I'm really not doing business

Chapter 829: Driving a Sheep, Letting a Flock of Sheep Go

The questions and answers between the emperor and the prime minister actually imply an answer.

The Ming imperial family had clearly made a fortune from Zheng He's seven voyages to the West. In the 22nd year of Yongle, the treasury had 12 million taels of silver and 720,000 taels of gold. But later on, they had no motivation to continue investing more energy in maritime affairs.

In addition to the obstruction of court officials, the emperor was not very enthusiastic about this matter.

Expansion in the maritime domain was bound to lead to the dispersion of power as the emperor's authority would be challenged.

The emperor and imperial power are naturally centralized. This natural centralization leads to the imperial power using institutional violence to eliminate any growth space that may threaten the ruling power.

Zhang Juzheng's understanding of politics was entirely based on the relationship between rulers and subjects that had existed for thousands of years, so he was worried that Gao Qiyu would use his identity as an envoy to unite with the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office and become the overlord of Japan.

But Zhu Yijun was not worried at all. Gao Qiyu gave up his position as the Duke of Ming and insisted on going to Japan to be the Five-Star Emperor. Zhu Yijun didn't care. As he said, what was important was the silver.

No matter who is in charge in Japan, the Ming Dynasty's desire for silver will not change.

"This is outrageous. We must not do this." Zhang Juzheng was helpless. His Majesty the Emperor seemed to be particularly magnanimous about this kind of thing. It was not just about Gao Qiyu's case, but also about the six governor-general's offices.

Your Majesty's heavy investment in overseas governor-general's offices only hopes to recover the costs and reap huge profits, rather than demanding complete and absolute loyalty from these places.

The emperor really treated these overseas governors as princes.

"Well, now that the matter has been handed over to him, let him do his work with peace of mind. The court does not fully understand the situation in Japan, so there is no need to interfere excessively." Zhu Yijun thought about it and stopped discussing the matter. There was no point in saying more, and it would not be too late to see what results Gao Qiyu could come up with before making any comments.

"I obey your order." Zhang Juzheng had no choice but to bow his head and accept the order.

Shen Li bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, the Northern Pacification Office handed over a number of tortoise shells and animal bones as evidence. I led the officials of the Ministry of Rites to study them and have made some progress."

"Oh?" Zhu Yijun asked with great interest, "What's the result?"

"Your Majesty, we can confirm that the tortoise shells and animal bones we have obtained were all used for divination and offering sacrifices to the heavens during the Shang Dynasty. The characters on them are also Shang characters. They are tortoise shells and animal bones from about 3,000 years ago." Shen Li said solemnly, "The Book of History says: 'Only you know that the ancestors of the Shang Dynasty had books and classics, and the Shang Dynasty replaced the Xia Dynasty.'"

"It is generally believed that books and classics first appeared during the Shang Dynasty, but they were all lost over the long years and are difficult to find. The discovery of these tortoise shells and animal bones used for sacrifices has filled in some gaps."

"From what we have discovered so far, Your Majesty, the Shang Dynasty did not worship ghosts and gods, but their ancestors."

Shen Li was very interested in the carvings on these tortoise shells and animal bones, so he studied them in depth. He was shocked to find that the Shang Dynasty, the dynasty before the Zhou Dynasty, seemed to be completely different from what he had imagined.

Because of Confucianism's criticism of the Shang Dynasty, no dynasty in history used Shang as the name of its country.

Because in traditional concepts, the Shang merchants used human sacrifices to worship ghosts and gods. This behavior of not caring about the common people but caring about ghosts and gods is somewhat incompatible with this land.

However, Shen Li discovered that the Shang Dynasty depicted on these tortoise shells and animal bones was completely different from the Shang Dynasty portrayed by Confucianism.

The discovery of these tortoise shells and animal bones was due to a fake medicine case. The Jie Ku Hospital purchased a batch of dragon bones in order to verify whether they could be used as medicine, but they ended up buying fake medicine.

