Chapter 620: Heads rolling, it’s too late to beg for mercy!
It's June.

Nanjing City.

Although all parties in Beijing blocked the news, the news that the 80,000-strong Beijing army was heading south eventually spread throughout Jiangnan.

It was just that because Yan Shaoting had strictly restricted the capital, the news that he was going to take ruthless action against Jiangnan had not leaked out. However, the march of tens of thousands of troops southward still caused great chaos among the people of Jiangnan.

There were various speculations about the reasons why the court suddenly mobilized troops.

But generally speaking, it's not a good thing.

Wang Bengu, the Nanjing Minister of Personnel who was born in Northern Zhili, looked at his colleagues with a worried look on his face.

Having heard that the Beijing army was heading south but no official documents were sent from the capital, the Minister of Personnel stationed in Nanjing had unknowingly been sleeping less recently, to the point that his eyes had become a little cloudy.

Wang Bengu raised his head and looked at the people in front of him: "Now the soldiers are heading south and trying to cross the river. The central government has not sent any letter, which has aroused suspicion. Rumors have spread everywhere. We are eating the emperor's salary and sitting in Nanzhi. What do you think we should do now?"

"Haven't you heard the rumor?"

Suddenly, a somewhat discordant voice sounded.

Everyone looked at the sound.

It turned out to be Qin Minglei, the Minister of Rites of Nanjing.

Nanjing's Minister of Finance Cao Bangfu frowned and looked sideways: "What do you mean, Ziyu?"

Qin Minglei looked at the other party, and then looked at the Minister of Personnel Wang Bengu: "Lord Zizhong, Lord Zimin, haven't you heard the news from the north? The emperor has already..."

There was a sudden commotion in the hall.

Wang Bengu's brows furrowed even more: "Zi Yu, don't speak nonsense!"

Qin Minglei narrowed his eyes and looked at everyone present.

Those who can stay here are all the leading figures in Nanjing city.

He said, "Since the capital was put under strict lockdown, I have been following the 80,000-strong Beijing army southwards this month. News has come from the capital, saying that His Majesty has passed away!"

Cao Bangfu was shocked and looked at the other party with his eyes wide open: "How dare Ziyu speak nonsense to His Majesty! This is deceiving the emperor!"

Qin Minglei just smiled faintly.

At this time, Zhang Han, the Nanjing Minister of Works who was also at the banquet and was also from Zhejiang, had already spoken: "Gentlemen, what Zi Yu said is correct. Just ask, 80,000 troops from the capital are heading south, heading straight for Jiangnan, but the central government has not sent a single piece of paper to explain. In addition, the capital is under strict ban, and there has been no news recently. Apart from the emperor's death and changes in the central government, we really can't think of anything else that can make the central government act so unruly!"

After Zhang Han expressed the same attitude as himself.

Qin Minglei immediately sneered and said, "No matter what happens in the capital now, the 80,000 troops brought by Zhenyuan Hou Gu Huan are the most important thing. Although rumors are spreading outside and people are panicking, no one knows what the central government means. Can't people like us guess what the central government means?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

They are all the top talents in the Ming Dynasty, otherwise they would not have been able to sit on the positions of the six ministers of Nanjing.

Qin Minglei looked at everyone without saying anything, and just sneered a few times: "If I'm not mistaken, the Central Government is sending troops to claim the heads of Jiangnan officials like us!"

"nonsense!"

Wang Bengu immediately slammed his hand on the table and looked at Qin Minglei with some anger in his eyes: "If the king wants the minister to die, the minister has to die. If the central government really wants to punish us, they will send an order to explain the reason. Why did 80,000 troops from the capital go south?"

Qin Minglei grinned with hatred, then stood up and said, "Do you really want to pretend to be confused? You are from Shunde, but we are all from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Now the central government is sending troops south. What else could it be except to demand money and grain from the Jiangnan area?"

Nanjing Minister of Finance Cao Bangfu turned sideways with a stern face.

For example, Nanjing Minister of War Liu Tijian, Minister of Punishment Xie Dengzhi, Governor-General of Warehouses Su Yonglu, and Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Fu Yi all shifted their gazes.

The matter was almost exposed by Qin Minglei in public.

