prosperous age

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng saw Feng Bao off at Zuixianlou. After watching Feng Bao get into a carriage and leave with the help of a young eunuch, they exchanged a smile.

"Shan Dai, I'm afraid the palace will summon us tomorrow. We'll have to work hard when we get back tonight. We still need to hurry up and draft the regulations."

It's probably too late to perfect it now, but all the terms mentioned earlier should be listed out so as not to be omitted.

Zhang Juzheng began to speak.

Wei Guangde nodded knowingly and smiled, "There is certainly no perfect set of rules, but the list of articles has already been written."

Actually, I used to have a habit of writing down my thoughts whenever they came to mind, but now it's just a matter of organizing them, which isn't troublesome at all.

"That's good, let's go back then."

Zhang Juzheng smiled. The sedan chair had already been carried over in the distance. Just as the sedan chair bearers were pulling up the curtain, Zhang Juzheng turned around and said, "By the way, go to the cabinet early tomorrow so we can check the regulations with each other."

"it is good."

Wei Guangde nodded and said that after Zhang Juzheng's sedan chair left, Wei Guangde's sedan chair also arrived beside him.

Attended by his attendants, Wei Guangde climbed into the luxurious sedan chair, its soft jade and fragrant aroma making him slightly tipsy, and soon fell fast asleep.

Upon arriving at the mansion, four attendants carried him out of the sedan chair. Wei Guangde was awakened by the cool breeze, though he was still somewhat groggy.

"Someone, prepare hot water for me; I want to take a bath."

"Master, I'll go prepare right away."

Zhang Ji was still waiting when he led his men to carry Wei Guangde to the backyard.

"Go to the study. The master probably won't have much time to rest tonight. He can take a nap there once he's done with his work."

Wei Guangde spoke again.

Wei Guangde took a long, hot bath and drank some hangover soup before coming to his study.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance, so tonight he only had to organize what he had written before. He didn't even copy it himself, but asked the steward in the mansion to do it for him.

The next morning, Wei Guangde got up and washed up.

He couldn't control Zhang Juzheng's situation, but thanks to his regular exercise, he could still handle a night of hard work.

After breakfast, Wei Guangde arrived at the cabinet early.

"Grand Secretary Wei, the Grand Secretary is waiting for you in the duty room."

The eunuch at the gate stepped forward and reported to Wei Guangde.

In the cabinet, the clerks who carried out the official duties were the secretaries of the Secretariat and the Grand Secretaries, but the people who served them were from the palace.

After all, this place is already considered part of the imperial palace, and it's impossible to bring outside servants into the Forbidden City.

"it is good."

Wei Guangde was quite curious. Zhang Juzheng was older than him and not as healthy, yet he arrived before him.

Wei Guangde didn't return to his own duty room; he went directly to Zhang Juzheng's place.

Soon, the two of them put their respective drafts together to verify and fill in any gaps.

While they were busy in the cabinet, Feng Bao had already entered the palace by carriage when the city gates opened.

He was resting at his residence outside the palace last night, of course. The palace gates were locked long ago, and no one except the emperor could enter or leave.

After entering the palace, he went to Cining Palace first and reported the situation of the previous night to Empress Dowager Li.

"So, the cabinet has already decided to implement reforms?"

At that time, the term "reform" did not exist; it was simply a major change in the system. Therefore, from ancient times to the present, the term "reform" has been used, such as the Shang Yang Reform, the Wang Anshi Reform, and the Hundred Days' Reform.

"Yes and no. This time, it is just a proper modification of the ancestral system established by Emperor Taizu to make it more suitable for the current situation."

After all, the ancestral system established by the founding emperor was over two hundred years ago, and the world has changed drastically. With the passage of time, it is indeed not appropriate in some aspects.

For example, the Taizu Emperor set a tax of 2950 million shi (a unit of dry measure) for the imperial court, which was sufficient for the court's needs at the time, but now it only results in a deficit for the court every year, making it unable to sustain itself.

From the Jiajing reign onwards, at the end of each year, most people had to rely on borrowing money from the Changying Treasury to get through the year.

If this major reform enables the court not only to be self-sufficient but also to have a surplus of one million taels annually, I believe the national treasury will soon be full again.

Feng Bao naturally chose to speak highly of Zhang and Wei.

Despite being in charge of the inner court, the inner court, like the outer court, is ultimately supported by money.

With money, you can live a life of unparalleled glory; without money, you can't move an inch.

When the outer court is short of money, it can find ways to make ends meet, but when the inner court is short of money, it has no choice but to ask the outer court for help.

The imperial estates had long since reached their "limit." If they were to extend their reach to the imperial estates and shops any further, they would offend the eunuchs and eunuchs in the palace.

Well, it's good that you know this. Feng Bao won't tell the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.

Anyway, some tributes from below also end up in his hands, so it's actually a balance. Everyone can share the spoils, and they all blend in, just like in the outer court.

