I'm really not doing business

Chapter 688: After forty days, I finally realized the truth. Everything is up to fate, not man.

Zhang Juzheng was the Regent Emperor of the Ming Dynasty before the sixth year of Wanli. When the emperor got married in the sixth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng began to return power to the emperor. Now Zhang Juzheng is the imperial tutor and chief minister of the Ming Dynasty. In Zhang Juzheng's view, the success of a new policy is never in the temple, but in the world. No matter how many calculations and plans are made in the temple, they will all go astray in the process of implementation.

The performance evaluation system can only make implementation smoother to a certain extent, but deformation is inevitable. This is the contradiction of the one-whip system.

The top-down error correction force is naturally important, but the bottom-up error correction force is even more important.

So Zhang Juzheng agreed to a very short imperial edict from the emperor, which gave the people the legitimacy to fight for their rights as human beings.

Similarly, we must be vigilant in this development process. The bottom-up correction force must not be controlled by the mouthpieces of the powerful and the wealthy. This will affect the poor and the laboring people in expressing their true demands, and will also affect the decision-making of the court.

However, Zhang Juzheng believed that the method that the Emperor had found from the pile of old edicts was very useful.

The emperor's decree could not change anything. It could only give the poor and laborers legitimacy to make a fuss. Most of the people in the Ming Dynasty would still go with the flow, endure the hardships, and continue to be cruelly exploited.

However, this imperial edict is the only basis.

"So, since the first year of the Wanli reign, the silver collected in the name of imperial grain, in the fourteen prefectures of the Southern Court alone, has exceeded ten million silver coins?" Zhu Yijun looked solemn after reading Wang Guoguang's memorial.

This number is really too huge.

Since the bypass of the measurement system, the Ming Dynasty has converted the grain prices in various places into silver every year. In Nanjing, one dan of rice is five cents of silver, and 2000 million silvers is approximately equivalent to 30 million dan of rice. And this is not unhusked brown rice, but the grain directly escorted to the capital. One dan of rice is jin, which is approximately billion jin of rice.

This is still the official scale. According to the fact that when the nine battalions of Zhejiang Province went out to fight the flood, the people rushed to borrow the soldiers' scales, so this number will continue to rise.

These are exorbitant taxes and levies in addition to the regular taxes, and their scale is shocking.

"Your Majesty, this can still be checked." Wang Guoguang added that there are still accounts for this, as for those without accounts, it is impossible to count. Not to mention that the court wants to know, no one in the Southern Court can clearly explain how much silver has been taken.

"Now we have to continue to torture and collect salaries." Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment and decided to increase the intensity. If he didn't, the Southern Yamen would remain the same after he left, and there would be no changes.

"A law must be enacted to compile the numerous miscellaneous duties into land levies and collect them from the land. This is the imperial decree. Similarly, the people need to know that these exorbitant taxes should not be paid, at least not what Your Majesty wants. Local government offices can no longer carry Your Majesty's dragon flag and do evil."

"Good reputation belongs to oneself, bad reputation belongs to superiors, this is a sinner." Wang Guoguang did not think of taking a big step and eliminating all the excessive taxes in one step, that was unrealistic.

To be more realistic, these numerous exorbitant taxes and levies can no longer be collected in the name of the court or the emperor. This is already a huge progress.

If we really want to solve the problem, the people need to generally realize that this is not the tax they should pay and resist. Only with this awareness can we move forward.

"That makes sense." Zhu Yijun agreed with Wang Guoguang's advice. As an emperor, he must eliminate unrealistic goals, because such utopian and wishful perfection is bound to cause greater harm. We must take one step at a time and eat one bite at a time.

The wishful thinking of the ruling class is even more destructive than its own stupidity.

"Among the three things that the craftsmen are most concerned about, two are related to the Ministry of Justice. It's time to clean up those bastards who are sucking blood from the craftsmen. I think a month-long crackdown can effectively curb them." Wang Chonggu decided to launch an operation called Spring Thunder to physically eliminate all the brokers, compradors, and vagrants.

