my brother-in-law is the prince

Chapter 318 Who Has Objections?

Wu Zhizhan's words came out, and everyone couldn't hold back.

Yao Guangxiao is old.

If it is said that he died of old age during the journey.

In fact, this is acceptable to everyone.

But he died of starvation, illness, or even beating to death, which is completely unacceptable.

Who is Yao Guangxiao?
This is the driving force behind the entire Jing Nan.

Almost all the princes and generals in today's court have benefited greatly from Jing Nan.

To put it bluntly, even people like Hu Guang and Yang Rong would have to wait at least 20 years if they wanted to get ahead when Jianwen was around, if it wasn't because of Jing Nan.

After all, Huang Zicheng and others around Jianwen almost controlled the court under Jianwen's trust.

Not to mention, the relationship between this person and Zhu Di.

If Zhu Di is King Wu of Zhou, then Yao Guangxiao is Jiang Ziya.

However, it was difficult for Jing to succeed, and everyone got what they deserved. Zhu Di became the emperor as he wished, and the rest of them were either princes, cabinets, or ministers.

Only Yao Guangxiao declined all high-ranking officials and generous salaries, and only accepted a small official from the Sanglu Division.

Although he often advises Zhu Di, as soon as he leaves the palace, he immediately changes into monk clothes, eats fast and prays to Buddha.

Almost everyone in this hall felt that Yao Guangxiao was a terrifying person.

But everyone respected him.

You don't need to like him, you can pick out a hundred faults from him, but you have to respect him in front of him.

Just such a person, he was beaten to death...starved to death...

This is not a big joke in the slippery world, what is it?
"Nonsense!" Someone stood up, and the person who spoke was a censor.

The censor was young and immediately noticed the problem.

The place where Yao Guangxiao's accident happened was the Ningguo Mansion. Isn't that obvious, someone wanted to frame the Ningguo Mansion?
Yu Shi subconsciously believed that this must be someone from the Taiping Mansion who was plotting against the Ningguo Mansion, so he sullenly said, "Who is Yao Gong, who dares to harm him?"

"It's a small official, it's the local county magistrate, it's the county magistrate, and it's also the government office." Wu Zhizhan answered very calmly at this time, he was already mentally prepared.

He immediately said: "When Mr. Yao arrived at Ningguo Mansion, he was mistaken for an ordinary monk, so he was pretended to be a doctor by the servants, and he was tortured all the time..."

Zhu Di's face was extremely ugly, and he didn't speak for a while.

He just felt stuffy in his heart. He wanted to cover his heart, but he didn't want to show his fragility in front of the officials.

The censor continued to question: "Duke Yao is old, how could he be regarded as a doctor?"

Wu Zhizhan took out a proclamation from his sleeve without hesitation, and said: "The situation is like this. In order to prevent the plague, the government has requested to recruit a large number of medical households. This is a proclamation issued by the government to Xuancheng County. , requiring 76 households to enlist medical services.”

As soon as he raised the official document, the eunuch quickly took it and sent it to Zhu Di.

Zhu Di didn't look at it, but shook his head with difficulty, and nodded to Yang Rong.

The eunuch understood, so he sent the proclamation to Yang Rong.

Yang Rong took it, looked at it, and immediately said: "That's right, just recruiting medical households to slow down the plague is all right."

At this time, Wu Zhizhan took out another yellow book and said: "So the counties below have recruited medical households one after another. Among them... in Nanling County, according to the order of the government, 39 households were recruited, so Nanling County detained 47 households and left."

Everyone stopped talking.

But there was still a young stunned youth who stood up and said, "Since 39 households were recruited, how could 47 households come?"

Wu Zhizhan said: "We need to recruit more, as a loss."

The stunned head raised his eyebrows and said: "Is this also a loss?"

Wu Zhizhan said: "Of course there are. Some people will flee, and some people will starve to death or die of illness on the way."

