Chapter 360 The Ming Emperor still has the final say
Zhu Houzhao's resolution to clear Shuangyu Island and severely punish the foreign barbarians was delivered to Emperor Zhu Zailei's case through Zhang Rong, the Privy Councilor of the Guards.
Emperor Zhu Zailei breathed a sigh of relief and ordered without hesitation: "Do it according to the wishes of the Supreme Emperor!"
For Zhu Zailei, who is now in Dabao for the first time, what he is most worried about is handling government affairs incorrectly, making the Supreme Emperor Zhu Houzhao dissatisfied, and then looking for excuses to depose him.
After all, Zhu Zailei now knows that his father's prestige is not something he can challenge now.
Now, as long as the Supreme Emperor Zhu Houzhao decides to clear Shuangyu Island, even if the clearing of Shuangyu Island causes a series of incidents, he will no longer have to worry about his father finding an excuse to destroy him.
Zhu Houzhao didn't know whether it was because of his own prestige that his eldest son Zhu Zailei was more hesitant about becoming the emperor, or whether there were ministers in the court who deliberately used their prestige to fight against the imperial power, but now he also found that his influence was really temporary. cannot be completely eliminated.
Some people would still come to him directly to complain about their grievances, and would even complain to him about a certain shop owner's unpaid wages, etc.
Zhu Houzhao was actually very conflicted about this phenomenon, because he wanted to establish a society ruled by law, not a society ruled by men, but many people in the empire were still accustomed to rule by men.
I still like to rely on upright officials or someone who is heroic and righteous to deliver justice.
But only Zhu Houzhao himself knew that once he upheld justice, it would mean breaking the legal order established by the empire.
As the saying goes, Confucianism disrupts the law with literature, while chivalry violates prohibitions with force.
Once rules are broken it is difficult to reestablish them and difficult to convince others to follow.
In that case, it will still be difficult for Chinese civilization to progress.
The people's wisdom is still not fully enlightened.
This is Zhu Houzhao's clearest feeling now, especially the elderly.
Because universal education has been popularized in the empire for decades, middle-aged people and young people under fifty are still relatively well educated and know the importance of abiding by social rules and maintaining justice and fairness.
However, the older generation of Ming people are more influenced by old ideas and are still unclear about the importance of rules. In addition, they are also influenced by the morality of respecting the elderly, which makes the elderly people of Ming Dynasty often break the rules of society.
Now it is these old people who are directly complaining to Zhu Houzhao.
But these people are Zhu Houzhao's staunchest supporters.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao was very conflicted. He could not directly ask the Jin Yiwei to kill the black-hearted capitalists and hateful corrupt officials because of these people.
But he had no choice but to ignore the situation. He could only write to the governors in various places in the name of the Supreme Emperor, asking the governors to follow the formal procedures for investigation.
However, for these older people, they don't know that the Supreme Emperor Zhu Houzhao abides by the rules so much and is not eager to deal with these black-hearted bosses and corrupt officials in order to maintain the rules of society. Otherwise, those in power can do whatever they want. They only think that the Supreme Emperor has changed. Now, we have begun to stand with these black-hearted capitalists and corrupt officials, and are unwilling to deal with these black-hearted capitalists and corrupt officials.
This also means that Zhu Houzhao began to gradually lose popularity.
But there was nothing he could do. Zhu Houzhao knew that he could not give up his idea of establishing a society governed by the rule of law in order to gain so-called popularity.
He knew that although the older generation of people did not understand his good intentions and even began to misunderstand him, the new generation of people in the Ming Dynasty who had knowledge and the ability to think for themselves should be able to understand him and know that those who truly benefit society are not knights who enjoy grudges and grudges. Rather, they are institutional innovators who keep power in a cage.
"The Supreme Emperor has become more and more timid since he abdicated. He is unwilling to uphold justice for us common people. He only asks us to go to the government. But can the government be trusted? If we can go to the government, why should we go to the Supreme Emperor!"
There were also some literati hired by businessmen who were dissatisfied with the Ming Dynasty. After losing the right to participate in politics in the court, they began to win over the people and guide public opinion. For example, at this time, Jian Hua, a literati in Wuxi, made this comment in a teahouse. Looking at the Supreme Emperor Zhu Houzhao who had just left Wuxi.
Some people who had personally experienced that the Supreme Emperor Zhu Houzhao was unwilling to directly stand up for them to bring the so-called black-hearted capitalists and corrupt officials to justice also deeply agreed with this and believed that the Supreme Emperor did not seem to be on their side.