Dragon bones as a medicine have a long history and are generally fossils of various large animals. However, the batch purchased by the Jie Ku Yuan were all tortoise shells and animal bones, not dragon bones. The Jie Ku Yuan handed the fake drugs over to the Beizhenfusi to investigate the fake drug case. The Beizhenfusi discovered that all kinds of words were engraved on this batch of fake drugs.

There are words engraved on the tortoise shell! The imperial guards of the Northern Pacification Office did not dare to be careless and immediately reported it to the emperor.

A map came out of the Yellow River, a book came out of the Luo River, and the sages followed them. This sentence means that when Dayu was controlling the flood, he met a divine tortoise on the bank of the Luo River. The divine tortoise carried the Luoshu on its back and presented it to Dayu. Only then did Dayu succeed in controlling the flood and divide the world into nine provinces.

Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, the words engraved on the tortoise shell were a very, very important matter. The emperor handed over all the tortoise shells and animal bones to the Ministry of Rites and asked the Ministry of Rites to study what was written on them. That’s why Shen Li reported the result of the matter to the court.

Shen Li said solemnly: "I found on these tortoise shells and animal bones that the kings of the Shang Dynasty were called kings when they were alive, and emperors after they died. For example, King Zhou of Shang was called Emperor Xin, his father was called Emperor Yi, and King Zhou of Shang's grandfather was called Emperor Wenwu."

"Among the gods worshipped in these tortoise shells, the most honorable one is called Shangjia. I speculate that he should be the ancestor of Cheng Tang, the founder of the Shang Dynasty."

Cheng Tang defeated Jie and established the Shang Dynasty, and Cheng Tang had an ancestor named Shang Jia.

The name Shangjia seems quite ordinary now, but in fact, it means Tianzun when translated.

Jia is the first character among the ten heavenly stems and is very noble.

Shen Li discovered that the word "Shang" is a very noble word in tortoise shells and animal bones, almost equivalent to heaven.

The gods worshipped with tortoise shells and animal bones are divided into upper gods and lower gods, that is, gods of heaven and gods of earth. The gods of heaven who are worshipped the most are, without exception, the ancestors of the Shang Dynasty, such as Shangjia Tianzun.

This corrected a wrong perception in the past that the ghosts and gods in the Shang Dynasty were actually ancestor worship. After all, the God of the Shang Dynasty was the ancestor of the Shang Dynasty.

Both "Shang" and "Di" are very easy to recognize. "Shang" has two horizontal lines; "Di" is almost exactly the same as the character "Di" in small seal script and "Di" in official script.

"Your Majesty, I think that the theory of business ghosts and gods is also valid. Judging from these tortoise shell and animal bone inscriptions, the theory of business ghosts and gods can also be said to be: the monarch is the master of the world, and after his death he ascends to become an emperor, and then replaces the gods in heaven, and serves the god who is his own ancestor." Shen Li thought about it seriously and compromised.

We cannot completely deny our past knowledge of the Shang Dynasty, nor can we deny these physical objects from three thousand years ago. If we make a compromise, everyone can find an explanation.

It is true that we worship ghosts and gods, and what we worship are the gods that our ancestors became after ascending to heaven.

"I see." Zhu Yijun asked with a smile, "Did the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan interpret anything else interesting?"

"Your Majesty, I have discovered that most of the human sacrifices used in Shang Dynasty sacrifices were Qiang people. Capturing the Qiang, conquering the Qiang, employing the Qiang, and using the Qiang appeared frequently. At that time, the Qiang people were like the Huns in the Han Dynasty, and were considered mortal enemies." Shen Li explained his discovery in detail.

The human sacrifices offered by the Shang Dynasty were mainly prisoners of war, and the princes from all directions had to offer a certain number of Qiang people every year. They even served as a certain currency. Some princes had no Qiang people nearby, so they had to buy Qiang people from other princes and offer them to the Shang king for sacrifices.

