bullyxtreme Chapter 412 Even Zhu Chongba is scared after reading this!
Chapter 412 Even Zhu Chongba is scared after reading this!
The famous decadent writer Mr. Gengchen once said, whether you herd one sheep or graze a flock of sheep, there is no real difference.
For Emperor Zhu, sending someone to ask Yang Shaofeng one question meant giving away one pound of Xiaolongtuan (a type of rice dumpling), and sending someone to ask two questions also meant giving away one pound of Xiaolongtuan.
Since it's all about making one pound of small dragon balls, we need to consider how to minimize losses and maximize profits.
Therefore, Emperor Zhu said to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen with a displeased expression, "Brother Shanchang, Mr. Qingtian, do you have any other questions? Before our men go to Dengzhou, think them over carefully and ask them all at once."
Oh ho, Emperor Zhu is feeling sorry for his one pound of Xiaolongtuan, and is secretly saying that the two of us are not as good as that Yang the Madman.
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen exchanged a glance, then cupped their hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have two questions."
"One is what the prince consort mentioned, the matter of publishing the court's movements every ten days."
"One issue is that the revision of the Great Ming Code has not yet yielded any results. I would like to ask Your Highness if there are any other solutions."
Liu Bowen stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty, I also have two questions."
"The first question is how to make scholars and common people understand the difference between Confucius and the Duke Yansheng."
"The second issue is that people are now praising that young man surnamed Fang again. I would like to ask Your Highness, do you have any good ideas on how to deal with this?"
Is saving face more important, or is it more important to torment Yang the madman?
Actually, none of them are that important.
The important thing is how to make Yang Dianfeng hate the official and gentry group in Jiangnan, and how to use him to vent his anger.
Emperor Zhu never expected that Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen would be so shameless in their efforts to eliminate the official and gentry group in Jiangnan.
The problem is that you two are shameless, so we'll have to lose a pound of Xiaolongtuan, you bastards!
But on second thought, Emperor Zhu felt that it wasn't such a bad deal after all.
After all, the four questions raised by Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen were quite disgusting.
The idea of publishing court updates every ten days was somewhat acceptable, since it was Yang Dianfeng who proposed it.
However, how to expedite the compilation of the Great Ming Code, and how to make scholars and common people understand the difference between Confucius and the Duke of Yansheng, are two very difficult questions.
The scope is extremely wide.
The content is very empty.
High expectations.
It's like being given two rather vague topics and asked to write two policy essays that are highly targeted, professional, and must be adapted to the current environment of the Ming Dynasty.
Besides, it's disgusting that those people started praising the kid surnamed Fang again.
After all, those people have mouths; can you really shut them up?
We can't just find an excuse to implicate others and kill that kid surnamed Fang as well, can we?
Therefore, the last three questions are all disgusting.
And to embarrass Yang Dianfeng with such disgusting questions...
It seems like they've vented their anger for us?
Thinking of this, and looking at the white hair at the temples of Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, Emperor Zhu immediately nodded and said, "Alright, let's send someone to Dengzhou Prefecture again."
After a slight pause, Emperor Zhu added, "We just had an idea, and we would like to ask Brother Shanchang and Mr. Qingtian to help us think about it."
Li Shanchang cupped his hands and replied, "Please give your orders, Your Excellency."
Emperor Zhu said, "Didn't we just say that we wish we could rip out the hearts and intestines of those bastards and see if their hearts are truly black?"
"We figured that just talking wouldn't scare those bastards."
"Therefore, we should not only take out their hearts and intestines, but also skin them, stuff their skin with straw, and hang it in the main hall of the government office where they worked, as a warning to those who come after."
Li Shanchang bowed without hesitation and said, "Your subject agrees."
Liu Bowen also bowed and said, "Your subject agrees. In addition, it would be best to establish a rule on how much corruption should amount to, whether it means tearing out their hearts and livers or skinning them alive."
"And those gentry."
Liu Bowen steeled his heart and continued, "The most hateful ones are those gentry. If it weren't for them, these officials would at most be embezzling some money and grain, and there would be no way they could smuggle ironware out of the sea."
"Therefore, rules should be established on how to deal with gentry who are involved in such cases."
“Those involved in corruption cases should have their homes confiscated, while those involved in iron smuggling should at least have their entire families wiped out.”
"And those who colluded with Hu Yuan and smuggled books overseas—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to punish their entire families."
As Liu Bowen finished speaking, Li Shanchang added, "And the Inspectorate, I think the Inspectorate should also be reformed, at least a portion of it should be set aside specifically for monitoring those gentry."
Li Shanchang had already calculated that he was fifty-eight years old, and was about to turn sixty.
No matter how inhumane you, Emperor Zhu, could you possibly appoint an old man in his sixties as the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty?
Therefore, as long as I work hard for another two years, I can go back to Huaixi and become a wealthy man, or stay in the capital to retire.
As for whether the next prime minister will have a headache?
Ah.
These are all things that Liu Bowen and Yang Dianfeng did. What do they have to do with me?
Just as Li Shanchang was scheming about how to shift the blame, Liu Bowen was also scheming about how to shift the blame.
He, Li Shanchang, still has two years until he reaches sixty, while I am sixty-one this year, a proper sixty-year-old man, and I'm practically seventy by now!
Besides, who in the martial arts world doesn't know that I, Liu Bowen, have always preferred to protect myself? All those rules that swindle officials and gentry were created by Li Shanchang and Yang Dianfeng. What does it have to do with me?
Seeing that Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen both looked like they were about to go crazy, even the seasoned Emperor Zhu was somewhat bewildered.
These two old scoundrels, can't you two tone it down a little?
Everyone says that Zhu Chongba is a ruthless killer, but the murderous looks on you two are enough to terrify us!
……
Just as Emperor Zhu, Li Shanchang, and Liu Bowen were discussing how to deal with the official and gentry group and make things difficult for Yang Shaofeng, Wang Guangyang, the Shandong Provincial Governor, had already embarked on his journey to Dengzhou Prefecture.
It was quite normal to travel through prefectures and counties along the way, such as Jinan Prefecture, Qingzhou Prefecture, and Laizhou Prefecture.
However, once he arrived in Zhaoyuan County of Dengzhou Prefecture, Wang Guangyang began to feel that something was wrong.
What's with all the road construction everywhere?
When you, Yang the Madman, were a county magistrate, you built roads like crazy. Now that you're a prefect, you're still building roads like crazy.
Shouldn't the roads in the prefectures under the jurisdiction of that provincial governor also be repaired first?
Wait a minute, you're building roads, but aren't you going a bit overboard?