The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty

Fan Wencheng never dreamed that he would one day enter the temple to face the saint.

But this was not his title on the gold medal list, nor was it his promotion in official career, but that he was taken into the main hall for trial as a prisoner, which was about to bring disaster to the Jiangnan gentry!

"Fan Wencheng, a native of Wu County, Suzhou Prefecture, was awarded the title of scholar in the third year of Hongzhi, but failed in many tests..."

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

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

Even if you fail the examination, do you still qualify to be in the court?

This is not because the ministers are too proud. They are all serious scholars. Outstanding bureaucrats who have fought hard in the imperial examinations naturally have the qualifications and confidence to give pointers to Fan Wencheng.

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

But what Zhongshan Hou said next caused an uproar!

Provide armor and crossbows to the anti-Bazhou rebels?

This is clearly planning a rebellion!

Is there any other secret behind the Bazhou rebels' rebellion?

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

He didn't want to say this, but when things got to this point, if he didn't find a way to save himself, then he would become a pawn. Not only would he be beheaded in public, but his family members would also be implicated and beheaded!

Don't underestimate the crime of treason. It is a capital crime for the Nine Clans. There is nothing to say!

So Fan Wencheng still spoke.

But the person he confessed caused a storm!

"Your Majesty clearly knows that the common people are following the orders of Xu Wenxi to plan this rebellion!"

One stone stirs up a thousand waves!

The entire hall instantly fell into deathly silence.

Next, Fan Wencheng described the causes and consequences in detail, including that Xu Wenxi and others planned a rebellion, forcing the court to dispatch the Marquis of Zhongshan to quell the rebellion, and then they took the opportunity to intervene in the Qinghe Shipyard to seek profits from maritime trade.

Hearing this, the ministers immediately started talking, and they were all shocked and horrified.

However, Fan Wencheng kept talking, describing in detail where he got the crossbows and armor, and whose hands he sent these crossbows and armor to the Bazhou rebels. The details were outrageous.

Xu Wenxi and others realized that something was wrong, so they deliberately led the Bazhou rebels to Qufu, Shandong, eager to prompt the Marquis of Zhongshan to immediately send troops to wipe out the rebels. Fan Wencheng also made these things clear!

Since then, a shocking conspiracy has surfaced.

The unrest among the ministers gradually subsided.

Because they were horrified to find that His Majesty the Emperor on the Dragon Throne was so quiet that it was a bit scary and he never said a word!

This is clearly...a sign before Thunder's wrath!

I don't know how long it took before the ministers heard an extremely cold voice coming from the dragon chair.

"This Xu Wenxi... who is he?"

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

Tang Hao pretended to be confused and said: "If I remember correctly, Xu Pu was previously involved in Ye Qi's reform case, and he should be investigated, but for some reason the case was dropped in the end!"

"And this Xu Wenxi still has the energy to covet others, and even deliberately planned a rebellion!"

There was a loud bang, and His Majesty the Emperor was so angry that he started clapping the case!

"It's really good!"

"No wonder this rebel has never been exterminated!"

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

"Is this what you call loyalty to the king and patriotism? Is this what you call the justice of the king and his ministers?"

Facing the surprisingly angry Emperor, all the ministers fell to their knees.

All fools know that this time the Jiangnan gentry will be in bad luck.

Only Yang Tinghe dared to speak out and remonstrate at this moment.

"Your Majesty, this case... has a wide range of implications. I request that Fan Wencheng be transferred to the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate for joint trial. All persons involved in the case will be arrested and brought to justice..."

"Bastard!" Zhu Houzhao angrily yelled: "I asked you to check Xu Pu before, but you all found nothing!"

"What? Now you want to do the same thing again? Do you still want to protect these crazy thieves?"

With the Xu Pu issue before his eyes, Yang Tinghe had nothing to say.

At that time, he had not yet taken the position, and he had not even joined the cabinet to participate in aircraft maintenance.

Therefore, the Xu Pu incident is most likely the work of Liu Jian and others to preserve the last dignity of Hongzhi's chief assistant!

However, no one thought that the connivance of these courtiers would eventually lead to the expansion of the Jiangnan gentry!

Instead of being awe-inspiring, they became even more aggressive and frenzied. They even dared to secretly plan a rebellion for the sake of the undetermined ocean trade. How despicable they were!

"Wearing royal guards, arrest the main culprit Xu Wenxi immediately!"

"Follow the clues and investigate to the end. Everyone involved in this case, no matter who they are, will be sent to jail and tortured!"

"I just want to see if any of you dare to protect these rebels this time!"

As soon as the word "anti-thief" came out, this heinous case was determined.

Xu Wenxi and others are very likely to have their homes confiscated and exterminated because of this. I don’t know whether it will be the Yi tribe or the Jiu tribe. It all depends on the emperor’s thoughts!

After giving this cruel order, Zhu Houzhao walked away directly.

Fan Wencheng was taken away by the Jinyi Guards, and Mou Bin personally led the Tiqi to capture the main culprit Xu Wenxi.

