I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1014 Agriculture is the source of food and clothing, and the foundation of people's livelihood.

Before the Spanish expedition began, apart from the Ming emperor reminding Felipe to be careful of the raging storms in the Atlantic, no one would have thought that Felipe would have such a difficult time. Whether it was ships, military strength, or the number of troops, Spain had an overwhelming advantage.

Spain's invincible Armada and phalanx remained a dominant force throughout the West.

With its overseas colonies and immense national power, Spain could lose countless times, while England could only lose once. To defeat England would be a piece of cake.
But the fact is, at this point, the Great Expedition has become a quagmire.

The fighting made the whole of Spain laugh, caused the gold bonds to go bankrupt for the third time, even Portugal couldn't suppress it, the Spanish Council of State was dissolved, the country was impoverished and its people were destitute, and in the course of the fighting, Spain might even lose its seas.

Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang were both very cautious about war, and this caution was tinged with extreme conservatism.

Humans are truly forgetful creatures. The suffering caused by war can be completely forgotten in about twenty years. People always cheer as they step onto the battlefield, and everyone thinks they will be the protagonist in a story, a descendant of the God of War, born to achieve great deeds and be ennobled.

But once on the battlefield, everyone struggles in a hell called war, crushed in the cruel war machine. When they die, they are like a stray dog ​​that no one cares about on the roadside. If they win, their remains might be collected. If they lose, they won't even leave their names behind.

Having experienced the suffering of war, one will begin to oppose war, and will immediately shift from the militaristic and warlike mentality of "wantonness leads to ruin" to the mentality of "forgetting war leads to danger," thus repeating this cycle repeatedly in a vicious circle.

Emperor Wu of Han had achieved his goal in his campaign against the Xiongnu, but the war machine could not be stopped. Subsequent campaigns were meaningless, fought for the sake of fighting. After exhausting the country's resources and engaging in excessive militarism, he began to oppose war.

During the reigns of Hongwu and Yongle, the Ming Dynasty launched thirteen campaigns against the northern deserts, with Zhu Di personally leading five of them. His military achievements were recorded in history. The wars brought too much pain, and the campaign to promote both civil and military affairs began. However, just twenty-four years later, the Tumu Crisis occurred.

Shen Li, the Grand Minister of Rites, oversaw all affairs of the Ministry of Rites. He looked at all the court officials and recounted the predicament Felipe had encountered: England, a tiny country, had become the burial ground of the Spanish Empire.

“Felipe learned from the defeat in the last war and invested all his gold into the shipbuilding industry. In just three years, starting from the sixteenth year of the Wanli reign, with ample gold rewards, the Spanish Krona shipyard was able to imitate five-masted ocean-going ships and built twenty five-masted ocean-going ships, plus sixty Texan caravels.”

"These ships, carrying 8000 soldiers and 18000 sailors, once again headed for the English Channel. This time, the Spanish set foot on England, but the English used a wolf pack tactic, abandoning their confrontation with the landing navy and instead using small boats to attack the Spanish supply convoys."

"This expedition, which bankrupted the gold bonds and disintegrated the Spanish cabinet, risked everything, and in the end only managed to retrieve three thousand sheep. As far as the Portuguese envoy knows, thirteen caravels were burned, millions of silver dollars worth of logistical supplies were looted, and more than four thousand people were killed or wounded in this battle."

"And Felipe has to go on a long expedition; he has no other choice."

Shen Li's words sparked discussion among everyone. The second expedition went relatively smoothly, but the privateering licenses issued by the Queen of England took effect, and the privateers began to harass the Spanish supply fleet endlessly. The final result was only three thousand sheep.

Even in the distant Ming Dynasty, a little judgment would tell everyone that Felipe's war was already unsustainable, but he still insisted on fighting. Things had come to this point, and he had no time to consider the price he would have to pay.

Once the gears of war begin to turn, everyone's fate is beyond their control.

"This year, the only envoy to the Ming Dynasty is from Portugal." As the Grand Minister of Rites, Shen Li mainly spoke about diplomatic matters, noting that among the Western envoys this year, only Portugal was present.

Spain, France, and England did not send envoys, not because they did not want to, but because the war had disrupted everything.

Even the ships of the Ming Dynasty's global merchant fleet were harassed by pirates several times, and the business environment and maritime trade environment in the West became visibly deteriorating.

The flow of silver into the Ming Dynasty was quite stable, thanks to the stable operation of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance, which allowed more silver from the New World to reach the Ming Dynasty.

