Chongzhen Wiretapping System

Chapter 309 Long Yan's Fury

This major event in the south of the Yangtze River has become such a big deal, and of course it has become a hot topic in the capital.

For the people in the capital, they may not have much land at home, but the discussion of current affairs is unmatched in other places, even compared to Jiangnan, it is even worse.

In this way, they looked at what happened in Jiangnan more objectively.

Especially in the past two years, their impression of Dongchang has greatly changed, and they don't really believe that after the Dongchang soldiers went to the south, they will do evil and cause civil uprisings.If this is the case, they can hide it from the wise and mighty emperor, and if things get serious, how can they explain to the emperor?
Moreover, the leader was Zhang Xun and Zhang Pu. His reputation in the capital was quite resounding in the past. It could be said that he was as talented as thunder.Of course, some of this is due to the momentum created by the restoration of society, but that is the result.The people in the capital didn't quite believe how such a talented university student could force a civil uprising!

Of course, the nobles in the capital, the officials in Donglin and Fushe, their positions are different, and of course they don’t want Zhang Pu to continue, so they took this opportunity to make a fuss in the capital.Some officials even wrote a letter like Guanglu Shaoqing Lu Zhenfei, bluntly saying that it was Zhang Pu's responsibility.Qian Qianyi is a master of literature, an outstanding representative of a sage, how could he incite a civil uprising!
Disputes between believers and unbelievers can be seen everywhere in court halls, in government offices, and in streets and alleys.

However, as a letter impeaching them was sent to the capital, after the number increased, the Chongzhen Emperor wanted three people to become tigers. Although it could not affect him, it affected the people of the capital, making them a little suspicious, could it be It is true that the patrols provoked the popular uprising, otherwise, how could so many southern officials impeach them?
But even so, compared to Jiangnan's side, the capital's side seemed childish.

On the south side of the Yangtze River, from the big officials in the frontiers to the powerful landlords, they all talked about Zhang Pu's cruelty and forced a civil uprising, and the eunuchs even sent troops to suppress and kill ordinary people.It can be seen from this that Zhang Pu was the lackey of the eunuchs, and the eunuch rebellion during the Tianqi period reappeared.

On the first day of April in the 13th year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly held a big court meeting, which is rare to see.Everyone knew immediately that the emperor was definitely going to make a final decision on the Changshu civil uprising.

As a result, the big court meeting on this day has become very worrying.Not only the officials in the court are concerned, but even the people in the capital are concerned.

Indeed, as they expected, after the Emperor Chongzhen arrived, he ordered the eunuch Cao Huachun, the eunuch in charge of the chief inspector of ceremonies, to go out and announce first: "As of yesterday, the chief inspector of ceremonies has received a total of 150 six copies of the impeachment of Jiangnan tour press Zhang Pu, and the impeachment of Nanjing guards Eunuch Lu Jiude 120 three copies; impeachment Dongchang admiral Wang Chengen 27 copies;”

"There are so many memorials, and the charges of impeaching Zhang Pu, Lu Jiude, and Wang Chengen are almost the same. In short, the impeachment of Zhang Pu is illegal and the punishment is severe..."

Emperor Chongzhen listened to Cao Huachun summarizing the content of the memorial there, but his eyes scanned all the courtiers below. Although these courtiers lowered their heads, he could feel that many people responded.It can be seen from their little actions that many people were a little excited when they heard about those crimes.

For this, he just sneered in his heart, but his face was expressionless.

After Cao Huachun finished reading, Emperor Chongzhen said in a cold tone, "I sent Zhang Pu and Wu Changshi to the south of the Yangtze River to check the quota of exemptions for officials and gentry and to urge the payment of owed taxes. Why did it trigger so many impeachment memorials? If I remember correctly, there are so many impeachment memorials, probably very few in Ming Dynasty, right?"

Hearing this, many people were overjoyed. The emperor was furious. He knew that it was Zhang Pu who caused the public outrage and caused such a rare wave of impeachment in Ming Dynasty. Therefore, should he be dealt with strictly as a warning to others?

After all, such a thing happened, no emperor should want to see it, right?

Thinking of this, Guanglu Shaoqing Lu Zhenfei coughed, stepped out and said: "Your Majesty is wise, but a mere [-]th-rank inspection has caused so many impeachments, which is unprecedented in my Ming Dynasty! Moreover, Zhang Pu's slander of the former minister of rites, the well-known Mr. Yu Shan, is really a big joke in the world..."

