Chapter 877 I am here to stand shoulder to shoulder with you
"You and your son are judging others by your own standards, thinking that His Majesty will turn a blind eye, or that His Majesty will be lucky and unaware of your plans. But I remember that person... the one from the Imperial Guard..."
"Lu Bing." Yan Shifan said impatiently.
"Yes, that Lu Bing." Ouyang said, "I heard that the Jinyiwei has planted many spies in the capital. Do you think we have any of them in our family?"
"Yes, there are." Yan Shifan said calmly, "But we are all surrounded by servants."
"The hereditary servant!" Ouyang smiled, "The hereditary servant is the greediest."
"Their indentures are all at home. Anyone who dares to turn against us will be killed." Yan Shifan sneered. He was never lenient with servants. Whenever he found something wrong with them, he would deal with them first.
"My husband was full of ambition, passion and righteousness back then, but now..." Ouyang sighed, "People change. What do you mean by loyal servants? Loyalty is just that the benefits given by others are not enough to make them tempted. When the Jinyiwei take action, do you think those so-called servants will not be tempted?"
Ouyang sighed, "Someone come."
The steward came in. He had just heard what Ouyang had said and felt a little embarrassed.
"How many people went out just now?" Ouyang asked.
"Three people," said the steward.
"Can you keep a close eye on it?"
"They are all following! Don't worry, ma'am."
"it is good."
Ouyang then closed his eyes and rested.
Yan Shifan glanced at his father. Yan Song shook his head. His wife was very imposing today, and he was a little scared. "Madam, you..."
"Just waiting."
"Mom, I have something else to do."
"Wait!" Ouyang closed her eyes and said, "What can compare to this?"
Not long after, the steward came in again.
"Madam, among the three people, one went to a tavern in the next alley, and someone contacted him. One went to a brothel, and the contact person had a white face and no beard, and his voice was feminine..."
"Dongchang!" Yan Shifan's face changed.
"The third person went to a college."
"Xu Jie, that bastard!"
"It's not Xu Jie." Yan Song's face turned pale, "It's those scholars and officials."
Embroidered Uniform Guard, Eastern Depot, and literati.
Three spies.
"Before, there was a lot of porcelain smashed on the ground in the East Building. It was quite a commotion, and it was clear what was going on. When the news gets to those people, they will keep an eye on our family and follow anyone who leaves the city. Once they find evidence of hiding the land and population."
Ouyang leaned on her cane and slowly stood up. "By this time next year, you and your son, as well as our entire family, will probably be spending our lives in prison."
Ouyang sighed, "I'll make the decision on this matter. Someone come."
"lady."
More than ten managers came in one after another, and they were already prepared.
"Send all the account books of your family's land and population to the Ministry of Revenue."
"lady!"
"mother!"
Even though they knew that this was impossible, the huge benefits still made Yan Song and his son reluctant to give it up.
This is what happened in history. Yan Song and his son became more and more unscrupulous in their corruption and buying and selling of official positions.
Greed is the greatest sin.
Following the example of their superiors, the members of the Yan Party became more and more arrogant and domineering. Zhao Wenhua, the adopted son, was even more outrageous and embezzled public construction materials to build his own mansion.
Xu Jie had been enduring, looking for something to hold against the Yan Party and the opportunity to strike. When he found the chance, he struck back fiercely, taking advantage of Zhao Wenhua's recklessness, and successfully brought down Yan Song and his son, causing the once-powerful Yan Party to disappear into thin air.
"Go!" Ouyang tapped her cane.
More than ten managers looked at Yan Song.
After all, this is the head of the family.
Ouyang didn't look back at Yan Song, and said calmly: "If my husband thinks what I said is absurd, I will take my grandson back to Fenyi."
"Why go back?" Yan Song said embarrassedly.
"Go back and choose a cemetery for you and your son, and get a few acres of land. After the property is confiscated, your grandchildren will have something to eat, so they don't have to beg for a living."
Historically, after Yan Song's downfall, he lived by begging, and even went to other people's graves to steal offerings, and eventually died of illness and starvation.
Yan Song closed his eyes and waved his hands in pain, "That's it!"
"Dad!" Yan Shifan stamped his feet, "That's our accumulation over the years!"
"Now that it has been dispersed, the disaster has been dispersed." Ouyang sighed, "Donglou, how much can our family spend? Accumulating so much is not a blessing, but a disaster."
Yan Shifan felt heartbroken, but he forced a smile and said, "Mother... is right."
Ouyang walked out and ordered, "Today, everyone in the mansion will have plenty of wine and meat."
The steward stepped forward and asked, "Madam, do you have a name?"
The superior must have a reason to reward, otherwise it would be foolish.
Ouyang looked back at the two most important men in her life, her eyes gentle, "Congratulations to my husband and Donglou!"
She whispered, "Congratulations to the Yan family for escaping this disaster!"
...There were quite a few people waiting outside the imperial city. When they saw the steward of the Yan residence and a carriage coming outside the imperial city, they all stood up.
The Ministry of Revenue's investigation of the Yan family cheered up the dignitaries in the capital. They thought that Yan Song and his son were well known for their greed. Although the outside world did not know the exact number of Yan's family's fields, they could tell it was not small just by thinking about it.
Will the Yan family declare it or not?
Declaring the tax is like cutting one's own flesh.
We will be sorry if we don't report it. If the official from the Ministry of Revenue comes again, we will just say one thing: we will report it when the Yan family reports it.
Failure to declare would be a slap in the face of the new policy.
——No one within the new policy supports this, so what are you, Jiang Qingzhi, doing?
Many people were waiting for the reactions of Yan Song and his son, including various means of cover-up.
