Chapter 71: The two sides are on the same road, accepting the new and getting rid of the old

December 16th.

Songjiang Prefecture, Huating County, Xu Prefecture.

"Too deceiving!"

"Cena is going too far!"

Xu Kun paced back and forth in the room with a letter in his hand, his face full of anger.

When Hai Rui just arrived in Nanzhili that day, he condescended to go there and wanted to negotiate peace privately, but the guy didn't even give him a chance to meet.

That’s all, but now they’ve even beaten and killed the Xu family’s servants!

"Now, anyone dares to challenge me! How dare a defeated general come to humiliate my Xu Mansion!"

"Hai Rui is just a dog tied up by the cabinet. Doesn't he know that the Prime Minister is my master's student?!"

Xu Jie raised his eyes to glance at his second son and closed his eyes again.

On the contrary, the eldest son Xu Fan frowned and said, "Something is not right. We have already collected 140,000 yin of tax, which is enough for the cabinet. Why is Hai Rui still holding on to it?"

Xu Kun slammed the table and said angrily, "Why else? This person is so bold and acts like he is begging for the people. How can he know how to do practical things?"

"Why didn't the Emperor Shizong kill him in the first place if he wanted to gain fame and prestige?"

He looked at Xu Jie and said anxiously, "Sir, write a letter to Zhang Juzheng and have Hai Rui transferred away immediately!"

Xu Fan looked at his anxious brother and knew that he would be scolded for his stupid look.

He quickly held him down and said, "Alright! How disrespectful of you to be so impatient!"

"Before Gao Gong retired, he must have made an exchange with Zhang Juzheng in order to target my family. Do you think it would be useful to find Zhang Juzheng?"

Xu Jie still didn't speak.

His eyes were closed, as if he was thinking about something.

Xu Jie is now sixty-nine years old. He was born in the 16th year of the Hongzhi reign. He has lived through the Hongzhi, Zhengde, Jiajing and Longqing reigns, and is now approaching the Wanli reign.

This former prime minister who assisted two dynasties retired in the second year of Longqing. Perhaps because he had more free time and took good care of his health, he now looks rosy-cheeked, with a full forehead and a spirited look.

After a long while, when both sons stopped making noise, Xu Jie slowly opened his eyes.

He ordered, "Kun'er, go get all the new newspapers!"

Xu Kun was stunned.

Although he didn't know why his father wanted the new newspaper, he didn't dare to ask any questions, let alone disobey, and went out to get it without saying a word.

Xu Fan was a little more reserved and couldn't help asking, "Father, is there something wrong?"

Xu Jie clasped his right hand on the base of his left hand and clapped his hands continuously.

When his own son is confused, he naturally wants to teach him everything he knows: "You are right, something is wrong."

"Gao Gong came here purely to cause trouble for me, but Hai Rui is different. He came here to inspect the salt industry."

"Now that I've given him 20%, he not only didn't stop, but he killed my people in public. The more I think about it, the more wrong it seems."

Xu Fan guessed at the right time: "Hai Rui is also a bully who only bullies the weak and fears the strong. I heard that he released Wan Hao's brother-in-law and the eldest son of Duke Wei, but did not touch the rest of Cao Shangshu and the Duke of Xuancheng's people."

"Perhaps... it's to vent anger for an old grudge."

The old grudge naturally refers to the incident when Hai Rui was dismissed from office.

It was the Xu family who mobilized the common people and gentry to throw dirty water on him, instructed the censors to impeach him, and even persuaded Zhang Juzheng to make a move in the cabinet, which ended up driving Hai Rui back to his hometown.

Xu Fan put himself in the other person's shoes and thought that if he were in power again, he would also take back the situation.

Xu Jie glanced at his son and shook his head: "Hai Rui is different from you. He will not mix personal likes and dislikes into his official duties."

"Besides, he has already killed two seventh-rank deputy judges of the Salt Tax Bureau and three eighth-rank salt tax governors. The day before yesterday, he also reported to the Southern Zhili Ministry of Justice, demanding the execution of more than 20 ambassadors and deputy ambassadors who were not of high rank."

"He wouldn't dare to do this without the cabinet's authorization, but... the cabinet is unlikely to let him do this easily."

Everyone knew that Hai Rui came to inspect the salt and customs taxes, in other words, to rob money.

