Chapter 76 The thirteenth round criticizes the New Deal and the Beijing city slander painting exposes family ugliness and the Virgin knows good officials

Zhang Juzheng came back late from work today, and it was already dark when he got home.Usually when he came home, he would first go to the backyard to see his wife, say a few homely words, and check the studies of his sons, but today he skipped all of them.As soon as he came back, he plunged into the study, stretched out a pen and paper, and wrote a line of "Please cut down your relatives", but he couldn't write anything for a long time with his eyes fixed on it.At this moment, he ordered You Qi to arrange for the cook to make a bowl of green onion noodles and bring it to the study. He picked it up indiscriminately to satisfy his hunger, and his mind was still on the memorial to be written.

Since being summoned by Empress Dowager Li in casual clothes at Dalongfu Temple, in the past two or three months, with the formal implementation of financial reforms, the capital has been full of turmoil and discussions.After more than two years of official administration, the 18th Yamen has been firmly controlled by Zhang Juzheng.It is a gratifying thing to respond to the order, but because the financial reform only touches the interests of the big households, the officials of the yamen cannot do anything about these imperial relatives and relatives. This is exactly what Zhang Juzheng is worried about. .

Around March, the emperor's imperial decree to levy a three-cent tax per mu on the Zili fields of princes and noble relatives all over the country was announced, which immediately caused an uproar.The first one to object was Xu Congcheng, the son-in-law of Emperor Jiajing and the uncle of the young emperor.In Gyeonggi counties such as Wanping and Daxing, there are more than 400 hectares of Zilitian under his name.For this additional levy, he has to spend 12,000 taels of silver every year. Compared with the huge wealth he owns, this figure is a drop in the bucket.But being rich is so heartless, letting him shed this little bit of blood is like gouging out his heart.He complained to everyone he met: "The rewards from the emperor have to be rewarded. What kind of royal law is this? If this continues, sooner or later you will have to hiccup and pledge donations, and fart to pay taxes." Not only said, he also wrote a post to send Enter the inner palace, ask to see the emperor and the Virgin, and face the "difficulties".Empress Dowager Li and Xu Congcheng's wife, Princess Jiayang, were originally sisters-in-law. When Emperor Longqing was around, the two had a close relationship.Although the past two years have been a bit sparse, Empress Dowager Li still did not forget to send some gifts to Princess Jiayang's home during the New Year's holidays. During the Spring Festival, she would be called to live in the palace for a day or two to talk about her own thoughts.The little emperor doesn't have many close relatives, so he takes extra care of Princess Jiayang's family.Xu Congcheng relied on this, so he had no fear in amassing money.In the autumn of the previous year, he went to Zhaoning Temple to find Empress Dowager Li, who was offering incense there, and made a complaint, forcing Empress Dowager Li to issue an order to exempt the princes and honorable princes from the loss of pepper and sumac salaries.He has tasted the sweetness from this incident, thinking that as long as there is a disturbance, Empress Dowager Li will let go, but this time the trick did not work, Empress Dowager Li did not make a statement to see him after receiving the post, nor did she spread a word be comforted.He felt his fists hit the cotton, and his strength was useless.But he was not reconciled, and contacted Duke Qi Wan everywhere, and signed a petition together, hoping that the emperor could withdraw the imperial edict to collect Zilitian tax and silver.His book has not yet been uploaded. A "Wanli Inquiry and Punishment Regulations" formulated by the Ministry of Punishments was approved by the emperor and announced to the world. Among them, the first paragraph of Article 47 of the "House Law" reads:

Where the clan buys land and refuses to pay the food due to its strength, there will be a secretary to investigate and question the people in charge of the village.Still calculate the amount of food that should be paid, and deduct Lumi.If there is a Si A Zong who refuses to raise it, he will listen to the care and participate in the rejuvenation according to the official.In the second paragraph immediately following, the punishment of lawless dignitaries is clearer: For the families of heroes, in addition to the collection of land tax for the allocation of sub-grain land, if there is privately purchased land, all the people in charge of the village will report to the officials, and they will be naturalized and pay for food.Violators, one mu to three mu, sixty rods.For every three acres, add one class.The crime is only a hundred sticks, and it will be moved for three years.The person who sins in charge of the village, his field enters the official.The hidden taxes and grains are paid according to the number.It is the same crime as the head of the village and the officials who conduct investigations and surveys without facts, and those who do not disclose what they know.

