Chapter 258 Doomsday

Fan Wencheng never dreamed that he would have the day to meet the emperor in the palace.

But this was not his success in the imperial examinations, nor was it his career advancement. Instead, he was taken to the palace as a prisoner for trial, which was about to bring disaster to the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River!

"Fan Wencheng, a native of Wu County, Suzhou Prefecture, won the title of scholar in the third year of Hongzhi, but failed in the imperial examinations many times afterwards..."

Tang Hao began to read Fan Wencheng's life story, which puzzled all the civil and military officials in the court.

Why did the Marquis of Zhongshan bring such a low-class person to the court?

If he could not even pass the imperial examination, was he qualified to be in the court?

This was not because the officials were too proud. They were all serious Jinshi, outstanding bureaucrats who had fought their way out of the imperial examinations. Naturally, they had the qualifications and confidence to point fingers at Fan Wencheng.

"Fan Wencheng, why did you secretly provide bows, crossbows and armor to the rebels in Bazhou?"

But the next sentence of the Marquis of Zhongshan caused an uproar!

Providing armor and crossbows to the anti-Bazhou rebels?

This is clearly a plot to rebel!

Is there any other hidden reason for the Bazhou rebels to gather together to rebel?

Fan Wencheng trembled when he heard this, and stared at the ground.

He was reluctant to say this, but at this point, if he didn't find a way to save himself, he would become a pawn. Not only would he be beheaded, but his family and clansmen would also be implicated and beheaded!

Don't underestimate the crime of treason, which is a capital crime punishable by the death of nine clans. There is nothing to say!

So Fan Wencheng still spoke.

But the person he confessed caused a storm!

"Your Majesty, I am ordered by Xu Wenhui to plan this rebellion!"

A stone stirs up a thousand waves!

The whole hall instantly fell into a dead silence.

Next, Fan Wencheng described the cause and effect in detail, including that Xu Wenhui and others planned to force the court to dispatch Zhongshan Hou to quell the rebellion through a rebellion, and then they took the opportunity to intervene in the Qinghe Shipyard to seek profits from overseas trade.

Hearing this, the ministers immediately talked about it, and were all shocked.

However, Fan Wencheng continued to speak, describing in detail where he got the bows and crossbows and armor, and through whom, these bows and crossbows and armor were sent to the hands of the Bazhou rebels, and the details were outrageous.

Including Xu Wenhui and others who realized that the situation was not right, so they deliberately led the Bazhou rebels to Qufu, Shandong, and urgently wanted to urge Zhongshan Hou to send troops to wipe out the rebels immediately. Fan Wencheng also said these things clearly!

Since then, a shocking conspiracy has surfaced.

And the unrest of the ministers gradually subsided.

Because they were horrified to find that the emperor on the dragon throne was a little scary and never said a word!

This is clearly... a sign of thunderous anger!

It was unknown how long it took before the ministers heard an extremely cold voice coming from the dragon throne.

"Who is this Xu Wenhui?"

"The grandson of Xu Pu, the first minister of Hongzhi!"

Tang Hao pretended to be at a loss and said: "If I remember correctly, Xu Pu was previously involved in the case of Ye Qi's reform, and he should be investigated, but I don't know why the case ended up in vain!"

"And this Xu Wenhui still has the energy to covet other things, and even deliberately planned a rebellion!"

With a loud bang, His Majesty the Emperor was so angry that he slammed the table and stood up!

"It's really good!"

"No wonder this rebel has never been wiped out!"

"Someone secretly provided them with money, food and armor!"

"Is this what you call loyalty to the emperor and patriotism? Is this what you call the righteousness of the emperor and his subjects?"

Facing the extremely angry Emperor, the ministers knelt down in unison.

Even a fool knows that the gentry in Jiangnan will be in big trouble this time.

Only Yang Tinghe dared to bite the bullet and speak out at this moment.

"Your Majesty, this case... involves a wide range of people. I ask that Fan Wencheng be handed over to the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple and the Censorate for joint trial, and all the people involved in the case be arrested and brought to justice..."

"Asshole!" Zhu Houzhao shouted angrily: "I asked you to investigate Xu Pu before, but you were able to find out and leave it unsolved!"

"What? Do you still want to use the same trick now? Do you still want to protect these crazy thieves?"

The matter of Xu Pu was in front of him, and Yang Tinghe had nothing to say.

At that time, he had not yet taken office, and had not even entered the cabinet to participate in the affairs of the cabinet.

