While Zhu Guobi and others were having a secret conversation, other people in the Nanjing court were also busy.
Ma Shiying was a guest at Ruan Dacheng's house.
"Brother Ma, Li Banghua is coming." Ruan Dacheng wiped his forehead while speaking.
Li Banghua is a tough guy who can't be bribed or persuaded. If you are caught by him, you will lose your job at best, or go to jail at worst.
Ma Shiying sighed: "Come if you want! I hope that the people you and I promoted can escape this disaster. If not, there is nothing we can do."
Ruan Dacheng nodded: "The officials in Beijing (Nanjing) are basically fine, but the local officials are in big trouble. There are more or less problems with local deficits, tax collection, and case handling."
Ma Shiying frowned and said, "Aren't they all burned? As long as they are burned to ashes, the court will not be able to find any problems no matter what."
Ruan Dacheng smiled bitterly and said, "The counties and prefectures where bandits appeared did burn all the account books, and then took the opportunity to put the blame on the bandits. But the counties and prefectures where there were no bandits were helpless. You can't say that the bandits sneaked into the city, set fire to the county government office, and then ran away, right?"
"What's more, starting a fire is a serious crime, so many officials weighed the pros and cons and didn't dare to burn anything."
Ma Shiying frowned at first, then his eyes lit up: "Actually, there can be bandits!"
"Ah? Brother Ma, what do you mean...?"
"Send people pretending to be bandits to commit crimes in the city, steal some money, kill a few people, and then take the opportunity to set fire to the government office. This makes sense."
Ruan Dacheng suddenly thought this was a good idea, but then he thought it wouldn't work because they had no one.
Although the servants were loyal and hardworking, they had never committed murder or arson. If they backed down at the scene, all their preparations would be in vain.
Ruan Dacheng then told Ma Shiying about this concern.
Ma Shiying tapped the table with his right hand, thinking about countermeasures.
After the Battle of Fengyang, he was indeed not punished, but his military power was taken away and he is currently in a state where no one is available.
If the servants are not useful, then there is really no one available.
etc.
He thought of the nobles.
"Brother Ruan, we really don't have anyone to use, but the nobles do! They have soldiers and generals under their command. It shouldn't be a problem to use them to kill a few people and set a few fires."
"But...wouldn't this give others an advantage? Besides, they may not be willing to cooperate." Ruan Dacheng was very worried.
"Handholds are not that scary. As long as both parties have handles, then neither party has handles. As for whether they are willing to cooperate, I don't think it's a big problem."
Before Ma Shiying finished speaking, the voice of Ruan Dacheng's servant came from outside the door: "Master, there is someone outside who wants to see you."
"Who?"
"He is the servant of the Earl of Xincheng. He said that the Earl of Xincheng wanted to ask the master for a calligraphy."
After hearing the servant's words, Ruan Dacheng raised his lips and said, "Speak of the devil, and he will appear."
"Am I right?"
"It has to be Brother Ma!"
Ruan Dacheng and Ma Shiying smiled at each other and opened the door.
......
In an ordinary courtyard in Nanjing, Qian Qianyi was reading a book and drinking tea.
"Master, you are drinking hot tea in such hot weather, don't you feel dry?" asked a young and beautiful woman next to him.
This person has an oval face with a pair of beautiful blue eyes, a small nose, plump red lips, and long black hair tied in a bun behind her head. It is impossible to take your eyes off her.
This person was none other than the famous Qinhuai prostitute Liu Rushi.
She was born into a poor family and was sold as a singing girl, during which time she learned to paint and write poetry.
After marrying and becoming a concubine, she was abandoned and traveled around the south of the Yangtze River, becoming famous for her literary talent and elegance.
Qian Qianyi put down the book in his hand and took Liu Rushi into his arms: "It's better to be dry, isn't it?"
Liu Rushi blinked her beautiful eyes and said, "Okay, okay, whatever the master thinks is good."
Qian Qianyi smiled and continued, "Have you heard? The cabinet chief Li Banghua is coming to Nanjing."
"Come if you want. Can he do anything bad to the master?"
"It's hard to say. I'm the leader of the Donglin Party. If anything happens to the Donglin Party, I can't escape!"
"What can the Donglin Party do?" Liu Rushi asked.
"What else could it be? It's about money! In fact, everything is ultimately related to money." Qian Qianyi sighed.
"Li Banghua is coming south with great force this time. Only by uniting together can we confront him head-on. Otherwise, the Donglin Party will be completely defeated."
"Master, don't think too much. Drink the tea quickly or it will get cold!" Liu Rushi picked up the teacup and handed it to Qian Qianyi.
"No, I have to go meet some people!" Qian Qianyi put Liu Rushi down while speaking and then stood up.
"Master, you are so old now, so please don't get involved in these messy things, okay?" Liu Rushi said while looking pitiful.
Qian Qianyi sighed again: "I am old and want to show my youthful madness. Some people like to lead dogs and hold canes, while others like to dance in the court."
"Your husband is the latter!"
......
July twenty-sixth.
Li Banghua's imperial envoy team arrived in Xuzhou.
In the Ming Dynasty, Xuzhou was not under the jurisdiction of Shandong, but was a direct-controlled prefecture under the jurisdiction of Nanzhili.
Previously, Xu Dingguo invited Gao Jie to drink in Xuzhou City and intended to kill him, but was later discovered by Gao Jie and escaped.
This incident did not affect the official career of Chen Guidong, the prefect of Xuzhou. After Gao Jie left, the court continued to let him serve as the prefect of Xuzhou.
When Chen Guidong learned that Li Banghua was coming, he was very excited. He immediately took all the officials from the state government to greet him at the canal outside the city.
(Interlude: According to the "Ming History Tongjian", in the 16th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng attacked Xuzhou. When Xuzhou was broken, the governor of Xuzhou, Chen Guidong, died. However, according to the "Xuzhou Prefecture Records", Li Zicheng failed to capture Xuzhou at that time, and there is no such person as Chen Guidong.)
"I, Chen Guidong, the governor of Xuzhou, lead the officials under my command to welcome the imperial envoy!" Chen Guidong and the officials bowed and saluted.
Li Banghua stood at the bow and looked around.
I saw that the fields outside Xuzhou city were full of crops, and the faces of the people working in the fields were filled with happy smiles.
He knew the scene was fake.
But he didn't point it out because there was no need.
If the truth is revealed, the people will suffer because the officials will think that they are not pretending well and that is why they are exposed.
Li Banghua had no intention of getting off the boat. He stood at the bow and asked Chen Guidong, "Is there any disaster in Xuzhou?"
"To reply to the elder, there is no disaster."
"Will the over-collected taxes be refunded? Will the overdue taxes be collected?"
"Uh..." Chen Guidong hesitated for a moment: "Not yet."
"Why?"
Chen Guidong looked embarrassed and kept winking at Li Banghua, meaning that it would be convenient for him to talk about it in private later.
Li Banghua glanced behind him and quickly understood Chen Guidong's concerns.
All the officials from Xuzhou were there, and from their standing formations and the colours of their clothes it could be seen that they were divided into two groups.
One group is officials, and the other group is clerks.
The official was sent by the imperial court and held a high position and power.
The officials were recruited locally and held low positions but had real power.
Officials can command clerks, and clerks can hold officials hostage through certain means.
If officials are powerful dragons, then clerks are local snakes.
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