The Imperial Guard nodded hurriedly:
"How dare I speak nonsense? There have indeed been some unusual developments in Jiangnan recently."
He placed a memorial in front of Luo Yangxing.
"Ever since the news of the Donglin Party's demise reached Jiangnan, the students and scholars there have been restless."
"Many local gentry and officials also joined in the commotion."
After reading the report, Luo Yangxing realized that things were getting complicated.
He thought to himself, "His Majesty was going to open the seas anyway, and before the news even got out, Jiangnan was already in chaos."
"Wouldn't it cause even more chaos if the gentry of Jiangnan found out about this?"
He dared not delay and hurriedly ran into the palace.
As soon as I entered the Imperial Study, I heard Zhu Youjian's laughter.
"Good, good, good! Zhou Yanru did a good job this time."
Upon hearing this, Luo Yangxing slowed his pace and listened outside the imperial study.
After a moment, he finally understood.
It turned out that Zhou Yanru had arrived in Shaanxi and Gansu, and although the emperor had ordered him not to return directly to the capital, he was instead to recruit new soldiers locally.
Zhou Yanru was dissatisfied, but he still worked hard.
In just two months, they recruited 60,000 to 70,000 able-bodied men.
Wang Chengen smiled and said, "This is also because Your Majesty trusts him and specially allocated silver to him from the Imperial Treasury."
"Otherwise, how could Lord Zhou have recruited so many soldiers just by talking?"
Luo Yangxing cursed inwardly, "That Wang Chengen is a sycophant too!"
But he breathed a sigh of relief.
With this good news as a foundation, Zhu Youjian wouldn't be too angry if he revealed the matter of Jiangnan.
Luo Yangxing then went inside, picked up the report with both hands, and respectfully handed it to Zhu Youjian.
Zhu Youjian knew from his expression that there was bad news.
"What's wrong now?" he asked, frowning, as he took the report and began to read it.
Before Luo Yangxing could reply, Zhu Youjian was already furious.
"Do these scholar-officials really think I'm afraid of them?"
He threw the report heavily to the ground.
Upon seeing this, Luo Yangxing immediately knelt down on the ground, speechless with frustration.
"The emperor was quite happy just now, how come he suddenly became so angry?"
“The resistance to taxes in Jiangnan has been going on for more than a year or two. In the past, there have been incidents of eunuchs being beaten to death and imperial envoys being driven away.”
"His Majesty is well aware of this matter..."
Luo Yangxing's doubts were understandable, but he didn't know that Zhu Youjian was known for his bad temper throughout history.
Zhu Youjian gritted his teeth and said, "I can't deal with all the ministers in the court at once, but I have no such concern about the gentry in Jiangnan!"
Hearing this, Luo Yangxing still didn't understand, but Wang Chengen already did.
Zhu Youjian was young and impetuous, and originally intended to get rid of all the court officials and replace them with more reliable people.
But he had been emperor for more than half a year and had already learned many things.
Although the remaining court officials are unreliable, if they were all dealt with, the Ming Dynasty would be paralyzed.
So when Gao Qingyun suggested that he take some and punish others, Zhu Youjian accepted the suggestion.
But he was still angry.
At this moment, he vented his anger on Jiangnan.
"Luo Yangxing, you immediately lead the Embroidered Uniform Guard south!" Zhu Youjian pointed, his tone full of murderous intent.
"Anyone who disobeys will be killed and their property confiscated!"
"Hmph, I don't mind having too little money anyway!"
Luo Yangxing smiled bitterly to himself: "It's over, our Emperor has become addicted to confiscating property!"
He forced himself to reply:
"Your Majesty, this matter... I truly cannot do it."
Zhu Youjian was about to get angry when he heard this, but he quickly suppressed his anger.
"That's right. The late emperor once sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot south together, but in the end they couldn't do anything to those gentry."
The emperor leaned back in his dragon throne, frowning as he pondered.
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard of today is not what it was during the time of Emperor Taizu. It only has some deterrent power around the capital. Once it reaches Southern Zhili, it can only gather information."
"It no longer has the prestige it once had."
"If you want to deal with the gentry, you can't rely on the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
"As for eunuchs..."
He glanced at Wang Chengen, then shook his head inwardly.
"No, although Wang Chengen is reliable, who can guarantee that he won't become the second Wei Zhongxian?"
Zhu Youjian thought and thought, and suddenly his eyes lit up.
"Got it!"
"I can send new soldiers south!"
Luo Yangxing was stunned, and asked in confusion, "What new recruits?"
Zhu Youjian laughed loudly, stood up, and excitedly spun around.
"They are the able-bodied men newly recruited by the imperial court in Shaanxi and Gansu!"
"If we send them to Liaodong to fight the Jurchens, we're sending them to their deaths."
"It takes two or three years of dedicated training before they can be put to the test."
"But when it comes to dealing with the gentry of Jiangnan, they are a ferocious army!"
Luo Yangxing immediately understood.
He thought to himself, "Good heavens, what does His Majesty take the Shaanxi and Gansu troops for?"
"If you can't deal with the Jurchens, you can't deal with the local gentry, can you?"
But then he thought about it again and realized that it didn't seem to be a problem.
In any case, Shaanxi and Gansu have always been known for producing elite soldiers, and the able-bodied men recruited by Zhou Yanru were all disaster victims.
The imperial court gave them food, recruited them into the army, and paid them wages, which saved their entire family's lives.
At this point, they probably all regarded Zhu Youjian as a wise and benevolent ruler, as their second father.
Send them to Jiangnan to deal with the gentry; they will show no mercy.
And those gentry were no match for them.
As Luo Yangxing pondered the idea, Zhu Youjian thought about it more and more and felt that it was really good.
He simply waved his hand and said, "Summon all the ministers of the six ministries to me and let them discuss this matter together."
Luo Yangxing woke up with a start and quickly said:
"Your Majesty, isn't this rather inappropriate?"
"Among the ministers... many have unclear relationships with Jiangnan. If you let them discuss it, they will definitely object."
Zhu Youjian sneered a few times: "I want to see who will oppose this!"
"Those who fully support me this time, I can still give them leeway in the future, and even entrust them with important tasks."
"Those who object... heh."
Zhu Youjian didn't finish speaking, but Luo Yangxing already understood. He felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that the emperor was becoming increasingly cunning.
"His Majesty is only a teenager and has been on the throne for less than a year. How can he be so shrewd?"
"Is it really because Master Gao taught you so well?"
"No, when I have time, I need to get closer to Master Gao, otherwise I won't even be able to understand what His Majesty is planning in the future."
While pondering his own scheme, Luo Yangxing left the Imperial Study and sent someone to summon all the ministers of the Six Ministries.
Of the six ministries of the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Justice was in a rather special position, while the other five were located next to each other.
Anyway, the matter of sending troops to Jiangnan has nothing to do with his Ministry of Justice.
Therefore, Luo Yangxing simply told the five ministries not to wait for anyone and to go directly to see the emperor.
When these ministers received the news, they all found it rather strange.
"What does His Majesty want us to do?"
"Could it be that we really need to discuss raising taxes?"
They all looked at Bi Ziyan.
"Minister Bi, do you have any clues?"
Bi Ziyan shook his head.
How could I possibly know anything?
“Look at what His Majesty has done since he ascended the throne. From arresting and releasing Wei Zhongxian at the beginning, to dealing with the Donglin Party, and then sending troops to Liaodong.”
"Which matter wasn't decided arbitrarily?"
"I'm just as confused as you are."
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