"But there are endless benefits in this world, and no one can always guess what others are thinking."
"The Ye family is very interesting. They live in Shanyang County, a key transportation hub for Huai'an. All the salt from Huaibei and Huainan must pass through there. This shows how much profit they can make with this advantageous location."
"The then Minister of Revenue, Ye Qi, was truly a good official. He had lived there for generations, so it was impossible for him not to know the situation there. Yet, he still proposed this strategy to the court. Even though the Ming Dynasty's salt administration was indeed rotten at the time, with the emperor squandering money recklessly and the court nobles heavily exploiting their power."
Zhu Youxiao spoke in a calm tone, but no one below dared to look up.
After all, Zhu Youxiao was talking about his ancestors. It would be a sin to even listen to such words, let alone interrupt them.
But these people were Zhu Youxiao's confidants, and they understood what Zhu Youxiao meant. It was obvious that the emperor was very dissatisfied with these people.
"What was the result? The emperor trusted Ye Qi and asked him to reform. What did he reform?"
"The generals at the border used to have food to eat, and they could even live comfortably with bribes from salt merchants. But now their financial resources have been cut off. The soldiers at the border have no salt and no food, and their lives are miserable!"
"But who got rich? These businessmen! Look at the Ye family. They're still being clever now. Why weren't they so smart back then? Smart people should do smart things. Pretending to be smart?"
"Go and arrest that Ye Chi. Send a team to Huai'an and pass the message to the Governor of the Grand Canal to have someone raid the Ye family and shut down all their businesses. Oh, and send someone to keep an eye on the Governor of the Grand Canal to make sure I don't see anything."
After saying this, Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xianchun and the other two and ordered, "Huang Changzong, have your men prepare and be ready to take over the grain transport at any time."
"Xu Xianchun, send your people over there to keep an eye on it. Don't miss anything or anyone."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Xianchun and the others quickly agreed.
Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Qi Yuanfu and said, "Send your people to Nanjing immediately and tell Lu Xiangsheng in Nanjing to send people to Huai'an. At the same time, have Duke Chengguo Zhu Neng send people as well."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Qi Yuanfu agreed respectfully.
No one expected that Zhu Youxiao would be so decisive and swift. He didn't even mention any charges or investigate. He just ordered the arrest and searched the house.
But no one dared to stand up and object.
Zhu Youxiao also knew that his actions were too overbearing, and there was no reason to argue with them. What they did was just that, and there was nothing to investigate.
As an emperor, he should indeed respect procedural justice. Doing so would only cause very bad consequences.
But Zhu Youxiao knew very well in his heart that he had no way to get around them.
In the future, that place will be run like an iron bucket by them. The entire Huaibei region south of the Yangtze River, from officials of all ranks to petty clerks, and even the common people, will all be run like an iron bucket by them.
If we send people to investigate and handle the matter slowly, it is hard to say whether we can get it done; even if we can, we don’t know how long it will take.
Zhu Youxiao would not invest so much time and manpower here, and he was too lazy to fight with them, so he might as well just take action directly.
The troops arrived in force, arrested people, raided their homes, and brought all kinds of charges against them.
It wouldn't be too late to re-establish rules after we've completely pacified these people in the south. With them here, there's nothing to establish. They have their own set of rules, and I have my own set of rules. Whose rules should I listen to?
As for the fact that no one dared to engage in business, Zhu Youxiao was even less worried. Although the Imperial Household Department was still underpowered, it had already accumulated a lot of strength. As long as it wanted to expand, many people would definitely join. It would not be a problem at all. He did not need these people.
It’s been eight years, I’ve endured it for eight years!
How had he gotten through the past eight years? How could he still be so indecisive towards them?
Moreover, this was a struggle for the general trend, and he had too many things to do and no time to waste. When emperors of all dynasties needed money, they never recruited people. Emperor Wu of Han did it much more than himself, and was even more ruthless in recruiting people. It was nothing more than whether he had people under his control.
Take our ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang for example, the reasons for his convictions were often very bizarre.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