Everyone was silent again, to tell the truth... It is only a day's journey from Nanling County to Taiping Mansion, so a large number of people will die of starvation and disease, the reason is really far-fetched.

However, Wu Zhizhan continued to take out a document and said: "This is the book of Dianmao, which is from the mill. The guilty minister dared to ask the guards to go to the mill in the mansion and asked for the book of Dianmao. The reason I want to make a copy for the record. Look... this is the Dianbao of Nanling County, and the man named Zhang Ye among them is Yao Gong."

The eunuch took the notebook again and sent it to Yang Rong.

Yang Rong just looked at it, and his face changed drastically. He took a deep breath, and his eyes were already a little red.

A person like him can actually see the tricks at a glance.

So Yang Rong read in a hoarse voice: "Zhang Ye, 27 years old, a doctor, has a mole on his face, short beard, tall..."

There was a dead silence in the hall.

"Mr. Yao sent over from Nanling County is Zhang Ye." Wu Zhizhan confirmed.

Yang Rong tremblingly said: "Why, Zhaomo Institute...the Zhaomo Institute obviously doesn't match up with the people in it, so why do you need to check and accept it?"

"First, I don't want to offend Nanling County. Second, the government office wants medical households. If they are blocked, the number will not be enough. The government government urged them urgently, but in the end there was no corresponding number, and the guilt cannot be absolved. "

Wu Zhizhan's logic is very clear.

Before he came, he knew that this time he sued the imperial court, which was related to his wealth and life, and he could only succeed, not fail.

The worst result would be to punish a false accusation, and to falsely accuse the officials of the Ministry of Officials, as well as so many officials and colleagues, would be enough to destroy him forever.

So he was well prepared.

At this time, he continued: "Among them, the lower officials also learned that after someone detained Mr. Yao, he was hungry for two days, but it was recorded that Mr. Yao had eaten meat along the way, but in fact... A doctor died of starvation, and the officials went to find out about it. Someone conducted an autopsy on the person who starved to death with Yao Gong, and found that the stomach of this person was almost empty. Therefore...the so-called rice along the way was recorded Meat is just empty talk.”

All of a sudden, there was commotion in the hall.

This operation is suffocating.

Many people secretly looked at Zhu Di subconsciously.

But Zhu Di just sat, and didn't say a word at this time.

Not to mention him, even Zhang Anshi couldn't hold back, for a while, he stood there like a dumb chicken, unable to say anything.

Yang Rong was quite calm. He stared at Wu Zhizhan and said, "And... you said you died of illness?"

"Yes, he is sick, and the condition is very bad. This is also learned from the doctor who went with him."

Yang Rong then asked: "Since the people who went with me were all medical households, why no one came to help?"

"Because it's very simple. Although everyone is counted as a medical household like Yao Gong, in fact, there is no real medical household. They are all strong men."

"..."

"The guilty minister also went to ask some officials in the county. They were forced to question them urgently, so they told the truth, saying that... all the medical households... are mostly scholars, and they have a lot of connections with the local gentry. Or open a medicine hall in the county, with rich family resources, and some people have even passed the examination. The government wants to recruit medical households for free. How can the real medical households be willing to go? Of course, it is just a fake."

Yang Rong shuddered.

He already felt that the palace was filled with murderous intent.

It's not just His Majesty who has murderous intent, even if it's a minister or not, it seems to be provoked by this operation now.

Zhang Anshi suppressed his anger, pursed his lips tightly, as if he was trying hard to hold back, and didn't say a word.

After hearing this, Yang Rong just sighed in his heart, and said quietly: "In this way, the so-called plague prevention..."

"The plague has begun to appear in various counties." Wu Zhizhan said with a sigh: "There have been hundreds of households in Xuancheng, and more than [-] people have died."

Yang Rong: "..."

