I'm really not doing business

Chapter 567: No one cultivates the wasteland, but people fight over it
Is it really possible for a dandy son of a general's mansion to get a fifth-rank official badge? If it is an idle official who does not take care of things, it is indeed possible, but he is a military officer, not a civil official, and certainly not a doctor of the Five Classics who is not one of the five elements.

Qi Jiguang was only a general, and he was indeed the leader in military honors, but civil officials and military officials are not in the same system at all.

Therefore, the answer is very certain. Either this ivory plate is fake, or the person who got this ivory plate has a serious identity problem.

"Are you sure it was obtained by Mr. Huang?" Li Zhi returned the ivory plate calmly and asked calmly.

Lin Fucheng took back the official badge. Many people knew about this badge. He had publicly shown it to others before. He smiled and said, "Well, it was given to me by Young Master Huang. So there is no need to worry. Young Master Huang is really powerful."

"Indeed." Li Zhi hesitated, but ultimately said nothing more.

As for whether the ivory plates were genuine, Lin Fucheng was not a hermit who secretly used official horse plates and ivory plates. He was active in the capital. If they were really fake, someone would have gone to trouble him long ago. There were as many people who disliked as liked Lin Fucheng.

In the eleventh year of Wanli, people dared to privately make ivory plaques for officials, which was a complete test of the ties between the nine clans.

Isn't it just overwhelming power? !

The whole world belongs to Master Huang, Master Huang, the Royal Master, the heavenly being of the Huang family of Penglai.

Li Zhi guessed it. It was a simple logic. Qi Jiguang's hand could not have reached so far as to reach the Royal Academy of Gewu located in the Forbidden Garden. So the origin of this waist badge was very clear. It was awarded by His Majesty the Emperor himself.

Li Zhi did not reveal Mr. Huang's identity. This was obviously an open secret. He could guess it, and others could guess it too. The reason why no one said anything was that he, Li Zhi, would not be stupid enough to uncover this mysterious veil.

He had offended the emperor once and was severely reprimanded by the emperor. This time his identity was revealed again, forcing His Majesty to change his vest and watch the fun. I am afraid that Li Zhi's days in the capital will be even more difficult.

Zhu Yijun also prepared many aliases and planned to use them alternately. He hinted to Lin Fucheng many times, but Lin Fucheng didn't dare to think about the emperor who lived in seclusion in the ninth heaven.

The daily life of the common people is the way. Li Zhi also needs to survive. It is not easy to live in the capital. He has to make money so that his family will not continue to suffer with him.

After Li Zhi left Guangde Bookstore, he finally decided to write down his stories. He needed some fame, which was equal to money, which was equal to daily expenses and to his family not having to starve to death.

Zhu Yijun received the new publication presented by Guangde Bookstore. After reading it carefully, he chose to allow it to be published.

No one cultivates wasteland, but people fight over cultivated land.

Li Zhi knew how to farm, unlike most of the literati in the Ming Dynasty, so Li Zhi was not a lowly Confucian scholar.

There were a lot of wastelands in the Ming Dynasty, and countless acres of abandoned farmland were everywhere. It was a sin to leave these fields idle and not cultivate them. After Li Zhi arrived in Huangzhou Prefecture, he and his wife Huang Yiren reclaimed seven acres of wasteland. As soon as they were reclaimed, people of all kinds came to the land.

First, the local gentry who held the land deed said that the land belonged to them and that you had to pay rent if you reclaimed the land.

For the sake of these seven acres of land, Li Zhi had no choice but to file a lawsuit with the local gentry, but he was undoubtedly defeated. The land deeds could not be forged and they were indeed real. Li Zhi finally bought the land at the price of one tael and two coins of silver per acre, and only then did he settle the lawsuit.

The matter was not over yet, as someone came to ask for money for the ditch. Li Zhi inquired carefully and found out that the land had been bought, but he had to pay for using the ditch, otherwise he had to fetch water himself.

It is not too late to pay the ditch fee. One has to pay another amount of spring fee, which is the water fee. The ditch fee and the water fee are not a small amount. Li Zhi calculated that he would have to pay three taels of silver per acre of land a year!
It can truly be said that: all the spring water is drained into the canal, without leaving even a drop in the ditch.

