The strongest eldest son of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 42 Go to Jinling to complain to Old Zhu!

Zhu Yao picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and slowly analyzed, "That new prefect, to put it bluntly, is a greedy man. The reason he's causing me trouble is simply because he wants money and wants to squeeze money out of my family's wealth. Why risk your life if you can solve something with money?"

"Of course, I'm not someone to be trifled with; I have my own methods."

Zhu Yao spoke with certainty, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes, "When I ordered the use of economic means to close all the grain shops, cloth shops, and money shops in Chenzhou, I wanted to throw the entire Chenzhou economy into chaos."

"The people of Chenzhou will have no food and no money, and they will inevitably be in a state of panic. When that happens, the first one to be restless will be him, the prefect. He has just arrived in Chenzhou and his position is not yet stable. If the people cause trouble and the court holds him accountable, he will be the first one to be held responsible."

"If he knows what's good for him, he'll know not to push me too far, otherwise we'll both end up in a lose-lose situation, and he won't benefit either."

"Even if he really tries to force me, in the chaos, I'll have time to calmly extricate myself and make other plans. I'll always be safe and sound."

After listening to Zhu Yao's analysis, Liu Bowen was filled with amazement. He nodded repeatedly, his tone tinged with admiration: "Young Master Zhu may seem carefree and easygoing, but in reality, he is meticulous and possesses extraordinary strategic skills. I admire him greatly!"

He paused, looked at Zhu Yao, and said seriously, "To be honest, if you were to emerge from seclusion during a chaotic era, strategizing and assisting a region, it's hard to say who would ultimately rule the world."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yao quickly waved his hand, showing a hint of humility on his face, and said with a smile, "Mr. Liu, you flatter me. I don't have any strategies, just some clever tricks. I'm good at talking about war on paper, but if we were in a chaotic world, I'm afraid I would have a hard time even protecting myself. How can I compare to you, Mr. Liu?"

Seeing Zhu Yao's humility, Liu Bowen admired him even more. He picked up a roasted sweet potato, placed another chess piece, and said with a smile, "You're too modest. Here, have another sweet potato, and let's continue our game. Today, this old man will have a good game with you!"

Zhu Yao laughed heartily, picked up a chess piece, and although his moves were still haphazard, he was in high spirits: "Alright! I'll play to the end. It doesn't matter if I lose, I'll have roasted sweet potatoes to eat anyway, so it's not a loss!"

In the courtyard, the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes was still strong, and the soft clatter of chess pieces hitting the board rose and fell. The two chatted and laughed, looking relaxed and content, as if the thrilling crisis just now had never happened.

The two played a few more moves of chess. Liu Bowen placed a piece, looked at Zhu Yao, his expression becoming more serious, and slowly asked, "Young Master Zhu, there is still something I am worried about. Although the prefect apologized in public today, judging from his appearance today, he is definitely not the kind of person who will let it go easily."

"His arrogance and overbearing behavior suggest that he must have someone backing him up. After suffering such a great loss, he will most likely come back to seek revenge. You should be on your guard."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yao smiled nonchalantly, casually placed a chess piece down, and said in a relaxed tone, "Mr. Liu, rest assured, it's alright. If he really dares to cause trouble again, I have my own way of dealing with it. Moreover, I have already sent someone to Jinling overnight."

"To Nanjing?"

Liu Bowen was startled, his chess piece hovering in mid-air. He quickly asked, "Young Master Zhu, do you perhaps have connections in Jinling? Is it some high-ranking official in the court who can put you to use at a crucial moment?"

In his view, Zhu Yao's composure must be due to having powerful backers in Jinling. After all, the prefect had powerful connections, and if Zhu Yao did not have such support, sending people to Jinling rashly would only bring trouble upon himself.

Zhu Yao slowly shook his head, a frank smile on his face, and waved his hand, saying, "No, I don't have any connections in Jinling, and I don't know any high-ranking officials in the court."

He paused, picked up a roasted sweet potato, took a bite, and slowly said, "However, Mr. Liu forgot that after Zhu Yuanzhang, that is, the current emperor, ascended the throne, he specifically set a rule that if the people of the Ming Dynasty were oppressed by local officials and their grievances could not be redressed, they could go directly to Nanjing to complain to the court and to Zhu Yuanzhang. This is a real right of the people of the Ming Dynasty, not just for show."

"In order to clean up official corruption and punish corrupt officials, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial edict and established the system of appealing to the capital. This broke the conventional bottom-up litigation procedure and allowed people to bypass local prefectures and counties and go directly to the capital to appeal their grievances and report corrupt officials."

"Moreover, Zhu also specifically stipulated that if any local official was corrupt, cruel, oppressive, or embezzled, the people could not only go to the capital to file a complaint, but could also unite to directly bind the officials who harmed the people and bring them to the capital for the court to deal with. No one would dare to stop them at any of the passes and ferry crossings along the way. If any official dared to obstruct them, it would be a serious crime that would implicate their entire family."

"Old Zhu also said that as long as the people's complaints are true, not only will they not be prosecuted for appealing to higher authorities, but they will also severely punish the corrupt officials. If the corrupt officials have embezzled more than sixty taels of silver, they will be beheaded and their skin will be peeled off and stuffed with straw as a warning to others. Even if the people are wrong in their complaints, as long as they are not deliberately making false accusations, they will not be punished."

"The man I sent to Jinling was to bring with him evidence of what that prefect had done in Chenzhou these past few days—extorting bribes, framing innocent people, allowing his subordinates to bully others, and today leading soldiers to break into my Liu residence—to the capital to file a complaint with the Emperor and ask Old Zhu to uphold justice."

"Even if he has someone backing him up, what Old Zhu hates most is corrupt officials, and he values ​​the grievances of the common people the most. As long as the evidence is conclusive, even if he has someone backing him, Old Zhu will never tolerate it. At that time, I won't even need to lift a finger; the court will deal with him on its own. How dare he retaliate against me then?"

After listening to Zhu Yao's words and his detailed explanation of the strategy set by Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Bowen was completely stunned. The chess piece in his hand fell onto the chessboard with a "thud," and his eyes were full of amazement and admiration.

He pondered for a moment, then slowly raised his hand, bowed deeply to Zhu Yao, and said sincerely, "Young Master Zhu, I am completely convinced!"

"You may seem carefree and easygoing, but you are actually meticulous and insightful. You understand His Majesty's intentions and know how to leverage imperial power and the people's rights to protect yourself. Your understanding and strategy are beyond my reach!"

Seeing this, Zhu Yao quickly helped Liu Bowen up and said with a smile, "Mr. Liu, you flatter me. I was just going with the flow. Compared to your strategic planning skills, my little trick is nothing."

Liu Bowen shook his head, his face full of approval: "No, no. Even if ordinary people know His Majesty's rules, they may not be able to use them so flexibly. You were able to think of using the people's right to file a complaint to turn the tables on them, so that you could completely resolve the future troubles without having to fight the prefect." This wisdom is truly rare.

"I am truly different. To have someone with such strategic acumen play chess in such a... pathetic... and unbearable way..."

Zhu Yao: .....