The Most Powerful Man in the World

Not knowing what to think, Zhu Houzhao said with a smile on the corner of his mouth: "However, this time my partner has done a very good job in Dongying. I never imagined that the mere area of ​​Dongying would contain such great wealth. Ten million taels of silver. If it were put in the past, it would almost be my tax income for three years in the Ming Dynasty.”

Gu Dayong is definitely Zhu Houzhao's most relied on the inner servant. It can be said that when Chu Yi is absent, Gu Dayong is the first person in the inner circle. Therefore, even if the cabinet members do not know about many things, Gu Dayong is. Know clearly.

A part of the wealth that Chu Yi sent back from Dongying escorted from Dongying went into the state treasury on the surface, but secretly, part of it went into the royal private treasury.

Even the elders of the cabinet knew this well but didn’t say anything. After all, Chu Yi was also a servant of the emperor’s family, and it was reasonable to scavenge gold and silver for the emperor. At least Chu Yi did not forget to put some of the It is quite good to charge gold and silver into the national treasury. After all, if Chu Yi is willing, even if all the gold and silver are put into the royal treasury, they can't say anything.

The gold and silver items that Chu Yi sent to escort earlier made the military officials of the Chinese military change their previous attitude of opposing the conquest of Dongying. Otherwise, the army of [-] people would not have been sent out so smoothly.

The sound of footsteps came, Gu Dayong couldn't help frowning, and looked towards the entrance of the hall, only to see a little eunuch running over, bowed down and said to Zhu Houzhao: "The servants greet Your Majesty, there is a general manager who will urgently report to the army. Present it!"

Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up when he heard the words: "Hurry up and present it!"

The little eunuch hurried forward and respectfully presented the letter in his hand.

Zhu Houzhao opened the letter and swept it at a glance. His face suddenly showed surprise, and he even laughed out loud. Gu Dayong, who was standing beside him, could also clearly see the contents of the letter.

When he saw the contents of the letter, Gu Dayong's expression changed slightly.

"Hahaha, Gu Dafan, come and see, Chu Dafan he is finally willing to come back! If you do the math, Dafan has been away for almost a year! My emperor has already babbled, he is the prince. Taifu is an emperor who has never taught me for a day!"

With a smile on his face, Gu Day seemed to be very happy about Chu Yi's return: "The chief executive is busy with military affairs, so naturally he has no time to teach the prince, but this time the chief executive is back, His Majesty can let the chief executive Take a break for a while, so that the chief administrator has time to teach the prince."

There are no absolute secrets in this world. Besides, Chu Yi's letter was first passed through the cabinet and then forwarded to the emperor. The civil and military officials may not know it, but several cabinet elders in the cabinet know that Chu Yi has taken the seized from Dongying. On the way back to Beijing.

What the two knew was not a secret, and it didn't take long for the news that Chu Yi was about to return to Beijing.

Chu Yi has been away from Beijing for nearly a year, and many officials almost forgot about Chu Yi, or the trembling days when Chu Yi was dominated by his fierce might.

Thinking that Chu Yi's murderous name could stop children from crying at night, as for the military officials in the court, which one did not mention Chu Yi's name, it changed their color.

Second more. .

ps: I recommend a book, a new book by an old author, "I can only wear half of it", I also want to wear it well, but I can only wear half of it.

Chapter 1 Kill Chu Thieves, Benefit All People [[-] more]

But after all, Chu Yi has been away from Beijing for a year, and there are many officials who have entered the court from the local area. Most of these officials only heard of Chu Yi's murderous name, but they have never experienced the face of Chu Yi. Kind of trembling.

Now that the news of Chu Yi's return to Beijing has spread in the court, many officials in the court have changed their color for a while, and there are also some new officials who are curious.

Among the cabinet, the elders headed by Jiao Fang are naturally old people who are familiar with Chu Yi. Although many civil and military officials above the court have changed, Zhu Houzhao has never adjusted the cabinet.

