Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 50: The Servant Respects You First
Inside Shanhaiguan City, Gao Huai, who wanted to use the rebellion as an excuse to stay for a while longer and coordinate Shanhaiguan affairs, was furious.

With the Flying Tiger Flag leading the way and nearly a hundred servants, Gao Huai rushed into a store that ran a Liaodong business in Shanhaiguan.

"The Imperial Envoy guarding Liaodong and other places, coordinating with Shanhaiguan to supervise the collection of Fuyang store taxes and also managing the mining affairs, Mashi Taifu Gao Gong is here! Who dares not to pay under the imperial order?"

His arrogant behavior scared the store owner and errand boy so much that they turned pale.

"Mr. Gao, it was just handed over last month, and the cavalry hasn't returned yet..."

"That's your business! There are rebels in Gushan Fort, and you guys are making a lot of money in Shanhaiguan. It's your duty to help, not to mention the customs silver you should pay? The amount for the second half of the year cannot be reduced by a penny!"

Gao Huai didn't believe that the emperor and the heir apparent didn't like the huge sum of silver he presented to them!

During this period of time when he was waiting for changes and feeling uncertain, Gao Huai started to get worse.

Over in Dongluo City, several people gathered together.

"Last year, someone in Linqing dared to do it! Now that there is an imperial decree, why don't you dare?"

"It's different... This is Shanhaiguan! Gao Huai is not a horse official, he also has a guarding position!"

"Your Majesty has already removed the mining supervisor and tax collector! Besides, everyone knows about the grudge between General Ma and that eunuch!" Someone gritted his teeth and said, "No, I'll go ask General Ma!"

……

Although Shanhaiguan is 600 miles away from Beijing, it doesn't take long for the news from there to arrive.

It won't take much time for Xing Jie's memorial and letter to arrive.

Yu Jideng was busy with the upcoming ceremony of enthroning the crown prince. After seeing the letter, he was shocked and called the doctor of the Ministry of Guests.

"Go to Huitong Hall and ask the Korean envoys, His Majesty's order for Korea to prepare gifts, was it a written order or a verbal order? Who announced it?"

With the crown prince being enthroned and the coronation ceremony taking place, how could Korea, a loyal vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, not send envoys to congratulate?
The Huitong Hall was now full of people, and Matteo Ricci was one of them.

After that day, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince never summoned him again.

Matteo Ricci was always looking forward to seeing eunuchs from the palace or officials from the Ministry of Rites.

This time he watched the doctor from the Ministry of Rites go to the envoys from the Kingdom of Korea, and then leave in a hurry, confused.

"Prime Minister Ye? Is there such a person?" Yu Jideng was also confused.

"I have asked around, he is not an eunuch, I heard he is a scholar, he has some knowledge, and he delivered the oral instructions. Since he came to Korea last year... his reputation has been very bad."

Yu Jideng’s face darkened.

How could an imperial edict be conveyed to a vassal state without going through the Ministry of Rites?
He understood what Xing Jie meant, and this was probably done by Gao Huai.

But as the enthronement ceremony was approaching, Yu Jideng hesitated whether to ask about this matter.

But if you don't ask, the Korean envoy might bring it up in front of the successor king later.

So he submitted a petition in a tactful way, saying through the Ministry of Rites: Korea has been ordered to prepare a gift, but the required jewels are difficult to obtain at the moment, so let's see if it can be postponed to next year as a gift to celebrate the emperor's 40th birthday.

The minutes were presented to Zhu Changluo, who looked at Tian Yi and said, "I remember that in April, the King of Korea submitted a petition to the Ming Dynasty to ship the relief grain directly by sea, but it didn't seem to mention this matter."

Tian Yi said seriously, "I don't remember such an order."

"...Secret order?"

Tian Yi shook his head. "Last year, when the soldiers returned to the capital, His Majesty issued the Edict to Suppress the Japanese, and was very pleased with the success. Half of the households in the Joseon capital were killed, hundreds of thousands were looted, and all industries were in decline. Since Your Majesty has shown His divine grace and allowed the transportation of grain to aid Joseon, you should not have secretly ordered Joseon to offer any gifts."

Zhu Changluo was enlightened: "Who dares to forge the imperial edict? What do you think the Grand Master's words mean?"

"I suddenly heard..." Tian Yi also understood, so he pointed out these words, and then said, "I'm afraid it was some daring servant. After thinking about it, I'm afraid it was Gao Huai, the tax supervisor of Liaodong."

The decree to remove the mine supervisor and tax collector has been announced, and the mine supervisor and tax collector who are nearby have returned.

Some people are timid, some are brave.

