I'm really not doing business

Chapter 700 Zhu the Butcher? No, it’s Zhu Qingtian!

"Do you think the fate of the ancient Inca Empire could happen to the Ming Dynasty? I don't know. History is always like this. It has its inevitability and its coincidences." Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "But our Ming Dynasty was established in the midst of iron and fire. It was established after the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty and in the midst of the barbarians."

History is really interesting. It is the established past and the unknown future. It will not get angry, nor will it scold, let alone refute. Likewise, it is also the best and most patient teacher. Even if you cannot learn, forget, deliberately ignore, or the years, history books, demons, and even turn it into entertainment, it will not hit you or scold you.

History, the teacher, will only repeat itself and tell you that this is the truth, and no matter how much you make up stories, you cannot change it.

"So, we need to take the lessons of the ancient Inca Empire seriously. Our mathematics has not made any progress in almost two hundred years since the immortal Guo Shoujing. This is because we lack effective communication and exchange with the world. This is also true for shipbuilding and woolen cloth. The harm of closing the country to the outside world is obvious, but fortunately, our Ming Dynasty has many scholars, although it doesn't have much else."

"These red-haired barbarians are simply unable to defeat the Ming Dynasty, and are only appearing submissive. If it weren't for the powerful navy of the Ming Dynasty, do you think I killed the special envoy Sauron? Would Felipe pay the Ming Dynasty two million silver coins as a personal act, or would he invade our Ming Dynasty? It must be the latter." Zhu Yijun talked about the old things, killing Sauron.

Philip II attributed this behavior to Solon's personal behavior, and then gave two million taels of silver, which was considered to be a respect for both parties. But what if the navy was not so powerful? What if the Ming Dynasty fell into a situation of internal and external troubles?

Since the Zhengde period, Western sailboats sailed across the ocean to the Ming Dynasty and fought with the Ming Dynasty many times. They had to do business honestly because they could not win.

"The Han Dynasty has had loyal and good people from generation to generation." Zhu Yijun repeated these eight words again, looking at the Inca volume of the Overseas Foreign Countries in his hand. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt.

Are there no loyal people in the ancient Inca Empire?
In the tenth year of Jiajing, after the king was killed, the remnants of the ancient Inca Empire resisted for a full forty years, but were eventually completely wiped out. An ancient country with a population of over nine million and a civilization that had existed for more than thousands of years just disappeared. The only cultural relics left were murals to prove their existence. The people became slaves and disappeared in harsh mines, and even their bloodlines were gradually cut off.

Can China really survive by relying on loyal people? Although history has repeatedly told Zhu Yijun that it really can, when the country was in ruins, talented people and patriots who came one after another rebuilt China several times in the ruins with their blood, and once again made the ancient civilization burst into dazzling vitality.

But…what if the crisis is big enough, so big that no matter how many talented people sacrifice their lives for the country, they can’t make up for the gap? What if the gap is big enough, so big that even talented people are discouraged?
Zhu Yijun picked up the red brush and wrote as he said, "The ancient Inca Empire perished because of its isolation, which also reveals a truth, that is, if you lag behind, you will be beaten, your country will be destroyed, and even the name of your civilization will be stolen. There are so many Romes in the West, but none of them is the real Rome."

Zhu Yijun was a pessimist. He liked to give the enemy a lenient forecast. In his opinion, it was better to stay ahead of the world rather than letting talented and ambitious people come one after another to fill the bottomless abyss of backwardness and hold up the sky and the earth. If they were used to being the Celestial Empire, they should continue to be the Celestial Empire.

The world has never been peaceful, it was only the sword of the Ming army that made the Ming Dynasty peaceful.

Zhu Yijun launched many projects during his southern tour, among which was the Yuejiang Tower. This tower was where the elegant guests mocked Zhu Yuanzhang. The construction of this unfinished building finally started again. Of course, these elegant guests were dissatisfied and immediately began to criticize the court for the large-scale construction and the waste of money and manpower. After so much criticism, even the common people figured out that something was wrong.

How much silver does a Yuejiang Tower cost? Why is it so hated? The main function of Yuejiang Tower is to tell time, which is beneficial to the entire Southern Court.