They gave up their profits, but instead of stopping, they killed people on a large scale. It doesn't seem right no matter how you look at it.

As for the Ministry of Justice of Nanzhili, no one knew what was going on, but they approved whatever Hai Rui reported. In just ten days, dozens of officials had been executed!
Xu Fan pondered for a long time but couldn't figure it out, let alone what it had to do with the new newspaper.

I had no choice but to shut up and wait for my father to explain.

Not long after, Xu Kun came back with a stack of new newspapers.

"Sir, the latest one arrived on December 1st, and the subsequent ones have not yet arrived in Nanzhili."

Xu Jie nodded, reached out to take it, opened the new newspaper with his slightly aged hands, and read each issue carefully.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the elder brother Xu Fan told his younger brother what the father and son had just discussed.

After hearing this, Xu Kun waved his hands nonchalantly: "Why else? He relied on Gao Gong's support in Nanzhili!"

"He was the Prime Minister, a man who was blessed by heaven, but he stole the title and military merit for pacifying Altan Khan and fell into depravity."

"He is a lowly official, neglecting his wife and children, and his mind is filled with ignorance of the people of the world, deceiving himself and others."

"They are just birds of a feather!"

Xu Fan sighed.

I couldn't help but sigh: "Alas, Gao Gong used retirement as an excuse to get the final blow, which is really hard to resist."

When Xu Jie retired, he was able to put forward conditions to Muzong and drive Gao Gong away. Now that it is Gao Gong's turn to retire, his counterattack should not be underestimated.

The two brothers were talking.

Xu Jie suddenly crumpled up the newspaper in his hand and threw it on the ground with an expressionless face.

He pressed his hands firmly on his knees to suppress the subconscious trembling.

Both brothers were stunned.

"Father?"

"grown ups?"

Xu Fan quickly picked up the new newspaper, stepped forward and asked, "Father...did you find any clues?"

Xu Jie wanted to speak, but found that when he opened his mouth, his lips trembled slightly, and then he clenched his teeth again.

Xu Fan didn't understand what was going on. He unfolded the newspaper and frowned as he read the content that had just caused his father's emotions to fluctuate.

Xu Kun also came over and read out the following words: "The Ministry of Revenue's Deputy Secretary Jia Daiwen and the Imperial Censor Hu Qi prophesied about the chaos in government and had the intention of being disloyal. On November 29th... they were executed according to the law."

After reading this sentence, Xu Fan's face suddenly changed!
Seeing his father and brother's reactions, Xu Kun was puzzled and asked, "Hasn't he been convicted before? Why are you so surprised?"

Xu Fan's tone was stiff. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth as he said, "Yes, he has been convicted, but the reign will be changed and a general amnesty will be declared immediately!"

After hearing this, Xu Kun finally realized something.

He was shocked and said, "This is killing before the amnesty!?"

"Ah? The cabinet dares to act like this?"

Xu Jie's mood was not at peace to begin with.

Seeing his son still making a fool of himself, he finally got angry and said, "Cabinet? I thought it was the cabinet!?"

"The cabinet dares to kill censors like this!?"

"Can the cabinet ignore the 53 petitions from Nanzhili for mercy?!"

"The cabinet dares to rush to grant amnesty and kill people!?"

He picked up the teacup and smashed it at the portrait of him paying homage to King Sejong!
The tea dripped down the portrait.

He said angrily: "It's the emperor!"

"It's the Emperor who wants to kill me!"

"That eleven-year-old brat treated me like a fattened pig!"

The two sons trembled.

Xu Fan saw the opportunity quickly and hurried forward to support his father, handing the crutch to Xu Jie, fearing that he would get sick from anger.

Xu Jie pushed him away, holding the cane in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to suppress the anger and fear in them.

Jia Daiwen and Hu Qi were both natives of Nanzhili. Their execution revealed the central government's unshakable determination to reorganize Nanzhili.

The question is who makes this determination.

It is difficult to change one person's will; it is also difficult to adjust the will of everyone.

Xu Jie had worked in the cabinet for many years, so he naturally understood what the cabinet was like.

When the cabinet is doing its work, if the pressure it receives exceeds a certain limit, it will have to compromise no matter what the prime minister thinks.

But if it was the emperor...

Xu Jie's heart sank to the bottom.

