In the third hall of the Zhizhou Yamen of Chaling Prefecture, Changsha Prefecture, several local officials from Changsha Prefecture were gathering together to discuss the latest official regulations.
Tang Tonglin, the magistrate of Yiyang County, patted the armrest of the chair and said: "It's okay if the officials in the capital don't do it now. I really need to consider this official writing."
Ding Yougui, the magistrate of Chaling Prefecture, opened Tang Tonglin's official records, read them, and said, "Take away your position as magistrate and let you go to the capital to be a doctor in the Ministry of Rites?"
Tang Tonglin bowed his hands in the direction of Nanjing and said: "After the death of the Ministry of War, the Ming Dynasty has become disgraceful. Li was so bold that he massacred more than 1,100 Beijing officials at once. Our Ming Dynasty has always been regarded as a scholar-bureaucrat and a
The emperor rules the world together, but who would have expected that all the scholar-bureaucrats in the capital would be slaughtered by Li Thief."
"Man and God are angry together, and the country will lose its power!"
"It is precisely because Li Zhi almost killed all the ministers in the court, so the emperor recruited us from the local areas to fill the vacancies."
"But is it a good thing to have a shortage? Now Li Thief is guarding Tianjin next to the capital. He may rush into the capital at any time and kill the court ministers. The civil servants in the court are walking on thin ice in the abyss and are afraid every day. They are not so much officials as they are servants.
, where is there any trace of decency from the past?”
"It's okay not to be a capital official like this. I would rather be a seventh-grade magistrate in Yiyang County and protect one side than go to Beijing to be a capital official without dignity."
Ding Yougui asked: "Tang Magistrate, are you prepared not to obey this order?"
Tang Tonglin did not answer this question, but picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea.
Obviously, he wants to see what other people think. He wants to see how other people react, and he wants to advance and retreat with others.
After a while, Wu Zhigan, the magistrate of Liling County, said: "Mr. Tang is right!"
"Today's officials in the capital are no better than in the past. In the past, officials in the capital held the most power in the world, and any doctor could influence local affairs and make a lot of money. At that time, everyone was competing for the position of official in the capital, and they regarded the officials in the capital as central dignitaries."
"But now the emperor has implemented reforms in the capital and has set up courts. Any ordinary citizen who doesn't like the officials in the capital can sue the officials and take the case to the court. Those officials in the capital are like being locked up in a cage.
, you don’t even dare to offend the common people, you are afraid of wolves in front of you and tigers in the back, how can you make money?”
"What's even more terrifying is Thief Li! This Thief Li has deployed a large number of informants in the capital, which is more powerful than the emperor's Dongchang fanzi. When he discovers a minor dereliction of duty by a Beijing official, he will report to the emperor for punishment at the least, or lead his own troops at worst.
Entering the capital to kill people. This is like a capital official who is locked in a cage with a knife on his neck."
"Today's officials in the capital are really busy with official duties every day and can't earn a penny."
"I am a county magistrate in Liling. I live a happy life and interact with the local gentry, which has its own benefits. Why should I listen to the orders of the officials and go to the capital to be a seventh-grade official like a servant?"
After hearing Wu Zhigan's words, everyone looked at each other for a while and couldn't help but nod.
What Wu Zhigan said was plain language.
Nowadays, local officials in Jiangnan can still make money by taking bribes and helping the gentry oppress the people. But when they enter the capital, they really have no freedom at all. The emperor's court and Li Zhi's butcher's knife both restrain the capital officials, and no one
People are willing to go to the capital and suffer that kind of punishment.
The magistrate of Shanhua County sat forward and said, "It's just that the officials' writings are written in black and white. How can we not listen?"
Tang Tonglin, the magistrate of Yiyang County, said: "When the Jiangbei Army controlled Jiangnan in the past, no one listened to the orders from the Ministry of Personnel and the clerks from the Ministry of Household Affairs. Everyone in Jiangnan listened to the Ministry of History and War, and the emperor's imperial edict was ineffective in Jiangnan."