Therefore, the matter of Xu Pu was most likely the work of Liu Jian and others to preserve the last dignity of the Prime Minister of Hongzhi!

However, no one expected that the indulgence of these court officials would eventually lead to the gentry in Jiangnan to get even more aggressive!

Instead of feeling awe, they became even more outrageous and crazy. They even dared to secretly plan a rebellion for the undetermined ocean trade. They deserve death!

"Order the Jinyiwei to arrest the main culprit Xu Wenhui immediately!"

"Follow the clues and investigate thoroughly. All those involved in this case, no matter who they are, will be thrown into the imperial prison for interrogation!"

"I want to see who dares to protect these rebels this time!"

As soon as the word "rebel" came out, this heinous case was defined.

Xu Wenhui and others are very likely to be confiscated and exterminated. I don't know whether it will be the extermination of three clans or the extermination of nine clans. It all depends on the emperor's decision!

After issuing this cruel order, Zhu Houzhao left with a wave of his sleeves.

Fan Wencheng was taken away by the Jinyiwei, and Mou Bin personally led the imperial guards to capture the main culprit Xu Wenhui.

Tang Hao smiled and looked at Yang Tinghe, who was staring at him with a bad look.

"Lord Tang, why do you humiliate me like this?"

Yes, it was humiliation!

Last night, they had clearly agreed to it, and Yang Tinghe even had a rare good sleep.

But everything changed after waking up. This bastard directly beat the drum to report the incident, and made a big fuss about it.

Who is Xu Wenhui?

The grandson of Xu Pu, the chief minister of Hongzhi, and a representative of the gentry in Changzhou Prefecture, Nanzhili.

The gentry in Jiangnan like to gather together to discuss matters, and Xu Wenhui is even more good at dancing with his sleeves. As a student of the imperial family, he did not enter the official career, but stayed in the capital and wandered around the homes of dignitaries, advocating for the gentry in Jiangnan!

This time, he, Xu Wenhui, was involved in the "Fan Wencheng case", and I wonder how many gentry in Jiangnan will be implicated!

In other words, the bastard Zhongshan Hou not only did not agree to Yang Tinghe's request last night, but slapped him hard in an extremely rough way. How could Yang Tinghe not be angry?

Tang Hao stepped forward and whispered to himself.

"Some things, once done, will have to pay a price!"

"Whether it is Xu Wenhui or other Jiangnan gentry, they have always had thoughts that they shouldn't have!"

"If you, the cabinet chief, just say a few words and expose this matter, they will not only not learn their lesson, but will become even worse next time!"

Tang Hao patted Yang Tinghe's shoulder, then turned and left.

"So, as long as we seize the opportunity, we must beat these greedy blood-sucking worms with a stick!"

"Only by making them afraid and awe-inspiring, will they be honest and obedient, and dare not do such a crazy thing again!"

So...?

Yang Tinghe looked at Tang Hao's back and fell into deep thought.

Greedy blood-sucking worms?

This metaphor is really vulgar and vicious!

But it is so apt!

The higher the position, the more information you can get.

For example, after Yang Tinghe became the chief minister of the cabinet, what he learned about the gentry in Jiangnan was simply disgusting.

From the court to the local areas, in all aspects of the Ming Dynasty, as long as there is a place to make a profit, there are always these gentry in Jiangnan.

Now they dare to plan a rebellion for the undetermined profits from maritime trade, shaking the ruling foundation of the Ming Dynasty, which shows how greedy they are, which is simply disgusting!

They deserve this disaster!

Yang Tinghe sighed and ignored it.

Since His Majesty the Emperor has already ordered, no one can stop it.

Next, he, the chief minister of the cabinet, has a lot to do.

Tang Hao turned around and came to the Qianqing Palace to discuss with Zhu Houzhao.

In the end, the two had to admit that it was indeed not the time to swallow Jiangnan in one go and promote reform.

Because they did not have the ability, and there were no such talents under their command.

Compared with Jiangnan, Shandong is now the top priority, so Tang Hao must go back.

And except for him, it is not appropriate for anyone to go to Jiangnan.

Although the censors of the Censorate are the emperor's party on the surface, they are born from civil officials and gentry, and most of them are from Jiangnan, so the Censorate must not be involved this time.

Then what other candidates can Zhu Houzhao have?

Is it Jiao Fang?

If he goes, it is possible that he will provoke a civil uprising in Jiangnan!

After thinking about it, the monarch and his ministers finally sighed and decided to just teach the gentry in Jiangnan a lesson, and then make a fortune, and let the matter go.

