The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty

Qufu County.

Tang Hao led the army into the city.

Including Yanshenggong Kong Wenshao, everyone was killed!

A group of rebels knew that their general was going to surrender. Although they were not happy, or were afraid of being liquidated, they still obeyed orders honestly.

Therefore, the reception of Qufu City went smoothly, at least there was no bloodshed.

All the rebel thieves were stripped of their weapons and armor, and then temporarily detained and guarded.

Tang Hao sat alone in the lobby, quietly waiting for anyone to come.

Soon Qi Yanming, Liu Liu and Liu Qi were escorted in.

"Everyone except the three of them, get out!"

As soon as these words came out, Tang Mu was thoughtful, turned around, took the people away, and closed the door thoughtfully.

On the other hand, Qi Yanming, Liu Liu and Liu Qi couldn't believe it, and were even a little ready to make a move.

The man in front of him is the Marquis of Zhongshan of the Ming Dynasty, the dog emperor's confidant.

If he could be caught, would the rebels still have a chance?

So Liu Liu and Liu Qi looked at each other, and in the midst of Qi Yanming's exclamation, they suddenly burst out with tacit understanding, broke the rope, and then attacked Tang Hao.

Seeing this situation, Tang Hao was not angry, but found it very interesting.

This is the first time that someone treats him as a soft persimmon!

"don't want!"

"You two bastards, stop it!"

Qi Yanming shouted in panic, but it was too late.

I saw Liu Liu and Liu Qi each wielding their iron fists, hitting the Marquis of Zhongshan who was sitting on the main seat one from the left and the other from the right.

The Marquis of Zhongshan seemed to be frightened and was still sitting on the chair, even with a slight smile on his lips.

The next moment, a terrifying scene appeared that made Qi Yanming tremble all over.

The "frightened" Marquis of Zhongshan suddenly reached out and grabbed Liu Liu's iron fist. Under the latter's horrified gaze, he tilted his head to avoid Liu Qi's fist, and then pulled Liu Liu's fist. Smashing his arm to the ground, Liu Liu's whole body hit the ground as if he was out of control!

Qi Yanming could even hear the frightening sound of bone cracking!

Immediately before Liu Qi came to his senses, Zhongshan Hou punched him in the stomach. This burly man, who was usually injured and bleeding, suddenly felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and then he knelt down in great pain, clutching his stomach. On the ground, wailing continued.

"Tsk, tsk, is this Liu Liu Liu Qi, who is brave and good at fighting?"

"It's a bit less interesting, I still need to practice!"

Tang Hao laughed to himself, then picked up the tea cup and drank the tea leisurely. From the beginning to the end, he did not move a step, and his buttocks were still sitting on the chair.

Seeing this scene, Qi Yanming was finally convinced, completely convinced.

No wonder this man can kill a tiger!

No wonder this person is deeply trusted by the Dog Emperor!

His ability alone is no different from the ten thousand enemies in those novels.

Qi Yanming fell to his knees on the ground and begged for mercy for the two brothers.

"Forgive me, Lord Marquis, and please spare the lives of these two brothers!"

Tang Hao glanced at the two brothers coldly, and then nodded.

"Tangmu, take them down to treat their injuries!"

The next moment, Tang Mu appeared with a smile, glanced at the two whining idiots, and then said with a smile: "Master Hou, are you holding back?"

"Send him to the doctor quickly. This one's arm is broken, and that one was punched in the stomach. Take him away!"

Tang Hao waved his hand impatiently, and then Tang Mu stopped smiling and led others to carry these two idiots away.

After they left, Tang Hao immediately looked at Qi Yanming.

"Qi Yanming is a down-and-out scholar, right?"

"It stands to reason that you are also a disciple of a famous religion, so why do you want to kill the gentry so ruthlessly?"

Hearing this, Qi Yanming was startled at first, and then sneered: "Isn't this what the Marquis meant?"

"If the Marquis hadn't let it go on purpose, how would we have the chance to massacre these gentry? Including the Kong family..."

Well, this is a smart man, no wonder he can lead Liu Liu and Liu Qi to rebel.

"You guessed it right. It was indeed my intention to let it go."

When talking to smart people, you don’t have to go through so many twists and turns.

"I do intend to drive you away and slaughter these gentry and gentry!"

"As for the reason, I think you should know it, especially after witnessing the Kong family enslaving the people of Qufu, I don't need to explain it."

