Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

In mid-March, wildflowers in Tianshou Mountain are already everywhere.

Zhu Youtang finished all the worship procedures and went to the Minglou in the square city of Changling. He looked at the golden Jin'en Hall in the setting sun in front of him and admired a corner of this largest imperial mausoleum.

A year is neither long nor short, but there seems to be no change here at all, as if it will still be the same in ten years.

The status of the imperial mausoleum is extraordinary. As long as the Ming Dynasty still stands in China, it is unlikely that anyone will dare to come here to disturb the rest of the emperors of the past generations.

Zhu Youtang felt a faint sense of intimacy here, and it seemed like a good choice to come here to relax every six months or a year.

In the past year, he has worked hard to promote the development of this country.

The salt policy has achieved remarkable results, land clearing is being implemented in an orderly manner, foreign trade is also developing smoothly, various water conservancy constructions have also received attention, and now they are preparing to break the financial situation.

If you just want to do something, it is easy to offend others. Especially when it harms the interests of vested interest groups, it is inevitable to guard against the counterattack of this group.

Zhu Youtang knew that this road was not easy, and he might even become a real loner, but he knew that if he did not lead hundreds of millions of compatriots out, he would be killed in the future.

Liang Fang looked much older. Since she was the person in charge of the imperial mausoleum, she also personally received Zhu Youtang throughout the whole process. She was standing behind Zhu Youtang at the moment.

When he saw Zhu Youtang for the first time, he almost mistakenly thought that the young emperor standing in front of him was the late emperor. Zhu Youtang was obviously much more mature than last year.

Although he has been staying in Tianshou Mountain, he is also aware of some major events in the imperial court. However, he knows that the emperor in front of him has been working hard to govern and has achieved remarkable results.

However, he knew that the resistance from the civil servant group was greater than imagined. The late emperor actually wanted to create a prosperous age, but he was still discouraged after encountering all kinds of resistance.

Now he only hopes that Zhu Youtang can break through all the resistance within the dynasty, not be blocked by interest groups, and fulfill the late emperor's wish to create a prosperous age.

Feng Ma and several other commanders of the 12th Battalion followed and were leading their capable men to guard the surrounding areas, appearing to be loyal and guarding the safety of the emperor.

At this time, a messenger passed through the Lingxing Gate below and walked up from the east side of Shiwu Gong.

Liu Jin had been accompanying Zhu Youtang. When he learned that it was the latest news from the capital, he respectfully presented the latest information to Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang was bathing in the gentle spring breeze. After opening the latest news that had just been delivered, the corners of his mouth could not help but rise slightly.

Although he was a high-ranking emperor, after tampering with their cheese, the powerful people who were clearly parasites of the dynasty actually wanted to go against his will.

Fortunately, he had arranged his backup plan in advance, and now through Wang Yue, he had killed the spirit of the powerful class. Those powerful people must have known that this financial rectification was irreversible.

But now, the Ministry of Revenue and the Shuntian Government Office have sent the latest news, and those parasitic dignitaries must have started to panic.

"Your Majesty, is there any good news in the capital?" Liang Fang noticed the corners of Zhu Youtang's mouth rising and asked curiously.

Zhu Youtang shook his head gently, his eyes turned lonely and replied: "This is not good news! After Wang Yue killed those troublemakers, the accounting department went smoothly, but the Shuntian government office In the process of assisting in the investigation, eighteen murders have just been discovered!"

"Eighteen murders? How could there be so many murders in the capital at once?" Liang Fang's eyes suddenly widened and she asked in great surprise.

Liu Jin, Ma Feng and others were also full of doubts and turned to look at Zhu Youtang curiously.

Although the capital city has a large population, it is normal for several murders to occur, but the occurrence of eighteen murders all at once is unbelievable.

Zhu Youtang clasped his hands and looked down at the pine forest bathed in the sunset, and explained bitterly: "Based on the information sent by the Ministry of Revenue and Shuntian Mansion Office, these eighteen murders are probably just the appetizer! The Ministry of Revenue is in the process of checking the account books. , it was discovered that some people with huge debts were missing, and the Shuntian Government Office intervened in the investigation. Judging from the latest investigation by the Shuntian Government Office, each bank has a group of debt collectors, and these debt collectors are not serious, and these 18 This life was committed by a collection agent from one bank, and other banks may have committed murders as well!"

This financial rectification is like opening a Pandora's box. Now checking the account books of these 100 stores will reveal the sins of the powerful.