Zhu Yijun agreed with the Spring Thunder Operation. After thinking for a while, he added, "We must pay attention. These bastards often have dual identities. For example, they are brokers and compradors, and they are often servants of powerful and wealthy people. These servants must not be let go. When the monsoon starts in April, it will be time for the sailboats to sail to the sea. Tell the ocean envoy Liu Ji that we can take less cargo and send all these exiles to Java this year."

"If there is resistance, kill without mercy."

"Let the imperial guards do it. If they can't do it, then ask the Beijing Army to implement the policy. If I don't do what I promised the craftsmen, they will probably scold me as an emperor who has no integrity and can't do things well."

Apart from military matters, Zhu Yijun's instructions were all very specific and not vague. Only by making specific deployments could the people below do their work better.

Zhu Yijun's approach to these brokers and compradors was feudal iron fist: catch them, throw them to Java, and kill them if they resisted.

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhao Mengyou and said, "Release the imperial guards to go around and look for clues and answers from the common people and craftsmen. Ask the common people more. They all know that we must root out these brokers and compradors and cut off the hand of the powerful local gentry. Only then will they know that some things cannot be done. What I say is an iron law. The red line I draw must not be crossed."

"Many of the yamen runners in Yingtian Prefecture are yamen thieves. They have close ties with the local nobles. There is no need to use yamen runners. The imperial guards can do it."

"We will definitely catch them all in one month!"

Zhang Juzheng was silent for a moment and said, "The craftsmen mentioned that they needed these brokers to recruit workers. Seeds without soil cannot germinate. Since these brokers have appeared, there is naturally a demand for them. Defeating the brokers is one thing, and how to eliminate them in the entire employment process is another."

Zhu Yijun nodded in agreement. He said confidently, "Sir, you are right. If I only wave my fists, these powerful people will look down on me and think that I am just a child with fangs and claws. The soil for their growth needs to be destroyed."

"The official factory's laws and regulations will do it." Wang Chonggu said with a smile: "After all, I am the leader of the Labor Party. Your Majesty, the Prime Minister does not need to worry too much."

As for the craftsmen's matter, if he, as the leader of the Labour Party, does not take action at this time, who will recognize him as the party leader?

"Oh? Wang Ci Fu already has an idea?" Zhang Juzheng was stunned. This should have been a thorny issue, so Zhang Juzheng mentioned it when he met the emperor.

Wang Chonggu pondered for a while before saying, "The Prime Minister is not in the official factory, so I am not sure. Take the Yongding Woolen Factory in Beiya as an example. There are about 110 weavers and craftsmen in the two woolen factories, but such a small number of people obviously cannot complete the weaving of million pieces of woolen cloth a year. Surrounding the woolen factory, there are nearly a thousand upstream and downstream workshops. If these private workshops are also counted, then it is the appearance of the official woolen factory."

"Similarly, the government-run woolen mill is the root, and these private workshops are the branches and leaves."

"My idea is very simple, which is to give full play to the leading role of government factories."

Industrial clusters would easily form near government-owned factories, just like the Grand Canal, an economic entity, and the five major maritime customs offices, which were economic entities. Government-owned factories were smaller in scale and not as concentrated, but that did not mean that there were no industrial clusters. These industrial clusters would definitely form a clustering effect, and most of the craftsmen engaged in such activities would gather in these places.

Then the government-owned factory had to play its role, communicate with the private workshops, and act as a medium for the craftsmen to work.

"To put it bluntly, what do these brokers and compradors do, except they can introduce jobs to these craftsmen? Through the introduction of the official factory, the craftsmen will have a mother's family, and if they are bullied, they can go to their mother's family to complain. It can also prevent the greedy people from being vulgar and short-sighted, and from not training skilled craftsmen and eliminating them. Silk and satin are all silk, but the price profit of satin is much higher than that of silk." Wang Chonggu summarized.

Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu and said uncertainly, "What if these private workshops are unwilling to accept the introduction of the government factory?"

"It's not up to them. If they really object, that's fine. We can just not give them orders and starve them to death, or we can just expand and swallow them up. The current scale of the state-owned factories is to prevent excessive bloat and rigidity, so the current scale is maintained." Wang Chonggu introduced to His Majesty what a dominant position is.