These cabinet members were able to hold high positions amid the waves of turmoil in the court. Naturally, they were not ordinary people. No matter what these cabinet elders thought about Chu Yi, at least when Chu Yi was in the limelight, the order of Chu Yi, Everyone will not discount the implementation, which may be called a sense of current affairs.

It is also the fact that several cabinet elders are so aware of current affairs, so apart from transferring Yang Yiqing and Wang Shouren into the cabinet, Chu Yi did not make much of a move about the members of the cabinet.

Jiao Fang has been attached to him for all these years. It can be said that in the eyes of the world, Jiao Fang is his spokesperson. No matter what Jiao Fang thinks, this cannot be changed. The two can be said to be grasshoppers on the same rope. Losing power, among the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, the first unlucky person must be Jiao Fang, who is the chief assistant of the cabinet.

Unless Jiao Fang's head was flooded, Jiao Fang must be loyal to Chu Yi even for himself.

Obviously, Jiao Fang did not live up to Chu Yi's attention. In the past few years, he has been in charge of the cabinet and has done a good job in regulating the relationship between the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, Chu Yi and the emperor.

At this time, in the cabinet, Jiao Fang put down a memorial in his hand, glanced at the several elders present, and said with a smile on the corner of his mouth: "Everyone, by now, Your Majesty must have known that the chief executive is about to return. The news of , with His Majesty's temperament, will definitely go out of the city to welcome you. Regarding this matter, it is best for everyone to draw up a charter as soon as possible, and when His Majesty asks about it, I will wait for an answer."

Chen Ding stroked his gray beard, glanced at Jiao Fang and said, "Everything in the treasury comes from the common people of the world. If your majesty wants to go out of the city to meet the chief officer, the old man has no opinion, but this guard of honor should be kept simple. That's right, otherwise there will be a suspicion of luxury!"

Hearing Chen Ding's words, the other elders present couldn't help showing admiration. Among the elders, the only one who dared to say this was Chen Ding, who was a veteran of several dynasties.

Even in the face of Chu Yi, this is the patriarch who dares to fight with Chu Yi.

Wang Yangming is definitely the youngest one among the elders in the cabinet. The most important thing is that in this cabinet, Wang Hua, the father of Wang Yangming, is also a member of the cabinet.

It is definitely the first time in the history of the Ming Dynasty that the father and son are in the cabinet together. When Wang Yangming was called into the cabinet by the emperor's decree, he became one of the youngest cabinet elders. Coax.

As the saying goes, a family with two pavilions is old, but there are very few families in the world that can compare with the Wang family.What's more, Wang Yangming was named the prince of the country for his military achievements, and he has reached the peak of his life. I don't know how many people are envious and envious.

Nearly a year has passed, and Jiangnan has been pacified by Wang Yangming's imperial army to suppress the rebellion. Wang Yangming resolutely carried out the orders of Chu Yi and the emperor, and launched a series of killings against the local gentry and powerful people in Jiangnan. Drift.

For a time, in the entire Jiangnan folk, Wang Yangming almost became a god of killing, and even his murderous reputation surpassed that of Chu Yi.

However, the effect of Wang Yangming's move was very astonishing. As a large number of gentry and dignitaries in the south of the Yangtze River were involved in the rebellion of King Ning and their families were seized and exterminated, a large amount of land and wealth fell into the hands of the imperial court. .

A steady stream of wealth confiscated from Jiangnan entered the treasury and the royal treasury. Zhu Houzhao was so satisfied with Wang Yangming that he recalled Wang Yangming not long ago and ordered him to serve in the cabinet.

At this moment, Wang Yangming smiled and said, "Sir Chen is very true, but the chief general's expedition to Dongying has been hard work, and he has opened up territory for me, and has captured a lot of wealth. The scale of this triumphant return ceremony is as large as However, if it is too shabby, wouldn't it make those barbarians underestimate the majesty of my Ming Empire?"