Soon, the people realized that these elegant writers were just cursing for the sake of cursing, so they just didn't bother to pay any attention to them.

These writers described Zhu Yuanzhang as a monster crawling out of hell, but the people asked in return, if Zhu Yuanzhang was really like that, how did he go from holding a broken bowl to becoming emperor?

This is where basic logic doesn't make sense. If it were really that bad, where would the Ming Dynasty come from?

Zhu Yijun was too lazy to pay attention to these rumors and continued to deal with memorials from all over the world in his West Lake Villa. Hangzhou in July was already very hot, and even the wind in the pavilion was hot. After the complicated political struggles, the life of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty finally became peaceful, and he could pay attention to the lives of the people of Hangzhou.

A newspaper told Zhu Yijun that the best way to kill a person's soul is to go into debt. Zhu Yijun did not agree with this. How could a person's soul be killed? As a Hongyi scholar, Zhu Yijun certainly did not think that the soul could be killed.

But after he arrived in Hangzhou, he gradually came to agree with this view, because he saw some phenomena that made him very disgusted, that is, people had to borrow money to survive.

The victims were not only the poor laborers, but also the middle class families.

Zhejiang has five metropolises with a population of one million. At the time of July in the 13th year of Wanli, there was no city with a population of one million in the whole world except the Ming Dynasty, and Zhejiang had as many as five. Among these five metropolises with a population of over one million, middle-class families are the backbone, and they are generally dissatisfied with their lives, but have no way to seek fairer treatment.

At this time, debt came into being. In order to make these middle-class families obedient enough, Zhejiang's local gentry and powerful people began to use all means possible. On the one hand, they pursued luxury and competed in luxury, and on the other hand, they lent out large amounts of money.

"The property of an average family is barely enough to pay the taxes for one household. When there are severe floods or droughts, they have to borrow money and fall into debt. The expenses for marrying off a child, marrying a wife, and funerals can be tens of thousands of yuan, or even millions. When something good or bad happens to an average family, they have to sell their fields and houses, and even if they pay double the interest, they still can't make up for the money. However, the expenses for good and bad fortune nowadays are almost twenty times more than in the past. How can financial resources be inexhaustible?" Zhu Yijun finished reading a passage from a newspaper.

A middle-class family, neither too rich nor too poor, could barely take care of their own home, but when faced with floods, droughts, diseases or lawsuits, they would inevitably have to borrow money, which was already difficult. As social customs became more extravagant, the expenses of weddings, childbirths, funerals and other social transactions ranged from tens of thousands of Tongbao coins to millions, more than twenty times that of the Jiajing period.

Some people specifically target these middlemen to borrow money. The interest rate is typical usury, with nine out of ten returned. If you borrow ten taels, you will only be given nine taels, and when you pay back the money, you will have to pay back thirteen taels. If the money is not paid back within the agreed year, the interest will be doubled.

"The way to go to the capital is to seek out wealthy merchants in the local area and loan money in advance to cover the expenses. This is called a capital debt. Eh? No, what does this mean? A Jinshi debt?" Zhu Yijun was stunned, looking at the article in the newspaper, and said with a very strange expression.

Feng Bao bowed his head and said, "This candidate has to travel a long distance to the capital to take the imperial examination. If he can pass the examination the first time, it's not a big deal, because there are official post stations along the way, so there is not much expense. But if he fails the first time, it will be troublesome. He can either stay in the capital, but staying in the capital requires money, and studying under a famous teacher also requires money. If he doesn't have money, he can only borrow it; or he can go back to his hometown, but the second and third times will be tiring, and there will be no official money."

"Over time, the money borrowed by candidates who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination was called Jinshi debt, or Beijing debt."

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "How can they pay back the money?"

"Some will pay it back after they take up their posts." Feng Bao replied in a low voice.

"You'll make money after you become an official and then pay it back?" Zhu Yijun frowned even more deeply. He hadn't even become an official yet, but he was already a candidate for corruption. It would be strange if the Ming officialdom could be good! If this continued, the administration would inevitably collapse, corruption and bribery would be everywhere, and the extortion would be extremely cruel. Could the true clean officials survive in such an officialdom environment?
Feng Bao lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, you don't have to pay back the money. You can allow these wealthy merchants from your hometown to register their land in your name. This way, you can avoid the land tax and it can also be considered as paying back the money."