In an agricultural society, the purchasing power of residents is generally still very low, and private lending has such high profits, which is naturally accompanied by sin.

Unfortunately, through his training since he ascended the throne, not only did he have Wang Yue who dared to kill powerful people, but Song Cheng was also a rare Song Qingtian.

As long as I can give them enough support, I can not only take the opportunity to rectify the financial chaos, but also liquidate the sins of the powerful.

this……

Liu Jin and others looked at each other in shock. They originally thought that the powerful were just squeezing the people, but they did not expect that someone would do such a crazy thing.

One bank has committed a total of eighteen murders. If every bank is like this, then the financial industry in the capital is simply taking human lives lightly.

"Your Majesty, there is a saying that I don't know if I should say it or not!" Liang Fang hesitated for a moment and then asked seriously.

Zhu Youtang smiled bitterly and seemed to have guessed Liang Fang's thoughts: "Liang Fang, do you want to persuade me to stop?"

"I don't dare to dissuade you, and I can't dissuade you. It's just that Emperor Jingtai's illness came unexpectedly. I hope your majesty can... pay more attention to your health, and at the same time strengthen prevention work. You must remember the lessons of the Tumu Fort!" Liang Fang knew that the palace was dangerous. I reminded you seriously.

Zhu Youtang knew that the path he had chosen was destined to be difficult to win the approval of the powerful class, so he nodded gently: "I am so comfortable staying in the palace, and I have no experience in marching and fighting. It is impossible for me to do something stupid like marching on my own!"

Not to mention that his military combat level can be said to be zero, and how many people have already regarded him as a thorn in their side, so it is naturally impossible for him to lead a personal expedition.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Liang Fang said with relief when she saw that Zhu Youtang had listened to her warning.

Zhu Youtang found that there were still fewer people around him who he could truly trust, so he turned to look at Liang Fang and said seriously: "Liang Fang, would you like to come back to the palace with me?"

"Your Majesty, I am already old, please allow me to guard the mausoleum here!" Liang Fang was very moved, but she still knelt down and refused.

Seeing Liang Fang's loyalty to Xianzong, Zhu Youtang felt happy and helpless at the same time.

Although he is a high-ranking emperor, he is gradually drifting away from the powerful class, so he needs to be wary of those around him. But in this age of greed, how can we ensure the absolute loyalty of those around us?

Zhu Youtang quickly regained his composure. In fact, there was no need to be too pessimistic.

Although there are the treacherous and loyal Hubu Shangshu Ye Qi, there are also officials like Wang Yue who care about the people, and Liu Jin, Guo Yong, Zhang Yong and others around him are also loyal to him.

Generally speaking, after the Spring Festival, the emperor stayed one night in his palace at the foot of Tianshou Mountain, and then returned to the capital the next day.

However, there were some changes in the situation this time. Zhu Youtang did not drive back to the capital immediately the next day, but chose to stay at the Tianshou Mountain Palace.

Naturally, it cannot be said that Wang Yue and others are allowed to trace the powerful people to the outside world, but because the Queen Mother Wang, who has not left Beijing for many years, is accompanying her, she wants to pray for the late emperor here for a few more days.

Beijing has ushered in another spring rain, and the wealthy families in the capital have a sad look on their faces.

The Ministry of Accounts has gone from store to store to check the account books, mainly to implement the hardware regulations on private lending during the Taizu period, and to deal with violations directly.

For banks that violate the principle of "one profit for one dollar", no matter how many new contracts the borrower signs during the period, all of them must be based on the principal of the first loan for their own consumption.

For example, Yu Ming's last loan was to bury his wife, so the principal was only two taels of silver. As for subsequent loans to repay the debt, he did not have to bear it.

Since the non-loan amount Yu Ming had to repay his debt had exceeded two taels of silver, all the lending relationships between the bank and Yu Ming were invalidated, and the bank's IOUs were destroyed by the Accounts Department.

Although a small number of powerful people disagreed with this plan, most of them chose to compromise and also gave up those IOUs that had made it difficult to extract money.

For banks that violate the principle of "monthly interest not exceeding three cents", once the monthly interest rate is higher than three cents, all IOUs are required to be changed to three cents monthly interest.

The Ministry of Revenue did not discuss this situation with the bank, but asked the bank to make changes directly, otherwise the court would not recognize the legality of the IOU.