Xu Kun was still confused and frowned, "Are you talking about the emperor? I heard that Zhang Juzheng is the one holding the power in the court right now, right?"

"I heard a few days ago that the emperor had been driven out of the Qianqing Palace by Zhang Juzheng and thrown into the Western Garden!"

Xu Fan quietly pulled his brother's sleeve. Xu Kun looked up in confusion and saw his father with a look of murderous intent on his face.

He quickly shut up.

Xu Fan finally understood what his father meant.

Although it is still a little hard to believe, after sorting things out, it seems more reasonable.

"No wonder."

"No wonder even though Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui were clearly at odds, the cabinet still gave Hai Rui power. It turns out that the emperor was suppressing him."

"No wonder after Xu Weizhi, the son of Duke Wei, was released, the Duke Wei's mansion began to close its doors to visitors."

"No wonder Zhang Jing, the garrison commander of Nanjing, brought people from the Imperial Horse Administration with him to take up his post."

"Former Prime Minister Gao Gong, Governor of the Grand Canal Wang Zongmu, Imperial Commissioner Hai Rui, Nanzhili Wang Xijue, Nanjing Garrison Commander Zhang Jing, General Chen Wangmo..."

"Unknowingly, all these people were transferred to key positions. This is going to be a ruthless killing!"

"Why is it so? Why is it so?"

Xu Fan muttered to himself, the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became.

Don't underestimate the Xu family's power. But no matter how powerful the people the emperor wants to deal with are, they will be vulnerable if they are picked out one by one!
Why is this so!

Although Xu Jie had a lot of land, they were all obtained through voluntary exchanges between both parties!

For example, Sun Wu took the initiative to donate land worth more than 1500 taels of silver to the Xu family.

The Xu family did not let him suffer any loss and immediately ordered him to change his name to Xu Wu and accepted him as a family member. Isn't this a mutually beneficial situation?
In this way, he no longer had to pay taxes - as Xu Jie was the former prime minister, the amount of tax exemption was naturally self-evident.

He also lent more than 20,000 taels of silver to Xu Wu to open a pawnshop and make a living.

If you repay monthly, you can pay off the debt in about thirty years. Is there anything better in the world?

Although the person who made the donation died, the shop and the land still belonged to the Xu family.

But didn’t the people also receive protection from the Xu family and enjoy half a life of peace?

If it was really like what Hai Rui said, that he was competing with the common people for profit, why would the people of Songjiang Prefecture flock to him?
Why don't you think about whether the Zhu family's renovation of the palace has caused too high taxes? His Xu family has benefited the country and the people, but has become a thorn in the emperor's side. Is the central government short of money and has to rob the people like this! ?

Outrageous!

Xu Kun still couldn't believe it: "Sir, maybe you are worrying too much, after all, he is only an eleven-year-old child..."

Before he could finish his words, Xu Jie smashed his cane on him and yelled, "Kneel down!"

Xu Kun immediately shut up and knelt down with a feeling of grievance.

Xu Jie's old voice was extremely fierce: "I have taught you so many times! When cooperating, you should be strict with others, and when confronting, you should be lenient with the enemy. You are already forty years old now! And you still have this dandy face. Can you learn from it? "

"Pick up the new newspaper! Take a good look at the little emperor's theory of good and evil! Take a good look at the drama praising the harmony between the monarch and his subjects!"

"Open your eyes again and read the newspaper's final verdict on Jia Daiwen!"

"I've told you straight away that this is the emperor's gossip. And you're still asking how there can be such an eleven-year-old?"

"Do you think eleven-year-olds should be as stupid as you?"

"Do you know Shen Shixing from Suzhou next door? He was a scholar at the age of 14, the top scholar at the age of 26, and now at the age of 37 he has become a real official and will soon enter the cabinet!"

"The Emperor wants to kill me! I'm dying! When will you become a useful person?"

Xu Kun was scolded so hard that he couldn't even raise his head.

The elder brother beside him quickly consoled him, "Father, the most urgent thing is to come up with a good solution. Please calm down."

He gestured behind his back, asking Xu Kun to kneel farther away so as not to be scolded in front of him.

Just at this moment, the youngest son Xu Ying rushed in anxiously.

He ignored his second brother who was kneeling as punishment every day and said, "Father, the prefect Song Zhihan is here again!"

