Chapter 406: The Boomerang of the Ancestral Law
A few days later, Huang Shuli put on the clothes of ordinary people and led a group of civilians to transport food to the edge of Liangshan Mountain.
"Quickly, put down the cart!"
The peasants immediately put down the cart transporting grain. Secretary Huang led everyone back to the woods, and soon a group of people came down from Liangshan Mountain.
Kinoshita Tokichiro led the reorganized refugees to surround them and push the grain trucks up Liangshan.
Kinoshita looked around and saw Mr. Huang hiding in the woods. He waved his hand, and a middle-aged man with big hair was pulled out.
Huang Shuli immediately recognized that this person was the Youxian Lieutenant who was captured in Ruanjia Village last time.
"Go away!"
Kinoshita Tokichiro jumped up, kicked Lieutenant You on the butt, and kicked him out.
Lieutenant Youxian stumbled, stabilized his body and immediately ran towards the woods.
Everyone in Liangshan laughed loudly. Secretary Huang waited until Lieutenant You was approaching and rushed out from the woods to meet him.
"Third Master, you have suffered!"
Huang Shuli quickly took out his dagger and cut the rope around Lieutenant You.
Lieutenant Youxian looked at Secretary Huang in shock.
"Where is Squad Leader Ruan?"
Lieutenant You County gritted his teeth and said, "That guy has surrendered to the bandits!"
Everyone was shocked. Huang Shuli looked around, and sure enough he didn't see Squad Leader Ruan, and he didn't dare to stay for a long time and immediately took him with him. Lieutenant Youxian left.
On Liangshan Mountain, Li Shunchen said to Ruan Yong, the tied-up leader of the government officials:
"We have released Lieutenant Youxian back today. Do you know why we didn't let you go?"
Ruan Yong had a bandage on his body, and the gunshot wound on his arm had not yet healed. After recovering, although he was tied up, he held his head high and said:
"Bah! You want me to become a thief! No way!"
Yi Sunchen was not angry, but said: "The county magistrate you have been thinking about so much can't bear to pay to redeem you. So we can only put Lieutenant You back first."
Ruan Yong snorted coldly and said: "You thief, you still want to divorce me? Do you think I haven't watched "Water Margin"?"
Li Shunchen said with a smile: "Since If you have read "Water Margin", you should know how Lu Junyi went to Liangshan, right?" "
I know that you and Captain Nayou have always been at odds. If you let him go this time, someone must bear the responsibility for the defeat. Do you think you can still Are there any options?"
Ruan Yong was startled. He looked at Li Sunchen's young face and suddenly asked:
"You are definitely not an ordinary bandit! You don't have a Shandong accent either. Where are you from?"
Yi Sunchen did not answer him directly. question, but ordered his men to take him to prison.
"Master, some of the grain is reserved as grain, and the rest has been distributed."
Kinoshita Tokichiro opened the door and came in. Yi Sunchen said helplessly: "Old Mu, I asked you not to call me master a long time ago. Is it possible that we still don't call you master?" I really want to be a bandit on Liangshan Mountain."
Kinoshita Tokichiro's hair has grown out, and when he puts on Han clothes, he can no longer tell that he is a Japanese.
He is also very proficient in Chinese. Although he cannot read or write yet, he can already communicate normally.
Kinoshita Tokichiro also gave himself a Chinese name - Mu Xia, and now the whole Liangshan calls him the second head of the Mu family.
Kinoshita smiled and said: "Isn't it good to be a hero in Liangshan?"
Yi Shunchen sighed helplessly: "If it weren't for this batch of food in Huncheng County, we would have starved to death in the mountains, but now the refugees who come here are getting more and more famous. More and more food is coming, and even this
little food won't last until autumn." Kinoshita Tokichiro said with a smile: "I'm afraid the boss has forgotten that Liangshan is the junction of five counties, and we have five fat sheep that can be slaughtered." Yi Sun-shin still frowned
. Said: "I'm just afraid that someone will report it to Jeju City. Our few soldiers and horses can't stop Mingting's three-town new army."
Kinoshita Tokichiro showed a funny smile again: "Then you don't understand these insects very well. They won't report to Jeju City." "
Last time, the Huang Shuli came to bring a message and said he was willing to send another batch of grain and let us go to Dong'a County to have a look. He said that Dong'a County is rich and much better than Huncheng County. Yes."
Li Sunchen raised his brows and said, "It seems that magistrate Cai hates the magistrate Dong'a the most."
"Hahaha!"
The two of them laughed out loud.
Capital, in the Forbidden City.
Feng Bao, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, was checking the memorial sent by the cabinet.
When Emperor Longqing first ascended the throne, perhaps because of his strong desire for power, or because he seemed to be diligent, all memorials were personally approved.
But after being tormented by the mountain of memorials every day for a while, Emperor Longqing soon lost most of the memorials to the Supervisor of Ceremonies, just like his father.