He hadn't finished speaking yet, but seeing Emperor Chongzhen staring at him coldly, he suddenly yelled: "Enough!"

Suddenly Long Yan was furious, still facing Lu Zhenfei, making all the courtiers stunned.

Lu Zhenfei was a Jinshi of Tianqi for five years, now he is 50 years old, and he belongs to the Qingliu. Therefore, he and Qian Qianyi are inseparable.At this time, he was suddenly interrupted by the emperor's rude shouting, and his neck immediately turned red.He immediately held his head up and wanted to argue rationally that even the emperor could not humiliate his subjects like this.

However, before he had time to speak, he heard Emperor Chongzhen yell angrily: "You think I don't know about your relationship with Qian Qianyi? Changshu Zhang Hanru impeached Qian Qianyi for corruption and lawlessness, but you complained about it? Now , the Changshu civil uprising, and you were wronged and impeached Zhang Pu for being illegal? Then I ask you, how did you know what happened in Changshu, Suzhou Prefecture? Could it be that you also have spies, and you have a faster communication method than me, Otherwise, why are you so swearing that Qian Qianyi is innocent and Zhang Pu is guilty?"

This is a very heavy word.If they contact Zhongli, they can be linked to treason, this is not something Lu Zhenfei can bear.

As soon as he heard it, his neck, which was still red just now, immediately turned pale, and immediately knelt down to distinguish: "Wei Chen can be deduced from his character!"

Some other officials in Beijing who impeached Zhang Pu and others also panicked, because they couldn't explain why they knew about Jiangnan so quickly.The emperor's questioning of Lu Zhenfei is also acceptable for questioning them.

Therefore, after hearing Lu Zhenfei's justification, they all agreed in their hearts and were ready to speak for this reason.

However, at this moment, Emperor Chongzhen was furious and said: "Character? Hehe, Qian Qianyi's character, how dare you vouch for it? How to explain the Zhejiang scientific examination fraud case? How to explain greed and lawlessness? The family has a married wife How can I explain that I want to marry a famous brothel? Dismissed from my post, my family owns more than half of the grain fields in Changshu County, and hundreds of family members. How can I explain this..."

Every time Emperor Chongzhen asked how to explain, Lu Zhenfei was dumbfounded. In the end, he was speechless and lowered his head involuntarily.

In the original history, although Lu Zhenfei was regarded as one of the officials with integrity in the late Ming Dynasty, this did not hinder his friendship with Qian Qianyi, and he did not speak for Qian Qianyi.Party struggles in the late Ming Dynasty were never based on integrity.

Seeing Lu Zhenfei's appearance, Emperor Chongzhen suppressed his anger a little, turned his head to look at Cao Huachun and shouted: "There are also officials impeached in Beijing, come out together!"

Hearing this decree, Cao Huachun had sorted out the list a long time ago, and immediately began to roll the names in a rhythmic tone: "Wang Dekun, a doctor from the Ministry of Rites, is on the list; Liu Yongbo, a foreigner from the Ministry of Industry, is on the list; the Ministry of Officials..."

The officials who were named could not escape, so they could only bite the bullet and kneel down.Because they knew that if the emperor asked Lu Zhenfei the same question later, they would not have anything to explain.

A total of 23 people knelt down, with different official positions.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at them and shouted coldly: "Aren't you guaranteeing Qian Qianyi? I have also received three memorials here, and I can read them to you."

When Cao Huachun heard the will, he took out two memorials and read them out one by one.

The first memorial was a joint memorial by Zhang Pu, Lu Jiude, and Changshu County Magistrate Pan Xiuwen. It described the Qian family's influence in the local area and the messy affairs with Pan Xiuwen.

If it is said that this memorial is just Zhang Pu and Lu Jiude, a lot of people may jump out to refute it.However, adding Pan Xiuwen and explaining the details clearly made many people hide their rebuttal thoughts.

Although they could still refute that Pan Xiuwen must have been threatened by Zhang Pu and Lu Jiude, but the emperor just lost his temper and continued to question him, leaving them speechless.If you want to make a strong sophistry, who knows how much anger the emperor will attract!

Therefore, when Cao Huachun finished reading this first memorial, no one spoke, but it can be seen that many people did not take it seriously.

Then, Cao Huachun began to read the second memorial.

This memorial is no small matter. It was Jiang Dong, the head of the Dongchang stall, who accidentally got a windfall when he was interrogating the servants of the Qian family.Insisted by Qian Qianyi, he contacted the Jiang bandit and wanted to murder Yang Tinglin, the censor of Zuodu, at least to prevent Yang Tinglin from going to Changshu.