Wang Bengu's face also turned red, and he said in a deep voice: "I don't know what Jiangnan's money and grain are, and the central government has not issued any documents. I will go to the court today to inquire about the recent events."

Qin Minglei narrowed his eyes and stared at Wang Bengu, who seemed to want to stay out of the matter, with a sneer on his face.

The Minister of Industry Zhang Han said coldly: "My fellow citizens... and all the gentlemen present here, we are all officials in Nanjing. Some things have always been kept secret and cannot be weighed. Do you really need to make it clear?"

Fu Yi, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate, immediately said with a disdainful face: "Lord Ziwen, I just took up the post of the Censorate this year."

Following closely behind, Nanjing Governor General and Minister of Warehouse Su Yonglu said, "I also took over the position this year."

They both clearly wanted to stay out of it.

Qin Minglei immediately turned around and looked at the two of them, his eyes flashing with sarcasm, and he said in a sinister tone: "No matter when you take office, Jiangnan's monthly allowance has never been reduced!"

Su Yonglu and Fu Yi immediately looked up at the roof.

Zhang Han smiled at this time, looking at Wang Bengu and Cao Bangfu, and said with a smile: "Lord Zimin, Lord Zizhong, we serve in the same court and work in the same place. We should always be in harmony with each other and work together. Now the heavenly army is right in front of us, and the central government's intentions are unclear. We don't know what happened in the central government, and how the saint can know more. We must think of some way to get through this."

He and Qin Minglei were working together to bring down those officials in Nanjing.

No matter what the imperial court is thinking now and what they are planning to do to Jiangnan.

If there is any problem, we will shoulder it together.

When the central government sees this situation, it will always carefully consider and weigh the pros and cons.

Wang Bengu's eyes flickered as he looked towards Cao Bangfu, only to see that the other party had already lowered his head, wondering what he was thinking. He could only sigh softly.

"How about... asking Master Li to come to Nanjing?"

The Young Master Li he was referring to was naturally Li Chunfang, who was driven back to his hometown from Guizhou by Gao Gong a few years ago.

Compared with the previous cabinet ministers, Li Chunfang's ending was undoubtedly good.

He was simply driven out of officialdom, but he retained all his honors.

When he resigned and returned home, his elderly parents were still alive.

On the day of returning to their hometown in Xinghua County, Yangzhou, the Li family held a banquet from morning to night.

If it were in the past, Xu Jie would naturally be the leader and the person in charge in the Jiangnan area.

But now Xu Jie and his family are still farming in Leizhou Prefecture.

After all the calculations, Li Chunfang is the only person in Jiangnan who is qualified to negotiate with the central government.

Qin Minglei was delighted when he saw that he had finally forced Wang Bengu to express his opinion.

What he actually wanted was Wang Bengu's fate as a gang member; as for the method, it didn't matter to him.

What if the central army marches south?

Do you really dare to kill all the people in Jiangnan?
However, as the Minister of Personnel of Nanjing, Wang Bengu now expressed his position publicly.

Qin Minglei also smiled and bowed, saying: "Mr. Zimin is wise. Since Mr. Zimin has found a way, we will do it now. We can't just sit there and watch, waiting for the heavenly soldiers to arrive."

Wang Bengu pinched his head, but he felt a little depressed in his heart, so he could only say in a low voice: "With Lord Zi Yu in charge, there will be no worries."

After finishing speaking.

Wang Bengu felt something strange in his heart again, and always felt that this matter might not be handled well.

But here in Jiangnan.

Soon they followed suit.

When Zhenyuan Hou Gu Huan led 80,000 officers and soldiers from the Beijing camp and attacked directly, Yu Dayou, Tan Lun and others were ordered to go south.

First, on a clear night, a huge fire broke out in the Huangce Library located in Xuanwu Lake, and the raging fire burned for the entire night. Even though the entire Huangce Library collapsed and turned into ruins, the remaining fire was still burning on the ground, and even the water temperature of Xuanwu Lake seemed to be boiling hot.

Then, warehouses in prefectures and counties across the country caught fire one after another.

Finally, even the Lianghuai Salt Fields began to have inexplicable fires.

It was as if the Jiangnan area of ​​the Ming Dynasty had attracted Zhurong this year, and fires occurred one after another.

