I'm really not doing business

Chapter 811: Opening up the mountains and forests with great difficulty, and pacifying the barbarians to make them belong to China

Yin Zongxin stayed in the capital for fifteen days. He also went to the Western Hills Mausoleum to pay homage to the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty. The princes-in-law and commanders of the imperial families would offer sacrifices every year, but Yin Zongxin, the prince consort, had never been there once because of the long distance.

This sacrifice was considered to have completely completed the etiquette for Yin Zongxin's son-in-law. Etiquette is very important. Once it is completed, no one can find fault with it. Even if the whole world knows that Princess Yingjia is the emperor's adopted daughter, she is still the eldest princess of the Ming Dynasty.

Yin Zongxin was the imperial concubine's commander.

"No, isn't this a bit too much?" When Yin Zongxin arrived at Tanggu Port in Tianjin Prefecture and was preparing to take a ship back to Luzon, he looked at the mountains of goods on the dock and said dully.

The emperor’s grace is too great.

These mountains of goods were all firearms of the Ming Dynasty, or more precisely, the bird guns and tiger squat cannons that had been discarded by the Ming Dynasty’s Beijing Camp.

The Ming Dynasty was in the process of replacing its weapons with flintlock muskets. The bird guns produced in the past were gradually being phased out. The original plan was to remake them all, but the situation in Southeast Asia put these firearms to good use.

Xu Jue held up the account book and said, "There are 100,000 bird guns, and there will be tens of thousands more every year. There are 3,000 tiger squat cannons. The Ming Dynasty didn't make many of these originally. If you want them, you can only get new ones. If you want to buy new tiger squat cannons, you have to submit a petition and it will be decided after a meeting."

"Here are 200,000 kilograms of gunpowder. Your Majesty gave this to the Governor. The Governor said he was short of manpower, but Your Majesty didn't have any good solution, so he could only give him igniters and gunpowder."

Yin Zongxin whispered, "It's a bit too much. We can't use it all up."

Xu Jue looked around and whispered, "His Majesty said that only if everyone carries a gun, there will be no chaos! His Majesty has also instructed that only Han people can hold firearms, and that the identity of those who purchase firearms and gunpowder must be confirmed."

It is a false proposition that if everyone holds a gun, there will be no chaos. If that were true, why did the Ming Dynasty ban crossbows, armor, and firearms? If everyone was given a musket, wouldn't the world be peaceful?
Firing a musket is actually a means of vertical cutting, forcing the lower classes to harm each other and affecting the formation of consensus.

However, in the gun ownership order in Southeast Asia, only the Han people can own muskets, which is still a horizontal division. The barbarians cannot buy muskets and gunpowder, but the Han people can. This is an artificial class division.

This is a very common practice. For example, people do this in Guizhou and Yunnan. If you don't have control over the force in your own hands, you are putting your life in the hands of others.

The Ming Dynasty is always like this, with its own way of thinking. Even if it is a vertical cut, it will cut horizontally first and then vertically.

It would not be chaotic if everyone had a gun. This was referring to the Han community, not the barbarians. The Ming emperor didn't care whether the barbarians lived or died.

The heartland of the Ming Dynasty is not suitable for everyone to carry guns, because in the Ming Dynasty, it is a horizontal society, and if everyone has a gun, they will point the muzzle of the gun at the carnivores.

But in the colonies, everyone can carry a gun and point the gun at enemies who directly threaten their life and property.

Only when the colonists have weapons in their hands can they protect their own interests in the complex conflicts. Especially under the premise that most Han people identify with the Great Light Religion and most foreigners identify with the Pure Land Religion, according to the estimation of Lord Ming, the conflict between the two religions will become more and more intense.

Neither the Great Light Sect nor the Paradise Sect has been rendered harmless, and harmlessness requires extremely intense struggles, or even repeated eradication campaigns, to accomplish.

Therefore, the erupting conflict would soon spread to the entire Southeast Asia, and the Ming court and the emperor hoped that the Han people would win.

In order to make the Ming Dynasty great again, someone had to become the fertilizer and fuel, burning himself to inject power into the Ming Dynasty's greatness again. As the fertilizer and fuel, the emperor and the court chose the barbarians.

