Chapter 236 I must plead guilty with a bundle of thorns on my back...
After a night's rest, Meng Chun, now sober, wrote a letter: "The government has changed. The policy allowing merchants to exchange land for their children's education at the Imperial Academy may soon be abolished. I urge my uncles to act quickly. I have already informed my parents and elder sister of the marriage arrangements. Once Uncle Wang's wish is fulfilled, I will bring my parents to discuss the marriage."
The letter arrived in Xingyang County just as the Zheng family was selling off their land holdings. Seeing this, the local powerful families who had stood with the Zheng family also began to sell off their land holdings.
Upon hearing the news, powerful families in other counties of Zhengzhou, before they could even go to Xingyang County to inquire about the situation, saw the notice in their own counties. The notice stated that the imperial court would remeasure the land in early October, and all excess land found would be confiscated and returned to the farmers, and its resale would be prohibited.
The notice was stamped with the prime minister's seal, making it impossible to be fake.
Huaizhou also received a stack of notices, and Du Min arranged for officials to deliver them to each county. He took one of the notices to Meng Qing.
"Second Sister-in-law, what do you mean by this? Logically speaking, all the powerful families have agreed to back down, so shouldn't this change be over? Why has it escalated?" Du Min asked, puzzled. "Is it because some powerful families are not cooperating, and Prime Minister Zheng is using this tactic to threaten them? Or has his compassion for the people been awakened, and he intends to take this opportunity to coerce the local powerful families and seize more land?"
"It's possible that some powerful families weren't cooperating, and Prime Minister Zheng's negotiations with them broke down, so he pretended to be threatening them by making it real." Meng Qing was more inclined to believe this possibility.
Du Min didn't quite agree. He pointed to the word "October" on the notice and said, "It's only the beginning of March now, and there are still more than half a year until October. Isn't this time span too long? If the various aristocratic families reach an agreement next month, are they going to rescind this decree?"
"That's true." Meng Qing frowned in thought. "What does Prime Minister Zheng want to do?"
*
"Prime Minister Zheng, what are you trying to do?" The Wang clan of Taiyuan came to question him. "You told me personally that as long as the aristocratic families conceded a little and each clan contributed one or two hundred hectares of land, the matter would be over, and we agreed. But what are you doing? What is the meaning of the decree you are implementing? Re-measuring the land in October?"
"It was a feint. You all cooperated and backed down, but some people didn't. The Lu family of Fanyang, the Xu family of Gaoyang, and the Li family of Longxi—these people have repeatedly turned me away. I had to put on a show, didn't I? The two above are still watching." Prime Minister Zheng told a colossal lie with a blank face.
"Are you just putting on an act? Now the local powerful clans are all panicked by your actions, and they're all selling off their land. Who does this please?"
"That suits me perfectly," Prime Minister Zheng thought to himself. These powerful families outwardly agreed to his request, but one by one they were dragging their feet, hoping he would renege on his promise and act like a villain. They were even hoping the two emperors would punish him for his incompetence. Half a month had passed, and he hadn't even raised 5,000 hectares of the 100,000 hectares of farmland. Was he going to sit and wait to be demoted instead of finding a solution?
"I volunteered at the court meeting half a month ago to withstand the relentless pressure from the two emperors on my own. No one objected at the time, but they deny it afterward. Are they playing me for a fool?" Prime Minister Zheng was also furious. "General Wang, instead of questioning me, you should persuade the other powerful families to cooperate. When I am satisfied, this decree that was initiated by you will be abolished."
"Abolish? If you really wanted to abolish it, you wouldn't have dragged it out until October." Although General Wang was a military officer, he was also well-versed in classical texts, so how could he not see the meaning behind it?
“That’s my business. I’m the one who went back on my word. It doesn’t affect you.” Prime Minister Zheng stubbornly insisted.
General Wang left in anger.
Over the next few days, Prime Minister Zheng used these words to dismiss several more groups of people.
These words worked. By the end of April, the powerful officials in the court all made statements, and each family sold off two or three hundred hectares of land, totaling more than 12,000 hectares.
Everyone was waiting for Prime Minister Zheng to abolish the decree, but Prime Minister Zheng did not take action for a long time. From the beginning of March to the end of April, within two months, the list of merchants submitted by various prefectures to the court was only eighty-nine, and the redeemed land was only 65,000 hectares, which was still 35,000 hectares short of 100,000 hectares.
