prosperous age

During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, the political atmosphere was such that, initially, in order to maintain stability, Zhang Juzheng's political reforms were minor adjustments, subtle and gradual.

Aside from rejecting Gao Gong's policies, he did almost nothing else outrageous.

After Zhang Juzheng's position was secured, especially with the formation of what is known as the "iron triangle," and with the support of the Empress Dowager and the Grand Chancellor Feng Bao, he began sweeping reforms.

However, as Zhang Juzheng's reform efforts collapsed before they were even halfway through, the Ming Dynasty was plunged into a huge political vortex, and a series of attacks against the old order began.

From Emperor Wanli's initial veiled denial of Zhang Juzheng, to Feng Bao's downfall and subsequent open ouster of Zhang, a comprehensive purge of Zhang's faction was carried out.

The purpose was simply to take advantage of the Wanli Emperor's need to regain power upon his ascension to the throne, to negate the achievements of Zhang Juzheng's reforms, and to recover the lost benefits for the gentry class to the greatest extent possible.

From sweeping reforms to political betrayals rife with intrigue, everything proceeded smoothly, almost unnoticed by the outside world.

In fact, it was not the Wanli Emperor who brought down Zhang Juzheng, but the entire ruling class of the Ming Dynasty.

On the carriage back to the capital, Wei Guangde swayed unsteadily, still pondering what had happened the day before.

Although it may seem like just a few clowns testing the waters, countless eyes are watching them from behind, and even the Vice Minister Shin Si-hang may be waiting for an opportunity.

Despite the historical facts, when the Zhang family was almost wiped out, Shen Shixing intervened and persuaded Emperor Wanli to stop punishing them. However, everything he did was in line with the ideas of Chinese culture.

Zhang Juzheng is dead, and there should be a limit to the purge.

Truly eliminating all traces of the enemy without leaving any room for maneuver is actually not a good thing for the scholar-official class.

Who knows who the emperor will strike with his next sword?

That's politics.
Wei Guangde sighed inwardly. Shen Shixing had initially supported Zhang Juzheng's reforms, but when the entire court turned against Zhang, he remained aloof.

Suddenly, Wei Guangde, who had been languid, sat up straight.

His sudden action startled the lady standing beside him.

"Master, what's wrong with you?"

Xu Jianglan looked at Wei Guangde and asked in a low voice.

With knights and attendants surrounding the carriage, the couple spoke loudly inside, inevitably being overheard by those around them.

Wei Guangde waved his hand, indicating that nothing was wrong.

He realized, in a half-dreaming state, that since taking over Zhang Juzheng's position as Grand Secretary, he seemed to have forgotten what he was supposed to be doing.

That is to fundamentally negate Zhang Juzheng and make major adjustments to his original policies, so as to demonstrate that the direction of the court's operation has changed due to the change of the leader.

It's not that we can't find anything to refute Zhang Juzheng's policies; in fact, some of Zhang Juzheng's policies in the later period were indeed unpopular, and it was difficult to clearly distinguish their advantages and disadvantages.

Wei Guangde slowly leaned back, pondering in his mind.

If he starts to negate some of Zhang's policies at the beginning of the year, will it cause others to think that he is also dissatisfied with Zhang, thus intensifying the efforts to overthrow Zhang?
Or perhaps, seeing that the new prime minister has begun to amend Zhang's policies, they will temporarily suspend their efforts to overthrow Zhang, waiting for him to make his move before going with the flow.
Wei Guangde wasn't sure, but logically speaking, the former was more likely.

Feeling a bit irritable, Wei Guangdang pulled open the car curtain and sat up again.

Immediately, someone outside the car window whispered, "What are your orders, sir?"

"No."

Wei Guangde said in a deep voice.

He then reached under the carriage, opened a drawer, and took out a cigarette.

Based on the style of cigarette rolling in later generations, these were hand-rolled cigarettes made by servants in the mansion, or rather, cigars that resembled cigarettes.

Then he took out a tinderbox, opened it, and gently shook it, and a flame rose up.

Like people in later generations who smoke, Wei Guangde held one end of the cigarette in his mouth, lit the other end with a tinderbox, and then took a deep drag.

After the smoke entered his mouth, it took a long time before he exhaled it from his mouth and nose.

"Smoke less of that stuff. The Imperial Hospital said that although it can be invigorating, it may not be good for your health."

Xu Jianglan then spoke up to remind her.

"I know."

Wei Guangde turned his head, smiled at her, and replied.

Wei Guangde's body was not addicted to tobacco. Even though tobacco was available in the Ming Dynasty, he rarely smoked it, for fear of developing an addiction.

However, this thing is always among the things he keeps around him.

Smoking one occasionally makes him feel relaxed.

The convoy traversed the winding mountain roads and soon entered the plains, with the capital city just ahead.

As the convoy entered the capital, the streets were bustling with people and the sounds of merchants filled the air, a scene of unparalleled prosperity.