"I am unable to repay your majesty's grace." Yin Zongxin said with emotion as he watched boxes of muskets and gunpowder being pulled onto the ship.

The fundamental reason why the narrative of divine grace can be successful is that divine grace really exists.

Yin Zongxin was filled with emotion. Perhaps in the eyes of His Majesty, the Han people who went to sea were pioneers who "opened up the mountains and forests with great difficulty and pacified the barbarians to make them belong to China."

This sentence comes from "Zuo Zhuan", which tells the story of Xiong Yi, the former king of Chu, who drove a simple cart on a roadless wilderness, wearing tattered clothes to open up the mountains and forests, or to appease or rule the country or drive out the barbarians, to gain enough living space and make the land under his feet belong to China.

But in fact, your Majesty's views are mostly correct.

However, the composition of these pioneers was rather complex. Not all of them were loyal to the Ming Dynasty. There were also many rebels. For example, there were several rebel dens in the Yuanxu Islands. They made a living by deceiving the Han people of the Ming Dynasty and growing opium, which was strictly prohibited by the court.

All kinds of promises were made in a grandiose manner, but once you really went out to sea and entered these rebel dens, you would be treated worse than slaves. It costs money to buy Japanese and black slaves, but it doesn't cost money to cheat people.

When fellow villagers meet, it is common for them to be shot in the back. All the tricks are used on their compatriots.

Yin Zongxin decided that this time when he returned, he would wipe out all the rebel dens, sink most of the rebels into the sea, bring the rebel leaders to the capital, and present the captives to the emperor. This would be an auspicious sign that would make His Majesty happy and would be a way of repaying His Majesty's grace.

The main waterway to Juezhou passes through the Yuanxu Islands. After key cleanup, we will protect the smooth flow of the route and, by the way, we can also bury some more plantations.

The Luzon Governor-General's Office had already thoroughly investigated these thieves' dens two or three years ago. The reason why they did not take action was mainly to turn the plantations into permanent fields so that the Luzon Governor-General's Office could reap the benefits later.

Yin Zhengmao has never been a good person with high moral standards. He is an evil person who will not give up until he achieves his goal and will do whatever it takes.

On August 16, the 15th year of the Wanli reign, Yin Zongxin, who had just celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival in the capital, left Tanggu Port in Tianjin Prefecture with the firearms bestowed by the emperor, and Chen Dazhuang left with him.

The emperor gave him twelve beauties from all over the world and found him a wife, and asked him to have thirteen children in three years in Coconut Sea City and work as a miner in Da Tieling in the western part of Juezhou. He also had bills of exchange worth one million silver coins in his hands, which he could use at the Governor's Office in Jiugang to recruit pioneers to open mines and buy slaves.

The daily life of Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun seemed a little too boring. He got up early and went to Wenhua Hall to preside over the court meeting. After the meeting, he left the ministers to continue the small meeting. After lunch, he went to Beida Camp to review the troops and horses. After returning to Tonghe Palace, he dealt with memorials until the moon rose above the willows.

To Prince Lu Zhu Yiliu, the boring and repetitive life was like a grind. As a noble man born in heaven, he tortured himself like this because he shouldered the responsibility of the country and forced His Majesty to be so diligent and work hard to govern the country.

After all, the fate of the two capitals, fifteen provinces, four governor-general offices, and 130 million people all rests on the emperor's shoulders, so he must lift up this sky.

Zhu Yijun opposed the flowers and glory of the court officials. He would stamp a seal of "fart" on any memorial that flattered him. He was afraid that he would lose himself in the calls of "sage monarch" and forget that there were still many unresolved conflicts in the Ming Dynasty.

On August 16, in the Wenhua Hall, the Ming Cabinet headed by Zhang Juzheng presented the compiled Wanli version of the Ming Dynasty Code to the emperor.

Of course, it was just a congratulatory letter. The Ming Dynasty Code had a total of 228 volumes, and if they were all piled in front of Your Majesty, the court meeting could not be carried out.

The Wanli edition of the Ming Dynasty Code was Zhang Juzheng's biggest regret. He was the president of the Ming Dynasty Code. He hoped that the Ming Dynasty Code could be revised and become a written law that was universally observed and recognized in the Ming Dynasty, so that the new policy had a legal basis.