Li Zhi went to find the prefect. He was a retired prefect of Yao'an and had some achievements to his name, so he could naturally find the prefect. The prefect also said in a difficult manner that he didn't have to pay for watering the seven acres of land, so he still had face for it.

Li Zhi then asked: There are tens of thousands of acres in the whole county, and every household is burdened with the tax and land rent, and the township government asks for it privately. But I am allowed to irrigate the few acres left for a good harvest. Even if I were given the land, I would not accept it. I beg for mercy.

Li Zhi asked the prefect to take charge of the canal and water fees to leave the people a way out.

People like him are the most annoying. You don't want to pay the money. You and Geng Dingli are good friends. I tried to make sure your fields have water, but you are still not satisfied. Do you want all the fields in Huangzhou Prefecture to have water?
The prefect is not the Dragon King of the East China Sea!
The prefect had no choice but to see Li Zhi off politely and told the doorman that there was no need to report Li Zhi's visit next time.

Li Zhi returned home. The following year, there was a severe drought and villagers starved to death for miles. Among them were Li Zhi's two daughters. With the help of Deng Shiyang, Li Zhi, his wife and eldest daughter survived. However, in the tenth year of Wanli, thousands of people starved to death in Huangzhou Prefecture.

The whole story is not very long, but when reading it, there is always a suffocating despair. In Lin Fucheng's story, we can see more or less ups and downs. For example, the He family of Gaoyang did not reduce the rent in the years of disaster, and later the He family of Gaoyang was wiped out; the Yan family of Qizhou made a fool of themselves, and finally they were also made fool of by the Minister of Justice Wang Chonggu; the Wang family of Yaoshan occupied the government land and their own house was searched, and it also triggered a series of investigations into the occupation of government land.

Lin Fucheng's stories all have a sense of fate that good will be rewarded and evil will be punished.

But Li Zhi's story is filled with cold reality and cruelty.

Moreover, in this story, no one can be found to take responsibility. It looks like a natural disaster, but also more like a man-made disaster. However, the tragedy happened so blatantly. It seems that no one is at fault, but it seems that everyone is at fault.

Even in the story itself, Li Zhi himself was wrong. If he had been willing to accept the favor of the local prefect, his family's fields would have had water, and his daughter would not have starved to death. Or looking further ahead, if he, Li Zhi, had accepted the false offer of land, could he still have lived like this?

Li Zhi's story caused a great uproar in the capital and then came to an abrupt end, because people found that Li Zhi's criticism and accusation were more powerful than Lin Fucheng's, and there was a heaviness that was unspeakable because there was no solution.

Zhu Yijun held a positive attitude towards this kind of critical article. There were various problems in the Ming Dynasty. These problems needed to be raised by someone and then everyone should face them together, instead of fooling around with the four-stage method. If people kept fooling around, the final result would be the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yijun was waiting for Li Zhi's ideas to mature and solve the problems raised by Mr. Huang. Li Zhi's solution was very good, no taxation without representation, but how to implement it and how to avoid these problems were issues that Li Zhi needed to think about in the future when he was in the capital.

An abridged version of the Yongle Encyclopedia was sent from the capital to Nagasaki. Xu Wei of the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office was very fond of the book, but he also wrote a memorial asking the emperor to delay sending the original copy of the Yongle Encyclopedia to the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office, as it was not safe enough and it would easily fall into the hands of thieves.

"The Japanese are really deeply beastly." Songjiang Sun and Nagasaki Maritime Customs Commissioner Sun Keyi looked at a copy of the Tangbao in their hands with solemn expressions.

The coastal defense inspectors discovered some things, and these reports were summarized in the Governor's Office, which was really touching.

There are three kinds of insults in Japan. The first is "野郎", which means you, a guy who doesn't know etiquette; the second is "兽生", which literally means worse than pigs and dogs.

In Japan, there is a word that has never been mentioned by the daimyo who traveled to and from the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office. It is called "Etahijin".

"Edafeiren" literally means people who are too filthy to be human anymore. They are a kind of people who cannot be touched or discussed. These are the untouchables of Japan.

