Chapter 322: Settling scores at an opportune moment

Yao Guangxiao is dead.

The king and his ministers mourned.

Shortly afterward, Zhang Anshi personally collected Yao Guangxiao’s corpse and put it into a coffin.

As Yao Guangxiao’s ‘son’, Zhang Anshi was responsible for all the funeral follow-up matters.

Jin Zhong didn’t shed many tears, but his heart, however, seemed to have been cut one after another.

The partner who had shared his pain and suffering at the beginning was now finally one step ahead of him.

He not only grieved over Yao Guangxiao’s death, but also felt that the era he and Yao Guangxiao had represented seemed to be far away and dissipated like smoke.

He grabbed Zhang Anshi’s hand and didn’t bother to ask Yao Guangxiao what he said when he was dying, but only inquired about some of the circumstances before his death.

Zhang Anshi replied one by one.

Jin Zhong listened attentively before sighing quietly, “Lord Yao was far-sighted, he must have had his reasons for anything he did, and it was not a blessing that he could die without complaining.”

Jin Zhong said and forced a smile.

It’s just this smile, I guess it’s worse than crying.

Zhang Anshi did not know how to answer, only looked sad.

Zhu Di stayed up all night, shut up in the light house for a full night, and after the night was over, he walked right out of the house.

He appeared haggard, yet seemed to be trying to lift his spirits, and at that moment, ordered the ministers to be summoned to an audience.

When the ministers arrived at Zhu Di’s heels, they all looked sad.

On the contrary, the household minister Xia Yuanji took the lead and said, “Your Majesty, Yao public down a great merit, he was an idle fish and wild crane general disposition, do not ask for rewards, but now deceased, funeral affairs …….”

Xia Yuanji didn’t finish the latter words completely, but the meaning was already clear.

Yao Guangxiao such a person, the funeral is not just invite people to eat such a simple. The so-called rites and laws, even if the death, but also need a whole set of supporting, not only the funeral planning, and the status of the death, including the memorial gift, and then ultimately determine, with what treatment to be organized.

Zhu Di only faintly looked up at Xia Yuanji, as if his heart had already made up its mind.

Did not wait long, Zhu Di said, “Master Yao is the first success of the Jing difficult …… posthumously awarded …… his as the Duke of Rong Guo …… ”

He paused, the mood seems to be very low, but then reluctantly cheer up, then said: “his posthumous name, so that the Ministry of Rites to prepare, early play on. He has no children, Duke of Wei Zhang Anshi, by his inheritance of the mantle, with the son. All funeral rites, are organized by the Duke of Wei. He hoped that he could be cremated, and then set up a tower of relics, preservation of their relics, which …… also made Zhang Anshi to do ……”

Speaking here, Zhu Di’s eyes were red and covered with blood, choking and continuing, “His pagoda, built within the Imperial Temple ………”

As a matter of fact, the historical Yao Guangxiao was the first civil official to be buried in the Imperial Temple, and the only one in the entire Ming Dynasty.

No one has been honored with this award in the Ming Dynasty for nearly three hundred years.

This also means that any emperor in the later times, to pay tribute to the temple, would have to prepare a tribute for Yao Guangxiao, and send the ritual officials to go to the temple every now and then.

Therefore, when Zhu talked about entering the ancestral temple, Yang Rong, Xia Yuanji and others were greatly surprised.

Just as quickly, their moods subsided.

It is clear to everyone that instead of Zhu Di winning the world immediately, Zhu Di seized the world under the planning of Yao Guangxiao.

In the whole process of pacification, Yao Guangxiao was almost the initiator, organizer, and even the executor of the whole pacification.

This is incomparable to any other person who has contributed to the quelling of the nation. Without Yao Guangxiao, even today’s situation would be impossible.

So none of the ministers objected and said, “Obey the decree.”

Zhu Di let out a breath before looking at Zhang Anshi, “Minister Zhang, this matter relies on you.”

Zhang Anshi hurriedly bowed down and solemnly said, “I will die by all means.”

Zhu Di added: “As for Master Yao’s Shinto inscription, I will personally write it, so there is no need for the Ministry of Rites to draft it.”

And then he slowly stood up.

