prosperous age

Yang Wei, the current Minister of Personnel, is the official he has chosen.

The handling of Jiang Zunzhen was naturally the result of consultation between Yang Wei and other officials of the Ministry of Personnel.

If the Wanli Emperor was not satisfied with this memorial, it would be tantamount to slapping Yang Wei in the face, making it difficult for him to hold his head high in front of the officials under his jurisdiction.

Yang Wei had only been in office as Minister of Personnel for a short time, which was precisely the time for him to accumulate prestige.

Therefore, no matter how dissatisfied he was with the memorial, he couldn't lash out.

The so-called mutual protection among officials is essentially what this means.

The mistakes that Jiang Zunzhen made were actually made by many officials in the Ministry of Personnel to varying degrees.

Moreover, the essence of the matter is that he was originally a favorite of Zhang Juzheng, rising from a minor official to a senior physician, and then to a vice minister.

If Zhang Juzheng hadn't died, perhaps Jiang Zunzhen wouldn't have gone to Nanjing to become the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, but instead would have sought the position of Minister of Personnel.

The impeachment by Tian Chou, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Justice, contained virtually no substantive content.

The Ministry of Personnel was merely trying to quell the matter and did not want to provoke factional strife.

It was perfectly normal for officials under Zhang Juzheng to visit each other.

Even among Lao Kan, Jiang Zhi, and Zhang Ke, it was common for them to visit each other privately.

To accuse Jiang Zunzhen of accepting bribes and selling official positions based on such private interactions is utterly absurd.

The news of the Zhang family's property being confiscated in Huguang had already spread throughout the capital.

Hai Rui is still there, while Chen Ju has already returned to the capital with the wealth confiscated from Zhang's residence.

Everything revealed that Zhang Juzheng had completely lost the emperor's favor.

Perhaps, sparing the lives of the Zhang family was Emperor Wanli's final act of kindness.

As for those officials who wanted to implicate the Zhang family, they couldn't fabricate charges against Zhang Sixiu and others because they had only been in officialdom for a short time and were of very low character.

"Then let's proceed according to the Ministry of Personnel's suggestion."

Finally, the Wanli Emperor spoke.

"Has the cabinet had any important matters to attend to recently?"

Emperor Wanli continued speaking.

"Thanks to Your Majesty's great fortune, the world is at peace these days, the seas are calm and the rivers are clear, and no major events have occurred."

However, earlier, news came from Old Port that the neighboring Kingdom of Aceh had been acting increasingly strangely lately.

According to intelligence gathered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Kingdom of Aceh has actually colluded with their former enemy, the Portuguese in Malacca, to purchase firearms from there, seemingly coveting my old port.

I have discussed this with the Ministry of War and we believe it is necessary to strengthen the troops stationed in Palembang for defense.

Furthermore, the defense of Old Port should be authorized, and if the Kingdom of Aceh dares to attack Old Port, it can launch a full-scale counterattack.

When Wei Guangde faced the Wanli Emperor, he naturally explained the possible military actions to be taken in the future as a matter of self-defense.

Aceh did indeed have designs on Old Port, but with Old Port now back under Ming control, it naturally dared not make a move.

The Portuguese explained their purchase of firearms as a precaution against potential Ming Dynasty ambitions toward Sumatra.

Ultimately, Aceh fears that Ming will attack them.

As for the Ottoman Empire, which they had once placed high hopes on, the distance was simply too great, and the Kingdom of Aceh had given up on it.

Even with the support of the Ottoman Empire, they were unable to defeat the Portuguese, let alone the Ming Dynasty.

After explaining the situation, Wei Guangde took out the memorial he had written the night before from his pocket and handed it over.

The Wanli Emperor took the still-warm memorial from the eunuch, read it carefully and quietly, his expression remaining unchanged.

However, Emperor Wanli was aware of Master Wei's familiarity with him, and perhaps the Grand Secretariat and the Ministry of War were plotting against the entire Sumatra region.

Thinking of what Wei Guangde had just said—that if the Kingdom of Aceh purchased Portuguese firearms, it seemed to be planning to take over Palembang—he already understood the reason.

Whether the Kingdom of Aceh coveted Old Port or something else, this battle seemed unavoidable.

It was problematic in itself that a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty was purchasing firearms from foreigners behind the Ming Dynasty's back.

The procurement of firearms by countries including Korea, Ryukyu, Annam, and Siam was all negotiated with the imperial court.

Even the Persian Kingdom, which had never submitted to the Ming Dynasty, had already signed an agreement with it.

This time, the mission sailed to the Western Ocean again, heading to Persia. In addition to Zheng Jun's Imperial Guards and a group from the Ministry of Works, there was also an official from the Ministry of Rites.

The goal was to try to subjugate Persia and make it a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

This matter was not publicized, precisely because of concerns about criticism from officials.

After all, the Persian Kingdom was quite powerful, and if it refused to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court would lose face.

The reason for negotiating with Persia was, of course, the continued supply of firearms, including cannons, from the Ming Dynasty.