"Well! Tax evasion has become an industry, right?" Zhu Yijun slapped the newspaper on the table, stood up, pointed at the newspaper and said, "All these Juren and Jinshi are going to be officials, but before they even become officials, they are already in debt. Are there any honest officials in the Ming Dynasty? We need both the muddy stream and the clean stream, but there are too few clean streams, so the officialdom is naturally full of smoke and miasma!"

"Feng Daban, what do you think? The three times I went to Beijing for the exam, the officials provided me with a post station and gave me more rice when I entered Beijing. Can this alleviate this phenomenon?"

Zhu Yijun was keenly aware of the seriousness of the problem. Juren had already been alienated before they even passed the imperial examination. This was bound to be a disaster for the Ming Dynasty, and the problem had to be alleviated rather than solved.

"Your Majesty, this is not a question of providing post stations and food for the government," Feng Bao said in a low voice. "The students' main expenses are not on food, clothing, housing and transportation, but on the endless banquets for thanking teachers, banquets for deer calls, poetry gatherings, flower viewing, outings, summer heat relief, and winter cold banquets. As a juren, you have to be respectable, which is another expense."

Is it enough to just provide food, clothing, shelter and transportation? Your Majesty stood in front of the gate of the West Lake Villa and looked at the Broken Bridge of the West Lake. The gatherings held to cool off the summer heat were full of scholars. All the odds and ends on your body are your face. If you don't have what others have, you are poor.

You must have a fan, and this fan must be made of good wood, good paper, and good words; if you don't wear a sachet, how can you go out? This sachet must be made by a famous artist, and ordinary things will probably make people laugh; you must have a book boy to bring you some things to go out, such as pens, inkstones, paper, seals, and books. A box of books is a life of honor and disgrace; you must at least have a female companion, and this female companion must be able to play the piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting, otherwise, how can you sing the poems you have written?
You went out in a donkey cart? The next day you became a laughing stock in Hangzhou.

If you become a juren, you need to have supporting documents. With this supporting document, you will have a lot of money. No money? It's easy. You are a juren and there are many people who will lend you money. It doesn't matter if you don't pay it back.

"Your Majesty, there will be a summer cooling gathering at Broken Bridge today. Most of the scholars in Hangzhou will participate in it. Each trip will cost at least three or four taels of silver. An average family will not have more than three taels of silver left in a year." Feng Bao explained the problem again. Social interactions are not just about weddings and funerals, there are also various social events that must be attended.

"You are right." Zhu Yijun exhaled and said, "I am out of ideas."

"Your Majesty, Zhejiang's problems have actually been somewhat resolved. This miscellany is a bit hindsight." Feng Bao bowed his head again and said, "Your Majesty, the master also borrowed money in the early years. The master passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen, but it was not until the age of twenty-three that he entered the capital to take the imperial examination. The master actually had no other choice."

Wang Shizhen said that Zhang Juzheng had not even washed the mud off his legs yet he was showing off in the court. The two were on the same exam. Wang Shizhen looked down on Zhang Juzheng for his poor background. Zhang Juzheng also experienced these things after passing the imperial examination, but there was nothing he could do but pretend he didn't know.

This is a problem so complicated that even a figure like Zhang Juzheng finds it difficult to solve.

Feng Bao continued, "To hold a grand wedding in Hangzhou, a family with a little bit of status would need at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Two hundred taels of silver would not be enough. There are three matchmakers and six betrothals. There is a gift for marrying a daughter-in-law and a dowry for marrying a daughter. When an old man dies, there must be a grand funeral. All these are money. The people in Hangzhou say that they can't afford to live, let alone die."

"If you don't have money, you can only borrow it. If you can't pay it back, you have to find ways to pay it back. Then you can just forget about benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness."

"When your Majesty came to Zhejiang, the trend of lending money stopped. Some people called your Majesty Zhu Qingtian."

