Zhu Jinsong had a habit: when he sought to trouble someone, he never avoided the common folk. On the contrary, Zhu Jinsong preferred it if the crowd of onlookers grew larger.
Thus, a large number of curious commoners also gathered outside the Yongcheng County yamen, even livelier than the courtroom scenes in historical dramas about the Great Qing.
Of course, those things in the Great Qing dramas were fake. During the Great Qing era, ordinary people wouldn't dare to crowd around the yamen gates to watch, lest they be implicated as accomplices.
Under normal circumstances, only when the upright officials of the Great Qing had gathered sufficient evidence, and the case happened to showcase the official's might, would they order the yamen runners to drive the commoners to the front of the yamen to observe.
In Zhu Jinsong's version of the Great Ming, things were different. Because in Zhu Jinsong's version of the Great Ming, trials were generally conducted by the Guard yamen. The county yamen hall more often served as a venue for agricultural associations to publicly try corrupt gentry. In such instances, it was naturally better to have as many onlookers as possible.
Over time, the commoners of the Great Ming grew unafraid of officials, even eager to come to the county yamen to witness the proceedings.
The commoners particularly enjoyed watching officials try corrupt gentry.
However, what the commoners gathered outside the Yongcheng County yamen did not expect was that the corrupt gentry to be tried today would be the widely renowned Gao Dajin, the benevolent Mr. Gao.
This made the onlookers very curious.
Especially when they heard the minor clerks address the young man seated in the hall as "Your Majesty," and further saw Xu Yaozong, the county magistrate, beaten and disheveled standing below the hall, the commoners became even more astonished.
The Emperor of the Great Ming had come to Yongcheng County, and incognito at that. First, he beat the county magistrate, and now he was going to publicly try the county magistrate's father-in-law?
What an eye-opener!
As for the accounts read by the minor clerks, detailing how a debt of ten became thirteen, the commoners present couldn't quite understand the intricacies or the tricks involved. However, they understood one thing: a commoner who owed Gao Dajin's family five hundred wen of silver would somehow end up owing several taels or even tens of taels of silver, eventually forcing them to sell their land and houses, and their entire family reduced to tenant farmers.
The benefits of Zhu Jinsong's years of effort in promoting literacy and social schools, his continuous push for newspaper circulation, and his persistence in publishing articles in newspapers were finally evident at this moment.
Out of trust for Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, even though these commoners still believed that Gao Dajin's family was a benevolent household that had passed down through generations of scholars and farmers, and even though they still believed Gao Dajin was a great benefactor, the commoners chose to listen quietly, intending to see how Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, would deal with the benevolent Mr. Gao.
And Zhu Jinsong did not disappoint them.
After the minor clerks had roughly reported the methods Gao Dajin employed, and the information was compiled into written reports and presented, Zhu Jinsong instructed Ke Zhiming, "Alright, release him for now. I have questions to ask."
After the smelly sock was removed from his mouth, Gao Dajin, ignoring the nauseating taste, immediately knelt down and wailed, "Injustice! Your humble subject is wrongly accused!"
However, after a period of wailing, Gao Dajin did not hear the expected bang of the gavel, nor did he hear Zhu Jinsong ask what injustice he suffered. Gao Dajin sensed something was amiss.
Normally, wouldn't there be a bang of the gavel, a command for silence, and then a question about his grievances, followed by an opportunity to defend himself?
This was nothing like what was written in the opera scripts!
Once Gao Dajin quieted down, he cautiously raised his head to glance at Zhu Jinsong seated in the main hall. Seeing Zhu Jinsong looking at him with a faint smile, Gao Dajin's heart immediately leaped in alarm, and he quickly lowered his head again.
Only then did Zhu Jinsong let out a cold laugh and look at Gao Dajin, saying, "I truly never imagined, Gao Dajin, that you were so adept at playing games!"
Gao Dajin quickly bowed lower, saying, "Your Majesty, show mercy. Your humble subject is truly wronged!"
Zhu Jinsong pointed to the account books in the hall and asked, "You are wronged? Are you saying these account books were fabricated by the Brocade Guard to frame you?"
Gao Dajin very much wanted to say that the Brocade Guard was framing him, but what was the use of saying such nonsense? Let alone the commoners of the Great Ming now, even the commoners before Chongzhen hanged himself wouldn't believe it—what right did a bumpkin landlord like you have to be on the Brocade Guard's radar?
Seeing Gao Dajin hesitate and not answer, Zhu Jinsong let out another cold laugh, "First, use double wages to entice workers to increase their working hours, claiming it's for workers to earn more. But tell me, once all the workers are accustomed to overtime, will you still give them double wages?"
As he spoke, Zhu Jinsong picked up a letter from the table and tossed it towards Gao Dajin. "What does this letter say? Come, read it aloud so everyone can hear!"
Gao Dajin bowed even lower.
Gao Dajin naturally knew what was written in the letter Zhu Jinsong had thrown at him. However, Gao Dajin had never imagined that the Brocade Guard could even retrieve his secretly hidden letter.
Ke Zhiming, standing beside Gao Dajin, saw that Gao Dajin seemed to have gone limp. He immediately walked over, picked up the letter, unfolded the paper, and read aloud, "To my esteemed brother Dajin: I also believe that currently, within the workshops, unions are rampant… Brother proposes increasing wages to extend working hours… This could save ten thousand taels in labor expenses and also serve to divide the workers and the unions. Your brother is truly impressed… I will comply with this and shall not deviate…"
After finishing, Ke Zhiming refolded the letter and returned it to the table in front of Zhu Jinsong.