Powerful and powerful households everywhere, stubborn for no reason, refused to pay their own autumn grain, more than 50 dan, and they were charged with crimes.After the day is over, the prisoner will send it to the vicinity; if it is more than two hundred stones, the border workers will be sent to the army.If within three months, those who can complete the payment will be paid as usual. Those who dare to go to the official warehouse without luck and force the army to exchange privately, compared with the case of not accepting autumn grain, asked about their intention to serve as an army.For example, the palm prints of various prefectures and counties do not immediately collect land taxes on time, condoning delays, and asking questions for those who are more than 100 shi, and living for one year.Those with more than 200 shi will ask questions and be demoted to two levels.Those with more than three hundred stones will be dismissed without mercy.

In addition to the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang's restraint on the noble and noble families, almost all the laws enacted and promulgated by subsequent emperors, especially since the Zhengtong period, have not taken effective measures to restrict and punish the powerful forces.Zhang Juzheng, who manages the world's money, first challenged these rich families, and severely sanctioned and brought to justice those big lawless households who dared to steal state taxes and colluded with the government to distribute their wealth.This behavior is the only one seen in 150 years.Therefore, as soon as this "Wanli Inquiry and Penalty Regulations" was promulgated, it immediately won the unanimous praise of Ding Minxiaohu.However, it caused extreme panic and dissatisfaction among the wealthy and powerful families across the country, especially the noble families in the two capitals. This is really a wave of unrest.All of a sudden, those who submitted the book in the open, those who wrote the slander in private, those who asked the immortal to dance the gods and recite the spell, and those who walked around the alley to vent their anger and make trouble, all targeted Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the cabinet.The day before yesterday morning, when he had just arrived in the cabinet, Liu Jiangyu, who had been in office for less than half a year, came to ask for an urgent interview, and nervously presented a slanderous painting for him to look at.Zhang Juzheng opened it up and saw that there were three people painted on this slander painting, one of them had his eyes hanging, and he was spitting out poisonous snakes from his mouth. The words "Zhang Dashi" were written on his official uniform, and the one on the left was blowing his beard. Glaring, with a mace in hand, the name written on the official uniform is "Shangshu Wang Zhigao of the Ministry of Punishment", and a person on the right is holding a large scale, which is marked "Shangshu Wang Guoguang of the Hubu". ", all of them are extremely vicious.There is also a limerick on the slander painting:

This is the three vows of the dynasty Hades hums one and two Dynasty's flesh and blood Tell Zhu Yi to change into cassock It is not difficult to see that this doggerel is an attack on his various measures to manage money for the world, and its essence is to attack the royal family and suzerain. The sentence "Just tell Zhu Yi to change into a cassock" even more alludes to his intention to let Zhu Ming Dynasty escape from the "empty" door.It can be described as extremely vicious to so blatantly provoke the relationship between the monarch and his ministers.He asked Liu Jiangyu:

"Where was this slander found?" Liu Jiangyu replied: "On the archway outside Donghua Gate." "It's a must-go place for all officials, and the purpose of posting this slanderous painting there is to let more people see it." Zhang Juzheng smiled contemptuously and asked, "Who did this? Is there any trace?" Liu Jiangyu shook his head, and his words were tense when he answered: "About five o'clock, the soldiers patrolling the city passed by there, and immediately took off the slander painting when they found it. Yes. As for who posted the slanderous pictures, there is still no clue, and the humble official has ordered people to step up the investigation."

Zhang Juzheng snorted, and said contemptuously: "What this villain did, if you investigate it, you will exalt him, don't pay attention." Having said that, Zhang Juzheng didn't dare to be careless, he was afraid that the emperor would find out about the incident through other channels, so he immediately wrote a post explaining the whole story, and sent it to the inner palace together with the slanderous painting.This initiative really produced results. In the afternoon, there was an edict issued by the little emperor: Said that Mr. Zhang knew: what is the origin of the slander painting, I ordered Dongchang to investigate.Such insulting ministers and provoking the relationship between the monarch and his ministers must not be lightly forgiven, I respect this.