Whether Wang Yangming is willing or not, the world also regards him and Yang Yiqing as Chu Yi's minions. Besides, what a character Wang Yangming is, and what Chu Yi has done, in the eyes of most scholars in the world, it is a rare big thing through the ages. Traitor, but Wang Yangming never thought of it that way.

In the final analysis, what Chu Yi did is for the sake of Daming. Daming has been inherited for hundreds of years, and several emperors have been passed down so far. The Daming Empire has already begun to decline. This is the law of the dynasty cycle. No one has ever been able to break the rule of the rise and fall of the dynasty. .

Maybe Wang Yangming didn't have the ability to predict the future, but Wang Yangming could see that the Ming Dynasty was solidified, the land merger was serious, and various taxes were unreasonable. The tax revenue of the huge Ming Dynasty was only a few million taels. This is simply Absurdity, all kinds of things, doesn't it show that the big Ming Dynasty is gradually declining.

What Chu Yi did was like injecting a new blood into Daming. Just the huge changes that have taken place in Daming in the past few years, as long as he did not lie against his conscience, a fool would be able to see that Daming. It is not vain that it has regained its vitality, at least it has lasted for a hundred years for Daming.

Therefore, Wang Yangming only has admiration for Chu Yi, and it makes sense to speak for Chu Yi at this time.

Yang Yiqing stroked his beard and smiled slightly. As the minister of the Ministry of War, he can now be said to be powerful. Although it is said that the power of the Ministry of War was divided by the military divisions of the five cities, but with the support of Chu Yi, the military has great power. Sheng, Yang Yiqing, one of several military giants, is naturally rising, enjoying a series of benefits from the greatly increased military power.

Only Yang Yiqing nodded and smiled and said, "Yang Ming said very much, other things can be thrifty, but this matter cannot be thrifty, you must know that this matter is related to the face of one of the Ming Dynasty, and there is no room for ambiguity."

Wang Yangming and Yang Yiqing spoke up, and the other patriarchs expressed their support for Wang Yangming and Yang Yiqing, no matter what they thought in their hearts.

Although Chen Ding said that he is old-fashioned and loyal, it does not mean that he is a fool and does not know how to change. If he really does not understand how to be flexible at all, I am afraid that it is impossible to stay in the top of the court for ten years as a veteran of several dynasties. Long.

After pondering for a while, Chen Ding shook his head solemnly and said: "The old man still insists on his own opinion, it is not easy to save so much gold and silver in the treasury, but it cannot be extravagantly wasted, the Ministry of Household can allocate [-] taels Wen Yin is used as a ceremonial expense to welcome the victorious return of the chief executive, if it is exceeded, the Ministry of Household will definitely not add a single cent."

I originally thought that Chen Ding would change his mind a little when all the patriarchs nodded, but he never thought that Chen Ding would insist so much. Now even Wang Yangming and Yang Yiqing had to express some admiration in their hearts.

At this moment, Jiao Fang, the chief assistant of the cabinet, let out a light cough to attract everyone's attention to himself, and under everyone's attention, Jiao Fang smiled and said: "Master Chen is also dedicated to serving the country, but to welcome the great The matter of the general manager should not be neglected, if I wait for a joint letter to write, I implore Your Majesty to allocate some silver taels from the inner treasury to make up for the consumption..."

Hearing Jiao Fang say this, everyone's eyes lit up. Since they couldn't persuade Chen Ding, they should persuade the emperor.

How much the emperor valued Chu Yi, it can be said that everyone in the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty knew about it. If he wanted to ask the emperor to transfer some gold and silver from the inner treasury, the emperor would never hesitate.

Sure enough, when a group of pavilion veterans headed by Jiao Fang presented their regulations to Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao, who was accompanying the queen and prince in Kunning Palace, couldn't help smiling and shaking his head, "This old man Chen Ding is still So old and stubborn, that's all, since that's the case, the cost of this ceremony to welcome the triumphant return of the great companion will be paid by the inner treasury in the palace."