At this time, Japan was a society with clear hierarchies. Unlike the Ming Dynasty, which used means of production to distinguish classes, there was a difference between rank and class. The ranks were clearly defined, immobile, strict and extremely stable, and were distinguished by identity and surname.

The first class of people in Japan were the nobles, including the emperor in Kyoto, the court ministers, and the daimyo of each province. They were all nobles; the second class were the samurai and monks, that is, the retainers of the daimyo and the monks in the temples; the third class were farmers, businessmen, and industrialists, who were called common people, lowly people, and merchants in Japan.

The fourth category is the filthy and non-human beings.

The untouchables are classified as filthy people, and their main occupations are those that are looked down upon by everyone, such as slaughtering, leather work, funeral cemeteries, excrement shoveling, begging, prostitution, juggling, and lepers.

The untouchables cannot lead a normal life. For example, they are not allowed to carry an umbrella when walking on the street on rainy days, they have to cover their mouths and noses with cloth when going out to avoid foul air, they have to walk backwards when cleaning and removing excrement, they are not allowed to leave footprints, and they cannot marry good people.

The word "non-human" comes from the Lotus Sutra, which says: The eight classes of gods and dragons, humans and non-humans, all saw the dragon girl attain Buddhahood from afar.

In the Lotus Sutra, all things in the world are divided into three categories, namely gods, humans and non-humans. The Japanese call these people who engage in lowly occupations "Eta Hitokin".

This is completely different from the Ming Dynasty, where all arts were considered jobs. For example, during the Longqing period, those artists who made iron flowers could even perform for the emperor on the Aoshan Lantern Festival and receive generous rewards.

In order to avoid rewards, the Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun hid in the Wenhua Building and used a telescope to spy.

Even collecting excrement is generally considered a business, and the owner of the excrement channel is considered to be a wealthy and powerful person. It is a business that can only be controlled by the rich and powerful in the city. During the Song Dynasty, the biggest excrement tyrant in the world was Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty.

The chief secretary, palace maids, and actors in the palace were not so respectful to the princes. The King of Dai even asked His Majesty, "Is begging on the street a law passed down by our ancestors?" The emperor was stunned by the question.

"It's a bit weird. Everything else is fine, but how come this butcher has become such a filthy inhuman?" Xu Wei looked at the newspaper in his hand. He could understand everything else, such as the funeral business. After all, it was a business of dead people, so it was okay to avoid death out of fear, but this butcher was also an inhuman. Xu Wei really couldn't understand it.

Xu Wei frowned and asked, "They curse the butcher so much, don't they eat meat?"

"Yes, Japan advocates vegetarianism and believes that killing creates karma." Sun Keyi nodded. Due to the prevalence of Buddhism, people in Japan really don't like to eat meat.

Xu Wei's expression became even more complicated as he said, "Killing creates karma. Killing animals is a sin, but killing people is not? It has been 120 years since the Onin War. The daimyo of the Warring States period fought against each other endlessly. How many people were killed? Killing people is not a sin? That's weird."

The term "Warring States Daimyo" was proposed by Takeda Shingen, the daimyo of Kai Province in Japan. He first proposed this concept when he promulgated the "Law of Dividing Countries" in the 26th year of Jiajing, and it was immediately accepted by everyone.

"The Ming Dynasty's firearms are about to arrive." Xu Wei put down the newspaper, stood up, and prepared to go to the Nagasaki Port Pier.

In April, the emperor approved a batch of Qingtai and Monkey-version firearms to be sent to the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office. These Monkey-version firearms were defective products in the manufacturing process, while the Qingtai were bird guns and other items that had been used for many years and could no longer be used.

Chen Lin's operation to pacify the Japanese invasion in Japan also came to an end. After the firearms were sold, the Ming Navy would return to its home port of Songjiang Prefecture. The suppression of the Japanese invasion in Japan was a continuation of the Pingbo Jinghai Operation that was triggered by the Sandu'ao private market case. The Pingbo Jinghai Operation, which lasted for one year and two months, was finally announced to be phased out. Xu Wei personally went to the dock to pick up the ship. Amid the deafening sound of gongs and drums, two five-masted ocean-going ships from Songjiang Prefecture, towed by barges, slowly docked on the pier of the port. Countless people emerged from the large ships and began to unload the cargo.

