Chapter 191 Customs Storm (Part 1)

Yinzuo has always been a strong figure. Although he acted as a low-key person, he neither had private contact with court officials, nor had many servants under his ranks. However, after careful analysis, he found that regardless of military merit or political achievements, Yinzuo had no rivals among the princes. With his huge assets and many industries under his name, the princes could not compete with Yinzuo at all. If it were the past, it would be nothing. At least in the eyes of Mr. Kangxi, Yinzuo was still very obedient and had no hobby of taking power. But now the old man is going to choose heirs, so the problem arises:

Yes, Yinzuo is indeed both civil and military, has outstanding abilities, and is even more lucky. It is a good choice for candidates who inherit the throne. However, Kangxi is not a foolish monarch after all, and he is extremely cautious in choosing his heirs. He has a lot to consider, far from having political achievements and military achievements alone. Besides, other princes are not mediocre, they just don’t have the chance to stand out. Mr. Kangxi also wants to see what the best among the philosophers can perform. In this way, the suppression of Yinzuo is inevitable.

Not only did Yinzuo see this, but the other princes were not fools. Naturally, they could understand the key points. Why not use this excuse to hit Yinzuo hard? Of course, it is impossible to directly attack Yinzuo. Not to mention that the old man Kangxi could not pass it, even if the old man had this meaning, it would not be easy to find problems with Yinzuo, who has always been low-key. Head-on attacks do not work, and roundaboutness is an inevitable choice - Yinzuo's servants are not easy to touch, but those ministers who are close to Yinzuo and have real power have become targets for attack by big guys.

Shi Shilun was appointed as the General Administration of Customs. Not to mention the position of prominent, the position was also very rich. There were many court officials who were jealous, and there were many people who wanted to replace him. The General Administration of Customs has had a strange status since its establishment. Logically speaking, even if the General Administration of Customs was not included in the Ministry of Revenue, it should be an independent department. However, the General Administration of Customs was created by Yinzuo in the name of the head of the Ministry of Works. Shi Shilun was appointed as the Minister of Works, so he was naturally under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works. Besides, Shi Shilun was the official in an honest and honest official, and even if the court officials had private complaints, they would not dare to jump out and make trouble. For four or five years, Shi Shilun has always been the Director of the General Administration of Customs.

It is true that Shi Shilun is a capable official, and it is true that he is honest and honest. The "No. 1 Jingguan official in Jiangnan" personally named by Mr. Kangxi is naturally worthy of his name. In terms of political achievements, the way of being an official is really impeccable. But the problem is that even the most innocent official is a human being. If he is a human being, he will inevitably have mistakes. Shi Shilun is already a laughing stock in the officialdom. It is not a crime to secretly marry a concubine without a wife. However, if there is no formal marriage, there will be a problem to have a child. Of course, there is no crime to have bigamy at this time, but the problem is that ethics are placed there, saying it is serious, it is abandoning at the beginning and end, and saying it is light, it is not a crime to not cultivate a private morality, which is contrary to the way of a gentleman.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month of the 41st year of Kangxi, He Long, the new left-level censor, issued a memorial to impeach Shi Lun, the crime was that it was a loss of personal morality, and that it was not cultivated, and it was abandoned at first and then abandoned at all, which was contrary to the way of a gentleman. For a time, the government and the opposition were talking a lot, and many conservative ministers submitted a request to remove Shi Lun from the position of director of the General Administration of Customs. Mr. Kangxi did not make any statement, but wanted Shi Lun to submit a statement to defend himself.

Yinzuo had already understood the affairs of Comrade Old Shi. When he came to Shi's house, he became suspicious when he saw Shi Shilun's poverty. With Shi Shilun's official position, a year's salary plus a total of more than 6,000 taels of silver for maintenance, he would never have lived so hard. Later, Yinzuo asked "Honghu" to check it out and found that Comrade Old Shi was actually a wonderful person: there was a shrewd wife in the family, and he had no courage to divorce his wife. He didn't want to see his wife at all. He didn't even want to take his wife to be an official, but he didn't want to take his wife with him.

