Chapter 241 Undercurrent

The capital.

In the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Houzhao looked unhappy.

"You mean, someone in the capital deliberately spread the news that the Marquis of Zhongshan was about to go out to sea to open up ocean trade privately, violating the ancestral precepts of Emperor Taizu Gao?"

The three people, Gu Dayong, the governor of the West Factory, Ma Yongcheng, the governor of the East Factory, and Mou Bin, the commander of the Jinyiwei, were all here.

"Then, you three didn't even find out who the mastermind was behind it, but just caught some insignificant pawns?"

Zhu Houzhao looked at the three people quietly, and then suddenly slammed the table in anger.

"What are you still standing there for?"

"Go and check!"

"If you can't find out, I will abolish you!"

The three people trembled together, and hurriedly bowed and retreated.

After they left, Zhu Houzhao looked at Chen Kuan.

"Da Eunuch, why do you think these three people are so useless?"

"Ti Shuai is fine, he has such a temperament and is an old minister of my father, but Gu Dayong and Ma Yongcheng, these two wastes, are really getting worse and worse!"

With his own growth, Zhu Houzhao has now begun to reach the next stage of the emperor's process, that is, to consider the issue of employing people.

For example, Gu Dayong and Ma Yongcheng, these two eunuchs are his old ministers of the Eastern Palace, so they are able to hold high positions, one in charge of the West Factory and the other in charge of the East Factory.

Such a supervisory agency must be placed in the hands of one's own people to be at ease.

However, many events have shown that these two confidants seem to have failed to take on the heavy responsibility, but have repeatedly fallen behind in the struggle!

Zhu Houzhao was of course dissatisfied with this, or he wanted to change people.

Chen Kuan thought for a moment and still put forward a different opinion.

"Your Majesty, since the mastermind dared to expose this matter and made it known to everyone, he must have made all preparations."

"The enemy is in the dark, we are in the light, it is not easy for the factory guards to track us down!"

This reason is enough to calm the emperor's anger.

The only problem is that they can't just be passive all the time.

Zhu Houzhao stood up and paced back and forth, then gritted his teeth and said: "Hey, what a good trick!"

"Seeing that the fleet of the barbarians is about to be formed, and they are about to go out to sea for trade, these damn bugs have made a big deal of this matter and put it on the table!"

"I and the barbarians never expected that they would dare to do this, how brave!"

Zhu Houzhao was indeed very angry, even gnashing his teeth with hatred.

He and Tang Hao had put a lot of effort into this sea trade.

Neither did they mobilize ships from all over the country, nor did they draw soldiers from the Nanjing Navy. All the soldiers and ships were prepared by themselves!

If there is no ship, then build a ship in Qinghe Shipyard. For this, Tang Hao went to Shandong in person!

If there is no route, then go out to sea to accumulate experience. For this, Tang Hao personally led the team to sea!

If there are no naval officers, then train the soldiers and transform them into naval officers. For this, they paid a huge amount of money and food for the monarch and ministers!

As a result, now, just when the great success is about to be accomplished, someone is secretly doing bad things, making the matter a big deal and preventing their fleet from going out to sea!

It's really... damn it!

"Your Majesty, this matter must be solved."

Chen Kuan sighed and said: "The black hand behind the scenes has evil intentions and made this matter too big. It can't be concealed."

"However, once it is put on the table, it will certainly not bypass these civil officials and gentry, especially the ancestral precepts set by Emperor Taizu Gao, which will become an excuse for these people to attack Zhongshan Hou!"

No matter how you hide it before, the ministers can pretend not to see it, or selectively turn a blind eye.

But the situation is different now. Someone deliberately made a big fuss about this matter, so the civil officials and gentry had to intervene to oppose it.

This is the idea behind the scenes, forcing the civil officials and gentry to take action, or giving them a reason to take action, to check and balance the Zhongshan Marquis Tang Hao from leading the fleet to sea!

Zhu Houzhao touched his chin and fell into deep thought. This is his little habit of learning from Tang Hao.

"Da Eunuch, do you think the mastermind behind the scenes is... Li Dongyang?"

Chen Kuan's heart trembled when he heard this, and then he thought seriously: "It's not impossible."

"Why not let the factory guards keep an eye on him, and if any unusual movement is found, he will be directly arrested and tortured in the imperial prison!"

Chen Kuan didn't have any good feelings for Li Dongyang.

The reason is that this guy had colluded with Liu Jin, so he was naturally Chen Kuan's mortal enemy.

Zhu Houzhao nodded and was about to give an order, but it was too late.

