Xian is right. Even if the salt merchant deserves to be killed, the responsibility for the crime is different, and the punishment should be severe. Otherwise, it will not be enough to clarify the laws of the country and show justice. I have heard that there is salt in the south. Shang, is willing to donate all his family wealth to help His Majesty wipe out the eastern captives, so as to sever ties with the salt merchants who were in charge of the captives, to show his innocence. In this way, it is true that salt merchants should be treated differently, and cannot be generalized." Han Yu immediately followed this. What is said in this report says that it is certain and necessary to punish a group of salt merchants, otherwise the emperor will not be able to step down, but the emperor has already reached a compromise and will let a group of salt merchants go, such as their " Relations", in comparison, there may be some preferential treatment, which is promised by the emperor, Han Yu hastily brought it up, hoping that the emperor will not forget.

Yang Reform just nodded and didn't say anything.The current situation is not beyond my expectations. The group of people who need to be let go are the "relationships" of these bigwigs in the DPRK and China. It may even be necessary to return part of the family property... As for the group that should be killed, it is natural that the news of the tens of millions of salt merchants spread to the south, and there are still no salt merchants who have donated their wealth. Most of these people are going to act as Those who have the role of killers, have good eyesight, and salt merchants who have connections have already followed their own rules. The rest of the killers are not well-connected enough. If you want to deal with them, you will not encounter too much resistance. As for the people other than these two types, they are just so-so, and they can pass the test even if they are spanked...

Seeing that the emperor didn't speak, everyone knew that the emperor asked everyone to discuss, so they started to discuss, and some people became anxious.

After discussing for a while, Yang Reform pressed his hand, and everyone quieted down, waiting for the emperor to speak.

"Then let's discuss it one by one. If there is something wrong or needs to be added, you can bring it up." Yang Reform said lightly. Now that he has the initiative, he should steer the direction of things in the direction he wants, which is impossible. Hearing what someone says, he agrees indiscriminately.

"...About what Master Xu said, the salt merchants ate the country's money and sucked the blood of the people. The money they got was not fair. Therefore, all the salt merchants' wealth should be confiscated. Do you have any objections?" Yang Reform asked, how to deal with it , How to guide things to where he wants, Yang Reform has his own ideas, although he has promised some things, but these things promised are based on achieving his own goals, otherwise, wouldn't he be busy in vain?Therefore, Yang Reform did not respond to Han Yu's hasty reminder. He is not a Xiaobai who just became emperor, so he can be fooled at will.

The imperialists were silent, they supported the emperor no matter what the emperor did.

"This..." Some non-imperialist parties became confused. This is more than 3000 million taels of silver plus countless family wealth. This sentence has been copied, that is to say, it all belongs to the emperor... Do you want to mention this matter again?Ask for some silver back?Some people began to wonder.

"I want to report to Your Majesty, I think this is the right thing to do. I think the salt merchants have tried their best to be prosperous, but they don't want to serve the court. They blindly eat the country's money and scrape the people's fat. The wealth they get is all ill-gotten wealth. , It is true that we should copy them all..." Han Yan made a quick decision and was not going to entangle the emperor on this issue. If the premise had to be repeated, wouldn't it be useless for the emperor to use the salt merchants to help others?Messing around with this issue, I am afraid that those salt merchants in the south will really feed the common people. This is the premise of everything, how can it be discussed?Now agree with what the emperor said.

Some ministers looked at Han Yu, and seeing what Han Yu said, they didn't say any more.

"Well, that's right. After I got it, I would use it for the people and the government's expenses..." Yang Reformed said, this is considered fair and aboveboard. After obtaining the right to control that sum of money, I am not afraid that someone will miss it in the future. I will write a book every day. It is okay not to do this, but there are too many flies flying around my ears, which is also annoying.

When the ministers saw the emperor saying this, although some people were unwilling, they had no other choice but to do so. Besides, the emperor could indeed say this openly. In order to relieve the disaster, the emperor paid a lot of money out of his own pocket to make up for the arrears at the border gate. But it was also out of his pocket, saying that all the money was spent on state affairs, it is by no means a lie, the money was turned around in the hands of the emperor, and all came out again.

"What do you all have to say about the punishment of the salt merchants that Master Xu said in the memorandum?" Seeing that everything had been settled, Yang Reform said the next thing.It's time to deliver on your promises.

"Your Majesty, I think that what Xu Zixian said is reasonable. One size fits all is absolutely not advisable, and we need to treat them differently..." Someone raised it immediately.

"I report to Your Majesty, and I also think this is the case. One size fits all is too general, and I hope Your Majesty will treat it differently..." The ministers jumped out one after another and spoke on how to punish the salt merchants. It was nothing more than one sentence, the emperor, it is up to you to fulfill your promise it's time.