He also interpreted many words.

For example, the character "伐" is a stick stuck in the ground with a person's head removed and hung on a beam. The character "伐" on tortoise shells and animal bones looks almost exactly the same as the character "伐" in small seal script.

For example, the word "牢" appeared much earlier than we thought. When seen on tortoise shells and animal bones, this word means a cow being kept in a pen.

During the Shang Dynasty's sacrifices, they would bring out the livestock from the pen for sacrifice, proving that at that time, the ancestors had already begun to graze the animals in pen rather than letting them roam free.

Shen Li bowed his head and said, "I think we should immediately send the imperial guards to the place of origin to dig out these tortoise shells and animal bones and send them to the capital for examination."

"Exegesis is the study of texts and the analysis of their details; textual research is the search for classics and the investigation of differences; and collation is the collection of ancient books and the comparison of differences. All three are the methods used by Han Confucian scholars to study the classics, and later generations followed them to complete their studies."

"Just as you said, we should send the imperial guards to dig up the remains and send them back to the capital for investigation. We should also find some work for those Confucian scholars who have nothing to do all day long and just talk nonsense." Zhu Yijun agreed with Shen Li's suggestion.

Shen Li meant that there are three points to learning: exegesis: accurately understanding the meaning of words in classics by analyzing the shape, pronunciation and meaning of characters; textual research: tracing the origin and clarifying the academic context based on the records in classics; proofreading: collecting different versions of ancient books, comparing the similarities and differences, and correcting textual errors;

Emphasize evidence and rigor to ensure authenticity.

Zhu Yijun was very interested in these tortoise shells and animal bone inscriptions. His main interest was to find some work for some Gejiu literati. On the other hand, the carvings on these tortoise shells concealed the code of Central Plains civilization.

What’s interesting is that the carvings on the oracle bones interpreted by Shen Li can actually roughly match those in the "Records of the Grand Historian: The Annals of Yin" written by Sima Qian. King Zhou, King Zhou’s father, King Zhou’s grandfather, King Zhou’s ancestor Cheng Tang, the founding king of the Shang Dynasty, and Cheng Tang’s ancestor Shang Jiawei, can all correspond one by one.

When Sima Qian wrote "Records of the Grand Historian", nearly 1600 years had passed since the era of Shang Jiawei; more than years after "Records of the Grand Historian" was written, the Ming Dynasty found real evidence of the existence of Shang Jiawei, which is a response that runs through the long river of history.

"Your Majesty, I accuse Shen Shixing of using literature to disrupt the law and of usurping power as a Confucian. I request that he be dismissed from office and stripped of his honors and titles." Seeing that Shen Li had finished speaking, Zhang Juzheng took out a memorial, handed it to Feng Bao, and said with his head bowed.

As soon as these words were spoken, silence fell in the Wenhua Hall.

Shen Shixing was Zhang Juzheng's favorite student. After taking office in Songjiang Prefecture, he made two mistakes and was demoted three ranks twice, becoming a fifth-rank doctor. But these two times were not Shen Shixing's fault. Shen Shixing did a good job in Songjiang Prefecture.

It has basically become a general consensus that Shen Shixing will enter the cabinet and become the chief minister. As a result, now the chief minister of the cabinet directly impeached Shen Shixing for using literature to disrupt the law and using Confucianism to usurp power. The chief minister of the cabinet made such severe accusations against his own disciple, which obviously showed that Shen Shixing had made another big mistake.

Zhu Yijun opened the memorial and took a look at it. Zhang Juzheng had discussed the contents with the emperor, and the emperor had clearly expressed his disagreement, but Zhang Juzheng still wanted to go through the impeachment process.

Shen Shixing was indeed a fifth-rank official, a Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue, but as a local official, his appointment and removal had to go through the process of court discussion and recommendation. He could not be dismissed just because Zhang Juzheng said so.