And a scholar like Jian Hua would even analyze it directly:
"The Emperor is the biggest boss of the Ming Dynasty. The Royal Bank and Royal Industrial Corporation control most of the empire's wealth. How can you think that the Emperor can speak for you and me, common people? Don't be naive! When you are asked to go to the government, you naturally want to help. These black-hearted capitalists are protecting corrupt officials.”
"According to what Mr. Jian said, it's true. So, in this world where crows are as dark as crows, we still can't count on others. We have to fight for everything ourselves!"
At this time, some people agreed.
After Zhu Houzhao learned these anecdotal news from Jin Yiwei, he felt quite emotional. He had to admit that the most hateful thing in the Ming Dynasty was not these old people who were ignorant of the people, but these literati who knew the truth but told nonsense. To be precise, they were the businessmen. Literati bribed by class.
"These intellectuals who took money from the merchant class are really no different from bitches who use money to sell their bodies. Just like bitches who use money to get off, these intellectuals use money to talk nonsense. Seeing that they can no longer control the political power, they mislead the people to use these things about themselves. The top family in the empire regarded him as an enemy and had this man named Jian Hua executed secretly by the Jin Yiwei! It was impossible to reason with these intellectuals who only valued money, they had to use guns.”
Not long after Zhu Houzhao said this, the man named Jian Hua was caught by Jin Yiwei. Moreover, according to Zhu Houzhao's instructions, Jin Yiwei shot Jian Hua directly, and Jian Hua was killed on the spot!
Of course, Jin Yiwei is a secret walker, so even if Jian Hua was beaten to death by Jin Yiwei, no one would know.
Zhu Houzhao still lets Jin Yiwei break the rules of society.
This also shows that Zhu Houzhao is not so pedantic that he only knows how to stick to the rules. He knows that for a shameless scholar like Jian Hua who makes trouble, the only thing you can do is to shut him up.
Because he has already poured dirty water on you, you can't expect him to change his ways. Moreover, these shameless scholars themselves have already said that Jin Yiwei is killing people secretly, so Jin Yiwei has nothing to worry about assassinating these shameless scholars. After all, he has already worn the The hat of indiscriminate killing can only be used to kill indiscriminately. ……
"Dad Chao, about your son being beaten to death on the construction site, you'd better go directly to the Emperor. The Emperor has just arrived in Huzhou. Only by finding him can he make the decision for you. Think about it, he is the current emperor's son. Dad, just tell him whether he can handle this matter. As long as he is willing, it is not a matter of a word to get the heads of these officials!”
At this time, Lu Xuanyuan suggested to an old man named Chao in his town, suggesting that the old man go to Zhu Houzhao to redress his grievances.
Because of Zhu Houzhao's various publicity and guidance about loving the people, and because Zhu Houzhao has brought a lot of benefits to the people of the Ming Dynasty during his years in power, Mo's father, like other people, expressed his gratitude to what Lu Xuanyan said about the power of the Supreme Emperor Zhu Houzhao. I have no doubts about delivering justice to them.
However, after Mo's father left, Lu Xuanyan couldn't help but sneer and thought:
"Although it was Xia Yan, Yan Song and others who killed their mentor, the root cause of this incident was that you, Zhu Houzhao, did not want our businessmen to rise. If you insist on establishing a rule of law and a just environment, you have to restrain your prestige. And so we just let you lose yours The foundation of prestige is that the people of the world will no longer love you. As long as the people of the world no longer love you, you will have no advantage. If you lose the support of the people, the world will still belong to our merchant class. "
After Lu Xueyan sneered, he ordered: "Let Mr. Tai come in!"
Lu Xueyuan continued to prepare to push some civil lawsuits and criminal lawsuits to the Supreme Emperor Zhu Houzhao. However, not long after Lu Xueyan laughed, the two royal guards jumped down when no one was around.
Among them, a Jin Yiwei covered Lu Xueyuan's mouth and nose. Lu Xueyan couldn't help but widen his eyes. He felt very horrified and frightened. He really didn't expect that Jin Yiwei would appear in his room.
But it was too late for Lu Xueyian to ask why Jin Yiwei appeared. After a while, he was killed by Jin Yiwei on the spot!
Of course, more than one person like Lu Xueyuan was assassinated by Jin Yiwei, and the numbers placed on Zhu Houzhao's case are just numbers.
Zhu Houzhao knew that he was killing people, but he had no choice, because he had no other way to stop these literati who spoke for the business class, he could only destroy them physically!
Zhu Houzhao also had to be grateful that he still controlled the military and the Jin Yiwei.
Otherwise, he can only watch helplessly as the literati in these places take advantage of his abdication to travel to the local area to encourage the people to come to him to resolve conflicts, thereby taking the lead in interfering with local justice, undermining social rule of law, or allowing himself to maintain the rules and lose popularity.