Wu Zhizhan continued: "Besides this, there is also the issue of money and food. In order to prevent the plague, the Ningguo Mansion allocated a lot of money and food. It was originally agreed that the gentry and rich households would donate, but it was not enough , or rather, it is far from enough. So I taught everyone to think of a way together. The counties had to indulge the counties and district chiefs and press for food everywhere. Enough [-] stone grains... I have used all my strengths... I am afraid that the people will not be able to survive."

Needle drop can be heard in the hall.

Wu Zhizhan continued: "Of course, the more terrible problem is not limited to this...Because of apportionment, the fleeing households are very serious. Many fleeing households either fall into the grass and become bandits, or go to other prefectures. refugees."

"The treasury of the government office has long been empty..."

"Sinners these days have been acting as minions for tigers. Under the urging of the government, they have done countless things to harm the people. They are terrified every day... Today... I dare not say that I am repentant, but I am really afraid of crimes, so I am here to plead guilty... Doom."

After Wu Zhizhan finished speaking, he bowed down directly.

The hall was still silent.

Only Yang Rong pondered for a moment, and said: "Why is the treasury empty? Logically speaking, the summer grain has just been harvested. Even if it encounters a rat infestation, there should still be room for it. Why is there an additional levy?"

Wu Zhizhan lowered his eyes and said: "Because there is a deficit, and the deficit is extremely serious, in order to compete with Taiping Mansion, the mansion has built a lot of county schools, and it needs to be educated. In addition... because Mr. Jian came to Ningguo Mansion, Many scholars came here with their families, saying that they wanted to go to Jian Gong. Not to mention other things, there were more than 30 people in Muyou alone. , and entertainment, these are money and food."

"Then there is fleeing households. Many people heard that Taiping Mansion is rich, so they went to Taiping Mansion one after another, and the prohibition continued. Before this, the land price fell. After the fall, the gentry asked the counties to find a way to ban it, so again Recruit a large number of people to guard against death, these people also need money and food."

"Later, land prices stabilized, but many gentry and sages still suffered a lot of losses. In order to make up for this loss, they bargained with their friends and officials, saying that as much food as they donated, they could spend as much as their own. Hidden field."

"After this matter is negotiated, the summer tax in the coming year will inevitably be greatly reduced. In order to ensure that the summer tax in the coming year will be higher than this year, so as to show that Mr. Jian has made outstanding achievements in the Ningguo Mansion, the counties have already geared up and are ready to send more. On the heads of ordinary people."

"When these common people heard that there would be more dispatches, they sold their fields one after another, and they dared not cultivate them any more. The sold fields were taken over by gentry and sages, and became hidden fields again. This cycle repeated, not to mention other things. For example, in Xuancheng County, last year the registered land was 31 mu, but now, the registered land has become 24 mu. Without so many fields, next year’s summer tax will have to be more than last year’s. What should I do?"

"If you don't do this, there is no way. Because many things in the mansion have to be donated by the gentry and the country's sages. When encountering troubles, you have to ask them to ask them. Nothing can be done. As the county magistrate of Xuancheng, the sinner must call the gentry and village sages of the county three times a month. None of the times is to ask them to spend some money to build roads and bridges, or Is it a school house? If they hide their fields, they will have to investigate, and I am afraid that no one will donate money and food in the future."

"Furthermore, local matters affect the whole body. If you offend a sage in the village, they have already been intimate with people in the county through marriage and friendship in the local area. Offending one person is an offense. Dozens of hundreds of families. And these dozens of hundreds of families control almost everything in the county. Even the chiefs of various places are recommended by them. Any one, the black hat in this county will not be safe."

After Wu Zhizhan finished all these words in one breath, he sighed heavily, and then continued: "I heard that the most popular thing at the moment is to let ordinary people who own some land directly contribute land, that is, Said, without spending a penny, put this land under the names of the sages and gentry. In this way, the gentry and sages used means to make this land a hidden field without paying taxes. The original self-cultivating farmers became The tenant farmers pay a little rent to the gentry and sages every year, and still cultivate their own land."