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "Sir, I think there is nothing wrong with what he said in his memorial. There is no need to accuse him of such a serious crime, nor should he be dismissed from office or stripped of his official position."

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head again and said, "What Shen Shixing said has shaken the foundation of the country. I ask Your Majesty to investigate the treacherous and corrupt officials and punish them as soon as possible to ensure the safety of the country."

"Okay, pass the memorial on and let the court officials comment on it." Seeing that he could not convince Zhang Juzheng, Zhu Yijun took out a previous memorial and passed it around.

After the court officials circulated the letter one by one, they finally understood why Zhang Juzheng had made such a fuss and initiated the impeachment of Shen Shixing.

Shen Shixing is really extremely bold!

Shen Shixing's memorial can be summed up in one sentence: if the new policies continued in this way, the Ming Dynasty would perish. He directly blamed the demise of the Ming Dynasty on the Wanli New Policies. In the future, when writing about the Spring and Autumn Annals, the literati would inevitably complain that the Ming Dynasty actually perished during the Wanli period.

Moreover, Shen Shixing, what he said really makes sense.

Cursing the Zhu family's empire would be destroyed, this was no ordinary treacherous minister. In the past, when encountering such treacherous ministers, exterminating three clans was too violent, so killing nine clans was just right.

The Wenhua Hall was very quiet. The ministers all pretended to be confused and no one expressed their opinions. This was a disagreement between the emperor and the prime minister. If they got involved easily, they might suffer unexpected disasters.

Wang Chonggu looked like he was about to fall asleep. Even Li Changchun, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who always loved to join in the fun, could see that the atmosphere was very solemn.

Zhang Juzheng stood up straight, held his hands and said, "Your Majesty is too indulgent towards him."

Zhu Yijun immediately said, "Sir, your request is too harsh. What he said makes sense. Why don't you let him speak? Sir, if he is talking nonsense, I will let Luo Bingliang, the commander of the Southern Court, slap him a few times. He is right. If I punish him, wouldn't it be the same as slapping myself a few times?"

"Sir, do you think so?"

"Your Majesty..." Zhang Juzheng felt helpless. Your Majesty was talking nonsense!
The premise of this statement is wrong. Can the emperor and his subjects be put on the same level?

Whether what a minister says is right or wrong, he can be slapped twice, but whether what the emperor does is right or wrong, no one can slap the emperor twice. Anyone who makes irresponsible remarks about the emperor will be hanged. This has been the basic framework of the relationship between rulers and subjects for thousands of years.

But if we look outside of this framework, what His Majesty said is very simple and makes a lot of sense.

In Shen Shixing's memorial, he started by talking about commodity economy.

At present, Songjiang Prefecture, especially Shanghai County of Songjiang Prefecture, has completed the transformation of commodity economy because it is the thoroughfare of nine provinces. The commodity economy is highly developed, making Songjiang Prefecture a place of romance that is more splendid than the world of fireworks. Walking into the various businesses in Songjiang Prefecture, the goods on display are dazzling and everything is available. In the world after commercialization, profit has an extremely amazing power, which pushes everyone to every profitable place.

The theory of contradiction told Shen Shixing that everything has two sides. The highly commercialized economy has brought infinite vitality to Songjiang Prefecture, but it has also created countless bizarre phenomena. The huge power of profit has made anything a commodity as long as it is profitable.

Human beings themselves, their flesh and blood, sex, knowledge, political activities, power, laws, morals, etc. are all commodities under the commodity economy.

This was truly horrible for the Ming Dynasty.

Shen Shixing explained this phenomenon from two aspects. The first was that Songjiang Prefecture had become a place where thousands of prostitutes gathered. There were beauties from all over the world, thin horses from Yangzhou, women from Datong, nuns from Mount Tai, boat girls from West Lake, pleasure boats, bookstores, etc., attracting dignitaries and wealthy businessmen from all directions.

Shen Shixing banned it repeatedly, but failed to stop the corrupt trend.

