SWDnovel Chapter 126 Secret Investigation of Ouyang Lun
Chapter 126 Secret Investigation of Ouyang Lun
In the evening, he returned to the vegetable garden and showed Youdun the newly acquired jade pendant.
"After going to Sichuan and Shaanxi, Ouyang Lun gave Lantian jade to many people. My father also received a piece, saying it was a gift for my marriage to Miaojin and me. It's not as good as this piece, but it's still a top-quality one," Youdun said after glancing at it.
"Perhaps it would be better to give it to the Crown Prince's Palace. Jade has a calming effect, which is exactly what the Crown Prince's wife needs right now," Zhu Gaoxi winked and grinned mischievously.
"Even if there were some tricks or plunder involved, my grandfather wouldn't punish him. At most, he would just reprimand him a few times. Princess Anqing has always been favored and has received many favors. For example, in the twenty-fifth year, she bestowed upon Ouyang Lun the land from his former official post in Dingyuan County, Fengyang," You Dun sighed. "Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone along with his wishes and appointed Ouyang Lun as the Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant."
"At least he's a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), so it's not too bad," Zhu Gaoxi thought, feeling that they could barely be considered a talented man and a beautiful woman.
"He got married in the fourteenth year of Hongwu's reign. In the eighteenth year, Ouyang Lun passed the imperial examination anonymously and then publicized it extensively, telling everyone he met, as if afraid that others would not know about his talent," Zhu Youdun said with a faint smile, not without sarcasm.
First becoming a prince consort, then passing the imperial examination—could such underhanded dealings be possible?! This is truly eye-opening, leaving Zhu Gaoxi astonished.
Ouyang Lun, relying on his favored status, spoke and acted without restraint. Such arrogance meant that it was only a matter of time before he offended the emperor.
Historically, Ouyang Lun was ordered to commit suicide in June of the 30th year of the Hongwu reign.
I vaguely remember that Li Jinglong went to Huguang, Shaanxi, Henan and other places many times to train his troops, and he also went to Xifan to exchange tea for horses.
After much deliberation, Zhu Gaoxi discussed with Youdun: "Let's reorganize the Flying Eagle Guard's mission. In addition to continuing to investigate Song Zhong, we should leave some reserve personnel in the capital and send the rest to the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission to secretly collect evidence of Ouyang Lun's smuggling of tea out of the country, with a focus on investigating the tea transported to Hezhou."
"Should we continue investigating Li Jinglong?" Zhu Youdun nodded in agreement and then asked.
"Let's hand these matters over to the Prince's Palace's secret guards, with Ji Gang in charge. Let him participate in some confidential matters; perhaps it will come in handy later," Zhu Gaoxi said thoughtfully.
Li Jinglong appears to be quick-witted, but in reality he is cowardly and rarely makes serious mistakes. Without considering major cases, it is difficult to find any leverage against him.
"Ji Gang has been quite obedient and dutiful in his duties these days. He's eager to make a name for himself, so he'll definitely seize the opportunity," Zhu Youdun agreed with Zhu Gaoxi's arrangement.
"I heard that Ouyang Lun has a servant named Zhou Bao, who is arrogant, domineering, and tyrannical, and arbitrarily humiliates local officials. Tell the Flying Eagle Guard to keep a close eye on him," Zhu Gaoxi said, using as much information as he could about the Ouyang Lun case in his mind.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youdun asked, quite puzzled, "Could it be that something big is about to happen to Ouyang Lun?"
"He will be the first imperial son-in-law whom my grandfather has ordered to be executed," Zhu Gaoxi nodded slightly.
Zhu Youdun was shocked. "Could he really dare to sell smuggled tea? That's the same crime as selling smuggled salt."
In the early Ming Dynasty, "there was a surplus of military strength, but the most urgent need was for horses." Warhorses were an important strategic resource, and the Ming army, especially the garrisons along the northern border, urgently needed to equip its troops with a large number of fine horses.
If Ouyang Lun hadn't defied the rules, the old emperor might not have been willing to let his beloved daughter be heartbroken.
In order to obtain as many fine horses as possible from the tea-horse trade, the imperial court adopted a series of measures to strictly control the production and circulation of tea.
Merchants who wanted to buy tea had to pay money to the government to apply for a tea permit. Initially, "for every hundred catties of tea, the fee was two hundred coins," but later it rose to one thousand coins.