"Your Majesty, Xie Xueshi and Yang Xueshi want to see you!"

An eunuch came in and brought bad news.

Xie Qian, the chief minister of the cabinet, and Yang Tinghe, the grand secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion.

It is self-evident why the two of them came together at this moment.

Zhu Houzhao's face sank, and he could only nod gloomily.

"Let them in!"

After a while, everyone sat down.

As soon as Xie Qian sat down, he said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, do you know that there have been a lot of rumors in the capital in recent days?"

"These rumors say that the Marquis of Zhongshan privately formed a fleet in Shandong to prepare for sea trade. They are very convincing, and they also list the evidence that the Marquis of Zhongshan colluded with foreigners!"

Oh, colluding with foreigners?

It's really a big crime!

Zhu Houzhao replied impatiently: "It's just some rumors, Mr. Xie, don't take it seriously!"

"Rumors?" Xie Qian said in a deep voice: "Since it's a rumor, why didn't your majesty summon the Marquis of Zhongshan back to Beijing?"

"Why did the Marquis of Zhongshan stay in Shandong for half a year? Why did he recruit craftsmen to build ships at the Qinghe Shipyard?"

"This is to prepare for the Japanese invasion!"

Chen Kuan interrupted: "Previously, the Minister of War Xu Jin mentioned that our Ming warships have been rotten for a long time, and the system of preparing for the Japanese invasion has been completely destroyed!"

"The reason why the Marquis of Zhongshan stayed in Shandong and built ships is naturally to rebuild the system of preparing for the Japanese invasion. Is there any problem?"

Prepare for the Japanese invasion!

This is the best excuse.

After all, the first time Tang Hao left Beijing and went to sea, it was under this name.

So why not the second time?

"Your Majesty!"

Xie Qian's face became serious.

"Emperor Taizu Gaodi once issued a ban that no ship can go out to sea!"

"If one person goes out to sea, he will be beheaded! If three people go out to sea, their family will be beheaded! If more than three people go out to sea, their three clans will be executed! If you lead a fleet to sea, your clan will be exterminated!"

"If what Zhongshan Hou is doing now is to prepare for the Japanese invasion, what if he leads a fleet to sea in the future? Then please punish him according to the ancestral precepts!"

As soon as these words came out, Zhu Houzhao was furious.

What is this?

Are you forcing him, Zhu Houzhao, to express his position?

Either you call back Zhongshan Hou now and stop the idea of ​​going out to sea for trade; or if Zhongshan Hou really leads a fleet to sea in the future, you will confiscate his property and exterminate his clan to respect the ancestral precepts of Taizu!

This is Xie Qian, who hates evil and is a little pedantic.

This is also the real reason why he can win the support of civil officials and gentry as the chief minister of the cabinet.

After all, when any fight occurs, Xie Qian, who hates evil and hates evil, will become the most useful sharp knife and blade to achieve their goals for them!

"Xie Qian!"

"You are so presumptuous!"

Zhu Houzhao shouted angrily: "If the Marquis of Zhongshan goes out to sea to suppress the Japanese, will you also confiscate his property and exterminate his clan?"

"Ancestral precepts! Do you only remember this ancestral precept of maritime prohibition? Do you want me to remind you of the ancestral precept of "those who embezzle more than 60 taels will be skinned and stuffed with straw"? "

Xie Qian was speechless, but he was still unwilling.

"Your Majesty, some things must not be set as a precedent!"

"If everyone knows that going out to sea can make huge profits, if everyone follows the example of the Marquis of Zhongshan and ignores the national policy of maritime prohibition, then who would be willing to farm in the countryside? Who would be willing to be a farmer facing the loess and back to the sky?"

"People have fled, the land has been barren, grain production has decreased, the country is not in charge, and the court cannot collect taxes, then how can the Ming Dynasty be maintained?"

"Your Majesty, think twice!"

To be honest, Xie Qian naturally has real talents and knowledge, and he is not opposing for the sake of opposition.

The purpose of the Marquis of Zhongshan and His Majesty, anyone with a discerning eye can see at a glance, is nothing more than wanting to open up maritime trade to make a profit.

But doing so is hurting the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

"Since ancient times, those in power have attached great importance to agriculture and sericulture, which is also the foundation of our Chinese heritage to this day!"