"What the hell? Zhu Qingtian? I? Don't they call me Zhu the Butcher?" Zhu Yijun was stunned. He remembered very clearly that during the month of blockade, the writers in Hangzhou Prefecture dared to bluntly call him Zhu the Butcher!

How did he become the great judge?
"This is a long story. Please allow me to tell you slowly." Feng Bao considered it carefully and told His Majesty the whole story.

The Ming Emperor's reputation in Zhejiang did not take a sharp turn for the worse after he led troops to quell the rebellion. Instead, it rose to the same level as Hai Rui, a living honest official!

This is so strange that Feng Bao couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable when he said it, but it is indeed the fact.

There was a very strange change in wind speed on the ground in Zhejiang. Zhu the Butcher turned into Zhu the Justice, and this change was reversed within three days of the ban being lifted.

Except for Renhe County, the whole Zhejiang Province, the local gentry whose family property was less than 100 hectares, applauded Your Majesty's act of killing pigs to quell the rebellion! They all said that the killing was well done!

No matter how sharp the emperor's knife is, it is only aimed at the powerful and wealthy people who own more than a hundred hectares. For those with less than a hundred hectares, there is actually no need for the emperor to take action, as that amount of money is not even as much as the silver mobilized by the Beijing Army.

The local officials in Zhejiang actively cooperated with the imperial court, fearing that the emperor would not be able to catch them clean. They also provided some information about the secret affairs of the rich and powerful families and their illegitimate children, so that the emperor could eradicate all the evil! In fact, it was because the local officials in Zhejiang had suffered from this group of powerful and wealthy people for a long time, and those who could afford to lend money were basically on the emperor's hit list.

The money was borrowed to the point that the family property had to be sold to pay it back. Everyone knew that it would not be paid back, but no one could do anything about it. This time, the people behind the extravagance and luxury competition were caught in one fell swoop, and Zhejiang immediately became clear and bright. The emperor's reputation also rose from a butcher to a blue sky.

The main reason is that many IOUs are no longer in debt because the creditors have disappeared physically, and this naturally improves their reputation.

"Why do I feel that these three words Zhu Qingtian are a roundabout way of insulting me?" Zhu Yijun sat on the chair, picked up the newspaper and continued reading.

"Your Majesty, these lowly scholars in our Ming Dynasty never bother to beat around the bush or use sarcastic language when they scold the emperor." Feng Bao stated another fact. While the emperor was suppressing a rebellion, the chief clerk of Hangzhou Prefecture was still scolding the butcher. The scholars in the Ming Dynasty were very bold and would never use sarcastic language.

For example, these literati like to make up stories about Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di. Zhu Di's image in Zhejiang is that of a perverted murderer who likes to rape fifty-year-old women.

Feng Bao is not talking nonsense, Your Majesty's reputation is continuing to rise.

Sometimes, when there is no way to solve a problem, violence may be an effective means. If the weapon of criticism does not work, use weapons to criticize.

Zhu the Butcher's original intention was bad, he wanted to purge counter-revolutionaries, but he was executed well and became Zhu the Justice.

Because the blood shed by the emperor's violence to demonstrate his power could be contained in a square, while the dark cloud built up by hundreds of years of debt relationships could not be contained in the Ming Dynasty, as the common people and middle-class families who were forced to lose their families and die without a burial place due to the debt relationships could not be contained in the square. The dark cloud dissipated because of violence.

The dark clouds have dispersed, there is no need to blame the thunder.

"Your Majesty, the trend of borrowing money is everywhere, and the Ming Dynasty is full of corrupt officials and debt-ridden generals who are greedy, licentious, cruel, and insatiable. The people have no peace to live in. It's like the potato seedlings. If you plant them in the fields, there will be no harvest after two years. You have to grow the seedlings again, kill the poison and remove the poison before you can continue planting." Feng Bao understood this change in public opinion from the perspective of farming.

In fact, it is just the killing of potato seedlings. The Ming Dynasty lacks an effective killing and error correction mechanism to allow the powerful and wealthy people in the Ming Dynasty to metabolize periodically.

This is just Feng Bao's superficial opinion as the Prime Minister and does not constitute any policy recommendation.

