In Beijing, Yikun Palace, the Wanli Emperor, who had just turned forty last year, was furious, and almost roared and yelled at Jin Zhong, the eunuch of the ceremonies: "You go and tell the cabinet that if the Yunnan incident is not strictly investigated, I will go on a hunger strike!" ”

"The emperor can't be like this, the dragon body matters!" As soon as he heard that the emperor was going on a hunger strike, Jin Zhong was so frightened that he quickly knelt down, and all the internal eunuchs in the palace were also terrified.

"If I don't go on a hunger strike, will they care about me!"

Wanli was middle-aged and fat, slightly fat, because he was too angry and excited, so that he couldn't breathe well. The murder of Yang Rong, a mine supervisor in Yunnan, made him furious. But what made him even more angry was that when the incident came up, the foreign court turned a blind eye.

The vote of the cabinet also planned to designate Yang Rong as a treacherous villain, and he repeatedly told the celebrant to inform the cabinet that he must be severely punished and must not be tolerated, but four days have passed, and there is still no movement in the cabinet.

Wanli couldn't bear it anymore, but he found that he had no choice but to go on a hunger strike to threaten the cabinet.

This is the sorrow of his being an emperor.

Whether it was the national capital, the mine tax collector, or any major event, he was always subject to foreign courts, so that he was disheartened by the imperial court and was unwilling to go to the court for twenty consecutive years.

But this doesn't mean that as an emperor, he doesn't ask about state affairs, he looks at all the big and small performances, and he knows exactly what is happening outside.

"Yang Rong was sent by me, I told him to mine gold and silver mines, and all the proceeds were for national use, which one was for my private use? … Again and again, Yang Rong complained to me a few months ago, saying that the detachment officer he sent down had ordered the local authorities to kill many people, and begged me to make decisions for him. I was incompetent, and I didn't think much about it at the time, as long as he Yang Rong endured, he didn't conflict with the locality. But this is good, they directly killed Yang Rong, and killed more than 200 people he brought, what is this, this is a rebellion! ”

Wanli's face was blue and a little scary.

Jin Zhong knelt there, and the Yunnan incident was indeed appalling.

This time it was not a riot of merchants and people, but the local garrison also participated in the operation, and about 10,000 soldiers and civilians rushed to Yang Rong's residence and executed him and the attaché of the Yunnan Mine Supervisor Yamen. Before and after the incident, Yunnan officialdom was collectively silent.

It's scary.

Not long ago, there were also merchant riots in Huguang, Suzhou and Hangzhou, and other places, and the spearhead was uniformly pointed at the mine supervisors and tax envoys sent by the inner court.

In Huguang, thousands of businessmen and citizens clamored to leave the city and intercepted Chen Feng, who was also a tax collector in Huguang on the road.

After Chen Feng escaped, thousands of merchants gathered to the governor and the yamen to ask for Chen Feng to be punished. To no avail, he turned to surround the tax envoy's yamen and chanted the slogan of expelling Chen Feng.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Chen Feng hid in the palace of the king of Chu in time. The king of Chu ordered the guards to fire arrows at the demonstrators, killing many and wounding more than 20 others. The people did not dare to attack the Chu Palace, but surrounded the Chu Palace, so that Chen Feng did not dare to take a step. Sixteen of Chen Feng's entourage, who did not hide in the palace of the king of Chu in time, were tied up by merchants and people in Shenjiang.

On the side of Suzhou and Hangzhou, which is known as "paradise", there are also tens of thousands of merchants who gather without calling and besiege the yamen of Sun Long, a weaving eunuch in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Sun Long took advantage of the chaos to flee to the courtyard of a neighbor's house and fled to Hangzhou that night. The siege of the merchants and the people failed to find people, so they besieged Sun Long's entourage and killed many people. The market in Suzhou was also out of control, and it was chaotic for eight days.