"If Your Majesty promotes commerce for the sake of profit, as the saying goes, if the superiors like something, the subordinates will follow suit. If Your Majesty does not attach importance to agriculture and sericulture, the subordinates will attach even less importance to agriculture and sericulture. Even if the silk of the Ming Dynasty is woven more and the porcelain is fired more, it cannot be eaten. If the people of our Ming Dynasty compete for profit and change rice to mulberry for profit, the grain-forage areas in the south of the Yangtze River will sooner or later be out of food, and the people of the world will eventually have no food to eat..."

Xie Qian came today not only for Tang Hao's preparation to go to sea, but what he really wanted to do was to dispel His Majesty's desire for profit!

Is it what an emperor should do if the emperor does not attach importance to agriculture and sericulture, but instead pursues money like a businessman?

Xie Qian's words were tantamount to openly accusing Zhu Houzhao, the emperor, of being immoral!

Zhu Houzhao could no longer bear it, pointing at Xie Qian's nose and angrily scolding: "Good! You, Xie Qian, are really good!"

"Since you scold me for pursuing money and profit, I would like to ask you, why are the taxes of my Ming Dynasty getting less and less?"

"I would like to ask you, why is the Ministry of Revenue unwilling to pay for the training of the Beijing Army, and why do I have to allocate funds from the treasury?"

"Aren't you good at speaking, Xie Qian? Then tell me!"

Xie Qian was stunned when he heard this, and lowered his head silently.

Zhu Houzhao angrily shouted with a sullen face: "If it weren't for you civil officials and gentry who were obstructing us, if it weren't for you civil officials and gentry who were fighting for power and profit, would I have to work so hard with Lord Tang to develop overseas industries to fill these loopholes?"

"Ha! You civil officials and gentry would shout that I should work hard to govern the country, revive the Ming Dynasty, and improve people's livelihood, but you didn't agree when I wanted to train troops, and you still didn't agree when I spent my own money to train troops. Lord Tang and I ran around to raise money and food for training troops. I, the emperor, The emperor is secretly building a fleet to go out to sea to make money like a businessman, but you still don't agree! "

"Then Xie Qian, tell me now, without a strong army, what can you use to resist the increasingly powerful northern barbarians, and what can you use to fight those Mongolian Tartars? Take your head, Xie Qian? Or do you, the civil officials and gentry, go to the nine borders and stand in line, waiting for those Tartars to chop off your dog heads one by one? "

"Answer me, Xie Qian!"

The words of His Majesty the Emperor, like a sharp sword, pierced Xie Qian's heart fiercely.

He couldn't understand why the Ming Dynasty had become like this.

It was naturally wrong for His Majesty the Emperor to do business.

It is also wrong for His Majesty the Emperor to go to sea against the instructions of his ancestors.

But why does Your Majesty want to do business and why does Your Majesty go to sea?

Because His Majesty wants to train troops and His Majesty wants to revive the Ming Dynasty, then this is the right thing to do.

But why is this so?

Whose problem is it?

Xie Qian fell silent and opened his mouth several times, but in the end nothing came out.

Even though he didn't want to admit it, his heart already told him the answer.

The problem is not with His Majesty, nor with the Marquis of Zhongshan, but with... the civil servants and gentry!

Yang Tinghe had been silent for a long time, but now he finally spoke.

"Your Majesty, the matter has become serious. Even if the minister and the other two don't come, there will definitely be other colleagues coming."

"So the best solution right now is to find a perfect excuse for Tang Hou to go overseas, such as the Jeju Racecourse!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone present looked at Yang Tinghe in surprise.

This Grand Bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion seems... to have something wrong with his position!

Yang Tinghe ignored everyone's strange looks and said to himself: "The Jeju Racecourse now belongs to the Ming Dynasty. Then Tanghou can send a fleet to transport materials and transport horses. In any case, these are enough excuses to deal with it."

"As for those behind the scenes who are fanning the flames and spreading rumors and causing trouble, they must be dug out as soon as possible, otherwise things will change later!"

Because of Yang Tinghe's unexpected cooperation, Zhu Houzhao's anger became much less intense.

"What Master Yang said is absolutely true."

"I know this matter well, please stand down!"

Xie Qian and Yang Tinghe saluted and left.

Zhu Houzhao looked at the backs of the two of them, slightly lost in thought for a moment.

"Da Ju, if Master Yang is now the chief minister of the cabinet, is it feasible?"

It was obvious that Zhu Houzhao had his thoughts and wanted to forcefully support Yang Tinghe to succeed him as the chief minister of the cabinet.

From what happened just now, it is not difficult to see that the positions of Yang Ting and the Imperial Master are undoubtedly on his and Tang Hao's side, which is extremely valuable.