Xu Jie's face was expressionless at this time. He asked coldly, "What's your trick this time?"

Xu Ying said quickly, "This man has documents with seals from His Majesty, the Cabinet, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Revenue, and wants to redeem 10,000 acres of good farmland for the Earl of Ding'an!"

Hope arose in Xu Fan's heart.

It's just 10,000 acres of good farmland. Originally, 20,000 acres were allocated to Gao Gong, but this guy didn't want it.

The cabinet is not asking them to return all of it now. Does it choose to keep quiet and make a big deal out of it?

Moreover, not only did they only want 10,000 acres, they also had to pay silver to buy it out, which seemed to be a gesture of goodwill...

Thinking of this, Xu Fan couldn't help but ask, "Redemption? How much taels of silver?"

Xu Ying's face flushed as if she was constipated: "Six hundred and ninety-eight taels and two coins... four coppers."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw his brother and father blushing at the same time, their knuckles turned white.

Xu Ying continued, "Also, Song Zhihan used this as an excuse to measure all our land first to prevent disputes over land."

As the eldest son, Xu Fan couldn't just sit there and watch, so he turned around abruptly and said, "I'll go out and meet him!"

The government office was just an empty shell with only a few dozen people, but the Xu family was different. Most of the people in the entire Huating County were from the Xu family.

One spit from a person can drown someone.

Xu Fan was not stubborn, he just thought clearly... If the emperor really wanted to take action against them, they should show their abilities to get a chance to save their lives.

A vulnerable pig is doomed to die.

This Xu family member realized what later generations called the value of united front work when Emperor Muzong wanted to take action against the Xu family last time.

Just as he was moving, Xu Jie suddenly said, "Stop!"

The two brothers stopped immediately.

I only heard Xu Jie say: "Don't show up."

Xu Fan asked: "Father, how do we do it?"

Xu Jie finally regained his composure at this time. He would fight back against the enemy. Even if the emperor wanted him to die, he would not surrender.

His face was solemn: "Gao Gong asked for the emperor's order, but he didn't come to cause trouble in person. This is not like his style."

"It's better to be cautious and not to have a direct conflict. Let them measure first."

"We have people in the government office. When the time comes..."

He paused, and said in a cold tone: "Song Zhihan, in order to gain political achievements, seized land and did not hesitate to order the officials to kill innocent people!"

After saying this, he slowly stood up.

He motioned to his second son to stand up.

He ordered: "Xu Fan, pass the order down and hold Gao Gong back. I'm going to go out for a while!"

……

In the government office of Songjiang Prefecture.

Gao Gong sat in the host seat, Zhu Xixiao sat in the guest seat, and Chen Mingyan stood behind Zhu Xixiao.

Zhu Xixiao asked curiously, "We really don't need to step in?"

He originally planned to directly come forward to subdue Xu Jie, but he did not expect that Gao Gong only let the prefect Song Zhihan come forward.

If Zhu Xixiao and Gao Gong did not show up, a prefect would not be able to suppress Xu Jie.

Gao Gong glanced casually at the nobles in front of him, and perhaps because he was in a good mood, he explained: "If Xu Jie disobeys the order, isn't that just right?"

Chen Mingyan was standing behind him and couldn't help scratching his neck when he heard this.

Although the emperor often made him do hard and tiring work in order to test the loyalty of the Chen family, it must be said that this was really an eye-opener.

Ding Anbo's heart is at least eight points evil.

Zhu Xixiao asked curiously, "What is Earl Ding'an going to do?"

Gao Gong said confidently: "If Xu Jie disobeys the order, then we can just let the Royal Guard arrest him and save a lot of effort!"

"If Xu Jie sits there waiting to die, then we will measure the land and then sort out the ownership of the land."

"Submit your land and return to your country! Return the land and reduce taxes!"

It is hard to say how much donations the Xu Mansion received from the people, but it was at least several thousand.

At the beginning, "there were several thousand members of the Huating family, and there was a register recording them, half of which were fictitious."

Jiajie means that after surrendering, the people were given the name "Qianshou" (Qian Shou) by the government.

But the last time Hai Rui came, he returned all of them to their hometowns and "requested that their household registration be revoked, leaving only a few hundred for service."

However, the people were returned to their hometown but the land was not. After Hai Rui was driven away, he naturally became a member of the Xu family again.