This is just Yao Guangxiao’s aftermath, the aftermath is simple, but then there is something else, not so easy.

That is to fulfill Yao Guangxiao’s wish.

Zhu paced a few steps before saying, “The situation in Ningguo Fu, how is it?”

The ministers were silent.

Zhang Anshi then said, “The government offices, county offices, all officials, all have been detained, should kill the head of the head of the kill, should be copied into the family of the family. In addition to this, the jinyi lieutenants deployed three thousand seven hundred and twenty-five people, began a thorough investigation of the malpractice case of the Ningguo Palace, all those involved in this case, are disposed of from the heaviest.”

“I have drawn another group of officials from the Taiping Province to urgently come to the aftermath, and in the counties, I have ordered people to set up drums similar to the Dengwen Drums to sound out grievances, in preparation for the final evacuation. In addition to this, it is the inventory of hidden households and hidden fields, as well as the situation in Latin.”

Zhu Di said in a deep voice, “The crime shall be increased by three grades, and shall not be tolerated.”

Zhu Di said decisively, this is no longer the death of Yao Guangxiao, or rather, Yao Guangxiao was not killed by these people, Yao Guangxiao’s skills, with these people, also worthy of mutilation?

But Zhu Di understands that Yao Guangxiao is only hoping to use his own death to uncover this cover, and use his own death to make Zhu Di make up his mind, and use his own death to announce to the world.

Zhang Anshi, however, said: ”No, there is no need to add three grades to the crime, the situation that I investigated is also already shocking, indiscriminate killing of innocents, corruption and inking, and hiding the population and land …… is already ten evils that can not be pardoned. As for the weekdays, there are many people use lynching, indiscriminate killing of innocents, and even more numerous. And this time, in order to catch the fleeing households around, many families, organizing strong men, chasing and intercepting, the victim people are also not a few.”

Indignation came out of Zhu’s eyes and said, ”Master Yao rushed here just because he knew about this. It is to want to avoid these people, continue to kill countless people ah. Jin Yiwei …… should be investigated strictly to the end, one shall not be spared.”

Zhang Anshi said, “Obey the decree.”

Zhang Anshi can also hold his breath now.

It had to be said that Yao Guangxiao’s last words had brought a few epiphanies to his heart. Zhang Anshi had been a man for two lifetimes, and had been counting on using the morals of his last life as his outlook on dealing with things in this era.

That’s why he’s blood-sick; he’s sometimes reluctant to take things to the extreme, and tends to show caution about woe-is-me family members.

But now we realize that in the latter days, people are like atoms, individuals, at best a small family.

In this era, people are in the form of family survival, a little weakness, or hesitation, I do not know how many people, to be killed.

Zhang Anshi received the order and without further delay, immediately began to set up without stopping.

Soon a large number of cases of conspiracy and deception began to surface.

In the whole of Ninjago, there is hardly a situation where there is no hidden population or fields.

The so-called arable land recorded in the yellow book of the Ningguo Palace is, in fact, less than thirty percent of the stash.

That means 70% of it is hidden.

And last year, it was only fifty percent.

To deteriorate directly to this point within a year is unimaginable to anyone.

Zhang Anshi is also very dry, directly to set a red line, hiding more than a hundred acres of land, directly confiscate the family property, a thousand acres of people, may have to take into account the issue of killing the head, if more than three thousand acres, the master killed, the rest of the relatives are exiled.

As for less than a hundred mu, the number of cultivated land will be calculated according to the number of hidden cultivated land, counting from the beginning of Emperor Taizu Gao, to make up for the taxes on the hundred mu of land in these decades, and if there is a grain of rice missing, the family will be copied and exiled immediately.

The Jinyiwei had begun to infest the townships, and the officials drawn from the Taiping Province were well versed in clearing land.

Every day, here in the government office, there will be a large number of people detained, and then the magistrate from the Taiping Province, direct judgment.

There are more than a hundred people killed every day outside the city.

House of the prison, is also overcrowded, had no choice, Zhang Anshi directly confiscated seven or eight mansions, as a temporary prison.

For a while, this Ningguo House wailed.

And that originally in the government office, that claimed that his name is Xia Chang, and is a good little people Xia Chang, and back to the case.

