Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 1163 The Great Ming Dynasty's Unrestricted Fighting Tournament

Liao Yongzhong and Yu Tongyuan were busy "punishing Bogu," while the officials in the Ming court were busy arguing.

"The sea must be banned! Not a single sail may be allowed to go to sea!"

Yang Siyi, who had just been transferred to the Ming Dynasty's treasury as Minister and was currently concurrently serving as Minister of Revenue and Chief Minister of Taxation, was the first to speak out, "Don't think I don't know what kind of scum you are, a bunch of filthy, rotten-hearted, black-gutted bastards!"

"Damn you! You used to use the excuse of Japanese pirates to persuade the emperor to ban the seas, but when I suggested opening the seas, you all reacted like I'd poked a swallow's skin. Now you're unwilling to ban the seas?"

"So all you bastards talk about loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, but behind his back it's all about business calculations?"

"What?! What is that?"

"..."

Yang Siyi's mouth was as sweet as honey as it spewed out a torrent of words, leaving not only the officials in the court furious, but even Yang Shaofeng, who had been a veteran of the Zuan stage for many years, dumbfounded.

There were no quotations or lengthy discourses, only a crazy output of extremely high levels of "mother" content and an even higher level of "organ" content.

Is this the true level of arguing among the officials of the Ming Dynasty?

Wang Guangyang, hiding next to Yang Shaofeng, looked bitter. He reached out and tugged at Yang Shaofeng's sleeve, saying in a low voice, "Can you try to persuade him to take the position? I want to go back to Shandong. I don't want to be the Minister of Industry."

Yang Shaofeng ignored Wang Guangyang and instead fueled the fire for Yang Siyi: "Minister Yang, you know me. I'm not the kind of person who likes to cause trouble. But I feel like they're just taking advantage of the fact that you're an honest man. It's your problem if the national treasury is short of money, and it's your problem if taxes are low. It has nothing to do with them, right?"

Hu Weiyong's eyes lit up. He looked at the officials who advocated opening the sea to the sea, then at Yang Siyi, who had clenched his fists, and said in a low voice, "The Prince Consort is right. Our Great Ming Dynasty has more than ten provincial administration commissions, more than a hundred prefectures, and thousands of counties and prefectures. In the future, there will be more than 20,000 township governments. They will all be asking you, Minister Yang, for money. When you can't come up with the money, those bastards on the other side won't help you. They will just stand on the dry bank and watch you make a fool of yourself!"

Wang Guangyang looked around and whispered, "The Prince Consort and Hu Weiyong are right. Moreover, it's not just local government offices that are asking you for money. A whole bunch of ministries, courts, temples, and supervisory offices in the imperial court, as well as the Grand Commander's Office, will also be asking you for money. Those people over there won't give you a single penny."

Yang Siyi clenched his fist, which was hidden in his sleeve, even tighter.

Yes, I know perfectly well that they are stirring things up.

But those bastards on the other side are even more hateful than them!

After all, those few were just egging me on to start a fight, while those bastards on the other side were after my life!

Unable to bear it any longer, Yang Siyi immediately rushed to the opposite side, punched one of the leading vice ministers, and shouted, "I've tolerated you bastards for too long!"

Yang Shaofeng's eyes lit up, and he was about to rush up to experience the Ming Dynasty's unlimited fighting tournament when his arm was suddenly grabbed by a pair of fair but powerful hands, like a pair of pliers.

Li Wenzhong stared at Yang Shaofeng with a forced smile and said, "My uncle told me to keep an eye on you."

Hu Weiyong also grabbed Yang Shaofeng's other arm and advised, "As the saying goes, porcelain doesn't clash with earthenware pots. We are all civilized people who have read the classics, and we are not the same kind of people as those barbarians who only know how to fight."

Standing at the forefront of the officials, Li Shanchang reached out and rubbed his temples.

brutal.

That's fucking brutal.

It's only been a few days since the last brawl in the imperial court?