After reading this edict, Zhang Juzheng's hanging heart finally fell to the ground.But one day later, another thing happened that made him feel troublesome: At the beginning of the year, the emperor's grandfather Wu Qingbo Li Wei proposed to build a tomb, and Empress Dowager Li ordered Feng Bao to tell Zhang Juzheng about it.Zhang Juzheng's answer at that time was "do things according to the ancestral system".He ordered Qin Tianjian to send personnel to conduct a field survey of the "auspicious land" selected by Wu Qingbo in Cangzhou.About a month later, this "auspicious soil" was officially determined by the officials of Qin Tianjian.Wu Qingbo Li Wei immediately asked for the national funds to build the tomb. This kind of work is in charge of the Ministry of Industry as usual. Li Yihe, who had been officially appointed as Minister of the Ministry of Industry a month ago, sent his staff to Cangzhou to investigate and estimate the price again. In case of two, it will be played according to the facts.This afternoon, the little emperor sent an eunuch to the cabinet to pass on the order: "The discount of this department is too low. It is based on the thick plan, so here it is." , It was calculated carefully in a stroke, there is neither moisture nor forced deduction, it should be reasonable and reasonable.But the emperor asked him to "come from a plan", which made him hesitate-the situation in the capital at this time is full of wind and rain, and he has to weigh the pros and cons of everything he does.

Through the secret report of Dongchang and the interview form of Wucheng Bingmasi, Zhang Juzheng knew that he had committed "public insult" because of the issue of taxation in Litian. Go to Uncle Wu Qing's mansion to lobby, asking him to take the lead in making trouble.Uncle Wu Qing was originally a figure of a somersault in the eyes of a money cave, and it was more difficult to get a penny out of his hand than to get a date out of a monkey's mouth.In the past seven or eight years, the grain fields he has been given all the time are more than one hundred hectares more than Xu Congcheng's.As soon as the new policy came out, he had to take out more than 15,000 taels of silver every year. On the day the imperial decree was promulgated, he was so angry that he lay on the bed for three days, feeling so depressed that he almost vomited blood.His son, Li Gao, had ears to tell God everywhere, and after inquiring about it, he came back and told him that it was all Zhang Juzheng's idea.Because of this, he cursed Zhang Juzheng thousands of times in his heart, but when Xu Congcheng came to the door and asked him to take the lead to write a report to the emperor, he refused to take the lead to the death.His scruples were twofold: one was that at the flower market in front of Longfu Temple, his son Li Gao's servant actually spent money and ostentatiously ostentatiously, and happened to be bumped into by his daughter, Queen Mother Li.They didn't say anything at the time, and when they came back, they announced their father and son into the palace, and scolded Li Gao bloody with guns and sticks.He also warned them that if they dared to behave like this in the future, they would never want to be taken care of by her, the queen mother; second, he heard from Feng Bao that although it was Zhang Juzheng's suggestion to levy taxes in Zilitian, it was his daughter Li The Queen Mother made the decision.If he took the lead in opposing, wouldn't he be turning against his daughter? This daughter is the foundation of his wealth, and what he treats her more is not love, but awe.Regardless of the fact that Uncle Wu Qing was born as a mason, he was never confused when encountering major events.He knew that he could not make a name for himself on the issue of Zilitian, so he might as well come up with other ideas to make up for this part of the loss.Therefore, once the "Ji Rang" who repaired the grave was confirmed, he immediately asked for money.He thought he could take the opportunity to make a lot of money, but who knows that the Ministry of Household Affairs only approved 20,000 taels of silver, not only because he thought it was too little, but also Empress Dowager Li felt that spending such a small amount of money from the treasury was really detrimental to the old man. Because of his face, he asked the emperor to pass on the decree to the cabinet. Under normal circumstances, spending an extra 120,000 taels of silver would not be a big deal, but it happened at this juncture when this honorable tycoon was competing with him.This matter cannot be taken lightly.If the selfish desires of this "ruler of the dynasty" can be restrained, those hozen gentlemen who only care about their own luxury and food, regardless of the suffering of the people in the world, will no longer be able to make trouble.After thinking about the technique of "capturing the thief and capturing the king", Zhang