"Sure?"

Li Caifeng did not come from a good family. She was just a maid when she entered the Prince Yu's mansion. She was only noticed by the Prince Yu because of her good looks.

For someone from a family like hers, it's already a blessing from a previous life.

She never actually imagined that her son would one day sit in that position and become the emperor.

But reality is so surreal; one by one, Prince Yu's children died, while only her two sons grew up healthy.

In order to secure her son's position, she has studied a lot about politics over the years. Although she is limited by her lack of experience and shallow understanding, she knows that governing a country is essentially about using the right people.

If the government is managed by scholars who have passed the imperial examinations, and the emperor controls the finances, the dynasty can continue.

For officials governing the country, the triennial imperial examinations ensure a continuous stream of talented individuals entering the court.

There's no shortage of people, so the only constraint is funding.

She had long been aware of the perilous situation the Jiajing Emperor was in due to lack of funds, with many places experiencing unrest over taxes, and Japanese pirates wreaking havoc in the southeast, severely impacting the Ming Dynasty's major tax-paying regions.

The imperial court has no money, and the northern troops will mutini if ​​they don't receive their rations and pay.

If the imperial court has no money and local areas suffer from disasters and do not receive relief, they will rebel.

These are scenes that have been repeatedly recurring since the Hongzhi era.

After the Jiajing Emperor, the situation improved during the Longqing and Wanli reigns. In particular, starting from the Wanli reign, the cabinet ministers, led by Zhang Juzheng, seemed to be trying to find ways to save the Ming Dynasty from its financial difficulties. This is also why she chose to support Zhang Juzheng.

Now that Feng Bao tells her that the cabinet seems to have completed a major plan that can solve the current difficulties facing the court, how could she not be excited?

After carefully inquiring about the cabinet's methods, Li Caifeng racked her brains for a long time and felt that they might actually be useful.

But she couldn't handle such a big matter alone, and Empress Dowager Chen was far more knowledgeable than her.

"Someone, prepare the imperial carriage and head to Cining Palace." Li Caifeng gave the order, and then immediately said to Feng Bao, "Send someone to Qianqing Palace immediately to invite His Majesty over. We need to discuss this matter carefully."

Also, carefully recall everything we said last night, making sure you don't miss anything.

Clearly, this was to call Feng Bao over and have him recount what happened last night.

Soon, the three officials in charge of the Ming Dynasty palace gathered at Cining Palace. Empress Dowager Chen was still puzzled, wondering what had happened.

After Feng Bao finished explaining the situation from the previous day, especially the cabinet's plan to drastically reform the court's tax system, Empress Dowager Chen and the young emperor fell silent.

Although Empress Chen had been an empress, her background was different from that of most empresses.

When she entered the palace through the imperial concubine selection, it was originally intended to select a princess for Prince Yu and Prince Jing.

The reason why Emperor Jiajing chose Empress Xiaoyizhuang, née Li, as his principal wife, while she was a concubine, was simply because of their different backgrounds.

The Li family came from humble origins, with their father being merely a local gentry, while the Chen family's father was a deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, possessing some official connections.

Normally, Lady Chen's status would certainly be much higher than Lady Li's, but in the selection of the princess, the opposite would naturally apply.

The Ming Dynasty consistently prevented the rise of powerful maternal relatives and suppressed their influence, which is why Lady Li became the principal wife, while she could only be a concubine.

But having come from an official family, he had seen much more of the world, not to mention the young emperor Zhu Yijun, who had been taught by Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde.

After listening to Feng Bao's report, they all keenly realized that the implementation of this law would face considerable resistance, because the gentry and powerful families would be the victims of this reform.

They will pay more for it, and it is clear that once this law is promulgated, the whole country will probably be slightly disturbed.

At this moment, Empress Dowager Chen kept asking for details, while the young emperor remained silent with a frown.

His tightly furrowed brows only relaxed slightly when the topic of compensation for the gentry came up.

Land was the foundation of these gentry families, but they were even more enthusiastic about making money.

Using boats as bait might actually persuade these local tycoons to shift their wealth accumulation methods from the slow-yielding land plunder to setting up workshops and engaging in commerce.

In recent years, the industry and commerce of the Ming Dynasty have developed rapidly, especially the noble lineage. Because they joined the Grassland Merchants Association founded by Wei Guangde, they purchased a lot of wool and carried out wool textile production. The products made from the wool were not only used to make wool carpets, but many wealthy families also purchased soft wool textiles to make clothes.

Even in recent military procurements, in addition to the continued purchase of cotton armor for soldiers, officers of the rank of 100 or above have been provided with official uniforms made of wool textiles.

Well, actually, officials in the capital have been using wool fabrics to make their official robes since last year. These robes are warmer when worn over the outside, and the chief eunuchs in the inner court are the same.

However, the imperial harem has not yet made large-scale purchases, mainly because wool textiles are thicker than cotton and are not easy to process into exquisitely crafted robes. Furthermore, the royal family's clothing is very particular, and the materials have not yet been changed.

