I'm really not the carpenter emperor

But in such a short period of time, Shandong officialdom has been reshuffled, and Zhu Youxiao has nothing to do.

Corruption among officials is rampant, wealthy families have become bigger, and local governments are united in their opposition to the new salt law, so I can only be forced to fight back and wipe them all out.

Enough has been caused by the new salt law, and it's time to put an end to it.

The next day, the court meeting.

Zhu Youxiao sat on the dragon chair, looked around at the ministers, and ordered Wang Chengen to pass on Wen Tiren's and Wei Zhongxian's memorials respectively.

Wang Chengen was originally a disciple of the great eunuch Wang An. After Wang An fell from power, he joined Wei Zhongxian's camp because he was afraid of being implicated.

Because of Wei Zhongxian's operation, Wang Chengen successfully joined the Supervisor of Rites and came to Zhu Youxiao's side.

Now he is still far from being a eunuch who holds a pen, but because of his vigilance and good deeds, he has become a small manager, and he is in charge of three or five small eunuchs.

Today, it is he who is on duty in the Huangji Hall to accompany the court meeting.

The chief minister of the cabinet, Wei Guangwei, was the number one civil servant, so he was naturally the first to receive Wen Tiren's memorandum.

He saw from it that after Wen Tiren took charge of the salt administration in Shandong, he was still quite effective, and he quickly found out the source of the civil uprising in Qingzhou, that is, the local state government concealed the content of the new salt law to confuse the audience.

This is indeed a major event that has never happened before. Even Wei Guangwei did not expect that these local tycoons and officials would have such courage.

After reading this, he received Dongchang's secret memorial about the interrogation of Tang Wanfeng.

The latter did not know what he had experienced in the prison of the General Administration of Supervision and Administration of Shandong Province, but he actually confessed to all his crimes. By the way, he also brought out a big shot, the Governor of Shandong Wang Weijian.

Seeing this, Wei Guangwei's eyes froze slightly.

The involvement of Wang Weijian also shows that although this incident seems to have basically ended the local chaos, it has reached a new height in terms of the overall court situation.

It would be fine if Wang Weijian was really tough, but if he couldn't bear to recruit any more, Shandong's officialdom would suffer turmoil.

By that time, the local governments along the coast will not be affected.

Although Wei Guangwei was shocked after reading it, he didn't say anything first. He turned around and handed the two copies of the notebook to Zhou Jiamo, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials behind him.

Seeing the ministers flipping through, Zhu Youxiao didn't have much patience and waited for them to finish reading, and said slowly on it:

"Shandong's salt administration has already investigated clearly. The Tang family of the Le'an Salt Field in Qingzhou Prefecture, and the Li family of the Haiyang Salt Field in Dengzhou Prefecture, these aristocratic families who have been managing official salt for the imperial court for generations in the local area, are now very big."

"As for the civil uprising in Qingzhou Prefecture, it was Tang Wanfeng's instigation, and some local civil and military officials failed to punish them and condoned the civil unrest!"

Speaking of this, Zhu Youxiao's tone gradually increased:

"The scourge left over from the ancestors' governance of the salt law is now in my hands and must be resolved so that the people along the coast can live and work in peace and contentment."

After Zhu Youxiao finished speaking, he sat there quietly waiting for the reaction of the officials below.

Unsurprisingly, the ministers talked a lot, with all kinds of expressions, but Shandong has arrested so many people, no one dared to come out and openly object.

Zhu Youxiao immediately looked at one person and asked:

"Li Yangzheng, you are the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, and you are most familiar with the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

"Come and tell me and all the ministers, how should the Li family and the Tang family be dealt with?"

Li Yangzheng originally thought that nothing would happen if he kept silent, but he was still called by name, so there was nothing he could do.

It's just that the disaster can't be avoided, so I can only bite the bullet, even if I offend the officials in Shandong officialdom, and my group of old Donglin acquaintances, I have to say it.

Seeing Li Yangzheng dawdling, Zhu Youxiao sneered from the bottom of his heart.

Calling him out this time was intentional. As early as half a year ago in the Donglin case, Zhu Youxiao had been observing this Donglin-born Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment.

The reason why he is kept is because this person has real talent and learning, and he worked very hard during the interrogation of the Donglin case, unlike those Donglin party members who tried their best to cover up their colleagues.

But half a year later, Li Yangzheng is still like this.

Zhu Youxiao could guess Li Yangzheng's thoughts to some extent.

Now he neither dares to cover up the Donglin Party, nor dares to get too close to the Wei Party. He just wants to stay out of the matter, and neither side will offend.

But where in the world is there such a good thing?

I often walk by the river, so how can I not wet my shoes?

Li Yangzheng didn't move by himself, so Zhu Youxiao had to push him hard to help him completely break away from his old friend of Donglin.

