Although Zheng Sanjun was a core member of the Donglin Party, he started from the grassroots level and was quite talented and had good political achievements.
When he was a county magistrate, he set up a free market where the government did not collect taxes; when he was in Zhending Prefecture in Zhili, he also imitated the southern practice of storing water and cultivating fields, and built water wheels to benefit the people.
Of course, Zheng Sanjun also has his own bad habits. He is very strict and more stubborn than a donkey.
Such a fellow should be assigned practical tasks as much as possible, and never used as a censor. He wasn't afraid of offending anyone anyway, so he went to Nanjing to root out corruption, investigate the truth, and deal with those bastards who indulged in romantic affairs, laziness, and corruption.
Now, Bi Ziyan will have to serve in Tianjin for a while and will not be able to join the cabinet for the time being.
Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment and said, "Li Qiyuan will be transferred to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and promoted to Right Censor-in-Chief. He will come to Beijing to take up his post immediately."
Li Zongyan was already old and no longer able to hold the position of Minister of Revenue. Whenever there was any discussion or impeachment, he would submit a petition to resign.
Zhu Youxiao was also prepared to give him the honors he deserved after he retired and then be replaced by Li Qiyuan.
The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Revenue will almost all be replaced by ministers he favors. All the small goals he has set will also be achieved.
"If there is no urgent report, I will review it in the evening." Zhu Youxiao said to Liu Ruoyu, "I am not in good spirits today. I need to relax."
Liu Ruoyu quickly stood up and said, "I will continue to sort out the memorials. There is indeed no urgent matter at the moment."
Zhu Youxiao nodded, stood up and left the hall.
………………
The cold wind blows on my face, and although it feels like spring, the ice and snow are still there.
Uncle Wei rode his horse at full speed, and with nearly a hundred Eastern Depot guards guarding him from front and back, he left the capital and headed straight for Tongzhou.
The emperor was anxious. Although he didn't have to go there himself to do this mission, he had to endure some hardship in order to show his loyalty and diligence.
Uncle Wei smiled slightly, and didn't find it too tiring. On the contrary, he quite liked the sight of walking proudly, surrounded by people on both sides, looking very majestic.
Hehe, Li Sancai, I will get my first achievement from you!
He was able to cause the Ming court to debate endlessly about whether he should join the cabinet and fall into party struggles; he was able to make the Donglin giant Gu Xiancheng endorse and support him, and bigwigs such as Zou Yuanbiao, Zhao Nanxing, and Liu Zongzhou all praised him as a famous minister.
Li Sancai is not a simple person.
Li Sancai played an indispensable role in connecting the Donglin Academy and the Donglin Party, and in making it grow and develop. It can even be said that Li Sancai was the Donglin Party's biggest financial backer.
Doesn't it cost money to renovate the school? Doesn't it cost money to feed and house teachers and students? Are they all paid for by themselves or donated? After all, giving lectures and holding forums all cost money!
"Wherever he went to give lectures, his servants were like clouds. The county magistrate had to provide grain worth 100 million, and it would not be possible without 200 gold coins." It is clearly recorded in the books that opening an academy to give lectures is not something that ordinary people can afford.
Li Sancai had a close relationship with Gu Xiancheng and spent money like water, becoming the largest sponsor of Donglin Academy.
In addition, Li Sancai was known for his generosity and generosity, and for his connections throughout the country, making him a prominent member of the Donglin Party. Later, the Donglin Party actively campaigned to promote Li Sancai to the cabinet.
From this perspective, Li Sancai's "investment" also paid off handsomely, even though he failed to enter the cabinet.
As to whether Li Sancai was honest, the Donglin Party avoided the main point and mostly recorded things like "he was not honest by nature", "he was extravagant", "he took and gave a lot, collected things according to his will, and spent money like water", etc.
In other words, the Donglin Party also believed that Li Sancai's financial resources and huge wealth were of very suspicious origin.
But this is not important. Li Sancai is talented and has a good reputation among the people. He is even more willing to "invest" in the Donglin Party!
Talented, really talented. In fact, even Zhu Youxiao had to admit that Li Sancai's emotional intelligence, IQ and social skills were very impressive, quite impressive.
Besides, if the people all say he's good, how can he not be a good official? You know, that's not necessarily the case. It depends on what the standard of a good official is.
Li Sancai's most important position was to be the Right Censor-in-Chief in charge of grain transport and the governor of various prefectures in Fengyang.
During this period, Li Sancai repeatedly submitted memorials to the Emperor, requesting the Emperor Wanli to dismiss the mining and tax collectors, earning him the support of the people by advocating for a crackdown on tax collectors. At the same time, he showed sympathy for the people and repeatedly requested that the court reduce or exempt local grain levies and distribute grain for disaster relief.
Li Sancai, who was in charge of the grain transport, submitted memorials many times, requesting the reduction or exemption of commercial taxes to provide relief to merchants.
Moreover, Li Sancai, like other "righteous" officials, scolded the emperor and cowarded the emperor, acting like a loyal and courageous minister who dared to give advice.
Indeed, Li Sancai's actions fully met the Donglin Party's standards for loyal and capable officials. Even Gu Xiancheng wrote a letter praising Li Sancai's integrity and honesty.
If Zhu Youxiao had not read a lot of information in later generations, he would have been deceived by Li Sancai and praised him as a good official.
But after looking through all the appearances and conducting actual investigations, Zhu Youxiao finally saw Li Sancai's true face and took daring action to tear off the mask of this loyal and capable minister.
Uncle Wei led his men on horseback and arrived in half a day after covering the distance of more than fifty miles.
The Dongchang soldiers who had been conducting reconnaissance and investigation in Tongzhou were already waiting to greet them and came forward to report the situation.
Uncle Wei nodded, turned around and looked at the Dongchang men who had accompanied him, his face gloomy and his voice sharp.
"This Governor has been ordered by the Emperor to apprehend the criminal Li Sancai and to seal off his house and confiscate his possessions. Listen carefully, everyone! If you dare conceal even a single penny during this search, I will have failed in my mission. I will, of course, have to borrow your head to give my account to His Majesty."
"Don't worry, Governor." The Chief Criminal Officer bowed and said, "This is the first assignment our East Depot has given Your Majesty. We dare not disregard our utmost dedication. How can we be so complacent over a few small sums of money that we risk our lives?"
Uncle Wei pursed his lips. Seeing that everyone else bowed and stood in awe, he smiled coldly and said, "Let me be frank. Don't blame me for being ruthless later. If you do your job well, I will reward you handsomely and will not treat you unfairly."
"We will obey the orders of the governor and serve the emperor loyally." The captain of the criminal team took the lead in expressing his loyalty, and the soldiers below responded in unison.
Uncle Wei nodded with satisfaction, jumped on his horse, and whipped his whip, saying, "Let's go to the government office first and borrow some people to seal the gate and detain the people."
The sound of horse hooves suddenly rang out, and hundreds of riders rushed into Tongzhou City like a gust of wind.
………………
Appropriate physical labor is indeed beneficial to the body and mind!
Zhu Youxiao put down his tools, sat down in the chair, picked up the tea bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
Zhang Yuer stepped forward, carefully wiped the sweat from the emperor's forehead, refilled the tea bowl, and brought a towel for washing hands.
"I haven't done it for a long time, and my skills are a little rusty." Zhu Youxiao wiped his hands casually, looked at the results of his labor on the workbench, and smiled with joy.
Zhang Yuer didn't know what the emperor was making. It looked very much like something that was cast in the Western Garden.
At Zhu Youxiao's signal, Zhang Yuer took the wooden object and placed it in the emperor's hands.
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