Although Luoyang was destroyed by wars many times, it was also rebuilt many times. After the Ming Dynasty, Luoyang declined a bit, but it was still a major city in the Central Plains.

Located on a major transportation route, with fertile land and a prosperous city, this place became a good place and was also loved by all the princes of the Ming Dynasty.

There were also many vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty in Luoyang, the earliest of which can be traced back to the period of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang had many children. His 25th son, Zhu Xi, was born in the 21st year of the Hongwu reign and was given the title of Prince of Yi. It wasn't until the 6th year of the Yongle reign that the 17-year-old Zhu Xi arrived in his fiefdom, Luoyang, where he earned an annual salary of only 2,000 dan (approximately 2,000 dan).

Zhu Dianliang was the seventh Prince of Yi, who inherited the title in the 23rd year of the Jiajing reign. He reigned for twenty years, relying on his royal aristocracy to disregard local officials, "trying to get rid of them, and then humiliate them."

When court officials and gentry passed through Luoyang, Zhu Dianliang would send people to stop them, "swearing at them for not attending court, and insulting those who did attend court with inappropriate behavior." He treated officials in this way, and he exploited the local people even more.

Emperor Jiajing imprisoned Zhu Dianliang and his son in Kaifeng and stripped Yi of his title as King.

Although King Yi's title was stripped, many of Zhu Dianliang's descendants remained in Luoyang, including four or five princes.

You should know that in the Ming Dynasty, the prince was conferred the title of prince on the prince's son. The eldest son of the prince inherited the title of prince. The sons of other princes were granted the title of county prince by being awarded gold and silver books and silver treasures when they were ten years old.

The eldest son was given the title of the eldest son of a county prince, and the eldest grandson was given the title of the eldest grandson, with a crown and clothing of the second rank. The other sons were given the title of General Guarding the Country, the grandson was given the title of General Assisting the Country, the great-grandson was given the title of General Serving the Country, the fourth-generation grandson was given the title of Lieutenant Guarding the Country, the fifth-generation grandson was given the title of Lieutenant Assisting the Country, and the sixth generation and below were all given the title of Lieutenant Serving the Country.

It can be said that one king will create many princes, and each prince will create a group of people. These people all have salaries and land, but they don't pay taxes on their land, and they will also embezzle local land.

Not to mention other places, just in Luoyang, the kings of Luoyang have basically controlled Luoyang.

In addition to the Yi Wang line, Emperor Wanli also enfeoffed his favorite son, the Fu Wang, here.

Although Prince Fu had not been in Luoyang for long, the amount of rewards he received was unmatched among all the princes in history. He was given land, salt permits, and basically anything valuable.

In addition to the development over the years, Prince Fu has already swallowed up countless worlds. Add to that the other kings in Luoyang, and Henan Province alone can hardly support them.

Under such circumstances, a group of people came to Luoyang, led by Chen Sihai, a student of Zhao Bingzhong.

Chen Sihai brought his men to Luoyang quietly and checked directly into the Luoyang post station.

In terms of their external identities, they were not members of the Tongzhengsi, nor were they members of the Tongzhengsi's Inspection Department. Their external identity was that they were just here to do business.

After checking into the inn, Chen Sihai immediately called Tongyi.

These people were all his own people. They were the ones who sent the secret report and were also familiar with local affairs. Although they had not been here much longer than he had, it was still longer after all.

Chen Sihai waited while drinking tea.

Not long after, a man walked in from outside. This man had a particularly obvious scar on his face. It was Zhao Zhu, the postman of Luoyang County.

"I am Zhao Zhu, your humble servant, and I am honored to meet you, sir." After seeing Chen Sihai, Zhao Zhu hurriedly bowed.

Nodding gently, Chen Sihai looked Zhao Zhu up and down and said, "We came here to do something. Tell me, what is the current situation in Luoyang?"

"Your Excellency," Zhao Zhu said slowly, "The current ruler of Luoyang is naturally the Henan prefect Liao Zhong. He is a Jinshi (Jinshi) graduate, and after years of ups and downs in the political world, he recently gained access to connections in the capital and was promoted to Henan prefect."

Chen Sihai nodded and said, "Do you know what the method is?"

"I don't know about that." Zhao Zhu shook his head and said, "I can only listen to some rumors among the people in the market. I don't know much else."

Nodding gently, Chen Sihai continued to ask, "What kind of person is Chen Qiyu, the magistrate of Luoyang?"

Zhao Zhu knew that the higher-ups had sent someone down this time specifically to discuss the secret report he had sent. The person who had submitted the secret report was Chen Qiyu, the magistrate of Luoyang, so it wasn't surprising that the higher-ups were asking about him.

In fact, Zhao Zhu had already made some preparations before this.

The reason was simple: he wasn't willing to be a messenger here forever. As a man with ideals and ambitions, Zhao Zhu felt this was an opportunity. If he could do well, he might even get promoted.

You should know that the various official positions in the Tongzhengsi are managed vertically and are not under local jurisdiction.

As long as he could do his job well and get the approval of the higher-ups in the Ministry of Public Administration, he would be promoted, regardless of his background, so Zhao Zhu felt that this was an opportunity.

So Zhao Zhu has been working hard during this period to clear up a lot of information about Chen Qiuyu.

"Your Excellency, Chen Qiyu has a good reputation in Luoyang. The people say he is a good official, incorruptible, able to distinguish right from wrong, and fair in his trials. Some people in Luoyang have even begun to call him Chen Qingtian."

Zhao Zhu talked freely, and it was obvious that the preparations he had made before were useful.

"I've also privately learned that officials aren't very satisfied with Chen Qiyu. Many people think he's too harsh. Previously, because of the corruption case involving postmen, Chen Qiyu severely punished a group of them. It's said he was quite ruthless."

"At the same time, because of the encroachment on the people's land, he also went to Prince Fu's residence in person. However, he was kicked out before he even entered the door."

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