At this moment, Mou Bin had already led the Tiqi to the Xu Mansion, and broke into the door without saying much.

Xu Wenhui was still in his sleep when he was lifted up from the bed by the Jinyiwei strongman.

He was the eldest son of the Xu family who was pampered and had never been treated so roughly, so he immediately started to clamor.

Mou Bin has never been soft-hearted when dealing with such a dandy young man. He raised his hand and slapped him hard, then pulled out the Xiuchun knife and put it on Xu Wenhui's neck.

Now, the eldest son of the Xu family has finally behaved.

"Xu Wenhui, right?"

"Your business has been exposed, come with us!"

Xu Wenhui looked at Mou Bin with horror, and then argued: "I am the grandson of Xu Pu, you can't do this to me!"

"By order of His Majesty, Xu Wenhui planned and instigated the rebels in Bazhou to rebel, which is tantamount to treason!"

Mou Bin looked at him coldly, and then sneered.

"To be honest, I really don't understand why Xu Pu, who was smart all his life and retired after achieving success, was a perfect man, but gave birth to such unworthy descendants like you?"

"Now, because of the behavior of you idiots, at least all of you Xu family members will be executed. Poor Xu Pu worked for the country all his life, but in the end he ended up like this!"

Mou Bin still has an impression of this old guy Xu Pu.

After all, the power of the government in the early period of the Hongzhi Dynasty was almost entirely in the hands of Xu Pu.

This old man Xu was magnanimous and principled in doing things. He was good at promoting the younger generation. His students and former officials were all over the world. In the end, he retired and returned to his hometown to spend his old age. He was specially awarded the titles of Tai Shi, Te Jin, Zuo Zhu Guo, and the posthumous title of "Wen Jing".

Xu Pu had no stains in his life, and he had no political enemies. In the end, he retired after achieving success and received extremely high courtesy from the court. He was a perfect model of civil officials.

It's a pity that they have to deal with an unfilial descendant like Xu Wenhui, and the whole family will suffer. It's really an unprovoked disaster.

After sighing for a while, Mou Bin waved his hand impatiently.

Just as the Jinyi Guards were dragging Xu Wenxi out, the eldest son of the Xu family was finally frightened by the "chopping and killing". He broke free from the restraints and knelt down in front of Mou Bin with a "pop", and then hurriedly shouted: " This was not my idea, it was all that Yang Tianzhu, he planned everything..."

"Yang Tianzhu?" Mou Bin was stunned for a moment before he could react.

"Which Yang Tianzhu?"

"That Yang Tianzhu of Ji'an Prefecture in Jiangxi Province is the fourth generation grandson of Yang Shiqi!"

Hearing this, even Mou Bin couldn't help but take a breath.

He didn't expect to catch a big fish so quickly!

Yang Shiqi’s fourth generation grandson!

This is really...an unexpected surprise!

"Someone, send him to prison!"

"The rest of the people, please follow me and arrest them immediately!"

Mou Bin decisively gave the order and led the Tiqi directly to the Yang Mansion.

This Yang Shiqi was the head of the Three Yangs, the founder of the cabinet, and the founder of the civil servants and gentry who controlled the government.

Yang Ji, the son of Yang Shiqi, was an arrogant man and once committed murder due to violence. After that, various censors impeached Yang Ji one after another. The court discussed not to impose any additional charges, but informed Yang Shiqi of the charges. Then someone reported dozens of things about Yang Ji's abuse again. Yang Shiqi had to kill his son, and then he could only accuse him of being an old man. Goodbye.

Nine years after Zhengtong, Yang Shiqi passed away at the age of eighty. He was posthumously given the title of Grand Master, with the posthumous title "Wenzhen".

However, Yang Shiqi was not the only son. His descendants relied on their influence in the court to become a prominent surname in Ji'an Prefecture. The descendants of the family had a prosperous official career, and the Yang family also benefited greatly.

If it looks like this, Xu Wenxi is indeed just a small character.

Yang Tianzhu has reached middle age. Unlike the slightly frivolous Xu Wenxi, he is suspicious and wise by nature, so he is elected as the leader of the Jiangnan gentry.

Speaking of which, Jiangxi's talents were also brilliant in the past, especially during the Yongle period of Hongwu. There was a saying that "in the early days of the country, no pavilions and pavilions were prosperous in Jiangxi, so there were many auspicious rivers in the Imperial Academy, and half of the imperial scholars were in Jiangxi."

However, after a period of great glory, it will naturally decline.

