prosperous age

From the early Wanli period, Zhang Juzheng's reforms reduced the burden on the people by surveying land and implementing the "Single Whip Law," which helped restore the Ming Dynasty's national strength and greatly improved the empire's financial predicament.

However, such good days did not last long. With Zhang Juzheng's death, the curse of "the death of a person ends his policies" played out in the Ming Dynasty.

Although Emperor Wanli did not completely deny the achievements of Zhang Juzheng's reforms, all the reform achievements collapsed completely within twenty years after his death due to the tacit understanding within the bureaucratic group.

In the original history, because policies such as the land tax reform were not included in the scope of Zhang Juzheng's reforms, the pace of reform was not actually that large.

Even so, shortly after the implementation of the new policy, in some places, due to the interests of the gentry class, the new policy began to be quietly distorted.

This situation may have even occurred while Zhang Juzheng was still alive.

However, most of the officials who were in the know remained silent and kept quiet.

This situation actually reflects the weakening of central control over local areas. To reverse this situation, the most important thing is for Zhang Juzheng's successor to be able to turn the tide, strictly adhere to the achievements of the reforms, and not give the other side any chance.

To be honest, this situation was somewhat related to Zhang Juzheng's "seizure of mourning" incident. At that time, some officials in the court who had a sense of justice offended Zhang Juzheng because of the "seizure of mourning" incident. They were either dismissed or demoted, and lost their voice.

Regarding land ownership, Wei Guangde had already spoken with the Wanli Emperor, instructing the Censorate to conduct a detailed annual review of land ownership data for each province.

After a nationwide investigation, it has only been about ten years. Even if they resort to some tricks, they can't maintain this for very long, and they can recover taxes in a timely manner.

More importantly, the unauthorized alteration of the new policies by the court, which involved the privilege of collecting miscellaneous taxes previously granted to local authorities, was a violation of this policy.

In fact, the collection of miscellaneous taxes by local governments as needed is a means of maintaining local fiscal balance, similar to local taxes and fees in later generations.

However, this policy, originally intended to maintain fiscal balance, became a means for some corrupt officials to line their own pockets, which led to the introduction of Zhang Juzheng's "Single Whip Law".

Only two years after the new law came into effect, some localities began to experiment with adding "new taxes" outside of the existing tax law, which Wei Guangde absolutely could not tolerate.

The matter of dealing with Huizhou Prefecture was simple, but the possibility of it involving the Xu Kingdom made Wei Guangde hesitate slightly.

It seemed simpler for him to let the lower-level officials take the lead and act in accordance with the prevailing trend.

Liu Shouyou came today to deliver this highly confidential document. In fact, such documents are usually delivered in duplicate, with one copy sent directly to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, which would then be transferred to the Wanli Emperor.

The other book, naturally, was in Wei Guangde's hands.

Originally, after Emperor Wanli assumed personal rule, the secret reports of the Embroidered Uniform Guard should no longer be submitted to the cabinet. However, due to preparations for dealing with the Japanese pirates, and because Emperor Wanli did not say much, the Embroidered Uniform Guard still sends intelligence to both sides according to the old habit.

This also reveals the gap in intelligence between the inner and outer courts.

The inner court could actually obtain timely intelligence, but in the past, this was exclusively for the emperor.

The cabinet, on the other hand, could only learn about the true situation below by reporting through layers of local government, which resulted in some discrepancies.

Especially in special circumstances, where lower-level authorities intentionally conceal information, it becomes even more difficult to respond in a timely manner.

Over the years, the Ming Dynasty's ability to respond promptly to disasters and other special events across the country owes much to the intelligence network of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

About half an hour later, Zhang Xueyan entered the duty room.

After exchanging pleasantries and taking their seats, Wei Guangde handed Liu Shouyou the secret report that had been given to him.

"hiss"

Zhang Xueyan was obviously unaware of this matter beforehand, after all, he was like Wei Guangde, high above and out of touch with those below.

As long as no one reports it to the local authorities, he, as the Minister, will be unaware that some local governments have reverted to their old ways and started collecting extra miscellaneous taxes.

"Your Excellency, the Ministry of Revenue is completely unaware of this matter."

After quickly reading the secret report, Zhang Xueyan immediately explained.

"Lord Zhang, there's no need to worry. The Embroidered Uniform Guard has already investigated this matter thoroughly. The Huizhou Prefecture and Nanjing are deliberately concealing it. It's normal that you don't know about it; otherwise, they might not have dared to do it."

Wei Guangde waved his hand and said in a low voice, "Originally, when I called you here, I planned to call all the cabinet ministers together to discuss the matter, and the court would directly issue an intervening document."

However, the matter in Huizhou Prefecture might involve Grand Secretary Xu, so I had the Embroidered Uniform Guard verify it again.

Wei Guangde whispered that Xu Guo might be behind this, and Zhang Xueyan understood that Wei Guangde might be planning to use this matter to target Xu Guo.