Yang Reform looked at it, smiled slightly, and said: "The world is incomplete, and a ray of life needs to be left to comply with the laws of heaven. Even after the Jinluan Temple is built, a few tiles need to be removed to show that the world is incomplete and to conform to the laws of heaven. Don’t dare to claim to be “full” or “full”, for fear of incurring damage and causing divine punishment. Of course, the salt merchants should be killed, damned, but they can’t cut off everyone’s livelihood. They really should be lenient, so as not to hurt Tianhe..."

As soon as the emperor's words came out, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Since the emperor brought the matter up to the incompleteness of heaven and metaphysics, then what he said was true. The promise was made, and the depression in the court disappeared.

"... I heard that many salt merchants in the south, once the case of the salt merchants' affiliation with captives came out, they took the initiative to stand up and donate all their family wealth to help me wipe out the eastern captives. The donations amounted to several million taels. I am very pleased. I used to think that salt merchants were all greedy and unforgivable sinners, but through this incident, I also saw that there are also loyal people among salt merchants. Therefore, in order to obey the law of heaven, these salt merchants should indeed be given a way out , this can be regarded as my obedience to the law of heaven..." Yang Reform made a lot of nonsense, and simply extracted those salt merchants who donated their family wealth from the salt merchant case.

"Your Majesty is wise, Your Majesty is benevolent..." After hearing the emperor's nonsense, all the ministers shouted the emperor's sageness and benevolence unanimously. This was a sincere shout, not absent-minded.Sure enough, the emperor fulfilled his promise. The road that seemed to be a dead end now seems to be a way to survive.

"... These salt merchants who took the lead in breaking up with the Tonglu salt merchants and helping me to wipe out the Donglu salt merchants with huge family wealth should be different from the latter ones. Wang, Liang, Guo, Li... and others, I will inform Master Xu, Appropriate pardon, extra favor..." Yang Reform said here, showing a slight smile.

"Your Majesty is holy!" All the ministers once again shouted the emperor's holy name unanimously. Many ministers were delighted to hear that the emperor had further fulfilled his promise. It seems that the emperor still has credibility, but he doesn't know how far this favor can go.

"Well, good! This group of loyal and loyal salt merchants should be forgiven, and those salt merchants who are guilty of unforgivable crimes should be severely punished. This is no problem. Then this part in the middle, what do you think? , what should we do?" Yang Reform asked with a smile, a little secretively.

The ministers began to think about this problem again. All the salt merchants ransacked their homes. This is the overall situation. Some of the blind ones must die. This is a foregone conclusion. Only the middle part is left. The middle part can't reach the sky when going up, and doesn't need to hit the ground when going down.

"Your Majesty, I think that Mr. Xu Ge's memorandum has already mentioned it, so we might as well follow what Mr. Xu Ge said." A minister said that these salt merchants should be laughing secretly if they can escape from the sky. Well, compared with the group of people who don't have long eyes, they are one in the sky and one in the ground. Besides, this group of people more or less hid some family wealth. difficult.

"I want to report to Your Majesty, I believe that the sages said: 'If you know your mistakes, you should be right, there is nothing good about it'. We should treat this group of people with the perspective of curing the disease and saving others, and learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones. Although this group of people passed the test this time, it is His Majesty's kindness. They There are still some problems and flaws in itself, and some punishments are not enough to solve all the problems. If you don’t correct your mistakes, wouldn’t it be contrary to the principles of the sages..." Bi Ziyan, the Minister of the Household Department, came out and said seriously.

The hearts of all the ministers were tense, this Bi Ziyan, don't come out to make trouble!This guy is now a famous minister all over the world, if he doesn't play his cards according to the emperor's way, it will mess up today's matter.

"Oh, then tell me, Bi Aiqing, what should I do?" Yang Reform asked with a smile.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I believe that we should educate, cure diseases, save people, and learn from past mistakes. Through punishment and education, let these people realize that tax arrears are wrong. Delinquent tax arrears will not only endanger the court, but also endanger themselves. , Let them realize the severity of it, and more importantly, let these people correct this mistake, so that these people will not make the same mistake again in the future, this is more important..." Bi Ziyan said righteously, The demeanor of a generation of ministers is fully displayed.

When the ministers heard it, what does this mean?educate?How to educate?Correct the error?How to correct it?Emperor, what does this mean?Some old foxes, having smelled something, suddenly opened their eyes wide and looked at the emperor with unbelievable eyes. This must be the emperor's idea, it must be, it must be!Sure enough, the emperor's plot was not small!

"Hehehe..." Yang Reform listened, and smiled hehehe.

(End of this chapter)