Zhu Yijun finished reading the miscellaneous newspapers in his hand. In fact, the most outrageous thing was not the Beijing debt, but the long-term debt in the temple. The mother gold gave birth to the child, and the children were born in turn and continued endlessly, so it was called long-term or endless. In fact, it meant that the pawnshops, brokers, and money houses controlled by the temples lent money in an endless cycle.

This temple is supposed to be a place for quiet meditation, but it's filled with the stench of money.

"Since everyone says I am an honest official, then I will be an honest official to the end. No temple in Zhejiang is allowed to run pawnshops, brokerages or money houses. I have to search and confiscate all of them within half a month. It's a mess and a turbulent environment, and the master chefs cannot worship Buddha in peace, right? I do this so that they can worship Buddha with peace of mind." Zhu Yijun decided to continue taking action and solve some specific problems.

He was so busy showing off his power that he forgot about these temples.

These temples were big tax evaders. Many local nobles and gentry registered their land to the temples in order to circumvent the order to return the land to the original land. The temples then became places where filth and corruption were lurking.

The place where the Xia, Ying, Fei, Cai and other families in Renhe always gathered was between these temples. Zhu Yijun was just robbing straw to kill rabbits. Since he was going to clean up the mess, he had to do it thoroughly to prevent these temples from growing stronger after the powerful and wealthy were gone.

"I obey your order." Feng Bao felt that there was nothing wrong with the decree. He just needed to check for omissions and fill them up. It didn't matter if there were any omissions, just fill them up.

"Let's go out for a walk." Zhu Yijun planned to visit the West Lake. The West Lake was at its most beautiful at this time of year, so he planned to go out for a walk.

Feng Bao said with an embarrassed look on his face: "Your Majesty, how about tomorrow?"

Your Majesty's sudden impulse made Feng Bao very embarrassed, because the West Lake was full of people, and the streets had to be cleared when the emperor went out for a tour. Especially after a fire burned down the emperor's residence, the Ming Dynasty's imperial guards became more strict in their security for the emperor.

In Zhejiang, don't go on incognito visits as you would in the Southern and Northern Yamen unless it is necessary, as it is easy to get into trouble.

"Then let's do it tomorrow." Zhu Yijun thought about it and decided not to cause trouble for the imperial guards. The situation in Zhejiang was indeed not very peaceful. He was a very brave man, but not a reckless man. If there were any fish that slipped through the net and met the emperor, they would try to assassinate him. The people of Zhejiang, who had just taken a breath, would suffer again.

The next morning, Zhu Yijun got up early and took the Queen Wang Yaozhuo, the eldest son Zhu Changzhi, two concubines, the heroic Guo Yunyao, and the gentle Wang Xiyue, followed by a long tail, and prepared to visit the West Lake.

The magnificent scenery of West Lake during the Wanli period is divided into exterior views and four roads. For example, the Yuewang Tomb where Zhu Yijun is going now is on West Lake North Road. If you want to go to Leifeng Pagoda and Longjing, you have to go to West Lake South Road.

"Husband, I won't go." When Wang Yaozhuo was about to get in the car, she suddenly looked a little unbearable and said in a low voice.

"What's wrong?" Zhu Yijun asked in confusion.

Wang Yaozhuo smiled and said, "I'm afraid she is pregnant. She has been having morning sickness these past two days. If she vomits on the way, it will disturb her husband's mood."

"Oh? Good, good!" Zhu Yijun said with a smile on his face, "My wife has worked hard, but the chief physician also said that since you are pregnant, it is good for you to move around more. I am just in the mood, it is not as important as my wife."

"Forget it, my husband should spend more time with his two younger sisters." Wang Yaozhuo shook her head and looked at the two timid concubines.

Guo Yunyao and Wang Xiyue have been in the palace for more than a year, and there has been no movement in their bellies. They have served the emperor in the bedchamber many times. Wang Yaozhuo thought that there was something wrong with her husband's health, but she got pregnant again. So the problem is not her husband, but these two sisters.

"That's fine. I just hope that my lady has good intentions and they can understand and won't let my lady down." Zhu Yijun glanced at Guo Yunyao and Wang Xiyue and said in a low voice.

Wang Yaozhuo smiled and said, "No, they are not that ignorant."