Gradually, some literati who spoke for the business class discovered that more and more people of their own kind were dying unexpectedly, and gradually felt fear, knowing that although the Supreme Emperor Zhu Houzhao abdicated, it was not easy to deal with.
Zhu Houzhao asked the Jin Yiwei to carry out assassinations, which caused many fewer people to come to Zhu Houzhao for justice. However, Zhu Houzhao also knew that the Ming Dynasty must also pay attention to the collusion between government and businessmen and the series of conflicts caused by it. However, he did not directly attack Zhu Zailei. Instructions, he believed that the current emperor, his son, should be able to notice this problem.
Zhu Houzhao now tries his best to focus on sightseeing.
After Min Xian, the right servant of the National Taxation Bureau, learned that his nephew Min Yuanhong also died unexpectedly, and that many members of his Yunheng Literary Society died unexpectedly, he also guessed that Jin Yiwei was behind it, and couldn't help but feel scared: "Unexpectedly, he Still so ruthless, we all mistakenly thought that His Majesty really didn’t know how to kill anyone!”
"Yan has long said that you should not underestimate our emperor who has abdicated. In this Ming Dynasty, he still has the final say!"
Yan Shifan put the lid on the tea and smiled coldly, and said: "Let's just think about making money. You can't fight for power. You know, our Supreme Emperor is supported by many big chaebols." , including my dad, even the Emperor’s fart tastes good!”
"Master Yan is right. I wonder what Master Yan found out from your father?" At this time, Min Xian couldn't help but ask.
"I really got some important news. To be honest with you, the news about Shuangyu Island has come to fruition. But no matter what, you have to give me 10,000 silver dollars, otherwise I won't tell you this."
Yan Shifan hugged a maid in his arms as he spoke. At this time, Yan Maoqing, the censor, stood up and took out the bill: "Master Yan, please speak."
"I heard from the south that if you have property on Shuangyu Island, please return it as soon as possible. The loss of money is not a big deal. Don't lose your black gauze hat by then, and I'm afraid it will be a matter of life!"
When Yan Shifan said this, Min Xian, Yan Maoqing and others couldn't help but look solemn.
Min Xian even cupped his hands and said, "Excuse me!" Then, as he hurried out, his confidant came and ordered, "Bring a glass of water and a box of clay and give them to Captain Xu quickly!"
Seeing this, Yan Shifan just smiled slightly and did not expose Min Xian, but just let him do it.
Although Yan Shifan is only the son of Yan Song, the current second minister of the cabinet, he also understands that Shuangyu Island looks like a pirate colony, but in fact many coastal gentry are involved in the smuggling trade on the island. Otherwise, officials with backgrounds from coastal gentry would not I will try my best to find out about the imperial court's decision on whether to suppress Shuangyu Island or let it go its own way.
Because of this, Yan Shifan used the mood of these officials from coastal noble families to understand the court's decision-making to sell information.
And because of this, officials like Min Xian who came from coastal noble families had the opportunity to convey the court's decision to Shuangyu Island.
As a result, everyone on Shuangyu Island has learned that the imperial court has given Zhu Wan permission to send troops to Shuangyu Island.
Baldy Li, Xu Dong, Ji Tian, Feders and other pirate leaders on Shuangyu Island could not help but gather together to discuss how to deal with this.
At this time, Chen Yun, a representative sent by the Chen family, a large coastal clan, couldn't help but suggest:
"Everyone, Chen believes that as long as the imperial court dares to attack us, we cannot be too polite to the imperial court. If the imperial court wants to attack Shuangyu Island, then we will attack any of their cities, and we can attack in multiple places to tire the imperial court. Cope with it, and even mess up Jiangnan, which will put pressure on Zhu Wan and the Ming Dynasty to which he is loyal!
Moreover, before this, Chen has already had an affair with the heads of the families on the shore, and they will secretly help us. At the moment, the Ming Emperor is going to Ningbo for inspection. At that time, we will take the opportunity to attack Ningbo and create panic for the Ming court! ”
Chen Yun's proposal was approved by most pirate leaders.
However, as the pirate leaders and smugglers of Shuangyu Island, what they don't know is that although they are secretly supported by the local nobles, as a court, they are supported by the people of the entire Ming Dynasty. The powerful Jinyiwei organization is not even on Shuangyu Island. There is no eyeliner inserted into it.
Therefore, when Zhu Houzhao was traveling around, he learned from Jinyiwei that pirates from Shuangyu Island wanted to attack Ningbo.
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help laughing at this: "The smugglers on Shuangyu Island are really not simple. They even have people in the imperial court! Where is Zhu Wan now?"
(End of chapter)