This memorial also contains an appendix of Yang Tinglin's description of the original danger on the river. Although the thief who collided with the ship is still being traced, most people have an idea when the two are combined.

Even Lu Zhenfei's eyes widened upon hearing this news, and he looked up at Cao Huachun who was reading the memorial with incredulous expression.Obviously, he didn't expect such a thing to happen.

Or knowing that some people will find it incredible and have objections, so there is a specific analysis in this memorial.

Starting from the Yangzhou Mansion, the conflict between Qian Qianyi and Zhang Pu, including the matter of Qiuyue Pavilion, etc., was related to the property of the Qian family. Zhang Pu had a grudge, and Yang Tinglin obviously helped Zhang Pu, which eventually led to Qian Qianyi doing this, which is theoretically established.

After listening to this memorial, the atmosphere in the court meeting became very serious and a little heavy.

No one would have imagined that so many things happened behind the Changshu civil uprising!
The emperor's attitude is also very obvious, and he has a lot of real evidence in his hands, at least more real evidence than their empty words!In this way, many people regretted it. They knew earlier that they shouldn't be in this muddy water for their own advantages.

As they were thinking, Cao Huachun began to read the third memorial.This memorial was urgently sent by the magistrate of Yangzhou Prefecture, and the content is relatively simple. It is just that Wu Xunyin's condition worsened during Wuchang and he died.

Hearing this news, these courtiers couldn't help being very surprised.It's easy to think of such a thing happening at this time!
Sure enough, after Cao Huachun finished reading, Emperor Chongzhen yelled in a cold voice: "To check the quota for officials and gentry, and to call for the payment of owed taxes, I appointed two inspectors to handle this matter. Fortunately, one was assassinated in Beijing. If it hadn't been for The Dongchang fan just arrived, and the consequences are unpredictable; one fell into the water when he first arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, and has been seriously ill and unable to do his job! Then? One suffered a civil uprising in Changshu, and the other died of serious illness; hehe, I sent to The two inspectors, what a disaster!"

The emperor's sneer made many people tremble in their hearts, feeling a little creepy, because they knew that the emperor was on the verge of eruption!
"By the way, I forgot to tell you one thing!" Emperor Chongzhen did not immediately get angry, but said in a cold voice, "When Zhang Xunyong was in Yangzhou Mansion, a strange thing happened. Yangzhou Mansion The yamen of the three prefectures and seven counties under its jurisdiction caught fire in the warehouse on the same night and burned down the local grain field account books. Deceived?"

If it's just one thing, maybe it's nothing, and there are reasons to find out and explain.

However, now that everything has been exposed and spoken out together, no matter how stupid a person is, they will feel that there is a problem!

The scene became very quiet, no one dared to speak.

Although there are some things, the truth may never be known.However, at least Emperor Chongzhen knew more than them.For example, when Zhang Pu was assassinated in the capital, it was a trick he made up and directed himself because he didn't want to go on business.When Wu Changshi fell into the water, there is a great possibility that he took advantage of the situation and did not want to go on an errand; however, now, Emperor Chongzhen will not tell these things.Just after he received the memorial that Wu Changshi died of illness, he decided to hold this court meeting.As for the real cause of Wu Changshi's death, whether he played too much or was killed by others, it doesn't matter right now.

At the court meeting at this time, only the angry voice of Emperor Chongzhen was left: "My Ming Dynasty gave preferential treatment to the officials and gentry. Although the salary is a little lower, the preferential treatment for you has been raised many times. Thanks You are all from the background of scholars, but how many of them are like scholars who have read sage books? Forming cliques for selfish interests, framing others, lack of people's hearts, how many of you have exceeded the quota, how much has been exceeded, and the family has money Don’t think I don’t know how much taxes I owe! Let me tell you, I know everything!”

At the end, he almost growled it out.

"The imperial treasury has no money, what's the matter?" Emperor Chongzhen suppressed his anger a little bit, and continued to speak sharply, "It's just that taxes can't be collected, and those who have money don't pay, and then? Transfer all taxes to Ordinary people who couldn’t afford it forced their families to die! The court had no money and couldn’t provide disaster relief! It also forced their families to die! Hehe, on the one hand, there are scholars living in a romantic land, and on the other hand, there are so many hungry people on the side of the road! You are blind Are you done? How many of you worried about this, figured out a solution for me, and relieved the worries for the king, the country, and the people?"

(End of this chapter)