Dominance is a real influence. The state-owned factory is a behemoth that plays a vital role in the economy. This behemoth can crush countless private factories with just a turn. Wang Chonggu is not lying. Take the Xishan Coal Bureau as an example. If the Xishan Coal Bureau does not supply coal to a certain company, that company will immediately be eliminated by the cruel market and eaten by tigers, leopards, jackals and wolves.

"It seems that many problems have been solved. So, Wang Ci Fu, what is the cost?" Zhu Yijun saw the benefits, but he needed to know the disadvantages.

Wang Chonggu immediately replied: "Your Majesty, this is an expansion of the power of government-owned factories. Once they become bloated and rigid, they will become man-eating monsters. If the size of government-owned factories exceeds 30%, we must be vigilant. If it exceeds 50%, we must intervene. If it exceeds 70%, we must crack down on it. Otherwise, both government-owned factories and private workshops will lose their vitality."

Being wary of the unlimited expansion of government-owned factories is a point that Wang Chonggu has been repeatedly stating since the woolen cloth government-owned factory. The disorderly expansion of any economic or political entity will inevitably lead to immeasurable consequences. This is a historical lesson. After all, in the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, a pound of coal was sold for 200 coins. After all, the Jin Party once dared to arrange a marriage for itself with a golden edict.

The price is that government-owned factories will expand their influence and the market will lose some vitality. Of course, this is an unstoppable inevitability under the feudal monarchy.

"Today's Nan Ya is tomorrow's official factory." Wang Chonggu said with a subtle expression: "But at least the official factory is dispersed."

Now that Wang Chonggu has abandoned his position as the leader of the Jin Party, he has discovered the dangers of regional factions.

The original Jin Party is now the Nan Ya.

"Your Majesty, in fact, to truly solve the troubles of the craftsmen, these methods are only temporary solutions and not fundamental solutions. If you want to solve the fundamental problems, you still have to find ways to turn the craftsmen into skilled craftsmen. Once they have a skill, the powerful will be able to loudly say that if you don't want to do it, there are plenty of people who will do it. The craftsmen can also say, if you can't stay here, I will find another place to stay." Wang Chonggu felt that what was being done now was just "surface work". If the fundamental problems were to be solved, skilled craftsmen should be trained.

A person's knowledge and experience are also his or her fixed assets, and these fixed assets can be used for production. This is the fundamental reason why Wang Chonggu said this.

It is necessary to do superficial work, because almost everything starts from the outside and ends in the inside, and quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes.

The despicable Confucianists who don't even want to do the superficial work and shout that releasing the treasury can irrigate all the withered trees are one extreme. As for the contradictions between everything, they want to solve all problems immediately and without considering objective facts. This is another extreme.

For example, Li Zhi once made such a mistake. When he first arrived at the Beiya, he loudly shouted the slogan "no taxation without representation", which was a typical example of ignoring objective reality.

How to find a balance between the two will be a great test of the Emperor's wisdom.

Zhu Yijun flipped through the memorial submitted by Wang Guoguang, read it for a long time, and asked solemnly, "What's the situation with this Southern Yamen Revenue Minister Fu Xizhi? Why is everything related to him?"

The former Xuzhou prefect Chen Wuyin, Nanjing Dali Temple Minister Shu Hua, Dai Fengxiang and others, who were carrying dragon flags and large banners to collect money this time, including a tax of two cents of silver from weavers over the age of fifteen, were all related to Fu Xizhi.

According to the multiple pointing method proposed by Zhao Mengyou, when there are more than three pointings, it means there must be a problem.

The problems in the Southern Yamen were systemic and a historical burden. There were also specific perpetrators, including the Nanjing Minister of Revenue and Governor of the Granary, Fu Xizhi, who were involved in all aspects of the case.

There is a particularly interesting piece of information here. That is, the teacher that the disappointing grandson of Nanjing Chief Censor Yuan Hongyu worshipped was the family teacher of the Minister of Revenue.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, Prime Minister Fu Bi was also a famous prime minister of the Song Dynasty. He had a handwritten letter "Son's Letter" circulated in the world. The full text of this letter is: My son is dull by nature, and he has never experienced anything. There are very few people in the capital who know me. I have been asked to see you many times. I hope you can teach me one by one. I would be very grateful. I also ask Bing to leave. Bi went up again.