The cabinet believed that these muskets would definitely be traded.

However, when it came to providing Persia with various types of cannons and other powerful weapons, the imperial court would only provide them to vassal states, not to other countries.

Of course, the fact that it wasn't made public, but rather that the Ministry of Rites sent an official to accompany them in the capacity of the Ministry of Works, actually had another layer of meaning.

Informal contact.

After all, the Persian Empire was at war with the Ottoman Empire, and according to the unwritten rules between the Ming Dynasty and its vassal states, the Ming Dynasty had an obligation to protect the safety of its vassal states.

The Ming Dynasty did not want to stand on the front lines and contribute to the Persian Empire.

Therefore, if the Ming Dynasty were to openly pacify the Persian Kingdom, it would inevitably put the Ming Dynasty on the opposite side of the Ottoman Empire, which would be very detrimental to the cabinet's hope of selling more Ming Dynasty products to the West.

The Ottoman Empire controlled the vital trade routes from the Ming Dynasty to the West.

Before Zheng Jun set sail, Wei Guangde had carefully settled this matter with Emperor Wanli in the Qianqing Palace.

Wei Guangde didn't know if the future Wanli Emperor would become the money-grubbing emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty, but the foundation laid by Zhang Juzheng's reforms had not been ruined and the court's financial situation had improved significantly. He figured that he wouldn't send out mining supervisors to collect mining taxes everywhere, as was the case in the original history.

In fact, as Wei Guangde's influence over the Six Ministries expanded, local governments also increased their taxation efforts on various mines.

It did not exceed the regulations set by Zhu Yuanzhang. However, once the resources were extracted and entered the circulation process, the tax revenue lost due to the low taxes during the extraction stage would be made up.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang set too many rules, Wei Guangde could only compensate through methods such as brokerage taxes in the circulation sector, in addition to maintaining the original low commercial taxes.

As for whether this would allow mine owners to profit from the situation, that's obviously impossible.

Commodity prices are determined by the market, not by the mine owner.

Given a fixed market price for commodities, the pressure from taxes and various costs will naturally drive down the price of mineral resources.

The entire distribution process is interconnected, and no one can obtain excess profits.

Therefore, assuming the current tax system is not in disarray, if Emperor Wanli were to send tax supervisors and mining commissioners to collect taxes, it would indeed be considered a bad policy.

“If the Kingdom of Aceh truly refuses to submit to the king’s rule, the government troops of Old Port can certainly launch a campaign against it.”

When Emperor Wanli placed Wei Guangde's memorial on his desk, he affirmed Wei Guangde's opinion.

In handling state affairs, Wei Guangde, unlike Zhang Juzheng, mostly advised Emperor Wanli on how to act from a moral perspective.

Wei Guangde focused more on calculation and weighing the gains and losses, proposing solutions from the perspective most beneficial to the court.

Emperor Wanli's childhood experiences made him sensitive and selfish.

In particular, the Empress Dowager had once threatened to depose him from the throne.

Yes, because of his disability, the Wanli Emperor was actually very afraid. Therefore, he craved power and money even more, wanting to hold onto them tightly.

This is also why, in the mid-to-late Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, although he appeared to be a wise ruler in some aspects, he also made countless mistakes, which sowed the seeds of the Ming Dynasty's downfall.

However, the way Wei Guangde negotiated with him made him trust Wei Guangde more than he trusted Zhang Juzheng.

Master Wei can make money for himself, and even more so for the imperial court.

To maintain the operation of the court and ensure the stability of the imperial dynasty, the role of money is indispensable.

The end of a dynasty is often due to financial difficulties, which leads to the court officials arbitrarily increasing taxes in order to maintain their extravagant lifestyles.

Emperor Wanli understood this.

At present, without increasing the burden on the people, the imperial court's revenue has increased, or rather, it has increased its sources of income. This made Emperor Wanli admire Master Wei even more.

The opening of the sea brought not only tariffs, but also a surge in commercial and dental taxes, which greatly alleviated the financial pressure.

Because of this trust, Emperor Wanli knew that Wei Guangde might be hiding something, but he also knew that Wei's plans were certainly a good thing for the Ming Dynasty, so he adopted a laissez-faire attitude.

Sumatra was of little concern to the Wanli Emperor.

It was just a small island located overseas, but the imperial court paid attention to it because it controlled the shipping lanes for Ming Dynasty goods to flow to the West.

The cabinet and the six ministries had previously discussed building the Great Ming City in the West, which was actually to provide convenience and security for Ming goods to go to the West.

I have a vague feeling that Wei Guangde's actions seem to be imitating those of the Portuguese.

After agreeing to Wei Guangde's suggestion, the Wanli Emperor vaguely understood Wei Guangde's plan.

The Age of Exploration, which was launched by the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, saw Spain appear more as a conqueror, while the Portuguese played the role of merchants.

The Portuguese were happy to do business as long as they could maintain the shipping routes.

