prosperous age

In fact, since ancient times, Chinese civilization has been the undisputed leader in East Asia. Not only were the surrounding vassal states subject to the Ming Dynasty economically, but the cultural influence was even greater.

Although many countries in Southeast Asia have chosen to follow Islam, aside from religion, most of their customs are more or less influenced by Chinese culture.

However, this influence only began to diminish after China began to close itself off from the world.

In modern times, the situation began to reverse.

Perhaps because they had been treated as vassals by China for a long time, even after hundreds of years of colonial rule, they remained wary of China.

Wei Guangde wanted to bring some people from foreign vassal states into the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, not out of a desire to fawn over foreigners, but to prevent the country's doors from being closed again.

For some reason, among all the super civilizations or superpowers in history, only China has closed its doors to the world several times, while the great empires that emerged at the crossroads of Eurasia and Africa have always maintained a high degree of openness, spreading their civilizations to all parts of the world.

Of the more than 200 countries in the world today, 49 are predominantly Muslim, with 22 of them being Arab countries, accounting for a quarter of the total.

This shows what a huge force it is in the United Nations.

Leaving aside Arab countries, the remaining Muslim countries, such as Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, all have hundreds of millions of Muslims.

The influence of Chinese civilization was mainly limited to a few surrounding countries.

Clearly, the real way to spread Chinese civilization is not to open the country's doors and invite people in, but rather to send more people out.

The best way to spread Chinese culture is to send people out to subtly influence those around them, rather than simply bringing people back.

Civilization is best when it is pure.

As for why Wei Guangde introduced Matteo Ricci, it was naturally to promote the spread of Western scientific knowledge in the Ming Dynasty.

If he were to handle it, he could do a good job, but there would always be a lack of a starting point. Even Wei Guangde himself didn't know how to get started.

With Matteo Ricci, the situation changed. In order to spread his religion, he would spare no effort to promote Western knowledge, thereby showing that Western civilization did not belong to Eastern civilization, thus making people interested in his religion and becoming believers.

Ultimately, to convince people to embrace Western religion, we must first demonstrate its superiority.

In fact, Matteo Ricci had already noticed in the Ming Dynasty that the Ming people's understanding of practical knowledge was not pure, but rather idealistic. They did not pursue the essence of things, but preferred to use some mysterious and esoteric things to evade the issue.

In the West, they like to get to the bottom of things and figure out the underlying logic.

After Wei Guangde left the Qianqing Palace and returned to the cabinet, the second grand secretary Shen Shixing quickly received the news.

"Your Excellency, what did His Majesty say?"

After they entered and exchanged greetings, Shen Shixing asked a question.

"Sit down first."

After Wei Guangde had Shen Shixing sit down, he smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise. You do not have the same idea as Xu Guo. You still choose to follow the steps set by the cabinet earlier, with the various tribes weakening the Mongols as the main focus."

"That would be best. I was actually worried that His Majesty might see the true strength of the Mongols and make the decision to launch a northern expedition."

What Shen Shixing didn't actually say was that after seeing the details of the Mongols reported in the newspaper, especially considering that these million Mongols were now gathered within a hundred miles north of the Great Wall, he had also considered sending troops to completely eliminate the threat from the grasslands.

"I suppose there won't be anything else happening before the New Year. How about I gather my colleagues at my residence tonight for a hearty drink, a New Year's feast for us cabinet ministers? What do you think, Ru Mo?"

After becoming the Grand Secretary, Wei Guangde found it inconvenient to drink outside, so he usually chose to hold banquets in his residence or other villas to entertain guests.

Unlike in the past, he could no longer go to brothels with his colleagues to listen to music.

Of course, the girls who served as attendants were all selected from the brothel, just like those outside.

In reality, once officials reached a certain status, many would bring people from the Jiaosifang (a type of official residence) back to their residences to serve them, even though the imperial court explicitly forbade it.

"That's good. Everyone's banquet schedule is full around the holidays, so it's good that we get together sooner."

Shen Shixing smiled.

With only a few days left until the New Year, some government offices that were relatively quiet were practically closed off, meaning that a few offices were too busy to think about the holiday.

"Yes, when I returned to the manor yesterday, the steward showed me the arrangements for the next few days. The Jiangxi Guild Hall and the Jiujiang Guild Hall have both arranged banquets to entertain the scholars who came to the capital to participate in the imperial examinations. I believe everyone is doing the same."

Wei Guangde smiled wryly.

Next year will be the eleventh year of the Wanli reign, and it will also be the year of the imperial examination. At this time, the guild halls in various parts of the capital are already full of candidates who have come to the capital to participate in the imperial examination.

The guild halls were full, and the hotels in the city were also full, so many people had to seek lodging in the city's temples and Taoist monasteries.

"Does His Majesty have anyone in mind to be the chief examiner for next year's imperial examination?"

Shen Shixing suddenly asked a question at this moment. Since the topic of next year's imperial examination had come up, he naturally had to ask a question.