Juzheng weighed it over and over again, and made a comprehensive analysis of the situation in all aspects, and then decided to take a risk and directly advise the emperor to suppress his relatives.Once the train of thought is clarified, Zhang Juzheng writes with spirit: Fumeng Sheng sent the Ministry of Industry to Fuwu Qingbo Li Wei to ask for a price to make a copy of the tomb.Sun Bin, the clerk, orally passed on the imperial decree: "The discount of this department is too thin, and it comes from a thick plan, so here it is." The ministers and others saw that Li Wei was a close relative of the royal family.different.The emperor looked up to the Holy Mother to read the meaning of his family, and the etiquette should be generous.However, Li Yihe, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, and other ministers said yesterday that the family of Yutianbo Jianglun's family was the most generous, which is exactly the same as the family affairs of the Holy Mother today.And in the second year of Zha Jiajing, Jiang Lun begged for kindness to build the tomb, which was originally built by a messenger, and the price was not discounted.The Ministry handles materials such as wood and stone. At that time, it was estimated that the silver was 20,000 taels, and all files were kept.Because this master compares Jiang Lunli himself, the department immediately checks Jiang Lunli's questions and answers.The army of the work squad and the land to protect the graves will be allocated separately, which is not included in the original number.Today, according to the sacred decree, if you want to order you to be generous, the ministers dare not show your filial piety to the emperor.And the love of the ministers and other dogs and horses also wants to take advantage of this to make a small contribution to the House of the Virgin.However, the Ministry's investigation continued as usual, and it stopped there.Now I want to be generous, but I have to play to the emperor to know the Holy Mother. From the heart, I am especially special, and it is certainly not something that my ministers dare to do... After writing this, Zhang Juzheng's forehead was sweating slightly, and his fingers felt a little sore.He put down the pen, crossed his fingers and stretched it a few times, and was about to continue writing, when You Qi stepped into the door recklessly and shouted: "master!" Zhang Juzheng rolled his eyes at him, and reprimanded: "Look at you, you seem to have lost your soul, get out." "Master, there is something urgent." You Qi wanted to continue talking, but Zhang Juzheng ignored him, leaned over the desk, and wrote down: Husband's filial piety lies in doing nothing, but it must be done with propriety; although grace is endless, it must be judged with righteousness.The family of noble relatives does not suffer from not being rich, and suffering from ignorance of integrity.If you are rich and follow the etiquette, you will be rich for a long time.The more generous the favor, the more generous it is;The minister waited for the crime to assist the prime minister, and dared not use his stupidity.Fu Wei is a lesson from the Holy Mercy. After finishing writing "Please Suppress Foreign Relatives", Zhang Juzheng carefully read it twice from the beginning to the end, and felt that there was nothing wrong with it. Only then did he feel that a great event had been accomplished. He let out a long breath, and was about to get up and go to the yard Walking around, when he looked up, he saw You Qi still standing at the door like a wooden stake, so he asked him: "What's the matter with you?" You Qi took a step forward, and replied anxiously: "Something happened in my hometown, the old man was severely injured." "What?" Zhang Juzheng straightened up all of a sudden, "Who hit you?" "I heard it's Jin Xuezeng's subordinate." "How is this possible? Where did you get the news?" "Zhao Qian sent someone to deliver the letter, and rushed all the way, and arrived in Beijing in four days." After You Qi finished speaking, he handed over a large letter bag covered with the customs defense of Jingzhou Mansion, Zhang Juzheng took it, and took out two letters from it, one was written by his father, stating how his head was broken by the tax collector, I am currently bedridden and unable to get up.The other letter was written by Zhao Qian, which described in detail the process of Jingzhou Tax Customs insisting on arresting people in the street, and how Mrs. Zhang stepped forward to persuade him and was severely beaten.Although it was a private letter, it was full of dissatisfaction with Jin Xuezeng.Before Zhang Juzheng had time to make a judgment on this matter, another doorman came to report that someone from the post station had sent another urgent mail, and You Qi went out to retrieve the urgent mail.Zhang Juzheng took it and saw that the stamp on the urgent mail was the customs of Jingzhou Customs. He