Of course, it could also be a test.

After all, you can't judge a book by its cover. Although Xu Guo seemed to be indifferent to Zhang Juzheng's reforms at first glance, it was hard to say what he really thought.

If Xu Guo himself opposed the reforms and was merely putting on a show of authority for Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde, then Wei Guangde would not have kept him in the cabinet.

Of course, this can only be achieved through unconventional means to force him to retire, since Xu Guo is only in his fifties now, and in later generations, he will not even reach retirement age.

"Understood. I will have someone keep an eye on things in Nanjing."

Zhang Xueyan said in a low voice.

"In addition, the Ministry of Revenue should quietly conduct a further investigation to see if there are any similar cases outside of Huizhou and Xiuning."

When the time is right, everything will definitely be dealt with, and the Ministry of Revenue needs to prepare in advance.

Wei Guangde reminded him.

Once the matter comes to light, the Ministry of Revenue must immediately send people south to investigate the accounts of those prefectures and counties in order to confirm the mistakes made by the officials.

There are some things that Zhang Xueyan needs to consider in advance.

"There's another point you should pay attention to: apart from the horse silver collected by the Court of Imperial Stud, the Ministry of Revenue should gradually increase its manpower for the taxes collected by each ministry."

Once the opportunity arises, I will also have the Ministry of Revenue take over the settlements between the provinces.

Earlier, Wei Guangde had been instructing the Ministry of Revenue to prepare to take over the tax revenues of various government offices in the capital. Even with the Ministry of Works, Wei Guangde did not intend to let them continue to hold the account books alone.

It would be more appropriate to centralize the power of taxation entirely in the Ministry of Revenue, so that the imperial court could have a more accurate grasp of the financial situation.

If Xu Guo really shows inconsistency between his words and actions this time, then it is perhaps inevitable, as he absolutely will not allow any unstable elements to exist in the cabinet.

Cabinet members must all support reforms in order for the original reform policies to take root and be maintained in the long term.

In fact, after several reshuffles and more than a decade, it is possible for the new group of officials to forget those unspoken rules that were once taboo.

Therefore, while the formulation of new systems is important, maintaining them is even more important.

The current officials are all from the old and new systems, so they can easily judge the merits and demerits of policies and their impact on them.

Only when these people gradually withdraw from officialdom can the new system truly take shape.

Just now, Wei Guangde had a vague idea: to make an example of someone.

By using the power of the emperor to exert pressure on the outer court, the right of each government office to collect taxes independently was gradually reclaimed.

If a cabinet minister can fall from power so easily because he opposed reforms, how many people would dare to oppose his proposed reform policy of consolidating financial power?
Unless they no longer want to be officials.

Once this authority is established, we must also extend kindness and give them some benefits; that is, we must combine both kindness and severity.

If this matter is settled next year, and the war in Japan ends, the court will have a stable source of revenue. Then, in addition to the official rank and the general rank salary, the merit rank salary can be put on the agenda.

The imperial court compensated officials for the benefits they lost due to the confiscation of their slush funds by issuing salaries based on merit ranks; this was essentially another pay raise. In reality, it was just a different form of payment: the benefits previously withheld by various government departments were returned to the public treasury, and then the government made up for it with salaries, thus legitimizing this income.

It may seem meaningless, but it actually consolidated the court's power over finances and taxes.

From now on, when looking at the account books of the Ming Dynasty, you don't need to look at the accounts of other government departments; you only need to focus on the Ministry of Revenue.

The Household Department, which later became the Audit Office, was responsible for auditing and accounting for the expenditures of the Ministry of Revenue.

There was also the Censorate, which had the right to oversee the Ministry of Revenue's expenditures.

Zhang Xueyan nodded knowingly. He had guessed something from Wei Guangde's words, but since the Grand Secretary couldn't say more, he didn't press the matter.

Sometimes, this is how it is before a policy is introduced; thorough preparation is needed beforehand so that the implementation won't leave those below in a state of chaos.

Thus, a major cabinet meeting that was supposed to take place before the Lunar New Year was cancelled.

When Wei Guangde returned home after his afternoon office hours, he casually asked Zhang Ji, "How are the preparations for tonight's banquet going?"

"Don't worry, sir. We've invited a chef from Zuixianglou to our residence to prepare the meal. There will be absolutely no problems."

Zhang Ji immediately replied.

"That's good."

Wei Guangde nodded and was about to go to the backyard to change his clothes when Zhang Ji quickly took two steps closer and whispered, "The mansion received quite a few New Year's gifts today, and the list is in the master's study."

"Oh, I see."

Wei Guangde continued walking without stopping, but after a moment he suddenly stopped, almost causing Zhang Ji, who was following behind him, to bump into him.

"Is there a problem with this year's New Year's gifts?"

Wei Guangde then asked a question in return.

"Some, I think, are a bit too much."

Zhang Ji answered hastily.