Written law is very important. It is the social consensus itself. Although it has various compromises, it is still the legal principle of the Wanli Reform.

It was completely revised at the beginning of the 15th year of Wanli, but it was not submitted for preview because it was waiting for the appendix of the tax law to be completed.

Zhu Yijun held the congratulatory letter in his hand and said to the people below the moon platform: "I started farming in the early years of the Wanli period in order to fill the stomachs of the people. This is the first priority. Food is the first necessity of the people."

"Secondly, starting this year, the Ming Dynasty has established the Dinghai school system. The Kowloon University and the Normal School have already begun construction, and we are constantly promoting universal education. Even if it costs us a lot of money, we must do it and do it well."

“No matter how poor you are, you must not be poor in education. Only with a large number of talents can productivity continue to develop.”

"Finally, I am indulging the people in their resistance to the injustice they have suffered. If the government is ineffective, they will make a big fuss like Luo Muying in Hangzhou, the tenants in Taizhou, the teacher Shen Shiqing, and the people in Ningdu, Ruijin, and Ninghua counties did."

"These three things will continue to be my most important tasks in the future. The Wanli edition of the Ming Dynasty Code includes these three things."

Zhu Yijun talked about three very specific tasks.

The first thing is to eat, that is, to ensure food supply. This seems difficult, but it is actually relatively simple, because the Ming Dynasty has only 130 million people. As long as the land in the Ming Dynasty is not abandoned, there will be no large-scale famine.

All people have the right to eat, the right to food.

The second thing is that all citizens have the right to receive education. There is a universal consensus on the right to education. Xiong Tingbi was a cowherd boy who knew how to read. When the years were good, Xiong Tingbi also went to school for a few years and knew how to read. Shen Shixing was fostered in his uncle's home and changed his surname back to Shen after he became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Children should be allowed to read, because books contain beautiful women and golden houses. Even if they fail to pass the imperial examinations, reading can help them gain knowledge. Confucianism emphasizes self-cultivation, which is actually about living a meaningful life.

Passing the imperial examination and the wedding night were the two most important things for the people of Ming Dynasty.

The third thing is that resistance is justified. If you suffer injustice, you can resist in various ways, especially when one group oppresses another. This kind of resistance is inherently just, but it also seriously violates the traditional Confucian narrative, which states that officials should be in their proper positions and that there should be an order of respect for the elderly and the young.

For example, Zhu Yijun had great sympathy for the Northern Alliance's resistance to injustice in the Netherlands. Of course, although he sympathized with it, he also wanted to get help from the Ming Dynasty and offered real money.

Business is business, identity is identity, and they cannot be confused.

Confucian scholars actually disliked the natural justice of this kind of resistance, but they did not have any better solution, because the people's right to resist and the right to education were forcibly bound together.

Zhu Yijun's scolding of Confucian scholars is just like Xunzi, the Confucian sage, scolding Confucian scholars. This is part of Confucian scholars, while another part of Confucian scholars actively embrace change, even change itself.

In fact, throughout the dynasties, when farmers rose up in rebellion, there was often the shadow of scholars, and they were prominently featured, such as Zhu Yuanzhang's first meritorious minister, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen and other advisers. Without Li Shanchang, Zhu Yuanzhang would have been just a separatist lord and would not have accomplished anything great.

For example, Shen Shiqing, the instructor of Nanhu Academy in Taizhou Prefecture, chose to help when he saw tenants suffering injustice.

Farmers' resistance generally has limitations, but with the help of scholars, these limitations will gradually be corrected during the movement.

Scholars can often make the resistance of the poor and coolies more effective and more likely to succeed. The poor and coolies have the most powerful power in the world, but they don't know how to release it.

Therefore, the universal right to education and the right to resist are completely tied together. As long as universal education is still being promoted, concessions must be made to the lower classes in the game. Otherwise, the educated people who can correctly guide the power of the people will be the death warrant of the Ming Dynasty.

Promoting universal education is based on ensuring the rationality of distribution.

