The right minister Wu Heng hurried back in a hurry. Instead of going to the Yamen of the Ministry of War, he turned around and went to the residence of the left minister Yang Hong.
During this period of time, Yang Hong had been complaining of illness, and the emperor was not in the capital, so no one took care of him.
Butler Yang Gui had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Wu Heng, he hurriedly saluted and said: "Master Wu, I have an invitation!"
Wu Heng nodded and followed Yang Gui into the inner courtyard.
If it were anyone else, they would be surprised to find that when a seemingly ordinary man entered the courtyard, there were actually more than a dozen guards standing there, all with swords.
Wu Heng didn't hesitate at all, as if he already knew.
Yang Gui knocked on the door gently and said, "Master, Lord Wu is here."
Soon, a voice came from inside: "Come in!"
Yang Gui opened the door and made a gesture of invitation. After Wu Heng entered, he closed the door.
Immediately afterwards, he returned to the front yard and ordered the two guards: "Go outside and take a look. If you find anyone suspicious, just..."
As he spoke, he placed his palms flat on his neck and made slight gestures.
The two guards understood, turned and walked out of the door.
Wu Heng clasped his fists and saluted: "Master Yang, you are back from your humble position!"
"Well, how's it going?"
An oil lamp was lit in the room, and Yang Hong was seen staring closely at the map on the wall with his hands behind his back.
Wu Heng said: "As expected, the emperor is in Mobei, with only a small number of royal guards with him!"
Yang Hong slowly turned around and asked: "Where are the Tatars?"
Wu Heng stepped forward and pointed at the map.
Yang Hong showed a hint of joy on his face and said: "Has Mobei Wei's problem been solved?"
"It went very well. Gula has captured Qishike according to the plan and has taken control of the military. He is just waiting for a flanking attack with the Tatars. The emperor must have no way out!"
Yang Hong nodded and said, "In that case, let's get started!"
That night, a large number of carriages and sedan chairs were parked on the street in front of Yang's house.
Among these people, there are various positions below the six ministers. In addition, there are Yang Hong's eldest son, the governor Yang Jun, his second son, the guerrilla general Yang Jie, and his son-in-law, Jin Yiwei Qianhu Qiu Dinglong.
If you look up the resumes of these people, you will find that except for Yang Hong's family, all of them are from Zhejiang and Jiangsu areas. Moreover, they have all been in business for several generations and have great wealth.
Everyone looked solemn, nervous and excited.
Yang Hong counted the number of people, and then said: "We have been planning for a long time, and today the time is finally ripe. Whether we can turn around depends on tomorrow's battle!"
Wu Heng immediately stood up and said: "The foolish king is incompetent and can only compete with the people for profit. The people of the world have been miserable for a long time. We are doing this great thing for the sake of the people of the world and the country, and we will die!"
The head of the Ministry of Rites, Chang Xuegong, then said: "Not only is he a foolish emperor, but in the five thousand years of China's history, I have never seen such a cruel emperor, who would often confiscate homes and exterminate clans. This is simply unheard of!"
"Yes, even during the Hongwu period, people would not kill at will. They simply didn't treat people as human beings!"
"Today's Holy Emperor is murderous and extremely greedy. If the country does not change hands, no one's money can be saved!"
Everyone is slandering Zhu Qizhen, this faint king and tyrant. The reason is very simple. After a series of reforms, the foundation of the gentry class has been seriously touched.
Let’s open the sea first. Can this thing be opened?
Who doesn’t know that maritime trade is highly profitable? Otherwise, where would the landlords in Jiangsu and Zhejiang make money?
The products of the Ming Dynasty were extremely popular. Ships of porcelain, silk, and cotton were shipped out, and then scarce materials such as spices and sugar from abroad were shipped back. The profits were tenfold and a hundredfold in one trip.
As the saying goes, the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish!
The more the imperial court banned the sea, the higher the profits from smuggling would be.
Now that the imperial court is returning to the Western Seas, it is no longer just a share of the pie, but all the pots and pans are being taken away.
After eating the meat, there was no soup left!
Speaking of Annan, the terrain of this country is very strange. To put it bluntly, it is just a coastline.
Before the sea ban, Annam could be used as an important route for smuggling fleets to enter the Southeast Asia. It could not only dump goods, but also serve as a transit and supply, which was very important.
The imperial court took Annan into its pocket again, but as this was not enough, they hunted rabbits in the grass and took over Champa as well.
At this time, the gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang completely lost their overseas strongholds, and the smuggling industry was completely cut off.
If you want to go overseas for trade, you can just go through the normal procedures, report what you need to file, and pay taxes where you need to.
In this way, not only can it not be monopolized, but also, due to the liberalization of trade, no monopoly can be formed, and profits will fall.
Over the years, everyone has become accustomed to keeping things to themselves, so naturally they cannot accept this result.
Even those mud-legged people who were digging for food in the fields joined in the fun, got a few boats and went out to sea to do business.
At what level are you worthy of doing business with us?
In the past, if they wanted to kill these bastards, each of them would have at least a hundred ways to kill them. However, before they could take action, the emperor actually showed his butcher knife.
Use the conspiracy case to thoroughly investigate the Jiangnan gentry.
Tens of thousands of people were implicated, and rivers of blood flowed throughout Jiangnan. During that period, when an official went on duty in the morning, he didn't know if he would be able to return home at night!
Those who are lucky enough to survive can only keep this debt secretly in their hearts and wait for opportunities.
For thousands of years, the Jiangnan gentry held the greatest power in the world.
Regardless of the dynasties, they can control the government in different ways.
Even during the Yuan Dynasty, when the Mongolian cavalry invaded, their strength was not greatly affected and was relatively well preserved.
However, the blow this time was really too great. As long as smuggling was discovered, whether they were personally involved or receiving money for protection, they would all be punished.
Therefore, they chose to lie dormant and endure.
After five years, finally, the opportunity has come!
Yang Hongnai was the former commander of Datong and was later promoted to Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War. His two sons were Zuo Dudu and Guerrilla General, respectively in charge of the former Army Dudufu and Shazhou Guard.
Not long ago, the Shazhou Guard was found to have a huge deficit by the supervisory censor, and was suspected of reselling military supplies and even weapons!
The Ming Dynasty's army was invincible. In addition to its excellent military quality, it also had advanced equipment.
The flintlock rifle has been upgraded to the third generation and is now called a semi-automatic rifle.
However, this new type of equipment is too advanced and difficult to manufacture. It is only equipped with the 3,000 Battalion and part of the 5th Army Battalion.
As for the second-generation flintlock muskets, they have been mass-produced and equipped in various military stations.
However, after the supervisory censor found out the problem, he died inexplicably before he could return to Beijing to report it.
Yang Hong worked secretly, preparing to suppress the matter. Unexpectedly, a fire broke out in the backyard, and the former military governor's office was found to be in deficit again!
Only then did he realize that the two things were not a coincidence, but that someone was trying to kill him.