Gu Dayong, who was serving on the side, smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Sitting on the sidelines, the little prince's empress, who was playing with a few servants and palace maids, turned her gaze to Zhu Houzhao, and said with a bit of doubt, "Your Majesty, the concubine heard that Mrs. Chu is coming back. already?"

Zhu Houzhao's face was filled with a bit of joy, and he nodded at the queen and said, "That's right, the great companion of Chu has been out for nearly a year, and I am very fond of it, and I have sent decrees several times to call him back, but now the great companion is finally willing to come back. "

The queen looked at the little prince in the distance, with a bit of kindness in her eyes and said: "The chief executive is the master appointed by His Majesty. This time, when Master Chu is back, the emperor has to trouble Master Chu to teach him a lot!"

Zhu Houzhao laughed loudly and said, "That's natural, the great companion of Chu is erudite and talented, even the great scholars in the world may not be able to learn as a great companion, so I chose the great companion as the emperor's grandfather, even if the emperor can learn With the talent and learning ability of the great companion, it is enough to become a generation of sage kings in the future!"

The origin of the little prince can be described as the most noble and noble, his mother is the mother of a country, and he is the eldest son. Da Ming is the most important etiquette. The rules have been set since the first ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang. The throne of the eldest grandson of the emperor, but Zhu Di, who has been firmly established in the country, is a staunch defender of the eldest son succession system.

It can be said that unless the little prince died early, or the prince rebelled, it would be difficult for even the emperor to abolish his natural crown prince status.At least this Manchu civil and military will not agree.

Look at the three divisions that Zhu Houzhao arranged for the little prince, Chu Yi, Wang Yangming, and Yang Yiqing. These three are definitely high-ranking giants in the middle of the dynasty. This shows how much the emperor loves and values ​​his eldest son. .

From Dongying to Daming across the ocean, in the golden autumn season, the fleet that drifted at sea for more than half a month finally arrived safely in Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture.

Since the Huating Ship Division was destroyed by those lords and merchants who colluded with Japanese pirates, the imperial court restored the Ship Division at the fastest speed and built a port in Shanghai County.

In the past year, the port that was originally just a small fishing village has now become one of the most prosperous ports along the southeastern coast of Daming.

With a large number of merchant ships going to sea, several ports are naturally full of vitality, and their prosperity is simply beyond imagination.

On this day, a team of officials, including the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, the director of the Shipping Department of Huating City, and the magistrate of Shanghai County and other large and small officials, were standing on the port and looking at the sea in the distance, surrounded by many yamen officers. .

Not long ago, a group of officials received news that Chu Yi, the chief executive, had returned triumphantly, and the fleet was about to land at the port of Shanghai County.

For these officials, what a distinguished person Chu Yi is, it's fine if they don't know. Now that they know, they naturally come early one by one to wait for Chu Yi's return.

A large number of merchant ships are parked in the port. Some of these merchant ships are ready to go to sea, and some are returning from overseas. Those who dare to go to sea are naturally not ordinary people.

It can be said that these businessmen are definitely the most well-informed group of people, and many of them have connections with the government.

Now that the news of Chu Yi's return has spread among those officials, it is natural that these well-informed maritime merchants cannot be concealed.

Now that officials such as the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture appear in the port one by one, even a fool can guess that these officials must be waiting for the return of the chief executive Chu Yi.

Regarding Chu Yi, the attitudes of the sea merchants were polarized. To be precise, those sea merchant families who had occupied huge profits in the sea trade before the opening of the sea only hated Chu Yi and did not have the slightest gratitude.

And those sea merchants who went to sea when Chu Yi insisted on opening the sea were naturally grateful to Chu Yi after earning a lot of wealth.

Even with the help of the case of Huating City Ship Division being exterminated, the court almost cleaned up the maritime merchants and gentry in Huating and Shanghai counties, but in the huge Songjiang Prefecture, there are more than a few maritime merchants. .