If universal education is no longer valued and even becomes the target of everyone's condemnation one day, we must be vigilant that the clans, local gentry, powerful local gentry, production relations of strong personal dependence, etc., which have been gradually eliminated by the historical torrent, are coming back to life in this way.

"There is actually not much I can do. I just hope that people can live like human beings. Even just being like human beings is difficult enough. But I still want to do it and write it in the Ming Dynasty Code. It is my promise to all the people. It is part of human rights." Zhu Yijun once again emphasized that this is human rights.

Human rights mean: people should have rights when they are alive.

Human rights are missing in the Wanli Hui Dian. Zhu Yijun believed that eating, receiving education and resisting injustice were human rights. Of course, he wanted the people to have the right to medical care, but Zhu Yijun did not know whether this could be achieved, so he did not write it in the Wanli Hui Dian.

If the production of penicillin, cinchona and other drugs increases further in the future, Zhu Yijun will write the fourth basic human right into the code of conduct. He hopes he can do it.

If possible, he wanted to write down the basic necessities of life, but he finally chose the most important thing - food. The others would only have practical significance after he had enough food.

The court officials were all time-tested warriors of the feudal empire. They had fought their way through the academy examinations, provincial examinations, metropolitan examinations, and palace examinations, and in the complex and ever-changing struggles, they climbed to the high position in the Wenhua Palace.

The court officials actually understood the subtext of what His Majesty said. If one can achieve these things, then he is just like a person, not a real person. Then His Majesty's definition of a person is actually very high, that is, a free man.

Your Majesty is not at all satisfied with the achievements of the Wanli Reform, and even thinks that these achievements are just the beginning. The five large tiled houses described by Zhang Juzheng are excellent, but the five large tiled houses that Your Majesty pursues are very difficult to achieve.

It may take thirty or fifty years to get things on the right track, but the repetitive nature of history means that it will be difficult to achieve even after hundreds of years.

Your Majesty has perfectly fulfilled the promise you made: Young people are full of vigor and enthusiasm, and they will be energetic at their own time, but when they grow stronger, they will change.

"I obey your order." Zhang Juzheng took a deep breath, shook his sleeves, took out a book, and handed it to Feng Bao to present to Your Majesty.

Zhang Juzheng's move shocked the court officials!

The Wanli edition of the Ming Dynasty Code was edited by Zhang Juzheng, the chief editor, and several government offices worked together to compile it. It was obvious that Zhang Juzheng had suddenly added a volume! And it was prepared long ago.

Zhu Yijun opened the scroll, looked at it for a moment, and said with a smile: "The one who understands me is you, sir."

Zhang Juzheng had already written it. He knew the emperor too well. What the emperor wanted to do in the past fifteen years was written on his face. He never concealed his intentions. If they were willing to follow him, he could go on with him. If they were not willing, he could retreat at the peak of his career.

After Zhang Juzheng finished writing this volume, he hesitated for a long time. If Your Majesty had not mentioned it, he would not have taken it out, but since Your Majesty said so, he had to present it.

"Okay, then let's publish it to the world." After reading the last volume of "Heaven and Man Volume" that Zhang Juzheng took out, Zhu Yijun approved the publication of the Wanli edition of the Ming Dynasty Code.

This Volume 229, "Heaven and Man", is actually about the natural human rights. Heaven refers to the heaven of God, the heaven of the infinite principles of all things. It is a natural and innate right that people should have when they are born.

Zhang Juzheng wrote about eating, education and resistance in "The Volume of Heaven and Man".

The purpose of publishing the Ming Dynasty Code is to circulate it throughout the country. It is a book that all officials in various departments must refer to. It is the collective consensus itself. All Ming Dynasty officials from top to bottom must read it, and it will even become a compulsory subject in the imperial examinations and the rule of law.

The moral narrative did not collapse during the Wanli Reform, but the reform, which was full of increasingly complex contradictions, required more rule of law to achieve relative fairness.

"Your Majesty, I suggest that government offices at all levels go to the vegetable market, coal market, and grain market every month to record the prices of various rice, flour, grain, oil, vegetables, and meat. What's in short supply in the market, what's much more expensive than last month, all should be written down and included in the performance evaluation." Zhang Juzheng spoke of the specific implementation with a serious expression.