Fu Bi's short 40-odd words expressed the helplessness of an old father. Of course, Fu Bi knew that this was not a good thing, so he asked his friend to read it and burn it (bing). Of course, the friend was reluctant to burn Fu Bi's handwriting, so he kept it. Fu Bi was strong all his life, but in the end he asked for help from his son. Yuan Hongyu was honest all his life, but when he was old, he had to run around for his grandson.

"He is involved in a case that I am still investigating, so I did not explain it in detail in the memorial." Wan Guoguang glanced at Hai Rui and said with a serious expression.

"This matter is almost certain. In fact, I can tell Your Majesty." Hai Rui sighed and said, "Your Majesty, this Fu Xizhi is smuggling saltpeter to Japan."

"Huh?" Zhu Yijun put down the memorial in his hand, looked up at Hai Rui with an expression of disbelief.

The matter was so outrageous that Zhu Yijun had completely lost his composure. He stared at Hai Rui in a daze and asked uncertainly, "This Fu Xizhi, is selling saltpeter to Japan?!"

"Yes." Hai Rui sighed and said, "This matter only needs confirmation from the Nagasaki Governor's Office. However, on our side of the Ming Dynasty, the evidence is irrefutable. This is not just his honor or disgrace, so we are handling the case very carefully. The Censorate, the Ministry of Revenue, the Pacification Office, and the Maritime Customs Office have repeatedly confirmed it before we have finally found out the truth."

Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment and said, "Is he crazy?"

The annual output of saltpeter in the Ming Dynasty was 500,000 jin, while the saltpeter imported from Bengal was about 1.3 million jin. Only with saltpeter could there be gunpowder. The confidence of Felipe in building the British Empire was the saltpeter from Peru.

Because of the Japanese invasion, merchants along the southeastern coast had a general consensus that even the saltpeter used to make fireworks and firecrackers, or the white frost from manure pits, would not be sold to Japan. Zhu Yijun could not accept the fact that he, a second-rank Minister of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty, was smuggling saltpeter to Japan.

"The profit is too huge. The saltpeter he traded was sold for five cents a pound in the Ming Dynasty, but it could be sold for five taels of silver in Japan, which is a hundred times more. The profit is too huge. We are still investigating whether it was done by the powerful and wealthy people under his protection, or by Fu Xizhi's instructions." Hai Rui informed His Majesty of the current progress of the case.

As a wise official, Fu Xizhi certainly did not need to personally engage in such a dirty deed. When the Ming Dynasty investigated this matter, it had to start with the Japanese silver.

Since Hai Rui pursued the stolen money and the Ming Emperor collected salaries in the Southern Court, the Tiqi Yamen received about four million taels of silver in succession, not imperial silver coins, but silver ingots.

The silver from Japan and the rich silver from Peru are slightly different. Due to the process, Japanese silver contains a small amount of sulfur and is made by the soot blowing method, while the rich silver mines are made by the amalgam method, which will have mercury residue.

More than 70% of the silver received by the Imperial Guards was Japanese silver. This caused some doubts in the minds of two Imperial Guards generals, Zhao Mengyou and Luo Bingliang, who were very experienced in handling cases. Every year, 3 million Japanese silver flowed into the Ming Dynasty, and the rich silver was about 6 million silver. The proportion of 70% Japanese silver was a bit too much.

With so much Japanese silver, the Tiqi began to investigate its source.

Smuggling is a very common phenomenon in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty. Since the opening of the sea in the Wanli period, this phenomenon has not been stopped, but has become more serious.

During the investigation, several extravagant families in Nanjing were found. It was originally a case of private investigation, but during the investigation, traces of saltpeter export were found. This was no longer a crime, but a treasonous act.

Finally, the investigation was traced back to the Minister of Revenue Fu Xizhi.

"Your Majesty, the management of saltpeter is extremely strict. No matter whether it is the saltpeter from Laojun Cave or imported saltpeter, every pound of it is on record. It is worth investigating where these powerful and wealthy people get their large-scale smuggled saltpeter from. Is there any large-scale saltpeter producing area in the Ming Dynasty besides Laojun Cave?" Zhao Mengyou explained the case handling process.

