I'm really not doing business

Chapter 862: Wearing silk is elegant, wearing linen is lowly

Feng Bao could understand the followers of Paradise because he hated them.

He hated his parents for giving birth to him but not raising him. They sold him to the palace when he was very young, and he became a eunuch without him knowing anything.

He hated his parents and relatives and friends for not lending a helping hand when his family was in the most difficult times, so even after he gained power, he never went to look for his family.

Once, someone sent a letter to the palace, asking him to arrange a minor job for his cousin in the government, a relative he had never contacted before.

Feng Bao angrily tore the letter to pieces, and beat all the people who were involved in delivering the letter with forty strokes of the cane, on the grounds of collusion between internal and external forces. He also expelled from the palace those who had accepted money to do the work.

That was just a reason, he hated his family.

Later, he no longer hated Feng Bao, because after His Majesty learned about this, he sent people to investigate Feng Bao's family and found out that Feng Bao's parents, brother, and younger sister had either died of illness or starvation. Feng Bao was able to enter the palace because his parents gave the only remaining silver in the family to the introducer, which gave Feng Bao the opportunity to enter the palace.

There was a great famine that year and an outbreak of plague, and Feng Bao was the only one who survived in the family.

The money used to buy young eunuchs in the palace was also taken away by the introducer.

Feng Bao hated his colleagues, the eunuchs, the eunuchs, and the imperial eunuchs. He hated them all. When he was very young, he lived in the Langxia family and was bullied, scolded, beaten, not allowed to eat, not allowed to drink water, and punished by being hung upside down. He was humiliated in all kinds of ways.

He hated his fellow eunuchs. They were all miserable people, so why did they bully each other?
Later, he no longer hated people, because he had taken revenge on those who had bullied him. He climbed to the top step by step, and reached the position of the ancestor. No one dared to bully him anymore. He was the only one who bullied others. Who dared to bully him?

He hated the ministers in the outer court. These ministers always put the blame of the country's misfortune on the eunuchs. The territory that the eunuchs could control was only the small piece of land in the palace. How could they misfortune the country? No matter how far they stretched their hands, the world outside the palace was still controlled by the ministers.

These ministers deceived their superiors and subordinates, enriched themselves, and formed cliques for personal gain. They have brought the world into such a mess, but it is all the fault of the eunuchs.

Later, he no longer hated it, because he was a eunuch in the Imperial Household Department and a prime minister. He had read too many books and seen too many things. The corruption of the world was not caused by the emperor, the eunuchs, the concubines, or the ministers, but was a problem of productivity, production relations, and means of production.

It is easy to govern a strong country, but difficult to govern a weak and chaotic country.

When the dynasty was on the decline, it was difficult to succeed no matter what it did, and the more it did, the more mistakes it made.

He once hated the heavens, the earth, his parents, his relatives and friends, his colleagues and his ministers. He hated why God was so blind and made him so unfortunate. He was cynical, narrow-minded, and jealous of talented people, just like these members of the Paradise Church. Feng Bao could fully understand what these members were thinking and why they were so obsessed with this story.

After the followers of Paradise joined the religion and were baptized, they cut off everything that could be cut off, just like the group of eunuchs.

Feng Bao can empathize with the ecstasy followers. He was once that kind of person. He had abandoned everything he had and lost all emotional ties. Without anything to rely on, he would soon go crazy. Therefore, the ecstasy followers would construct a narrative of sublime love and fall into this cycle.

These ecstatic followers are not looking for love, nor do they care about love. They only care about themselves.

Feng Bao was able to get out of this situation because he had read many books and seen many things. As the Prime Minister, he assisted His Majesty in handling the affairs of the world. He gradually realized that the corruption of the world was the root cause of most people's misfortunes and tragedies. Only by changing this bad world can these misfortunes and tragedies be reduced, and he is doing so.

But these ecstasy believers may never be able to get out of this logical trap of hating everything throughout their entire lives.

Because the ecstatic believers neither read books nor deal with things, they always force their own cognition on everyone in the world. In the eyes of the ecstatic believers, all people in the world are hateful. As for why they are hateful, it is because I am unfortunate myself. I never think that I am wrong, but the world is wrong.