"Your Majesty, no matter how busy officials are, they still have time to take one day a month to go shopping."

We also do not require that the prices of rice, flour, grain, oil, vegetables, meat and other commodities in various places be as stable as Mount Tai. That is not very realistic and does not conform to objective laws.

However, local officials should at least be aware of the situation. When the people are rioting, they are confused and panic. Like Wu Shanyan, they ask others, "What happened? Why is my head no longer on my neck?"
The price of goods in cities and towns is a barometer of people's livelihood, and the Sun Shangli Index can reflect the rate of price growth and changes. It is a tool that needs to be based on the Sun Shangli Index to decide the amount of treasure notes to be issued to ensure that the monetary needs are met without excessive over-issuance.

The construction of the Jinchi Governor's Office has begun. Before the golden narrative is gradually completed and the banknotes are issued, the preparatory work must be done.

"Do officials at all levels have to go in person?" Zhu Yijun asked.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "You must go in person and conduct the investigation in person. No falsification is allowed. All copying will be abolished."

"Then let's start with me. On the 23rd of every month, I will visit these places. I know it is very troublesome for me to travel. I have to clear the streets and conduct searches. But if we don't do it because of the trouble, how can the bureaucrats of our Ming Dynasty be willing to accept this?" Zhu Yijun expressed his willingness to support Zhang Taiyue's implementation of his policies with his own actions.

And his meaning was very clear. This policy of monitoring public sentiment every month would definitely become a formality.

But the superficial work must be done, just like the correct nonsense that if the foundation is not solid, the earth will shake, there must be water in the fire hydrant, and if you want to win the game of chess, you must play chess first.

All superficial and formalistic working methods are indeed a very backward system in the face of a higher level method, that is, a working method that gives full play to subjective initiative.

But to completely ignore it, engage in formalism, and do superficial work is actually very advanced.

At least you have some dignity, right?
No matter how bad the order is, it is still order. Formalism and superficiality are cheap means to maintain the minimum level of order.

From good to den, from evil to collapse.

Learning good qualities is as difficult as climbing a mountain, but learning bad qualities is easy.

If an organization cannot even maintain the most basic formalism and superficial work, then it will slide down as fast as a landslide.

Formalism cannot raise the upper limit, that requires the exercise of subjective initiative, but formalism can maintain the lower limit.

For example, the New Five Things Memorial required that the emperor should personally attend court sessions, meet with assistant ministers, court officials, and external officials every day. These were all done within the framework of etiquette and law to keep the emperor within certain limits, so that he would not be too negligent and cause earth-shattering events.

It was really hard for the ministers in the early years of the Wanli period to imagine the terrible situation that half of the court officials were missing and they could not even see the emperor for thirty years.

It is the style of conservatives to appropriately retain some formalism and superficiality. Zhu Yijun is a young man, but he agrees with some of the conservatives' views.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng and his ministers flattered the emperor with loud applause. If the majesty has done it, then there will be basically no resistance in pushing forward the decree.

When the emperor went to inspect, he would definitely go to the coal market, vegetable market, grain market and other places, summon the supervisory officials, and randomly select some peddlers to question. He would not run around the streets, as that would greatly affect the lives of the people. After getting the prices, he would send the imperial guards to reconcile the accounts with the people.

Just like the emperor farming, it is somewhat useful, but it is mainly to make a political statement and serve as an example.

Zhang Xueyan, the Minister of Revenue, stood up and bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, a large amount of gold has been discovered in the Jinchi Governor's Office. The enthusiasm for going to sea is high, so we have to restrict the people from going to sea."

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "Young Master, you can't support free migration when you only need coolies in Nanyang. But when you are making money, you don't allow people to go? That doesn't make sense."

"I know that everyone has gone out to pan for gold. There are not many people working on the land, and there are not many people working as slaves in the workshops."

"But the imperial court was only there to mediate the conflicts between labor and capital in town workshops, and its role was very limited."

"If everyone leaves, even if the government does not force the local gentry to reduce rent, they will have to reduce rent to keep the tenants. Even if the government does not force the workshop owners to sign contracts to guarantee labor remuneration and production safety, the workshop owners will do so voluntarily."