"Oh, which ones?"

Wei Guangde frowned slightly and asked.

"Governor Li Chengliang sent ten boxes of pearls and jade, as well as ten pairs of gold ruyi scepters, and in addition..."

Just as Zhang Ji was reporting in a low voice, Wei Guangde suddenly interrupted, "Jin Ruyi?"

Zhang Ji nodded, then explained, "A pair weighs about fifty taels."

"Tai really is willing to spend money."

Wei Guangde shook his head and chuckled.

Five hundred taels of gold, and ten boxes of pearls and jade, which are estimated to be several thousand taels in total. The value of just these two items is around ten thousand taels.

“I’ll go check it out later.”

Wei Guangde simply shook his head slightly, then stepped back.

After Wei Guangde finished the banquet and saw off the senior officials, he went to his study and saw the list of gifts that Zhang Ji had singled out. He finally understood why Zhang Ji had brought this up separately.

The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi sent a silver screen worth about 30,000 taels of silver, while the Governor of Shandong presented a money tree made of 1,000 taels of gold.
"They earned this much in the past year."

Wei Guangde flipped through the list, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Wei Guangde had anticipated that the gifts this year would be extravagant, given that he had just become the Grand Secretary and all the officials below him had to curry favor with him. However, each gift was worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, and his private treasury would likely receive hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in gifts this New Year alone.

Whether it was to secure a better career for himself or for other reasons, Wei Guangde had to consider this.

To be honest, he didn't care about this amount of money; it was just a drop in the ocean compared to his entire fortune.

But that's not how things should be viewed. Once you accept it, things can get a bit hot later.

"That's a bit much."

If this number gets out, the Censorate will absolutely go crazy, and Chen Ti won't be able to suppress it, and he doesn't dare to suppress it either.

"Let's ask tomorrow if there's any news from Japan. It's best to wait until the war in Japan is over before proceeding with anything else."

Wei Guangde immediately put the matter of the gifts he had recently received out of his mind and couldn't help but think of the battle report that the Ministry of War had sent him earlier.

"Thump thump thump clap clap clap."

On the walls of Daejeon Castle, the sounds of breech-loading cannons and muskets resounded incessantly. Ming soldiers methodically completed the repetitive process of loading, firing, and reloading on the walls, continuously striking the Japanese pirates who had gathered below.

Occasionally, a bullet would hit the city wall and injure a few soldiers, but they would be quickly sent down the wall and replaced by other soldiers.

This siege has been going on for several days. The Japanese pirates' attack on Daejeon Castle has gone from initial probing and attacking the city from all sides to realizing that there was no opportunity, so they gathered together and launched a fierce attack on the east gate wall.

In recent days, perhaps due to the heavy casualties and lack of progress, the Japanese pirates have been launching continuous fierce attacks at the cost of their own lives.

On the city wall, Liu Ting frowned as he watched the Japanese soldiers being driven back once again. Below the city wall, the mountains of corpses and seas of blood were as eerie as a battlefield.

If the Ming army could still let the Japanese pirates come and collect the corpses at the beginning of the battle, the continuous siege over the past few days has already thrown everything into chaos.

Although he thwarted the Japanese pirates' attempt to attack the city, Liu Ting felt a pang of pity seeing the Japanese soldiers still fighting to the death despite such heavy casualties, and he was also worried about the continuation of the war.

The Japanese pirates' casualties are probably more than 100,000, which means that their daily consumption has been greatly reduced, and the time they can resist has been extended indefinitely.

Moreover, this human wave tactic also gave the Japanese firearms room to play their role. Whether they were gunners or Japanese soldiers equipped with cannons, they could blend into the siege crowd and get close to the city walls to attack the Ming army on the walls.

This can be seen from the recent continuous increase in the daily casualties of the Ming army.

By now, the Ming army had lost more than a thousand soldiers and suffered nearly three thousand casualties. If it weren't for the reinforcement of more than two thousand soldiers from General Qi's battalion, the defensive forces of Datian City would have been stretched thin.

Even so, if the Japanese pirates continue their relentless attacks regardless of casualties, it will last for at most two or three days, and he will once again feel the shortage of manpower.

"Send a scout team to the commander-in-chief to request reinforcements as soon as possible."

"Yes, General."

The guard agreed, and immediately someone ran down from the city wall.

Finally, Liu Ting decided to ask General Qi for help. Datian City needed to increase its troop strength, otherwise it would be too late to ask for help by then.

The Ming army has deployed tens of thousands of troops on the border, but the fighting is concentrated here. It seems that the Japanese pirates are also bloodthirsty and probably won't split their forces to launch surprise attacks on other places.

Meanwhile, in the Japanese pirate camp outside the city, several generals with blank expressions emerged from their tents.

Their orders remained the same: reorganize the routed troops and throw them back into the siege, seemingly destined to annihilate tens of thousands beneath the city walls. (End of Chapter)