Guo Yunyao and Wang Xiyue whispered a few words to Wang Yaozhuo again. No one knew what Wang Yaozhuo said, but the two concubines blushed with shame. Then they followed His Majesty on the jade carriage, one on the left and one on the right, and headed towards the Jade Lotus Pavilion, which is the first attraction on West Lake North Road.

Along the way, they passed Yulian Pavilion, Zhaoqing Temple, Wawadang, Big Buddha Head, Baochu Pagoda and other attractions. The two concubines pulled Zhu Changzhi and were quite happy. However, Zhu Yijun's mind was not on the road. He mainly wanted to go to Yuewang Tomb.

At noon, the carriage arrived at Yuewangfen, which is the tomb of Yue Fei. He was named so because he was posthumously named King of E.

During the middle period of Jiajing reign, Japanese pirates were rampant. The tombs of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in suppressing the Japanese pirates, namely the Temple of Loyalty and Bravery, were built next to Yue Fei's Tomb. Zhu Yijun came this time to pay tribute to Yue Fei and the loyal and brave soldiers of the Ming Dynasty who died in the fight against the Japanese pirates.

"Dad, who are buried here?" Zhu Changzhi was pulled by the emperor to the Temple of Loyalty and Bravery. The temple only had two acres of land. Like the Nan Ya Temple, it only had a main house and two wings on the left and right. Behind the screen wall, there were stone tablets recording the names of each person and their deeds.

Paying respect to the Temple of Loyalty and Bravery was a must for Zhu Yijun wherever he went.

"Those buried here are the heroes who protected the Ming Dynasty. Zhier, remember, these people are the backbone of the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Yijun took the three incense sticks from Feng Bao and solemnly placed them into the incense burner.

Zhu Changzhi was still young, and he actually couldn't understand why his father, the supreme ruler of the world, would specially come such a far place to burn incense to these people, but he knew very well that these people were very important to his father. The two concubines were left outside the door, and only the empress could follow the emperor in to burn incense, and the concubines did not have this qualification.

Zhu Yijun pulled Zhu Changzhi aside and read the contents of the inscription to him, mainly the names, how many Japanese pirates were killed, where they died and why they died. He told the eldest prince all of them.

"Dad, are they enshrined here because they killed the Japanese pirates? Why did they kill the Japanese pirates?" Zhu Changzhi asked with some confusion as he walked out of the temple gate of the Temple of Loyalty and Bravery.

Zhu Yijun said very calmly: "Because the Japanese pirates killed our people, we, the people of the Ming Dynasty, must take revenge. If we cannot take revenge in this life, we will do it in the next generation, or even the tenth generation. They brutally killed tens of thousands of people in the southeastern coast of our Ming Dynasty, and millions of people were displaced. If I don't take revenge, I am unworthy of being the emperor."

The Ming Emperor did not hate education because he would get things done, and when Zhu Changzhi grew up, all of that would be nothing but history.

"I recognize these three words, Yuewang Tomb. Who are the four people kneeling in front of this ancestral hall?" Zhu Changzhi saw the kneeling statue in front of Yuewang Tomb.

Zhu Yijun looked at the three statues and said with a smile: "All four of them are a joke."

"In the eighth year of Zhengde, Li Long, the commander of the Zhejiang Provincial Military Commission, ordered the casting of three kneeling statues in bronze. From left to right, they are: Qin Hui, Wang Shi, and Wan Qi Xie. In the fourth year of Longqing, a kneeling statue of Zhang Jun was added. These four, and their master, Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, are all jokes."

"Zhi'er, you must remember that as an emperor, you can be a great man, a saint, a tyrant, or a butcher, but you must not become a joke."

"You must remember this sentence. If it becomes a joke, people will laugh at you for thousands of years. Just imagine, when others mention your name, they laugh and mock you. That would be terrible."

"Dad, can you tell me the story of Yue Wang?" Zhu Changzhi nodded solemnly. His father was very busy, and he would always remember his father's earnest advice.

"Yue Fei, when he was born, a big roc flew over the roof, so his name was Pengju." Zhu Yijun was very familiar with Yue Fei's story, and he took Zhu Changzhi aside and began to tell it in detail.

(End of this chapter)