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As soon as Zheng Xin led the two brothers Zheng Sen and Zheng Miao into the study, they saw Qiu Yizi kneeling in front of King Youyan. He thought he was asking for forgiveness from his father, so he pleaded: "Although my fourth brother's private visit to Tianzun Sect this time was abrupt, it was after all out of a heart to share my father's worries. I hope my father can see this and forgive my fourth brother this time!"
Zheng Rong smiled and said to the other two, "Do you mean the same thing?"
Zheng Sen and Zheng Miao said at the same time: "What you said is exactly what we wanted to say."
After hearing this, Zheng Rong stepped forward and said to Qiu Yizi, who was kneeling on the ground: "In that case, I will spare you this time. Get up now!"
The King of Youyan's words and actions were inconsistent, which made Qiu Yizi really confused. It was not easy to ask him in person, so she had to stand up and stand aside with her head down.
King Youyan nodded and said, "Although Yizhi was abrupt this time, he did discover the lair of Youyan Dao Tianzun Sect after all, so his merits and demerits can be offset. This is why I did not punish him more severely. You all must understand this." He paused and continued, "Zheng Miao acted cautiously and thoroughly this time, which is very pleasing to me. What do you want me to reward you with?"
Zheng Miao bowed and said, "Investigating and punishing evil cults is the principle, and rescuing brothers is the norm. Why should the father and king praise us for doing things within the principle?"
Zheng Rong said, "Although this is true, I have always advocated clear rewards and punishments. I will give you a carved bow that your father used when he was young as a reward." After Zheng Miao thanked him, King Youyan continued, "Zheng Xin was in charge of the public security affairs in Guangyang City, but he failed to discover the signs of Tianzun Sect in advance. What crime should he be punished for?"
Zheng Xin was startled and knelt down quickly, muttering, "I am an unfilial child, and I am willing to be punished..." Only then did his father say, "I will punish you by making you go home and read the Political Essentials, and write an article on your experience in two days." Zheng Xin then breathed a sigh of relief and thanked his father for his kindness.
Zheng Rong changed his expression and said, "We can't ignore the Tianzun Sect. Fortunately, except for the main culprit, all the other people have been captured. We should follow the clues and eradicate the Tianzun Sect's influence in Youyan Road..."
"I was negligent in my daily life and allowed the cult to grow. I am willing to take on this task and will eradicate the cult completely!" The speaker was Zheng Xin.
Zheng Rong waved his hand and said, "Our army will march south to quell the rebellion that day. I'm afraid Zheng Sen can't handle the task of reorganizing the army and horses alone, so I need you to help. This is the current priority. As for the matter of wiping out the Tianzun Sect, let Zheng Miao and Yizhi handle it."
Yizhi was also stunned when he heard this, and quickly responded: "Yizhi will definitely make meritorious contributions despite his crime, and live up to his father's painstaking efforts!"
King Youyan laughed and said, "I guess that this evil cult witch and the leader are still in Youyan, and the only way to leave is to go south across the Yellow River and enter Henan Road. Therefore, we must send more troops to each ferry to prevent the evil cult from escaping into the sea."
After hearing this, Zheng Xin nodded vigorously: "I will definitely do my best!"
Zheng Rong smiled cheerfully and said, "What you are doing are all urgent matters. You must handle them carefully and not be negligent in the slightest."
Since Yizhi took the task of investigating the Tianzun Sect, he did not dare to be negligent. He led the judicial offices of Youyan Road and Guangyang City to investigate the captured Tianzun Sect believers one by one. Although the Tianzun Sect has been operating for a long time, most of the believers are just peaceful civilians, and there is no need to torture them. They will tell everything they know; then they will carefully compare the confessions of everyone and quickly identify the status of each person in the cult. Regarding the treatment of believers, Qiu Yizhi adopted a very lenient treatment. All ordinary believers were immediately released and sent home, and then they were guarded by the neighborhood elders, so that they could no longer believe in the cult. As for those who have a slight status or firm beliefs in the cult, they will vacate special houses, invite famous Confucian scholars to teach the way of saints, and let their families visit them frequently to persuade them with family affection. Those who committed extortion and other illegal acts in the Tianzun Sect will be punished according to the law, neither too heavy nor too light, and strictly follow the doctrine of the mean to legislate the power.