The despicable Confucians are not like this. They usually tell lies with their eyes open. They know that what they say and do is wrong, and they also know the bad harm they have caused, but they just won't change. They are completely different from these believers who have been bewitched by the Paradise Cult.

The Dinghai school system can effectively prevent the spread of such evil practices as the Pure Land followers, at least in theory.

The sudden heavy snow on the sixth day of the first lunar month completely disturbed the mood of the people in the capital to celebrate the New Year, because once it snowed heavily, the lights on the several-meter-high Aoshan Mountain would be cancelled. The snow after the Spring Festival came quickly and went away quickly. By the ninth day of the first lunar month, the snow had completely melted. At the end of the Spring Festival, Aoshan Mountain was brought out and there was a lot of excitement. Only then could this year be considered not wasted.

On the 16th day of the first lunar month, Shen Shixing submitted a memorial to the emperor, which once again caused a lot of discussion in the entire capital.

Because Shen Shixing put forward a somewhat uncomfortable theory. Based on the debate between Hua and Yi, Shen Shixing put forward the viewpoint of Ming-centered theory.

This was incompatible with the culture of humility that was very popular in the Ming Dynasty. Humility was one of the core morals of Confucianism, but Shen Shixing's Ming-centric theory was really hard to accept. The scholars in the circle were talking about it, and soon all kinds of voices reached Zhang Juzheng's ears.

Zhang Juzheng had no choice but to find Shen Shixing and ask him what he was going to do.

"Yaoquan, is the Celestial Empire not enough? Must the Ming Dynasty be the center? You are very clear about your statement. The Ming Dynasty missed some opportunities due to its arrogance, such as the ocean. The Ming Dynasty is very big. If arrogance makes a comeback, it may be detrimental to the Wanli Reform." Zhang Juzheng expressed his dissatisfaction with Shen Shixing.

The Celestial Empire was already arrogant enough, and Shen Shixing came up with a central theory.

"Sir, the Celestial Empire is a status, and the Ming-centered theory is a theory. What I mean is not that the Ming Dynasty is now the center of the world and we should look down on anyone, but that the Ming Dynasty must always be the center of the world, forever." Shen Shixing said with great confidence.

"Sir, you have made a good start for the Wanli Reform. What I want to do is to keep the world's trade, economy, finance, culture, technology, science, education, military and other centers in the Ming Dynasty."

"This is the purpose of my memorial. The Ming Dynasty must become the center of the world in order to remain the Celestial Empire forever."

"Songjiang Prefecture is already a well-deserved world trade center, but that is not enough. We must make Daming the absolute center of the world, no matter from which aspect."

The theory of sustainable world-centrism, which aims to make the Ming Dynasty forever great, is the basis of Shen Shixing's memorial.

He simply wrote a few examples to prove that the Ming Dynasty was now the undisputed Celestial Empire. This seemed a bit arrogant, but his original intention was to ensure sustainability.

Zhang Juzheng carefully read Shen Shixing's memorial again. This memorial was more like a eulogy and flattery. It listed a large number of achievements of the Wanli Reform to prove that the Ming Dynasty was the Celestial Empire. It was easy to conclude that Shen Shixing was dazzled by the victory before his eyes.

Shen Shixing seemed to have become arrogant. The Ming Dynasty had suffered great losses in this regard, a lesson learned through blood and tears, twice.

The first time was during the Yongle period, when the country was invincible. During the Xuande and Zhengtong periods, the country became arrogant, focusing on culture over military affairs, letting its horses go to the mountains and slacken its military preparations. Natural disasters caused even the emperor to flee to the north, and the country was on the brink of life and death. If it had not been for Emperor Jing and Yu Qian who turned the tide, the Ming Dynasty would have become the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty.

The second time was after Emperor Wuzong's great victory in Yingzhou. The people of the grassland did not dare to move south, and the policy of promoting culture and military began again. Even the reforms in the early years of Jiajing did not include military preparations. In the end, there was a rebellion by the barbarians in which Altan Khan besieged the capital and the Japanese invasion in the southeast.