Shen Li continued, "An interesting anecdote: I learned from the exchanges between the coastal defense inspectors and the Western sailors that Felipe ordered the three governorates of Mexico, Peru, and Chile to increase the supply of silver and gold by three times this year."

"The Mexican Viceroyalty has made it clear that the newly purchased five-masted ocean liner bombarded Felipe's treasure ship, demanding that the Mexican Viceroyalty retain three million taels of silver, otherwise they will directly attack all the silver mines."

"The Governor of Lima, the Viceroy of Peru, was more tactful, saying that the rich silver mines had been rioted again this year, with the Inca remnants launching repeated attacks on the mines, resulting in a sharp decline in silver production. Not only was it impossible to increase the quota, but the share of silver to be reduced by two million taels was also reduced, and the share to be transported back to the homeland was reduced from the original four and a half million taels of silver to two and a half million taels of silver."

"What was the response from the Chilean Governor's Office?" Shen Shixing asked with some curiosity.

Shen Li said with a slightly strange expression, "The Chilean Governor's Office said that they do not produce silver, so this order has nothing to do with them."

Felipe's orders were certainly not just directed at silver and gold. The Chilean Viceroyalty did not produce gold and silver, but it was required to provide sufficient goods. The Chilean Governor's reply was a deliberate word game, knowing that Felipe was currently too busy to conquer these Viceroyalty Offices and that the war situation was already very unfavorable.

The three governorates—one explicitly refused, one used the pretext of supporting the enemy for self-importance, and the other used wordplay—all refused Felipe's demands. In the past, for supplies such as soldiers, gunpowder, ships, food, and wine, these governorates would have had no choice but to agree.

Now, with the East Pacific Business Alliance, the situation has become completely different.

Felipe's prestige is rapidly declining due to setbacks in the war.

Upon hearing this, Grand Minister Zhang Xueyan added, "After the expansion of Jinshan Port is completed, the goods of the Ming Dynasty's Eastern Pacific Merchant Alliance will have two ports for distribution in the Eastern Pacific: Jinshan Port and Pengju Port."

“Pengju Port (Guayaquil) does not belong to the Ming Dynasty. It is a port leased by the Ming Dynasty to the Governor-General of Peru. With two ports for the distribution of goods, the East Pacific Merchant Alliance fleet can travel to and from the East Pacific three times a year.”

Centralizing cargo loading and unloading and trade directly at the two ports can reduce wasted time, increasing the frequency from twice a year to three times a year, which is of great significance. This means that the Ming Dynasty will further squeeze the silver mine share of Mexico and Peru.

It doesn't matter if Mexico and Peru can't handle so many goods; they can engage in entrepot trade. Moreover, it's more convenient for them to transport goods overland to the Atlantic Ocean, sending the goods obtained from the Ming Dynasty to the West.

The Governor-General of Mexico, Peto, was a former pirate. He dared to owe His Majesty the Emperor so much silver and bear such high interest rates. His confidence stemmed not only from Mexico's three major silver mines, but also from the lucrative entrepot trade.

The gold and silver from the West would flow back into the colonies, where they could purchase more goods from the Ming Dynasty. Meanwhile, the raw materials produced by the governorates of Mexico, Peru, and Chile could be directly supplied to the Ming Dynasty. In any case, the Ming Dynasty was a glutton, and the more the better, accepting all comers.

A new triangular trade involving raw materials, production, and consumption was thus formed, except that silver has now flowed to a different destination.

I don't know who came up with this triangular trade, but it's really useful.

The statement by Grand Minister Zhang Xueyan seems to provide corroborating evidence that the Ming Dynasty could obtain what it wanted without war.

"If it weren't for the Kingdom of Gold and the Gold Navy knocking out Peto's tooth in Long Beach Harbor, would these governors' mansions have been doing business honestly? They would have just blocked our merchant ships at their own doorsteps!"

"The prerequisite for the Ming fleet to navigate freely is strong ships and powerful cannons." Gao Qiyu's voice rang out again abruptly, reminding the court officials of these necessary conditions.

The Jinshan Navy drove out the pirates at Long Beach Harbor, and Mexico's probing finally stopped.

"Not to mention distant places, let's take Korea as an example. The Ming army has sorted out all the old archives from Sungkyunkwan in Seoul. As a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, Korea should respect the Ming Dynasty's leadership. They send envoys to the Ming Dynasty every year. I have read the notes of these envoys, and they are all full of vulgar language and are unbearable to look at!" Gao Qiyu's tone was somewhat angry.

