OBS Chapter 399 Old Zhu's Two Creative Regulations
Chapter 399 Old Zhu's Two Creative Regulations
When Bu Shunming was dragged back again, Yang Shaofeng smiled and looked at Zhao Siyi and Bu Shunming, saying, "Do you know what I want to ask?"
Despite the pain in his broken leg and back, Zhao Siyi answered haltingly, "I know, I know."
"It was because I lent the money to Zhu Jian that he had the funds to print the money and grain registers."
"However, I wasn't the only one who borrowed money, nor was I the only one who helped him transport his things."
After honestly listing a long list of names, Zhao Siyi tentatively said, "The practice of blanking money and grain registers has been around for a long time. Since my grandfather's time, our family has made a living by lending money. I was just following tradition, not doing it on purpose."
“If the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty believes this is wrong, I can give all the money in my house to His Majesty, and I am also willing to help His Majesty identify those who have made mistakes.”
Zhao Siyi first put on an innocent look, then said in a pitiful tone, "As you know, we Yicileye people were driven out of the land left to us by our ancestors, and we have gone through countless hardships to come to the East."
"Thanks be to God, the emperor of the East has accepted us."
“We are willing to live here and never thought that we would violate the laws of the Ming Emperor.”
"Please, Your Excellency the Prefect, please give us a chance to live."
"The true God will surely protect you."
Yang Shaofeng ignored Zhao Siyi and instead turned his gaze to Bu Shunming.
To Yang Shaofeng's surprise, Bu Shunming not only refused to confess honestly, but also glared at him fiercely.
Ok?
If it were Liu Hongchang and Master Geng back then, Xu Zheng and Qu Mingjie back then, Sun Gupu, and even Zhu Shouchun in this case of the Empty Seal, it would be understandable if they glared at me like that. But what right do you, a mere Yici Leye fish, have to glare at me like that?
Are you worthy?
The size 43 official boots swept across Bu Shunming's face at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour, taking away a speck of dust from his face along with two cavities.
However, Bu Shunming did not thank Yang Shaofeng for his help; instead, he spat out a vicious "Pui!"
This won't work.
If you dare to spit on me now, you'll dare to beat Zhu Biao later.
You dare to act so presumptuously in the Dengzhou government office today.
Tomorrow you'll dare to rush to the capital and kill Old Deng.
I don’t dare to think about it, I don’t dare to think about it at all.
Yang Shaofeng sneered and turned to Xia Yu, saying, "Thank you, Inspector Xia. Just leave him alive so he can confess."
Xia Yu waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to take Bu Shunming away.
When Bu Shunming was brought back again, he couldn't wait to shout as soon as he saw Yang Shaofeng, "I confess! I confess!"
“My original surname was Pu, and I am a descendant of Pu Shougeng, the former Fujian Pacification and Coastal Defense Commissioner and Maritime Trade Supervisor of the Song Dynasty.”
“Because the Ming emperor had degraded my family to a lowly status, I harbored resentment. Zhu Kang sent someone to contact me to help Zhu Jian transport ironware by sea, and I agreed.”
It's normal to harbor resentment, after all, Old Zhu had reduced his Pu family to the lowest social class, with the men becoming slaves generation after generation and the women becoming prostitutes generation after generation.
Moreover, Lao Zhu had two creative rules.
Those of the Semu ethnic group are not allowed to walk in the middle of the road, otherwise they will be beaten to death.
The Semu people are only allowed to wear pigskin boots; otherwise, they will be beaten to death.
Given how much Emperor Zhu targeted them, it was impossible for these people who were given a free life not to hate Zhu Chongba.
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and asked, "Where are the ironwares? Where are they all transported to? How much ironware do you handle each year? Who are the buyers?"
Bu Shunming trembled, then honestly replied, "Every year, about a million catties of ironware flow out through my hands. I am responsible for transporting the ironware to Southeast Asia. The real buyers are actually the Xie family of Yuyao."