When Yu Jiangning was the prefect, he had a lot of contact with talented men in Jiangnan, holding poetry parties and walking around the flower boats. Unfortunately, he met a certain Qingguan, redeemed him and placed him in a different courtyard. He had a few children, but he never had the courage to marry him. Therefore, except for the big head, he had to send the rest to his wife to Jinjiang, the rest of the salary he had to be brought to his wife. Comrade Lao Shi had no extra money income, so he lived a little tight.

This matter was no big deal, at most it was a romantic crime. If it were on weekdays, even if the court officials knew about it, no one would risk offending Yinzuo to break the matter. Besides, Yinzuo also let "Honghu" cover up the matter, which was difficult for others to notice. However, the bad thing was that "Honghu" had a traitor. Liu Mingqi, as the person in charge of information archiving, naturally knew about this matter, and even the eighth brother knew about it. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the old man's intention to cut off Yinzuo's authority, he naturally colluded with the fourth brother to play this card.

Yinzuo had long expected the joint efforts of the fourth and eighth brothers, and knew that they would launch their disciples to attack this matter. The purpose was not to defeat Shi Shilun, but to compete for the position of Director of the General Administration of Customs, thereby giving Yinzuo a heavy blow. How to deal with it, Yinzuo had already made plans in his mind - Shi Shilun must protect it. Even if he could not keep his position as Director of the General Administration of Customs, he could not let Shi Shilun die. This not only concerns the ownership of the customs, but also Yinzuo's own maritime transportation plan.

There are three countermeasures: to defend Shi Shilun for being unfilial and having three misfortunes, and to ask the emperor to marry his wife for nothing but disobeying the wife's manners, and to make Shi Shilun a marriage. This is one of them. To retreat and advance, to defend him as usual, but to let Shilun move him away from the fate of being attacked, and to take the position of others as the Director of the General Administration of Customs. This is the second. The hero cut off his arm and saved Shilun, abandoned his position as the General Administration of Customs, and sat down to watch the third, fourth, and eighth brothers fight to the death for this position, take the opportunity to sprinkle sand and provoke him. This is the third.

The best strategy is certainly the best result, but unfortunately it is difficult - it is obvious that the old man wants to cut off the power of the Ministry of Works, and the customs will not be allowed to remain under the name of the Ministry of Works; the worst strategy is too passive, although it can inspire the brothers to fight to the death like evil dogs, but at the end, no matter who wins in the end - grasping the power of the customs is not a good thing for Yinzuo, and overseas trade will inevitably be greatly affected; the only thing that can be desirable is the Zhongshou, which makes the customs independent, and recommends the honest minister of Yinzuo's position as the Director of the General Administration of Customs. This candidate Yinzuo also has a clear mind - Yu Chenglong, the governor of Zhili.

Or Fan Shijie, the Minister of Works. These two were both famous officials of the Manxi Dynasty and had enough qualifications. No one could say anything about serving as the Director of the General Administration of Customs. Besides, neither of them intervened in the struggle of the princes. They were neither under the prince nor had obvious bias, and the old man could see it. However, no matter what strategy, Shi Shilun's cooperation was needed. So, early in the seventh day of the first lunar month, Yinzuo made great efforts and set off the prince's posture to call on Shi Shilun's house on the ground to visit - the purpose of this move was a signal that Yinzuo planned to protect Shi Shilun's death.

"Your Majesty, the emperor is ashamed, and he has no face to stand in the court." Comrade Lao Shi was very depressed and welcomed Yinzuo into the hall. He said with shame as soon as he sat down.

"Wenxian is so confused. The sage said: Unfiliality is the greatest thing, but the three no descendants are not wrong. Wenxian's move is not a big mistake. I have already made the case for Wenxian to defend this matter and asked the sage to give the marriage to Wenxian. Wenxian must not give up on himself." Yinzuo said with a smile.

"Thank you for your love, but..." Shi Shilun shook his head and did not continue.

But people's words are terrifying? Hey, we've already known this, hey, it's no big deal. Although Shi Shilun didn't say the whole thing, Yinzuo understood it in his heart. He smiled and said, "Wenxian was wrong. This move was for me. Wenxian was just for me. Now Wenxian can do this... The storm will definitely subside, and Wenxian can also welcome the beautiful woman. Can this be achieved?"