"It is said that the emperor took Zhang's daughter as his concubine and kept her in his home. Meanwhile, his soldiers plundered people's homes, taking many young girls. He fostered a large number of young girls, and the annual consumption of firewood reached 160,000 catties. At that time, many of the emperor's favorites presented young girls as tribute. In addition, he inspected and selected women from the countryside during his imperial tours over the years and brought them back." Gao Qiyu immediately took out a document and began to read. It was about how Emperor Wuzong of Ming allowed his troops to plunder people's homes in Tongzhou, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Wuzong of Ming died without an heir, so naturally no one protected his posthumous reputation. Therefore, in Korean documents, Emperor Wuzong was portrayed as an emperor who liked young girls and also enjoyed letting his troops plunder people's homes, taking women into carriages and bringing them back to the Leopard House.

"The Ministry of Rites investigated the old cases and found them to be complete nonsense. The key point is that these travelogues were all re-edited by merchants and widely circulated in the Ming Dynasty." Gao Qiyu recounted another matter: the evolution of rumors and prophecies.

These Korean envoys who came to the Ming Dynasty were the source of the rumors. They fabricated a lot of nonsense. Because Korea was a tributary state and could pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty regularly, these rumors were transmitted back to the Ming Dynasty by merchants and became even more outrageous.

These rumors didn't just affect the emperor; ministers throughout history were not spared either.

"These scholars and officials at Sungkyunkwan not only fabricated stories about the Ming emperors and ministers, but also claimed that the Yuan dynasty's 'History of the Song Dynasty' was hasty and unreliable, so they wanted to compile their own history of the Song dynasty, called 'The Complete History of the Song Dynasty.' This book has not yet been completed. When did it become the turn of a vassal state to compile Chinese history books?" Gao Qiyu told another story: Joseon wanted to compile history books for its suzerain state.

Even more outrageous is the story of Li Shimin being shot in one eye during his conquest of Korea, and then kneeling down to beg for mercy.

Gao Qiyu handed several copies of the original Sungkyunkwan manuscript to all the court officials. After they had read them, he said, "What are they trying to do? They want to deny the past of the Ming Dynasty and deny the Mandate of Heaven for China."

North Korea claims to be the son of the Ming Dynasty, but what kind of son would slander his own father? They even go so far as to deconstruct Chinese heroes and valiant figures, which is tantamount to reconstructing the past of the Ming Dynasty and dismantling its mandate.

“These Korean scholars who made up these stories were all killed by Yi Sun-sin.” Ling Yunyi looked at the court officials and said with a smile, “Most of the documents from Sungkyunkwan were destroyed in the war caused by the Japanese invasion. The few that remain can be destroyed after reading them.”

Ling Yunyi spent several years in Korea, where he personally carried out the killings and book burnings, but he could blame it on Yi Sun-sin and the Japanese pirates.

Gao Qiyu collected the books and concluded: "The deposed King Seonjo of Joseon still intends to play the Ming Dynasty for fools, making the Ming Dynasty send troops without providing supplies, agree to submit to the Ming Dynasty, and even plan to use abdication to avoid it. This is still Joseon."

“If Korea is a domestic dog, then Mexico, Peru, and Chile are wild dogs. What they fear is powerful ships and cannons, not the benevolence and morality of the Ming Dynasty.”

"Even a dog knows how to guard the house, but these..."

"Ding." Zhu Yijun tapped the small bronze bell left by the Taoist priest again, reminding Gao Qiyu to watch his words. He should just think about what "domestic dog" and "wild dog" meant, instead of saying it out loud. He shouldn't use such harsh language just to make things clear.

It's not fair to blame Gao Qiyu for speaking harshly. He was wary of these barbarians. The Ming Dynasty was established after the destruction of the Yuan Dynasty, so he would never trust these barbarians from the start.

"Let's continue the court discussion," Zhu Yijun gestured to the court officials to continue their deliberations.

The Ming court had split into two factions. Gao Qiyu was clearly the extreme militarist, and surprisingly, he was the majority. Zhang Juzheng, on the other hand, was the conservative benevolent faction, advocating vigilance against war.

They went back and forth, engaging in a heated debate, and there was a big problem involved: since everyone was doing it for the good of the Ming Dynasty, why should I listen to you?