opened it and read it, and found that it was a long letter written by Jin Xuezeng.Not only did he express deep responsibility for the old man's accidental injury, but he also revealed that Zhao Qian privately donated 1,200 acres of official land to the old man... Three letters in a row made Zhang Juzheng feel nervous again after he relaxed just now.From the letter, it can be seen that Jin Xuezeng and Zhao Qian had turned against each other, and the two fourth-rank yamen broke out, and the chaos in Jingzhou City can be imagined.What's even more frightening is that his father actually accepted the official land donated by Zhao Qian without telling him. Once this matter is known to the world, he, Zhang Juzheng, will become a target of public criticism in an instant.Because of Zilitian's taxation, he offended all the rich and powerful households, and his dangerous situation was like sitting on the crater of a volcano. If they use this matter to attack him again, the serious consequences can be expected. , Worst of all...he didn't dare to think about it anymore.At this time, he heard someone talking in the front hall again. He was about to ask, but the hall attendant came to report: "My lord, my in-laws are here to visit." Zhang Juzheng walked past the living room, only to see his in-laws, Minister of Criminal Affairs Wang Zhigao had already sat down in the hall, seeing him coming, Wang Zhigao bowed and said: "Brother Uncle, Kui Ye came to visit because of an urgent matter." Zhang Juzheng saw that there was also an urgent letter covering the customs defense of Jingzhou Mansion on the coffee table in front of him, so he sat down and asked him: "But it's about Jingzhou Customs?" "Exactly," Wang Zhigao was always serious, but now he said with a sullen face and anxiously, "You must have received a letter from the Jingzhou Mansion. I wonder how uncle and elder brother will deal with this matter?" "Bu Gu also just received an urgent letter from Zhao Qian, the prefect of Jingzhou," Zhang Juzheng asked bluntly, "I don't know how brother Ruo Ruo thinks about this matter?" Wang Zhigao and Zhang Juzheng were both fellow villagers and relatives-in-law. Zhang Juzheng transferred him from his job in Nanjing to Beijing to take charge of the Ministry of Punishment in Beijing the year before last. Whether it was the cooperation of the Ministry or the government, he had a tacit understanding with the cabinet.It is because of his efforts that a "Wanli Inquiry and Penalty Regulations" was formulated so quickly.Zhang Juzheng respected him a lot because of his integrity and meticulousness in handling affairs. Whenever he made important decisions, he was always consulted for his opinions beforehand, and Wang Zhigao never shirked the question.Right now, facing Zhang Juzheng's inquiring gaze, he picked up the letter on the coffee table and handed it over, saying, "You read it first." The letter was written by the Tongzhi of Jingzhou Prefecture. Since he was in charge of prisons, he had contact with the Ministry of Punishment. The content of this letter was similar to that of Zhao Qian, and even the words and sentences criticizing Jin Xuezeng were roughly the same.Zhang Juzheng read it again, returned the letter to Wang Zhigao, and asked him, "Isn't the Jingzhou government making a big fuss about this trivial matter?" "It's easy to look at it this way," Wang Zhigao glanced at Zhang Juzheng, and said thoughtfully, "The old man was beaten. This is considered a major incident. How dare the Jingzhou government not rush to report it. Jin Xuezeng and Zhao Qian are both your uncle and elder brother as the chief assistant The promoted person, in my opinion, both of them have faults." "What's wrong?" "Zhao Qian was the prefect of Jingzhou from the magistrate of Jiangling County. He has stayed in Jingzhou City for eight years. He has already known all aspects of Jingzhou's situation and has a solid foundation. I heard from people from my hometown that he has an extraordinary relationship with the old man. In general, you take good care of your family in Jingzhou. This person is characterized by being flexible and good at handling things, but he is suspected of being slippery. Besides, Jin Xuezeng, this person has risen from the ninth rank to the fourth rank in just two years. It is probably unprecedented in the history of the imperial censor to be promoted quickly. This person is not afraid of offending others and is willing to do things. In the muddle-headed officialdom, this kind of person is really rare, but his shortcoming is that he is arrogant and rejoicing I guess, when he came to Jingzhou, he must put on the airs of a Beijing official, relying on you, the chief assistant, to support him, and not paying attention to Zhao Qian and other local officials, so there was a quarrel between the two. Jin Xue once instigated his subordinates to ignore indiscriminate Captured the taxpayer and