The middle-aged fat man praised the emperor as "wise and brave" and "a wise ruler for all ages", which attracted the approval and agreement of many tea drinkers.
After drinking another pot of good tea, the middle-aged fat man and Vincent got up and leisurely left the teahouse.
"That seems to be Mr. Qian, the boss of Hechunlou." One of the tea drinkers said to his tablemate with a sense of déjà vu, "He's got a lot of backers. No one dares to cause trouble at Hechunlou."
"Hechunlou..." The tea drinker at the same table showed an expression that only men can understand, and laughed: "The top star is as beautiful as a fairy, very good, very good!"
Without talking about the reactions of the tea drinkers, let’s just say that the middle-aged fat man and Wensheng left the teahouse and walked and chatted on the street.
"Brother Qian..." Wensheng finally couldn't bear it anymore and sneered, "How dare you call you a businessman in public? You can even say you're a prostitute?"
Fatty Qian didn't take it seriously and said with a smile, "Why? It's just a matter of buying and selling. Besides, taking this opportunity to praise the emperor is also a sign of loyalty and patriotism!"
Wensheng shook his head and jokingly said, "Do you want the girls in the building to keep saying 'Your Majesty is wise and mighty' all the time?"
Fatty Qian was about to reply when he saw a man from the East Factory rushing over, and he quickly straightened his expression.
"Sir Qian, please go to the Meridian Gate immediately. The factory supervisor has summoned you." The East Factory guard walked past Fatty Qian, leaving only one sentence and then left without looking back.
Fatty Qian and Wensheng exchanged a glance, their expressions becoming serious. Fatty Qian turned around, called over his servants, and mounted his horse, moving swiftly and agilely as he rode towards the imperial city.
…………………………
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the gentry group continued to decay and gradually became a huge vested interest group.
It can be seen from historical records that this group is deeply rooted and extends to all levels of society from top to bottom.
In the court, they engaged in constant factional struggles and excluded dissidents; at the local level, they exploited the people's wealth, caring only about their own interests, without regard for national interests or the lives of the people.
Even in the struggle at the highest level, this group can influence the imperial power, that is, the succession of the throne.
The dispute over the Grand Ceremony, the debate over the three kings' joint enthronement, and the fight over the palace move were all seemingly based on the high-sounding Confucian morality, but in fact they were for the interests of the group and the party.
The vested interest groups were so powerful, why did Zhu Youxiao dare to carry out reforms so brazenly and continue to deepen them?
The reason was simple: he saw through the true nature of the group: seemingly powerful, but actually weak; seemingly united against external threats, but actually falling apart in the face of danger.
Moreover, it was not that the imperial power could not defeat this interest group. Rather, from the perspective of the feudal emperor, provoking internal strife and maintaining balance was in line with the emperor's mindset and conducive to the stability of imperial power.
The emperors of the Ming Dynasty were all adept at this game of power.
Whether it was the immortal Jiajing, the Wanli who lived in the palace, or the little carpenter in history, they all seemed to be idle, but they all firmly grasped the imperial power and government affairs.
The reason was simple: even the most idle emperor knew to keep a tight rein on the army. The civil servants in the court seemed powerful, but that was simply because they hadn't crossed the emperor's line, and he was too lazy to deal with them.
Take the Great Ceremony Controversy as an example. In order to prove that "my father is my father", Emperor Jiajing made enemies with almost all the civil servants in the court.
So, more than 200 civil servants, wearing official uniforms of "justice" and claiming that "the country has nurtured scholars for 150 years, and they died today while upholding their integrity and righteousness", knocked on the gate of Zuoshun Gate, and their voices "shocked the palace."
What was the result? The emperor's combination of imprisonment, torture, suspension from office, and caning made them all shut up.
I gave you face, didn't I?! You all deserve to be punished. The Jiajing Emperor's victory fully demonstrated that the consequences of "pushing the nose to get ahead" are not good.
Zhu Youxiao also saw this as a sign of the weakness of the civil service. What's the matter? After being imprisoned, suspended from work, tortured, caned, and having your salaries suspended, you bastards still can't bear to give up your official positions and shamelessly continue to serve in office?
If you have the ability, get out of here. I want to see whether the imperial court can function or whether the sky can fall.
There are many people who want to be officials and hope to be promoted. They wish those who are occupying the positions would get out immediately to make room for them!
The reason why Zhu Youxiao was able to achieve his goal of rectifying the court in a short period of time was, firstly, that he had the support of the imperial power and the backing of the army, and secondly, that he did not play by the rules and did not seek any balance.
The crackdown was almost indiscriminate, encompassing officials from the Donglin, Chu, and Zhejiang parties. Those involved in factional disputes, those who engaged in wanton attacks, those who did not do their work, and those who were corrupt were all taken down without mercy.
Such an operation was obviously shocking and caught people off guard. By the time the civil service group had recovered, a large number of its core members had either been convicted or expelled, and the emperor's sword was once again wielded against the local officials.
As Zhu Youxiao judged, a group of officials were purged and another group of officials took their place. On the question of whether to continue to adhere to the previous way of being an official or to obey the emperor, most people wisely chose the latter.
In addition to Sun Chengzong, Li Qiyuan, Bi Zisu, Tao Langxian and other confidants promoted and appointed by the emperor himself, even superficial obedience was very important for Zhu Youxiao to promote reforms.
Of course, not many people knew the emperor's grand ambitions. Most people attributed the emperor's implementation of policies to financial constraints and the huge costs of war, and that the emperor had no choice but to do so.
What I want to build is a Ming Dynasty where the sun never sets. What are the Jiannu and the local chieftains? My eyes are on the whole world.
To achieve this goal, I will kill gods if they stand in my way, and I will destroy Buddhas if they stand in my way. When I get angry, even I am afraid of myself!
Zhu Youxiao flipped through the newspaper. Although it contained his original words, the imperial pen had polished it very well, which made him very satisfied.
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