"Although the Jiangbei army is defeated now, the emperor's new army has also been wiped out. Why does the emperor control Jiangnan? I just don't obey orders, what can the emperor do to me? Bring troops to arrest us? Just with the 20,000 new troops in the capital
military?"
Tang Tonglin frowned and continued: "Besides, this is not a matter of entering the capital to be a slave."
"When the Ministry of History and War was there, Jiangnan did not obey the emperor's jurisdiction. Now that the Jiangbei army was defeated, the emperor recruited officials from Jiangnan on a large scale. This was actually an attempt to regain control of Jiangnan. If the emperor's recruitment did not encounter obstacles this time, I am afraid the emperor would
If we continue to push further, the next step is to implement the evil law of equal wealth in Jiangnan."
Upon hearing Tang Tonglin's words, several civil servants who had also received orders from the Ministry of Personnel frowned and fell into deep thought.
Tang Tonglin was right. Now that the emperor had defeated the Jiangbei army, he would definitely try to implement the new equalization law in Jiangnan.
Now the emperor does not have the new army in the capital, and the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River does not have the army in the north. However, the local military and town guards still listen to the civilian officials. Generally speaking, the power of the gentry is still stronger than the emperor.
If we give in to the emperor at this time, I am afraid that the equal power of the gentry will be completely lost.
Although the civil servants and gentry no longer have the Jiangbei Army, they still have huge influence and can influence the behavior of local military towns. Under such circumstances, how can the civil servants be willing to be manipulated by the emperor?
Everyone pondered. If local civil servants disobey orders and remain in their posts as local officials, how will the emperor react?
Send the Dongchang gangsters to arrest people? I'm afraid the gangsters will be killed by the local gentry and local army before they reach Huguang.
In the past, when the Wanli Dynasty levied commercial taxes, the Jin Yiwei went to Jiangnan to arrest merchants who resisted taxes, but the common people beat them up and fled overnight. Now Zhu Youjian allocates land taxes. This is to kill the gentry in Jiangnan. How can it be possible with a few Dongchang fans?
Tang Tonglin said: "That's all. I, Tang Tonglin, will take the lead and refuse to obey this order. I'll see what the emperor does with me."
Ding Yougui, the magistrate of Chaling Prefecture, stroked his beard and said: "Tang Magistrate has a high moral integrity and stands up for himself. We admire him!"
"But I think you don't need to worry. We are not just a few people stirring up trouble, but we are advancing and retreating together with other civil servants. The local officials of Xiangyang Prefecture, Baoqing Prefecture, and Yunyang Prefecture in Huguang Province who were recruited by the emperor are all
I wrote a letter to my officials. They all said that they were prepared to ignore the emperor's orders and continue to serve as officials in Jiangnan."
When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up.
Sure enough, at the critical moment when the emperor and the civil servants were fighting for control of Jiangnan, the civil servants were still able to unite and resist the emperor and the evil laws imposed by the emperor.
Tang Tonglin laughed loudly, flicked his black gauze hat, and said: "In this way, we are not afraid of the emperor. The emperor is far away in the capital and has no soldiers. How can he control the south of the Yangtze River across thousands of miles?"
Ding Yougui said: "But at this moment, what I am worried about is not the emperor, but Li Zhi of Tianjin."
"Thief Li has won a complete victory in the southern and northern campaigns. Will he stand up and support the emperor with his army at this critical moment?"
Tang Tonglin laughed and said: "Master Zhizhou is too worried! The emperor and Li Thief are not on good terms!"
"I heard from people in the capital that the emperor hurriedly said a few words at the Meridian Gate that day, and Li thief went back to Tianjin in despair. On the surface, the emperor gave Li Zhi the Shangfang sword, but in fact he killed Li thief without permission.
The minister was so angry that he didn't even give Li Thief a banquet."
"Actually, the emperor and Li Ze are wary of each other now. I heard people say that when Li Ze wanted to gate the city tower in the morning, the generals around Li Zhi felt like they were facing a powerful enemy, fearing that the emperor would capture Li Zhi on the spot."
When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up. If Li Zhi did not support the emperor, the emperor would not have the strength to control Jiangnan.
Zhizhou Ding Yougui thought for a while and then laughed.
