Zhu Rui had no reason to feel that the night in late spring was slightly cool.
He slowly retreated to the soft couch with white sheep mats in the palace that had not been taken down last winter. He knelt down and casually pulled a pure white woolen blanket on the soft couch and wrapped it around his belly.
/p>
Zhu Xi raised his head and looked at the young man from the clan in the hall, his eyes flickering, with fear and happiness on his face.
This is considered a wise governor. Fortunately, I have made a previous trip to Lanyang County. Otherwise, I am afraid that there will be no trace of the descendants of the Zhu family in this old Song Dynasty palace.
"Zhou Rong sinned in the sea of fire, he..."
Zhu Yunxi hummed softly: "Zhou Rong's death was not what my nephew wanted, but it was also his self-determination. The nine clans of the Zhou family can be exempted from death penalty."
Zhu Ting lowered his head, feeling a wave of fear in his heart: "There are 5,000 hectares of fertile land under the name of Prince Zhou's Mansion, and 30,000 acres are registered to the Zhou family."
Zhu Yunxi snorted lightly.
As the saying goes, there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom. Since ancient times, there have been many good policies, but when they are implemented at local levels, most of them will change.
In the 25th year of Hongwu's reign, the trial practice of sharing land into acres was carried out and implemented in the six counties around Zhili. Although the annual income of the imperial court increased, local people would inevitably use it spontaneously after they gradually became familiar with and mastered this new policy.
Come up with new strategies to avoid the collection of court taxes.
Zhu Yunxi turned around and looked at Zhu Xi who was sitting on the soft couch: "Fifth Uncle, tonight the officials from the two yamen of Henan Province and the yamen of Kaifeng Prefecture are all being interrogated by the Jin Yiwei in the Kaifeng Prefecture. Uncle Wu has been in Kaifeng for a long time.
, the vassal state has lasted fourteen years, and my nephew wants to hear from countless people, what do these people do?"
There was movement in the front hall of Prince Zhou's Mansion.
Zhu Yunxi pulled a chair and walked slowly in front of Zhu Xi step by step. The chair's two raised hind legs landed on the ground, and he waved his robe and sat on it.
Zhu Xi's eyebrows jumped a few times.
The meaning of the words of the eldest nephew in front of me, the nephew of the royal family, and the grandson of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty are clear.
Tonight, officials from Henan Province are being interrogated. His vassal state has been in Kaifeng for fourteen years. At this moment, it is only because of the dignity of the clan that no Jin Yiwei came to question him. Instead, the nephew of the emperor's grandson asked him personally.
of.
This is human kindness.
Zhu Ting tightly grasped the woolen mat he was holding with both hands, and looked outside the hall, where the figures of the Jin Yiwei officers and soldiers were clearly imprinted on the window paper by the firelight.
He said in a low voice: "Since the 24th year of Hongwu, the country has tried to implement the method of allocating people into acres in Zhejiang Province, and it has been quite effective. In the 26th year of the reign of Emperor Hongwu, Liudao Prefecture and County implemented the concept of allocating people into acres, integrating officials and gentry, and the common people saw it in newspapers
, they all rushed to tell each other happily, saying that the country is good in governance, benevolent and righteous.
By the end of the 26th year, the prefectures and counties had donated acres of land to the Taoist temple in Fangli Temple, and the amount was as huge as the vast amount. The prefectures and counties were afraid that the country would know about it, and the court would be angry, and they implemented many strategies to deceive the country and deceive the court. p>
The law changed the acres of land into canals and gullies, and the yellow records wiped out the numbers, and a hundred acres of fertile land turned into a land of water accumulation. When the emperor left, the water was pumped out and the silt was restored as before. The law changed the acres of land into tombs, but it was actually deception by building up soil.
, once it is obtained, the soil will be spread and leveled, and it will be as before. The upper fields will be occupied even more, and the lower fields will be exchanged for the common people. In this way, the two taxes will be paid, and the family will hide it without reducing it, and even more will come from the past.
Due to all this, the whole picture of the palace is not visible, but it is known that under good governance, there are so many snakes, rats and beetles that it can be said to be so devastated that it is difficult to write a book about it."
Zhu Ju's voice trembled slightly. He really couldn't believe that the country was only founded twenty-eight years ago, and those people could think of so many ways, too many to recount in detail, to deceive the court and become a family.
Self-interest.
And myself...
I had no choice but to go with the flow and even rely on others for my own selfish reasons.
Zhu Yunxi's breathing became softer and quieter, his face was calm and calm, and his hands on his knees were clenched into fists, with all the veins exposed.
He took a deep breath, made a hole in his mouth, and let out the turbid air in his chest in a long and long breath.