Then more and more rumors began to spread among the people.

The news that the emperor seemed to have passed away finally spread. Coupled with the strict restrictions in the capital, rumors began to spread that there was a turbulent change in imperial power and chaos in the capital.

The place became increasingly chaotic.

The first to be affected were voices from the public that there were treacherous officials in the central government who were harming the country, and these voices were directed at the central cabinet and the officials of the six ministries, five temples and nine government departments.

Then, rumors began to spread among the scholars in Jiangnan that this was due to the royal family’s endless benevolence.

In short, the entire Jiangnan region had become chaotic in the blink of an eye, with signs of an uprising.

The only thing missing was someone shouting out the slogan of Northern Expedition to Purge the Court of Evil Officials in public.

……

Suzhou Prefecture.

Changshu County.

Because it was the hometown of Yu Ji in the past, this place is also called Yucheng. There is a mountain located on the west side of Yucheng, named Yushan.

Perhaps because there have been too many fires in the south of the Yangtze River recently, God realized that it might be Zhurong invading the world, so he sent down light rain for several days.

The fire was immediately over.

This day.

An oil-paper umbrella shielded the drizzle from the sky, sinking from Changshu County into Yushan Mountain.

Under the umbrella was a bullfighting robe and a crimson cape.

The official boots with white soles and soapy soap soles stepped on the path along the mountain stream, causing ripples in the shallow puddles.

The raindrops fell in drops, hanging on the branches of the trees in the mountain stream, and then dripped onto the umbrella.

The oil-paper umbrella crossed a stone bridge and stopped in front of a mountain gate.

Xu Wenbi looked up over the umbrella and looked at the mountain gate in front of him. Hanging on the mountain gate was a plaque of Xingfu Zen Temple written by Emperor Yizong of the Tang Dynasty in the ninth year of the reign of Emperor Hengtong of the Tang Dynasty.

Xu Wenbi, who is now the seal-bearing official of the Ming Dynasty Taxation Office and the governor of all tax soldiers, has a calm and peaceful expression on his face.

A tax collector dressed in Taotie uniform rushed past the corner and came behind Xu Wenbi.

"Reporting to the Supervisor, we have found out that the man is in the Zen temple."

Xu Wenbi hummed and looked around.

Out of sight, there was a movement in the dense forest, and the bushes and trees shook.

He asked, "How is the city?"

The centurion replied, "One of our thousand-household officers has entered the city, and together with the brothers of the Imperial Guard, he has seized the county government office and the county treasury. As for that person's home, the entire centurion's men have gone there."

Xu Wenbi smiled, then calmly looked at the plaque written by Emperor Yizong of Tang, and said softly: "I have been in Jiangnan for many years, and I have often heard that the plain noodles of Xingfu Zen Temple are quite delicious. I wonder if I can taste them today."

The centurion, who was wearing the unique official uniform of the Ming Dynasty Taxation Bureau, also smiled and said, "If the Governor wants to eat, he will be able to eat. I will arrange it right away."

Xu Wenbi nodded and said, "Go ahead. Don't be as rude as you were in the camp. Speak politely."

The centurion responded and disappeared without a trace again in the blink of an eye.

Xu Wenbi continued to walk towards the Xingfu Temple located in Yushan Mountain.

Not long.

He had already arrived at a pavilion located halfway up the mountain in the Zen temple.

The centurion who had been ordered to do the job was now standing outside the pavilion, and on the stone table in the pavilion, there was a bowl of steaming vegetarian noodles sprinkled with some green onions.

And on the other side.

But there was another person sitting upright.

Xu Wenbi walked into the pavilion with a smile on his face, looked at the other party, and said nothing. He just bowed and sat down, picked up the bowl of noodles, and started eating with chopsticks.

Although this is a Zen temple, the noodles in the bowl are also vegetarian.

But Xu Wenbi made a lot of noise while eating.

He ate the noodles and drank the soup without any hesitation.

After finishing the whole bowl of noodles, Xu Wenbi held the bowl, tilted his head back, and poured the last bit of noodle soup into his mouth and into his stomach.

After eating cleanly.

Xu Wenbi put down his bowl and chopsticks and opened his mouth to let out a breath of hot air.

Then he looked fixedly at the person in front of him.