At the same time, envoys from various Warring States daimyo began to have close contact with the Governor-General's Office and fought hard for the quota of firearms.

A bird gun that once cost nine cents of silver can now be sold for nine taels of silver, and the price of gunpowder has skyrocketed. The conflict between the Mori and Oda families has already begun in Osaka Bay, and another war is approaching, so it is not surprising that the prices of firearms and gunpowder have skyrocketed.

Xu Wei, Sun Keyi, the commander of the Nagasaki Military Commission Li Chengli, the eunuch Wang Chao in charge of the Maritime Customs, and the Inspector General Luo Yinghe were all very busy.

Countless amounts of silver gathered at the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office, and the daimyo who did not have enough silver chose to pay with their population.

The large population and small land area of ​​Japan have led to insufficient food supply, which is the main contradiction in Japan at present. Exchanging population for banknotes and Ming Dynasty's goods is a very cost-effective deal in the eyes of the Japanese daimyo.

The envoy sent by Oda Nobunaga was his younger sister Oda Ichi, who was known as the most beautiful woman in the Warring States Period.

In the 43rd year of Jiajing, Oda Ichi married Asai Nagamasa of the Asai family. Later, because Oda Nobunaga broke with the Asai family, Oda Nobunaga broke through the Odani Castle of the Asai family in the first year of Wanli, Oda Nobunaga returned to live with the Oda family.

"Although I don't understand why you have to shave your eyebrows and then draw them, it does look very strange." Nagasaki Inspector General Luo Yinghe said sincerely to Sun Keyi.

Oda City is indeed very beautiful. At 36, she does not look much older because of her comfortable life. She still has some charm.

But this woman shaved her eyebrows and drew two higher eyebrows, which ruined her beauty.

Sun Keyi said confidently: "This kind of makeup that is popular among the nobles is actually not good-looking and is quite scary. Governor Xu has already asked the Japanese daimyo to not shave their eyebrows or dye their teeth black when sending envoys to Nagasaki. They look even worse than those evil people."

Xu Wei looked at Oda Ichi and said sternly: "We have already told Oda Nobunaga not to send people with such makeup. Since you are Nobunaga's messenger, why do you still shave your eyebrows? Are you provoking the Ming Dynasty?"

"Anyone who comes to Nagasaki is not allowed to shave their eyebrows or dye their teeth. Those who violate this rule will be expelled without mercy."

Hairstyle, makeup, and even dyed teeth certainly do not affect the Ming Dynasty's acquisition of Japanese silver, but is it worth the governor to make a solemn representation when he formally meets with the envoy?
The reason why Xu Wei made such a request was actually a dispute over etiquette, just like the previous debates about left-lapel or right-lapel. What they were arguing about was actually the orthodoxy and righteousness, and what they were arguing about was etiquette.

"I shaved my eyebrows only because I'm married. Since the Celestial Empire's envoy doesn't like it, I won't shave my eyebrows in the future. Eyebrows grow fast in summer, so they will be grown back in a few days. I hope the Celestial Empire's envoy doesn't feel so angry." Oda Ichi was half-kneeling, but when he heard the governor's stern tone, he quickly bowed his head and said obediently.

Shaving eyebrows and dyeing teeth black are all to show that she is married. She shaved her eyebrows in Azuchi Castle to prevent being harassed. When she returned to Azuchi Castle, she was only 25 years old, and many people wanted to marry her. Although she was indeed married, who made her brother the ruler of the world, Oda Nobunaga?
Shaving eyebrows is more like a way of expressing chastity, as she has three daughters to raise.

"Why did Oda Nobunaga send a woman here?" Xu Wei asked with some confusion.

In Japan, women are not allowed to have external affairs. After Oda's husband Asai Nagamasa committed suicide, Oda returned to Azuchi Castle and lived in seclusion, never showing up. It was a bit strange that she suddenly came to the Nagasaki Governor's Office as an envoy.

Oda City said helplessly: "Brother has no one to rely on. After the last assassination attempt on my brother, I don't know who to trust. I have heard that the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense inspectors are very brave and valiant. I beg the Heavenly Kingdom to send a team of coastal defense inspectors to protect you and prevent assassinations by villains."