"For every hundred catties of tea, one 'yin' is required, and the official payment is one thousand cash. For those who do not meet the requirements for a 'yin', they pay six hundred cash and are given a 'you ti' (a type of official document). Each 'you ti' is for sixty catties, and the tea is sold according to the land area and the production volume."
In other words, to sell tea, one must have a tea permit or license. If one does not have a tea permit or the quantity of tea exceeds the permit limit, it is considered illicit tea, and not only will all the tea be confiscated, but even the means of transport such as vehicles, boats, and horses will be taken into custody.
The above are only economic penalties. In addition, he will also be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane and three years of penal servitude.
Anyone who forges a tea certificate shall be executed and their pawned house and property confiscated.
The punishment for illegally exporting tea is even more severe, including execution.
Those who fail to notice at the pass shall be executed.
Despite the severe punishments and harsh laws, the problem persisted. Many merchants and civilians took risks for profit, and even some officials and soldiers joined in. Private tea trade became increasingly rampant, leading to a continuous decrease in the number of horses obtained by the imperial court through trade.
Zhu Yuanzhang then intensified his crackdown and ordered the military commands of Sichuan and Shaanxi to send troops to the passes leading to the Western Regions to patrol and prohibit the smuggling of tea.
"Those who fail to strictly guard the border and allow smuggled tea to leave the country will be executed and their families exiled. Those who report such incidents will be punished equally. The smugglers will be beheaded, and their wives and children will be brought before the authorities."
At the same time, the Ministry of Revenue was ordered to send people to inspect various passes, and the Imperial Censor was also sent to Sichuan and Shaanxi to investigate smuggled tea.
The imperial court strictly prohibited private tea production, a move of unprecedented scale.
It has to be said that Ouyang Lun really ran into trouble.
Just as the crackdown was in full swing, a minor official from the Heqiao Patrol Office in Lan County, unable to bear the humiliation, filed a petition with the emperor. In a fit of rage, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Ouyang Lun to be executed.
This is the consequence of taking advantage of one's parents' favor.
No one else would dare to do that.
Zhu Gaoxi slowly recalled historical knowledge, occasionally telling Youdun some important content.
"I never imagined Ouyang Lun would be so foolish!" Zhu Youdun cursed angrily upon hearing this, then sighed indignantly, "My aunt was truly blind to have married such an ignorant man."
Ouyang Lun is hopeless; it's better to exploit his selfishness and greed for some ulterior motives.
Li Jinglong and Ouyang Lun have a close personal relationship. If we can find out that he is involved in Ouyang Lun's case, even if it is just some uncertain evidence, it will be enough to coax and scare Li Jinglong into joining our camp.
Upon thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxi couldn't help but smile brightly.
Control Li Jinglong and make him betray the emperor at a crucial moment, thus delivering a fatal blow to the crown prince's succession, just like the Jin Chuan Gate Incident in history.
Jinchuan Gate faces the Yangtze River and is the most important of the thirteen city gates of the capital. The Jinchuan River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, flows out of the city from here.
Although Li Jinglong led an army of 500,000 to the north, he was utterly defeated by Zhu Di. However, Emperor Jianwen still trusted him greatly. When the Yan army was approaching the capital in a critical moment, he actually entrusted the important task of defending Jinchuan Gate to Li Jinglong and Prince Gu, Zhu Hui.
These two were already terrified by the Yan army's momentum. Upon seeing Zhu Di's banner from the city wall, they immediately ordered the Jin Chuan Gate to be opened to welcome the Prince of Yan and his troops into the city.
"If we can capture Duke Cao now, it would be a brilliant plan, achieving twice the result with half the effort."
Great minds think alike, and Youdun praised from the bottom of his heart.
Zhu Gaoxi made a face and teased with a grin, "Brother, save those sweet words for Miaojin. She came looking for you with weapons because of Wu Ningshuang. I took the blame for you. You still need to be more careful in the future."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youdun blushed and bowed to express his gratitude, saying, "Brother, you're overthinking it. The wedding is imminent, and right now, your brother only has Miaojin in his heart."
"Men are fickle, it has been so since ancient times. I've heard that Duke Tang He of Xin has more than a hundred concubines," Zhu Gaoxi said expectantly, raising his hand to wait for Tang He to open up and talk about his love history.
"What my brother said is all true," Zhu Youdun gently slapped away his chubby hand and turned to walk out.
Are we only allowed to talk about work when we're together? Can't we talk about something lighter?
Zhu Gaoxi sighed dejectedly.