The Great Ming, however, was not for the feudal lords and meritorious nobles, but for all the people, founded on the great principles of Yao and Shun. The Grand Ancestor had made it crystal clear back then, without the slightest error. The feudal lords and meritorious nobles garrisoning the frontiers, with their hereditary military officials of nine ranks, were due to other considerations, not the spirit of the founding of the nation…
As he thought,
For some reason, the shadow of the Prince of Raoyang appeared in Zhu Mo’s mind. He thought: This Mu Zhaobi is much like that Prince of Raoyang, shrewd on the surface but foolish to the core. Yan Song was the one who dug their graves…
But now that Mu Zhaobi was inextricably linked with the Yan family, affairs in Yunnan and Guizhou would become much more perilous. With this prominent noble taking the fall, a scapegoat of the highest caliber to shield them, what would they not dare to do from behind the scenes?
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With this, Zhu Mo gained a completely new perspective on the long-standing issues of the frontier provinces—
It was similar to Xuan Da here; first, there was a process of private armies, and then the central court would rot from within. Historically, the imperial court was often at a disadvantage in the frontier regions, not as directly imposing as the power of corrupt officials, so the frontier regions became areas of intense cultivation by these corrupt officials. kuAiδugg
But today, he had taken enough. Zhu Mo summoned wine and asked Bai Yourong to ease his melancholy.
At this moment,
Duan Kui saw that Zhu Mo was magnanimous, unlike the treacherous nature of the Yan family. The atmosphere was also very sincere and warm, so he began to speak slowly:
"Scholar Zhu, I also have a few words to say… However, my considerations differ from Brother Bai’s. Brother Bai is a loyal and upright person, who clearly distinguishes between black and white, while I am a merchant. In business, we merchants have always kept these moral issues out of it. Because of this, Scholar Zhu, people like us often have grievances we cannot express and injustices we cannot seek redress for…"
Mm-hmm,
Zhu Mo nodded, recalling Xu Yang, Shen Yishi, and those guild managers. These people were "fake merchants." Because the Yan family faction needed such fronts, these individuals had the opportunity to rise to prominence. And once these individuals gained prominence, they would rely on the Yan family's power to bully the real merchants. This Duan Kui, although relying on An Xiaoliang, An himself was a painted clay Buddha, so this person naturally would not fare well.
He then smiled and said,
"Old Duan, it’s not easy to be a merchant in the Great Ming. Have you been unfairly taxed by them?"
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Ah?
Duan Kui looked at him sharply, stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in admiration,
"Indeed! Is there really a great scholar in the Great Ming who speaks for merchants? I’ve lived forty to fifty years in vain! Alas, Scholar Zhu’s words are not wrong at all! I should not have been greedy to deal with them in agate. They all made a fortune, but I had to bear taxes for seven or eight of them…
However, what I want to tell Scholar Zhu today is not this matter, but it is related. Uh, I’ll make a long story short. Three years ago, I accompanied several guild managers from Kunming Prefecture to Yongchang Guard to see agate, and I unintentionally discovered a monumental event…"
As he said this, he paused again, glanced around, and then continued:
"Uh, Scholar Zhu, your knowledge is vast; you should know the whereabouts of the Imperial Grandson, right? They all say he burned to death in the palace, and I believed it. But in a monastery in Yongchang, I saw many important figures from Yunnan and Guizhou paying respects to the Imperial Grandson! The guild managers were naturally their friends, and they introduced me to a group of important figures, including descendants of Fu Youde, Liao Yongzhong, Li Wenzhong, and Yu Tongyuan. Oh, and Mu Zhaobi himself was among them!
To be frank with Scholar Zhu, I also knew the gravity of this matter and regretted it immensely at the time, thinking I would surely bring trouble upon myself. Indeed, while looking at the agate, some guild managers spoke, asking me to pay money to open a mine, with each share costing one hundred thousand taels.
Naturally, I was afraid and said that these were imperial tributes; how could they be privately mined? They said that all those important figures had a share and there was nothing to fear. They also said that since I had paid respects to the Imperial Grandson, I was on the same boat as them, sharing fortunes and facing hardships together… At that time, greed got the better of me, and I agreed. I paid fifty thousand taels on the spot, and later added another one hundred thousand taels, for a total of one hundred and fifty thousand taels…
Alas, it was bad enough that this money was wasted, but things didn’t settle down afterwards… A guild manager from Kunming Prefecture named Yang later said that the mines we opened all had to pay taxes, three thousand taels annually. Three thousand taels! Scholar Zhu, Lord Li, no matter how well-off my family is, we would be ruined! For the past three years, another one hundred thousand taels were paid. I thought it was over, but then they said I still had to pay the annual filial tribute to the Grand Secretary, and at the beginning of the year, another thirty thousand taels were paid…
Scholar Zhu, I am just a merchant, my life is cheap, not as noble as this Brother Bai. But today I see you as a rare talent of the age, so I can only beg you! Scholar Zhu, please save me! Wuwuwu…"
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He knelt down with a plop and instantly burst into tears, looking truly tormented.
Heh heh,
Zhu Mo couldn't help but shake his head.
This man was truly wealthy, throwing away hundreds of thousands of taels as if it were nothing… His family must have a gold mine. Why else would they be mining agate? Those were mining taxes, naturally, and they would skin him alive. If he refused to pay, they could immediately beat him severely in Kunming Prefecture and then confiscate his property, which would be the same outcome…
However,
When this man mentioned "paying respects to the Imperial Grandson," Zhu Mo was genuinely startled. He had originally thought the Imperial Grandson was merely a spiritual totem, a link connecting the meritorious officials who had backed the wrong side in the Jingnan Campaign and the Yan family. Now, it seemed they had truly formed a gang?
If it were in the past, he would also have believed that these meritorious officials would participate in private mining and smuggling of tribute treasures. But having witnessed so much, he now understood clearly—
These descendants of meritorious officials were most likely deceived by Yan Shifan!
Their paying respects to the Imperial Grandson was reasonable, just not legal. In fact, during the Jiajing era, even paying respects to the Imperial Grandson would not incur great disaster. However, they probably had no idea what those Yan family affiliates and fake merchants were doing under their name?
This was a bizarre aspect of the Great Ming. The Yan family always had them firmly in their grasp, never forgetting to use their influence and tarnish their reputations in whatever they did. If these people knew the truth, they probably wouldn't have come…
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"Old Duan, please get up. I see you also stumbled into the White Tiger Hall and committed no crime. You don't need to be so afraid… Uh, tell me, what was the matter with the memorial rites at the time? Were there memorial tablets, eulogies? What was said?"
Duan Kui got up dejectedly and sat down, still filled with remorse. After calming himself, he said,
"Scholar Zhu, I will never forget what happened that day! Thinking back now, everything is crystal clear. The tablet was inscribed with 'Spirit Tablet of the Ming Imperial Grandson.' There was also a eulogy, but I am uneducated and don’t know what was said? I only remember them saying things like, 'The sage’s system,' 'the Yan rebel,' 'restoration,’ 'the Grand Secretary upholding the nation,’ and mentioning Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe…
By the way! Scholar Zhu, speaking of Yang Tinghe, I just remembered that the eulogy was written by Yang Shen, and he was present that day!"