The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty

When did the corrupt salt administration begin?

To be precise, signs of it had already appeared when the Second Renxuan Sect was in power.

After all, these two men were unwilling to fight. They comprehensively reduced the strategic defense line and even abandoned Cochin to allow Annan to resume his kingdom.

Without the war, the warrior Qiu Ba would not have the opportunity to make military achievements, and the military generals group would be disconnected!

As military commanders and nobles declined in power, civil servants and gentry rose correspondingly, gradually taking control of the discourse in the court.

Then there was the civil disaster. The generals and nobles suffered heavy casualties, the main force of the Beijing army was wiped out, and the civil servants and gentry controlled the government, and even inserted their hands into the Beijing camp and took over the military power.

Since then, the salt policy has become increasingly corrupt.

During the Hongzhi period, it developed to a ridiculous situation where no official was willing to serve as an official in the Yunsi Department, and the Yunsi Department had also become a filthy place of profit, a place of profit that greedy people were vying to go to!

Liu Jian naturally understands these principles, Ma Wensheng also knows them well, and Zhang Fuhua is even more familiar with them.

"You still have the nerve to impeach others here, and you still have the nerve to shout about benevolence, justice and morality here. I feel sick for you!"

Zhu Houzhao scolded in a cold voice: "Don't try to fool me like a child again!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the little emperor stood up and walked away.

But because of the sudden emergence of Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, the little emperor's growth rate was too fast, and it completely deviated from Liu Jian's expected trajectory!

The ministers didn't understand its meaning at first, but when they opened it and took a look, they broke out in cold sweat and their faces gradually turned pale.

"Your Majesty, I am impeaching Tang Hao, Marquis of Zhongshan, for acting recklessly in Tianjin Guards, ignoring national laws and regulations, and killing people like a piece of grass..."

The three true kings of the court walked out of Qianqing Palace simultaneously, but they all stopped at the same time.

"I remember that Liu Daxia once said to the late emperor that the soldiers and civilians in the world are poor, and the people are poor and their wealth is exhausted!"

Although he had the tacit approval of the three true kings of the court, he was still a little panicked.

For a time, the officials were filled with righteous indignation. Following Geng Ying, the Minister of Dali Temple, and Min Gui, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, more and more officials came forward to denounce Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, and demanded that the young emperor immediately recall this madman and hand it over to the Department of Justice. Punish!

There is no doubt that they are afraid!

"I am not the late emperor!"

"Ha!" Liu Jian sneered, "Then let them fight!"

But the only problem with this deal is that the three of them can now only represent the civil servants and gentry, not the local gentry, let alone the generals, nobles and relatives of the emperor!

Zhang Fuhua also looked at Liu Jian, his eyes full of solemnity.

"One or two gentry, Your Majesty will crush them like bugs, but what about hundreds of thousands or millions of gentry? They..."

"Then..." Ma Wensheng frowned and whispered, "What if these people don't agree?"

In the final analysis, it is because of differences in ideas or different ways of governing.

"how?"

"I only regret that the Marquis of Zhongshan was too soft-hearted and did not kill all of you rebellious officials and traitors as a warning to others!"

Therefore, the three true kings of the court did not speak, but chose to remain silent.

Liu Jian was Emperor Hongzhi's mentor, so he did say these words to Emperor Hongzhi.

This deal can indeed be done. It will benefit the country and the people, but it will harm the interests of these forces. However, none of the three of them can make this decision.

After all, Tianjin Guard was not far from the capital, so if such a shocking thing happened, the young and old Jiuqing would have known about it a long time ago.

It was Ye Qi's reform that changed the payment of grain into payment of silver!

It was Wang Shu who was forced to retire and return to his hometown, and he has never been able to return to his hometown!

It was known to all the world that Yun Si was corrupt, but the imperial court did not dare to rectify it!

The same choice was now placed in front of the little emperor.

And Emperor Hongzhi didn't pay much attention to it at first. Just like the current little emperor, he was aggressive and aggressive in reviving the Ming Dynasty, but what was the final result?

As soon as these words came out, Liu Jian, Ma Wensheng and Zhang Fuhua took the lead and knelt down on the ground. Immediately afterwards, all the civil and military officials in the court knelt down in unison, their movements were very skillful and standard.

But this is the path Liu Jian chose to follow the officials, and everything is focused on the overall situation.

At first, they thought that the Marquis of Zhongshan and the young emperor just wanted to clear out the Yunsi, so as to cooperate with the imperial court in restoring the old system of paying grain and opening up the country.

