"You were the prefect of Suzhou"
Hearing Cai Guoxi's words, Gao Gong suddenly became interested and couldn't help but ask: "Suzhou is not far from Songjiang Prefecture. I heard that Suzhou Prefecture also has many fields of the Xu family."
< br>Cai Guoxi is currently idle at home waiting for arrangements from the officials, so he doesn't know much about the recent news circulating in the officialdom. He has no idea that Hai Rui and Xu Jie in Yingtian Mansion are already fighting over the land.
One has to plead for the people. No matter what the reasons are for the people to send their fields to the Xu Mansion, in Hai Rui's view, it is actually the official family that has usurped the people's fields, and it should be returned if the people ask for it.
Xu Jie, on the other hand, has regarded these fields as his own property. Even if he is given permanent leasehold rights, it is still his own land, and he has income from acres of land every year. Of course, he is not willing to let it go easily.
It would be good to admit that the household registrations of those common people should be released and they could be re-entered into the government rolls.
If you are a smart official, you will definitely not want to jump there at this time. Arriving at Yingtian Shifu means you have to choose to side with your immediate boss Hai Rui or your chief minister Xu Jie.
There are risks in taking sides in official circles.
Cai Guoxi didn’t know, but he also knew that Mr. Gao Ge and Xu Jie were not willing to deal with him. He thought that this person wanted to collect evidence of the Xu family’s crimes. Of course, Cai Guoxi knew that he said that the Xu family had many fields. After all, he was serving as the prefect of Suzhou at that time, although it didn't last long.
As for the Xu family that Gao Gong cares about, he knows without even thinking about it that it must be the Xu family from Huating County, Songjiang Prefecture next door. Although there are many people with the surname Xu in Jiangnan, who is qualified for him to care about.
At this time, Cai Guoxi only hesitated slightly and then said: "To be honest with the teacher, the student had only been in Suzhou for one year, and his understanding of the conditions of the counties under his jurisdiction was limited.
But what the teacher said about the Xu family's land , if we are talking about the hometown of Xu Jiexuge who returned to his hometown after becoming an official, as far as students know, the Xu family has fields in Susong Erfu and surrounding places such as Yangzhou Prefecture, and even in Huzhou and Hangzhou, Zhejiang.
But say How many there are, this student really doesn't know.
As for the fields in Suzhou Prefecture, in fact, the gentry families in Jiangnan and other places may not put all the fields under their own names, but they will be scattered among them. It is really difficult to count the names of the children who have a good reputation in the family, and some of them are even owned by family members who have been exempted from military service. "
"You know very well about these little tricks of the Jiangnan gentry family."
Gao Gong asked cheerfully.
“I don’t dare to say it clearly, but since I have become the prefect of Suzhou, I know something about it.”
Cai Guoxi hurriedly said with a smile.
"In this case, if you go back to Suzhou and check these fields, can you find out the owner behind these fields? Can you find out how these fields came into his hands?"
Gao Gong asked with his face still calm.
But when the words fell into Cai Guoxi's ears, his heart moved.
He understood the meaning of Gao Gong's words. Gao Gong planned to send people there to investigate the Xu family's fields.
Of course he also heard a little about how the Xu family's fields came from. In addition to buying them at a low price while others were in danger, it was a donation.
Of course, the land purchased with money is limited after all.
How much money can the so-called rich households spend these days?
Although the Xu family has opened many workshops in Su Song's Second Mansion, even if you can get the money, you still need someone willing to sell the land.
If a big family needs money to transfer their land, they will naturally ask relatives and friends to raise it. Even if it is difficult to mortgage the land, they can still borrow money.
Most of the land that can be bought with money is in the hands of ordinary people, ranging from dozens of acres to a few acres. It is really impossible to accumulate land by buying it.
As for the big families who have broken down, of course there are some, but they are rare.
The Xu family’s fields really need to be thoroughly investigated. There are a lot of tricks here, and it’s really easy to punish them.
However, if he agrees, although Gao Gong can help him solve his errands, he will offend the Xu family and the gentry families in Jiangnan for nothing.
Although Cai Guoxi is good at maneuvering, he also knows the good and bad.
After all, he is a person who has been admitted to the Jinshi. In addition to his ability to deal with people, he is also very good at running errands.
You must know that his ranking in the palace examination was not high and he was not selected by the Hanlin Academy. However, by counting his family property and giving gifts, he finally got himself admitted to the Ministry of Household Affairs and served as the director.
However, although the official position of head of the household department was rich, it was not as powerful as those of the Qing prefect, so he used the money he saved in the household department to get the official position of Suzhou prefect.
I originally planned to have a big fight, but something happened at home, so I had to go home to observe my filial piety.
In the next six months, he came to the capital countless times, but never had a chance to get the official documents. Now he was feeling anxious.
I originally thought that my political performance was good when I worked in Suzhou, and I was ranked first in the country in evaluation, so I thought that it would be easy to arrange for a vacant person to take office from the Ministry of Personnel.
