Under the control of intense loneliness and fear, some of the four major maritime merchant families in Zhejiang finally couldn't bear it anymore.

This move is a chain reaction.

The other three families were also implicated.

Once the charge of collaborating with the Japanese is proven, it will be a capital crime.

Zhu Wan, the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, immediately ordered the confiscation of the properties of these four families.

You don't know until you copy it, but once you do, you'll be really shocked.

In addition to countless gold, silver and treasures, the four major family mansions also have Japanese swords and other artifacts.

This further confirmed their guilt.

How could a normal person collect Japanese swords?

Zhu Wan ordered that these properties be deposited into the government treasury, and all the family members of the four major families were arrested and imprisoned.

He wrote another letter to the Holy Emperor, explaining the situation and requesting his judgment.

After this series of combined punches, people in Zhejiang Province were completely unable to sit still.

There are many families that have connections with the Japanese, and the four major families are just representatives among them.

Zhu Wan's actions can be said to be killing the chicken to scare the monkey, just to express his stance.

If anyone dares to collude with the Japanese and cause trouble at this critical juncture, Zhu Wan would not mind raising the butcher knife again.

The Zhejiang officialdom was naturally also shocked.

Originally they thought they could bring down Zhu Wan in one fell swoop, so they decided to write a joint letter.

But now it seems that Zhu Wan not only has a strong background, but also has a backup plan.

Look at those maritime merchant families, they are really miserable.

No one dared to speak to these families at this time.

Even though they had received countless benefits in the past, they now dared to act like cowards.

When the news reached the capital, Emperor Jiajing was greatly surprised to learn of Zhu Wan's behavior.

He had always been disgusted with the unjust collusion between officials and businessmen and their collaboration with the Japanese, but he was just frustrated that he had no evidence to prove it.

Now Zhu Wan said and did everything that he could not say or do, which made Emperor Jiajing feel very comfortable.

After some thought, Emperor Jiajing ordered Zhu Wan to execute the maritime merchants involved immediately to serve as a warning to others.

As for the families of the sea merchants, they were exiled three thousand miles away.

This punishment is quite severe.

Emperor Jiajing wanted to let people know the court's determination to ban maritime operations.

As for those who colluded with the Japanese pirates and turned their backs on him, they were not worthy of being his subjects.

The emperor's edict strongly supported Zhu Wan and put an end to this major case in the southeast.

From then on, no one dared to write a letter to impeach Zhu Wan, because they knew very well that Zhu Wan was just the emperor's mouthpiece, and the one who really wanted to move against the maritime merchant faction was the emperor himself.

The Yan Party usually took a lot of money from these maritime merchants, but now they still turned a deaf ear and dumb and kept out of the matter.

For Yan Song, he would not speak out unless his personal interests were involved.

As a result, those ministers who gave "advice" became like eggplants hit by frost.

Not only did he receive a beating in court for no reason, but he also failed to gain any reputation.

This is really laughable.

...

...

However, when the imperial edict reached Hangzhou, Zhu Wan was so moved that tears filled her eyes.

The Holy Emperor trusted him so much that he chose to support him when he was in the most dangerous time.

This moved Zhu Wan deeply.

With such a king and father, how could he not devote himself to his country until his death?

The emperor's will was very clear, and Zhu Wan only had to follow it.

He immediately ordered that the heads of the four major families and the main culprits be made examples of them.

The poor heads of the four families never knew who the traitor was until they died.

After the heads of these four people were cut off, they were not buried with their bodies. Instead, they were hung on the wall of Hangzhou for public display.

Zhu Wan's purpose in doing this was of course to warn future generations that anyone who colluded with the Japanese would suffer the same fate.

The government will never tolerate it!

As for their families, they were naturally exiled, so as to prevent them from harboring resentment and seeking revenge.

What made Zhu Wan most happy was that the government seized a large amount of gold, silver and other valuables.

Zhejiang's military pay was already in short supply, and Zhu Wan was worried about this, but now she was smiling from ear to ear.

Being able to obtain the confession without bloodshed was definitely Xu Yan's credit.

Zhu Wan naturally knew this very well.

So he praised Xu Yan highly and even decided to write a letter to take credit for Xu Yan.

However, this was rejected by Xu Yan.

The boy felt that he was still young and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future, so there was no need to rush.

Besides, he was not an official after all, so there was no need to compete with Zhu Wan for credit at this time.

As long as Zhu Wan is saved, it will be a complete victory for Xu Yan.

After this incident, Zhu Wan can rest easy for at least the next few years.

After finishing an important matter, Xu Yan went to Gushan Academy alone.

Qian Dehong hadn't seen this good disciple for a long time, so he naturally missed him very much.

After finally meeting, he said with a stern face: "You little brat, you haven't come to see your master for so long. You really have no conscience."

Xu Yan knew his mentor was joking with him, but he didn't get angry. He smiled calmly and said, "Look at what you said. I have something important to deal with. As soon as I finished it, I hurried to see you."

Qian Dehong glanced at Xu Yan and saw that he was holding a jar of fine wine. He nodded and said, "Thank goodness you still think of me. Well, fill my glass quickly."

Xu Yan knew that Qian Dehong was greedy, but he didn't say anything and just smiled and poured him some wine.

This is Qian Dehong's favorite Ningbo liquor. After Xu Yan brought it to Hangzhou, he has been reluctant to drink it, just to please the old man.

Mr. Qian is a heavy drinker, and he feels refreshed after drinking a glass.

All worries have long been forgotten.

"You are really something, even these rats can be dealt with."

"Master, do you know everything?"

Xu Yan was slightly surprised.

Qian Dehong rolled his eyes at him and said, "With such a big commotion, it's hard for me to not know about it."

Xu Yan scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Look at what you said. I am also thinking about the Governor."

"You did a good job."

Qian Dehong nodded as a sign of his approval of Xu Yan.

When he was an official in the court, he hated those treacherous villains the most, which was why he offended the powerful and ended up being demoted and dismissed from office.

Qian Dehong naturally feels very gratified that his students are so strong-willed now.

"Governor Zhu is capable of great things. It would be beneficial for you to hone your skills by following him."

"Teacher, there is something I don't know whether I should say or not."

Xu Yan hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

Qian Dehong rolled his eyes and said, "When did your master stop you from speaking?"

"Teacher, how confident do you think I am in taking the provincial examination given my current talent?"

Qian Dehong thought he was going to ask something, but when he saw it was about the provincial examination, he stroked his beard and smiled, "Why are you so anxious now? No hurry, no hurry. There's still a whole year left."

The provincial examination, also known as the autumn examination, is held in autumn.

The next provincial examination will be in August next year.

If you really count, it's only June now, and there's still a whole year and two months left.

Xu Yan smiled bitterly and said, "I'm just unsure. If you have enough experience, please give me some advice. I want to pass it in one go without any further trouble."

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