injured the old man by mistake. Zhao Qian seized this opportunity and of course invited all the officials to attack Jin Xuezeng. This is just my analysis from the letter. As for the right and wrong of the two It's not a big deal. Now, what I'm most worried about is the old man's injury." Hearing these words, Zhang Juzheng reckoned that Wang Zhigao didn't know about his father's occupation of the official land, and it was inconvenient for his family to find out. After thinking about it, he slowly replied: "Jia Yan's injury, I don't think it will be too serious." "how do you know?" "Bu Gu just received two letters, one is written by Zhao Qian, and the other is written by Jia Yan himself. If the injury is serious and he is really bedridden, how can he write letters!" "How long is Jia Yan's longevity?" "There's more than a month left, and it's his seventieth birthday." "It's rare for a person to be seventy years old," Wang Zhigao sighed suddenly, smoothing his beard and said, "The old man is the father of Zaifu, and at the age of seventy, he still needs to be beaten. Uncle, if this blow makes people useless If you fight, what will the world think of you?" "What do you think should be done?" Zhang Juzheng asked. Without hesitation, Wang Zhigao said decisively: "You don't need your uncle to intervene in this matter, I will directly issue a warrant from the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and send people to Jingzhou to arrest Duan Sheng who caused the accident." "What's the reason?" "Accidentally injuring the old man is only a serious consequence, but it cannot be used as a reason to arrest him." Wang Zhigao was quick-witted, and his words were insightful. It is different from the acts of robbers. Paying taxes is a matter of course for ordinary people, and it is also the duty of the customs to pay taxes. However, in recent years, there have been many problems in tax collection in various places. The most annoying thing is that the tax officials met the rich and powerful It’s like a mouse seeing a cat, seeing a small family of Ding Min, and it’s like a hungry tiger pouncing on a sheep. In fact, the country’s tax evasion is not the small people but the big ones. It is to solve this persistent problem that we formulated the " Wanli Inquiry and Penalty Regulations. This Duan Sheng, acting as a domineering blessing in front of the poor ordinary people, arresting him and interrogating him will at least have the effect of deterring the group and gaining the hearts of the people." From the bottom of his heart, Zhang Juzheng was grateful to Wang Zhigao for putting himself in his shoes, but he didn't want to adopt Wang Zhigao's suggestion. He weighed all the things that happened now in his heart, and then answered: "Bu Gu wants to sue Brother Ruo to use the name of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs to send a letter to the criminal officer in Huguang, asking him to send a team of cavalry to Jingzhou." Wang Zhigao replied: "To capture Duan Sheng, there is no need to dispatch Ti cavalry from the provincial government to transfer the document to the Jingzhou government for processing." "The purpose of mobilizing the cavalry to Jingzhou is not to arrest Duan Sheng." "Why is that?" "Let them demolish the University Archway." As soon as this topic was brought up, Wang Zhigao fell silent.He had heard about Zhao Qian's fundraising for Zhang Juzheng to build the Grand Archway in Jingzhou.At the same time, some officials and wealthy households also raised funds to build a "Great Situ Memorial Archway" for him in Shishou, his hometown. He neither stopped nor approved of this matter.Although the construction of the archway also involves the officials' eunuchs, it is different from accepting bribes after all, not to mention the affection between local officials and the elders of Sangzi, which cannot be completely disobeyed.But it was inconvenient for him to express such thoughts clearly, he hesitated again and again, and then asked tentatively: "Uncle, can this archway not be demolished?" "No, it must be dismantled." Zhang Juzheng's answer was unequivocal. Seeing that Wang Zhigao was a little dazed, he added, "In a high position, it's like walking on thin ice. If you are a man with your tail tucked up, you still have to be wary. How dare you flaunt it!" Wang Zhigao's in-laws' attitude was so firm, but Wang Zhigao didn't expect it. He didn't know that Zhang Juzheng was angry at this time, and he wanted to demolish the University Archway because of three considerations: first, the last time Master Song of Jingzhou Prefecture came to the capital, He wanted to ask him to discuss the matter with the emperor, but he flatly refused, he thought the archway had been demolished, but he learned from my father's letter today that not only was the archway not demolished, but a couplet written by Xu Jie was invited.Zhao Qian was so ignorant of his