The Ming Dynasty suffered heavy losses twice due to arrogance, so naturally no one liked Shen Shixing's seemingly arrogant remarks.

"Tell me in detail." Zhang Juzheng said with a frown.

"Sir, why is silk so expensive in the West? Compared to the life-saving cinchona, can silk save lives? Obviously not, but silk can be priced the same as cinchona. Are these Westerners buying silk?"

Shen Shixing shook his head and said, "No, what they are buying is status and recognition! Wearing silk is elegant, wearing linen is lowly!"

"So the more expensive the silk, the more people buy it. This is a yearning for the Celestial Empire. Without this yearning and this emotion, it would not be worth spending so much money at all."

"The silk produced locally in Spain is indeed of inferior craftsmanship, but it is still silk. The price is completely different from the silk from the Ming Dynasty."

As one of the world commodities of the Ming Dynasty, silk had a very high added value. The Western people's pursuit of silk supported the affluent lives of thousands of weavers in the weaving bureaus of the Ming Dynasty. The needlework women of the Songjiang Weaving Bureau earned more than the sugar-making craftsmen in Guangzhou because silk had a very high premium.

This premium is the emotional value of yearning for the Celestial Empire and pursuing a civilized life.

"The same is true for tea. The tea from the Ming Dynasty does taste good, but why do Westerners drink tea? It's a yearning, it's an emotion." Shen Shixing continued, "Another example, sir, the taste of the National Cellar is actually not that good. How good can a sweet potato wine be? People have different tastes for wine. Why is the National Cellar so popular? Because it is sold in the imperial farm, that's the reason."

“Buying Guojiao is a kind of emotion in itself.”

The Shenxian wine from Songjiang Prefecture tastes excellent, but it cannot compare with the emperor's Guojiao in terms of price or quantity. The gap is huge. The microbial research of Songjiang University is no weaker than that of Beijing. Shen Shixing was wondering at that time, why the Shenxian wine could not sell better than the Guojiao?

Later, Shen Shixing found the reason: emotion and yearning.

Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and said, "The situation of Guojiao is completely different from silk and tea. It is not appropriate to drink anything else when entertaining people in the officialdom. It has spread from the officialdom to every corner of the Ming Dynasty. Li Yashi once said that the Huangzhuang Guojiao is almost like selling indulgences. In short, Li Yashi was imprisoned by His Majesty for a whole month."

"The last time His Majesty was angry was when Legazpi said the tax stamp was an indulgence."

To maintain the error correction mechanism of "surprise of friendly nations", some costs are still required. If the emperor is narrow-minded, even ten thousand heads of Li Yashi will not be enough to chop off.

Zhang Juzheng immediately said, "Guojiao was not originally a sin indulgence. Your Majesty brewed Guojiao to promote sweet potatoes and to provide strong liquor for the navy. Using staple food to brew wine is too extravagant, so sweet potatoes are used to distill strong liquor for use in navigation."

"They put it in the imperial farm and sold it, but the treasury was empty, and then it became like this."

When the output of Guojiao was low, it was indeed not a indulgence. After the output increased, there was indeed such a sign. The key point was that the emperor had to sell it. If the imperial farm reduced the supply, it would only push the price higher, making the wine more valuable and more sought after.

Therefore, the solution proposed by Huangzhuang is to speed up the research on the koji flora to make Guojiao taste better and justify the price and sales volume.

The taste of Guojiao in the past two years has been very good, not inferior to the fine wines on the market. In addition, the royal brand is indeed strong and no one dares to counterfeit it. It is no surprise that Guojiao is so popular.

"Sir, what I mean is that humans can be tamed." Shen Shixing said sideways with his eyes sharp.

Zhang Juzheng immediately rebuked them loudly: "Stop talking nonsense! There are only you and me in the Wenchang Pavilion of the Quan Chu Guild Hall. If others hear it, the scholars will shout and kill you for what you said!" Shen Shixing glanced at Luo Sigong, who took a step back and stood in the shadow, motioning for the two to continue and pretend he didn't exist.