But now it seems that these false names are of no use. The people in the official department don't care about your evaluation at all, they only care about what you can give.
It's a pity that in such a good place as Suzhou, I was busy making political achievements and delayed making money.
Yes, officials in the Ming Dynasty were like this. They wanted fame and money.
Fame is for promotion and political performance, while money is for enriching one's own family. There is no conflict.
Cai Guoxi was awarded the magistrate of Suzhou Prefecture in Nanzhili, so he practiced frugality, issued twenty-seven chapters of the ban, and did dozens of things based on the guidance of ancient and modern sages in order to govern the two verandas of the government.
For engagements and funerals, luxury and tyranny among the people and the burning of corpses are prohibited, and graves are set up in six gates of 100 acres each. Jianzhong Wu Academy is designated as a lecturer in the hall and says: Seek benevolence, where the gentlemen gather to give lectures tirelessly. There are many people who travel with their books.
At that time, the people were trapped in taxes and servitude, and the white grain and north-south transportation were particularly heavy. Guoxi decided to compile a law for the chief grain officer to eliminate the disadvantages of the old service; Discuss the aid law.
He did not need to be the general secretary of the prefecture and county, and the Jinhua Committee officials took care of the big households, so as not to burden the people. He reduced the number of households, watermen, factory workers, doormen, and leather workers, and carried out many good policies.
After taking so many measures, he had gained a reputation. Just as he was gearing up to start a big fight, he returned to his hometown.
He knew very well that if he expressed his stance at this time, he would actually take a high position and go to Suzhou to deal with Xu Jie and cause trouble for the Xu family.
But if you don't make a decisive decision at this time, you will probably lose Gao Gong's trust, and your official position will be further away from you.
Now he knows that Yang Bo, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, has resigned, and Emperor Longqing has the intention to also manage the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel in his appointment of Gao Gong. It can be said that as long as Gao Gong is willing, he will be able to resign tomorrow. The officials were sued and re-employed as officials.
Having said so much, Cai Guoxi only had a short time to think about it, and he made a decision in just a moment.
I can only say sorry to Mr. Xu Ge. For his own sake, Cai Guoxi planned to be this evil person.
When I went to Nanzhili, I wanted to be nice to other big families and just target the Xu family.
The Xu family is a big business. As long as it is done properly, the Xu family can make a lot of money from the Xu family.
Fighting against the Xu family's lawlessness seems to have earned him a reputation as someone who is not afraid of the powerful.
Of course, all this depends on how he operates, that is, to maintain his reputation in Suzhou.
Thinking of this, Cai Guoxi glanced at Gao Gong, who was sitting in the seat. At this time, Gao Gong was only over fifty years old. Under normal circumstances, he could still work for more than ten years. Thinking about Mr. Xu Ge, even if he still has some incestuous feelings in the court, Mr. Xu Ge is getting older and he will definitely not be able to outlive the old man in Gaoge.
As long as Mr. Xu Ge kicks his legs, those incestuous feelings will end. At that time, Mr. Gao Ge will not have the final say.
In fact, right now, when he heard from his former colleagues, they all said in unison that Li Chunfang and Li Ge would not be long in the position of chief assistant, and his successor should be the one in front of him.
It has great influence on His Majesty.
Well, since the person in front of me is a big supporter, why should I hesitate and just hug him?
When I arrived in Jiangnan, I verified the evidence of the Xu family’s crimes. If the house was ransacked, I would hand it over myself.
With a tutor in the capital to take care of him, he will be able to achieve great success in a short time.
Thinking of this, Cai Guoxi stood up, cupped his fists, bowed and said in salute: "If the teacher has an order, the student will not hesitate even to the death."
"Sit down, sit down, I just said it casually, just because I heard people said that Xu Huating had countless acres of land in his hometown, and they said tens of thousands of acres, and even hundreds of thousands of acres, and I was a little curious about how he got so many acres. , so I want people to go and see it.
To be honest, Chuntai is not the only place I live in Xinzheng. I have thousands of fields. I heard that Mr. Xu Ge is so good at managing money, so I naturally want to learn.
The sage said, "If three people are walking together, there must be a teacher from me." I want to learn the art of financial management no matter what." >
Gao Gong was in a good mood when he heard that Cai Guoxi was willing to go and said with a smile.
He understood that Cai Guoxi should understand what he meant.
He inquired about Cai Guoxi's situation clearly. He was tactful and good at speculation, but he was very capable in getting things done. He received a commendation from the court in his first year in Suzhou. This was a real achievement and he had a good official reputation.
What does Gao Gong need now? What he needs is a capable minister like this who can act independently.
Perhaps in the past, if he knew that Cai Guoxi liked to work in the camp, he would dislike him and reject him. However, after being forced out of office the year before last, he has changed a lot in the way he views people and employs people.