instructions, which made him very annoyed; second, Xu Jie, as the prime minister who had been in charge of the government for a long time, did have the kindness to know him.It was because of his recommendation that he was able to enter the cabinet at the age of forty-two.But since Xu Jie stepped down, especially after Zhang Juzheng took the post of housekeeper, the relationship between the two has become somewhat delicate.Xu Jie lived in the countryside for pleasure in lecturing and writing books, but his three sons dominated the place, relying on the influence of Xu Jie's disciples, wantonly occupying fertile land.Almost every year, the officials and citizens of Songjiang Prefecture sent complaints to the capital.Zhang Juzheng was in a dilemma. If he was severely punished, someone would definitely attack him for being ungrateful; if he was left alone, wouldn't his measures to restrict "powerful and powerful households" be empty words? At this time, if Xu Jie It is tantamount to misleading the world that Xu Jie's family is still under his protection.This was the last thing he wanted to see; thirdly, he didn't understand why Jia Yan was so fond of Zhao Qian until this evening. It turned out that there was such a terrifying insider transaction between the two.It was Jia Yan's recommendation that Zhao Qian was promoted to the prefect of Jingzhou.He had a feeling of being fooled, so he doubted anything Zhao Qian did. Wang Zhigao thought about what Zhang Juzheng said, "being in a high position is like walking on thin ice", and felt that Zhang Juzheng was making a fuss out of a molehill, so he muttered: "Building an archway is not taking bribes after all." "But this kind of invitation to favor is not much better than accepting bribes." Zhang Juzheng explained patiently, "Brother Guruo, do you still remember the slander painting found at Donghuamen a few days ago? Viper’s King of Hades, you and Brother Ruguan have become my two generals, Heha, Zilitian is taxed, and the land will be measured again soon. Everything we do is for the purpose of enriching the country and strengthening the army, the prosperity of the court and The well-being of the common people. But these measures are not depriving the privileges of the powerful and wealthy. These people hate us to death, and they would like to eat meat if they have the opportunity. Therefore, everything that happens to us has a It may become a pretext for their attack. We are more careful than Fang Chuan to guard against others. We dare not be negligent in this point. What do you say, Brother Ruo?" Wang Zhigao agreed with Zhang Juzheng's analysis, everyone knew that Zaifu was powerful, who knew he was so cautious, he felt aggrieved for his in-laws, sighed and said: "Maybe the old man was beaten for nothing like this?" Zhang Juzheng replied: "Jiayan's 70th birthday, Bugu was planning to let his eldest son Maoxiu go back to his hometown to pay homage to Jiayan on my behalf. Since Jiayan was injured, Bugu considered letting Maoxiu leave early and prepared tomorrow. One day, leave the day after tomorrow." That night, the two of them talked about their family life again, and only after handing in the imperial edict of Haishi Wang did they leave and return home.The next day, as soon as Zhang Juzheng arrived at the cabinet, Yao Kuang brought him three posts, one was signed by the magistrate of Jiangling County, the other two were written from the yamen of the Jingzhou Branch of the Huguang Road Press Court, and the other was Written from Huguangdao Supervisory Censor Jingnan Branch Censor Yamen.The three posts all said that the Jingzhou Tax Customs locked people in the street and injured Mrs. Zhang.After reading these posts, Zhang Juzheng got the first impression that Jin Xuezeng was besieged on all sides.Several important yamen in Jingzhou City almost unanimously criticized the Jingzhou Tax Customs as "unreasonable and abusing the village".Zhang Juzheng ordered Yao Kuang to show these three posts to Lu Tiaoyang for review, and then to the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Wang Guoguang, to read them, and then choose a date to deal with them.He himself took the cabinet papers, copied out the copy of "Please Dismiss Foreign Relatives" respectfully, and sent someone to send it to the inner palace immediately after sealing the box. In the afternoon of the next day, the emperor uploaded an order to summon the platform, and Zhang Juzheng hurriedly dropped the matter at hand and rushed over.This time, Empress Dowager Li came here in person.As soon as he sat down, the little emperor said: "Mr. Zhang, I have read your "Please Dismiss Foreign Relatives", and the Holy Mother has also read it. The Holy Mother has something to ask you." After the promulgation of the decree on Zilitian's taxation, there was a reaction inside and outside the capital. Empress Dowager Li already understood clearly from the memorials of the