After discussing with Li Zhi the handling of the four civil servants, Wang Chengen returned to the banquet. He took out an imperial edict from his arms, looked at it, and found that something was wrong. He stuffed the imperial edict back and took out another one.
The decree comes out.
Obviously, if Li Zhi refused to surrender, the emperor had another plan. How the emperor would react in that case is unknown.
"The Crown Prince's Taibao, the Left Governor of the Rear Army Governor's Mansion, and the Chief Military Officer of Tianjin Li Zhi take the order!"
Li Zhi led the officials present to kneel on the ground and accept the imperial edict.
"Emperor Fengtian Chengyun issued an edict saying that although Li Zhi attacked the governor's soldiers and horses, he was actually forced by the governor, and the circumstances were excusable. The arrest of the governor was also an act of urgency. The four civil servants submitted the matter to the three divisions for review, and they would be convicted and punished after review by the division.
This etiquette will also allow Li Zhicheng to report to the emperor before making a decision if he encounters something like this in the future."
The imperial edict said a few words to Li Zhi, but there was no punishment. The so-called reporting to the emperor before making a decision was naturally just a show of force. The emperor did not dare to confront the civil service system, so how could he help Li Zhi suppress the civil servants who resisted commercial taxes? If everything was reported to the emperor,
Nothing can be done.
The emperor did not mention the matter of commercial tax at all, as if he did not know about it. Even if Li Zhi levied commercial tax, the emperor would get money. The emperor supported Li Zhi in levying commercial tax. But obviously the emperor did not dare to offend the civil servants and did not dare to formally
The document mentioned commercial tax matters, so I was afraid of being exposed.
The emperor was vague about the business tax, and just kept his head in silence to collect Li Zhi's money.
However, at this time, Tianjin's commercial tax had been levied and the dust had settled. At this time, the emperor came with an imperial edict, which was a bit final. This final ruling did not punish Li Zhi, let alone said that Li Zhi was rebelling, so it was naturally acquiescence.
The current situation in Tianjin acquiesces to the collection of commercial taxes.
Li Zhi's drastic actions in Tianjin were considered a success and did not provoke a backlash from the court.
Li Zhi thought about the emperor's intention for a while, then got up and accepted the imperial edict.
The Tianjin officials kneeling on the ground were either worried or happy when they heard the imperial edict.
Those civil servants felt as if someone had poured cold water on their heads, and they were chilled from head to toe.
The civil servants all resented Li Zhi for collecting commercial taxes, and they all wanted to kill Li Zhi. However, they were intimidated by Li Zhi's force and had to force themselves to smile with Li Zhi. Now Li Zhi can kill them with just one word.
Summoned from all over the country to the General Military Mansion for discussion, they seemed to have become Li Zhi's subordinates and could only listen to the command of a warrior.
They hoped in their hearts that the princes in the court would give Li Zhi a thunderous blow and ask Li Zhi to stop commercial taxes. They even hoped that the court would label Li Zhi as a rebel and send troops to attack Li Zhi.
The worst option is to summon Li Zhi to a place with few people, ambush swordsmen, capture him on the spot, and escort him to Beijing.
They did not expect that the emperor sent his confidant Wang Chengen to announce the decree, and even drank and chatted with Li Zhi. In the end, the emperor's imperial edict that they had been waiting for day and night briefly mentioned Li Zhi's rebellious behavior, and told Li Zhi not to do this next time. It was said but not said.
The civil servants on the ground were in pain at this time and could not express themselves. The four civil servants who were detained by Li Zhi were handed over to the Third Division for trial. I don’t know what the outcome would be. If the four civil servants died in the end, there would be no one in Tianjin after that.
Dare to resist Li Zhi.
Is it possible that the Ming Dynasty's rule of using civil servants to control military officers should be reversed in Tianjin's officialdom? In the future, Tianjin will be led by Li Zhi, and the governors and soldiers will have no choice but to live below him? Such a situation will really become a shame for civil servants all over the world!
The civil servants knelt on the ground and stared at each other for a while, with despair in their eyes.
The lieutenant generals and military attachés such as the generals who were kneeling on the ground were relatively relaxed after hearing this imperial edict. Although they also had business and would be taxed by Li Zhi this time, but with a tax rate of thirty to one, the losses were limited, so they treated it as a tax.
Li Zhi gave a gift. They do not have the power of civil servants. They do not collect bribes from businessmen to protect businessmen like civil servants. They do not have the sense of mission of civil servants to speak for the world's businessmen, and they do not have such a strong rejection of Li Zhi's business tax.
.
What they were thinking was that after this war, Tianjin's officialdom would probably become Li Zhi's one-man show. The general soldiers would directly arrest the governor, which was really unheard of in the Ming Dynasty's officialdom.
The rewards and punishments of high-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty were all in the hands of the court. No local official was ever given the power to directly arrest other high-ranking officials. Even if Shang Fang was given a sword, it was often in vain, and very few actually used the sword. Li Zhi
The arrest of Cha Dengbei this time is indeed shocking.
Only the rebel generals could do such a thing as arresting the governor.
But the emperor did not punish Li Zhi. Only Li Zhi could be treated like this. Otherwise, if a military attache had been used to detain the governor, he would have been escorted to Beijing and executed at Caishikou.
Most of the military attaches participated in checking the army preparing to attack Fanjiazhuang this time, but Li Zhi did not seem to blame the military attaches for this. The generals felt that Li Zhi had a promising future, and he would probably have to make further progress in power in the future. If so,
If Li Zhi can be trusted and treated as one of his own, he will be able to obtain high-ranking officials and generous salaries in the future. The military attachés secretly said that they should listen less to the governor in the future and visit the General Military Mansion more to gain a bright future.
Li Zhi's men were delighted.
Li Zhi went on a killing spree, but the emperor did not punish Li Zhi. Who would dare to confront Li Zhi in the future?
From now on, in Tianjin, I, the generals of Fanjiazhuang, have the final say. The governors and military preparations that were previously aloof will all depend on our faces in the future.
Everyone could not have imagined that in just a few years of following Li Zhi, he could become the actual ruler of Tianjin from a common citizen. The so-called success is nothing more than that.
Li Xing and others were previously worried that they would be labeled as rebels this time, but they did not expect that the emperor's final decision was so light and easy. They looked at each other with joy in their eyes.
Wang Chengen handed the imperial edict to Li Zhi and said: "Master Taibao, you didn't see the appearance of the princes in the court! It was a big explosion. This time the emperor withstood the pressure of hundreds of officials and obeyed the power lightly.
I've ignored this matter. However, things cannot be separated. The Taibao Lord must think twice about your actions in the future, otherwise if the emperor cannot withstand it, the situation will be ugly."
Li Zhi blinked his eyes, said nothing more, and took the imperial edict into his arms. He raised his wine glass and said: "What my father-in-law said is absolutely true. Now that the imperial edict has been announced, my father-in-law has no official business anymore. Li Zhi and my father-in-law are not drunk today."
endlessly!"
Wang Chengen looked at Li Zhi and secretly thought that this is really a warlord and a powerful minister. Now the emperor can't do anything to him. Will we repeat the separatist situation of the former Tang vassal town after the Ming Dynasty? Wang Chengen thought for a while and said with a smile: "Our family also
I want to test Taibao’s drinking capacity, let’s see who falls down first today!”
Li Zhi laughed loudly, put the wine glass in Wang Chengen's hand, and started to pour wine for him.
Li Zhi did not expect that Wang Chengen, who was thin but had a good capacity for drinking, would be drunk by Wang Chengen that night.