"This kind of situation is quite common in Xuancheng. A family surnamed Liu in Xuancheng got donations from 45 households in just half a year without spending a penny. They got 760 mu of land, and this is just one family. .”

This remark is a direct showdown.

But many ministers in the palace did not show surprise.

It's not that they haven't heard about it, not to mention the Ningguo Mansion. In fact, there are clues to this situation in other places.

It's just...it's all unspoken.

Of course, no one thought that the situation in Ningguo Mansion under Jian Gong's rule was more serious than other places, and it was already so serious that it was outrageous.

After all, the other magistrates just lie flat, do nothing, and let nature take its course, so they have relatively few requests from the village sages and gentry.

However, the Ningguo Mansion, where Duke Jian took office, wanted to make a difference and compete with the Taiping Mansion. In this way, it deepened its dependence on the gentry and village sages.

The end result is that the harder you work, the more you die.

Yang Rong took a deep breath and asked, "Does Mr. Jian know about these things?"

"The lower officials don't know." Wu Zhizhan replied very simply: "It's not for the lower officials to ask about government affairs."

And at this moment, Zhu Di was finally ready to speak, these words... he could only hear them numbly.

He had only now calmed himself down a little.

But at this moment, the ministers were no longer calm, one by one began to whisper, and the whole hall was filled with buzzing sounds.

It's not that they want to be disrespectful in front of the king, but that they are too surprised.

Zhu Di said: "Mr. Yao...he...he..."

He didn't continue, Wu Zhizhan said: "His body, if nothing unexpected happens, it should be burnt tomorrow morning."

Zhu Di: "..."

Seeing that His Majesty was speechless again, Yang Rong asked Wu Zhizhan, "It's burned, why?"

Wu Zhizhan said: "The matter is too big, and the government has already panicked. In the end, everyone made up their minds. This matter can only destroy the corpse. So..."

Next, Wu Zhizhan released an even more terrifying news: "They have prepared...to burn all the 'medical households' in Nanling County who are detained together. If this is the case, it will be regarded as a fire. This Yao Gong In it, if you die, you can only be counted as a medical account named Zhang Ye, and as for other medical accounts, you can kill people to silence them."

Zhu Di's face was miserable.

This Zhu Di is already considered a murderer, when he left the customs to go to the desert, he killed countless Tartars, and after Jing Nan, he did not know how many people's blood he was stained with.

But Ci doesn't command soldiers, and he doesn't care about killing people at all.

However, after hearing this, he felt unbelievable, or rather... felt like a light on his back.

"After the guilty minister heard about it, he was also shocked, but he didn't dare to reveal it, but when he returned to the county government office, he immediately collected some criminal evidence, and quickly escaped from the Ningguo Mansion. He traveled day and night, and came here to plead guilty."

Wu Zhizhan knew that he had already said what he had to say.

Next... what is your fate is no longer important.

At most, he would lose his own head, and the extermination of the clan should not happen.

As for the others... they have nothing to do with him, that's their business.

He prostrated himself on the ground, sincerely kowtowed and said: "The crime of the guilty minister is ten thousand death, please be punished by Your Majesty."

At this moment, Zhu Di felt light all over his body, and felt that his strength seemed to be hollowed out by something.

He raised his eyes and looked around blankly.

The ups and downs of this life can be considered well-informed.

But this was the first time he felt a horrible taste.

And this horrible feeling came from a group of scholars who had no power to restrain their chickens.

"Your Majesty, I think...you should send someone to verify the matter immediately...if it turns out..." Yang Rong immediately put forward his own suggestion.

"That's right, Your Majesty, this matter is unbelievable...Please ask Your Majesty to investigate it carefully before discussing it." Hu Guang also hurriedly said.

The other officials were speechless, to be honest...they were a little bit speechless.