As a descendant of the famous Prime Minister Yang Shiqi, Yang Tianzhu wanted to regain the glory of his ancestors in his life. Unfortunately, he was not that material, so he devoted himself to training his descendants, hoping that there would be another figure like his ancestor among the children of the clan, and then lead him The Yang family entered glory in Didi.

Of course, raising children to carry on the family requires money and food.

In addition, maintaining relations between North Korea and China and paving a bright future for the children of the clan requires money.

Therefore, Yang Tianzhu had to stay in the capital to work on this and lay the foundation for the development of the Yang family as much as possible.

However, when the Jin Yiwei broke through the door, the talented man from the Yang family was stunned on the spot, and then his face gradually turned pale.

"Yang Tianzhu!"

"After Xu Wenxi's confession, you are the main culprit who planned the Bazhou rebellion!"

Mou Bin shouted coldly: "Come with us!"

With the weapons on his side, Yang Tianzhu finally panicked and lost his usual calm demeanor.

"No!"

"not me!"

"It's that Xu Wenxi..."

"If you have anything to say, go to prison and say it slowly!"

Mou Bin waved his hand impatiently and took Yang Tianzhu away directly.

Soon the news spread, causing an uproar.

No one expected that not only Xu Wenxi, the grandson of Xu Pu, Hongzhi's first assistant, would be involved in the case, but Yang Tianzhu, the fourth grandson of Yang Shiqi, would also be involved!

These two are both celebrities!

But even so, no one dared to write a letter to plead for these two people. Even the officials who had good relations with each other were extremely frightened, lest they be implicated.

After all, this is treason!

It is a common thing to punish the Nine Tribes and the Yi Tribes for the serious crime of rebellion!

No one is not afraid of death, and no one wants to die!

The friendships and support we have in daily life are nothing short of a joke in the face of the serious crime of treason!

As Xu Wenxi and Yang Tianzhu were imprisoned, the Jinyiwei's actions became more and more rapid, and they successively arrested more than a dozen representatives of the Jiangnan gentry in the capital.

For a time, the government and the public were shaken and uneasy.

Yang Tinghe finally couldn't bear it anymore and went to face the saint.

As a result, when he walked into the Qianqing Palace, he saw the dog thief Zhongshan Hou chatting and laughing with His Majesty the Emperor while eating a meal.

"Master Yang is here? Sit down quickly!"

"You haven't eaten yet? Let's eat something together!"

His Majesty the Emperor opened the mouth of Chrysostom, and Yang Shiqi could not refuse, so he simply sat down.

The three of them looked at each other, and finally Tang Hao broke the silence.

"Is Yang Shoufu here for Xu Wenxi and Yang Tianzhu?"

"No!" Yang Tinghe shook his head, "They planned a rebellion to shake the country. They deserve death and should be killed!"

"Then Yang Shoufu is..." Tang Hao handed over the words.

Yang Tinghe took advantage of the situation and raised his concerns.

"That's enough banging."

"More than two dozen Jiangnan gentry had their homes confiscated and were exterminated. I think they will also remember this lesson, so I ask Your Majesty not to expand the case any further. After all, Jiangnan is a tax-heavy land and there must be no chaos!"

Yang Tinghe had no intention of rescuing the more than two dozen Jiangnan gentry involved in the case, including Xu Wenxi and Yang Tianzhu.

If you plan a rebellion and shake the foundation of the country, then you should be killed. There is nothing to say.

But the problem is that Yang Tinghe is really afraid. If this pair of ambitious monarchs and ministers want to seize the opportunity to attack Jiangnan, it will be more than just one or two gentry.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and nodded, saying: "Master Yang, this is a patriotic statement, I will listen to it."

"It's just killing a chicken to scare the monkey. These 24 Jiangnan gentry are indeed enough. Let's stop here!"

Hearing this, Yang Tinghe finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty, Yang Wenzhen and Xu Wenjing have both made meritorious contributions to the country. If they are... exterminated, it will be too disheartening."

Then Yang Tinghe made another seemingly excessive request, but this is also the attitude of the gentry in the world.

After all, Yang Tinghe and Xu Pu are famous prime ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and both of them have no political stains. They have outstanding political achievements in the Ming Dynasty. If they are exterminated because of their descendants, it will indeed make the gentry in the world feel disheartened about the court.

Tang Hao touched his chin and thought for a moment, saying: "Let the Jinyiwei check and keep a bloodline of each family. This will be worthy of these two!"

"Approved!"