"Go on, I'm listening! The Marquis of Zhongshan is ferocious and tyrannical, the Marquis of Zhongshan is lawless, the Marquis of Zhongshan commits murderous crimes... What you say is so good!"

Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, could skin Zong Yue and cut it into grass in front of everyone. The little emperor could also behead all these officials of the Transportation Department at the entrance of the vegetable market in the capital, or even execute them in Lingchi!

These Transportation Department officials have now become the handle in the hands of the little emperor!

The third one is Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan who is leading the troops outside.

Which is more important, money or life? This choice is actually not difficult to make.

The conflicts between the two sides will only deepen day by day until they are finally irreconcilable.

Liu Jian knew in his heart that at that time, it would be time for him to retire and return home.

For example, Baoguo Gong Zhu Hui thought he would not be involved, but who is Zong Yue? He has been able to hold this position for nearly ten years, so how can he be an ordinary mediocre person? Standing behind the commander of the Three Guards of Tianjin Pingjiang Bo Chen Xiong, and behind Chen Xiong stood Zhu Hui!

All profit transmission networks were clearly explored by Zong Yue.

"Your Majesty, forgive me! Your Majesty, forgive me!"

"Your Majesty, I am guilty, please punish me!"

"Tomorrow's court meeting, His Majesty will definitely take action!"

"Your Majesty clearly knows that the old minister has no intention of deceiving the emperor!"

"Mr. Geng Si, the Huang Geng family has received very little, only 10,000 salt coins. I don't think it's worth it for you. Zong Yue looks down on you!"

Seeing this situation, the little emperor was immediately disappointed.

Because the names on this account book are not just cats and dogs, they are either prominent dignitaries of the time or respected relatives of the emperor. Together with the military officers, nobles and civil servants, their tentacles are spread throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Faced with His Majesty the Emperor's harsh accusations, Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, finally spoke.

The influence of Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao on the young emperor was too great!

At this thought, Liu Jian couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.

He first walked up to Zhu Hui, Lord Baoguo, and asked with a chuckle: "Gong Baoguo, you have made a lot of money these years!"

But now, this account book has become the little emperor's trump card to defeat his ministers!

"At first I was still thinking, doesn't my Ming Dynasty produce money and food? The treasury has no money, the military and the people have no money, so where did all the money and food go?"

The problem is that he, Tang Hao, dared to kill a local official who was from the third level and even skinned and stripped him. What else could he, Tang Hao, not dare to do?

Who wouldn't feel scared when facing such a wandering butcher and executioner?

Min Gui trembled when he heard this and hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty clearly knows that I have no idea about this matter..."

It's time to let this mad dog out!

But now it seems that they still underestimate His Majesty the Emperor, or in other words, they underestimate the Marquis of Zhongshan!

Because the savage Tang Hao was not by his side, and he had no one he could truly trust!

And all the civil and military forces in the Manchu Dynasty below the imperial rank were all involved in the corruption of the salt works!

Now they still have the nerve to talk nonsense here, and they still have the nerve to impeach the barbarians for their cruelty and cruelty. How shameless!

Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath, and then looked at Liu Jin.

But before taking office, he still has a lot of things to do!

At least, the Marquis of Zhongshan and the Little Emperor cannot be allowed to act impulsively.

"Well...don't you know?" Zhu Houzhao sneered and said, "That's easy to handle. I'll ask Jin Yiwei to go to Huzhou to find out how your Huguang Min family got its wealth, okay?"

Will a local official from the third rank be skinned in public?

Liu Jian really wanted to see if Zhongshan Hou and the young emperor could withstand these pressures.

After all, he, Liu Jian, and Emperor Hongzhi failed back then, and even in the end, Emperor Hongzhi no longer believed in him, Liu Jian, and the emperor and his master were at odds.

Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, didn't know, or Ma Wensheng, the minister of civil affairs, didn't know, or Zhang Fuhua, the general constitution general of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, didn't know, and even the late emperor, the sage and wise ruler, knew it all!

Everyone had been in peace before, but now things are better. If you let Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, go out to suppress the Japanese, is this how he suppressed the Japanese?

He kills the whole family if he disagrees with you, and peels off the skin and grass if he disagrees with you. Your Majesty, the little emperor, is really the reincarnation of a tyrant!

Zhu Houzhao looked at the scene in front of him coldly and never said a word.

Hearing this, Zhu Hui was so frightened that his liver and gallbladder burst into tears, and he hurriedly touched his head to the ground and accused him repeatedly.