“Because they have to find ways to keep people here.”

"Go out, as long as you want to go out, you can go out, go to the Governor's Mansion, go to the frontier land, go and open up!"

"Your Majesty, if we allow the people to leave like this, how can we ensure the production of the Ming Dynasty?" Zhang Xueyan said anxiously. The migration of the Ming Dynasty's population to Southeast Asia has actually affected the production of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Xueyan and simply judged that this was a collective decision made by the court officials, not just Zhang Xueyan's proposal alone.

The emperor sat up straight and said with a serious face: "The people of the Ming Dynasty have always been attached to their land. Even if they are not so comfortable in the Ming Dynasty, as long as they can guarantee a basic stability in life, who would be willing to go to sea? If they are willing to go to sea, it means that their life has become difficult to maintain."

“Going out to sea to fight against violent waves, fierce natives, and bloodless diseases is a brave but helpless choice.”

"I will not stop it, nor will I set any limits, because the Wanli Reform is to change the production relations and get rid of the small peasant economy."

"I obey your order." Seeing that he could not convince the emperor, Zhang Xueyan could only accept the order. In fact, the court officials basically agreed that restrictions should be placed on the flow of people, but since His Majesty did not agree, he asked the officials to make a remonstrance.

There is a big problem with allowing people to migrate freely, and that is insufficient agricultural production. Everyone knows that the city is better, so who would be willing to live in the countryside?

The siphoning of the countryside by towns will cause a highly concentrated and enriched population, which will in turn make the labor-capital contradictions in towns more acute.

The logic that if you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will do it will apply. These workshop owners will do their best to squeeze out all the labor costs they can, and the anger will continue to accumulate and eventually explode.

In the tenth year of the Wanli reign, the dyers of the Hongyuan Dyeing Workshop in Chongyifang, Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture, chose to revolt because they were dissatisfied with the unlimited bullying of the workshop owner.

Moreover, while excessive population concentration brings about a demographic dividend, it will also indefinitely raise the cost of urban governance, a point that Shen Shixing has repeatedly urged in his memorials.

Once labor-capital conflicts become acute, urban governance costs become unbalanced, and the economy fails to develop, urban crime rates will grow like wildfire, falling into a vicious cycle and ultimately leading to the overall collapse of the town.

In addition, there is another common problem in the Ming Dynasty: population growth.

Urbanization and education are the best contraceptive methods. Once urbanization and education are implemented, population growth will immediately decline.

The solution proposed by the cabinet was to restrict the movement of people and thus delay the outbreak of these problems, but the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty disagreed.

Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu, Wang Guoguang, and even the late Wan Shihe, all advised the emperor, but the emperor was unwilling to implement the decree to restrict population movement.

Moreover, the policies on population mobility are being continuously relaxed, such as abolishing the slave system.

Zhu Yijun looked at the officials who were eager to continue to persuade him, stretched out his hand, pressed down and said: "My lords, this is the Age of Discovery. This is a nice way of saying it. To put it bluntly, it means fighting for territory. If we don't fight for it, others will, and it will eventually be the Ming Dynasty's fault."

"There is no perfect solution in the world. I must make a choice, and that is to go to sea."

"My decision has been made."

"We are obeying the imperial edict." Zhang Juzheng looked around and led his ministers to act according to the imperial order.

The Westerners have fought several battles with the Ming Dynasty in Shuangyu, Haojing, and Luzon, and the Ming Dynasty has won every time. But can the Ming Dynasty continue to win? The Westerners have fought to the doorstep!

Continuing to indulge in the old dream of the Celestial Empire is just trapping oneself!

The Age of Discovery was an era of turbulent waves and global trade. The Ming Dynasty had originally taken advantage of the situation, but later cut itself off and handed over the initiative to the West. After a complex and lengthy struggle, the Ming Dynasty finally seized the initiative in opening up the sea, so there was no reason for it to hand it over again.

The Ming Dynasty has finally resorted to armed voyages and armed colonization. Now that things have come to this, it would be impolite to continue to care about it.

As for the lack of internal productivity, it can also force productivity to improve. If there is a shortage of people, just put in more machines.

Your Majesty has already given the answer.

(End of this chapter)