Tang Hao smiled and looked at Yang Tinghe, who was staring at him with an unfriendly expression.

"Marquis Tang, why do you humiliate me so much?"

That's right, it's humiliating!

Yang Tinghe even managed to get a good night's sleep despite his promise last night.

As a result, everything changed after he woke up. The thief directly beat the drum and completely made the matter a big deal.

Who is Xu Wenxi?

The grandson of Xu Pu, the chief minister of Hongzhi, he was a representative figure of the gentry in Changzhou Prefecture of Southern Zhili.

The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River liked to gather in groups to discuss matters, and Xu Wenxi was even more good at dancing. He did not enter the official career because of his status as a yin-sheng, but he stayed in the capital and wandered around the homes of high-ranking officials and nobles, making an appearance for the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River!

This time, he, Xu Wenxi, is involved in the "Fan Wencheng Case". Who knows how many Jiangnan gentry will be implicated!

In other words, instead of agreeing to Yang Tinghe's request last night, the thief Zhongshan Hou slapped Yang Tinghe hard in an extremely rough way. How could Yang Tinghe not be angry?

Tang Hao stepped forward and spoke in a low voice, minding his own business.

"Some things, once you do them, you have to pay the price!"

"Whether it's Xu Wenxi or the other Jiangnan gentry, they are always thinking about things they shouldn't!"

"If you, the chief minister of the cabinet, expose this matter with just one word, then not only will they not remember it, but they will do it even worse next time!"

Tang Hao patted Yang Tinghe on the shoulder, then turned and left.

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

"Only by making them fearful, only by making them feel awe, will they be honest and peaceful and not dare to do such crazy actions again!"

So...?

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

A greedy vampire?

This metaphor is really vulgar and vicious!

But it’s so apt!

The more senior you are in a position, the more information you can learn.

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

From the court to the local areas, these Jiangnan gentry were indispensable in all aspects of the Ming Dynasty, as long as there was a place where profit could be made.

Now, for the sake of the undetermined sea trade profits, they dare to plan a rebellion and shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty's rule. This shows their greed and is simply disgusting!

You deserve this disaster!

Yang Tinghe sighed and ignored it.

Since His Majesty the Emperor has given the order, no one can stop it.

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

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

In the end, the two of them had to admit that now was indeed not the time to eat Jiangnan in one go and promote reform.

Because they don't have this ability, and they don't have such talents under their hands.

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

Besides him, it would be inappropriate for anyone to go to Jiangnan.

Although these supervisory censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate appear to be members of the imperial party, after all, they come from civil servants and gentry, and most of them are from Jiangnan, so the Metropolitan Procuratorate must not be involved this time.

Then who else can Zhu Houzhao choose?

Is Jiao Fang such a thing?

If he goes, there is no chance that he will trigger a civil uprising in Jiangnan!

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

At this moment, Mou Bin had led Tiqi to the Xu Mansion and broke in directly without saying anything.

Xu Wenxi was still in his sleep when he was picked up from the bed by the Jinyi Guardsmen.

He was the pampered eldest son of the Xu family. He had never been treated so roughly before, so he immediately started making noises.

Mou Bin never showed mercy when dealing with this kind of playboy. He raised his hand and slapped Xu Wenxi hard, then pulled out the Xiuchun knife and put it on Xu Wenxi's neck.

Now, the eldest young master of the Xu family is finally honest.

"Xu Wenxi, right?"

"Your matter has been revealed, come with us!"

Xu Wenxi looked at Mou Bin with horror on his face, and then argued to himself: "I am Xu Pu's grandson, you can't do this to me!"

"According to His Majesty's order, Xu Wenxi planned to incite rebellion in Bazhou, which is tantamount to conspiracy!"

Mou Bin looked at him coldly, and then sneered.

"To be honest, I really can't understand. Xu Pu has been shrewd all his life, and finally retired with great achievements. He is considered a perfect man. How could he give birth to unworthy descendants like you?"

"It's fine now. Because of the actions of idiots like you, you Xu family will all be executed by the whole family. Poor Xu Pu, who spent his whole life serving the country, ended up like this in the end!"

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

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

This old man of Xu Ge was magnanimous and principled in his work. He was good at dancing and supported his descendants. He had disciples and former officials all over the world. Finally, he became an official and returned to his hometown to spend his old age. He was specially gifted to Taishi, Tejin and Zuozhuguo, and was given the posthumous title "Wen". Jing".

Xu Pu had no stains in his life, and he had no political enemies. In the end, he retired with great success and received extremely high courtesy from the court. He was a perfect model for a civil servant.

It's a pity that having an unworthy descendant like Xu Wenxi brings harm to the whole family. It is really an unreasonable disaster.

After sighing with emotion, 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 straight 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 posthumous title of Grand Master, "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 another figure like his ancestor would appear among the children of the clan, and then lead 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 afraid of death, and no one wants to die!

The friendships and favors we have in daily life are simply 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 their 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 their clans exterminated. I think they will 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 nodded with a smile and said: "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 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!"