It's only been a few days since the Lunar New Year ended?

This is happening again, damn it!

Last time, at least it was near the end of the year, so even if these officials took action, they still had some restraint. After all, no one wanted to have a bruised and battered New Year.

This time, things have really gotten out of hand. Perhaps they think that since the New Year is over, it doesn't matter whether they have injuries or not. These bastards have actually gotten really angry. Forget about bruises and swelling, some of them have even resorted to tricks like monkeys stealing peaches!

Liu Bowen then fixed his gaze on Yang Shaofeng, quietly leaned closer, and whispered, "My dear son-in-law, could you please have some pity on this old man?"

As the saying goes, there are those who can talk and those who can't listen.

"If fighting breaks out in the imperial court so often, how will the historians record it? What will the people of the world think?"

"The key is that, as the Grand Censor of the Censorate, these matters are all inextricably linked to me."

At this point, Liu Bowen tried to threaten Yang Shaofeng: "If they get their salaries deducted for fighting, I will also be deducted. If my salary is really depleted, I will take my wife and children to beg for food on the street in front of Princess Fu Ning's mansion. None of us will have a good time!"

Even the Emperor Zhu, who was sitting on the dragon throne, glared fiercely at Yang Shaofeng.

Sure enough, this bastard wasn't satisfied with watching people fight last time, so this time he wants to do it himself!

It's fortunate that we were quick-witted enough to have Bao'er keep an eye on him beforehand; otherwise, given that bastard's reputation, there might have been bloodshed in the Fengtian Hall today!

Emperor Zhu secretly gave himself a thumbs up, but Zhu Biao, sitting below him, said with a dark face, "This is getting more and more outrageous!"

Emperor Zhu was slightly taken aback and asked, "Who?"

Zhu Biao glanced at the officials from the Kaihai faction who were fighting with Yang Siyi, and snorted coldly, "These people."

“Back when smuggling was allowed, these people were known as Japanese pirates and all sorts of other smugglers, constantly calling for a ban on maritime trade.”

“Now that smuggling is no longer an option, these people are starting to cry out for peace and tranquility, trying every means to petition for the opening of the fishing season.”

"No wonder my brother-in-law said these people are a bunch of sophisticated, selfish scoundrels."

Emperor Zhu gave a soft hum, but then said in a low voice, "In your brother-in-law's eyes, aristocratic families are no good, and officials, merchants, and gentry are no good either. Only ordinary people can be considered good people."

"But your brother-in-law isn't always right; you have to learn to discern the truth."

"After all, you need officials to govern a country, and you need merchants to facilitate the flow of goods and money."

"Although aristocratic families and gentry are not good people, aristocratic families often pass on their knowledge, while gentry are often fat sheep that keep money and grain for the court."

"Most importantly, even if you eliminate a group of powerful families, officials, and merchants, new powerful families, officials, and merchants will emerge."

"So you have to learn how to kill them, and you also have to learn how to use them."

"Take this incident for example. Logically speaking, Yang Siyi is right."

"However, based on the actual situation, Yang Siyi's proposal for a complete ban on the sea is wrong."

Do you remember what your brother-in-law said?

Zhu Biao nodded slightly and said, "I remember, my brother-in-law wrote in 'Capital' that if capital is not effectively managed and guided, it will expand in a disorderly manner. There is also this statement in 'On the Gentry'."

Emperor Zhu nodded again and said, "So, if a complete ban on the sea is implemented as Yang Siyi said, the final result will be that merchants who control large amounts of money and grain will engage in disorderly expansion, leading to problems such as land annexation and reaching out to the court."

Zhu Biao nodded again and whispered, "So, Father, you're planning to open up the sea, but not fully?"

Emperor Zhu nodded and said, "Yes, we plan to make an opening for them, and then hang a knife over that opening."

“We can let them smell the meat, and maybe even let them have a sip of the soup.”

"But first we have to make sure that the fattest piece of meat ends up in our mouths."

"..."