"By the way, sir, after watching the Aoshan Lantern Festival tonight, let's go to the Western-style Building later. Only the final interior decorations are left. After the New Year, we'll have the Imperial Astronomical Bureau help us calculate an auspicious day so we can open for business."

Looking at the bustling streets, Xu Jianglan suddenly leaned over and said to Wei Guangde.

"Okay, I'd like to go see it too."

After several years, the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty have gone from being unfamiliar with the place to becoming familiar with it, and the Western-style building was completed last year.

Starting from the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, the clocks of the Western-style buildings would ring from morning to night every day, announcing the time to the inner city once every hour.

The sound of the bell seemed to be announcing to the whole world that the Ming Dynasty was no longer the same as before.

The clock tower can be considered a landmark symbol of modern Western civilization. It integrates architectural art, technological innovation and cultural symbolism, and is a very representative product of that era.

On the land of the Ming Dynasty, the clock tower promoted by Wei Guangde would gradually replace the traditional Chinese clock tower and drum tower for telling time, making time management more precise and promoting the rhythm of urban life.

As for cultural exchange, Wei Guangde did not value it. In his eyes, the clock towers built in various parts of China hundreds of years later were not the result of cultural exchange at all, but rather medals of victory for Western colonizers.

"By the way, the butler asked me before whether the clocks for Hai Shi (9-11 PM), Zi Shi (11 PM-1 AM), and Chou Shi (1 AM-3 AM) should be adjusted. Did he tell you about that?"

Xu Jianglan asked again.

“I told him to only keep the midnight chimes, and to cancel the chimes at 9 PM and 1 AM.”

After all, the suggestion came from the Ministry of Rites, so we had to give them face. This year was also the year of the imperial examinations, and there were many more candidates in the capital waiting to take the exams.

The Ministry of Rites' opinion was also reasonable; the sudden ringing of the bell might disturb students who were reading.

Wei Guangde shook his head and chuckled.

Even the chief minister cannot make decisions on a whim; often, he still needs to listen to the opinions of various government departments before acting.

"In addition, the manager of the Western-style building said that many candidates were asking about the guest rooms upstairs."

"If only we had made room for the upstairs guest rooms last year. I heard that many candidates who came to Beijing for the imperial examinations had to stay outside the city."

Although the outer city of the capital of the Ming Dynasty was newly built, there was still space inside the city and it was not completely filled.

However, these vacant plots of land are either in remote locations or already owned, and have not been developed.

Therefore, some merchants chose to build new markets and wards outside the city gates around Beijing, which was also a form of urban expansion.

In particular, the land near the city gates in the east, west, and north directions had long been developed, just waiting for the imperial court to have enough money to build city walls to encompass them into the city, at which point property prices would surge again. However, Wei Guangde did not participate in this wave of land speculation because he had no intention of building the capital city walls in a "回" shape, and even felt that the current "吕"-shaped city walls were sufficient.

In future wars, the defensive role of city walls will be greatly reduced. With the emergence of strategic air forces, distance will no longer be an issue, so why waste money on building city walls?

Even the Great Wall, Wei Guangde had no intention of repairing.

Although the Ministry of War still has an annual expenditure for the maintenance of the Great Wall, Wei Guangde has actually instructed Zhang Ke to reduce this amount as much as possible.

Apart from important garrison points and passes around the capital, the city walls in other places no longer require much repair.

The money saved was naturally used for military equipment, and to build a more powerful new recruit camp.

In particular, many tanks built earlier needed to be modified with the application of steering shaft technology, and newly built ones also needed to be modified.

"Hehe, that's true, I hadn't considered that before."

Wei Guangde smiled.

The carriage quickly entered Nanxunfang and returned to the Wei residence.

The other carriages broke away from the procession and headed towards two other residences in the city.

After a flurry of activity, the luggage was unloaded and moved into the backyard.

Wei Guangde had nothing to do, so he went straight to his study, where he had many things to consider.

He needs to think things through independently before he can gather his friends to discuss them.

After having dinner at the mansion, as the lanterns came on, they went out again to see this year's lanterns outside Chengtian Gate.

"Hey, there are more lantern festivals this year than last year."

Xu Jianglan exclaimed in surprise even on the way.

In the past, the Aoshan Lantern Festival was mainly concentrated outside Chengtianmen, but this year almost the entire Chang'an Avenue is filled with lanterns.

"It was handled by the inner court; I really don't know anything about it."

Wei Guangde laughed.

Last year, the Ministry of Revenue allocated the same amount of money to the palace for lanterns as before, which was 100,000 taels of silver. Any amount exceeding this was paid for by the inner court.

However, judging from the scale of this year's event, it is indeed larger than ever before, and may even be the largest in the history of the Aoshan Lantern Festival.

In the past, the imperial court's accounts would typically cover around 400,000 taels of silver for the lantern festival. Judging from this year's scale, it should far exceed that figure.

However, as long as the Ministry of Revenue did not overspend, Wei Guangde was too lazy to care.

Upon returning to the capital, he had already heard that the palace had been setting off countless fireworks every day from New Year's Day until now, with the Emperor, Empress Dowager, and Empress attending to watch them.