However, they also attached great importance to important transportation hubs, which is why they were able to capture Mantsegae.

That place seems to be really important.

The Ming Dynasty's control over Sumatra and Temasek effectively neutralized the threat posed by the Portuguese occupation of Malacca.

It should be noted that the Malacca captured by the Portuguese in the 16th century was not the later Singapore, but a narrow strip of land on the Indochina Peninsula north of Singapore, which is the Malacca state and its capital district in Malaysia.

The area in Singapore was a coastal swamp called Temasek, a place rarely visited by people.

The Portuguese naturally had no interest in such wasteland.

In fact, the Mantsa Kingdom, which had ruled this area for over a hundred years, had no interest in Temasek. So when the Ming army built a water city, military camps, and docks here, the Portuguese did not react much.

Even when the Ming army was deployed on the islands between Palembang and Temasek, the Portuguese simply sailed close to observe before leaving.

Because Wei Guangde issued a strict order to the garrison commander of the old port, prohibiting the construction of fortifications outside the old port area, and allowing only the establishment of outposts and small docks.

In this era, building fortresses primarily equipped with artillery was essentially a way of signifying control over the area.

Without building fortifications, the Ming army's presence in these areas was temporary, not permanent.

The Wanli Emperor and Wei Guangde now have a fairly good understanding.

After years of teaching, they have learned everything they need to know and know how to think.

Therefore, once Wei Guangde made a move, Emperor Wanli could guess the gist of it without needing to say anything more.

"Master Wei, regarding the Kingdom of Aceh, everything should be handled according to the discussions between the Cabinet and the Ministry of War. There is no need to report to the palace at all times."

The Wanli Emperor then spoke.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your trust."

Wei Guangde took a small step forward, bowed, and said something.

Then, he took out an official document from his sleeve.

This was the urgent report from the Ministry of War that he received when he left his duty room.

Holding this document in his hand, Wei Guangde felt extremely embarrassed.

However, now that this has happened, it still needs to be reported.

So he brought up the Guangdong mutiny again, but he also mentioned the military reforms planned by the Ministry of War, which seemed to be urgent.

The mere mention of a "mutiny" is enough to stir the emperor's emotions, no matter where he is.

He took the urgent report from the eunuch, quickly glanced at it, and soon breathed a sigh of relief.

It's just a few hundred people causing trouble, and the surrounding garrisons and Guangdong troops have all been mobilized, so it shouldn't escalate too much.

"Master Wei, you mentioned military reform. In your opinion, how should it be reformed to prevent such incidents from happening again?"

The Wanli Emperor, holding an urgent report, asked a question.

"The soldiers' mutiny was mainly due to the fact that they could not receive their pay on time, or that they were being overly criticized by their superiors."

According to the urgent report from Guangdong, the matter appears to have been caused by the local government's deployment of soldiers to repair houses and build temples. However, I believe that the current state of affairs is far beyond what this single incident could have caused.

Most likely, the local garrisons had been embezzling military pay and enslaving soldiers for some time, but the problem only surfaced at this particular moment.

Wei Guangde looked up at the emperor before continuing, “I believe that the military reform should transfer the local authorities’ control over the government troops to the military command and absolutely prohibit local officials other than the governor-general from having the right to mobilize troops.”

Most importantly, local provisions and supplies were to be entirely managed by the military commissioner, and the military camps and local government offices were to be completely separated.

The garrisons only obeyed the written orders of the governor-general and the military command.

The situation described by Wei Guangde was actually stipulated in the original Ming Dynasty regulations.

Local officials have no authority to mobilize the troops stationed in the garrisons.

However, the local authorities controlled the supply of funds and grain to the garrisons. Even though the garrisons implemented the military farming system in the early years, the local government could still raise funds and rewards for the troops.

Therefore, local officials wielded considerable influence over the military garrisons.

Not to mention governors and provincial governors, even prefects and magistrates can mobilize the troops and soldiers of the garrisons within their jurisdiction.

As long as it doesn't cross district boundaries, other government departments will naturally turn a blind eye.

As a result, it became commonplace for local officials to enslave the soldiers of the garrison.

Local officials colluded with garrison officers to mobilize garrison soldiers to do the work that should have been done by recruiting laborers, and the wages were divided up among them.

"But what if a popular uprising breaks out? Won't we be too late to react?"

Emperor Wanli frowned and asked.

“Protecting the territory and ensuring the safety of the people is the responsibility of the garrison. If there is a popular uprising, the garrison should take action without the need for orders from local officials.”

Wei Guangde explained.

"Is the entire responsibility resting on the shoulders of the military supply commissioner?"

The Wanli Emperor, still frowning, spoke.

"If the local area cannot supply materials on time, the military commissioner shall report to the military commander and then to the Ministry of War, which will then handle the matter."

Wei Guangde immediately said.

"Have the Ministry of War submit its report, and I will review the regulations before making a decision."

The Wanli Emperor neither readily agreed nor refused, thus resolving the matter amicably. (End of Chapter)