Feng Bao was very excited at first after he had the power to criticize people.
But since talking to Huang Jin, Feng Bao has become much more restrained. He will carefully criticize the memorials every day, then select the memorials that he thinks are important and briefly report them to the emperor.
Emperor Longqing was more satisfied with Feng Bao and gave him more power.
Feng Bao did not dare to take credit, and still kept a low profile in the palace. All this satisfied the emperor.
Seeing this memorial handed over from the cabinet today, Feng Bao immediately stopped the ink pen in his hand.
This memorial is "Please open a mining tax bill" written by Han Ji, the governor of Shandong.
Gao Gong did not dare to be expert and requested the emperor's sanction. The other cabinet ministers had no additional opinions, which was rare in the title books of the Longqing Dynasty.
Gao Gong, a workaholic, would give instructions on almost all memorials. Feng Bao's ability to assist Long Qing in handling so many memorials was inseparable from this hardworking elder.
But after seeing this memorial asking for a mining tax, Feng Bao began to think deeply.
After receiving the "true biography" from Huang Jin, Feng Bao increasingly learned to think from the emperor's perspective.
When this memorandum was submitted and none of the cabinet ministers signed it, the emperor would definitely ask for his opinion.
So what kind of answer would satisfy the emperor?
Order the Ministry of Industry to explore the silver mines, and let the Ministry of Household Affairs send mine supervisors to arrange for the opening of the mines?
Feng Bao shook his head. If the mining tax was really imposed, Yan Guan would rush up to report it if he smelled it, which would disturb the emperor's peace.
The scholar-officials of the Ming Dynasty were very sensitive to tax increases.
Even if we open a mine, it is equivalent to levying an additional mining tax. Is it strange that this is not criticized?
During this period, the emperor was already troubled by the impeachment of Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Ge. If the mining tax was introduced again, he would definitely be punished by officials.
Moreover, the mining tax went into the treasury of the Ministry of Household Affairs, which did not benefit the emperor and only caused more trouble.
Feng Bao opened another title book. This was a memorial written by the Ministry of Industry to rebuild the tomb of Qingyuan Bo Li Wei's father. A long and high-arched objection was listed at the back of the memorial.
Feng Bao pinched his forehead, the cabinet refused to pay, Uncle Qingyuan was going to make trouble again, and the emperor could not live in peace again.
It's not easy for the emperor. He wants to allocate funds to his father-in-law to rebuild his ancestral tombs. Even the cabinet ministers have to oppose this request.
These cabinet ministers are too stingy!
If the inner treasury hadn't been short of money, the emperor wouldn't have had to suffer this!
etc! Feng Bao suddenly felt blessed, and he immediately thought of the best way to satisfy the emperor!
Thinking of this, Feng Bao immediately sandwiched two memorials and hurried towards Emperor Longqing's palace.
Emperor Longqing has also been in a bad mood recently.
The palace asked the Ministry of Finance for the money for incense and candles, and although the Ministry of Finance gave it to him, Gao Gong sent him a long memorial of remonstrance.
Emperor Longqing was very unhappy. The expenses in the palace now were less than half of what they were when the emperor was in power. Now that the emperor was back in Luan, the food and clothing expenses were at the emperor's standards. It seemed that he had been very frugal.
When my father was on the throne, he was engaged in major construction projects, cultivating Taoism, and collecting ambergris and treasures from all over the world. Those cabinet ministers didn't say anything. How could he be the emperor? Every incense and candle used in the palace had to be reported to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Begging?
Feng Bao asked for an audience with two memorials. Emperor Longqing was in a very bad mood, but Feng Bao's request for an audience at this time must have been a big deal. When Feng Bao came in and saw the emperor's face, he lowered his head even more.
"Did the Secretary of General Affairs send another urgent memorial?"
Feng Bao lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, your plan to give Uncle Qingyuan 10,000 taels of silver to build the ancestral tomb was rejected by the cabinet."
Long Qing's face became even more ugly. He wanted to save face for his father-in-law and asked the Ministry of Industry to allocate funds for him to build ancestral tombs to honor his ancestors, but the cabinet rejected it again.
Emperor Longqing's face turned red, but his character was weak, and he became sulky for a while and stopped talking.
Feng Bao keenly captured the emperor's emotions, and he sent the "Please open mining tax notice" written by Han Ji, the governor of Shandong, and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, this is the
memorial from the governor of Shandong, requesting the imperial court to open mining in Shandong. "
Just now that he was disappointed, the emperor's temper got worse. He was about to resist passively and refuse the memorial, but he heard Feng Bao say: "Your Majesty, the servants think that the palace's
insufficient expenses are all caused by internal affairs. It was caused by the empty treasury."
When Feng Bao saw that the emperor did not speak, he continued:
"When the emperor was in power, the inner treasury had enough silver. "The money from the inner treasury."