Now, not only did officials from prominent families visit frequently, but even members of the family themselves came to inquire repeatedly.
Having just seen off a few clansmen, and before Prime Minister Zheng could even take a sip of water, he heard footsteps approaching.
"My lord, Lady Wu and Governor Du request an audience," a servant announced as he entered.
"I won't see him. Let them go to Anlefang to see Lord Li themselves," Prime Minister Zheng said irritably.
Upon receiving the message, the servant immediately went out to refuse.
Prime Minister Zheng closed his eyes and pondered for a few moments before getting up and walking outside.
Hearing the commotion, the servant waiting outside the study hurried forward and asked, "Master, are you going out? I'll go arrange the carriage."
Prime Minister Zheng waved his hand, worried that the guests outside the mansion would leave, and hurried on. As he approached the mansion gate, he heard Du Min's voice, coughed, and slowed down.
"Is it the Prime Minister coming out?" Du Min took a few steps forward and saw Prime Minister Zheng walking out of the screen wall through the open gate.
"Your Excellency, are you going out?" Du Min smiled ingratiatingly. "My second sister-in-law and her family came to Luoyang to send my nephew to the Imperial Academy. I came along as well, mainly to thank you and apologize. I had previously spoken ill of you with my petty mind, saying many slanderous things that damaged your reputation..."
"Stop," Prime Minister Zheng raised his hand to stop him. "Please, Governor Du, leave."
Meng Qing led Wang Zhou forward and said, “Wang Zhou, this is Prime Minister Zheng, who has been kind to you. He is the prime minister with a magnanimous heart. Your third uncle offended him, but he did not hold a grudge and helped you find your mentor.”
"This junior pays his respects to Your Excellency." With that, Wang Zhou was about to kneel down.
Prime Minister Zheng stepped forward and grabbed Wang Zhou's arm to help him up. "There's no need for such a grand gesture. I'm just returning a favor to your mother."
"Prime Minister Zheng, are you in trouble? We have been in Luoyang for three days and have heard some rumors. It seems that my plan has not been able to solve your predicament?" Meng Qing asked, seizing the opportunity. "I wonder if we can be of any help?"
Prime Minister Zheng looked hesitant.
"Could we go inside and discuss this further?" Meng Qing suggested.
After a few moments of contemplation, Prime Minister Zheng said to the servants behind him, "Go to the Junior Tutor's residence and send a message that I will be attending the meeting a little later."
The servant glanced at him, understood immediately, and hurriedly left.
"Madam, please." Prime Minister Zheng raised his hand, his gaze sweeping over Du Min. He instructed, "No unauthorized personnel are allowed into the residence."
Du Min gave a wry smile and took a few steps back. "Second sister-in-law, I'll wait for you outside."
Wang Zhou glanced left and right, and saw his mother beckoning to him, so he followed her inside.
Back in the study, Meng Qing asked first, "Prime Minister Zheng, when you entered the palace that day, did the Empress Dowager present you with any other difficult questions?"
Prime Minister Zheng's expression changed.
“I’m guessing,” Meng Qing hurriedly explained. “The timing of your decrees is puzzling. If it’s just to force the powerful families to back down, the shorter the timeframe, the better for you. I don’t think you could have made a mistake in this regard. There must be another reason. Three days ago, we came to Luoyang and heard some news that confirmed this guess.”
"Alas, it seems we can't hide it from anyone." Prime Minister Zheng sighed. "The Empress has set a condition: 100,000 hectares of land to ensure the peace of the Zheng family. From the beginning of March until now, all we've managed to buy is 65,000 hectares of land."
"When I left here at the end of February, did you stop me to talk about this?" Meng Qing asked.
Prime Minister Zheng picked up his teacup and took a sip, using the action to hide his unease. After a few moments, he smiled and said, "In a few more months, we should be able to gather enough land for the remaining fields. The situation in Jiangnan Circuit and Lingnan Circuit has not yet been reported to the court."