Especially in the past two years, it has expanded again and now has nearly 10,000 families.

Since hundreds of people were left behind at that time, it means that there were only a few hundred real family members in the Xu family, and these nearly ten thousand people were all surrendered.

Now that Gao Gong wants to reopen the surrender case, he must return the surrenderers to their original places of origin and surnames, and after the land is returned, taxes will be reduced and the people will be allowed to cultivate it.

Zhu Xixiao cupped his hands and said, "The Northern Pacification Office will follow the arrangements of Earl Ding'an."

The Jinyiwei could set up their own prisons at any time and anywhere without going through the procedures of the Three Judicial Departments.

As long as the Northern Pacification Office is determined, there is no ironclad case that cannot be solved.

Gao Gong waved his hand and said, "It's only because you guys are here that things will be easier. The government office will start accepting reports from the people tomorrow. Zhu Shaobao will help keep an eye on it!"

Before this, he could only play supporting roles. On the one hand, it took time to control the officials in the government office, and on the other hand, he was afraid that Xu Jie would do something desperate.

There were only dozens of runners in the government office, but it was different in the Xu Mansion, where there were tens of thousands of family members, not to mention that half of Songjiang Prefecture were "outer family members."

There are too many people involved, so we have to be cautious to prevent mass incidents.

Now that the Jinyiwei have arrived, Gao Gong can finally let go.

This is the consequence of a weak center. No matter what the case is, nothing can be done without some soldiers.

If they are strong, the central government can issue a dozen edicts and drag it out for three to five years, and they will still be able to get results.

Chen Mingyan couldn't help but agree: "In this way, the case should be solved quickly."

As soon as he finished speaking, a Jinyiwei dressed as a police officer walked in.

"Governor, Earl Ding'an, the Xu family said that their master Xu Jie is out of town, and we have to wait for him to come back before we can sign the land transfer deed."

Huh? Several people were stunned.

Xu Jie was out at this critical moment?

Chen Mingyan asked, "Did you say where to go?"

The Jinyiwei shook his head.

Gao Gong also frowned.

At this point, Zhu Xixiao couldn't help but ask, "Ding'an Bo, do you want me to send someone to pursue it?"

He brought people here secretly and is not in the open now. If he sends people to search for them on a large scale, his identity will naturally be exposed.

Whether it is worth it depends on Gao Gong’s decision.

Gao Gong thought about it and shook his head: "We can't be led by the nose, let's live our own life!"

"Spread the news now. The government will accept the reports of those who have been surrendered. The land will be returned to the people, and taxes will be reduced by half!"

……

December twenty-three.

It is almost the end of the year, but the capital city is not as lively as in previous years.

It was only because the emperor listened to the advice of the cabinet that he cancelled all the extravagant things such as lantern festivals, fireworks, and boat rides.

Some people praised the emperor for his simplicity and frugality, calling him a sage king, and the cabinet for its effective education, calling them wise ministers.

Some people were not used to such a deserted year-end, and privately said that the emperor was a stingy person and the cabinet ministers were only seeking fame.

But no matter what, the emperor did not forbid celebrations outside the palace and indulge himself. Instead, he treated everyone equally and did not allow extravagance even in the imperial city.

At this time, the invited ministers were fishing with the miserly emperor beside the Taiye Lake, looking relaxed and comfortable.

Chen Jingbang and Shen Li, two Hanlin scholars, were fanning the flames behind the crowd and grilling the fish on skewers.

Not far away, there were eunuchs driving the fish in the Taiye Lake towards the fishing area.

Zhang Juzheng said helplessly: "Your Majesty, if you have something to say, just speak up."

The Prime Minister fished for the entire afternoon, but even with the eunuchs pushing the fish towards him, he still didn't catch a single fish. He had already lost his patience.

It sounds good that the ruler and his subjects get along well with each other, but at the same time, we have to find something interesting to entertain ourselves.

This was Zhu Yijun’s first time fishing in this life, and it seemed that he had triggered the novice protection period, catching fish one after another.

When Zhang Juzheng called him like this, he got another clue.

He pulled up the fish, threw it to Shen Li, and asked him to help grill it.

He turned his head to look at Zhang Juzheng and said with a smile: "There are a few things that I need to discuss with the cabinet."

　Look at the sign next to my catalog that says 9,000 new posts a day! No need to say anything!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)