The Ming Dynasty’s Prodigal Son - Chapter 1775

[1775. Chapter 1687 His Royal Highness the Prince is wise]

and wise. Fang Jifan could only sigh.

As for what these people think, it seems…it doesn’t have much to do with me.

Love it!

The next day, Emperor Hongzhi summoned Fang Jifan to see him.

Fang Jifan knew that His Majesty’s summons must have a profound meaning.

So he tidied up his clothes and set off quickly.

But when they arrived at the Meridian Gate, outside the Meridian Gate, they saw Zhu Houzhao also arriving with a depressed look on his face.

He didn’t look well and looked extremely tired. When he saw Fang Jifan, he just said hello lazily.

“Your Highness…are you sick?” Fang Jifan looked at Zhu Houzhao with concern, appearing worried.

As a good brother, Fang Jifan still cares about Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao shook his head feebly: “I’m not sick, it’s just that God’s gift is too tiring. I cry all the time, from morning to night…”

Without saying anything, Fang Jifan took out a handful of money from his sleeve and stuffed it into In Zhu Houzhao’s hand: “Your Highness…you have taken the trouble…”

Zhu Houzhao: “…”

To be honest…Zhu Houzhao is not someone who has never seen silver.

But… stuffing money into him whenever he disagrees… Well, this really… really suits his taste.

He put away the money without a trace of hesitation, and immediately felt that his fatigue was swept away, and his whole body became energetic, as if the tired person just now had never existed.

But at this time, Liu Jian and others also arrived.

Inside the Meridian Gate, Xiao Jing walked out quickly and said with a straight face: “Your Majesty has a decree, please come to Fengtian Hall to see you.”

Everyone said long live.

Only this time, Xiao Jing suddenly came to read the oral decree, which was a bit unusual.

What’s more, the people summoned this time were not only the prince and the ministers of the cabinet, but also the six ministers. In addition, there were also British ministers.

Everyone came to Fengtian Hall with different thoughts.

Then he saw Emperor Hongzhi coughing in the palace… Then he raised his head and said, “Are you all here?”

Fang Jifan immediately said, “Is your Majesty not feeling well?”

Emperor Hongzhi glanced at Fang Jifan tenderly. Although Fang Jifan seemed unruly, he was very kind to him. He was still very concerned, so he just waved his hand: “It’s nothing serious, it’s just that I’m old, and the minor illness I had in the past is now… let’s discuss things first.”

After saying that, he looked at Liu Jian: “Where is Wang Shouren, the Minister of War? “

The newly appointed Minister of War, Wang Shouren, came out and said, “I’m here.”

Emperor Hongzhi looked at him and said, “How are the regulations for the standing army being drawn up?”

“Your Majesty, please wait a moment.” Wang Shouren said seriously. It’s a big matter, but… we can’t rush it. Now the First Army has still found many problems. Therefore, the expansion needs to find out the problems and then prescribe the right medicine. What I am drafting now is not the expansion charter, but the expansion charter. It is a memorial to review, and it will be submitted to the palace in two days. “

The First Army has been an eye-opener, and a consensus has been reached both inside and outside the court. Everyone naturally believes that replacing the guard station has become a top priority.

The shadow that Weizhou Guard cast on the monarchs and ministers is still there.

As a result… His Majesty has now entrusted Wang Shouren with an important task. I thought that Wang Shouren was sharpening his sword and would speed up the advancement. Who knew… Wang Shouren was not in a hurry anymore.

Emperor Hongzhi couldn’t help but be dumbfounded and glanced at Liu Jian.

Liu Jian stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, running a big country is like cooking small delicacies. It is okay for the Ministry of War to take care of it.”

This is indeed true. Emperor Hongzhi nodded and sighed: “I also heard… Nowadays, someone Sympathize with the Jiangnan gentry?”

This sudden inquiry surprised Liu Jian and others. Liu Jian frowned: “I wonder why your Majesty said this?”

Emperor Hongzhi said lightly: “A group of scholars made a big fuss in Huguang. People and gods were outraged, and the local governor suppressed the matter, but it was the Jin Yiwei who reported to the emperor. “

The problem in Jiangnan has been solved, but in other places, it is a tragedy. This time, the price of land has plummeted. Divided into north and south, the gentry in other places were having a hard time, and they began to sell their land one after another. Now… although most people dare to be angry and dare not speak out, there are some people who want to cause trouble.

At the local level, it is clear that His Majesty’s mind has been decided and cannot be changed, so he tries his best to suppress the situation.

But it is natural for such anger to spread.

Emperor Hongzhi said again: “Yang Ai, the envoy of Bozhou Xuanwei, even wrote a letter with a very painful complaint. Didn’t all the ministers see these memorials? “

Mr. Yang of Bozhou!

This is no ordinary person.

As early as the Tang Dynasty, a family migrated to Bozhou and spread their branches there. They continued to annex land and became the largest powerful people in the area. At the same time, because Bozhou was located in the southwest and the mountains were high and the emperor was far away, although they were However, the Han people continued to expand, and their descendants trained into an army. After the wars after the Tang Dynasty, they expanded their strength. By the time of the Song Dynasty, the Yang family in Bozhou surrendered to the Song Dynasty and still appointed the Yang family’s children as local civil and military officials. They In fact, Bozhou was established as a state within a state.

