Especially those poor scholars, they are well aware of the difficulties of the common people and the greed of the gentry.
Driven by these people, a voice soon emerged in Nanjing: requesting the court to severely punish Xu Yifan, a doctor in the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel, and to severely punish Ma Shiying and others who had close relations with Xu Yifan.
As the saying goes, people's hearts are like scales and public opinion is like a mountain.
Faced with the gossips, Zhu Cilang began to feel restless.
Ni Yuanlu only said one word: "Wait."
What are you waiting for?
Waiting for Chongzhen's order.
In the following days, Zhu Cilang spent his days eating and sleeping, lying completely flat.
On the tenth day of the eighth month of the twenty-first year of Chongzhen, Chongzhen's edict arrived in Nanjing.
"Xu Yifan, as a court official, did not think about self-denial and serving the public, but instead exploited the people and persecuted his hometown. He is simply insane! Immediately dismiss Xu Yifan from his post and exile him to Lingnan. All the land and property in his family must be returned to the tenants, and the remaining property must be confiscated and added to the national treasury!"
"Although Xu Mingbi committed the crime of occupying the people's land, his crime is not punishable by death. The Yangzhou Prefecture Prison Officer forced Xu Mingbi to death, and he is guilty of murder and shall be executed immediately."
"The prison guard of Yangzhou Prefecture has made meritorious contributions despite his crimes, and the imperial envoy has pleaded for him, so he has been pardoned."
......
The content of the decree is very long, punishing the guilty and commending the meritorious.
In particular, the decision in the imperial edict to return all the land of the Xu family to the tenants shocked everyone.
On the way back to Hangzhou Prefecture, Xia Yunyi and his son Xia Wanchun were talking loudly.
"Father, the Xu family has so much land, but the court doesn't want even a single acre of it and gave it all to the people!"
"Yes, those tenants would wake up laughing in their sleep after hearing the news."
"I think that Your Majesty is doing this to win the hearts of the people!" Xia Wanchun's eyes sparkled as he spoke.
"Indeed, Your Majesty's move kills three birds with one stone!" Xia Yunyi looked into the distance: "Strike the arrogance of corrupt officials, improve the status of the upright, and win the hearts of the people."
"But...Why didn't Your Majesty punish Ma Shiying and others? They were the ones who made the most noise when the mining case first broke out." Xia Wanchun asked.
Xia Yunyi shook his head: "I don't know. Your Majesty's move must have a deeper meaning. Or, Your Majesty is playing another big game!"
Chongzhen was indeed playing a big game!
In his view, the court could not fight the gentry alone, so it needed help.
Who is the helper?
People!
How to convince people to help?
Give them benefits!
Not only did the people benefit, but many participants also benefited.
In the mining case, he distributed the land of the Xu Mansion to the people, and the people benefited.
The Xu family's property was confiscated and given to the national treasury, and the cabinet and the six ministries benefited from it.
Rewarding officials based on merit increased their chances of promotion, and many officials benefited from it.
The corrupt officials and local tyrants were in trouble. Not only did they not get any benefits, but they also suffered losses.
Chongzhen’s principle is to pursue relentlessly!
After the case was closed, he immediately published the case details in the Chongzhen Seventeenth Year Journal and sent it to the whole country through the Jinyiwei and caravans.
The mining case may seem insignificant on the surface, but it is actually a huge case.
After the case was closed, people from all over the country launched a wave of resistance against the gentry.
The leader of the rebellion was none other than the Ming Emperor Chongzhen!
One mining case ended, but countless mining cases quietly began.
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