He knelt on the ground in a sorry state, and at this time, outside the government office, many people had already been attracted.

Many people have come here, talking about it, because …… this Xia Chang, is a famous local family, his family, and can even be traced back to the Southern Song Dynasty.

Dozens of generations of wealth and prosperity, in this Ningguo House, can be said to be well known.

Just such a man, now …… has long been in disgrace.

And the reason why this case Zhang Anshi has to personally come to the trial is because the number …… is too big.

Zhang Anshi arrived and the crowd stood at attention.

In the marketplace, there are already people comparing Zhang Anshi to the King of the Living Hell.

Zhang Anshi didn’t care about that.

As soon as the people arrived, the kneeling Xia Chang immediately wailed, “Wrongfully accused, wrongfully accused …….”

Zhang Anshi did not even look at him, directly picked up the paperwork on the land clearing book a look, and then ruthlessly slammed into the front of the Xia Chang, angry and cold: “Wrongly accused? Sixty-seven thousand four hundred acres of land, your Xia family, hidden for how many years? Taizu high emperor in the time, you will also make a show, from the hidden land, take out a few thousand acres to, registered in the yellow book, after Jianwen, you are powerful, pretend not even pretend?”

Xia Chang said, “These matters, the grasses never ask, are all taken care of by the master.”

Zhang Anshi couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh that was filled with mockery, saying, ”What a master administrator. In that case, you have been wronged. Your master-at-arms is loyal, risking so much in order to help you hide your taxes. But don’t worry, it’s good that you’ve confessed to that master. Men, bring that master-at-arms in.”

It didn’t take long for someone to be escorted in.

This master of ceremonies had long been as pale as earth, blinded with fear, and when he reached Zhang Anshi’s heel, he just kept kowtowing.

Zhang Anshi said, “Since it is all done by you, the master of the house, it is more than good, it seems …… that your guilt is relatively light, and this master of the house …… is not enough to kill his whole family to make people angry. ”

When the master of ceremonies heard this, his eyes went black and he almost fainted.

But the great desire to survive, taught him to fiercely strengthen his spirit, and then he wailed, “This is all …… Xia Taigong s idea ah! He is the master, how can I dare to be the master? Xia Taigong …… He is not only hiding the fields, he …… when the tenants fled, he organized more than seventy bankers, robbed and killed more than thirty people along the way. Even the women and children refused to let go. He also said to the people, refused to be at ease with agriculture, is such an end, it is called to warn others. Not only that …… he also robbed the wives and daughters of the tenants, he …… he ……”

Xia Chang was furious, “How dare you, want to turn your back on the Lord?”

It seemed that this Xia Chang’s residual power was still present, and this master of ceremonies was instantly too frightened to speak.

Zhang Anshi, however, smiled and said, “There is no rush. This kind of thing, in fact, is not afraid of you guys denying it. Your Xia family is a big family with so many bankers, isn’t it easy to verify it?”

“Xia Chang, I can say goodbye to you, what you say today, all on record. But if you know what you say, all is nonsense, you have to understand, Jin Yiwei office is the case, you are a scholar, what is the meaning of the case, think you should be clear. At that time as long as you find out the crime that you deny, all have, then it is another line of deceiving the king. You’re old, can’t live for a few years, but your family, I’m afraid that they will follow you and suffer.”

Once this word came out, Xia Chang immediately could not be taut, immediately howled, “Hidden some land is there ……”

Zhang Anshi sneered, “More than 60,000 mu, is that some?”

“Ten thousand deaths.”

Zhang Anshi said, “It seems you’ve confessed?”

“Recognize, recognize ……”

“What about the other sins? Do you admit them? Forcibly robbing a man’s wife and daughter …… Do you admit to these?”

“They volunteered.” Hsia Chang wailed, “Please also be clear.”

Zhang Anshi heard him speak with vigor, only to feel a cold, chilling feeling on his back.

So he looked at him coldly and said, “Is that so? In that case, do I have to ask the sufferer?”

Xia Chang then cried, “Is Your Excellency trying to force little old me to die?”

Zhang Anshi said, “Come on people …… will confess to him, these sins, he is willing to recognize the signatures and drawings, refused to recognize, there is no harm, continue to let the brocade guards thorough investigation is.”