In view of their considerable strength, they even resisted the attacks of the Mongols during the Southern Song Dynasty and even defeated the Mongols. After the Mongols perished in the Southern Song Dynasty, they were quite afraid of them, but they still recognized their semi-independent status and gave them comfort. He held the official position of envoy and even gave the family patriarch the name Yang Saiyin Buhua.

The Ming Dynasty unified the world and inherited the Yuan system. The Yang family of Bozhou was hereditary and became the governor of Bozhou. The Yang family owned countless lands in Bozhou and formed an army in the form of a militia. It can be said that they are He is the largest gentry in the southwest region.

The Yang family has a large population. Since they have land and hereditary official positions, after thousands of years of reproduction, the Yang family in Bozhou has one hundred thousand people. Some of them serve the family in Bozhou, and some enter the imperial court through the imperial examination. , great influence.

Of course, the Yang family also knew very well that their family had a great cause, so they always kept a low profile and never wrote anything about government affairs easily. In the Ming Dynasty, they seemed to be like air and did not exist.

But this time, it seemed that the local emperor from Bozhou was annoyed. He wrote directly to denounce the court’s ruthlessness towards the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. He also said that the gentry was the foundation of the country. Of course, he even described the gentry’s family with snot and tears. The horror of migration.

Liu Jian and others all fell silent in unison.

They don’t want to pay attention to these people in Boshu.

In fact, they have read the memorial. It is understandable that the Yang family in Bozhou had such a strong reaction. After all… they own a lot of land, but they prefer the southwest of Yunnan and Guizhou. With thousands of years of accumulation, they own countless lands. More importantly… they have soldiers.

Bozhou’s army is a tradition that started in the Tang Dynasty. This army once annexed nearby lands in the name of the Tang Dynasty, followed the orders of the Song Dynasty to resist the Mongols, and was the backbone of the Yuan Dynasty’s guarding the southwest.

Their words… must not be ignored.

Emperor Hongzhi looked displeased.

The Yang family in Bozhou…the imperial court has been very tolerant to them. Even if they change their native land and return to their hometown, considering that they are Han people, it will not affect them.

It’s better now…the migrating gentry is an order from the emperor. What is their intention in writing a letter now?

There are actually routines for dealing with this kind of thing. Liu Jiandao: “Your Majesty, this matter… just leave it alone. Then I will order a censor to go to Bozhou to understand the real situation…”

But now it is different from before. Emperor Hongzhi seemed dissatisfied and looked at the prince Zhu Houzhao and said, “What do you think, the prince?”

So many people couldn’t help but look at Zhu Houzhao.

His Majesty actually asked the prince directly about such a big matter.

It seems… there is some intention.

Li Dongyang seemed to notice something, thoughtfully.

When Zhu Houzhao heard his father asking him at this time, he cheered up: “The imperial court should immediately issue an order to reprimand the Yang family in Bozhou. How can he, a small consolation envoy, talk too much about national affairs? As far as I know, The Yang family occupies countless lands, and is in charge of military, horse, money and food in Bozhou. It can be said that it is a country within a country. If the court tolerates them, it will inevitably make them despise the court. Therefore, the court must not only issue orders, but also prepare a plan. The troops and horses must be able to enter Bozhou at any time. If they surrender obediently, that’s it. If they are daring, the troops and horses prepared will immediately enter Bozhou and arrest them. “

This method of handling can be described as direct and brutal!

Liu Jian and others looked surprised.

Prince, this is too… tough.

Emperor Hongzhi was thoughtful. He seemed to think that the prince was a little too strong. He coughed and looked at Liu Jian and others with deep meaning: “What do you think?”

Liu Jian said: “Your Majesty, I don’t dare. Seconded, the Yang family is just a memorial.”

Xie Qian couldn’t help but said: “The migration of the gentry has indeed caused a lot of complaints. If it blocks the way of speech, it may not be a good thing. The Yang family of Bozhou is not guilty. It is really inappropriate to give orders or even go to war because of this. “

There are many people in the palace who are opposed to the prince.

Fortunately, neither Wang Shouren nor Ouyang Zhi spoke. One was silent and the other had no expression on his face.

Emperor Hongzhi frowned, and then said: “Do you think the prince’s words are inappropriate?”

“Your Majesty!” Fang Jifan couldn’t hold it in any longer and stepped forward: “It is your Majesty’s will to move the gentry. This is to benefit the country and the people. His Majesty was also in the south of the Yangtze River at the time, so he knew very well that this move would be of great benefit to countless people. This was good governance. Since this was already good governance, the imperial court should take a stand. The Yang family of Bozhou wrote this letter , is nothing more than provoking public discussion, using this to criticize the migration policy as false, and to protect one’s own interests as real. If you condone such people and talk nonsense at will, then… where is the face of the court? What the prince said… The prince said… I think the court can discuss and discuss something before doing it, but now that it has been done, it is still chattering about. What is the purpose of this? The prince is wise, and his ministers admire him

. , look at Fang Jifan again.

Gradually, I began to care.

(End of chapter)