Luo Sigong didn't mean to eavesdrop. The emperor's order to him was to protect Zhang Juzheng. What if Shen Shixing wanted to assassinate Zhang Juzheng? He had to be on guard! He was a very stubborn person. He would carry out whatever the emperor said without any compromise.

Of course, Luo Sigong is very tight-lipped. He would only tell His Majesty and not anyone else.

Is there any difference between raising a person and raising a dog? Anyone who asks this question will be criticized by thousands of people and will be abused and attacked by everyone, because people's first reaction is that people are people and animals are animals, and the two are high and low, noble and humble, and completely different.

But man is the sum of all relationships; man is the product of the environment.

Didn't the Japanese know the harm of the Pure Land Sect? Of course, the Japanese knew it very well. Some Japanese were deceived by the Pure Land Sect to be sacrificed as human sacrifices, and their families were very miserable. However, in the Japanese environment, no one could criticize the Pure Land Sect in public, because everyone around them believed in it and could only agree with it. This is why Toyotomi Hideyoshi had to ask the emperor for his order.

If the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty wanted to ban it, the shogunate had no choice but to obey. After all, the Ming Dynasty's artillery and muskets were blocking the gates of Kyoto, and they could even burn down Kyoto. In this way, Toyotomi Hideyoshi could unite the victims of the Gokuraku cult and point their guns at the Gokuraku cult.

The method of taming humans is also very simple. People will be tamed by the environment imperceptibly.

"I completely understand what you mean." Zhang Juzheng was already fully aware of Shen Shixing's plan. By ensuring that the Ming Dynasty was the center of the world, creating a Ming-centered world theory, and maintaining the Ming Dynasty's status as the supreme country, he could tame the barbarians thousands of miles away.

Everything about the Ming Dynasty is right and cannot be questioned!
Anyone who questions this is against advancement, freedom and civilization!
The Ming Dynasty's lifestyle is the universal standard, and the barbarians far away in the West must treat the Ming Dynasty's every move with caution.

This was Shen Shixing’s plan and plot.

After the Ming Dynasty opened its seas, the Pure Land Sect emerged in places close to the Ming Dynasty, and the Great Light Sect emerged in places far from the Ming Dynasty. The emergence of these two sects shows that the Celestial Empire's inherent disciplinary ability was playing a role.

It can only be said that after Songjiang Prefecture realized the commodity economy, the struggle situation became extremely serious, so serious that even a good-natured man like Shen Shixing grew up into what he is today, and became extremely sharp, in the struggle.

"The biggest problem I encountered in Songjiang Prefecture is that some wealthy businessmen always feel that it is not safe enough to stay in Ming Dynasty and try every means to leave Ming Dynasty. Indeed, if they break the law, their property will be confiscated, which is indeed not safe enough." Shen Shixing talked about another problem he encountered in Songjiang Prefecture.

Zhang Juzheng frowned and said, "The profit tax has exceeded 70%. Would you rather pay the profit tax than flee?"

Shen Shixing shook his head and said, "They will exchange their silver for goods in the hinterland, and then follow the Pacific route to the rich silver mines in the Governor's Office of Peru on the other side of the ocean to exchange for silver, and then transfer the silver to their large estates in the South Seas."

"The reason why they chose Nanyang, a place that seems dangerous but is actually safe, is that their lives cannot be separated from the Ming Dynasty."

"This was completely legal and their departure paid sufficient tax."

Nanyang seems a bit dangerous. After all, it is under the direct influence of the Ming Dynasty court and the property may still be confiscated.

But in fact it is extremely safe. As long as there are no problems with taxes, the Governor's Office will protect their interests. After all, these people brought real money, and this real money became various industries in the Han Town of the Governor's Office.

Moreover, because of the military deterrence of the Governor-General's Office, ordinary barbarians did not dare to take action against these people.

As long as it was not a matter of taxation, opium, or rebellion, the Ming court would not be able to hold anyone accountable.

The act of running away was extremely reasonable. When Zhejiang returned the land to the rich and powerful, their property was turned upside down. When the powerful and powerful people in the Southern Court were tortured by the emperor because they opposed the splitting up of the Southern Court. All these incidents accelerated the departure of the wealthy and powerful.

