Zhu Yunwen didn't know who the people in the side hall were, but he knew they were cursing him, which made his face turn somewhat ugly. Zhao Qingzhu, standing beside him, also showed an angry expression and turned to Zhu Yunwen, saying:
"Damn it! You work for the benefit of all people, yet these people here are belittling you like this. It's outrageous! I'm going in to confront them."
As she spoke, Zhao Qingzhu angrily prepared to rush in, but Zhu Yuntang stopped her, forcing a smile as he said:
"Don't rush, listen some more. I also want to know what some people are saying about me."
As he continued to eavesdrop, he heard the group of people in the side hall still discussing the matter.
One of them spoke up:
"In short, our interests must never be touched, no matter who it is. This grandson of the crown prince thinks he's young and wants to do great things, so he's using us as a scapegoat to curry favor with the common people? It's laughable. He probably doesn't know how powerful we noble families are."
Another person spoke up:
"That's right. If all else fails, we can unite with other powerful families and nobles to deal with this crown prince. Ideally, we could..."
He didn't say anything more, but it was clear that the people in the living room were all taken aback by what he meant.
It's actually quite simple. In some special dynasties, when the national strength was not very strong, the demise of their dynasties was indeed very likely in the hands of some scholar-official families and noble classes.
After all, every dynasty has a period when the scholar-official and aristocratic classes are extremely powerful, able not only to control the common people but also to interfere in the court and decide the life and death of the royal family.
Among them, some powerful clans were the most powerful. However, the situation in the Ming Dynasty was slightly different. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang did not rely on the power of any powerful clans to establish his empire. He basically conquered it all on his own.
Unlike during the Tang Dynasty, it did not receive support from some powerful families.
Zhu Yuanzhang's rise to power initially had little to do with powerful clans, given his humble origins and the fact that the court at the time did not have good relations with the powerful clans in various regions.
Therefore, regardless of the circumstances, the powerful clans of today are unlikely to have much influence over the imperial court.
After a long silence, the people in the side hall began to discuss how to avoid the policy of land annexation.
Then an elderly man in a long black robe stood up and said to the county magistrate sitting in the high seat:
"Doesn't Your Excellency have anything to say? If I'm not mistaken, Your Excellency also owns some fertile land. Your grandfather, in particular, has used your power to acquire a considerable amount of land."
"If you don't try to help Qingshui County resolve this policy, aren't you worried that your own family will also have to hand over this land?"
The magistrate, who had been silent all along, raised his eyelids and said:
"So what do you all think I can do? I am an official of the imperial court, and this time it is said that His Highness the Crown Prince is very tough on this land annexation policy. He has even issued an order for the Ministry of Justice to get involved as well."
"If I don't strictly enforce this, I'm afraid the officials in the Ministry of Justice will investigate me and charge me with negligence."
He had barely finished speaking when a fat man dressed in fine clothes spoke up:
"Why bother, Magistrate? You work for the court, but how much salary do you get? It's far less than the benefits your land can bring you. If it really comes to that, what's wrong with giving up this official position?"
Upon hearing this, the magistrate frowned:
"If I lose this official position, I'm afraid I won't even be able to keep my own land. If another county magistrate comes in, do you think he won't carry out the imperial court's orders?"
Do you really think that by taking such a huge risk to help you, I can actually help you achieve your goals? We're not fools; don't try to use me here.
After hearing the magistrate's words, the crowd fell silent for a moment before one of them spoke up:
"So, what exactly does Your Excellency intend to do?"
The magistrate smiled and said:
"When there are policies from above, there must be countermeasures from below. It's just the abolition of land annexation. I'll just drag it out for now and see how the court reacts. If there's no major reaction, it might just be dropped in the end."
After all, it's not just our county that doesn't want to handle this matter well. Perhaps most other counties won't be able to either. This will discourage His Highness the Crown Prince, and the matter might just fizzle out.
Hearing him say that, everyone nodded in agreement, agreeing that it made sense.
However, at that moment, Zhu Yunwen slowly walked in through the doorway and said:
"Since I'm going to do this, I'll see it through from beginning to end, and I won't let it go unresolved. You can forget about all your schemes."
Furthermore, you are the county magistrate, aren't you? As the magistrate of this local area, you fail to strictly enforce the imperial decrees, instead actively negotiating and dragging things out with these people. Such inaction—aren't you afraid I will punish you?"
As soon as Zhu Yunwen finished speaking, everyone in the living room looked over.
Immediately afterwards, the county magistrate stood up, frowned, looked at Zhu Yunwen, and said:
"Who are you?" He vaguely realized that Zhu Yunwen's speech and manner were definitely not those of an ordinary person, so he was extra cautious.
Zhu Yunwen didn't bother with any more words and directly took out his gold medal.
Upon closer inspection, the magistrate's expression changed. Whether from fright or something else, his legs went weak and he knelt on the ground with a thud.
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