Shi Shilun lowered his head and thought for a while, nodded and said, "The prince is very grateful. As the prince shows, the prince will defend himself."

"That's good, I will feel relieved. I have something to do. I will say goodbye first." Seeing that the matter was done, Yinzuo did not stay much, so he stood up and said goodbye. Shi Shilun sent Yinzuo out of the door silently, without saying much, but just bowed deeply, and everything was silent.

If you want to protect Shi Shilun, there is another person that Yinzuo must meet, that is the third brother Yinzhi. At this time, the fourth brother and the eighth brother teamed up, if you cannot stabilize the third brother, Yinzuo's life will be sad - the third brother has no great ability, but he is a prince at least, he has many pens and has the Ministry of Rites, which is good to use for hype. Of course, Yinzuo does not expect to pull the third brother into his own camp, but he has made a deal with the third brother.

It is not difficult - the third brother made a lot of money by relying on overseas trade, but the ship was not much, and even if it made a profit, it could only be a fraction of Yinzuo. Seeing Yinzuo making a fortune, the third brother had been jealous for a long time and had been thinking about expanding the scale of his fleet many times. Unfortunately, he could not do it. The ship was controlled by Yinzuo, and he had been implicitly implied many times. Unfortunately, he was all over the sea. Yinzuo either pretended not to hear it or pretended to be confused. In short, he just refused to give the ship, which made the third brother depressed and helpless.

The purpose of bringing the princes in sea transportation is to achieve the model effect and drive the enthusiasm of the people for sea transportation, but it does not mean that Yinzuo wants all the princes to make a big splash. Those guys have too much money in their hands, which requires a problem of degree. Yinzuo uses a shipyard to control this degree. He wants the princes to make money, but he cannot make them ruthlessly, so as not to cause trouble. However, for the sake of customs, Yinzuo can only give some sweetness for the third brother to taste. Although he is a little reluctant, there is nothing wrong with it.

The third prince Yinzhi has been very proud recently. He jumped from Bele to Prince and took back the mission of the Ministry of Rites. In addition, the fourth and eighth brothers all sent people to give gifts to their doors, doing their best to flatter and gained a lot. In addition, overseas trade brought huge profits, the life was very comfortable. In the past few days of the first lunar month, the poetry and literary meetings have been tossed several times. Today, taking advantage of the snow to the beginning of the snow, the talented people from Beijing gathered to hold a poetry and prose conference. While waving ink, he heard the butler coming to report: Prince Yi was visiting, and his eyes turned, and he suddenly laughed, and waved his hand and said, "Open the middle door, I will go out to welcome you immediately."

"Sixth brother, please have tea. This is the tribute tea that the emperor gave. My brother has been reluctant to take it out. That is, the sixth brother has come. Then I gritted my teeth and took it out. Come and try it." Yinzhi had already understood Yinzuo's purpose, and was proud of it. He didn't ask what Yinzuo was going to say. After welcoming Yinzuo into the hall, he kept talking nonsense.

Damn! This dead third brother has become a damn acting player, and I'm playing this trick with us. Damn, you will cry at that time. Yinzuo is very angry, but he has no choice but to blame his intention for being too obvious. He can't hide it at all. He has no choice but to be slaughtered. Instead of wasting time and going around with the third brother, it's better to act directly. Anyway, after being stabbed at this moment, the latter has been arranged, and even the principal and profit can be recovered, and he is not afraid that the third brother can jump out of his palm. Yinzuo was worried about it and smiled and said, "The third brother's tea is good, but I don't want to enjoy it. Alas, this matter is done."

"Hmm? What's the matter? How could the third brother be confused when he heard this? Is there anyone who dares to be unable to get along with our brother?" The third brother pretended to be surprised.

Damn, pretend, pretend, pretend, pretend, little, pretend, hey, when you were crying, Yinzuo cursed in his heart, but his face looked surprised and said, "Don't you know? The fourth brother is thinking about bringing the customs into the Ministry of Revenue. Oh, the fourth brother is serious and can't bear to see the brothers making money. If this is the case, the shipping will be a little lingering. I'm fine. At worst, I'll stop doing it. We still have more than a dozen factories, so it's fine if we are tight, but..."