Zhang Anshi didn't speak, he still pursed his lips tightly and looked up at Zhu Di.

But no one here noticed that the fist in his sleeve was clenched tightly all the time, as if trying to suppress something.

At this moment, Zhu Di finally stood up, showing a wry smile, but it was uglier than crying.

His eyes swept over everyone, and finally his eyes fell on Zhu Gaochi who was not far away: "Prince...Prince..."

Zhu Gaochi was already terrified, he had always had a good impression of Jian Yi, but he never expected that things would come to this point.

Hearing Zhu Di's call at this time, he quickly stood up and said, "Father..."

Zhu Di said in a deep voice, "You... supervise the country."

"Father..."

Zhu Di waved his hand, signaling him not to speak any further.

Zhu Di immediately said: "Dongchang, Jinyiwei, mobilize everyone, set off immediately, I want to see... Xingye set off with me, accompanied by Yang Rong, a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, Xia Yuanji, Minister of the Ministry of Households, Minister Xia Yuanji of the Ministry of War, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment Jin Chun accompanied the driver, besides...the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Hanlin Academy...the ministers also accompanied the driver."

Zhu Di seemed to say the last sentence deliberately: "It's not too late, let's go out now."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

But seeing that Zhu Di had already rushed down to the palace, it seemed that he didn't even bother to prepare his luggage.

All of a sudden, everyone is anxious.

Just after Zhu Di came down to the palace, he walked to the place in the palace and had to move forward. A censor hurried out of the shift and stopped Zhu Di, saying: "Your Majesty...no, let alone whether this matter is true or not, Your Majesty shouldn't be biased." I listen to partial belief, and if there is really a plague in the Ningguo Mansion, wouldn't it be... Wouldn't it be... Besides, why did His Majesty make such a big fuss? This matter...is too sensational, I think...I think...the third division... "

He said eagerly, but at this moment, Zhu Di had already punched him directly in the face.

Just now Zhu Di was flirtatious, but after he made his decision, he seemed to have regained his strength.

When this punch is released, it can be said to be vigorous.

When it came to the front door, perhaps the force was too domineering and swift as the wind, which was not as good as the censor's reaction.

boom……

shattered skulls...

Half of the face was directly sunken.

Zhu Di has killed people all his life, so his strength is extraordinary. He usually beats people, no matter how angry he is, he still keeps his strength.

But today, this punch didn't have any gimmicks or skills, just such a punch, the censor's words came to an abrupt end.

People suddenly fell down.

When everyone looked at it in horror, they saw that this person's head was tilted to one side, his face was sunken, and his eyes, mouth and nose could not be distinguished, only a distorted face.

Obviously dead!

The ministers were in an uproar, and everyone exclaimed.

Zhu Di looked down at this person, there was no expression on his face, he just said: "Who is this person?"

No one dared to respond.

Zhu Di's voice was higher-pitched: "Who is this person?"

Finally someone said: "Your Majesty, this... this person... is Wang Zhicheng, the supervisory censor of the Yunnan Province of the Metropolitan Procuratorate..."

Zhu Di said lightly: "Relieve him."

"Yes Yes……"

Zhu Di continued to walk forward, walking like a dragon and a tiger, and said in his mouth: "Who has any objections?"

Hundreds of officials shivered.

Zhu Di spat out two words: "Go!"

After a brief moment of silence, all the officials said one after another: "Observe the order."

When Zhu Di was about to walk out of the hall, he suddenly stood still, turned around, and hooked Wu Zhizhan with his hand: "You will lead the way."

After Wu Zhizhan heard this, his blood surged up suddenly, his eyes widened a little because of his excitement, and he suddenly realized... There is still a possibility for him to survive.

Because...he had a chance to make a contribution.

He made the right bet, so he tried hard to suppress the excitement in his heart, and said without hesitation: "Observe the order."

Who wants to die if they can live well?

…………

Chapter 2, and...

(End of this chapter)