If Li Yangzheng was asked this way, and he still gave an ambiguous answer in the court, Zhu Youxiao was really disappointed in him.

Although he won't say anything in the court, it is inevitable that he will be kicked out in the future.

To put it seriously, those who don't understand things at this moment and are still hesitating basically have no good end, and if something happens in the future, these are all uncertain factors.

With Dongchang, although Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice is not a particularly important position, he is still a minister anyway.

To put it bluntly, Zhu Youxiao freed up his hands to clean up the court and the local government, and he couldn't bear the sight of this Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment continuing to be a bad guy and double-faced.

Li Yang is a sensible person, so he naturally knows what the emperor means.

Within a few breaths, he had already made countless choices in his heart.

After a while, Li Yangzheng stood up and said:

"Return to Your Majesty, according to the new salt law, those who manage the salt farms for the imperial court privately hoard official salt and collude with local officials, they will be punished by the nine clans!"

"As for Lu Daqi, the prefect of Dengzhou, taking bribes and breaking the law is an unforgivable crime."

"Afterwards, he even altered the government's notice without authorization, which caused bad influence and indirectly contributed to the civil uprising in Qingzhou Prefecture. According to the law of Daming, he should have confiscated all his family property, and copied and killed everyone, just to make an example of others!"

After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao was very satisfied.

Li Yangzheng governs local corrupt officials according to the law of the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that the treatment is fair and he has no intention of covering up.

What's more, what Li Yangzheng said this time was in accordance with the court's new salt law, not the old Heavenly Law that was inherited.

Once this implementation measure is implemented, it will take the opportunity to consolidate the status of the new salt law and send a clear signal to the rest of the local government and the Secretary.

That is to say, the new salt law is not a so-called trial implementation stage, but a new law that is truly effective at the local level. Local governments and ministers can punish crimes according to this law.

Zhu Youxiao thought about it, hesitated and said:

"Would it be too severe to kill the Nine Clans?"

Li Yangzheng was taken aback for a moment, and immediately understood what was going on, and immediately kowtowed:

"Qizou Your Majesty, the new salt law is the foundation of the imperial government's rectification of salt administration. Now that it has been implemented, the local government must abide by every one of them."

"If even the imperial court does not handle the salt administration in accordance with the new salt law, how can the local government dare to follow it?"

Zhu Youxiao was thoughtful and said with a smile:

"Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment is justified in his words. He is worthy of being the pillar of the country. Do you have any suggestions, Chief Assistant?"

Li Yangzheng quickly stood back, it seemed that the golden bricks and stones on the hall were very hot.

Wei Guangwei also stood up slowly, and said: "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment's words are indeed words of loyalty. Since the new salt law has been implemented, the court should follow it."

Zhu Youxiao smiled slightly, got up and said:

"Since that's the case, all the gentlemen should go back and do their own thing!"

Chapter 491 The Zheng Family's Response

Although the implementation of the new salt law only affects the salt industry, it is the focus of attention of all parties. The chaos in Shandong is also the key to stability in other places.

When the news of the civil uprising in Qingzhou Prefecture came out, the coastal areas of Fujian were almost on the verge of following suit.

The Fujian salt industry is also the main income of the Zheng family. Zheng Yiguan naturally has to pay attention to the new salt law, and basically does nothing to stop the undercurrents in the local area.

Fortunately, Nan Juyi, the governor of Fujian, and Yu Zizao, the general of Fujian, were not mediocre. One stabilized the civil servants, and the other led troops to the coast in time to stabilize the situation in time.

The news that came back later made the coastal areas of Fujian no longer noisy, and Zheng Yiguan also didn't know what to do for a while.

Could it be that the imperial court took over Fujian Salt Industry in its own hands?

In Shandong, the news came one after another. First, Lu Xiangsheng was ordered to go to Qingzhou Prefecture to quell the civil unrest. He warmed up to the benevolent Shandong Salt Administration, and stabilized the chaos in Shandong within a month.

The imperial court was not relentless, and directly dealt with a group of powerful officials and businessmen headed by Tang Wanfeng, Li Yu, and Dengzhou prefect Lu Daqi.

What is even more concerning is that this time, local tyrants such as Li Wei and Tang Wanfeng were dealt with under the new salt law.

This also gave a clear signal that the new salt law can be implemented as a formal law. As for the new salt law, it is said that the imperial court will take back the management rights of all salt farms in the country, which is irreversible.

All of a sudden, many owners of the saltworks panicked.

Why panic? Originally, if the troubles in Shandong went smoothly, the implementation of the new salt law would be hindered. At least, the salt field was still theirs.

But now that the chaos in Shandong has been settled, it will not help the matter if they continue to make trouble.