Songjiang Prefecture is on the verge of big rivers and seas, especially Shanghai, which is definitely one of the natural and excellent ports, and is jointly controlled by a group of maritime merchants.Now, with the opening of the sea by the imperial court, the port naturally falls into the hands of the imperial court. In addition, the establishment of a shipping company has cut off a large piece of fat from these maritime merchants. .

As the saying goes, cutting people's fortunes is like killing one's parents. Although Chu Yi Kaihai said that he did not cut off the fortunes of those maritime merchants in the past, it greatly reduced their interests. In addition, they had to pay a business tax that was painful for them. , it is conceivable that as the maritime trade becomes more and more prosperous, these maritime merchants hate Chu Yi more and more in their hearts.

On an inconspicuous merchant ship, several figures were hidden in black robes one by one, only a pair of eyes were exposed.

Only one of them could be heard saying hoarsely: "Everyone, I have been planning for a long time, and now I have finally waited for this great opportunity. Here, I hope that we can eradicate the castrated thief Chu Yi in one fell swoop, eliminate harm for the people, and benefit all people!"

Chapter 2: The Heart of the Dead Chu is Immortal [[-] More]

"Removing harm for the people, benefiting all people!"

"Removing harm for the people, benefiting all people!"

Just when a few people hiding under the black robes shouted slogans excitedly, a figure who had been sitting there silently coughed lightly, and swept over the crowd with a bit of sternness in his eyes. Said: "Everyone, stop talking nonsense, kill people and kill people. What is for the people, what is for the benefit of the people, I don't care, as long as I have money, even if you ask me to kill those dog officials in the port. That's no problem!"

Several people were shouting slogans, but when Haibawang said this, it was like swallowing a fly. One of them looked at Haibawang and said, "Wang Hai, your four brothers, three of them died because of the persecution of the government. Only you have become a pirate. When today's son is confused by the castrated thief Chu Yi, now is a good time for us to kill the people. Aren't you excited, Wang Hai, shouldn't you be proud of it? If he succeeds, he will surely be remembered in history..."

Wang Hai narrowed his eyes, patted the table, and tore off the black robe on his body, with a black face, eyes like copper bells staring at him and whispering: "Silver! I, Wang Hai, only recognizes gold and silver. , no matter what else, if you can't get any money, I don't care who you are, just get off the boat for me!"

"You... a reckless man, a reckless man!"

One of them couldn't help being anxious, and couldn't help but point at Wang Hai and curse.

With a puff, I saw a flash of sword light, blood splashing, and the head of the man in black robe who originally pointed at Wang Hai and scolded him flew up, and the spurting blood only poured out a few people around him.

"vomit……"

"what……"

Screams, vomiting, and several people hiding in black robes did not expect that Wang Hai would draw a knife and slash people if they didn't agree with each other. It was like a dream for them.

Stepping on a table and chair with one foot and holding a knife in the other, Wang Hai looked at the crowd with a sneer and said, "I, Wang Hai, say it again, I only recognize gold and silver, don't talk nonsense if you don't have gold and silver! Otherwise, I don't mind cutting it again. brain."

These people are hiding under black robes, and even they are not very sure of each other's identity. After all, assassinating Chu Yi is almost as dangerous as assassinating the emperor. That is the big crime of looting the family and annihilating the family and implicated the nine clans.

With Chu Yi's temperament, once the assassination fails, Jinyiwei and Dongchang will definitely dig three feet into the ground to dig them out, so they keep their origins secret to the extreme.

Even Wang Hai didn't know their identities very well, they just guessed each other and couldn't determine their identities at all.

At this moment, one of them was the first to react from the bloody scene, looked at Wang Hai, and threw a silver note on the table.

"One hundred thousand taels? Tsk tsk, you don't think that the life of the current chief executive is only worth one hundred thousand taels!"

Glancing at the silver note, Wang Hai was unmoved at all, instead he looked at the people in front of him with a mocking expression, as if he was mocking everyone for being too petty.

"What if you doubled it ten times?"