As for running to Xu Jie's house to deliver the greeting card, haha, asking Xu Jie's disciples to deal with him, is there anything more interesting than this?
What Xu Jie's disciples did to deal with him had nothing to do with him. He really thought that spreading rumors in the capital would make him a threat. He didn't dare to take revenge on him. Xu Jie was too underestimated.
As long as you find someone who doesn't deal with Xu Jie or is like Cai Guoxi, you can't be linked to yourself.
Although Cai Guoxi was the tribute student he ordered, this student was closer to Xu Jie. This matter was naturally easy to verify. It was Xu Jie who arranged for him to go to Suzhou.
Xu Jie is tactful and it is not easy to find his enemies, but with many disciples, there are always some who are willing to betray him for the sake of career.
Cai Guoxi said later that he would write a letter to report to the teacher after finding out the situation. Gao Gong smiled and said nothing. He knew that Cai Guoxi knew what to do.
"Chuntai, you go back and rest for two days. I will ask someone to ask you about it later.
According to what you said, when you were appointed as the prefect of Suzhou, since you were ranked first among the prefectures in the world, you should arrange errands as soon as possible after Ding You is finished. I don’t know how Yang Weiyue managed the staff, leaving such a good person alone. Officials are not delegated. ”
Gao Gong planned to see off the guests, and while speaking, he picked up the tea cup next to him and took a sip.
Of course Cai Guoxi understood what Gao Gong meant, and immediately stood up and thanked the teacher for taking care of his affairs. , while saying goodbye.
After waiting for the others to go out, Gao Gongcai looked at the south with a sneer and said in his heart: "Xu Huating, just wait for me to take action.
When I see the manpower sent by me, I think your expression will be very wonderful, haha.”
"Come here."
Gao Gong called softly, and soon his followers came in and bowed to obey his orders.
"Let me tell you, tomorrow I will be in the cabinet on errands."
"Yes, sir."
After hearing Gao Gong's instructions, the attendant immediately agreed and turned around. Go down and make people ready to go.
Gao Gong turned around and returned to his seat. As soon as he sat down and picked up the tea, Gao Gong's housekeeper came in from outside. He saluted Gao Gong first and then reported to him in a low voice: "Master, I just received a piece of news, which is quite interesting." "
"Interesting? What news would you find interesting?"
Gao Gong was in a good mood at the moment, and he felt that he could vent his anger after finding the person who took action against Xu Jie. , so I asked curiously.
"The news from the Ministry of Rites is that the Nanjing Ministry of Rites reported that the Nanjing Imperial College secretly exchanged sacrificial wine and teaching instructions, and actually accepted a bribe from the second son of Nanjing Wei Guogong in order to prevent his eldest brother from entering the Imperial College to study."
"Are the two brothers from the Duke of Wei quarreling? Over the heir? Is Xu Pengju incapable of doing anything?"
Although it seemed like two brothers were fighting, Gao Gong instantly saw many things from this message.
"The Ministry of Rites has been checking the information, and it is said that the inside story of this matter is not simple, and it also involves the beheaded Mr. Xiaoge."
The housekeeper seemed to be inquiring about the matter. It is clear that in fact these so-called "inside information" were deliberately spread by Wei Guangde.
Although it may damage the reputation of the Xu family, after all, this matter is not a secret in Nanjing. Most people with a certain status in the officialdom know it.
It's just that it's a family matter in the Duke of Wei's palace, so as long as it doesn't cause trouble in the yamen, everyone can just talk about it in private and complain about Xu Bangrui.
If you quickly find out the inside story, you can get the results of the case faster, complete the case as soon as possible, and get your life back.
Even if the father-in-law Xu Pengju sends the suicide note to the capital, the emperor can refuse his request on the grounds of incompatible etiquette.
Yes, generally speaking, even if the last wishes of important ministers like Wei Guogong are a little unreasonable, the emperor will usually recognize them by pinching their noses.
After all, the identities are different, as long as it’s not too outrageous.
By now, because of Gao Gong's return, he had already felt that Gao Gong's attitude towards him was somewhat unclear, so in order to prevent problems before they happened, he took the initiative to release some "scandals" and finalize the case as soon as possible. That's the top priority.
"Xu Pengju has the nerve to ask for a royal decree for my concubine."
After hearing the cause and effect, Gao Gong immediately became angry.
In his eyes, finding Yan Shifan to operate this matter is not the main problem anymore, but that the request itself is inconsistent with etiquette. I really don’t know how the Ministry of Rites passed such a verification in the first place. .
Wei Guogong’s Mansion requested a memorial, and the Ministry of Rites had to verify it thoroughly according to the system before reporting it.
Obviously, this matter was stamped with the seal of the ministry without verification, so everything went smoothly between the cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
However, thinking of the power of the Yan family in the court back then, Gao Gong remained silent.
"What does the Ministry of Rites mean now?"
Gao Gong asked. He calmed down at this time and noticed that there was something fishy about this matter, but it involved a cabinet minister.