In addition, people themselves are also a kind of commodity. This is not the first time that Shen Shixing has talked about the sale of labor. This time, Shen Shixing did not repeat the old tune, but talked about the poor laborers in Songjiang Prefecture who made a living by selling blood.

The Ming Dynasty Dissection Hospital researched blood types and blood transfusions. In order to cure diseases and save lives, doctors in local Huimin pharmacies would prepare blood of various blood types, which would be used for postpartum hemorrhage, trauma, etc. But soon, various clinics also began to buy blood, and some poor laborers, who had no food or clothing, could only sell blood for a living.

This was something Shen Shixing would never allow to happen. Even without mentioning the filial piety principle that one's body and hair are given by one's parents, Shen Shixing considered the act of selling part of one's body for money due to financial difficulties to be a heinous crime.

This was undoubtedly the fault of the imperial court. Forcing people to sell parts of their bodies to fill their stomachs was a dereliction of duty by the imperial court.

In addition, even morality can be used as a kind of commodity. After Zhao Nanxing returned to the Southern Court, he loudly shouted that he had been beaten by Ning Yuanhou, and he was sought after wherever he went.

The old order is collapsing and a new order is being established.

The highly developed commodity economy has led to the emergence of two parallel rules in Songjiang Prefecture, and a dual-structured world has been born.

One is the rules of the emperor, his ministers and bureaucrats in the Ming Dynasty court, and the other is the rules under the commodity economy.

The rules of the commodity economy are moving away from the control of the imperial court and becoming self-organized groups that are logically self-consistent, economically self-sufficient, and responsible for various specific affairs. Compared with the clans of the past, these workshops, businesses, merchant gangs, and merchant alliances are more rigorous and do not rely on bloodlines to expand.

The commodity economy rules that are out of control and have become independent are becoming increasingly powerful, and may even replace and become even bigger.

If the Ming Dynasty as a whole transformed from a small peasant economy to a commodity economy, this independent commodity economy rule would completely replace the old order.

Where will the Ming Dynasty go? How should the supreme emperor deal with it? If he goes against the grain and interrupts this change for the sake of his own authority, will it lead to widespread opposition?

Shen Shixing's memorial said just this: The day when the Wanli Reform completely transformed the small peasant economy into a commodity economy was the day when the Ming Dynasty actually perished.

The emerging bourgeoisie now widely supports the opening of the sea, but at the same time, they will sound the clarion call for the downfall of the Ming Empire.

Fifty years may not be enough, but in a hundred years, this force will be strong enough.

(The full text of "Weixin Dingge Yintao Shigu Shuangjianshu" can be viewed on mobile phones.)
"I think Governor Shen is a bit optimistic. To reach that day in a hundred years requires the concerted efforts of thousands of people. This is only possible if there is no major change in policy direction. History always repeats itself. Governor Shen is thinking too simply." Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and said with certainty.

What is there to be afraid of! Even the emperor of the Zhu family was not afraid, but Zhang Juzheng was afraid!

Zhu Yijun not only did not feel it was scary, but he thought Shen Shixing was worrying too much. There was no need to worry too much, as it would be difficult for the Ming Dynasty to see that day.

Under the commodity economy, profits can indeed replace imperial power, but it is somewhat impossible for profits to completely replace imperial power.

The commodity economy is dominated by profits, and the power of profits can indeed pose a fundamental threat to imperial power. This is also the core content of the fourth volume, which has not yet been published. The feudal monarchy is doomed to collapse.

It’s not that Zhu Yijun didn’t believe in the tremendous power of profits, he really didn’t believe that the Ming Dynasty could reach that day. The Ming Dynasty was really too conservative.

Whenever a minister showed his rebellious tendencies, the emperor would always remind him who was the number one rebellious person in the world!
"Sir, look at this equal distribution of land. Qin gained the world through the system of land distribution based on military merit. Later, the land was annexed and returned to the aristocratic families.