Shandong is the key concentration area of ​​the local salt industry. Most of the local tycoons in that area have salt reserves, and their power is much stronger than those Fujian sea merchants and salt merchants.

Even Shandong was pacified and forced to implement it, and it was impossible for Fujian to resist the imperial court.

The chaos of the Shandong tyrants did make the court flustered for a while, but isn't it easy to move in Fujian? The situation in Fujian is much clearer than in Shandong.

Of course, although it is said that it is managing the salt field for the imperial court, after all, it has been managing the salt field for nearly 200 years. It is said that it is managing the salt field, but in fact, the major owners have long regarded the salt field as their own.

Now that it is suddenly said that it will be taken back, it is personally not happy.

Moreover, the new salt law also has a drawback. When it was discussed at the court meeting, everything was considered.

For example, the resettlement of the people along the coast, the reselling of accumulated salt goods, and the verification and distribution of new salt quotations by salt merchants can be described as very comprehensive, but they, the bosses who have managed the salt farms for the imperial court for generations, have been missed.

In fact, Zhu Youxiao did it on purpose.

According to Zhu Youxiao's words, these people have managed the saltworks for so many years, and all of them have become richer than me.

The owners of these saltworks, to be serious, none of them are clean.

It is not likely that they come to help the court much on weekdays. Now that the salt industry is being rectified, it is considered worthy of them if they are not rectified together.

If you still don't want to do this, then take advantage of the opportunity to take their family wealth and use it for the court. Anyway, they have military power in their hands. As long as the news is truthfully conveyed to the ears of the people, they will not be able to make any waves.

Indeed, with the lessons learned from Shandong, this time the imperial court made sufficient preparations before forcibly taking back the saltworks in Fujian.

Before the chaos in Shandong was over, the Salt Inspection Division and Supervision Division had already publicized the content of the new salt law in Fujian and other coastal areas to appease the people so that they would not be led into the rhythm again.

As a result of the final disposition of the chaos in Shandong, many people felt chills behind their backs. It can be said that it was very bloody. What law does not blame the public, what coastal people are forced to rebel, anyway, no one side will end up good.

Lu Xiangsheng said to those rebels who were deceived and rebelled, one word, suppress!

The imperial court treats the local tyrants who do evil, whether it is a 200-year-old family like Tang Wanfeng and Li Yan, or a local tyrant who has recently become famous and has a large number of salt and wealth, they all use one word, kill.

The emperor holds great power, no matter how you deal with it, you have to wait for death. Resist, it won't help, your arms can't twist your thighs, if you don't resist, you are sitting and waiting to die again.

So the best way is to find a way layer by layer.

But what happened in Shandong proves that no matter how many backers you have, no matter how many ways you find, that is to give the emperor the head, and in the end, you can still kill him.

But then again, although many people were killed in Shandong, most of them were implicated.

For example, the local tyrants only killed the nine clans of Tang Wanfeng and Li Yu, and another thirty or so families were ransacked and deprived of their family property. The nine clans of these thirty or so families were not implicated.

In this kind of matter, Zhu Youxiao still has a sense of propriety, and he will mainly deal with the few who have done the most evil and the most famous, and there is no need to implicate the rest of the nine clans.

As for the local officials in Shandong, the fact that they were killed was mainly concentrated in the three prefectures of Denglaiqing, and the remaining three prefectures were not much implicated.

Of course, the main thing is that the matter of Shandong governor Wang Weijian has not been resolved.

Even the local officials in Denglai Qingsan Prefecture, most of them have no family property, and they were dismissed from their posts and guarded on the border without implicating their family members.

Only Lu Daqi, the prefect of Dengzhou, Zhang Wanqing, the prefect of Laizhou, and Zheng Weiqi, the prefect of Qingzhou, received the treatment of copying and beheading.

Wang Weijian is indeed a big man, and he is not easy to move, but Zhu Youxiao does not intend to let him go, and recently he is suggesting to the Wei Party to impeach this person.

In fact, the officials guessed half right before, the sky fell was indeed supported by the official university.

But the punishment of the official university does not mean that Zhu Youxiao will turn a blind eye to them and do not deal with them in the slightest.

In a month's time, Denglaiqing Sanfu has completely changed a group of people, and the next step is to deal with Wang Weijian's affairs and clean up the whole Shandong.

After these things, the implementation of the local salt administration in Shandong was completely unimpeded, and the imperial court began to take over the Shandong salt administration in an all-round way.

Laiyang, outside the magistrate's yamen.

"Come, come, the government has issued a new notice!"

After what happened last time, many people in Shandong have become skeptical about the official announcement. Looking at the two officials, someone asked:

"Didn't you say that the notice was fake last time? Didn't you change the notice this time without telling the court?"

Someone answered.

"That's right, how do we know if it's true or not!"