"Are these saltpeters imported?" Zhu Yijun realized the source of the saltpeter.

The saltpeter mines in the Ming Dynasty were not everywhere. The ones that were easy to mine were limited to Laojun Cave. This place was strictly controlled, so it was possible to mine a small amount, but the scale of smuggling definitely did not come from Laojun Cave. A part of the imported saltpeter would be kept in Nan Ya, and then transported from Nan Ya to the distribution areas.

"So, Fu Xizhi, the governor of the warehouse, sold my saltpeter to Japan. The court had to split up the Southern Court to investigate the treasury, so they had no choice but to take a risk and set the warehouse on fire. Even if I tortured them, they must not reveal that the saltpeter was sold to Japan." Zhu Yijun took a deep breath and sorted out the general outline of the case.

Zhu Yijun was still wondering why the treasury of the Southern Yamen was burning so quickly. It would take at least a few rounds of fighting. The literati made a fuss first, and the ministers wrote memorials. Zhu Yijun cursed, and everyone fought for a few rounds within the rules. However, before the fight even started, the fire dragon started burning the warehouse.

Hidden in the relationship is a shocking case of saltpeter smuggling.

"At the moment, this is what is happening." Zhao Mengyou's voice became a little lower. His Majesty is usually kind to others, but when he gets angry, he can be very scary.

"General Ti, arrest Fu Xizhi. This is no longer a triple charge. It is basically certain that he is guilty. Arrest him for questioning first. All the people involved should be arrested at once." Zhu Yijun looked at Zhao Mengyou and said clearly: "Even if we find out about the Duke of Wei's Mansion, we will not show any leniency. Just do it."

"Your Majesty, in fact, Duke Wei also felt that the Southern Court was too rotten, so when the navy took over the Southern Court, Duke Wei handed it over. He was very aware of the corruption of the Southern Court, but he could not do anything." Qi Jiguang spoke well of Xu Bangrui.

Xu Bangrui is not a fool like his father Xu Pengju. When Japan has gunpowder and the Japanese pirates invade, it is Xu Bangrui, a military hero, who will have to fight to the death. In Qi Jiguang's view, Xu Bangrui knows the importance of things and will not get involved in such things. If he gets involved in reselling saltpeter to Japan, Xu Bangrui will definitely not easily hand over the defense of Nanjing.

Xu Bangrui very much welcomed the emperor to the Southern Court, and even actively cooperated with the court's decrees. He was also willing to come forward during the public trial. All these actions did not seem like a confrontational attitude.

The most important thing is that Xu Bangrui requested the emperor to give monthly food to the wives of Ming soldiers, at least in the Beijing camp and the navy. This is his position.

Xu Bangrui was caught in a dilemma and there was no need for him to submit such a memorial. It was a waste of time and would only bring trouble to himself.

"You can know a person's face but not his heart. Just investigate and you will know." Zhu Yijun did not follow Qi Jiguang's advice. Instead, he ordered the Imperial Guards to conduct a thorough investigation. Even if they reached the Duke of Wei's Mansion, they should not avoid it and should investigate it to the end.

"I obey your order." Zhao Mengyou bowed his head and accepted the order.

The Ming Emperor values ​​keeping his promises, which is the second greatest virtue recognized by the Great Light Cult.

Your Majesty has eight virtues. According to the teachings of the Great Light Church, if you have one of these eight virtues, you can settle yourself well. If you have three, you can stand out from the crowd. If you have five, you will be a man of integrity and an indispensable hero in the world. If you have seven or more of them, you will be a saint in the world.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not make promises easily, but every time he made a promise, he would keep it. This time, His Majesty promised the craftsmen in the Southern Courtyard that he would get rid of the termites, brokers, compradors and vagrants who sucked the blood of the craftsmen within a month.

In just three days, the broker was caught, interrogated, and sent directly to Java on a ship at Pukou. Seven days later, there were no more human traffickers who wanted to take children away from the place where the craftsmen gathered.

Brokers and compradors would be sent to Java, and human traffickers who carried children would be beheaded in public.

