dognovel Chapter 679: Evil people still need to be punished by evil people
Chapter 679: Evil people still need to be punished by evil people
Despite Liu Bowen's confident assertions, Li Shanchang always felt that things weren't so simple.
Just as Liu Bowen just said, His Highness the Crown Prince is in charge of the government in the capital, the Emperor and the Empress are in Ningyang County, the Second Prince and the Fourth Prince are in the army, and the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince are in Dengzhou Prefecture. Is this situation something that the Emperor did intentionally?
If so, then it can only mean one thing.
The authorities no longer trust local officials, and even the civil and military officials in the imperial court.
Does he still trust his old brothers in Huaixi?
They should be trustworthy.
If we're really going to trust you, then why has it turned out like this?
And what about those old comrades from Huaixi? How many of them are clean? And how many will be implicated in these major cases?
Even if the person in power can trust the old brothers in Huaixi, if people keep getting involved, that trust will eventually be worn away.
After a long silence, Li Shanchang sighed and said, "I wonder when this major case will finally come to an end?"
Liu Bowen narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "You finish your act and I take the stage; where is the curtain falling?"
After a slight pause, Liu Bowen continued, "After this year, the Imperial Son-in-Law will have been in Dengzhou Prefecture for three years, right?"
As soon as Liu Bowen finished speaking, Li Shanchang became alert.
Big Fool Liu, what are you up to now!
Seeing Li Shanchang's wary and cautious appearance, Liu Bowen chuckled and said, "I think the Prince Consort is quite capable in investigating cases."
Li Shanchang replied without hesitation, "Don't even think about it!"
How about we get Yang the madman to the Censorate?
Good heavens, you really dare to think big, you silly Liu! Yang the Madman is already crazy enough. If he goes to the Censorate and spends all his time thinking about arresting and criticizing people, how can I ever sleep peacefully again?
Li Shanchang stared at Liu Bowen with an unfriendly expression and said, "The Imperial Son-in-Law cannot go to the Censorate. He must first come to the Six Ministries, then go to the Provincial Administration Commission to take charge, then to the Secretariat... and then to the Grand Secretariat."
“You, Liu Qingtian, can see that this is his future path, a path that his superiors have already prepared for him.”
"To pave this way for the prince consort, he must have put in a lot of effort to rise to power."
Putting aside the imperial son-in-law and military commander, it would take an ordinary person a long time just to get from county magistrate to prefect.
But what about Yang Dianfeng?
After serving as a county magistrate for two years, he was directly promoted to prefect.
In order to allow Yang Dianfeng to legitimately jump from a sixth-rank county magistrate to a fourth-rank prefect, they even added the official position of Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies to him.
Of course, the path from prefect to provincial governor is definitely more difficult than the path from county magistrate to prefect.
But now his superiors have given him the official title of Governor of Eight Provinces.
The governor of eight provinces—the kind of governor who held the imperial edict and the imperial sword, able to mobilize the garrisons and even dismiss the soldiers in the garrisons at any time.
After this major case is resolved, Yang the Madman will inevitably go to the capital to take up an official post.
Then the problem is coming.
When Yang the Madman went to the capital to become an official, would the governor be willing to let his good son-in-law become a minor official in one of the Six Ministries, such as a principal, assistant director, director, or clerk?
Even if Emperor Zhu suddenly lost his mind, I, the Grand Secretary—no, I mean, the Chief Grand Secretary of the Cabinet—would absolutely not agree to let Yang the Madman become a minor official.
That's a complete waste!
Therefore, if Yang Dianfeng were to enter a ministry, he would inevitably start as a vice minister.
After that, one would serve as a vice minister for one year, a minister for two years, and then be sent out to serve as a provincial governor for a few years.
After several years of twists and turns serving as a provincial governor, he returned to the cabinet.
The whole process is roughly this: I will serve as the Grand Secretary for Yang the Madman for a few years, and once he has become familiar with the court and the local areas, I will retire completely and let Yang the Madman take over the cabinet.
Now you, Liu Bowen, have also set your sights on Yang the Madman, and are trying to get him into the Censorate to guard the gates?
You big idiot Liu, you're dreaming!
Li Shanchang said with a dark face, "Instead of worrying about the Prince Consort, you should worry about the students in Dengzhou Hall and Ningyang County School first."
Liu Bowen, his face equally dark, snorted coldly and said, "When did I ever say that I wanted the Imperial Son-in-Law to come to the Censorate?"
Even if that's what I was thinking just now, I would never admit it now!
Liu Bowen said with a forced smile, "What I'm thinking is that the Prince Consort has lived in the north for a long time and is unfamiliar with the customs and culture of the south. That might not be a good thing."
Li Shanchang was slightly taken aback and asked, "You want the Prince Consort to come to Jiangnan?"
Liu Bowen nodded directly.
As the saying goes, evil people need evil people to teach them a lesson.
Although it has been decided to relocate the gentry from Jiangnan to Liaodong, it is impossible to relocate all of them.
It would be better to let Yang the Madman come to Jiangnan to serve as an official, and put the gentry of Jiangnan under his nose.
Let's see if the gentry of Jiangnan are one step ahead in their evil ways, or if Yang the Madman is ten steps ahead in his righteous path.
However, Li Shanchang shook his head slightly, looked around, and said in a low voice, "Brother Qingtian, do you think Jinling is suitable to be the capital of the Ming Dynasty?"
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, Liu Bowen's eyes widened immediately, and he asked, "Brother Shanchang, do you mean to move the capital?"
Li Shanchang nodded and said, "In the memorials that the Imperial Son-in-Law has submitted before, especially the one concerning the Dengzhou border market, he mentioned that each prefecture and county should determine its own positioning based on its own circumstances."
"It focuses more on workshops."
"Predominantly focused on farming."
"With a focus on fishing and navigation."
"There are also those that focus more on business."
Li Shanchang lowered his voice again and said, "Jinling... is not suitable as a capital city."
"However, right now, our Great Ming Dynasty is dealing with far too many messy things, whether in the court, in the provinces, or on the borders. The current ruler simply doesn't have time to consider moving the capital."
"After a few more years, once the Hu Yuan dynasty is pacified and the affairs of the court and the people are sorted out, moving the capital will be almost inevitable."
"The so-called Jiangnan region will eventually be divided into two parts: the coastal area will focus on maritime trade and commerce, salt fields, and fishing, while the inland area will focus on farming and workshops."
"Since Jinling is no longer the capital, and after several major cases, those gentry have suffered heavy losses, with some even losing more than one-tenth of their population. What is the point of the Prince Consort coming to Jiangnan?"
Upon hearing Li Shanchang's words, Liu Bowen immediately recalled the several memorials he had seen before.
Yang the Madman did indeed say in his memorial that each provincial administration commissioner and even each prefecture and county should determine its own position based on its own advantages and conditions.
According to this view, Nanjing was indeed not suitable to continue serving as the capital.
First of all, there is no natural defense.
Secondly, throughout history, most dynasties that established their capitals in Nanjing were small courts.
If Nanjing is not suitable as the capital, then where should the new capital be chosen?
Liu Bowen pondered for a moment, then suddenly pointed north and whispered, "Beiping?"
Li Shanchang nodded directly and said, "That's my guess. But the specifics will depend on how His Majesty and the Prince decide."
Liu Bowen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I see."