Well, this is what happens when Zhang Juzheng's restraint fails; the emperor starts to get carried away.

"A few years ago, the lantern festival was almost canceled. It was thanks to the reasoned arguments of the master and Mr. Zhang that the Aoshan Lantern Festival was able to continue, which is why it is so grand today."

The lady beside him suddenly spoke again.

"Uncle Da also considered the national finances, believing that it was inappropriate to hold this lantern festival, which costs a huge amount of money every year, as it is a waste of resources and manpower."

However, they failed to realize that although it seemed like a waste of resources and manpower, it could indirectly reflect the prosperity of the dynasty.

Wei Guangde's lips twitched as he looked at the ever-growing lantern festival before him. He didn't know whether his actions back then were right or wrong.

That was a few years ago, when I was giving a lecture at the Wenhua Hall.

By the 20th day of the intercalary twelfth lunar month, the New Year and Spring Festival were approaching, and the festive atmosphere in the palace was gradually becoming stronger. In particular, watching the lanterns and fireworks on Aoshan on the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was a grand event that everyone in the palace eagerly awaited.

So, during the break between classes, the young Emperor Zhu Yijun curiously asked Zhang Juzheng, "Mr. Zhang, is the Aoshan fireworks display held every year during the Lantern Festival an ancestral tradition?"

Zhang Juzheng replied, "No. It originated in the early years of the Chenghua reign, and was intended to please the two empress dowagers."

However, those who offered advice at that time were not only officials from the censorate; even among the Hanlin scholars, three or four people submitted memorials to advise against it.

During the Jiajing era, such ceremonies were held from time to time, but only for the purpose of worshipping the gods, not for entertainment or sightseeing.

"Since the Longqing era, this has been held annually, with each year's expenditure on entertainment for the Lantern Festival being wasteful and pointless. The new policies now call for frugality."

Zhang Juzheng was actually deceiving the young emperor. The Aoshan Lantern Festival originated in the Yongle era, so it couldn't possibly be the Chenghua era as he claimed.

However, during the Chenghua reign, some Hanlin scholars and censors proposed to stop the Aoshan Lantern Festival, but in the end, it ended with the dismissal of several officials.

It is said that Feng Bao, the chief eunuch serving Zhang Juzheng at the time, was also somewhat dissatisfied with Zhang Juzheng's words, but in order to maintain unity, he could only say, "Now that we have been at peace for a long time, perhaps we can hold an event once in a while to celebrate this grand occasion."

Of course, after that, this "one-room" event no longer existed, but the palace still held this event every year.

But the matter wasn't over yet. Later, Emperor Wanli asked Wei Guangde again, and Wei Guangde naturally disagreed with Zhang Juzheng's words.

That little bit of money, even if you manage to save a few, will eventually be embezzled under other pretexts, and the people of the capital will miss out on a New Year's celebration.

At the time, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde even had a debate in the cabinet over this matter.

Of course, the lantern festival proceeded as planned and was not canceled because of Zhang Juzheng's opinion.

After all, the palace also had this need, and the nobles also wanted to see the lanterns every year, so it could be considered as "sharing the joy with the people".

However, the scale of the Aoshan Lantern Festival has been reduced considerably in recent years.

This year's situation is clearly a rebound from the reduction in scale in previous years.

On the magnificent lantern-lit hill by the roadside, palace maids were already dancing gracefully, while the people below cheered loudly.

Outside Wei Guangde's line of sight, a blond, blue-eyed, hook-nosed foreigner dressed in a Confucian robe was also watching the dazzling lantern festival in awe.

Although he comes every day, each day seems different.

As the crowd moved forward, and they approached the outside of Chengtian Gate, a commotion arose on the imperial city tower, and a yellow parasol appeared on the city wall.

The people watching the lanterns were also excited, and countless people rushed to the city wall, shouting and worshipping in the direction of the canopy on the city wall.

The Wanli Emperor appeared on the city wall, seemingly enjoying the scene.

Soon, countless fireworks rose from the majestic walls of the Forbidden City, their colorful bursts illuminating the night sky and echoing the dazzling lights on the ground.

On the city wall, Emperor Wanli, with a smile on his face, watched the fireworks. He glanced from time to time at the palace maids dancing gracefully on Mount Ao below the city wall and said to Zhang Jing, the eunuch attending him, "Zhang Jing, this year's lantern festival is very well organized. I am very satisfied. Keep up the good work next year."

"The minister obeys the order."

Zhang Jing stepped forward, knelt before Emperor Wanli, and said loudly.

Heaven knows, he put in a lot of effort to create the atmosphere beforehand, hiring many people to act out the scenes and keeping the emperor happy every night.

As for the cost, that's nothing.

This year's Aoshan Lantern Festival cost far more than the previous 300,000 taels of silver, almost double. And with all the fireworks covering the city walls, even a small portion of it would be enough to make him a fortune.

It truly allows them to maintain their popularity and make money at the same time. (End of Chapter)