A stack of confessions was delivered to Hsia Chang.

Xia Chang trembling, he hastily read, after all, is a reader, many things, he is clear, but in the end, he seems to weigh the pros and cons, feel that confessing to a crime is better than not confessing to it, and at that moment, a line of signatures and pledges.

Offerings served, Zhang Anshi only look at a glance, then thrown to the side of the judge, this judge only a meditation, immediately said: “Xia Chang private weapons, plotting mischief, deceiving the king, forcibly robbing the people’s daughter, killing …… all the sins and punishments, copied the family, extermination of the three clans, no clan exile.”

Xia Chang heard, already to faint, he indignantly exclaimed: “I have confessed to the law, why there is still deceiving the king? I hide weapons, is to prevent the outlaw, the murderer is also not me, is the home of the banker …… spare life, spare life ah ……”

Zhang Anshi still coldly looked at him, said: “less and I play what word games, I know you read books, have a clever mouth, ability is very big, but the world, not just based on your eloquent, can be denied! Hate only hate your family to enjoy dozens of generations of blessings, and you are also the power of the blessing of most of the life, today to exterminate your Xia family, but it is too late!”

Then, he shouted, “Come on people, take the driving sticker, copied the Xia family …… will bring this old dog down, tomorrow with his family, together with the beheading.”

Xia Chang directly rolled his eyes and fainted.

Outside together with the people listening to the trial, each scared atmosphere dare not come out, do not see with their own eyes the government so ruthless, really can not imagine, this hall Xia family, so no.

To know, this Xia family, even a random male son to the Prefecture, are able to eat at the same table with the county and Prefecture officials, together with pleasantries ah.

Zhang Anshi didn’t react too much to the people’s gaze, and then instructed the magistrate to say, “Now the task is heavy, we have to be quick, there are too many people to be tried, we have to dispose of them properly as soon as possible, you and the lower officials, work harder.”

“Yes.”

Zhang Anshi dropped these words and went straight away.

A few more days passed.

Zhang Anshi, with all his fatigue, went to the light house for an audience.

Zhu Di did not rush back to the palace, but here in the town, waiting for this Ningguo Fu stabilized before making plans.

The emperor did not leave, and the ministers who accompanied him, had no choice but to stay. They all felt an aura of solemnity within this Prefecture.

The Ningguo House has done a bad job, this is something that everyone has to admit.

Because too many egregious things are right in front of us for anyone to deny.

Of course, more people put all this on the evil officials.

Only now, everyone is in front of His Majesty, but they don’t dare to make a sound.

Zhang Anshi, on the other hand, came to ask for an audience with a book of money and grain.

Zhu Di heard Zhang Anshi came, know Zhang Anshi these days after the hard work, immediately ordered to come in to report the eunuchs to lead him in.

In the small hall of this tiny light house, which was overcrowded with ministers, Zhang Anshi saluted.

Zhu directly said, “Give a seat.”

So, Yishouha himself brought a chair, and Zhang Anshi sat down without ceremony.

Only then did Zhu say, “How are things?”

Zhang Anshi truthfully said: ”A lot of people have been organized, but there are still some follow-ups to wrap up. Apart from that, it is to prevent the plague, now the medicine and personnel are here, there should be no problem. The original medical households were also demobilized, giving them some travel expenses. They thanked them a thousand times, all saying that His Majesty is saintly ……”

When Zhu Di heard the word holy and bright, it was as if it had touched a certain point in his heart all at once again, and the corner of his lips hooked up a cold smile with a few self-deprecating words, “Holy and bright?”

Zhang Anshi didn’t say anything.

But Zhang Anshi quickly changed the topic, said, “There is another matter …… I found out the situation of hidden fields, shocking, so this, a severe crackdown, therefore, also confiscated a lot of family property. At the same time, I have also purged all the owed fields, and now the situation is that the arable land confiscated through the confiscation of the family …… has been one million and seven hundred thousand mu.”

Everyone was shocked at these words.

Ningguo Prefecture under the jurisdiction of six counties, the number of acres of fields recorded in the yellow book, but only one million four hundred thousand mu.