The dignitaries knew that the first prince-in-law of the country had been beheaded, and now that they did not obey the laws of the Ming Dynasty, disobedience would only lead to death, so they chose to compromise.

As the investigation by the Household Department deepened, the crime could not be covered up after all.

As reported to Emperor Hongzhi, they found that some debtors who could be forgiven of debts were no longer alive, and these debtors actually died at the hands of debt collectors.

After investigation, it was discovered that although the truth was once covered up, these impoverished debtors were beaten to death by the bank's debt collectors.

After this discovery, it was no longer the Hubu Yamen who were busy. The Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Criminal Department, and the Shuntian Mansion Yamen were all involved in the investigation, uncovering one murder case after another.

"take away!"

"Shuntian Mansion arrests people!"

"Are you coming with us, or do you want us to hand over the case to the Metropolitan Procuratorate?"

…

Zhao Dayan, the head catcher of Shuntian Prefecture, has been very busy recently. After a string of case investigations, suspects have surfaced one by one, and they are also arresting people all over the city.

It is worth mentioning that there is now less intrigue among the senior officials of the imperial court, and everyone is willing to contribute to remedy the problems that arise in the dynasty.

The investigation of the list of high debtors led to a large number of murders. Other yamen did not choose to sit idly by, such as the Ministry of Accounts, which provided a lot of help.

There were 601 new scholars who were not good at arithmetic. In order to help the Shuntian Prefecture and the Ministry of Criminal Affairs sort out the case as quickly as possible, the Ministry of Revenue Yamen also allocated 200 new scholars to the two yamen.

Haikuan was one of the people transferred to the Shuntian government office. When some debtors were beaten to death, he recognized the faces of these powerful people and began to actively investigate them.

Although the murderers in the vast majority of cases are collection agents, there are also some murders involving children of powerful families, or even heads of powerful families.

Wang Yue's Shangfang Sword has become famous for his swordsmanship. After seeing that Wang Yue dared to kill even the emperor's own uncle, everyone knew how much they had, but no one dared to defy the arrest.

At least until the emperor returns, they can't fight against the king's beheading, otherwise their heads will fall to the ground in a matter of seconds.

one day!

Two days!

Three days!

…

The dignitaries in the capital missed their emperor like never before, but their emperor never returned.

Zhu Youtang seemed to be in love with the Tianshou Mountain Palace. He knew that the powerful people in the capital were uneasy, but he just sat on the Diaoyutai and allowed Wang Yue and others to start the investigation.

It's just that things never lack for surprises, and during the investigation of Shuntian Mansion, a shocking case actually emerged.

The groups engaged in the private lending industry are not limited to royal relatives, meritorious officials, and relatives. There are also some official families and even retired officials involved.

Ye Qi, the former left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was born in the wealthy Jiangnan, and his ability to make money was very good. He had opened a bank in the capital many years ago to engage in private lending business.

Although his son Ye Rongtian entered the Imperial College early to study, he was not a scholar at all. Instead, he had the bad habits of a playboy.

After giving up the imperial examination, Ye Rongtian took charge of his family's business.

Ye Rongtian is not only lustful by nature, but also a very cruel person.

In order to force the victim to pay his debt, he even violated the victim's mother in front of the victim. The mother of the sufferer couldn't bear the humiliation and committed suicide in the well. The master wanted revenge and sneaked into Ye's house to set fire to her, but Ye Qi ordered her legs to be broken.

This is just one of the evil deeds committed by Ye Rongtian. Because he enjoys the pleasure of tormenting people, rough statistics indicate that he has committed 30 crimes, and there are even more unbelievable methods behind him.

"Such a beast should be considered Lingchi!"

"If we don't accept this person, it will be unforgivable!"

"Ye Qi has no way of teaching his son, and it is hard to escape his crime!"

…

As Ye Rongtian's crimes were unearthed by the Shuntian Government Office, public opinion in the capital was immediately detonated. People all over the city pointed their fingers at Ye Rongtian, the son of Ye Qi, the former left servant of the Ministry of Household Affairs, who had committed numerous crimes.

Although the Shuntian Prefecture's investigation also uncovered the crimes of Huichang Hou Sun Ming and others, Ye Rongtian became the well-deserved chief culprit.

Zhu Youtang originally wanted to delay his return to Tang Ling Palace for two more days, but after learning about Ye Rongtian's numerous crimes, he immediately chose to return to the capital. The first thing he did when he returned to the Forbidden City was to sign an imperial edict to inspect the Ye family.