The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 221

But the imperial court's taxes were never just about grain.

Moreover, the vast majority of imperial clan members, once they reached a certain stage, would go directly back to Fengyang to guard the tomb, because guarding the tomb could at least provide them with food and clothing, whereas in their fiefdoms, many couldn't even get enough to eat.

In Jiangnan today, the imperial court faces the same problem: the gentry class monopolizes the bridge of communication between the upper and lower levels, so any reform or policy cannot achieve the expected results, and may even have the opposite effect.

The news of Zhou Chu's actions towards the nearly two thousand gentry in Suzhou spread like wildfire throughout the entire Jiangnan gentry class.

The gentry of Jiangnan would not sit idly by. They knew very well that the land survey in Suzhou Prefecture was just the beginning. If Suzhou Prefecture could successfully conduct the survey, the next step would be the entire Jiangnan region.

This is something they cannot tolerate. How can the land they have swallowed up and the land they have hidden be re-measured?

Zhou Chu was not affecting the interests of one person, but the interests of the most influential social class in the entire Jiangnan region, and even the entire Ming Dynasty.

That's why Cui Wenkui was so surprised when he learned that Zhou Chu wanted to do this.

He never believed that Zhou Chu could accomplish this, even though Zhou Chu was now incredibly powerful and influential in Jiangnan.

Killing people is easy; many people can do it, such as the powerful eunuch Liu Jin.

But when it comes to actually making some reforms, it's incredibly difficult.

Historically, those who attempted reforms, such as Wang Anshi, almost always saw their policies fail after their deaths.

This was something that not only Cui Wenkui knew, but Zhou Chu knew even better.

Don't be fooled by Zhou Chu's seemingly smooth-sailing journey and his apparent ability to do whatever he wanted.

But Zhou Chu knew very well that what he had done had not changed the fundamental situation of the Ming Dynasty at all; it had only changed the situation in the court, allowing the imperial power to temporarily gain the upper hand.

The road to repairing the Ming Dynasty is incredibly long.

The gentry in Jiangnan naturally retaliated, so they began to increase the burden on the common people and blamed it all on the imperial court, saying that the court had ordered them to do so.

This made things even more difficult for the already overburdened people. Many were on the verge of not being able to survive. All that was needed was a spark to ignite the entire Jiangnan region.

That's why Yan Song was so anxious. He didn't even dare to think too deeply about how much damage it would do to the Ming Dynasty if the people of Jiangnan were detonated. At that time, the entire Jiangnan region would probably be in ruins.

“Mr. Jiexi, why are you in such a hurry? Urgent matters should be handled slowly; the more you rush, the more likely you are to make mistakes.”

Zhou Chu calmly took a sip of tea.

Looking at Zhou Chu's confident demeanor, Yan Song, knowing Zhou Chu as he did, understood that Zhou Chu must have a solution.

"Sir, please stop keeping me in suspense."

Yan Song said.

"Mr. Jiexi, what do you think is the root cause of the current plight of the people in Jiangnan?"

Zhou Chu smiled.

"It must be that these gentry in Jiangnan increased taxes on the common people and then pushed the blame onto the imperial court, so the people naturally became dissatisfied with the court."

Yan Song thought for a moment and then said.

"Mr. Jiexi's words are both right and wrong; they don't get to the heart of the matter."

"The root cause is that there is no effective way for ordinary people to communicate with the imperial court. The people have grievances that cannot be expressed and grievances that cannot be redressed. In that case, we can build a bridge for communication between the people of Jiangnan and the imperial court temporarily."

Zhou Chu said.

Yan Song's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.

"Notify the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) offices in all prefectures of Jiangnan Province to post notices stating that the imperial court has not increased any taxes, and that if anyone uses the name of the imperial court to levy exorbitant taxes and oppress the people, the people can go to the local Jinyiwei office to appeal for justice."

"Once verified, arrest these gentry and officials who oppress the people. At the same time, order all Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) in each prefecture to take action during this period. Any Jinyiwei who dares to shirk responsibility or fail to act will be dealt with according to military law. After this matter is resolved, each Jinyiwei will be rewarded with one hundred strings of cash."

Zhou Chu looked at Chen Zhao beside him with a cold expression and said.

Then, Zhou Chu had someone summon Feng the Blind, the head of the Rong family in Suzhou Prefecture.

One of Blind Feng's eyes was covered, making him look like he was blind in one eye.

In reality, he wasn't blind in any of his eyes; these were just his methods of begging.

"Sir, what are your orders?"

Blind Feng approached Zhou Chu and bowed obsequiously.

Others may not know what Zhou Chu has done, but he does. It is precisely because he knows that Blind Feng dares not have any other thoughts in front of Zhou Chu.

He dared not displease the living Yama in front of him.

“Memorize this lotus flower ballad, and then teach it to the Rong family members in Suzhou Prefecture and even the entire Jiangnan region. Sing it every day these days, and afterwards have all the Rong family members go to the local Jinyiwei office to collect one string of cash.”

As Zhou Chu spoke, he handed the lotus flower ballad he had just written to Blind Feng.

Zhou Chu knew that Blind Feng was literate.

They didn't have much money, but for these scions of wealthy families, singing Lianhualuo was just a matter of course, so why not?

Zhou Chu intended to use a two-pronged approach to completely shatter the schemes of these gentry in Jiangnan.

Zhou Chu wanted to see how these people would set themselves on fire.