However, when searching the lair of Tianzun Cult, they found documents that many wealthy families in Guangyang were forced to give up their property because they had evidence against them. Qiu Yizhi was very troubled as to whether to let these people go or deal with them separately. After several discussions with Zheng Miao, they decided to ask King Youyan for instructions first.
It happened that the Youyan Palace was preparing to go south to quell the rebellion, but the imperial court had not issued an order yet. The Youyan King was worried about this matter, fearing that today's military preparations would give people an excuse to rebel, and he discussed countermeasures with Zhongli Kuang all day. At this time, Zheng Miao and Qiu Yizhi asked Zheng Rong for instructions on investigating and punishing the rich families, and Zheng Rong let them do it at their own convenience without asking for instructions on everything.
This posed a problem for the two of them, and they discussed all night to come up with a strategy.
On this day, the two brothers invited wealthy merchants in Guangyang to talk. The first wealthy merchant to be invited was Zhou Cijing. Zhou Cijing became rich by trading tea and furs with the Turks. He has always been honest in his business and has read a lot of poetry and books. He is a well-known Confucian businessman and has a great reputation in the Guangyang business community. Just because the maid in his house stole, Zhou Cijing was furious and ordered people to lock her up, beat her, and then expel her from the Zhou Mansion. The maid was so upset that she jumped into the river to commit suicide. The Tianzun Sect knew about this and used it to threaten Zhou Cijing. Zhou Cijing was already uneasy about the maid drowning herself, so the Tianzun Sect did not coerce him and offered a large amount of gold and silver as atonement.
Merchants are the lowest of the four classes of people, and the Youyan Palace has a handle on him. Zhou Cijing had already shrunk before he even opened his mouth, his face was frozen, and the hand holding the teacup was shaking involuntarily. He said tremblingly, "I have studied for a few years, and I would never dare to take human life lightly. It's just that the things that the maid stole were my father's relics, and I don't know where they were sold. So I was so angry that I did such a thing."
Seeing Zhou Cijing's embarrassed expression, Zheng Miao smiled and said slowly, "Master Zhou, there is no need to blame us. My brother and I have already investigated the matter. The maid brought this upon herself. Although the Master's beating was imprudent, it did not violate moral principles or laws, so we will not pursue it here."
Zhou Cijing sighed and said, "I failed the exams many times, so I had to devote myself to farming to make a living. But I have been entangled in worldly affairs for so long that I have forgotten the teachings of the saints. Not only have I not made any contribution to the court, but I also believe in the absurd Tianzun religion. I am really ashamed!"
Zheng Miao waved his hand and said, "Sir, there is no need to be modest. But speaking of serving the court, I have an unwelcome request..."
Before Zheng Miao finished speaking, Zhou Cijing quickly said, "If your Highnesses need Cijing, I will definitely serve you."
Qiu Yizhi, who had been sitting aside for a long time without speaking, stood up and said, "Although the matter of Tianzun Sect was exposed this time, it was ultimately due to my mistake, and it is inevitable that it will revive in the future. Therefore, the third prince and I have an idea. Why not take this opportunity to gather the merchants of Youyan Road to form a chamber of commerce and protect ourselves as a whole in the name of the chamber of commerce. In public, it can help the people and support the court. In private, we can advance and retreat together and regulate competition. If there are merchants who commit crimes or are loyal and kind, they can be discovered and reported to the court in time for rewards and punishments." Yizhi smiled and looked at Zheng Miao, nodded and continued, "Our Youyan Palace will also strongly support the chamber of commerce and provide convenience for you in transactions with Bohai and Turks." Yizhi spread his right hand, motioned Zhou Cijing to drink tea, and continued, "Mr. Zhou has a good reputation. When the two brothers discussed this matter, we wanted to nominate him as the president."
Zhou Cijing didn't expect that he would go from sadness to joy today. Although he was happy, he still had to decline the offer: "I am not talented and I have no moral integrity. There are many merchants with both talent and virtue in Guangyang City. How could it be my turn?"
Yizhi smiled and shook his head, saying, "Master Zhou is being modest again. This is just some superficial ideas of my two brothers, and we haven't told King Youyan yet. King Youyan is kind-hearted and far-sighted, so I'm sure he won't object." As he spoke, Qiu Yizhi changed the subject and said very seriously, "But whether the Chamber of Commerce is established or not, I hope Master Zhou will inform the merchants in Guangyang. First, the merchants were bewitched by the Tianzun Sect, and the Youyan Palace will not hold them accountable. Second, the money and property extorted by the Tianzun Sect will be returned to you. As for whether it will be hosted by the Palace or the Chamber of Commerce, we will discuss it later. Third, those who have committed crimes will not be punished this time, but they must operate legally in the future. If they commit crimes again, they will be punished severely!"