Qi Yanming nodded silently.

At first, he was just a rebel in Bazhou. He wanted to bring justice to his brothers Liu Liu and Liu Qi, so they robbed the rich and gave to the poor. Therefore, they specifically targeted the wealthy gentry and made a big name in Bazhou.

Then the damn beast Fan Wencheng arrived, and the beast Ning Gao killed their family, so Qi Yanming, who was eager for revenge, led his brothers to rebel.

In the end, who would have thought that from the beginning this was just a farce caused by the fight between these big figures in the court.

He, Qi Yanming, and these brothers are just pawns in the fight between these big shots!

Qi Yanming's eyes suddenly turned red when he thought of this.

"Looking at you like this, you should know the truth."

Tang Hao chuckled and said: "That's the fact. I want to go to sea to start maritime trade. Those gentry and gentry are eyeing the profits of maritime trade, so they concocted a rebellion in an attempt to make me fall into the quagmire of counterinsurgency. This That’s the real purpose of your Mr. Fan.”

"It's a pity that he doesn't understand me, let alone my temper! I hate it the most when someone threatens me, no matter who it is, so I will use his plan to drive away the rebels and control Zhili The Jin gentry was slaughtered once, but now these gentry Jin gentry can't sit still."

Tang Hao took a sip of tea and said: "Then Fan Wencheng deliberately lured you to Qufu. He just wanted to use his identity as a blood descendant of the sage of the Kong family to force me to eliminate you as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the Kong family makes a mistake, or "I cannot bear the responsibility for damaging the Holy Land of Qufu."

"It's a pity that he doesn't know..."

Qi Yanming took over the conversation and said with a sad smile: "This idiot doesn't know that you, the Marquis, hate the Kong family and the gentry to the core, right?"

"You are eager to use our hands to get rid of these gentry and gentry. How can you talk about a mere Kong family? Even if they are blood descendants of saints, so what? In your eyes, they are still a bunch of lambs waiting to be slaughtered!"

Tang Hao smiled and nodded.

"Then you should also know why I hate these gentry and gentry!"

Does Qi Yanming know the answer?

Of course he knows!

Regardless of whether they are Zhili or Shandong, whether they are Confucian or others, all gentry and Jin gentry are the same.

Annexing fields, colluding with corruption, enslaving people, plundering people’s fat and anointing...

This is the gentry!

This is the problem where life for the people at the bottom is worse than death!

"Scholars are naturally noble. As long as they gain fame, they have crossed a level and become a "master"!"

"These "masters" are called gentry in the local area and gentry in the court. They then accumulate wealth through the first-generation annexation of land, spend a lot of money to train the children of the clan to read, learn calligraphy, and cultivate virtue, and then participate in scientific examinations to gain fame. This has formed To ensure the continuity of the gentry’s inheritance.”

"It would be even more different if such an outstanding disciple appeared and directly passed the Jinshi examination and became an official in the court. He would directly become a family of officials. There would be people to protect and support him in the court, and there would be officials in the local area to cooperate and collude with each other. The life of a wealthy family cannot be too comfortable!"

Tang Hao suddenly looked at Qi Yanming and asked softly: "Did you know? The tax system stipulated by Emperor Taizu Gao has always been thirty taxes per one. Except for Jiangnan and other tax-rich areas, almost all places have a thirty tax per one. So what is the real tax system for Hebei and Bazhou?”

"Ten taxes and one? Or five taxes and one?"

Qi Yanming suddenly raised his head and looked at Tang Hao in disbelief.

"Thirty tax one?!"

"How could it be thirty taxes to one?!"

"I, the people of Bazhou, pay eight taxes, seven taxes and one tax every summer and autumn tax..."

Before he finished speaking, Qi Yanming could no longer speak because he knew what the problem was.

All because of these damn gentry!

"Say it this way, put it in a way you can understand."

"Even if the imperial court stipulates that the tax system is one tax per thirty, based on the needs of national development, each state, county, and city will set the tax amount based on local conditions."

"Completing local tax amounts is a top priority for state and county officials, but the problem lies with the gentry entrenched in these places. They will try every means to evade taxes, or even not pay taxes. So under the premise that the tax amount is certain, What do you think the local government will do with these extra taxes?”

what to do?

What else can be done?

Loot it from ordinary people!

"In order for state and county officials to keep their positions, there is only one way, and that is to apportion!"

