On May 15th, Liu Jingqi invited the heads of the He, Lin and Wu families to a dinner at Qinyuan.
The four major families are famous and prestigious families in Hangzhou.
In addition, they have one thing in common, which is that they all run maritime businesses.
To put it nicely, it is maritime trade; to put it bluntly, it is smuggling.
The Ming Dynasty prohibited any form of private maritime trade, so smuggling was the only option.
Smuggling is smuggling, and each industry has its own rules.
Their rule is that you must have an introducer to enter the industry.
This is of course for safety reasons to prevent people of unknown origin from sneaking in.
After all, they are in a business that involves death.
The four major families eat meat, and the other families drink soup.
But now, with the government troops destroying Shuangyu Port, their source of income has basically been cut off.
Liu Jingqi took great pains to get in touch with his former partner Wang Zhi and resume trading in Liegang.
Even so, the losses are huge.
Liu Jingqi raised a glass of wine and said, "I have not called you here today to recite poetry or pretend to be elegant. Instead, I have called you here to discuss important matters."
After a brief pause, Liu Jingqi continued, "I'm sure everyone has heard about the Shuangyu incident. That old scoundrel Zhu Wan has left no hope for us and has even blocked the port. I'm truly fed up, and I'm sure everyone else feels the same way."
"Brother Liu is right. Shuangyu Harbor has been built for decades, and the government troops have always said they would destroy it, but every time they did it, they just pretended. But this old man has lost his mind and done such an unreasonable thing."
Lin Mingyan said angrily.
As the head of the Lin family, Lin Mingyan couldn't hold it in any longer and had to complain loudly.
Compared with the other three families, the Lin family suffered the greatest losses.
Because the Lin family not only had trade dealings with Japan, but also had contacts with the West, it can be said that they controlled both Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.
They are friends with Li Guangtou and Xu Dong from Shuangyu.
Now that Baldy Li has been captured and Xu Dong is missing, the Lin family's business has lost 80% to 90%, and his heart is bleeding.
"This old man is simply unyielding. The people in the Governor's Office tried to bribe him several times but were unsuccessful."
Wu Chun couldn't sit still anymore and started complaining.
Only He Fang remained silent.
Seeing this, Liu Jingqi said with a half-smile, "Brother He, why don't you say something?"
Among the four, He Fang is the oldest, and everyone regards him as the big brother.
He Fang pondered for a moment, stroking his beard as he spoke, "Zhu Wan is the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, a high-ranking official. Do you believe he has no connections in the court? We should be more cautious."
"So what if you have a background? Does that mean you can shit and piss on us?"
Lin Mingyan was the youngest, but he was unhappy when he heard this.
"This is the principle that if you give me an inch, I will give you an inch. If you don't even give me a way to survive, what else should I worry about?"
Wu Chun also nodded and continued, "Brother Mingyan, what you said is correct. If we really want to talk about background, which family is worse? This old man is so ungrateful, he really should be taught a lesson."
"That's right! In Zhejiang, we have the final say. Even if he's a dragon, he has to coil around me."
Lin Mingyan and Wu Chun chatted with each other and had a great time.
Liu Jingqi and He Fang didn't say much.
Both of them are very shrewd and cunning people.
They are unwilling to take the lead and wait for others to do it.
Lin Mingyan and Wu Chun fell into a trap without realizing it.
"Impeach, we must impeach that old bastard. We can't let him do whatever he wants."
Lin Mingyan was the first to lose control and started speaking loudly.
Wu Chun echoed, "That's right. We must expose this old man's evil deeds and remove him from office."
Seeing that the two had almost finished their conversation, Liu Jingqi cleared his throat and said, "Brothers, please listen to what I have to say. Zhu Wan has a strong foundation. If we impeach him one by one, it won't necessarily cause any serious damage. If we want to impeach him, we should do it together."
"Brother Liu, do you mean a joint impeachment?"
Wu Chun said in a deep voice.
Liu Jingqi shook his head and said, "A joint impeachment is not a good idea. It would easily lead to people saying it was premeditated. What I mean is that we can have the court members submit separate petitions, but we can arrange the time in advance so that they can come one after another."
He had made it so clear that He Fang could no longer pretend to be ignorant.
He cleared his throat and said, "That's a good idea. But what's the charge?"
Liu Jingqi had already thought it through. He sneered, "That old man is extremely skilled in killing. He beheaded all the captured Japanese pirates and corsairs. We can impeach him for the crime of killing."
Unexpectedly, He Fang shook his head and said, "This charge is not enough."
Liu Jingqi was stunned.
"Isn't that enough?"
"If you want to impeach him, then impeach him for killing innocent people and taking credit for it!"
If He Fang doesn't say anything, it's fine, but once he does, his words are shocking.
Killing innocent people and claiming credit for it is an absolutely serious crime.
If this charge is proven, Zhu Wan will be in big trouble.
In fact, the phenomenon of Ming army soldiers killing innocent people and claiming credit was very common, especially among border troops.
Because the Ming army's rewards were based on the number of heads taken.
Unable to kill the enemy, they could only borrow the heads of ordinary people.
"What a brilliant plan! It's truly a brilliant plan!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Chun praised him profusely, "Before this old man, Zhejiang would have claimed victory by beheading a dozen or so people. Zhu Wan, however, reported hundreds. No one would believe such a large increase without some ulterior motive. If we impeach Zhu Wan for killing innocent people and claiming credit for his actions, it will surely arouse the court's suspicion."
Lin Mingyan gritted his teeth and said, "That's not enough. We must also impeach him for embezzling military funds and wasting the opportunity to fight."
The charge of corruption has always been the most useful.
No matter how upright an official is, being impeached for corruption will arouse suspicion.
Ordinary corruption is fine, and now is not the Hongwu period, the most he will do is be dismissed from office.
But embezzling military funds is another matter.
If the opportunity to fight is missed due to corruption of military funds, it is an even more serious crime.
"You can also impeach him for visiting prostitutes!"
Wu Chun felt that this was not enough, so he fabricated another charge against Zhu Wan.
Since ancient times, the most direct way to bring someone down is to ruin his reputation.
The way to discredit him is to keep an eye on his private life.
The Ming Dynasty strictly prohibited officials from visiting prostitutes.
As the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, it would naturally be a big problem for Zhu Wan if he was impeached for visiting prostitutes.
"You can also add the fact that you are arrogant and self-righteous, and you have too many troops to support you."
This one was said to the emperor.
Zhu Wan held sole control of the military and political power in Fujian and Zhejiang, and held enormous power.
The current emperor is a very narrow-minded person, and he must feel uncomfortable after reading the memorial impeaching Zhu Wan.
Although this may not have direct killing power, it will weaken the emperor's good impression of Zhu Wan and will be of great help in establishing other charges.
Seeing that the discussion was almost over, Liu Jingqi poured himself another glass of wine.
He raised his glass and said aloud, "Today, the four of us have gathered here to discuss important matters, and have agreed to impeach the old scoundrel Zhu Wan. Come, let us drink together for the sake of maritime trade!"
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