"Ah? Doesn't that mean that the Ming Dynasty only needs one sentence to take his life?" Luo Yinghe said with his eyes wide open.

"The Ming Dynasty is the Celestial Empire and will not do such a thing, because no matter what the Ming Dynasty plots against Japan, killing Oda Nobunaga will not solve the problem." Oda City bowed his head again and said, "There are missionaries from the West in Azuchi Castle. In the West, it is common for kings to ask mercenaries from other countries to be responsible for garrisoning. Because they don't have too many interests involved in their own country and are only interested in money, they are more reliable."

"I beg you to have mercy."

Antonio completely handed over his security work to the Ming people. In the eyes of the Ming emperor, this was simply outrageous, extremely outrageous. However, in the West, it was very common and even very reasonable, because in these places, loyalty was a very luxurious word.

Oda Nobunaga had a large red cloak, which was a Western-style cloak, and had the same purpose as Antonio's weird five-chapter robe.

In addition to gunpowder and firearms, the biggest purpose of Oda City's visit this time was to ask a team of Ming Dynasty coastal defense inspectors to be responsible for the guarding of Oda Nobunaga. He could no longer trust anyone.

When Luo Yinghe heard what Oda Ichi said, he said in amazement, "Mori Terumoto sent 20 foot soldiers to assassinate, but he didn't expect anyone to succeed. When the muskets sounded, the gap between Oda Nobunaga, the lord, and his retainer could not be filled no matter what they did."

During the entire assassination process, it would have been fine if Oda Nobunaga had died, but the biggest problem was that he didn't die, because as long as he didn't die, everyone would be seen as a traitor, and even his loyal retainers were terrified, fearing that they would be suspected.

Once there is a gap in communication, the rift will expand infinitely.

Moreover, Mori Terumoto also set up the fourth encirclement of Oda Nobunaga. Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that Oda Nobunaga had no choice but to send his sister to the Nagasaki Governor's Office to seek external forces.

"We can't provide any help. Oda Nobunaga may not know that the Daming Duntai Yuanhou and the Coastal Defense Patrol are directly under the Northern Pacification Division and are under the direct jurisdiction of the General." Xu Wei shook his head and said, "He worshipped the wrong temple."

Duntai Yuanhou and Haifang Xunjian are government offices directly under the Northern Pacification Office. They are the political structures of the Ming Dynasty. To put it more bluntly, they are all the emperor's personal troops, because the Northern Pacification Office directly obeys the emperor himself, and is also the main source of the Ming Dynasty's Tiqi.

The Nagasaki Governor-General's Office had no authority to dispatch these people.

"If that's the case, then I beg the envoy to let me go to the Ming Dynasty to pay homage." Oda City did not give up. Since the Nagasaki Governor's Office could not be mobilized, he would go to the Ming Dynasty and try every means to persuade the Ming Emperor.

Oda thought for a moment and said, "We can pay you a reward, and it's a lot."

"Your Majesty does like silver very much, but I am sure that you will not gain anything from your trip to the Ming Dynasty this time. In your Majesty's mind, some things simply cannot be converted into cash." Xu Wei said with great confidence: "The Duntai Yuanhou and the Coastal Defense Patrol fall into this category."

Xu Wei had some understanding of the Ming Emperor. He was really greedy for money. The emperor's face could be exchanged for silver, but there were some things that could not be bought with silver.

The Nagasaki Governor-General's Office could not prevent Japanese envoys from going to the Ming Dynasty because it was only a governor-general's office. If it deliberately prevented them, it would be suspected of granting autonomy to the country.

Since the founding of the country, there has been a tradition of granting titles but not land, granting titles but not ruling over the people, and receiving salaries but not governing affairs. Only titles were granted but not land, titles were given but the people were not managed, and salaries were received but no management of common affairs was done. This is the basic logic behind the establishment of vassal states by the Ming Dynasty.

The Nagasaki Governor's Office would certainly not stop Oda from going to the Ming Dynasty, but in Xu Wei's opinion, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would not allow it.

"Maybe, but we have to try it anyway." Oda City was silent for a moment, but still wanted to go to Ming Dynasty as an envoy to meet the emperor. Eyebrows grow fast in summer, and by the time he arrives in Ming Dynasty, his eyebrows will have grown out, and he will not offend the emperor.