Meng Qing wasn't optimistic. "Haven't you been to the southern regions? There are fewer powerful families in the south. There are local magnates, but their backers aren't enough to rival those in Luoyang. Do you remember Master Chen? He was a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites, and his father was a scholar at the prefectural academy. Such a family background was extraordinary locally. After Master Chen's father passed away, everyone in Wu County who was well-known attended his funeral, showing that they were among the most prominent families. People who are influential locally are unknown in the imperial court. Many other powerful families are not as powerful as the Chen family, which means they are easily intimidated. On the other hand, there are many wealthy merchants in Jiangnan who can afford to buy land at high prices. Last year alone, they probably emptied the excess land held by landlords, gentry, and powerful families. Another point is that Jiangnan has many rivers, and rice is grown there, so it is less affected by the harvest year, and few farmers sell their land."
Wang Zhou nodded in a pretentious manner.
Prime Minister Zheng remained silent.
"Do your people know about this?" Meng Qing asked.
"I told you this because I believed the Lady of the County would keep quiet." Prime Minister Zheng did not tell his clansmen that if this matter were to be revealed, almost everyone in the court would know, which would be detrimental to his underhanded operations.
"I thought you would resort to your old tricks, using family connections to subtly suggest that local gentry and landlords buy and sell land to amass 100,000 hectares of land," Meng Qing probed.
Prime Minister Zheng smiled and said, "This move is too risky, and the Zheng family doesn't have that much financial strength."
Meng Qing remained silent, her thoughts racing. The female saint's offer of this condition certainly wasn't solely for the 100,000 hectares of land; it was most likely a ploy to use Prime Minister Zheng against the powerful families. She hadn't expected him to pull such a stunt, using this method to avoid direct confrontation with the aristocratic clans.
"Does the land you redeemed through government decree meet the requirements of the female saint?" Meng Qing asked.
Prime Minister Zheng did not answer. "The waterway and farmland issues in Huai Prefecture have been mostly resolved. Prefect Du, would you like to change your post?"
“He’s right outside the mansion. Let him in and ask him yourself,” Meng Qing replied.
"It's easy for him to get in. There's still a vacancy for the position of governor. I intend to appoint him as governor to inspect the Tang Dynasty's territory on behalf of the Emperor. With the decree to redeem land, I imagine many corrupt officials have lined their pockets." Prime Minister Zheng had his eye on Du Min.
Upon hearing this, Meng Qing immediately and silently refused. Du Min had no family background to rely on, so how could he dare to accept such a dangerous offer?
"I will relay this to you in detail and give you a reply within two days," Meng Qing said.
"Can."
“The Prime Minister has important matters to attend to, so we will not disturb you any longer.” Meng Qing got up and left.
Wang Zhou bowed and then followed him out.
Back in the carriage, Meng Qing immediately relayed Prime Minister Zheng's thoughts to Du Min.
Du Min gave a disdainful "Eh," saying, "This old bastard is trying to trick me."
“Mother, the Zheng family shouldn’t be short of manpower, so why doesn’t Prime Minister Zheng let his clansmen serve him?” Wangzhou asked. “My third uncle would definitely not agree to this condition; it’s a losing proposition. Doesn’t he know that?”
“The Zheng family is not short of manpower, but it lacks capable people. The prerequisite for being able to take on the important task of governor is that the Empress trusts him,” Du Min replied. “Even that old man is still under observation, and the people in the family are even less likely to meet the Empress’s approval.”
“Prime Minister Zheng hasn’t given up yet. He wants to avoid offending either side and maintain a neutral stance, so he doesn’t want to get too involved,” Meng Qing added. “Your third uncle is a useful tool. Prime Minister Zheng saw that he wanted to use the power of the aristocratic families to deal with them, so he set this bait for him. If your third uncle is willing to give it a try, he will promise that the Zheng family’s connections can be used by your third uncle.”
Wang Zhou nodded. "I understand."
“I have a plan.” Du Min suddenly had an idea. “I misunderstood Prime Minister Zheng. Now that he has implemented this decree, it can be seen that he is a prime minister who cares about the people. I will make a big show of admitting my mistake and clear his name.”
Didn't Prime Minister Zheng not want to confront the powerful families? He used public opinion to create a good reputation for loving the people like his own children, making the powerful families think that they had been deceived and that Prime Minister Zheng was using their interests to gain political achievements for himself.
"Let Prime Minister Zheng do the cushy job of cracking down on corrupt officials and confiscating their land himself," Du Min chuckled to himself.
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