Yan Ne, who had been calmly watching Xu Wenbi finish a whole bowl of vegetarian noodles, couldn't help but sigh.

"Does the Governor really want to kill them all without mercy?"

Xu Wenbi looked at Yan Ne, the former Minister of Rites who had been dismissed for many years, and said with a smile, "I may have been doing too much recently, and I am very hungry. I always feel hungry."

Yan Ne's expression darkened a little: "Jiangnan's finances are the highest in the world, and most of the national treasury comes from Jiangnan. Today, Zhurong has descended from heaven, and fires are breaking out in various places. People are resentful and the scholars are shaken. It is time for the court to implement benevolent policies."

Xu Wenbi took out a thin toothpick from somewhere and picked his teeth without any image: "I was a naughty boy in Beijing back then, and I followed General Qi, and then I got the chance to rule a region. Now the central government has also issued an order, which is really a good thing. It turned out that the tax soldiers' office was promoted to the tax department office. I now have 20,000 tax soldiers under my command? According to our elders, our lineage of the Duke of Ying is really blessed by the emperor. Naturally, we have to work hard for the Ming Dynasty. Even if we sacrifice our lives for the country like our loyal and brave ancestors, it is worth it!"

Yan Ne's eyes darkened and his hands hidden in his sleeves were clenched tightly.

The loyal and martial martyr mentioned by Xu Wenbi was Zhang Yu, the Prince of Hejian, who died in the Jingnan Campaign. The loyal and heroic ancestor was Zhang Fu, the Prince of Dingxing, who died in the Tumu Incident.

And the intention of this statement is obvious.

Yan Ne quickly calmed down and said, "I heard that Yan Shaoting has been promoted to Junior Tutor, Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, and Grand Secretary of the Imperial Palace. He has a seat in the cabinet, is in charge of military affairs, and is in charge of the central government?"

Xu Wenbi glanced at Yan Ne and curled his lips: "I'm afraid this is a rumor that came from nowhere. The court is naturally managed by Gao Ge Lao, and Master Yan is just an assistant minister to the cabinet."

Yan Ne looked at him with an unclear look, and then said, "I heard that Your Majesty..."

Xu Wenbi immediately said, "Your Majesty, remember that the Prime Minister has worked hard for many years. I have heard that the central government is discussing giving a title to Gao Taifu recently, and it may be in the two prefectures of Suzhou and Songjiang."

Yan Ne's expression changed, and he looked a little disappointed: "Grandmaster? A title?"

He immediately leaned forward and looked at Xu Wenbi with a fixed gaze: "Lianghuai can produce 2 million yin per year! Nanzhi and Zhejiang can pay one tenth of the tax to merchants, and both taxes will be clearly reported!"

Xu Wenbi was silent for a moment and began to ponder in his mind.

No one had expected that Lianghuai had hidden it so deeply. Now that it was put to the sword and axe, it was finally revealed that Lianghuai could produce 2 million jin of salt a year, and the upright gentry in Jiangnan, headed by Yan Ne, were willing to hand over all of it to the court.

He even agreed without hesitation that Nanzhili and Zhejiang could pay commercial taxes according to the tithe, and even the summer taxes and autumn grains of the two places were no longer concealed and had to be handed over to the court in full.

This is to protect oneself, and almost all the cover-ups have been handed over.

but……

Xu Wenbi shook his head with a playful look: "It's too late."

Yan Ne's face turned pale instantly, and his face was full of confusion.

They have already retreated to this point and handed over almost everything they have, but the court still refuses to recognize it?

Are they really going to force Jiangnan to rise up and raise the banner of the Northern Expedition to purge the imperial court?
At this time, Xu Wenbi just turned his head and looked sideways at the tax officer who had been waiting outside the pavilion in the rain.

Got the supervisor's look.

The centurion immediately entered with a knife in his hand, glanced at Yan Ne, who was already in a state of panic, and a look of contempt and ridicule appeared on his face.

The centurion said in a cold voice, "According to the imperial order, the taxation troops of the taxation office and each camp of 20,000 soldiers have all arrived. They have been ordered to take over the 14 prefectures, 4 states, 96 counties in Nanzhili, the 11 prefectures, 1 state, 75 counties in Zhejiang, all prefecture offices, state offices, county offices and all warehouses."

