Chapter 230

And this was merely the appetizer to this massive-scale manhunt.

Even so, this operation was carried out under Hearing Hai Rui's instruction to catch the big fish and let the small ones go.

In an instant, the Southeast was shaken!

The Xie family of Dongshan.

Several collateral branch sons and brothers ran into the ancestral hall, at a loss.

"Great Uncle, the sky is falling! Hearing Hai Rui has turned traitor!"

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the people of the Zongduya Sect are already on their way to Dongshan."

Hearing the news from their own nephews and grandnephews.

Several old men in the Xie ancestral hall immediately fainted.

"It has already come to this, Great Uncle, do not hold out any longer. Go to sea quickly! We still have a few fast boats at the riverbank. Once we reach the islands and reefs of the open sea, we can switch to a large ship and head straight for the Eastern Barbarians; at the very least, there is still a way to survive!"

The Xie clan elder, nearly seventy years old, Xie Dou, the third son of Xie Qian with white hair and beard, looked ashen.

Gazing at the spirit tablets of his own ancestors.

Xie Dou gritted his teeth and said,

"Go? Does the Xie family still have a retreat?!"

"How much silver do we have outside? Bring it over and we can use it!"

The surrounding Xie family members whispered,

"Great Uncle, there is still over three million taels of silver; that is enough for us to settle down and make a living in the Eastern Barbarians."

Xie Qian took a deep breath, then suddenly opened his eyes and ordered,

"Go, take the silver, and find Mao Mao Haifeng!"

"Go borrow troops! As long as they can intercept and kill Hearing Hai Rui! We, the Xie family, will not want these three million taels of silver or the cargo overseas anymore!"

"This old man only wants Hearing Hai Rui's head!"

For the Xie family, this colossal entity.

As long as the court has not yet formally issued an imperial decree, a mere Hearing Hai Rui cannot move the Xie family.

Even Xu Jie, for the sake of his own life and property, must do his utmost to save the Xie family!

And at this moment, urgent reports from the Southeast were being sent to the capital at the fastest speed.

……

……

West Garden.

Chen Hong tumbled and crawled into the main hall.

Looking at Jiajing with a face full of shock, he said,

"Master, Hearing Hai Rui has reported!"

Jiajing raised his head, looked at Chen Hong, and asked,

"Has there been progress in the case?"

"Yes, Master. The descendants of the late Duke Xie Duke Wen Zheng are implicated in this case. Lord Hai has already led troops to Yuyao to arrest the Xie clan members and bring them to justice!"

Hearing this.

Jiajing gritted his teeth and whispered,

"Not enough, still not enough!"

"A mere Xie family; even if they had ten times the courage, they could not accomplish such a great matter!"

Chen Hong clasped his hands and said,

"This servant knows, but the amount of silver involved reported by Lord Hai is truly too large. This servant wonders if we should send someone to the Southeast to verify it again."

Jiajing raised his head in confusion, looked at Chen Hong, and asked,

"Silver? How much silver? Five million taels?"

Chen Hong stood up, sized up Jiajing, and said,

"Hearing Hai Rui reported that the preliminary estimate puts the involved silver at a staggering fifty million taels. Confiscated dirty silver has already been found... six million taels!"

Hearing this.

Even Jiajing, who had long prepared himself mentally, and all the emperors in the chat group were stunned to a standstill.

Fifty million taels of silver!

Emperor Sizong Lie:

"Great Grandfather, did I hear wrongly? In the entire capital, I almost ransacked the homes of those capital officials, and that only yielded over forty million taels of silver!"

Emperor Chengzu Wen:

"Just... just this one sea has fattened up all the great families of the Southeast like this?"

"@Emperor Renzong Zhao, Big Brother, didn't you tell me you would rather split a single copper coin in two to spend it? With so much silver, why didn't you go get it?"

Emperor Renzong Zhao:

"Father, why are you still standing there stunned? I am going to find Yang Shiqi right now to discuss opening the sea!"

"No, are these Westerners so wealthy?!"

"This is silver, not stones!"

The maritime trade of the great families in the Southeast began roughly in the eleventh year of Zhengde.

At the end of Zhengde and the beginning of Jiajing, the Franjis appeared for the first time in the waters near Lingnan.

Afterwards, history books only recorded that the Franjis at that time bribed the Lingnan officials of the time, allowing them to go ashore to dry their goods.

Everything began from there.

It was just that later generations overlooked a critical turning point.

Xie Di.

The younger brother of the same mother as Grand Secretary Xie Qian.

At that time serving as the Left Provincial Administrator of Guangdong.

139, Zhu Yuanzhang: This child's little mouth is as if smeared with honey, hey!

Just as the Emperors in the chat group were utterly shocked.

Xu Jie, having learned the news, could no longer sit still.

Not long after, Huang Jin slowly walked into the West Garden.

"Master, Grand Secretary Xu wishes to enter to meet Your Majesty."

Jiajing's eyebrows raised.

A faint smile finally appeared on his face.

"Let him in!"

Huang Jin bowed slightly; shortly after Huang Jin walked out of the West Garden, Xu Jie slowly arrived before Jiajing.

"Your subject, Xu Jie, kowtows to the Spirit-Soaring Supreme Pure, Unifying Thunder, Primordial Yang, Subtle One, Flying Profound True Lord!"

Hearing Xu Jie's address.

Jiajing could not help but laugh out loud.

"Grand Secretary Xu, entering the palace late at night, you must have some urgent matter, yes?"

Xu Jie knelt before Jiajing and kowtowed, saying:

"I report to Your Majesty: Your old subject recently received a letter from family members; the common people of the southeast have long suffered under the policy of sea bans. The matter of Great Ming opening the seas must be pursued with urgency, with expediency, and with completeness."

"For the sake of all living beings under heaven, your old subject entered the palace late at night; I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."

Hearing this.

The Emperors in the chat group could no longer sit still.

Emperor Taizu Gao:

"Need I say that people still need to study? Look at this, how this little phrase is put together."

"Begging for mercy is begging for mercy, yet he must make himself look like he is pleading for the people!"

Since the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing, when Zhu Wan toured the south and visited Jiangnan.

Jiajing had been anticipating this moment.

And today.

Xu Jie, the greatest representative of the southeastern aristocratic families in the court, finally knelt before him, petitioning to open the seas.