Tian Yi followed orders and helped Zhu Changluo investigate whether these mining supervisors and tax collectors were "upright" and "greedy and harmful to the people." Gao Huai was so close to the capital, and there were already many impeachment memorials against him, so what else could he say?
"I will do it right away! If this fellow forges the imperial edict, he will be guilty of the crime of the entire clan!"

"If he has the guts, I'm afraid he will have something to say unless there is a clear decree." Zhu Changluo thought for a moment, "Let's draft a clear decree."

Now there is no need to ask Empress Dowager Li for everything, and Zhu Changluo only reports to her temporarily on what matters have been dealt with recently and how they were dealt with.

The Jianzhou Jurchens were the "culprits" that Empress Dowager Li was concerned about. Since Gao Huai's departure, Liaodong had been in chaos. Now there were reports of evil people causing chaos. Zhu Changluo had already reported to the Ministry of War to come up with a strategy to suppress the bandits.

Therefore, it is not important to ask whether Zhu Yijun really issued this secret decree. Empress Dowager Li would not let go of Gao Huai, a eunuch who might "revolt against Liao" and "forge the imperial edict."

Zhu Changluo had never heard of this Jin Deshi, so it was estimated that it did not cause much waves.

The biggest problem in Liaodong at the moment is indeed Gao Huai.

Shen Yikuan had submitted several memorials before, saying that the Governor-General of Ji-Liao and the Governor and Inspector of Liaodong had repeatedly reported to him that "the governor had different opinions on everything, and his suspicions had turned into anger."

Now it has even developed to the point where General Ma Lin "announced an oath in public", "Such a situation will not only make it impossible to defend the border together, but we may also be at odds with each other and betray each other, which will cause unspeakable disasters."

It's obvious who the troublemaker is.

However, Zhu Yijun’s attitude towards the Liaodong issue in the past was: no report.

The decision about Gao Huai was made quickly. Zhu Changluo thought about it and asked Tian Yi to call Ma Tang, and also called Chen Ju and Cheng Jing.

"Your humble servant Ma Tang pays respect to His Highness..."

Ma Tang was very nervous. After returning to the palace, he already knew that Zhu Changluo was the one who made the decisions on all matters, big or small.

Zhu Changluo flipped through the documents he had sorted out. "In the 26th year of Wanli, you were in Linqing and collected 11,880 taels of silver. Last year, it was 14,400 taels. It wasn't much more than the year before. Why did Linqing gather more than 10,000 people last year, burn the tax office, and burn 37 people to death?"

Ma Tang trembled: "Your Highness, please forgive me. I am innocent. How important is the Linqing Bank? How could these unruly people gather more than 10,000 people? There must be something fishy going on..."

"Speak slowly."

Zhu Changluo was not angry.

When eunuchs were sent to local areas, their quality was not high, so of course they would impose heavy taxes and levies, and they would also arouse "public anger".

However, the incident that occurred last year in Linqing, Shandong, the most important currency exchange point on the canal, is also truly intriguing.

Being able to gather more than ten thousand people, burn down the tax office, and burn thirty-seven people to death requires organizational strength, and is by no means a momentary anger.

Zhu Changluo wanted to sort out the logic behind the dispatch of mining supervisors and tax collectors to support some of his own ideas.

Ma Tang kowtowed first: "I confess first, I have lost a lot of money. In the past three years, I have lost... more than 160,000 taels... Your Highness, please forgive me..."

Zhu Changluo: ...

It can only be said that the enthronement ceremony and the coronation ceremony are both approaching, and the eunuchs who are most dependent on the emperor know how to read the situation and understand the key points best.

He didn't mean to ask this, but who knew that Ma Tang was ready to add more money to his treasury?
If everyone were like this...

"...more than 160,000 taels?" Zhu Changluo was already somewhat used to it. "So if you calculate it this way, you'll be collecting 70,000 to 80,000 taels every year, and you'll get more than 80% of it, and you'll be sending less than 20% to the treasury?"

Tian Yi said that they can now collect a total of 300,000 taels every year, and this only accounts for one or two percent of the money they make every year.

Maybe even less.

So the time they were sent out ranged from one to four years... Zhu Changluo calculated: the "legacy" left by his father was not small.

Ma Tangtou was furious: "I was blinded by greed, but this is what I want to report. I was almost killed last year because of the tricks in the tax collection. I don't know how many people's benefits were damaged."

I have been in Linqing for more than three years. Although others have left, I can still get some news.

Now that someone is investigating his deeds, how could Ma Tang not understand which way the wind is blowing?
The only way to avoid death is to make meritorious contributions while serving one's sentence.

It is a sign of respect that Ma Tang was recruited first, and the sooner he returns to Beijing, the sooner his loyalty will be shown

(End of this chapter)