As for the state-owned factories that replaced the brokers and compradors, the implementation was also very swift. The state-owned factories did not think that this was asking for trouble, but took active action.

For the Ming Dynasty official factory, which is more important, money or power? Of course, power is more important.

The land of Daming has never changed since ancient times. Whoever has power means money, so the Legislative Affairs Office is very keen on introducing jobs to craftsmen!

Because this is an expansion of the power of the Legislative Office of Government Factories. For example, if these craftsmen are wronged, the Legislative Office can be responsible for mediating. As for the mediation process, how the powerful and wealthy can get rid of these plague gods is part of the price of the new policy.

While Zhu Yijun was fulfilling his promise, the imperial guards were also busy and eventually got to the bottom of the case of Fu Xizhi, the Nanjing Minister of Revenue.

It was not those powerful families who did it without Fu Xizhi's knowledge. In addition to providing protection and the necessary documents for customs clearance, Fu Xizhi also provided the source of goods. The saltpeter stored in the Nan Ya treasury was emptied, so such a drastic measure as burning the warehouse with fire dragons was necessary.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards have brought Fu Xizhi here." Feng Bao carefully reminded His Majesty, who was reviewing memorials. His Majesty specifically asked to see Fu Xizhi. His Majesty couldn't understand why Fu Xizhi would go to such lengths for money.

"Xuan."

"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, pay my respects to you. Long live Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty." Fu Xizhi knelt on the ground in shackles and saluted very respectfully.

"Fu Xizhi, I don't understand why you did this. You passed the imperial examination in the 35th year of Jiajing, and then became the deputy envoy of the Huaiyang coastal defense. In the 3rd year of Longqing, a small group of Japanese pirates invaded Gaoyouwei, and you even led the troops personally to suppress the Japanese. At that time, you were 52 years old, and you still wanted to charge into battle." Zhu Yijun closed the memorial, raised his head, and said with a frown.

Fu Xizhi personally killed two Japanese pirates on the battlefield, which was why Zhu Yijun wanted to find out the truth. It was rare for a scholar to charge into battle. As for whether he killed two Japanese pirates to gain the credit of his own soldiers, Zhu Yijun had no way of knowing. But being willing to charge into battle was already a great courage.

What made Fu Xizhi become like this?

"Your Majesty, I am old, alas." Fu Xizhi was silent for a long time before he kowtowed again and said in a low voice: "It would have been better for me to die in Gaoyou Guard at that time, so that I could have a tablet in the Temple of Loyalty and Bravery."

"There are many things that cannot be blamed on me."

Fu Xizhi had a lot to say, but after thinking for a long time, the only reason he could give to Your Majesty was that he had no choice.

Just like Fu Bi, who had been strong-willed all his life, wrote a letter to his friend; just like Yuan Hongyu, who had been honest all his life, went to Hai Rui to plead for mercy; just like Fu Xizhi, who is now in shackles.

Fu Xizhi knelt on the ground and whispered, "I just passed the imperial examination and I am not afraid of anything. I am not afraid of any hardship. But now, I cannot and dare not. I have a wife and children."

I can't remember when he started to become what he is now, becoming more and more bold, and doing more and more excessive things.

"I, a criminal, sold saltpeter to Japan because I saw that Japan could no longer harass the Ming Dynasty's maritime borders. That's why I was tempted to do so. The maximum I sold was 50,000 kilograms of saltpeter a year." Fu Xizhi was not trying to make excuses for himself. He was just stating a fact. There were many things that were traded to Japan, and saltpeter was one of them. He also strictly controlled the quantity.

"Did the Duke of Wei take the silver?" Zhu Yijun asked directly.

"No, the current Duke of Wei is unwilling to take it. His family is not short of this little money, but they probably guessed something." Fu Xizhi did not resist the investigation and did not curse. When the emperor asked, he told the truth and only asked for a quick death. He did not fool the emperor with clichés like "I deserve to die a thousand times."

Did Xu Bangrui know? He guessed that 50,000 kilograms of saltpeter were missing from the warehouse. Of course, Xu Bangrui would have a lot of imagination, but he had no status to investigate the matter, and he couldn't do anything he wanted to do.

So when the emperor came, Xu Bangrui was truly happy.

(End of this chapter)