Zhu Jinsong said, "Come, explain to me what this letter is all about?"
Before Gao Dajin could answer, Xu Yaozong rushed forward and began to pummel Gao Dajin with his fists. "You dog! What did you tell me! You said you could make the common people earn more, you said I could earn merit for the Great Leader, and this is what you said? You old bastard, you even framed your own son-in-law!"
As Xu Yaozong began to act, the commoners watching outside the hall also became agitated, shouting, "Beat him to death! Beat him to death!"
Many of them were workers in the Gao family's workshops. It wasn't unheard of that Gao Dajin intended to use the method of double wages to increase working hours; in fact, many were looking forward to this day.
But who could have imagined that there was such a profound scheme behind it?
Workers would no longer trust the unions, the unions' prestige would be lost, workers would despise and target each other, and then Gao Dajin and his ilk would gradually reduce wages with various excuses, and finally find ways to take the last copper coin from the pockets of the workers and the common people…
Thinking of the outcome described in the letter, the onlookers broke out in a cold sweat. Then, some of the more impulsive commoners wanted to rush into the hall and join Xu Yaozong in beating Gao Dajin to vent their anger.
Seeing that trouble was brewing, Zhu Jinsong abruptly slammed the gavel and shouted, "Silence!"
While the commoners were stunned, Zhu Jinsong loudly declared, "I am here, and do you think I will let these insignificant clowns have their way?"
Only then did the commoners realize that the person sitting in the hall was the current Emperor.
Then, the commoners felt relieved. If it were someone else sitting there, the commoners might have harbored some suspicion. But with Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, the common people had not the slightest doubt.
After the commoners had completely quieted down, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but rub his forehead and instructed Ke Zhiming, "Pull this fool away!"
The fool Zhu Jinsong was referring to was Xu Yaozong, who was currently beating Gao Dajin.
Xu Yaozong, having served in the army, knew how to inflict pain when hitting someone. Although he deliberately avoided vital points, by the time Ke Zhiming pulled Xu Yaozong away, Gao Dajin had already been beaten into a pulp, his face looking like a dye shop, with black, red, green, and purple colors all complete.
However, the beaten Gao Dajin, as if possessed, suddenly pointed at Zhu Jinsong and burst into maniacal laughter. "So what? Can any ordinary person come up with my strategy?"
"You incompetent ruler! I clearly possess the talents of Guan and Yue, yet you, this incompetent ruler, don't even open the imperial examinations. I have a wealth of ability but nowhere to display it, isn't that your fault?"
"As the saying goes, a great man either feasts from tripods in life, or is cooked in tripods in death. Even if I die now, I die content. Is that not joyous! Haha!"
But as he laughed, Gao Dajin suddenly couldn't laugh anymore, because Zhu Jinsong was still staring at him expressionlessly.
Only after Gao Dajin quieted down did Zhu Jinsong let out a laugh and say, "What is it? You want to move me by saying you are very capable and that I, this ruler, have let your shining pearl be covered in dust, thereby escaping this calamity today?"
As he spoke, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, "Unfortunately, if it were another emperor sitting here, this trick of yours might have had some effect. But you've run into me."
Shining pearl covered in dust?
With over three hundred million people in the Great Ming, there were far more talented people than Gao Dajin. Countless people were also in a state of a shining pearl covered in dust. Why didn't others cause as much trouble as Gao Dajin?
What was Gao Dajin, anyway!
Zhu Jinsong shook his head and asked the Imperial Censor standing in the hall, "According to the law, what punishment does Gao Dajin deserve?"
The Imperial Censor bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Gao Dajin has harmed the common people; this is his first crime. According to the law, he deserves execution. Gao Dajin intended to sow discord between workers and unions, attempting to alienate the people from the court. This action is tantamount to treason; this is his second crime. According to the law, he deserves to be sliced into a thousand pieces, his property confiscated, and his clan exterminated. For both crimes, the heavier punishment should be applied. I believe he should be sliced into a thousand pieces, his property confiscated, and his clan exterminated!"
Zhu Jinsong grunted, tapped the table with his fingers, and then said, "Imprison Gao Dajin and his entire family. Escort them to the capital and submit them to the Three Judicial Offices for joint trial and judgment. Execution will take place in autumn."
As Zhu Jinsong's words fell, the commoners gathered and watching below the hall erupted in joyous shouts: "Well killed!"
"The villain Gao deserves to die!"
"Serves him right!"
But as they shouted, their slogans turned into a unified chant of "His Majesty is wise!"
Of course, Gao Dajin's imprisonment did not mean the case was concluded. Next, the Brocade Guard and Guard yamen would interrogate him to ascertain who else was colluding with Gao Dajin.
Meanwhile, Zhu Jinsong wrote an article and had it sent back to the capital by express courier.
"What Secrets Lie Behind Guiding Workers to Increase Working Hours by Increasing Wages?"
This was the article written by Zhu Jinsong, and it also marked Zhu Jinsong's first shot in his campaign against capitalists. How could a mere Gao Dajin, holed up in Yongcheng County, devise so many ideas and derive so many tricks from them?
Therefore, it was more accurate to say that Gao Dajin was not just a wicked seed, but rather foolish and wicked.
…
Having finally left Yongcheng County, Zhu Jinsong continued his journey south of the Yangtze River.
Zhu Jinsong's journey south of the Yangtze River overlapped with that of the old dog Qianlong, but there were also differences. For instance, Zhu Jinsong had to head towards Fengyang first during his southern journey.