Wei Guangde shook his head and said, "His Majesty did not mention this matter, but it is possible that Yu Youding, Xu Guo, and others are involved."

As for you and me, I'm afraid we won't even get a chance to take the imperial examinations in the next two rounds.

"Hehe, those three can preside over at least two imperial examinations, so we really don't have a chance."

Shen Shixing nodded and smiled wryly.

Actually, presiding over the imperial examination is a very important responsibility, so it's a good time to rest.

Yes, as the chief examiner of the imperial examination, although I was confined to the examination hall for half a month, I didn't have to worry about anything.

The so-called grading of exam papers is not something that these CEOs need to consider. What they can see are the exam papers selected by each department, and they simply rank them. Even the ranking is the result of a joint discussion, and the CEO is only responsible for making the final decision.

That was incredibly easy.

Of course, if cheating occurred during the imperial examinations, that would be a serious matter, and losing one's official position or being dismissed from office would be quite normal.

Of course, it mainly depends on the emperor's mindset. For example, when Li Dongyang presided over the imperial examination, a major cheating case was exposed, but he didn't get into serious trouble.

Okay, it's about Tang Bohu's alleged involvement in the imperial examination fraud. If he were to enter officialdom, Li Dongyang would be his teacher.

Shen Shixing understood that if Emperor Wanli consulted the chief examiner of the imperial examination, Wei Guangde would likely recommend Yu Youding for the position, which naturally aligned with Shen Shixing's own thoughts.

After chatting for a while, Shen Shixing got up to take his leave. Before leaving, he smiled and whispered to Wei Guangde, "With these new recruits, the Grand Secretary and I have become much more relaxed."

"hehe."

Wei Guangde chuckled lightly, and then said as he saw him off, "Since Rumo is going back, why not take the opportunity to tell your three colleagues about tonight's banquet? I'll send someone back to the mansion to inform them and make preparations for tonight."

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

Shen Shixing didn't mince words and immediately said, "However, it will be my turn to host the cabinet dinner at the end of next year. We can set a rule that the cabinet takes turns hosting this dinner."

"it is good."

Wei Guangde nodded and smiled.

After seeing Shen Shixing off, Wei Guangde returned to his seat and pondered the current situation of the Ming Dynasty.

Burma, which was the most active in the south, has been suppressed by Li Chengliang's troops. As for the current situation where the Mongol forces no longer pose a substantial threat to the Ming Dynasty, the greatest danger to the Ming Dynasty is actually natural disasters.

Upon careful recollection, the continuous droughts and floods in various provinces during the Jiajing era ended in the Wanli era, and the last two years have seen unusually favorable weather.

And then what?

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the north was basically in ruins, and the initial cause was years of drought, coupled with large-scale smuggling of grain by Shanxi merchants, which exacerbated the famine in the north.

In fact, without the smuggling of grain to the north, the Ming Dynasty could have barely survived the grain transport from the south to the north. Although the court might have been dragged down, it wouldn't have allowed the Jurchens in Liaodong to rise to power.

Smuggling Shanxi merchants? They haven't committed any major offenses. At most, they've smuggled pots, pans, salt, and tea to the grasslands in exchange for cattle, horses, and wool.

Even if it's treated, it won't be too serious.

As for the Jurchens of Liaodong, they should not pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty within the next one or two decades.

As for what will happen thirty years from now, nobody knows.

Without Nurhaci, who knows if another Nurhaci would have emerged.

In response to natural disasters, the imperial court had to formulate a comprehensive set of measures, such as importing large quantities of grain from Jiangnan and even Southeast Asia to make up for domestic shortages.

If the government wants to purchase grain from abroad, it needs to have the funds.

Ultimately, money was the most important factor in solving the problems of the Ming Dynasty.

Only by collecting all the account books from various departments and submitting them to the Ministry of Revenue can the imperial court know the true state of the national treasury.

Japan's vast wealth could provide the imperial court with a large reserve of money. If used wisely, it should be able to survive for several decades without much trouble.

As Wei Guangde was pondering, Lu Bu appeared under the eaves with Liu Shouyou outside the door.

"Commander Liu, please wait a moment while I go in and inform them."

"Thank you."

Lu Bu was Liu Shouyou's subordinate, but at this point, the two of them were tacitly aware of each other's situation, and everything seemed to be going smoothly.

As soon as Lu Bu entered the room, he said to Wei Guangde, "Master, Commander Liu of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has arrived."

"Invite him in."

Wei Guangde said calmly.

Soon, Lu Bu led Liu Shouyou into the duty room, and then tea was brought in from outside before he left.

At this moment, Wei Guangde seemed oblivious, quietly flipping through the memorials that Liu Shouyou had sent that day.

"Hehe. Very good. I remember that the imperial court issued a document half a year ago, which stated that the 'transportation fee' collected by the government offices in the past has been incorporated into the service fee, and local governments are not allowed to continue to collect it."

