Chapter 375: Zuo Shunmen Queting
took a boat from Zhejiang and flew all the way to Dagu Port. Shen Mingchen and Shen Yiguan's uncle and nephew finally arrived in the capital years ago.
Shen Mingchen is the editor-in-chief of the "Jingshi News" personally appointed by Su Ze. Lu Tianshou, the director of the Jingshi Information Station, personally welcomed the uncle and nephew.
Both uncle and nephew were from the south, and it was their first time to visit the capital. In order to familiarize them with the working environment, Lu Tianshou hired a carriage to take them around the capital.
Shen Mingchen also had the dream of taking the imperial examination. When he was young, he yearned for the capital city. However, after arriving at the capital city, Shen Mingchen felt that it was nothing more than this and not as good as the city of Hangzhou.
Before Shen Mingchen left Hangzhou, he also visited Hu Zongxian who was building the Qiantang River.
Hu Zongxian had no reaction to this old subordinate's choice to serve under Su Ze.
Several of Hu Zongxian's staff are now serving under the Southeast New Army, and many of them hold important positions.
Hu Zongxian himself was also the second anti-thief figure on whom the Ming court offered a reward.
When Hu Zongxian thought of this, he felt inexplicably that fate had played a big joke on him.
However, during this period of time, Hu Zongxian was busy repairing rivers in Zhejiang. Every time he saw the rivers that had been managed and the people who spontaneously sent food and water, Hu Zongxian finally suddenly felt that it was good to be a "rebel".
I have really done practical things for the people, and I don’t have to worry about the strife in the court, or the people above me holding me back, or the people below me stumbling over me.
Hu Zongxian had nothing to tell Shen Mingchen, except to ask him to pay attention to safety in the capital.
My thoughts returned to the carriage. When I was in Hangzhou, because the festival was approaching, the streets in Hangzhou were very lively.
This time, many officials from the southeast also jointly submitted a letter to the Metropolitan Governor's Office, requesting to hold New Year celebrations.
However, Su Ze published an article in a newspaper, arguing that the New Year celebrations held by the Governor's Office were a waste of money and waste of money, and could only be seen by the people of Nanjing. They were not fun for the people at all.
Su Ze announced that from the 20th of the twelfth lunar month to the Lantern Festival, all merchants would be tax-free, and people would be allowed to set up stalls and markets near the city gate to trade New Year goods freely.
At the same time, grains are sold at low prices in various places so that the people can have a full year.
Although war has been going on in the southeast this year, the impact of the war on several prefectures in Fujian, Zhejiang, and South Zhili was very short-lived.
The largest battle was fought in the north.
In the past two years, the Japanese rebellion has subsided and maritime trade has resumed. Hangzhou is bustling with activity and there is an endless stream of cars and horses in Hangzhou, all of which are people who come to the city to buy new year's goods.
In comparison, the capital was much deserted.
The shops were closed, and some shops were simply boarded up. Shen Mingchen asked in confusion:
"Shopkeeper Lu, why is the capital so deserted? Are these shops not open for business?"
Lu Tianshou's current identity is the owner of a pawn shop in the capital, and others are outside. They all called him Shopkeeper Lu.
Lu Tianshou said in a low voice: "It's not the fault of the foolish king. He just returned to the capital and was about to hold the Aoshan Lantern Festival, and sent the imperial guards and eunuchs to search the merchants. Now the merchants in the capital would rather not do business a year ago than open the door and be exploited by these minions. "
Just as he finished speaking, the carriage suddenly stopped.
Only a few guards wearing flying fish uniforms were seen blocking the carriage.
Shen Mingchen became nervous, but Lu Tianshou made a calm gesture and took out a waist card from his arms.
"Who's in the car! Why don't Jin Yiwei get out of the car while he's doing something!?"
Lu Tianshou stretched his waistband out of the car window, and the leader of the Jin Yiwei Baihu immediately changed his tone.
"It turns out they are from the uncle's family in Qingyuan. The flood has really washed away the Dragon King Temple. The whole family no longer recognizes each other. Let's go!" The driver jumped out of the carriage and took
out some broken silver from his arms. This member of the Jinyiwei Hundred Households The tone became more enthusiastic.
"There are still a few checkpoints in front of this road. If the shopkeeper hangs up this Jinyiwei flag, no one will dare to stop you." The clerk
immediately hung up the flag, thanked the Jinyiwei Baihu, and continued Drive the car forward.
As expected, they encountered several more checkpoints along the way, but the guards guarding the checkpoints saw the flags hanging on the carriage and did not stop the carriage. The group of people successfully arrived at Lu Tianshou's pawn shop.
Lu Tianshou led his uncle and nephew into the secret room, and then said: "My shop is registered with Bo Li's family in Qingyuan, and I pay tribute every month. Only in this way can I avoid being harassed by these royal guards and eunuchs, but Daily filial piety is also indispensable."