It's all for the good of the Ming Dynasty, and that's the most difficult thing to handle. If it were for personal gain, Zhu Yijun would have simply dragged the person out and beaten to death.

The court discussion continued, and Grand Minister Shen Li continued to report on the arrangements for diplomatic affairs. Every year in June and July, foreign envoys would come to pay tribute and the emperor would receive them. However, this time, there were fewer envoys from all over the world.

Gao Qiyu then submitted another decree, which was approved by the emperor. This was also an established ancestral law. The Ministry of Rites, in its work, considered both ancestral laws and the need for change and innovation, applying them flexibly. From Wan Shihe onwards, rites and laws were never inconvenient.

In December of the fourth year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict prohibiting certain rituals, citing the reason that "the military and civilians still follow the customs of the Hu people when performing rituals, and when drinking and serving wine, they often use kneeling and bowing as a form of greeting." Except for "the kneeling rituals that can be performed when hearing imperial edicts, presenting tributes, receiving gifts for sacrifices, offering incense, laying silk, and reading prayers," all other rituals were to be performed with a bow.

The rules for the bow were very clear: when a subordinate met a superior, he would bow deeply, cup his hands, and raise his eyes to eye level as a sign of respect; the superior would stand or sit accordingly.

The proper way to show respect is to cup your hands to eye level and bow. Subordinates should sit or stand in accordance with their superiors. All other improper etiquette is forbidden.

This ancestral law, which was issued in the fourth year of the Hongwu reign (1380), essentially states that kneeling is forbidden.

Hai Rui had a nickname, "Hai the Penholder," because he never knelt before his superiors. Hai Rui only required himself not to kneel before his superiors, but rarely asked others to do the same.

Now, Gao Qiyu is restoring the ancestral laws, and his reasons are quite valid. Officials selected by the emperor and hereditary officials (including the emperor) are the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty. If the ruling class is kneeling and kneeling, with their knees rooted to the ground, their backs bent and their bodies supple, how can they cultivate integrity and uprightness?
Shen Shixing submitted a memorial on the matter of returning land to its original state. The prefectures of Guangzhou and Fuzhou requested the return of land. After inquiries by the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, the two prefectures were found to meet the criteria for returning land. With the silver silos being heavily blocked, land being excessively concentrated, and a commodity economy being initially established, Shen Shixing's request was approved by the court officials.

Grand Minister Zhang Xueyan reported that since the Wanli Reforms, a total of 40987 dams and weirs, 4162 canals and rivers, and 5048 dikes and embankments had been repaired in prefectures and counties throughout the country. Half of these repairs were completed, and the other half were constructed during the Wanli period.

Zhu Yijun inquired in detail and learned that this number was basically the same as the number of water conservancy projects built during the Hongwu era.

In the fourth year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ministry of Revenue's Agricultural Construction Office on the grounds that "due to the chaos of war, the dikes have collapsed and the people have abandoned farming." The office was put in charge of water conservancy, such as the Lingqu Thirty-Six Steep Canals in Xing'an, Guangxi, the Yushan Dam in Jingzhou, and the Hongqu Weir in Jingyang County, Shaanxi.

Zhang Xueyan said with deep emotion: "In the twenty-third year of Hongwu, the Taizu ordered Zheng Xingfa, the principal of the Ministry of Works, to take advantage of the agricultural off-season and, depending on the circumstances, to conscript 150,000 people to dredge the Huai River and other places. In the end, 250,000 people were recruited, and it took three years to complete. The Yellow River diverted the Huai River, and there were droughts and floods, salt and barren land. During the three years of dredging during the agricultural off-season, Huainan and Huaibei were greatly developed."

"In the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, Emperor Taizu again ordered the relevant officials to collect 150,000 taels of silver to build sea dikes and construct more than 23,900 zhang of dikes along the Qiantang River."

"These benefits have been passed down to future generations and are still used today."

During the Hongwu reign, a large number of water conservancy projects were built, which were used until the Wanli reign. In the years that followed, they were mostly repaired and patched up. The Qiantang River tidal bore is not only a testament to the power of nature, but also to the human will to overcome nature.

During the Wanli Reforms, water conservancy projects were also underway in various regions. Half of the projects reported by the Ministry of Revenue were newly completed during the twenty years of the Wanli Reforms.

Farming is the source of food and clothing, and the means by which people live.

"Ding ding ding." Zhu Yijun knocked three times, announcing the end of the court session. Zhang Juzheng stayed behind alone and talked with the emperor for a long time in Tonghe Palace, mainly about the major investigation into taxation.