A million catties?
What kind of lunatic is this, daring to smuggle millions of kilograms of ironware outside of the Ming Dynasty?
There was also the Xie family of Yuyao. Yang Shaofeng felt that the name was very familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.
Zhu Biao, however, said with a dark face: "The Xie family was once a prominent family in Jiangzuo, on par with the Wang family of Langya. Therefore, in the late Song Dynasty, four members of the Xie family from Linhai were granted the title of Duke. When the Hu Yuan invaded the south, one branch of the Xie family moved to Yuyao."
understood.
It's another prominent family that doesn't put all its eggs in one basket.
Moreover, it was a prominent family that had been involved in maritime smuggling.
If we follow this line of thought, the blank seal case becomes quite easy to understand.
First, Wang Baobao, the Left Chancellor of the Central Secretariat during the reign of Hu Yuan, had dealings with Kong Kejian, the Duke Yansheng during Hu Yuan's reign.
Kong Kejian had always looked down on Zhu Chongba, who came from humble beginnings, but Zhu Chongba, that old scoundrel, never gave Kong Kejian any official position. So Kong Kejian hoped that Wang Baobao could once again lead troops south.
After all, Hu Yuan was not completely finished at this time. Kong Kejian had his son Kong Xixue serve Zhu Chongba, the peasant emperor, while he himself secretly communicated with Wang Baobao and helped Wang Baobao transport ironware.
Secondly, the descendants of Pu Shougeng, led by Bu Shunming, were resentful that Emperor Zhu had reduced them to the lowest social class, forcing them to change their surnames to avoid disaster. So they helped Zhu Kang and Zhu Jian to sell ironware.
For Bu Shunming and his associates, it didn't matter where the ironware was sold; what mattered was that it caused trouble for Emperor Zhu and the Ming Dynasty, and that it could undermine the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.
Not to mention the Xie family of Yuyao, a major buyer. Ka Shunming and his associates were able to make a lot of money while causing trouble for Emperor Zhu.
This also fits the character setting of Pu Shougeng and others who are known as Yici Leyeyu.
In other words, the ironware that came out of the blank seal case was actually divided into two parts.
Part of it was arranged by that old bastard Kong Kejian to flow to Hu Yuan, and another part was transported to Southeast Asia by Bu Shunming. As for who the Xie family finally sold the ironware to, that matter will have to wait until Xia Yu brings the person back for further investigation.
Then, Yang Shaofeng suddenly felt that something was wrong.
These bastards are only smuggling out ironware?
There should be more than that.
The Central Plains Hall was originally the father of the whole world for thousands of years.
What were those barbarians in Europe doing when the great ships were sailing the seas?
Then, as the pandemic subsided, the shipbuilding technology of those barbarians in Europe advanced by leaps and bounds.
Is shipbuilding technology something those barbarians could possibly research?
Later on, the Ming Dynasty's iron production was originally able to overwhelm the world, and its firearms level was also top-notch. So how did it come that Europe's firearms were stronger than the Ming Dynasty's?
If Aristotle was indeed a transliteration of the Yongle Encyclopedia...
After all, the Yongle Encyclopedia is just a reference book, and the books included in it all already existed.
With the addition of later works such as "Tiangong Kaiwu" and "Wanguo Kunyu Tu", all of this seems to make sense.
Seeing that Yang Shaofeng's face was getting increasingly gloomy, Zhu Biao asked directly, "Brother-in-law?"
Yang Shaofeng first had Xia Yu take Bu Shunming and Zhao Siyi away, then sighed heavily.
"Your Highness, if these bastards are just reselling some ironware, it's really not a big deal."
"What I'm afraid of is that these bastards are reselling a large number of books."
"When Emperor Taizong of Tang sent books and artisans to Tibet, Tibet became a major threat to the Tang Dynasty."
"If these bastards also resell books..."
Zhu Biao's face immediately darkened.