At least they can reach a unanimous goal in a short period of time and work together to rejuvenate the Ming Dynasty.

And the current chief minister of the cabinet, Xie Qian, is a pedantic and stinking stone. He only knows how to talk about things based on the principles of those civil servants and gentry, and he has a very stubborn temper!

Zhu Houzhao now understood what Tang Hao said to him back then.

It is undoubtedly the best for Liu Jian to be the chief assistant of the cabinet. If Xie Qian is the chief assistant of the cabinet, then his majesty, the emperor, will suffer a lot.

Now it seems that what the savage said is true!

Chen Kuan put forward a hypothesis.

"Xueshi Yang has only been in the cabinet for less than a year. According to his qualifications, he is not qualified to be the chief assistant of the cabinet, otherwise he will not be able to convince the public."

"But if Bachelor Xie is more sensible and takes the initiative to return to his hometown like Li Dongyang, then Bachelor Yang can naturally take over the position of chief assistant of the cabinet..."

Hearing this, Zhu Houzhao's eyes became profound.

With Li Dongyang's resignation, only Xie Qian and Yang Tinghe are left in the cabinet.

They also recommended other talents to the cabinet many times, but they were all rejected by Zhu Houzhao in various names.

Zhu Houzhao just didn't want the cabinet to grow and grow, and cut off the opportunities for other people to enter the cabinet.

But now it seems that he has an unexpected surprise with this step.

Did Xie Qian take the initiative to become an official...?

Outside Qianqing Palace.

Xie Qian and Yang Tinghe walked in sync.

"Jiefu, why do you..."

"Don't Mr. Xie already have the answers to your Majesty's questions?"

Yang Tinghe replied expressionlessly.

"Even if Mr. Xie doesn't want to admit it, this is the truth."

"I once heard a saying, which of the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty does not have thousands of hectares of fertile land to his name?"

As soon as these words came out, Xie Qian's face became extremely ugly, and even looked faintly ferocious.

"To be honest, when I heard this at first, I thought it was very funny, but soon I stopped laughing because my relatives far away in the country sent letters."

Yang Tinghe's eyes were deep, but his tone was helpless.

"Since I, Yang Tinghe, entered the cabinet, more and more common people have taken the initiative to donate their land to the Yang family and voluntarily become tenants of my Yang family. Now, my Yang family is also a large family with hundreds of acres of fertile land! "

When Yang Tinghe said what he meant, his tone was not at all arrogant, but full of joking and self-deprecation.

"Think about it, the situation that Mr. Xie encountered is the same, right?"

Xie Qian didn't answer, but his figure became more and more shabby.

"Of course, there is no need to pay taxes on these fields. The local officials dare not ask me, Yang, to collect taxes. They are afraid of my power, Yang Tinghe, and I can end their career with just one sentence!"

"How many wealthy families like the Yang family are there in the world? At least behind the Manchu ministers and every courtier, there is such a noble family, as well as the chief envoys and inspectors from all over the country. There are prefects from various places and county magistrates from various places...like crucian carp crossing the river, they are densely packed and countless!"

"Xie Gong, please tell me, how many fields belong to your Majesty, how many fields belong to the common people, and how many fields belong to the gentry?"

Xie Qian suddenly turned his head and looked at Yang Tinghe in disbelief.

He seems to have underestimated this... Emperor Zhengde!

"The rich have endless fields, the poor have no place to stand, the court's tax revenue is getting less and less, and the soldiers and civilians on the nine sides are miserable..."

"Why are the soldiers and civilians of my Ming Dynasty so poor?!"

"Why is the whole world in trouble in my Ming Dynasty?!"

"Why is the people of my Ming Dynasty so poor and penniless?!"

"This is the real reason!"

Xie Qian stared at Yang Tinghe in a daze, and finally sighed.

"Yang Tinghe, you are not Liu Jian, you are Shang Yang and Wang Anshi!"

"No wonder your majesty has been keen on innovation since he ascended the throne. It turns out that the root lies in you, Yang Tinghe!"

Xie Qian accused angrily, but Yang Tinghe shook his head.

"I have never taught your majesty anything other than the classics."

This kind of rhetoric can only fool children.

Xie Qian naturally didn't believe it, and he turned around and left.

"I won't stand in your way."

"Tomorrow I will submit a petition to resign."

"Yang Tinghe, let's see how you can revive the Ming Dynasty!"

The goal was achieved.

Yang Tinghe bowed to Xie Qian's back from a distance.

"Goodbye, Mr. Xie!"