“This won’t do. Sir, you’ve transferred all the upright and outspoken people to the Anti-Corruption Bureau to fight corruption and catch thieves. Who will support the Tax Bureau?” Zhu Yijun waved his hands repeatedly, disagreeing with Zhang Juzheng’s statement.

The Tax Bureau was to conduct an internal investigation, and Zhang Juzheng wanted to transfer the virtuous officials who passed the investigation to the Anti-Corruption Bureau. At that time, the Anti-Corruption Bureau would be full of talented people, while the Tax Bureau would have no one to use. Zhu Yijun did not approve of this approach.

Zhang Juzheng spoke with a tone full of negotiation, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, isn't this just a matter of expediency? Just transfer half of them, half will do. That way, the Anti-Corruption Bureau will be fully established. I'm afraid that relying solely on those few plain-clad censors will be too much for them to handle in the long run."

"Moreover, Your Majesty, drawing personnel from the Tax Bureau also prevents the Anti-Corruption Bureau from failing to target the Zhang family."

The Tax Inspection Bureau was a three-way control system comprised of the tax inspectors, the garrison eunuchs, and the civil officials in charge. However, His Majesty personally reviewed every tax collection notice after it was issued, and he also specifically ordered the Ministry of Revenue to audit the accounts annually to ensure that this special agency, the Tax Inspection Bureau, would not commit any wrongdoing.

As things stand today, the Tax Bureau has not become a shield for smuggling, corruption, or other serious crimes, including the sale of opium. Your Majesty has devoted so much effort to this, so it is only natural that Your Majesty would not agree to take half of it at once.

When the Anti-Corruption Bureau was first established, the three major crackdowns made all the officials feel insecure. However, this was only achieved with the support of the emperor and the general. To make it truly take root and to carry out anti-corruption work regularly, it is necessary to transfer virtuous officials to fill the gaps.

The Tax Audit Institute and the Anti-Corruption Bureau are highly compatible. If enough capable officials are added to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Bureau will be completely secure.

Zhang Juzheng learned from Gao Gong's mistake of failing to combat corruption within the Jin Party. By drawing personnel from the government offices directly under His Majesty's control, he ensured that the Anti-Corruption Bureau was not Zhang Juzheng's weapon, but rather His Majesty's sharpest blade.

The reason why Zhang Juzheng carried out such a vigorous purge of the party in the past six months is that the current error correction mechanism is unable to correct the mistakes of Zhang's followers. The Anti-Corruption Department is also part of the error correction mechanism. In any case, this mechanism should prevent such a phenomenon from happening.

"No, absolutely not! Taking half? Sir, you're too audacious! Wouldn't that be taking away the very backbone of the Tax Bureau? At most, give you a quarter, no, a fifth. Can't your Anti-Corruption Bureau cultivate its own upright and honest officials?!" Zhu Yijun greatly agreed with Zhang Juzheng's reasoning, but he was still somewhat reluctant.

“One-quarter,” Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said, “It can’t be any less.”

One-fifth.

"Your Majesty, this is a matter of state, not a matter of arguing with me," Zhang Juzheng said with some helplessness. His Majesty's argument was rather perfunctory, without even giving a reason.

After weighing the options repeatedly, Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "A quarter is fine, that's really the most I can do. Any more, and I can't guarantee that the Tax Bureau won't become a den of thieves and monsters."

"My management of the Tax Bureau over the years has not been solely due to my own efforts, but also to the integrity and upright officials within the Tax Bureau."

"I am neither a three-headed, six-armed being, nor am I the prophet claimed by the Great Bright Cult."

The Tax Audit Bureau is a secret service agency with immense power. The fact that it can maintain the current situation is the result of the unity of the emperor and his ministers. If half of it were taken away, the Tax Audit Bureau would probably really become a den of smugglers of opium.

"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty." Zhang Juzheng was overjoyed, then his eyes darted around as he asked, "Could you lend me the position of Li Yougong, the Grand Eunuch of the Palace, to the Anti-Corruption Bureau?"

"No way! Forget it! Li Yougong is in charge of military affairs in the capital and also oversees all matters of the tax bureau. If I lend him to you, where am I supposed to find a high-ranking official to take charge of all matters of the tax bureau? Forget it." Zhu Yijun refused sternly.