Zhou Cijing was frightened by these few words, and he quickly stood up and agreed timidly.
Zheng Rong originally wanted to win over the merchants, but he did not expect that Zheng Miao and Yi would go a step further and come up with the idea of establishing a chamber of commerce. So after discussing with Zhongli Kuang, he thought it might not be a disaster, so he agreed. However, merchants are the last of the four classes of "scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans". Although they are rich enough to rival a country, they have always been looked down upon by the court and the people. It seems inappropriate to let them govern themselves, so Zheng Miao was made the president of the chamber of commerce, and Zhou Cijing was still in charge of the specific affairs. This would not only improve the reputation of the chamber of commerce, but also facilitate control.
Since Zheng Miao became the president of the Chamber of Commerce, his social engagements have increased dramatically. Merchants of all sizes in Guangyang City come and go alone or in groups of three or five, and Zheng Miao's mansion is crowded with people. Zheng Miao is fed up with it, so he calls Yizhi to ask him to share some of the work. Yizhi had a secret discussion with Zheng Rong before, and knew that his third brother was the candidate for the crown prince in the mind of the King of Youyan. Of course, he didn't want to steal Zheng Miao's limelight, so he divided the work and socialized all the merchants who had a relationship with the Tianzun Sect, and Zheng Miao would deal with the rest of the law-abiding ones.
China is a country of etiquette, and every word and action must be polite. The rules of socializing are extremely complicated. But Yizhi had no intention of being fussy about red tape. He just reprimanded and comforted the guests a few times before getting up to see them off. As for the gifts given by the criminal merchants, he accepted them all and planned to distribute them to the poor families in Guangyang City after the matter was settled. The merchants who came to the door were just to hear "this will not happen again". If they were to nitpick about etiquette, they would be ignorant of the importance of it. So they happily left Yizhi's slightly shabby mansion.
There were about a hundred merchants who were coerced by Tianzun Sect because of their richness and inhumanity. Although all kinds of etiquette were simplified to the greatest extent, it took a full five days to meet all the merchants. The last merchant was none other than Zhang Da Hu, who was publicly reported on the day when Yizhi sneaked into Tianzun Sect. Zhang Da Hu made a fool of himself in front of Prince Youyan and committed a heinous crime. He was always worried, but he was unwilling to give up his business in Youyan Road and start a new business. Seeing that other merchants who had committed crimes were pardoned one by one, he bit the bullet and went to Qiu Yizhi's house to wait for his punishment.
Because of his childhood experience, Yizhi had always hated those who bullied women and children, but in order to treat all merchants equally, he could only suppress his anger and not punish them severely. Fortunately, Mr. Zhang was very self-aware and prepared a particularly generous gift. Yizhi only thought that it was for the benefit of the elderly, the weak, the sick and the disabled, and let him go after a severe reprimand.
Yizhi naturally scolded the unscrupulous businessman with great severity and for a long time. When he sent Mr. Zhang away, it was already before dawn. Yizhi felt a little hungry, so he ordered the waiter to prepare dinner. At this time, another servant came to report that Wen Lingjiao, a merchant from Guangyang, wanted to see him.
Since the time of Emperor Wenzong, the academic community of this dynasty has launched a retro movement, reinterpreting the classics of the saints, and overturning the bad habits of the previous dynasty, such as the strict separation of men and women. Therefore, although women in the Han Dynasty still cannot serve as officials or join the army, they are not greatly restricted in reading and writing, and socializing with visitors. However, it is still very rare for a woman to show her face in public as a merchant. Therefore, Qiu Yizi immediately became interested and took the merchant's flower names to check carefully, but there was no one named Wen Lingjiao, let alone the bad deeds she had committed. This made Yizi even more curious, and he asked the doorman to invite Wen Lingjiao in to see her, "Since she is here, let's make the best of it."
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PS. This chapter involves the status of women in ancient China. In fact, until the rise of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties, women in ancient China had a considerable status. Take the Northern Song Dynasty as an example. Fan Zhongyan's mother remarried and was written into the "Biographies of Women". Li Qingzhao was also able to exchange literary talent with her literary friends. Therefore, although the women described in this chapter are exposed to the public, it is reasonable. (To be continued)