Shen Mingchen and Shen Yiguan's uncle and nephew looked at each other, but they did not expect that the environment in the capital would be so bad.
Shen Mingchen said: "On the way, I also heard the news that the Ming Dynasty will hold the Aoshan Lantern Festival on the Lantern Festival. Why does the Aoshan Lantern Festival cost so much?"
Lu Tianshou said: "Isn't this how Uncle Qingyuan brought the Jin Yiwei and the eunuchs to make money? Now this The capital of the Ming Dynasty is all about money."
Shen Mingchen's last thoughts about the capital were shattered.
Shen Yiguan said coldly: "This seems to be a sign of national subjugation."
Shen Yiguan has completely different personalities from his uncle Shen Mingchen, who has many friends.
He is a very cold-blooded person. What is not nice to say is that he has a cold personality.
In the historical timeline before Su Ze traveled through time, after Shen Guanyi became the chief minister of the cabinet, he did not allow his son to participate in the imperial examination because he was afraid of the court's discussion.
His son had excellent grades and studied hard in his humble beginnings. However, because his father was the first assistant, he could not take part in the imperial examination. He finally died in depression, before Shen Yiguan.
This is true for his own son, and even more so for the villagers.
Shen Guangyuan is a Zhejiang native and the leader of the Zhejiang Party. However, as the chief minister of the cabinet, he refuses to promote people from his hometown. Instead, his fellow Zhejiang people are suppressed by him.
Shen Mingchen naturally knew his nephew's character very well. He asked Lu Tianshou:
"Since Uncle Qingyuan behaved like this, wouldn't there be no officials to impeach him?"
Lu Tianshou shook his head and said, "Why not? But the impeachment of officials, Emperor Longqing, all Stay in the middle and don't send it out. In the final analysis, the Aoshan Lantern Festival is what the emperor wants to do, and the Li family is just making money for the emperor." Shen Mingchen nodded. This time he came to serve as the editor-in-chief of the "
Jingshi News", Aoshan Lantern Festival This incident can be regarded as a hot topic, and we can start from this incident to promote the corruption of the Ming Dynasty.
He asked again: "Stationmaster Lu, besides the Aoshan Lantern Festival, are there any other hot spots in the capital?"
Lu Tianshou said: "Huang Taiji, the son of Mongolian Ada Khan, came to the capital. The Ming court publicized that he came to the capital, but what about the northern grasslands? Will come to the capital at this time to pay tribute." "This Huang Taiji has obviously come to the capital to raise an army to ask for guilt."
Shen Mingchen's uncle and nephew did not understand the situation in the north, so they quickly asked: "To ask for guilt?"
Lu Tianshou said with a smile: "General Yu and I Master Lu Er gathered people to build a city in Wuyuan City and defeated the three thousand cavalry led by An Dahan's second son. An Dahan suffered a defeat and came to blackmail the Ming court." Lu Tianshou first showed a gloating smile, and then
said : "It's just a pain to the people of the capital."
Shen Mingchen was a poet, and his character was naturally sentimental. He also sighed and said: "The people are suffering."
Shen Yiguan said: "Since the people in the north are suffering so much, we should work harder to overthrow the Ming court as soon as possible." Shen Yiguan
said again . : "Webmaster Lu, based on my understanding of the Ming court, the Ming court will definitely make peace with Mongolia. Please be sure to find out the details of the peace agreement between the Ming court and Mongolia. We must make it public in the newspaper! Only in this way can we better attack the Ming court. people's hearts!"
Lu Tianshou nodded and said: "We in the Ming court are doing our best to collect intelligence, trying to get detailed information about the peace between the Ming court and Mongolia!" Shen Yiguan said to Shen Mingchen: "Uncle, let's start with the Aoshan Lantern Festival
. , and published the news that the merchants in the capital were being exploited in the newspaper."
Seeing that Shen was always so motivated, Lu Tianshou thought of Wang Xijue and Xu Guo whom he rescued that day, and he couldn't help but said: "Editor Shen, your nephew will definitely be a prime minister in the future. He is a talented person."
Shen has always been very active. He found many merchants who were exploited and obtained detailed interviews about how they were exploited by eunuchs and royal guards.
Shen Yiguan's investigation didn't just stop here. He also visited the homes of pyrotechnics craftsmen who were forced into corvee labor by the Ming Dynasty and interviewed them, and obtained information about how Uncle Qingyuan exploited these craftsmen.
In addition, Qingyuan Bo also forced the people living near the palace to wear good clothes and gather at the Meridian Gate to watch the Aoshan Lantern Festival on the Lantern Festival.
In order to decorate the Aoshan Lantern Festival, Uncle Qingyuan asked Jin Yiwei to forcibly collect silk, dyed cloth, flowers, and candles for the eunuchs to decorate the Meridian Gate, which caused many shops and people to go bankrupt.
All this news was summarized by Shen Yiguan, who wrote a report on the tragedy in the capital caused by an Aoshan Lantern Festival in a cold writing style.