Li Yougong, the chief eunuch in charge of the capital garrison, was a training partner of Zhu Yijun and also the yellow-robed messenger of the emperor's eunuchs. Whenever there was an important matter, it was Li Yougong who went out of the palace to handle it. He personally captured Gao Huai and his son from Liaodong.

There are only a few eunuchs in the palace, and they are all in key positions, so they cannot be moved without permission.

“Your Majesty, General Qi is a great general. His excessive involvement in politics is not a good thing for him,” Zhang Juzheng explained. The reason for using Li Yougong was to clear Qi Jiguang of suspicion of excessive interference in politics by generals.

The Grand General already held a high enough position and wielded considerable power, possessing almost absolute authority in military affairs.

"I can't lend it, this really won't do." Zhu Yijun shook his head and said. The Anti-Corruption Bureau is important, but the Beijing Garrison and the Tax Bureau are also very important. Li Yougong's position really cannot be touched.

"Then forget it." Seeing that His Majesty insisted, Zhang Juzheng finally bowed his head and took his leave without pressing the matter further. This request was indeed a bit too greedy of his.

His Majesty only has a few capable people at his disposal, and Zhang Juzheng still wants to poach one of them; he is indeed pushing his luck.

Fan Yuanshan, a clerk in the Left Accounting Office of the Beizhenfusi Tax Bureau, graduated from the Accounting Department of the Royal Academy of Science and Technology in the thirteenth year of the Wanli reign. Due to his family's poverty, he accepted the emperor's student loan. After graduation, he entered the Left Accounting Office, which exempted him from the student loan and allowed him to continue receiving his salary.

Fan Yuanshan was not good at scheming; he feared that if he went to the common people's quarters, his final destination would be the Dongjiaomin Lane Prison.

It was almost midnight, and he was still at the yamen, not home yet. His eyes were a little sore. He had a case to handle; he was the lead investigator, and there was another assistant investigator, but they were just figureheads. The tax bureau didn't have enough manpower, so each person was doing the work of four, working harder than oxen and horses.

Whose government office is this, still working overtime in the middle of the night?

It really wasn't caused by Yuan Fu's suggestion of a major investigation; Fan Yuanshan is always this busy.

Fan Yuanshan liked the Tax Inspection Office very much because it was a peaceful place. As long as he enforced the law impartially, no one could force him to bow his head, no one dared to make things difficult for him, and no one dared to deal with him. Behind him were the Tax Inspection Office, the Northern Garrison Command, and the imperial power.

If Fan Yuanshan loosens his grip even slightly on this case, Chen's Sugar Shop can save 12,000 taels of silver in taxes.

Seeing that no one was around, Fan Yuanshan took out three visiting cards.

One of them is the young owner of Chen's Sugar Shop, who has invited him to Taibai Tower more than ten times. The person who sent the invitation said that there would be a generous gift. This one thing alone is about fifty years' worth of his salary.
The second photo is of Fan Yuanshan's classmate from the Imperial University of Peking. This classmate works as an accountant in a neighborhood and handed him a visiting card. The card was vague and asked him to reminisce about the past.

The third picture is of his mentor at the Imperial University of Peking. It was his mentor who worked tirelessly to get him the job of Left Accountant of the Tax Bureau. He not only taught him, imparted knowledge, and helped him settle down and make a living.

The purpose of these three invitations is the same: to get him to loosen his grip a little.

"Eating? Eating prison food?" Fan Yuanshan put the invitation back and put it away; it was all evidence.

Fan Yuanshan was from Gansu and was dirt poor. It was his great fortune to be able to enter the Imperial University of Peking. It was also due to his own hard work that he passed the provincial examination and became a Juren, which gave him the opportunity to go to the capital. Juren was the limit of his literary talent. He took the imperial examination once but failed, and he knew that it was not something he could hope for.

His wife always complained that his job paid little, was demanding, required daily overtime, and offended people; her nagging still echoed in his ears.

The first thing is that the child is due to start school, but because he rents a place, the child cannot be registered in the neighborhood and therefore cannot attend school.

Secondly, my father-in-law is turning sixty, and my wife wants to buy him a bottle of Guojiao liquor as a birthday gift. This bottle costs thirty taels of silver, while his annual salary is only twenty-seven taels of silver.

That's to be expected. Fan Yuanshan is able to study thanks to his father-in-law's help. Without his father-in-law, he might still be farming in some remote mountain village.

Fan Yuanshan took out three more visiting cards, looked at them for a long time, and then put them back.

Just like the previous forty-three cases, he will not show any mercy.

(End of this chapter)