"All these taxes that do not belong to the common people will be allocated to the common people, from a tax of thirty to one to ten taxes or even five taxes to one!"

"So local officials will use clever names, use unscrupulous means, and be ruthless, because tax collection is related to their own official positions, and even more to their career!"

"In this way, the gentry and gentry who own the most land in the local area can pay less or even no tax. On the contrary, the peasants who keep their own laws have to bear a large amount of taxes that should not belong to them. This is why the local people are miserable, but the gentry and gentry are not able to pay taxes at all. The real reason why we are still singing and dancing!”

Qi Yanming finally understood the source of the problem.

"Why doesn't the court care?"

"Are these gentry allowed to do whatever they want?"

"Control?" Tang Hao smiled, "How do you want to control it?"

"Aren't you forgetting that those ministers who are in the imperial court are also members of the gentry?"

"For example, among the nine ministers above the court, there is not a wealthy gentry standing behind them. Which family does not have thousands of acres of fertile land?"

"There are not that many saints in the world. Even if His Majesty wants to clear the land, if you let them check themselves, what will they find out in the end?"

This sentence is not just talk.

After the great emperor Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country, he endured for more than ten years in order to clear the land. He trained a group of passionate supervisors from the Imperial College and sent them to travel all over the world. Only then did he clear up the land in the world.

But what now?

Check yourself?

What can be found in the end?

Any fool knows that nothing can be found out.

So Qi Yanming was desperate and collapsed on the ground.

"Master Hou, are ordinary people really hopeless?"

"Yes!" Tang Hao answered in the affirmative, "That is to cleanse the local gentry and redistribute the fields just like you did before!"

"Otherwise, why do you think I let you go for so long? If you rebels dared to rob and insult the people, I would have killed you all long ago!"

Slaughter the local gentry!

Redistribute the fields!

This is also the only way to extend the life of the Ming Dynasty!

When more and more people become refugees, when more and more people become homeless, when more and more people become unbearable to be enslaved and oppressed...the final result will be that people gather to cause chaos and rise up, and the Ming Dynasty collapses!

Qi Yanming sat up straight and looked at Tang Hao solemnly.

"May I ask, Lord Marquis, what do you want us to do?"

He finally understood that since the Marquis of Zhongshan was willing to tell him these secrets, he would naturally not kill him, but would reuse him!

"There are too many of you to move!"

"The first step is to get rid of the bad and retain the good, and select the young and strong ones who are worthy of life and death."

"The second step is to take these people south, to South Zhili and to Jiangnan!"

Tang Hao sneered and said: "I have never had the habit of swallowing my anger after being bitten!"

"Jiangnan is an important tax area of ​​the Ming Dynasty, and controls half of the country's tax revenue. But because of this, His Majesty must have it in his hands, at least not in the hands of the gentry. Do you understand?"

Qi Yanming's expression perked up, then he nodded heavily, and the next moment he fell directly in front of Tang Hao.

"I only hope that the Marquis will keep this in mind, and we are willing to drive for the Marquis!"

"Let's go, this time, you are the royal guards!"

During the day and night, the rebels mutinied.

Hundreds of core leaders including Qi Yanming, Liu Liu and Liu Qi, the leader of the bandits, all died in the rebellion.

Tang Hao, Marquis of Zhongshan, forcibly suppressed the rebellion, and later reported to the court with great sadness. The Bazhou rebels, which lasted for more than half a year, were finally wiped out. However, the Bazhou rebels fled into Qufu, Shandong. The holiest places such as Confucius Temple and Confucius Temple are still there, but The Dukong family was slaughtered by the rebels, leaving only Kong Zhenqian, the eldest son of Duke Yansheng!

The memorial was conveyed to the court, causing an uproar.

Even Yang Tinghe never thought that this damn Marquis of Zhongshan would be so cruel and directly slaughtered the Kong family!

That's the blood descendant of a saint!

How dare you, Tang Hao? !

For a moment, Yang Tinghe couldn't help but feel cold hands and feet.

He is very aware of the negative impact of this incident. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the largest case in the world!

After all, the Kong family has always enjoyed a special status in all dynasties since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "deposed hundreds of schools of thought to only respect Confucianism." Even through the troubled times of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, it was still preserved. When has such a situation been wiped out by the rebels? Something!

Yang Tinghe did not dare to neglect and immediately went to meet the saint.

Zhu Houzhao was stunned after hearing the news, and then looked at Chen Kuan with suspicion.