After reading the report, Lu Tianshou couldn't help but be overjoyed. He said to Shen Mingchen:
"My nephew, this article is worth thousands of troops!"
Lu Tianshou quickly arranged for a printing factory to print it, and then quickly delivered it to the streets of the capital through a newsboy.
The four pages all reported the news of the Aoshan Lantern Festival in detail, pointing the finger at the Qingyuan Bo Li family and his son, as well as the Jin Yiwei and the palace eunuchs who were behind it. Shen Yiguan did not make any remarks to attack the Ming Dynasty court.
Of course, this was not Shen Guangyuan's speech for Ming Ting, but it was done on purpose.
Sure enough, as soon as the report of the Aoshan Lantern Festival came out, many people gathered in front of Qingyuan Bo Li Wei's house.
Li Wei was naturally not afraid of these ordinary people and asked the Jin Yiwei to disperse them.
Some people who plucked up the courage went to Shuntian Mansion to complain.
Naturally, the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture did not dare to interfere with Uncle Qingyuan's affairs, so he arrested several of the troublemakers and sent them to the Shuntian Prefecture prison in an attempt to calm things down.
Shen Yiguan was waiting for this moment. He immediately published another report about what happened in Shuntian Mansion before the year before.
Shen Mingchen asked doubtfully: "Why didn't you point to the Ming court in the first report and wait until the incident in Shuntian Mansion happened?"
Shen Yiguan said coldly: "Uncle, the people are like grass. On weekdays, they are the most vulnerable. They are weak and can be trampled on no matter how hard they are." "
But why do the wise kings of all ages say that they should treat the people well and call the people the 'country's foundation'? Is it really because these kings are kind and because their compatriots cannot bear to harm them?" "Actually
, It's not like this, it's all because once the people can no longer survive, they will immediately change from the softest to the strongest. If one person rises up, the world will gather in response, and the world will fall in an instant." "So the people are the most powerful
. From weak to strong, from weak to dangerous."
"But why was the dynasty always able to sustain itself when it was first established?"
Shen Mingchen shook his head. He was just a poet and had never thought about these issues.
Shen Yiguan said: "That's because the interests have not been entrenched and the people still have a chance to vent." "
If the Han Dynasty had strong orders and the Song Dynasty had Baolongtu, they could still kill a few corrupt officials and even the emperor who had great complaints from the people. Relatives, let the people vent their anger and let the people know that it was only the corrupt officials who harmed them, not the emperor and the entire court." "In short, the court's
intentions are good, but the people below are bad and make things worse. '."
"When the people have vented their anger, the next time they are oppressed, they will think about enduring it and let it go, or they may burn incense and pray, hoping for a great master." "But times have changed, and when the interests are entangled, the powerful
will They have become monolithic. Even if Bao Longtu comes back to life at this time, he will not be able to deal with these people." "Only then will the people know that it
is not just one or two rats that are harming the people."
"That's when there is no way out. to the point."
Shen Yiguang said coldly: "The target of my previous report was not the Ming court, but the problem of Uncle Qing Yuan. The people still have illusions in their hearts, hoping that the conscience of the Ming court will find out, or that Mr. Qingtian will serve the people. Call the shots."
"My second report is to dispel the illusions in the people's hearts and tell them the principle of 'Heaven does not save people, people save themselves'." Shen Yiguan continued: "Uncle, wait a minute, I have a third report
. Three reports."
Shen Mingchen looked at this nephew and suddenly understood why the Governor personally ordered this nephew to come to the capital with him.
Shen Mingchen was sincerely convinced by Su Ze and said that the Governor was very good at recognizing people. It turned out that this time the Governor recognized his nephew instead of himself.
Shen Mingchen was frustrated at first, and then happy. He was happy that his family had such a talented person.
As Shen Guangyuan expected, as soon as the second report came out, the conscientious censors in the capital, including Wang Yongji, finally couldn't bear it anymore. Twelve censors jointly signed a letter to impeach Qingyuan Bo Li Wei and his son for borrowing money from Aoshan. The lantern festival is harming the people, so I asked the emperor to stop this year's Aoshan Lantern Festival.
These memorials naturally fell into the sea and remained unpublished.
This aroused Yan Guan's anger even more.
Wang Yongji was a good friend of Hai Rui. He secretly wrote articles for the "Jingshi Xinbao" and rarely criticized the Ming court fiercely. He had illusions about the Ming court.
But this time Wang Yongji completely dispelled his illusions. He and twelve censors decided to remonstrate with the emperor and cancel this year's Aoshan Lantern Festival!
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, it was snowing in the capital. Twelve censors, dressed in single clothes, knelt in front of the Zuoshun Gate holding memorials in their hands.
Emperor Longqing finally realized the treatment his father had enjoyed. Zuoshunmen Queting was indeed a Ming Dynasty feature, and Emperor Longqing had to taste it.
(End of chapter)