After sighing, Zhu Yunxi said in a deep voice: "How many countries are like this?"
Zhu Zhu raised his head and stared at Zhu Yunxi, smiled bitterly and shook his head: "There are so many, countless..."
"Government by officials is the foundation of a country's prosperity."
Zhu Yunxi chuckled and shook his head: "To govern a country is to govern people. The people are in the hands of the county and become my family. I will never compromise with the county. I will be an official of the county and make enemies of the county. I am good at it.
People."
I would rather make enemies with the officials in the world than make the people resentful.
Zhu Xi looked at Zhu Yunxi, who spoke calmly about the fundamentals of governing the country, and the light and shadow in front of him began to become a little blurry. He seemed to see the old man in the court.
They are so similar.
For a time, Zhu Rui was filled with emotions.
He said in a low voice: "Two days ago, I returned home from Lanyang. In Kaifeng alone, there were more than ten people from outside the country. More than 30 people were engaged in farming and studying, more than 20 were doing business, and there were countless family members of officials from various government agencies. I paid my respects.
Please come in."
"Oh?" Zhu Yunxi leaned back and looked at the old fifth uncle in front of him with ambiguous eyes: "Are they looking for the fifth uncle to protect themselves, or to let the fifth uncle intervene?"
As the king of Zhou, Zhu Tong spent almost ten years in the city of Kaifeng except for those years when he committed crimes and was driven to Yunnan by the old man.
The officials of Henan Province will naturally take advantage of the fishy smell and use all means to bring down this clan king of the Ming Dynasty.
They will not think about stopping, but will try to drag everyone down as much as possible.
It’s ridiculous to say.
When there is only one person in the water, he will be extremely frightened, wondering when he will be submerged and washed away by the water.
But when everyone on the shore falls into the water, the fear in these people's hearts will become very small, because if they die, they will all die, and no one on the shore can do anything.
At this time, Zhu Xi laughed sarcastically: "They are betting that you don't dare to be ruthless and change the entire Henan Province. They are even betting that you and the court dare not put millions of people in Henan Province into danger.
Amidst the charcoal."
Zhu Yunxi also laughed out loud: "It's a pity that I made them lose the bet."
After finding out how the people in Henan Province deceived the imperial court and imposed exorbitant taxes on the local government, the thick fog in front of Zhu Yunxi's eyes in the past few days gradually became clearer.
"The two divisions are gone now, and there are no officials in the county. The emperor's grandson's words tonight will surely spread throughout Kaifeng in the near future. Tomorrow, the city will naturally be frightened, and those families will start to move around and connect with each other privately to respond to the imperial envoy's investigation.
."
Zhu Ru revealed the situation that may arise in Kaifeng Prefecture and Henan Province after tonight.
Zhu Yunxi said coldly: "It's best for them to move."
After finishing speaking, Zhu Yunxi suddenly looked at Zhu Xi, who looked worried, with a smile.
Zhu Ru was so stared at that he felt very nervous and felt that something bad would happen to him.
At this time, footsteps were heard outside the hall.
Listening to the footsteps, Zhu Ru couldn't help but feel relieved.
Zhu Yunxi also turned to look at Tian Mai who came in from outside the hall.
Tian Mai arrived, cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Your Highness, Shangguan Wenhu, the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, committed self-decision. Before the self-decision, he confessed what he knew about what he had committed. He fell on the ground and worshiped, begging Your Highness to forgive his family. There were also seven officials from Henan Province.
, took their lives before and after committing the crime."
Zhu Yunxi's eyelids tightened.
The people interrogating Henan Province officials tonight are all members of Jinyiwei. According to common sense, Jinyiwei is very disciplined when interrogating, and those people are separated and questioned one by one.
Under such circumstances, eight officials, including Shangguan Wenhu, the prefect of Kaifeng, chose self-determination to apologize.
They know very well that what they have committed is a capital crime.
Zhu Ji sighed, and under Zhu Yunxi's curious eyes, he said softly: "Shangguan... Wenhu actually wanted to make a difference. I still remember that he wanted to remove the names of temples and Taoist temples around Kaifeng.
There were many obstacles in the way of cultivating his farmland. He went to the two government offices, but no one cared about him. Then, somehow, he found me."
Zhu Yunxi looked sideways at the old fifth uncle: "I'm afraid that by that time, the fifth uncle had already seen clearly what was going on in Henan Road, and there was nothing he could do about his request for help."
Zhu Xi nodded: "I remember that at that time, there were already many contributions to the Zhou Palace. At that time, I only thought about compiling medical books. I felt that as long as I was busy with these things, I could temporarily forget other things. So Shangguan
In the end, Wen Hu could only return without success."