"In addition, the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard have entered the various garrison camps in Nanzhili and Zhejiang to take over the military orders."

Following the centurion's introduction, Yan Ne was shocked. He looked at Xu Wenbi with horror and astonishment.

After a while.

Yan Necai said in a hoarse voice: "Why is it so? Isn't this pushing me too far?"

Xu Wenbi still shook his head, with a bit of coldness on his face: "In fact, your news is a little slow. Zhenyuan Marquis did lead 80,000 Beijing troops to the south, and Hu Ge Lao did go south with the army. Yu Dayou, Tan Lun and other people and a group of honorable officials in Beijing also went to Shandong, Henan, Huguang, Jiangxi, Fujian and other places to take charge. But in fact, there are more than 10,000 people in the Beijing camp who went south by boat. By the way, they took a sea ship."

Yan Ne showed a puzzled look on his face.

What about sea vessels?
It seems that the other party has not figured out the details yet.

Xu Wenbi said calmly, "If I am not mistaken, those... well, those who brought Zhu Rong here, as well as those who destroyed the Lianghuai Salt Depot, spread rumors to incite the people to riot, and stirred up rumors among the scholars, have probably been taken to the Jinyiwei Prison in Nanjing."

A feeling of powerlessness burst out from Yan Ne's bones.

He could never have imagined that the situation would evolve to this point.

However, it was also at this time.

Suddenly, a large group of people came up from the foot of the mountain and entered the Zen temple.

Countless soldiers surrounded the entire pavilion in the blink of an eye.

A general with a thousand-householder official badge on his waist stepped forward, took a look at the situation in the pavilion, and then reported loudly to Xu Wenbi outside the pavilion.

"Reporting to the Governor, I have been ordered to search the Changshu County Office according to the law and confiscate the property of 37 Changshu gentry and wealthy families. Those who disobeyed the order have been beheaded, a total of 1,729 people have been beheaded, and the remaining 7,823 people have been detained and are waiting for the Central Government's imperial envoy to come and make a decision."

Yan Ne's whole body went limp and he almost couldn't sit still.

Xu Wenbi had probably just eaten some vegetarian noodles, so he was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He stepped forward, turned around, and actually grabbed Yan Ne from behind.

Then he let go and moved closer to Yan Ne, saying murderously: "We have only killed about 1,700 people in this county, and captured less than 8,000 people. It's still too little."

There was no trace of blood on Yan Ne's face, his eyes were pale and his pupils were trembling.

He stood up angrily: "How many people do you want to kill? Do you really want to massacre everyone in Jiangnan? Aren't you afraid that history will record your names as butchers?"

Xu Wenbi, however, looked calm. He stepped forward and stretched out his hand, forcing the excited Yan Ne to sit back in his original seat.

Then he spoke again: "I told you that you are not well-informed now. Only a thousand people were killed in one county, and there are less than 200 counties in Nanzhili and Zhejiang. Even if they were killed once, the total number would only be 100...100,000 people. Do you think that the whole world will be shocked and think that we are all butchers?"

Xu Wenbi's eyes were full of contempt.

"I forgot to tell you that from today onwards, the Ming Dynasty will impose a tax on each acre in Nanzhili and Zhejiang, and the gentry will pay taxes together. Also, because you secretly colluded and plotted rebellion, the official positions and honors of all non-official people in the two places will be cancelled."

"Tell me, if these ceded shares and fields are distributed to the people of the two places, how much land should each household get? How much less tax can they pay?"

Yan Ne was speechless.

The Qianhu official who had just arrived with his men sneered, and then said with a smile: "I heard that the people in Songjiang Prefecture have already started to sign a petition to present the Ten Thousand People Umbrella to the capital."

As soon as the news of presenting the Wanmin Umbrella to the capital came out.

Yan Ne finally collapsed from the inside out.

He could no longer hold on and slid to the ground.

"late……"

"It's really too late..."

"You are trying to use our heads to buy the hearts and minds of the people in the world so that you can fulfill your reputation as a saintly monarch and a wise minister!"

Yan Ne, who had originally looked pale, suddenly turned red.

A mouthful of turbid blood spurted out.

And he fell to the ground, dying.

…………

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(End of this chapter)