But now, Zhang Anshi relied on copying the family, and actually directly copied more land than was registered in the Yellow Book.

Zhang Anshi patiently explained, “These confiscated lands are mostly the lands of some big gentry and big township sages, who have the most hidden lands, and are also mostly evil on weekdays, and according to the situation that if you hide more than a hundred acres of land, you will be confiscated from the hidden land, this number now roughly matches with what I have registered on the land in the Taiping Province.”

Zhang Anshi paused, then said: “As for those who hide less than a hundred acres of land, I didn’t let people directly copy the family, and only taught them to pay the tax arrears. However, I expect that there will be quite a few people, who refuse to come up with the tax arrears, and I am only afraid …… that I will have to copy some more cultivated land. Just …… this number should not be much.”

Zhu Di is still shocked at Zhang Anshi square although said one million seven hundred thousand mu of this number, this number is too terrible, far beyond his imagination.

I’m afraid that more than half of the land in Ningguo Province is now under the government.

But then think carefully, the court for so many years, the treasury deficit, but a large number of people who own a lot of land, but the land will be hidden, a little tax is not paid, but other taxes, are imposed on the heads of the small people, which is really terrible.

Zhang Anshi took the crowd’s reaction in his eyes, he continued, “Not only that, the seized grain, there are still as much as 700,000 stones, these numbers, I intend to leave 200,000 stones, relief for the people. The rest, to be relieved to the state treasury, I wonder what your majesty thinks?”

Zhu Di nodded, “Leave 300,000 stones.”

Zhang Anshi said, “Your Majesty is wise.”

Zhu added, “How to dispose of so much cultivated land?”

Zhu Di said, looking towards Yang Rong, Hu Guang and the others.

Hu Guang heart bitter smile, to be honest, when he heard this appalling news, Hu Guang’s mood is very complicated, on the one hand, he feels that these squires and township sages are a group of piggybackers, they are not a single hair on their heads on weekdays, they are simply looking for death.

But on the other hand, Hu Guang himself was born in the family of the gentry, so many gentry suffered, plagiarized, and killed …… to make his heart quite difficult.

It is a very complex emotion, and in fact the vast majority of ministers here feel the same way.

“Your Majesty ……”

At this time, the Ministry of Justice Secretary Jin Chun said, “According to the law, all the confiscated property, all for the official land, or for the royal estate, why not let the Ministry of households side, to draw up a charter, which some for the official land, which some for the royal estate, first defined before saying.”

Zhu Di thought for a moment and felt that it made sense, the number of acres of this field, it is too big, both for the palace, and the court, there is a great benefit.

Surprisingly, Zhang Anshi said, “Your Majesty, I don’t think so.”

Zhu Di could not help but be surprised and looked at Zhang Anshi, “Why?”

Zhang Anshi said, “Your Majesty, I am in Taipingfu, trying my best to implement the new policy, Taipingfu under the jurisdiction of three counties, and the population is not much, the situation on agriculture, simply can not take into account, this countryside measures and the situation, I run a very haphazard. But about these lands, I thought …… it is better to arrange and arrange separately.”

“It is said that no farming is not stable, the court to do, is to encourage farming, increase food production, to combat the situation of arrears of grain tax, if it is taken directly to do the royal estate and official fields, not only so that the palace had to be distracted to manage the manor, the official side …… of the court is also concerned that it will be more than enough to do the job. ”

Zhu Di nodded and said, “You say this, I these days, but there is an idea ……”

After he fixed his mind, he said, “I intend to abolish this Ningguofu and merge it under the rule of Taipingfu, which only has a mere three counties, with too little population and insufficient land. Now with this Ningguo Fu, there will be nine counties and a population of 600,000 households, it will finally have the appearance of the Jingzhao Prefecture.”

“Zhang Qing is still the prefect, the officials of the counties, Zhang Qing to finalize, as for these cultivated lands, since Zhang Qing does not wish to open up as imperial villages and official fields, you are the prefect, you say it.”

At these words, the hall was filled with another outcry.

Obviously, Zhu Di’s decision is what really went far beyond everyone’s expectations.

…………

The first chapter is delivered, read the reviews and understood everyone’s grievances, well, I’ll try my best to be on time for future updates and ask for monthly votes.