At best, Jin Zhong also realized that a series of recent events had been led by someone behind them. Otherwise, how could the merchants gather without calling, and how could there be garrisons involved? Whether it was Yunnan, Huguang, or Suzhou and Hangzhou, the local government did nothing when the incident occurred, and did not even send a single soldier to protect the mine tax envoy Yamen.

Now, the silence of the cabinet shows even more that the foreign dynasty is carrying out a planned and organized attack on the mine tax collector, trying to force the emperor to remove the mine tax collector through violence.

"I know what they want to do, and they say that I am fighting with the people, and this people are themselves." Wanli snorted coldly, he was very insightful, "Why did Yang Rong get killed, he moved the interests of those people." ”

Jin Zhong hesitated: "Emperor, did this matter make Gonggong Chen's branch Dongchang a voice?" Check it out. ”

"No," Wanli shook his head, "This matter, call the cabinet to investigate." If you tell Chen Ju, just say that I mean, don't interfere with the people of Dongchang and Jinyiwei, so as not to give them a handle. ”

"The old slave understands." Jin Zhong nodded, this is the case, if the factory guard appears in the local area, it will inevitably provoke a greater conflict.

"You go and tell Ye Xianggao, I don't care about other places, Yunnan, if he doesn't give me an explanation, I won't eat!"

The nature of Yunnan is too bad, it seems to be a rebellion, no matter how relieved Ren Wanli is, no matter how much he can bear it, he must strictly investigate to the end, and give Yang Rong, but also himself, and other mine supervisors and tax envoys an explanation. Otherwise, who would dare to do things for his emperor!

"The old slave will go to the cabinet."

Jin Zhong hurriedly got up and went to the cabinet. The cabinet is now a university scholar, and Ye Xianggao is both the sole assistant and the first assistant, so he soaks in the cabinet office almost every day.

I don't know when the emperor will be allowed to enter the cabinet?

Thinking of the "Temple Zhu Pavilion Elder" who was still in the temple, Jin Zhong couldn't help but sigh. No matter who comes in, he is not the emperor's intimate person, if you want to say it, Wang Xijue back then was the most in line with the emperor's thoughts.

However, Li Sancai of the Donglin Party could never ask him to enter the cabinet, as soon as this person entered the cabinet, Ye Xianggao was as high as a tiger, and the emperor would inevitably be even more lonely here.

After Jin Zhong left, Concubine Zheng Guifei slowly walked over from the back of the palace with a look of pity, looked at her husband who was still sulking, and said distressedly: "Since Your Majesty knows why, what are you doing with your body?" When you're angry, who will hurt you? She had a scroll in her hand, which had not yet been opened.

Seeing Concubine Zheng, Wanli's expression softened: "It's enough to have a loving concubine to hurt me." ”

Concubine Zheng put the scroll on the desk, sighed lightly, and said, "These things are not accidental, most of them are because of Chang Xun. ”

Wanli was stunned: "What does it have to do with Chang Xun?" ”

"You gave Chang Xun half of the tax money collected by the mine supervisors in various places last year, and also gave Chang Xun the property of Zhang Juzheng's family that was confiscated that year, the miscellaneous taxes along the Yangtze River from Yangzhou to Taiping, and the salt tax and tea tax in Sichuan Province. What do you think of the outer court? Concubine Zheng glanced at the direction of the East Palace and said lightly: "What does that young master think?" ”

"I'm still there, and I can't let him think about it. What I give Chang Xun is none of his business. Wanli's face was difficult to look at again, "Besides, I gave him the best, what is he not satisfied with!" ”

"Does Your Majesty know that the more you give Chang Xun, the more you will harm him in the future." Concubine Zheng Guifei helped her husband sit down and asked the palace maid to serve some snacks.

"I don't eat it!"

Wanli refused to eat because he said that if the foreign dynasty did not deal with the relevant officials in Yunnan, he, the emperor, would go on a hunger strike. The respect of the Ninety-Five, once Chrysostom is opened, it cannot be recovered.

"Okay, if you don't eat it, I won't eat it either." Concubine Zheng waved her hand and asked the palace maid to bring down the dim sum.