Furthermore, the imperial court has already established monetary laws, clearly defining the exchange rate between copper and silver coins. The Wanli Tongbao coin, officially minted, is the standard currency nationwide. Who gave Huizhou Prefecture the audacity to still levy a fire tax? Did they collect the government-issued coins, mint them, and then refine them themselves?

Wei Guangde had already thrown the folded document directly onto the coffee table, and couldn't help but raise his left hand to rub his throbbing temples.

The "Single Whip Law" promoted by him and Zhang Juzheng was implemented for only two years before various countermeasures emerged in different regions.

"Transportation fee" refers to the transportation cost incurred by the government in the past when it collected taxes in kind and transported the grain or goods to local government warehouses.

This expense was actually included in the corvée labor service, which was carried out by laborers during their off-season to offset their corvée labor quota for that year.

However, later on, some places converted this simple corvée labor into silver taxes and stopped conscripting laborers for transportation.

This miscellaneous tax was what the officials called "transportation fee".

As for the fire loss, Wei Guangde never expected that even after he unified the monetary system of the Ming Dynasty, the officials would still come up with it.

If fire losses were to occur in various provinces, why would he mint coins?

Fortunately, the problem has only started in Huizhou Prefecture. At this point, Wei Guangde is too lazy to even ask who is watching Huizhou Prefecture; he is already furious.

"This trend must be nipped in the bud. We must absolutely not allow any other places to have miscellaneous taxes like the 'fire tax,' and we must prohibit all miscellaneous taxes in the localities."

"Tax increases are fine, but they all need to be reported to the Cabinet. They only count after the draft proposals are approved."

After speaking fiercely, Wei Guangde stood up and shouted towards the door, "Lu Bu, send someone to invite Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Revenue to come here."

"Later, please inform the other elders that they have important matters to discuss with me."

"Yes."

Lu Bu only peeked out of the guardhouse door, gave a quick reply, and then ran out.

"Your Excellency, we have also received news that Zhao Yongxian, the newly reinstated Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, has also discovered this matter and may submit a memorial to impeach him."

Liu Shouyou said in a low voice.

“Zhao Yongxian, I remember him. He was the one who was dismissed from office for impeaching Zhang Jiangling for not observing filial piety.”

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, and then heard Liu Shouyou whisper, "Huizhou Prefecture is the hometown of Grand Secretary Xu, so he probably knows about it too."

"Hmm? Are you sure?"

Wei Guangde frowned slightly and immediately pressed for an answer.

"The people of Huizhou Prefecture had very close ties with Grand Secretary Xu's residence, and since they were collecting fire tax, it was impossible for his residence not to know about it."

Liu Shouyou only whispered a reminder.

In fact, Wei Guangde understood the reasoning without him even needing to answer.

It's impossible for his family not to know the actions of the Jiangxi Provincial Administration Commission and Jiujiang Prefecture.

"According to the reports below, Zhao Yongxian has been aware of the events in Huizhou Prefecture for three months. During this period, a letter from Grand Secretary Xu was delivered to Lord Zhao's residence in Nanjing."

However, Zhao Yongxian's side did not seem to stop there; the Ministry of Revenue still sent people to Huizhou Prefecture to collect the account books.

Liu Shouyou said in a low voice.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard only recorded many things, but they did not know the contents of the letters between the two parties, so they could not be sure what was said.

However, Zhao Yongxian's investigation into the collection of surcharges in Huizhou Prefecture was not a fabrication. After all, the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing sent people and sealed the accounts, which meant that the matter was to be dealt with.

"Go and keep an eye on Xu Guo. Don't make this public for now. See if Zhao Yongxian can withstand the pressure and report this matter to the emperor."

Wei Guangde decisively changed his mind. Initially, he planned to directly use the report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to define the matter in the cabinet and decisively deal with the officials of Huizhou Prefecture.

It seems that this involves cabinet ministers, especially newly appointed ones, so we'll have to wait and see.

At the very least, he shouldn't be the one to fire the first shot.

If Zhao Yongxian were to submit a memorial impeaching him, it would seem more appropriate for him to then follow up and push the matter forward.

Upon seeing Lu Bu return, Wei Guangde hurriedly called him in again.

"There's no need to notify the cabinet ministers for now. Just come directly to me when Minister Zhang arrives."

Upon hearing that the other duty rooms had not yet been notified, Wei Guangde decisively gave the order.

“I remember when Zhao Yongxian and Wu Zhongxing were dismissed from their posts, Xu Guo even gave them jade cups and rhinoceros horn cups.”

Wei Guangde asked in a low voice.

"That's true. At the time, Lord Xu was one of the few officials in the court who praised their actions."

Liu Shouyou said in a low voice.

Back then, the officials on Wei Guangde's side all kept silent about that incident, so naturally no one stepped forward to protect those who had offended Zhang Juzheng.

"Let's see how Grand Secretary Xu handles this." (End of Chapter)