The fourth encirclement of Oda Nobunaga has been fully opened. He is surrounded by wolves and there are also traitors cooperating with him. In this precarious situation, Oda Nobunaga and his retainers are alienated. At this time, even if the hope is slim, he has to give it a try.

"Has the traitor who was assassinated last time been found?" Xu Wei asked curiously, wondering whether Oda Nobunaga had caught the traitor who provided convenience.

Odaichi shook his head and said, "No, I didn't even investigate. My brother said that if we investigate now, everyone will be in danger. It's better not to investigate now. If we don't investigate now, as time goes by, all the evidence will disappear. By then, we won't be able to find anything even if we want to."

He was assassinated but there is no way to investigate, so we can only keep quiet.

In the first year of Wanli's reign, when the emperor was assassinated, Zhang Juzheng said to the emperor: I am incompetent. That was the first time that Zhang Juzheng said the word incompetent in front of the emperor. Zhang Juzheng chose to keep the peace and stability. Zhu Yijun chose to approve Zhang Juzheng's use of the assassination case to exchange for political benefits, which earned him Yang Bo's support for the Performance Evaluation System, Yang Bo's retirement, and the position of Minister of Personnel.

If it weren't for Zhang Siwei's audacity and the fire that burned down the palace, which made the Jin party even more dissatisfied with Zhang Siwei, and even forced Wang Qian to hire a killer to kill the king, Zhu Yijun could only wait until Zhang Juzheng's death before making any decisions about the case. After all, it was Zhang Juzheng who dealt with it.

The situation faced by Oda Nobunaga at this time was the same as the situation faced by Zhu Yijun in the first year of Wanli.

But at that time, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had the iron triangle, with Empress Dowager Li, Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng working together to protect him, while Oda Nobunaga was a real lonely man who could not trust anyone. He could only let his sister, a beautiful woman, go to the Ming Dynasty by boat across the sea.

"Oda Nobunaga does not have a quota for firearms and gunpowder this time." Xu Wei looked at Oda Ichi and told her the bad news. In order to balance the strength of both sides, Oda Nobunaga did not have a quota for firearms and gunpowder this time.

Oda City didn't care much about this matter. She shook her head and said, "My brother had expected this. Before I left, he told me that what the Ming Dynasty needs is silver, and Mori Terumoto controls the largest silver mine in Japan, Iwami Silver Mine. It is normal for the Ming Dynasty to be inclined, and there is no need to dwell on it too much."

"I believe in my brother! They have formed siege networks three times, but they were unable to do anything to my brother, and this time is no exception!"

Oda City was very confident that his brother would be able to win. They had failed the previous three times and were bound to fail this time as well. It was just the hardships that one had to go through to become the master of the world.

"Very good. Then you should get ready and take the Ming Dynasty's silver-carrying ship to the Ming Dynasty." Xu Wei nodded. He did not talk much with Oda Nobunaga. This time, Xu Wei was not optimistic that Oda Nobunaga could break free from the encirclement again.

When people's hearts are scattered, it is impossible to lead the team. Zhu Wan committed suicide, Zhang Jing and Li Tianchong died due to frame-up. People in the entire southeast are restless and suspicious. That is the most dangerous time for the Ming Dynasty and the reason why the Japanese invasion was able to wreak havoc. When people's hearts are scattered, how can we suppress and resist the Japanese invasion?
Hu Zongxian worked hard to suppress the Japanese pirates, and with the emergence of a large number of loyal and honest people, the situation was finally stabilized.

Before Oda City set out, a battle report reached the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office, saying that Mori Terumoto's navy defeated the Oda clan's navy. The lord of Ise and Shima, the 35,000-koku daimyo Kuki Yoshitaka, was defeated by Murakami Takeyoshi and the control of the sea in Osaka Bay fell into the hands of the Mori family.

In a situation where people are already in a state of panic, such a great defeat will surely cause a more serious drop in morale, and it is absolutely impossible to lure the enemy into deep territory.

Oda Nobunaga had to solve his own safety problem more quickly, otherwise he would be like a dragon trapped in shallow water, so he wrote a letter to Oda City, urging Oda City to set off for Ming Dynasty as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)