"The Sui and Tang dynasties used the system of military governors to rule the country. During the Kaiyuan reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the military governor system was abolished and the land in the country was returned to the gentry. "

"When Emperor Taizu Gao succeeded to the throne, the land was given to the military garrisons. Today, the land belongs to the local gentry, the powerful and the wealthy."

"The whole country was trapped in annexation. The Wanli Reform was a great movement. Sixteen years ago, only five Maritime Customs Offices have implemented the land return petition, and Zhejiang is actually implementing it."

"History seems to always repeat itself over and over again. I think Governor Shen thinks too highly of me. I am blessed by my ancestors that I can figure out the issue of returning the land to the land and implement the Dinghai school system and the civil servant examination system in my lifetime."

"He has a nice idea." Zhu Yijun said in a relaxed tone.

Shen Shixing was dazzled by the grand scene of Wanli's New Deal and became overly optimistic. He thought that it might take even two hundred years for the Ming Dynasty to fully realize a commodity economy, given the repeated setbacks.

Zhu Yijun continued, "The self-reform of meat-eaters is limited. Once the most pressing matter is resolved, they will become lazy. Meat-eaters are vulgar. This saying has been around for thousands of years. What do you think?"

Zhu Yijun added another critical hit. In his opinion, the Wanli Reform was still a self-reform of the carnivores and could not bring about any change in the world.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and withdrew his impeachment against Shen Shixing.

He didn't know how to answer the question raised by His Majesty.

To say that it can be achieved is to deceive the emperor. Your Majesty said that the three big tile houses of returning land, Dinghai school system, and civil servant selection system are: all the people of the Ming Dynasty can have enough food; the children of the poor and the coolies can go to school, and those who don’t go to school will be arrested by the government; the talent selection mechanism is very perfect, and talents will never be buried; the highways are connected in all directions, and the cost of travel for people is extremely low, and they can move freely;

This is a world of great harmony, an ideal country that, like the horizon, is something that one can never achieve.

If it is said that it will definitely not be achieved, then what is the point of the Wanli Reform and the efforts of the emperor and his subjects?

"Your Majesty, I think there are some good points in Shen Shixing's memorial. Indeed, it seems that the whole memorial is extremely treasonous." Shen Li took the memorial, bowed his head and said, "The good points are just the treasonous part."

"Governor Shen's memorial is actually very simple."

"In the days of small peasant economy, the court could not manage every detail of the small households and small businesses. When the commodity economy came, the court could not manage the big households and big businesses. How could it deal with the big households and big businesses? It was even harder to manage."

"In the face of this great trend, the imperial court must study and figure out how to manage the country more efficiently, and this worry will be solved."

Shen Li stood up and tried to be the peacemaker.

Zhu Yijun was stunned, and asked curiously, "What is the opinion of the Grand Master?"

Shen Li thought about it seriously, then sorted out his thoughts and said, "Just as Governor Shen said in his memorial, in this world with two tracks running in parallel: the imperial court's rules and regulations run side by side, official documents and business contracts fly side by side; the way of making money has become a circle. Its principles are self-contained like yin and yang, and its momentum is intertwined like roots and vines."

"In my opinion, this is a good thing. The principle of commodity farming can be self-sustaining, self-operating and self-managed, which is equivalent to cutting the country into countless pieces."

"We are familiar with this. Isn't this the contradiction between the rules and the blocks?"

The basic political ecology of the Ming Dynasty is composed of fragments and pieces.

One yamen is a block, and countless yamen are blocks; related yamen are a line. The Ministry of Justice has the Ministry of Justice in the capital, the Henan Censorate in Henan, the Procurator in the prefecture, and the Household Department in the county is in charge of criminal law; the six ministries and six local offices are lines.

The officialdom of every dynasty has always been plagued by conflicts between various departments. The Ming Dynasty is very familiar with this and has very rich experience in it.

The political lessons learned from history are actually a summary of the game experience surrounding human nature.