"One wrong move means every wrong move. If you tell a lie, you will need countless lies to make up for it. If you are greedy and break the law once, it will be difficult to stop."
Zhu Yunxi felt a little emotional.
Then he looked at Tian Mai, who was leaning to the side, waiting for him to speak.
He smiled and said: "Collect the remains carefully. Those who committed suicide will be treated kindly by their family members. If there is no self-incrimination, the nine tribes will arrest them according to the law."
Tian Mai accepted the order with his hands, coming in a hurry and leaving in a hurry.
Zhu Yunxi withdrew his gaze from the dark night outside the palace, and once again looked faintly at Zhu Xi, who was still lamenting that Shangguan Wenhu had decided to commit suicide.
And Zhu Rui, who was still immersed in the regret that his long-time friend was suddenly involved in the case and committed suicide, suddenly felt a chill down his back.
Zhu Xi turned his eyes hesitantly, looking at Zhu Yunxi who was staring at him sinisterly, and couldn't help but swallow his throat.
Don't wait for Zhu Xi to speak.
Zhu Yunxi then said with an inexplicable smile: "Fifth uncle, my nephew will confess to you first."
I haven’t waited for Zhu Xi to react.
Zhu Yunxi had already stood up, and the chair beneath him crashed to the ground.
In just this moment, Zhu Yunxi's eyes were full of indifference and his face was gloomy.
Zhu Xi opened his mouth blankly and looked at Zhu Yunxi.
"Come here!"
Zhu Yunxi gave a low drink.
Soon, a group of Jin Yiwei who had been preparing to attack rushed into the palace outside the palace.
Zhu Yunxi fiercely waved his robe, glanced sideways at the still dazed Zhu Xi, and snorted coldly: "My clan member Zhou Fan has been involved in many crimes for many years. The case involves two bureaus in Henan Province. You and I will take him to Kaifeng."
He will be imprisoned in the Manfu Prison together with the current prisoners of Henan Province, waiting for the imperial court’s decision to deal with him.”
Suddenly, Zhu Xi, who was imprisoned, was completely confused.
He blinked and looked at Zhu Yunxi, who was standing in front of him, blocking the light. He had completely lost the ability to think.
As promised, aren’t you an ally?
Why is it that now, my noble clan lord has become a prisoner?
The script agreed upon in Lanyang County that day was not written like this.
However, Zhu Yunxi did not stop and continued to say in a cold voice: "The Prince of Zhou's Mansion will detain all the clan members and family members where they are. Without Gu's warrant documents, no one can come near!"
A group of royal guards agreed coldly.
In just the blink of an eye, Zhou Wang Zhu Rui had his arms held by two royal guards.
At this time, Zhu Xi finally reacted and looked at Zhu Yunxi with a dumbfounded face.
"Brother Xi!"
"Brother Hei, what are you going to do?"
Zhu Yunxi's face was cold, his brows were furrowed, and he waved his hand: "Go ahead."
Zhu Rui was stunned for a moment, and his chest rose and fell several times.
However, these Jin Yiwei didn't care that he was a prince of the Ming Dynasty. It was not uncommon for him to be able to capture a vassal king. After returning to the Jin Yiwei to command the Yamen, he might even be able to show off in front of his colleagues.
Said: How does it feel to capture the king?
He smiled and replied: "You are just a human being."
Zhu Rui's head felt dizzy for a while, and he did not dare to struggle under the Jin Yiwei's grasp. He waited until he was led out of the hall.
The night wind outside blew into Zhu Zhu's face, causing him to suddenly pause, and his eyes suddenly glowed with a shining luster.
He turned his head sharply and began to roar into the hall.
"Zhu Yunxi! You are ungrateful!"
"I, the king, swear that I will never die with you!"
"When I enter the capital, I will give you a hard time in front of the old man."
"What authority do you have? You dare to detain your clan members and kill your clan kings? Who gave you the courage!"
"This king is innocent."
"This king is innocent."
"I have shed blood for the Ming Dynasty! I have been injured for the Ming Dynasty!"
"I am not guilty!"
Outside the palace, Zhu Xi's curses and roars could be heard everywhere in the dark night.
Zhu Yunxi in the hall smiled slightly and shook his head helplessly.
"The ones who ride on horses are human beings!"
Soon.
In the Song Palace and Prince Zhou's Mansion, the news that Prince Zhou Zhu of the Ming Dynasty was being questioned and imprisoned in Kaifeng Mansion Prison spread out from the darkness in the blink of an eye, and spread to all parts of Kaifeng Mansion.
In the second half of the night, there was a continuous loud noise in the back house of Prince Zhou's palace. Countless royal family members and clan members began to curse and roar, and their voices could not calm down for a long time.