Zhang Fuhua and Ma Wensheng looked at each other, and finally looked at Liu Jian, who had just stood up.

Therefore, in a sense, this is the first time that Zhengde Emperor Zhu Houzhao went to court to govern!

Thanks to the tacit approval of the three true kings of the court, the young emperor had this opportunity.

For a moment, the entire hall fell silent.

What is shocking is that the imperial treasury only received 50% of the proceeds, and the remaining 50% was divided up by all parties!

This mode of operation of the Changlu Salt Farm may have started since Zong Yue took office as Changlu Capital Transport Envoy, or even before him!

Even the British Duke Zhang Mao and the Baoguo Duke Zhu Hui looked at each other. They really did not expect Tang Hao to be so ruthless.

"Tomorrow, I will go to court to govern!"

"You know very well that salt courses account for half of the national economy!"

"Now I finally understand that the imperial court cannot collect taxes and the people pay taxes on time. All the last money in food, taxes and silver goes into the pockets of you corrupt officials!"

The little emperor slammed the desk, stood up and yelled angrily.

Now, Min Gui didn't dare to say anything.

Upon hearing this shocking news, the whole country was in an uproar.

The civil and military personnel stood in their respective positions, and the performance officially began.

Originally, in Liu Jian's plan, he could last another three years until the little emperor was eighteen years old. When the little emperor grew up, he could return to his hometown with peace of mind and return the power of government to His Majesty the Emperor.

He is the leader of the Jin gentry. Ma Wensheng and Zhang Fuhua can keep silent to protect themselves, but Liu Jian cannot.

"Liu Jian!" the young emperor scolded sternly: "Is this how you advised my father when the prince restructured the transportation department?"

For a moment, the ministers buried their heads even lower, not even daring to breathe out.

Liu Jian's eyes were deep and his expression was solemn.

"Go back and tell the gentry Jin gentry that you can test whether the knife in my hand is sharp and whether I dare to kill someone!"

To be honest, today is his first time attending court.

"However, His Majesty and Marquis Zhongshan are still too young after all. They will understand when they have a bloody collision!"

"Liu Xixian, what should we do now?"

To put it more bluntly, if these various forces involved in the salt policy do not agree to the little emperor's request today and cede 70% of the interests to the imperial court and half of the interests to Zaohu Yanding, it is possible that Tang Hao will be killed tomorrow. Kill him in their house, just like Zong Yue, kill his whole family, and then skin him and make him grass!

First, the Changlu Saltworks income and expenditure account book placed in front of the three of them was written by Zong Yue, the Duyun Envoy of the Changlu Transportation Department, and recorded in detail the annual income and distribution of the Changlu Saltworks.

The conflict between him and His Majesty the Emperor is really getting bigger and bigger.

"Don't you even support your three beloved ladies?"

This time, it is not a court meeting, but a court meeting. Therefore, all officials in Beijing, regardless of their official position, must go to the court. All local officials who come to Beijing to report on their duties must also go to the court.

Liu Jian had a bitter look on his face and finally sighed.

In fact, facing such a murderous king who holds great power and acts without any bottom line, no official will not feel scared!

Who wouldn't be afraid of killing a whole family and skinning people to make grass?

Zong Yue just embezzled a little money. Who in the court doesn't know this?

Although it is said that the Ming Dynasty did not pay attention to the concept of "punishing officials without being punished", at least they still had to maintain the dignity of officials.

Shocking and shocking to hear!

In other words, the little emperor and the Marquis of Zhongshan could use this account book to trace their origins, uproot all the forces in the account book, confiscate their families and exterminate all their families, as a warning to others!

Min Gui, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, also stood up and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, it is said that Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, was holding Zongyue, the chief judge of the Great Imperial Order, Lu Yunsi in Tianjin Guards, and skinned him in public, and also killed Zongyue. Full of doors…”

As Liu Jin spoke, the guards walked into the hall one by one, holding a copy of the Changlu Saltworks income and expenditure account book in their hands, and distributed it to the courtiers one by one.

After all, everything you do leaves a mark.

"Your Majesty, it is clearly written in this account book that all forces are involved. It is not something that can be decided by the three of you!"

Bite these bitches hard!

Liu Jin received His Majesty the Emperor's permission and immediately began his performance.

He just wanted to tell the little emperor not to act too hastily, and not to shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty just because of temporary interests.