"Huh?" Zhang Juzheng was stunned. He looked at Shen Li, leaned forward and said, "Grand Master, tell me in detail."

Shen Li considered carefully before saying, "The prosperity of merchants and the flourishing of commerce have led to the establishment of a well-governed society and a trend of coexistence of the two ideologies. This is inevitable. Under the commodity economy, profits have an extremely powerful force. This force is certainly feared, but if it is well guided, it may not be impossible for the Ming Dynasty to be even more powerful."

"The people form alliances with the merchant guilds and govern themselves. All industries are prosperous and each trade is responsible for various specific affairs. The court should also have an overall view of the key issues, but not have to personally handle everything. If it wants to manage everything, it will not be able to manage everything well. If it can manage these merchant guilds well, it can improve efficiency."

"With a large family and a large business, the more people there are in the city, the harder it is to manage. Wang Xiyuan, the chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture, has been so busy that his hair has turned white."

"Under the Wanli Reform, if government offices were bogged down in trivial matters, progress would be slow; if they were relieved of redundancy, they could achieve great results with little effort. However, streamlining government affairs does not mean slacking off. We must still supervise various affairs, just like a boat sailing on the ocean. After releasing the heavy burden and setting sail, we should also use a compass to determine the course."

Shen Li felt that he still hadn't made his words clear and thorough, so he bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, from Shen Shixing's memorial, I have seen one thing: the commodity economy is by no means a panacea that will work as soon as you take it."

"The essence of commercialization lies in the word 'moderation'. Never allow everything to become a commodity, otherwise it will inevitably lead to the destruction of the world."

"For example, people themselves are not commodities. Treating people as commodities is alienation. It has exceeded that limit and requires strong intervention from the court to correct it. The people are the foundation of the country. If the foundation is solid, the country will be stable."

"What the Grand Master said makes sense." Zhu Yijun thought about it again and again and agreed with it deeply.

Shen Shixing was definitely not exaggerating. If the commodity economy is allowed to grow without any regulation, the price of rice in Songjiang Prefecture will sooner or later become the same as that in Japan today!

The current price of rice in Songjiang Prefecture is four cents per pound, which has already exceeded the time when Zhejiang was in danger of war. We cannot allow this trend to continue.

"The Grand Master of the Imperial Clan is truly well-read and well-read. I admire him. From this perspective, it is indeed just a matter of small matters. There is nothing to worry about." Zhang Juzheng bowed to Shen Li and said solemnly, "I will accept your advice."

The disagreement between Zhang Juzheng and the emperor was very, very dangerous.

This impeachment was not because Zhang Juzheng was dissatisfied with Shen Shixing, but because Zhang Juzheng saw the terrible power of profit. If people pursue profit first and morality is completely corrupted, the country will no longer be a country.

Zhang Juzheng's punishment of Shen Shixing was tantamount to taking a backseat and preparing to launch a counterattack against the Wanli Reform. He felt that this was enough and that the Ming Dynasty was strong enough.

But the emperor thought there was no need to be afraid, just drive forward! He was sitting in the front of the car, and the first person to be killed would be him, the emperor, and the imperial power! Go full speed ahead.

This was a difference in line, a very terrible difference, and none of the court officials dared to express their views.

But Shen Li stood up and turned this contradiction into the area that the Ming Dynasty court was best at, handling all the contradictions. In this way, he came to the area that the Ming Dynasty bureaucrats were most familiar with.

Dog fighting has been going on for thousands of years.

"That's true. In the past, it was divided into pieces by various government offices. Now it is divided into pieces by various business houses, business groups, and business alliances. Anyway, the place has always been divided into pieces. You can drive a sheep alone or let a flock of sheep go."

"If the commodity economy is successful, the imperial court will be able to intervene in the local areas more easily." Wang Chonggu seemed to have woken up from sleep and agreed very much with Shen Li's point of view.

A flock of sheep is easier to herd than a single sheep because a single sheep has no competition.

(End of this chapter)