pdf-ebookys Chapter 1070 Are you, Black Sesame Dumpling, jinxing Yin Yang Official?
Chapter 1070 Are you, Black Sesame Dumpling, jinxing Yin Yang Official?
An old man once said, "Whether you're close or not depends on your social class."
If we roughly divide the class composition of dynasties according to the pyramid model, then the emperor at the very top is a unique being who wields absolute power.
The officials on the second level were part of the ruled class under the emperor, but at the same time, they were also part of the ruling class below them.
The local gentry, wealthy merchants, and other prominent figures on the third level were both the ruled class and the exploiting class.
Only ordinary people at the very bottom of society have always been the lowest class of the ruled and exploited.
In this four-tiered pyramid-like class system, officials are the most accepting of this system, while the gentry and merchants on the third tier, because they control a large amount of means of production and have access to education, the imperial examinations, and other avenues for advancement, are also likely to evolve into officials at any time, so they can also accept this system.
Nobody cares whether ordinary people are willing to accept this model.
Now, suddenly, a somewhat eccentric Emperor Zhu appears. He actually wants the lowest-ranking peasants to supervise the officials of the second tier, and to give them the opportunity to study, take the imperial examinations, and become officials, so that they could potentially rise to the second tier at any time. Meanwhile, he also frantically suppresses the local gentry, wealthy merchants, and powerful figures of the third tier, trying to make the "masters" of the third tier live on the same level as the lowest-ranking peasants.
The key point is that Emperor Zhu did not just talk the talk—there are countless emperors in history who talked big, and every emperor had to shout slogans like "love like a child."
Only Emperor Zhu put this into action, genuinely allowing the lowest-ranking peasants to bind up the second-level officials and bring them to the capital to file complaints.
It is simply a rebellion against Tiangang!
Damn it, if even officials dare to be tied up and taken to the capital to file a complaint, what safety do we third-tier gentry and merchants have left?
What's even more deadly is that Emperor Zhu is not a normal emperor, and his eldest son, who is touted as the greatest crown prince of all time, is also not a normal person. He actually came up with the idea of having an opera troupe perform to smear us gentry and merchants.
Good heavens, if Emperor Zhu is not normal, then your eldest son is not normal either, and on top of that, your good son-in-law who is already mentally unstable, how are we gentry and merchants supposed to survive?
After the Xinghua case, the gentry and merchants who had originally tried to endure and wait out the Zhu Emperor finally could no longer contain themselves.
Yang Shaofeng took a sip of tea and looked at Zhu Biao, saying, "The case is getting bigger and bigger, and more and more people are involved. Your Highness should be prepared."
Zhu Biao chuckled, picked up the teapot, and refilled Yang Shaofeng's cup while saying, "They're all spreading rumors about my younger brother, the second brother, and the third brother's background, saying that we're not my mother's biological sons. Why do you care how far this stupid case can go?"
"Instead of looking back and forth, it's better to achieve the goal in one fell swoop."
"Get rid of these officials and gentry completely."
"Even if it can't completely solve the problem, at least it can allow people to live in peace for a few more years."
"Little brother..."
Before Zhu Biao could finish speaking, Xia Yu rushed to the East Palace and bowed to Zhu Biao and Yang Shaofeng, saying, "Your Highness, Your Highness, there's a problem in Zhoujia Village, Jiangning County."
"The Censorate found that Zhou Zhenhe, the registrar of Jiangning County, had embezzled money and grain and was involved in the Xinghua case. When the Jiangning County yamen runners went to Zhoujia Village to arrest him, they were stopped by the villagers outside the village."
"Now it's not just the people from Zhoujia Village, but also the people from the neighboring Qinjiazhuang, Huatang Village, and Zhaoliuzhuang Village have all rushed over with hoes, shovels, and other tools."
"The current situation is that the Jiangning County government officials are surrounded, and the villagers are demanding an explanation from the Censorate and the Jiangning County government."
Xia Yu's face was ashen, as if he had eaten three pounds of dog excrement: "They keep saying that Zhou Zhenhe is innocent, that the Zhou family has always been kind to the villagers, and that there must be a villain framing him. They say that since the court allows the people to bind up corrupt officials and file complaints, it should also allow the people to protect honest and good officials."
Zhu Biao glanced at Yang Shaofeng and said with a forced smile, "My brother-in-law said this case would escalate, and it has indeed come true."
Yang Shaofeng rolled his eyes.
What do you mean? Are you, the Black Sesame Dumpling, jinxing the Yin-Yang Master?
Zhu Biao then looked at Xia Yu and asked, "If the yamen runners in Jiangning County can't solve this, what about those in Yingtian Prefecture?"
Xia Yu's face immediately turned even uglier, at least five jin more so: "Although the yamen runners from Yingtian Prefecture have arrived at Zhoujia Village, they have been stopped outside the village. The prefect of Yingtian Prefecture dares not order the forced arrest of people, and the situation is currently at a stalemate. Prefect Chen Xing of Yingtian Prefecture is also on his way to Zhoujia Village."
Yang Shaofeng knew things were going to go wrong as soon as he heard that.
He could mobilize the Ningyang Thousand-Household Garrison and many other garrisons in Dengzhou because he possessed the royal command token given to him by the old Deng family.
Since the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture did not have the imperial edict and flag, he naturally had no authority to mobilize the surrounding garrisons.
If you want the garrison to send troops to help, the procedure is to first send a letter from the Office of Transmission to the Grand General's Office, or directly to the Commander's Office of the Capital Garrison.
But no matter which option is chosen, it means that this matter will alarm Emperor Zhu.
Chen Xing's choice to personally go to Zhoujia Village was a worse option than alarming Emperor Zhu. Zhou Zhenjiang was involved in the Xinghua case, and from the moment the villagers of Zhoujia Village stopped the yamen runners from Jiangning County, the matter was no longer a simple matter of arresting the corrupt official Zhou Zhenjiang.
The best option at this point would be to quickly order the Grand General's Office or the Capital Garrison Command to deploy troops to surround the village, then forcibly arrest Zhou Zhenjiang and interrogate him overnight.
Chen Xing's personal trip to Zhoujia Village might actually escalate the situation further.
The fact that a prefect is incompetent in handling a case is completely different from the fact that a prefect is imprisoned.
It's even hard to say whether there are other issues involved—was Chen Xing really that foolish to become the prefect of Yingtian? And were the people of Zhoujia Village really that audacious?
Zhu Biao's face was equally gloomy. He remained silent for a while before speaking: "They are certain that the imperial court will not send troops to surround the village. They even want to test the strength of the Grand Commandant's office and the speed of the imperial court's response."
Yang Shaofeng sighed slightly and said, "Good advice is useless to those who deserve to die, and no one can save fools who can't see the situation."
Zhu Biao hummed in agreement, glanced at Xia Yu, then at Yang Shaofeng, and suddenly asked, "Brother-in-law, do you think it would be better to send the Embroidered Uniform Guard, or the guards from the Crown Prince's Palace and the Prince Consort's residence?"
Yang Shaofeng picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "It would be better to send the Imperial Son-in-Law's personal guards."