Although the two did not communicate verbally, they both understood what the other meant.

"Didn't I ask you to give the savage an order to stop playing?"

"I passed it on! But he didn't listen!"

"I XXX"

Zhu Houzhao was dumbfounded. He looked at the memorial and fell into deep thought.

After all, Kong is a descendant of a saint, and he is also a leader in the literary world, setting an example for the gentry.

Now that the Kong family has been slaughtered by the rebels, only Kong Zhenqian is left alone. If the gentry of the world learns of this news, who knows what kind of trouble will happen!

Damn savages!

You're such a fucking bastard!

Zhu Houzhao gritted his teeth and cursed in his heart, and then looked at Yang Tinghe.

"Master Yang, what should we do?"

"Then Kong, as a descendant of a saint, turned to the rebels to protect himself!"

"This is clearly a treasonous act. We must conceal the information, otherwise I will have to treat Kong as a traitor!"

Yang Tinghe was stunned when he heard this, and then fell silent.

What kind of thing is this...

This does make sense.

After all, it was the Kong family who surrendered to the rebels. If you really want to talk about this matter, then Kong family will undoubtedly be disgraced. Even if he is dead, he will be pulled out and whipped!

Yang Tinghe is not stupid, of course he can understand what Zhu Houzhao means.

People are killed by rebels, so don't have anything to do with Zhongshan Hou.

If anyone really accuses the Marquis of Zhongshan of failing to suppress the rebellion and makes a fuss about it, then he, Zhu Houzhao, should not be a human being and expose the matter of Kong's surrender to the rebels.

When the time comes, it will be clear at a glance who is shameless, who is servile, and who deserves to be cut to pieces!

Therefore, Yang Tinghe did not dare to speak in a hurry.

After thinking for a long time, he still chose to compromise.

"Your Majesty, since Kong Zhenqian is the eldest son of Duke Yansheng, and now that Duke Yansheng Kong Wenshao dies, Kong Zhenqian has also reached adulthood and should inherit the title of Duke Yansheng."

"No matter what...the Holy Sacrifice cannot be interrupted, and it is best for future generations to be responsible for the sacrifices!"

Yang Tinghe made a request that was not too excessive.

In order to appease people's hearts and cover up this scandal, Kong Zhen was given the title of Duke of Qian Yansheng.

After all, Kong Zhenqian is the only living member of the Kong family and the only descendant of the most holy master. The court should give him the treatment he deserves!

As for other things, let's take it easy.

Yang Tinghe planned to release the news of Kong's surrender to the rebels, so as to calm the anger of Shilin. Otherwise, he was afraid that there would be another fight in the court.

When he thought of this, he finally understood the difficulties of Liu Jian, the former chief minister of the cabinet.

It’s really hard to do this as the first minister of the cabinet!

As for Li Dongyang?

What kind of cabinet minister is he?

Oh, and Xie Qian?

The time is too short to count!

Zhu Houzhao smiled meaningfully and said: "Since he is the eldest son of Duke Yansheng, then Kong Zhenqian can indeed inherit the title of Duke Yansheng."

"But what should we do with the post of Qufu County Magistrate? In the past, it was recommended by the Kong family, and even the imperial court was not qualified to intervene!"

"Tsk, tsk, it's such a pity. Now there is only one Kong Zhenqian in the Kong family. We can't let him still be named the Qufu County Magistrate, right?"

Hearing these heart-wrenching words, Yang Tinghe was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Damn the Kong family, they looked so ugly before!

Well now, His Majesty the Emperor will seize the opportunity to start liquidation!

"Your Majesty is aware that the county magistrate is an official appointed by the imperial court, and he should be appointed by officials sent by the imperial court!"

"Even if Qufu is different, it is still the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I ask your Majesty to order the Ministry of Civil Affairs to select talented officials to serve as Qufu County Magistrates!"

As long as the Duke of Yansheng continues, the Ming court will be worthy of the blood descendants of the saints of the Kong family.

As for other things, it’s better not to think about it and just rest quietly!

"allow!"

"In view of the complicated situation in Qufu at the beginning of the war, we have decided to select talented officials so that the people of Qufu can live and work in peace and contentment as soon as possible!"

Talented officials!

Live and work in peace and contentment!

His Majesty the Emperor means these two words very seriously!

This also means that from now on, Qufu’s surname will no longer be Kong, but Zhu!