"For the sake of state affairs, the emperor gave the money from the inner treasury to the Ministry of Household Affairs, but he had no money to use." Emperor Longqing's face was
uncertain. When he first succeeded to the throne, in order to eliminate the shortcomings of the emperor's period, he gave it to the civil servants He handed over the inner treasure under deception.
This led to the palace having to report to the Ministry of Household Affairs to ask for more money.
Although it is impossible for the Ministry of Household Affairs not to provide for the daily expenses in the palace, Gao Gong would catch him and teach him hard every time.
Feng Bao was indeed right. If he still had internal treasury, even if he gave Uncle Qingyuan 10,000 taels to build his ancestral tomb, there was nothing the Ministry of Industry could do to stop him.
Feng Bao continued: "Your Majesty, in the opinion of the servants, this mine is going to be opened, but it cannot be opened by the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works, but by the people in the palace." Emperor Longqing was moved
.
He understood what Feng Bao meant, which was to ask the palace to send mine supervisors to Shandong to preside over the mining.
Since someone from the palace was in charge, the income from the mining would naturally go into the emperor's private pocket.
After that, if you spend your own money, the cabinet and the foreign court will not be able to say much.
However, Long Qing still had a soft character. He hesitated and said, "Wouldn't the ministers object to this? Especially the cabinet?"
Feng Bao saw that the emperor was moved, and continued to add:
"Those born and raised are all given by God. Your Majesty, 'if God does not take it, he will be blamed for it'. The discovery of silver mines in Shandong was given by God to Your Majesty, and it should be mined by Your Majesty." "It is also customary for the mine
supervisors in various places to be served by people from the palace. Emperor Wuzong sent it, and so did the Emperor."
With the support of his ancestors, Emperor Longqing finally made up his mind. He said to Feng Bao:
"Bring me the ink pen, I will send mine supervisors to Shandong."
"This dispatch I leave it to you to choose the candidate. You must let a steady person go, and you must not bring harm to the place."
Feng Bao concealed his ecstasy and immediately lowered his head and said: "I obey, Your Majesty."
Coming out of the emperor's palace, Feng Bao Paul finally realized the feeling of power.
He learned Huang Jin's methods, figured out the emperor's intentions, and obtained this power.
Everyone in the palace knew that sending mine supervisors to local areas was a good job. The emperor left this job to himself, and Feng Bao gained status in the palace.
Even if those eunuchs cannot compete for this position this time, they must respect themselves in the future and work hard to get the next opportunity.
Is this power?
Feng Bao quickened his pace. He wanted to spread the news immediately and let the people in the palace know what he was capable of!
When the emperor's memorial was returned to the cabinet, it indeed aroused collective opposition from civil servants.
Gao Gong was about to go to the emperor with the memorial on the spot and denounced the disadvantages of sending eunuchs to local areas as mine supervisors.
But this time the emperor had already been given a response by Professor Feng Bao. Long Qing used the ancestral method and the practice of previous emperors to dispatch eunuchs such as mine supervisors and shipping officials to suppress the cabinet's counterattack.
Gao Gong used to use his ancestors' methods to suppress the emperor, but this time he finally realized the power of his ancestors' methods.
Gao Gong was defeated, and no other minister in the cabinet was willing to contradict the emperor, so the matter was completed.
After this battle, Emperor Longqing finally tasted the taste of power. He couldn't wait to ask Feng Bao to select an eunuch named Uncle Jiao and send him to Shandong as a mine supervisor.
Uncle Jiao was one of Feng Baoshou's godsons, but the emperor didn't care. As long as he could complete the task of collecting mining taxes, it would be the same for anyone.
Uncle Jiao immediately gained the favor of all the eunuchs in the palace. No matter how high he was in the palace, he had to serve others.
If you leave the palace to serve as a mine supervisor, you are a messenger of the emperor, and you are domineering in the local area.
Not to mention someone as fat as a mine supervisor.
Uncle Jiao got such a good job, so he went to see Feng Bao overnight.
Feng Bao looked at Uncle Jiao and said, "We're going to Shandong now. Do you know what we're going to do?"
"Godfather, my son understands that he should work well for His Majesty and start mining in Shandong."
Feng Bao immediately said: "Mining? Do you think Shandong What kind of mines can be mined? Are there any rich mines for you to mine in that place?"
"Ah?"
"You don't think you really went to Shandong to collect mineral taxes, do you?"
Looking at this useless godson , Feng Bao also experienced the joy of educating his younger generations:
"To make money, your task when you go to the place is to make money for His Majesty. If you can't make money from mining, your godfather can't protect you." "
Then what should I do? My godfather, please tell me. Teach your son!”
Feng Bao then said: "When you get to the place, don't open the mine yourself, but contract the mine to the local powerful and wealthy households, so that they must pay a certain amount of mining tax." "You know what to do next
. Are you ready?"
"My godfather is wise!"
(End of this chapter)