After all, the declining Ming Dynasty is no longer at the peak of its national power and can no longer withstand the hardships!

However, after the young emperor ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, he was determined to rejuvenate the Ming Dynasty. He also appointed Tang Hao, Marquis of Zhongshan, as his confidant to control the Beijing army, and repeatedly implemented new policies and reforms.

After this combination of punches, even the three true kings of the court were a little dazed at the moment.

His Majesty the Emperor has left, and Mou Bin, Chen Kuan and others naturally followed.

As soon as these words came out, Liu Jian was startled, then stood up and knelt on the ground.

How can you really follow the severe punishments in "The Great Edict" and skin people to death?

It clearly records who are profiting from the Changlu Salt Field and which forces are profiting from the Changlu Salt Field. Everything is clearly written one by one, including the British Duke Zhang Mao and the Baoguo Duke. Zhu Hui is no exception!

"I will decide on the 70% of the salt policy interests and the half percent of the Zaohu Salt Ding!"

Geng Ying, the minister of Dali Temple, took the lead and pointed his finger at Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan.

"do nothing!"

Zhu Houzhao glanced at him coldly, then walked to Min Gui and sneered: "Hey, Minister Min, your Huzhou Min family is not bad at all. Can you spend all the 30,000 yuan of salt every year?"

Tianguan Ma Wensheng asked, taking the initiative to ask Liu Jian's attitude.

Zhang Fuhua stroked his white beard and said: "Master Yuanfu means..."

"Some people deserve to die, so let them die!"

"Well, why is it so quiet?"

Zhu Houzhao ignored him, but continued to move forward and began the death roll call.

"Or do you really think that I, the little emperor, don't dare to kill anyone? Do you really think that the Marquis of Zhongshan's Beijing army is just for show?"

Secondly, the other Transportation Department officials who are on their way back to Beijing!

There is no doubt that these officials of the Transportation Department, just like Changlu Yunsi, are the spokespersons of all forces in the salt industry, and they are all tools for making money for them.

"Moreover, most of the benefits are actually obtained by local gentry. These gentry are huge in number and powerful. If Your Majesty really wants to act like this, I am afraid that the government will be unstable!"

"Aren't you just agitated and filled with righteous indignation?"

The night the late emperor left, Liu Jian instantly aged ten years, and his energy was not as good as before.

Zong Yue originally thought that this account book would be his last life-saving bargaining chip, but he did not expect that Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao would not follow the rules and directly skinned him, without even a chance to sacrifice the account book!

To be honest, Liu Jian's ability to say what he just said was already a breakthrough for himself.

This is simply insane!

Even if they were really allowed to kill, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to finish the killing and they wouldn't be able to sort it out!

"By then, all parties will know about this matter, so we don't need to add any unnecessary extravagance!"

The little emperor didn't waste any time, picked up the original account book, and walked down from the stairs with dignity.

Liu Jian was an official who spent his whole life trying to stabilize the court and maintain the normal operation of the Ming Dynasty.

Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, is showing his cards right now!

Then the little emperor looked at Geng Ying, the minister of Dali Temple.

"My lords, before impeaching the Marquis of Zhongshan, you should take a look at this account book first!"

The last words of the little emperor are very interesting, full of threats!

What is Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao's next move and who is his next target? The little emperor said that he did not know, so it is even more impossible for the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty to know.

Zhu Houzhao's face turned cold instantly.

In fact, this is the normal pattern of the emperor's early dynasty. However, considering that Zhu Houzhao took the throne too short and was not very old, he did not have the ability to govern personally. The civil servants and gentry followed the example of Sanyang's reign, and the nine ministers, big and small, discussed political affairs in the Wenhua Palace. This maintained the normal operation of the Ming Dynasty.

"Now half of the salt administration's income has been taken away by these corrupt officials. I just want to get some back. Am I going too far?"

Even if it was to stabilize the overall political situation, he had to speak.

But if they really do this, the Ming Dynasty will not be far away from collapse.

Early the next morning, there was a court meeting at Qianqing Palace.

"Pingjiang Bo Chen Xiong pays you 50,000 salt every year. Now Chen Xiong is being tortured in prison. Do you want to go in and be his companion?"

Geng Ying's face was full of despair. His lifelong reputation for being upright and virtuous was completely destroyed today because of his family's corruption!

Among the nine ministers, princes and nobles, one by one, no one can escape.

Liu Jian spoke in a deep voice.

Even if they, like Geng Ying, did not collect the money themselves, their family members helped them.

This is the gentry!