courtiers and the interview list of Dongchang Daily Secret Report.Whether out of emotion or reason, she has always shown great support for Zhang Juzheng.However, the "Please Dismiss Foreign Relatives" sent by Zhang Juzheng yesterday surprised her. She thought that Zhang Juzheng would buy her face no matter what when the emperor's decree came to the court, and more or less build a grave for his father Wu Qingbo However, he did not expect Zhang Juzheng to politely refuse because of this.Therefore, she wanted to ask Zhang Juzheng's motive in person.At this time, although she was thinking about this matter in her heart, when she asked the question, she stopped talking and talked about it elsewhere: "Mr. Zhang, I heard that your father was injured?" "Yes." Zhang Juzheng looked sad. Empress Dowager Li glanced at him, and then asked: "I heard that Jin Xue once went to preside over the Jingzhou tax customs, and all fell out with the local yamen?" "It's also possible." Zhang Juzheng answered cautiously. "It's not a possibility, but a fact." Empress Dowager Li's tone clearly showed dissatisfaction, "This morning, the Minister of the Household Department, Wang Guoguang, wrote an excerpt to defend Jin Xuezeng, and attached the three disclosure posts sent by Jingzhou. I heard Eunuch Feng read it, and they all criticized the overbearing of the Jingzhou Tax Customs, although there are some untrue words in it, but the things revealed, in our opinion, are not all groundless." Zhang Juzheng guessed in his heart: Empress Dowager Li's dissatisfaction with Jin Xuezeng probably stemmed from that encounter at Dalongfu Temple.He wanted to defend Jin Xuezeng, saying: "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, Jin Xue had only been in charge of the Jingzhou Tax Customs for more than a month, and this turmoil broke out. According to my ministers, it was because he wanted to find out the secret behind the huge tax arrears of the Jingzhou Tax Customs over the years, so , Those who have evil intentions will do everything possible to prevent his investigation." "Who stopped it?" Queen Mother Li asked. Zhang Juzheng replied: "Zhao Qian, the magistrate of Jingzhou Prefecture." The little emperor, who had been silent all this time, interjected at this moment: "I remember, this Zhao Qian was nominated by you, Mr. Zhang, during the Jingcha the year before last. He is also someone that Mr. Zhang admires, both of them are from your sect, why do you still criticize each other?" The little emperor experienced political affairs with intentions and intentions, and he was able to find problems in the subtleties.Zhang Juzheng was pleasantly surprised by this, but he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when discussing the matter. He thought about it before slowly answering: "The minister was deceived by Zhao Qian." "how do I say this?" "My father wrote to me several times, praising Zhao Qian for his political voice, and his dedication to benefiting my hometown. My subordinates listened to my father's recommendation, and sent the provincial court officials to investigate nearby. It is recommended that Zhao Qian be promoted to the magistrate. It was not until recently that the subordinates learned that the reason why my father recommended Zhao Qian was because Zhao Qian had donated 1,200 acres of official land to my father when he was the county magistrate of Jiangling. Such a major bribery happened to my father, and my subordinates are really ashamed." Such a big "family ugly", Zhang Juzheng actually said it himself, neither the Empress Dowager Li nor the little emperor could have expected it.Empress Dowager Li was very moved when she saw Zhang Juzheng's tired and blackened eyes filled with hot tears. She asked: "Who found out about Zhao Qian's bribery?" "Jin Xuezeng." "Oh, that's how it is." Empress Dowager Li seemed to understand everything in an instant, and she comforted Zhang Juzheng, "Mr. Zhang, don't blame your lord too much. From our point of view, it was Zhao Qian who caused this matter to break down. Order officials for the imperial court, and compete for bribes from officials. Such a stupid official should be severely punished." Zhang Juzheng was about to thank you, but the little emperor asked Yu first: "Mr. Zhang, why did you expose your family scandal?" Zhang Juzheng replied frankly: "No matter what, my subordinates dare not hide from the Holy Mother and the Emperor." Empress Dowager Li firmly believed that what Zhang Juzheng said was not a lie, she wanted to praise her a few words, but when she saw her son staring at her inquiringly, she changed her words and said: "Mr. Zhang, your "Please Suppress Foreign Relatives" is very well written. It has been compared with the example of Jiang Lun, Bo Yutian Bo of the previous dynasty. The silver price for the tomb of Bo Li Wei of Wu Qing is implemented according to the resolution of the Ministry of Industry."