However, Zhu Yunxi, who had been busy all night and made a fire for half the night, took a comfortable bath, fully clothed and lay on the soft bed.
In the darkness, the sounds of movement outside the house did not stop.
In Kaifeng Mansion tonight, probably not many people can really sleep.
Lying in the dark night, Zhu Yunxi's eyes were bright and he could not sleep for a long time. With the firelight outside the window, his eyes looked at the carved beams on the roof.
"I don't know how Yingtian City is doing now."
"It's probably time for the girls to show their pregnancy..."
"What will the fourth uncle think when he receives the transfer order? What will he do when the Nine-Border Army and Horses move south?"
"..."
That night, Zhu Yunxi thought about many things, but he no longer thought about Henan Road.
The night is like rain, and the stars are twinkling.
When the sun rose, orange-red dyed the hinterland of the Central Plains. Zhu Yunxi, who had not closed his eyes for a few moments, was awakened by the noise.
Zhu Gaochi had a pair of dark circles under his eyes and was wearing yesterday's robe, indicating that he had not rested all night. He hugged several documents and followed Zhu Yunxi, who was washing himself, while puffing out his breath.
"Everyone didn't sleep a wink all night, and finally sorted out the affairs of the prisoners in the two yamen of Henan Province and the yamen of Kaifeng Prefecture."
"Henan Province has indeed done all the things issued by the imperial court in the past two years. It's just... that it goes against what we hoped to see."
"I still admire that under such circumstances, Henan Province has been able to pay the summer and autumn taxes in full in the past two years, and there has even been a considerable increase."
"Just thinking about it carefully, the people of Henan Province have probably been more miserable than in previous years in the past two years."
"Then this involves the collapse of the Yellow River embankment and the disaster for the people."
"According to what Gao Guang said last night, they entered the surrounding area of Kaifeng Prefecture in disguise and did not see any trace of the victims. According to the explanation given by Kaifeng Prefecture at the time, the victims were working for relief and cleaning up after the flood.
Silt up, restore acres, resume production, and repair houses."
"However, Gao Guang and the others came here with the Jinyiwei people. The Jinyiwei they sent out also walked around many places at that time, and indeed found that the victims were working for relief."
"Furthermore, in accordance with the imperial decree, Kaifeng Prefecture released sufficient grain to help the people."
"So I think that even if all the officials from the two divisions of Henan Province and the yamen of Kaifeng Prefecture are arrested now, things on Henan Province may still be complicated and the future will be treacherous."
Zhu Yunxi wiped his face and put the towel on the edge of the basin.
Turn around and open your arms to Zhu Gaochi.
Zhu Gaochi sighed helplessly, took the jade belt on the side and tied it on the man in front of him.
Zhu Yunxi said: "When you came here, what was the current situation in the city?"
Zhu Gaochi picked up the documents that he had just put aside, picked out one and handed it to Zhu Yunxi: "This was recognized by Yu Ma and the Jin Yiwei people. They are all gentry from Kaifeng Mansion who showed up last night.
People."
Zhu Yunxi held the document in his hand, opened a corner and then closed it again: "What is the situation outside the city now?"
"We sealed the city gate last night, and no one can go in or out, but I think the news in the city last night was released by someone who wanted to. It's just that there is no response yet, but if our guess is correct, there may be action soon.
”
"After all, it is impossible for people like them to be willing to surrender without mercy. Even if they are put to death, they will still think of fighting to the death."
Zhu Gaochi looked a little tired and worried, making people feel that he might collapse at any time.
Zhu Yunxi nodded: "These are all likely to happen. Yu Ma's people have also entered the city now, and Tang Bi's Yulin Guards and Horses will also arrive today. Unless the people in Henan Province really risk their lives, what else can they do?" The brothers discussed quietly.
At this time, there was a sudden rush of footsteps outside.
After being detained in the Kaifeng government office for many days, he was finally released last night. He was transferred to the Chief Envoy Si Yamen of Henan Province overnight. Gao Guang, who was temporarily in charge of the Chief Envoy Si Yamen, led a group of people to Zhu Yunxi and Zhu Gaochi who were confused.
He hurriedly walked in under his gaze.
Gao Gaoguang's face looked like Zhu Gaochi's at this moment, looking extremely haggard.
Gao Gaoguang seemed to have forgotten to say hello.
When he arrived in front of Zhu Yunxi, he directly cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, thousands of victims have gathered outside the city to petition."
Zhu Gaochi opened his mouth and said: "The victims of the disaster are petitioning?"
Gao Guang's face looked a little ugly, and he nodded and said: "The victims of the disaster must petition for the Henan Province officials to be acquitted."
With just this explanation, the room instantly fell into silence.