Yan Shifan was extremely intelligent, but when it came to concealing the land and population, he was not as well-educated as those powerful and wealthy people.
So, many people are waiting to see the joke.
But Xu Jie was waiting for the right opportunity to take action.
In Zhilu, in Xu Jie's duty room, a man in blue clothes was talking about the Yan family.
"...After Yan Song and his son returned home, they smashed all the porcelain on the floor. It was obvious that they were extremely angry."
Xu Jie said calmly: "It's good if you don't want to leave."
"That's right, Lord. This is a good opportunity."
"I know. If we keep an eye on the Yan family, I'm sure Yan Song will hesitate. Yan Shifan is bold and will definitely try to cover it up. Once Yan Shifan takes action, we will keep an eye on him and get the evidence. The rest will be..."
“It will come naturally!”
At this time, someone came in and said, "Lord, the steward of the Yan family went to the Ministry of Revenue."
Xu Jie narrowed his eyes, "How?"
"The manager brought several large boxes of account books, saying that all the land and people of the Yan family were included in them."
Xu Jie was startled, "How could this be?"
Not only Xu Jie was surprised, but Jiang Qingzhi was too.
Tang Shunzhi, who had not been seen for a long time, came. The two drank tea and Tang Shunzhi talked about the places he had traveled recently. Hu Zongxian hurried in. "Master, the Yan family sent the account books to the Ministry of Revenue."
Jiang Qingzhi was stunned. "Yan Song may be able to do it, but Yan Shifan definitely cannot. This is weird."
Tang Shunzhi felt lonely and asked, "What's the matter?"
Jiang Qingzhi told Tang Shunzhi about the Ministry of Revenue officials going to the Yan family to ask for the land and population account books. Tang Shunzhi laughed and said, "No wonder I saw so many well-dressed people wandering around the fields on my way back to Beijing. I thought it was a natural disaster, but I didn't expect it to be a man-made disaster like you, hahahaha!"
Tang Shunzhi's smile faded. "You have no way out from now on. Have you thought about what to do?"
"Just keep going forward." Jiang Qingzhi sighed with some regret: "What a pity to waste such a great opportunity."
"Want to bring Yan Song down?" Tang Shunzhi said with a smile.
"No." Jiang Qingzhi shook his head. "I need a way to open the piece of cloth that Yan Song and his son have controlled for so long."
"Let's draft a ticket!"
"Yes. I cannot compete for the right to draft the bill for the time being, but I need the right to know and the right to decide."
Tang Shunzhi looked at him, and Jiang Qingzhi's scalp tingled. "Mr. Jing Chuan, what are you doing..."
"When I first met you, you were a handsome young man. You disdained power. As time went by, that young man became an important official in charge of the new policy. You no longer have that free and easy aura. I don't know whether I should feel sorry or be glad."
Jiang Qingzhi laughed dryly and said, "I just can't help myself."
"When people live in this world, the fewer ties the better. The fewer ties, the freer the soul will be. The body is an acquired burden and a carrier of the soul. All desires are not the needs of the self, but the greed of the flesh."
These words made Jiang Qingzhi secretly praise him.
"But the current situation in the Ming Dynasty... I went to the south this time. The rich are living in luxury, while the poor have nowhere to live. Fortunately, the business in the south is thriving, and there are many ways to make a living, so it can still hold on.
But if we continue like this, without suppressing those greedy people and curbing land annexation, either the Ming Dynasty will collapse or the people will become fed up. All it takes is one person to make a call and the world will be in chaos."
Tang Shunzhi sighed, "I have traveled all over the Ming Dynasty in the past few years. Under the so-called prosperous times, there are undercurrents. The south is fine, but the north has more problems. Most of the powerful people in the Ming Dynasty are in the north. There are not many good farmlands in the north. The people are suffering because of these people's manipulation. You said at the beginning that if something big happened in the Ming Dynasty, it would definitely happen in the north..."
Tang Shunzhi looked at Jiang Qingzhi and said, "That's true!"
Rebellion in the Northwest!
Jiang Qingzhi thought of the postman.
But the root lies in the overall background at that time.
"Natural disasters, man-made disasters, and foreign enemies covet the country. Officials are corrupt, the court is incompetent, and local gentry and tyrants are greedy, forcing the people to have nowhere to go..."
Jiang Qingzhi was a little disappointed, "I also want to be free and uninhibited, but I can't just sit back and watch."
"Where is the child!" Tang Shunzhi suddenly asked.
"Someone come." Jiang Qingzhi called Sun Chonglou in, "Ask the backyard to bring Dapeng here."
"The great roc flaps its wings and flies a thousand miles." Tang Shunzhi said with a smile: "The young man is already a father. As a father, you should consider your children and grandchildren."
"The new policy is to eliminate great disasters for future generations," said Jiang Qingzhi.
Later, the nurse came with Dapeng in her arms. Tang Shunzhi took him and looked down at him. "He is a lucky boy."
Jiang Qingzhi and his wife were confused by what they heard.
Tang Shunzhi took out a wooden sculpture from his arms, which looked like a tiger. "I carved this myself, it's a little crude."
The nurse looked at the wood carving and exclaimed: "What an exquisite thing."
Jiang Qingzhi came closer and saw that the wood carving was not just a tiger, but there were also some animals around the tiger, guarding the tiger like bodyguards.
"Good child, good fortune will come naturally in the future." Tang Shunzhi reached out and touched the child's forehead, smiling and said, "Have you had any difficulties recently?"
"Hmm?" Jiang Qingzhi was puzzled. "Mr. Jing Chuan..."
"I am here to stand shoulder to shoulder with you!"
(End of this chapter)