However, the carpets and other items from the Grassland Merchants Association had already been purchased and brought into the palace, and the winter curtains had been changed from cotton to wool.

"If things really go according to the cabinet's plan, that would be fine, but if..."

Empress Dowager Chen did not continue speaking. Although she was somewhat tempted, she was more concerned about the stability of the empire.

"Your Majesty, why don't we invite the Grand Secretary over so he can explain in person?"

Grand Secretary Wei has been in charge of the Ministry of War for many years, and presumably, since he has proposed this reform, he must already have countermeasures for the instability that the Empress is worried about.

Feng Bao then suggested inviting the cabinet ministers over so that any issues could be discussed in person.

Actually, Feng Bao hadn't thought about suppressing local discontent last night; he only thought it was feasible when he heard Wei Guangde say that they could develop industry and commerce.

After all, Feng Bao had made a lot of money in the mining industry in Myanmar and knew that doing business was very lucrative, much faster than buying thousands or tens of thousands of acres of land.

Previously, people only thought that maritime merchants and salt merchants were rich, but they never expected that mining could also be very profitable. From this, Feng Bao concluded that any business should be profitable.

The Ministry of Works has also been making a lot of money in recent years, thanks to several shipyards in the south. They not only take orders from the Ministry of War, but also from canal transport and civilian ships, making a fortune.

I didn’t think so before, but now Feng Bao thinks that doing business is better than buying land.

A few thousand acres of farmland is enough for a family to live on; any more is useless. It's better to leave a few boats for the family, just like the areas allocated to the salt merchants.

Having a salt-producing and salt-selling area can ensure the family's long-term prosperity.

For maritime merchants, what they needed was a ship's license; with ships and shipping routes, their families could live a life of comfort and security.

Before long, all four cabinet ministers arrived.

On the way, Wei Guangde had already told Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing about the situation, but neither of them had anything to say.

Although they had discussed it before, the fact that the Grand Secretary and the Second Grand Secretary had already brought the matter to the palace made them wonder if they were acting too hastily.

It would be so much better if we had a complete set of regulations; right now, there are only some clauses, and they're not even complete yet.

However, they forgot that if they had thoroughly considered everything behind the scenes before reporting it, what would the young emperor think?

Perhaps, the comfortable life of the past few years made them forget that the one sitting on the throne was ultimately the emperor, and could no longer be treated like a child.

Wei Guangde still remembered, so sometimes he seemed too hasty, rushing to report to the palace before anything was decided.

Zhang Juzheng only realized these things after returning to his residence last night.

It was fine to disregard the young emperor in the past, but as time goes on and the young emperor grows older, this approach becomes increasingly unacceptable.

If you can't get used to something, that's a path to death.

Zhang Juzheng suddenly realized something after being subtly reminded by Wei Guangde's small gesture.

Once they entered the Cining Palace, they presented the written regulations.

In fact, Feng Bao had already said most of what was mentioned above.

They are all interconnected, and it's impossible to overlook them, so a few less important things might be missed.

"Four Grand Secretaries, I have already thought about this matter. If it can really be done as you wish, it would be good if everyone could open workshops and do business."

But what if they refuse? Have you considered the consequences?

Empress Dowager Chen spoke.

The "they" she referred to were naturally the gentry and powerful families from various regions.

Although it was said in ancient times that "all land under heaven belongs to the king, and all people within the borders are subjects of the king," the traditional understanding was that the emperor and the scholar-officials would jointly govern the country.

Since Zhao Kuangyin of the Northern Song Dynasty proposed that "the state establishes examinations to select officials in order to seek out virtuous people to jointly govern the world," the Song Dynasty promoted a policy of civil administration. The scholar-official class demonstrated people-oriented thinking and patriotism in their governance, which played an important role in improving politics and stabilizing society.

Especially after Wen Yanbo told Emperor Shenzong of Song, "The emperor governs the country with the scholar-officials, not with the common people," the reality became clear: the imperial family also needed the help of the scholar-officials to maintain local stability.

For the world to be at peace, the gentry must contribute their efforts, and this is what the imperial family is concerned about.

"In the north, there are border troops led by Ma Fang and Qi Jiguang; in the southeast, there is Yu Dayou; and in the southwest, there is Li Chengliang. If any of them dares to make a move, the imperial court will surely annihilate them with thunderous force."

Moreover, the imperial court has lifted the maritime ban in recent years, and the benefits of maritime trade are evident. The court's compensation in this regard is already an act of great imperial benevolence.

Fearing widespread chaos, Wei Guangde was the most suitable person to speak out at this time.

At this time, the deployment of these famous generals of the Ming Dynasty was in perfect harmony with the surrounding areas.

Ma Fang's plan to retire this year was ultimately rejected; a decision will have to wait and see how things develop next year. (End of Chapter)