GBP Chapter 114 Old Zhu and Little Zhu are the real high-level players!
Chapter 114 Old Zhu and Little Zhu are the real high-level players!
Upon hearing Wang Qiong inquire about the changes in Ningyang County, Yang Shaofeng immediately perked up.
"As for changes, there really aren't many. It's just summer planting, summer harvest, autumn harvest, autumn planting, road repairs, and reclaiming some wasteland."
"The main problem is that those barbarian Tartars do nothing right. The people of Ningyang County used to live a hard life, but now that they have been given land and have some grain stored up, they are naturally living in peace and contentment."
"Especially before the drought a few months ago, His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince allocated a large number of farming tools and seeds to Ningyang County. After the drought, they allocated a large amount of relief grain to Ningyang County. Naturally, the people of Ningyang County are grateful for the kindness of His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince."
Yang Shaofeng smiled, a mischievous look appearing on his face: "Some people in Ningyang County asked me if our Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty would carry a golden hoe to farm, and whether His Highness the Crown Prince would also help His Majesty with the work."
Wang Qiong immediately chuckled and asked, "So what did Brother Yang say?"
Yang Shaofeng laughed and said, "I said that His Majesty the Emperor will go to the fields to work when spring plowing begins, but His Majesty the Emperor will not carry a golden hoe. That thing is too soft to be used as a hoe. So His Majesty the Emperor will use a hoe made of tempered steel."
"And His Highness the Crown Prince, he too must lead the ox for His Majesty when His Majesty is plowing."
“I told them that His Majesty the Emperor originally did not need to farm, but in order to set an example for the people and encourage them to farm properly so that they could harvest more grain, His Majesty began to lead his civil and military officials to farm every spring.”
At this point, Yang Shaofeng shook his head with a smile and said, "It is truly a sin for me, a mere seventh-rank official, to speak ill of His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince in this way."
Wang Qiong gave a thumbs up: "Brother Yang's point is good. This is how we should encourage agriculture. As long as we can motivate the people to farm, I'm sure the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince won't care about these things."
Yang Shaofeng laughed and then said, "By the way, if Brother Wang has time, why don't we go and see Daming Lake and the Prince Canal together?"
Wang Qiong was immediately tempted.
After all, the inscription on the stele over the Prince Canal still bears the name of Wang Qiong, the retainer of the Prince, so he should go and take a look.
Thinking of this, Wang Qiong nodded in agreement: "Then I'll do as Brother Yang says."
……
After a banquet with little wine and few dishes, Yang Shaofeng led Wang Qiong, Zhu Liuqi, and Chen Choulu towards Daming Lake and Taizi Canal.
As soon as he reached the edge of Daming Lake, Wang Qiong burst into laughter and pointed to his face, saying, "This is the place. It was right here that I was misled by an old woman from Shawo Village. She mistakenly thought that Brother Yang was a cruel and corrupt official who harmed the people. As a result, I was beaten black and blue by this lake."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "Brother Limpy Fifth and his men are all veterans of battle, and they are always impulsive and easily angered. The people of Ningyang County are not exactly kind either; calling them troublemakers wouldn't be an exaggeration. It's a shame you're wronging Brother Wang."
However, Wang Qiong shook his head with lingering fear and said, "Brother Yang, there's no need to defend me. Actually, I'm sometimes glad I was beaten up. Otherwise, not only would I have wronged you, but I'm afraid I would have developed a tendency to be biased and believe everything I hear, and I might have suffered a great loss because of it someday."
At this point, Wang Qiong suddenly moved closer to Yang Shaofeng, avoiding Zhu Liuqi and Chen Choulu, and whispered, "Brother Yang, do you know that the original intention of the emperor was to confer the title of Duke Yansheng upon Kong Xixue?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded slightly, and Wang Qiong continued, "The investiture ceremony has been postponed!"
Seeing the gloating expression on Wang Qiong's face, Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate, was also somewhat dumbfounded.
what's the situation?
How could the investiture ceremony for Kong Xixue as Duke Yansheng be postponed?
Wang Qiong chuckled and said in a low voice, "It's Zhao Liang from Wenshang County and Kong Xida from Qufu County. Didn't Brother Yang submit a memorial impeaching them?"
"Zhao Liang was punished with twenty strokes of the cane and demoted to county assistant, temporarily serving as the magistrate of Wenshang County, for the crimes of dereliction of duty and obstructing the migration of the people. He was also fined half a year's salary. Kong Xida was punished with twenty strokes of the cane and fined three months' salary."
"Even Kong Xixue was severely reprimanded by his superiors, who said that Kong Xixue and his father Kong Kejian had not disciplined their clansmen properly, which was detrimental to the legacy of the sage. As a result, the investiture ceremony, which was originally scheduled for November, was postponed until after the New Year."
What the hell!
Yang Shaofeng, the magistrate, was completely dumbfounded—what kind of earth-shattering news is this, and it was all caused by me?
Also, Wang Qiong, could you please tone down the expression on your face?
Kong Xixue is a definite Duke Yansheng. Even if the investiture is postponed for another year, he is still a definite Duke Yansheng. What's the point of you gloating here?
But then Yang Shaofeng thought about it again and felt that something was not right.
Wang Qiong—just by looking at his name, you can tell he's definitely an educated person.
Scholars, as a scholar, how can this guy not take the Duke Yansheng seriously?
Or is it that all scholars in the Ming Dynasty were like this, and that the Duke Yansheng did not hold any significant position in the minds of scholars in the Ming Dynasty?
If that's the case...
Just as Yang Shaofeng was pondering how to use this opportunity to add some more fun for Kong Xixue's family, Wang Qiong continued, "This matter is not over yet."
Yang Shaofeng quickly chimed in, asking, "Is it not over yet?"
Wang Qiong nodded and said in a low voice, "Perhaps because the investiture ceremony was postponed for three months, Kong Xixue was so angry that he submitted a memorial impeaching Kong Xida, claiming that Kong Xida had been absent from his post without authorization and requesting that he be dismissed. He then impeached Zhao Liang of Wenshang County, saying that Zhao Liang was oppressing the people and that his crime deserved to be punished."
"Then, Kong Xida submitted a memorial impeaching Kong Kejian—who was his clan elder. Tsk tsk, Kong Xida was really ruthless when he impeached him, and he directly brought up all those dirty things about Kong Kejian accepting the title from the Tartars and serving as the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy."
"As for Zhao Liang from Wenshang County, he's quite a figure. Not only did he not submit a memorial to impeach anyone, but he also directly submitted a memorial to apologize, saying that he regretted obstructing the people's migration for the sake of his own career and that he would sincerely repent in the future."
hiss~
Yang Shaofeng was once again stunned into silence.
The younger cousin impeached the older cousin, and the nephew brought up his uncle's old grievances. No wonder this family of the Duke Yansheng is the only one that has truly inherited a thousand-year-old lineage. They really know how to play the game!
And then there's Zhao Liang from Wenshang County. That guy is an absolute ruthless killer, even more ruthless than a ruthless person. We have to crush him as soon as we get the chance, and never give him any chance to turn things around!
Of course, the real masters of the game are Old Zhu and Young Zhu. With just a simple postponement of the investiture ceremony and a whipping and salary reduction, they managed to incite the entire Yansheng Duke's family to expose each other's secrets. That's what makes them truly high-level players!