Yinzuo didn't finish his words, and the subtext was that we had money and could live without sea transportation. If your third brother had no sea transportation, then his life would not be too easy. Yinzhi is also a smart person. He would not know the instigation in Yinzuo's words. Although he was a little worried that the sea transportation would be stopped, he still took Yinzuo's lifeline at the end, but he was not in a hurry. He just smiled and said, "No, although the fourth brother is a little pretentious, he would not do such a bad thing. The sixth brother said it, haha, he said it."

Damn, the third brother is very smart, hey, if you are not fooled, we have to come up with some sweetness. Yinzuo smiled and said, "Haha, what the third brother said is reasonable, but it is hard to say very much. The Ministry of Revenue controls salt, iron, and grain. If you add Shanghai Pass, tsk. Oh, by the way, I have just built ten large sea boats in the factory, and I can't afford to match them at this time. Oh, it's a pity."

Yinzuo had already picked all the words very clearly, and Yinzhi could naturally understand the key. If the fourth Ministry of Revenue was swallowed up by the customs, the strength of the Ministry of Revenue would be so huge that it would be tolerated by other departments. Not to mention Yinzhi's Ministry of Rites, even Yinzuo's Ministry of Works could not compete with the Ministry of Revenue. This situation was something that Yinzhi didn't want to see. Although he knew that Yinzuo's words were obviously a provocative statement, Yinzhi could only admit it unless he did not want to compete for the throne. As for the ten major sea ships proposed by Yinzuo, the bargaining chips were second.

Yinzhi frowned inadvertently and said with a smile: "Sixth brother is too worried. The fourth brother is not that kind of person. Besides, the emperor, Ama, will never let the villain cause trouble, haha..."

Hey, I haven't taken the bait yet, good, damn, let's add more money to you. Yinzuo smiled and said, "I heard that the eighth brother went to visit my fourth brother's mansion early this morning. I don't know what to talk about, haha, it's interesting."

Yinzhi was stunned for a moment before he realized what Yinzuo said - the eighth brother and the fourth brother are going to join forces, so you can do it. Yinzhi's face, which was originally smiling, suddenly froze, without saying a word, and thought for a while, "Brothers, it's not a big deal to connect with each other. Is the sixth brother too worried?"

"Ah, yes, yes, I'm really overwhelmed. Hehe, yes, have you come to visit my third brother's house? Haha..." Yinzuo had something to say in his words - they joined forces, can't we join forces? Yinzhi rolled his eyes and laughed happily, "That's right, haha, that's right, that's right, the customs affairs that the sixth brother just said..."

Xiaoyao, can't hold it in anymore, hey, let's fool you. Yinzuo felt proud, but his face was filled with worry, and he said quietly: "Three brothers, you are in charge of the Ministry of Rites. You should know that one of the rituals is related to the face of the court, right? Oh, Lao Shi is a little wrong, but it's better to be unfilial to have three no descendants? Isn't it? I've also submitted a memorial today to defend Lao Shi Haosheng. Alas, Lao Shi is a little difficult to stay in the court, but Lao Shi is really a talented person, so you can't just bury it. I'm thinking about it and let it go first. What do you think of the third brother?"

Yinzuo decided not to mention the candidate for succession, but said that Shi Shilun was released. It was obvious that Yinzuo came to the door just to protect Shi Shilun. As for the customs matter, he did not intend to let Yinzhi intervene. Yinzhi thought about it repeatedly in his mind, and knew that with his own strength, he could not intervene in the customs affairs. As for protecting Shilun, it was very simple. It was just to mobilize the officials of the Ministry of Rites to take some boring literati to create momentum. It was not difficult to do so. He was scheming the heart and said, "What the sixth brother said is very true. Wenxian is a good official, so he can't let the villain take action. The third brother helped him. Oh, by the way, my brother happened to remember the servants in front of the door to report, saying that he had hired a lot of sailors and was waiting for the ship. Sixth brother, look..."

Xiaobian, I know you are greedy. Hey, let's give it to you first. Let's take it all back. Yinzuo smiled and said, "Sure, brother, just send someone to carry the boat, there is nothing else, there are some boats, and I have some more." The two brothers looked at each other and laughed, and there was a harmonious atmosphere of brotherhood.
Chapter completed!