"Let's put this matter aside for now." Zhou Yanru stroked his beard and said, "During this period, I will have less contact with those local officials and gentry."
Wu Changshi nodded slightly, saying, "It seems this method isn't going to work either. It's better to stay out of the spotlight for the time being."
Zhou Yanru remained silent, appearing calm on the surface, but in reality, he was terrified. He had never expected the emperor to be so overbearing, wielding a knife to chop him without even letting him speak.
Since he was so cruel, it confirmed the emperor's dissatisfaction with the local officials and gentry. Action was certain to be taken, it was only a matter of time.
The supreme imperial power, coupled with the control over the army, and the fact that the emperor is not afraid of stigma, who can resist and compete with him?
Zhou Yanru took a sip of water from his teacup, calmed himself, and then spoke: "We must be extremely careful in our future actions and not leave any evidence behind. The court may be waiting to punish us!"
Wu Changshi nodded vigorously and said, "I understand. This will help us distance ourselves from those local officials and gentry with bad records, so as not to implicate ourselves."
Zhou Yanru sighed helplessly and said quietly, "The Eastern Tartars are rampant, and the Southwest is not at peace. I'm afraid the Emperor is driven by money. Those who are rich but unkind will be punished, and they can't blame others."
Wu Changshi pondered this carefully and noticed that Zhou Yanru's tone had changed. He had just been scolding the tyrant emperor, but now he was showing sympathy and scolding the rich and unkind local officials and gentry.
The situation is stronger than people!
Wu Changshi agreed verbally, but he also made a judgment in his heart: Zhou Yanru was scared, really scared.
As for the local officials and gentry who were involved in this matter, they were probably stunned and frightened by the emperor's fierce blow.
………………
Competing to seek favors, behaving ostentatiously, concealing money and grain, being fond of making public opinions, and taking charge of lawsuits were the basic social images of scholars and students in Jiangnan during the late Ming Dynasty.
The gentry even formed gangs, interfered with administration, controlled the villages, seized the property of the common people, enslaved the villagers, and acted lawlessly; they accepted bribes and slavery became a common practice...
The great scholar Gu Yanwu once summarized this: "Today, those who enter and leave government offices to disrupt government policies are students; those who rely on their power to arbitrarily rule in their communities are students; those who are close to clerks and historians, and some even serve as clerks themselves, are students; those who rise up in unrest when the government displeases them are students; and those who manipulate the government's secret affairs and collude with them are students."
Regarding the bad habits and misconduct of students, Gu Yanwu even compared students, local officials and clerks to three types of "sick people in the world".
At the same time, Gu Yanwu also advocated: "Break the students and the government will be clean, abolish the students and the people will be relieved of their suffering, abolish the students and the family traditions will be eliminated, abolish the students and talents for the world will emerge."
Although Gu Yanwu was only a child of eight or nine years old at the time and did not have such profound insights, the evils of the students and gentry were already so deep that it was difficult to reverse. How could Zhu Youxiao not know this?
It was also because of this that the proposal of Li Qiyuan, the Minister of Revenue, on "Reform and Investigation of the Tax Payment System for Students and Officials, and Abolition of the System of Crowns and Belts for Service" received strong support from Zhu Youxiao and began to be implemented.
This was the first step in rectifying the students and eradicating bad habits. Although it had touched the students, Zhu Youxiao saw it as little more than an appetizer.
Of course, Zhu Youxiao was not too anxious and would stop here for the time being. He wanted to focus his energy on military affairs and defeat the Jiannu again in the winter.
But a temporary suspension does not mean continuing to leave it alone. Zhu Youxiao must be well prepared and treat the crackdown on students and gentry as a long-term task.
Now, Wang Guozhong, the acting director of the East Factory, was standing solemnly in the imperial study, listening to the young emperor giving instructions in person.
Because the imperial palace used a large amount of silk fabrics every year, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the imperial court established three major weaving bureaus in Jiangnan, where the silk industry was most developed. They were: Jiangning Weaving Bureau, Suzhou Weaving Bureau and Hangzhou Weaving Bureau.
Among them, the Jiangning Weaving Bureau is the most famous in history, which of course happened during the Qing Dynasty. However, in the Ming Dynasty, the three major weaving bureaus only had relatively simple businesses.
"Wang Ban, taking over the three major weaving bureaus, will not be responsible for supervising the silk and satin clothing used by the palace and court officials, but will continue his current duties at the East Factory and serve as my eyes and ears in Jiangnan."
Zhu Youxiao said slowly, "The virtue, stupidity, integrity and corruption of officials in Jiangnan, the crimes committed by the gentry and students, as well as the local rainfall and harvest, the people's sentiments and epidemics, etc., I want to know everything, no matter how trivial it is."
Wang Guozhong understood that he had done a good job in taking charge of the East Factory during this period, and the emperor approved of his performance, which was why he was sent out to take charge on his own.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I won't have to worry about it." Wang Guozhong bowed and replied.
Zhu Youxiao stretched out his finger and shook it gently, saying, "No, you still don't quite understand. I will tell you today that many students and gentry in Jiangnan only care about honors but not about virtue and status. They are parasites of the country..."
"Gentry that is tyrannical and overbearing and that harms the local area should be eliminated; students who evade taxes, take over the money and grain from wealthy households, and embezzle the taxes they should pay should be severely punished; local officials who disregard the law, hinder the government, and act arrogantly should be expelled from the government and their property confiscated..."
The words "clean up", "severe punishment", "expulsion from the household register and confiscation of property" came out lightly from the mouth of the young emperor. Wang Guozhong took them to heart, but did not think they were that harsh.
These were all dealt with according to the law, and the emperor did not "frame anyone with a crime".
In other words, the emperor did not want to use shady means to carry out a large-scale purge, but rather to handle it openly and in accordance with the law.
"We will only investigate secretly and obtain evidence," Zhu Youxiao emphasized. "We will first hand it over to the local authorities and let them handle it."
As he spoke, Zhu Youxiao's lips curled up slightly, revealing a hint of a sneer. This way, it would be a good opportunity to see which local officials were capable and willing to take responsibility, and which had been corrupted by the gentry and were only in name only.
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