Shen Shixing continued, "So, to build the Ming-centered theory, even if these people leave, they cannot sever their inextricable ties with the Ming. Their money will eventually flow slowly to the Ming, just like the money in the West."

Spain and Portugal were ridiculed by Western countries as tributary states. Silver and gold, symbols of wealth, flowed into the Ming Dynasty in a steady stream. Shiploads of goods flowed to the West. Even though Felipe wanted to stop it, he could not give up trade with the Ming Dynasty, so he appeared very passive in many decisions.

The Spanish treasure ships spent several years robbing in the New World, but the value of the cargo was not as great as that of one shipload.

In order to make the Ming Dynasty the real center of the world, these merchants who fled overseas could run away, but their money would eventually flow back to the Ming Dynasty in various ways. Once the Ming Dynasty is no longer the real center of the world, these people's money will flow to what they believe is the other shore.

"I am not in Zhejiang or Songjiang Prefecture, so I cannot experience these changes firsthand. You have convinced me, and I agree with your proposal. You don't have to worry about Wang Ci Fu, I will explain the situation clearly to him." Zhang Juzheng read the memorial again and confirmed Shen Shixing's proposal.

Shen Shixing returned to Beijing to become a cabinet minister. His proposal might become the national policy for years and decades to come. This was a big deal, and Zhang Juzheng's approval was very important.

Shen Shixing said hesitantly, "I am not worried about Wang Ci Fu. Wang Ci Fu is a very pragmatic person and can be persuaded. But Shen Zong Bo is a loyal minister. After Hai Wenzhong left, Shen Li is the most upright minister. It is difficult to persuade him."

In Shen Shixing's eyes, Shen Li and Hai Rui were the same kind of people, difficult to convince and unwilling to adapt. The exposition of the Ming Dynasty-centered theory was easily opposed by upright ministers. After all, no matter from which angle one looked at it, it sounded like slander. If the emperor became complacent because of this kind of centralism and learned from Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, it would be the end of the world.

Shen Shixing felt that His Majesty would not indulge in such flowers and splendor, because flattery would never gain His Majesty's approval, but would instead lead to reprimand.

"Haha, you just came back and may not know much about some changes in the capital. The Ministry of Rites has recently been promoting the theory of Ming Dynasty's eternal victory, which is similar to your theory of Ming Dynasty's centrality. People will change, and the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan has also changed. In short, the Qingliu has expelled the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan from the Qingliu." Zhang Juzheng was very restrained in front of his students.

This matter is actually very ridiculous. Shen Li is so stubborn and he is not a clear-minded person.

Zhang Juzheng did not understand the changes in Nan Ya and Songjiang Prefecture, and Shen Shixing did not understand the changes in the capital. Shen Li, who used to be the second most stubborn member of the Qingliu, was now seen by the Qingliu as a flatterer sitting at the same table with Wan Shihe. Shen Li did not care and did his job wholeheartedly.

"Grand Master, isn't he a clean official?!" Shen Shixing was extremely shocked and almost stood up in fear. Hai Rui and Shen Li had a very good relationship. As Shen Li could get Hai Rui's approval, there was absolutely no problem with his moral character.

Zhang Juzheng's face was filled with mixed emotions. He shook his head and said, "Although it is very bizarre, this is the situation. Yaoquan, what is the standard for judging whether a person is a clean stream? Must one go against His Majesty to be a clean stream?"

It was common knowledge that Zhang Juzheng disliked the Qingliu very much, otherwise Yang Wei would not have tested Zhang Juzheng's attitude when Hai Rui passed away.

It is totally unreasonable for Qingliu to expel Shen Li from Qingliu. Shen Li is not even greedy or corrupt.

Before Wang Qian went to Songjiang Prefecture to be the prefect, he compiled "The Romantic Stories of the Famous Scholars of the Pure Stream". How many of those who claimed to be of the pure stream were actually honest? He kept a lot of concubines, and even set up a concubine square in Xitu City, which was full of smoke and miasma.

Waishifang is where the concubines of the noble and famous scholars live together. There is a Fang in Xitu City where all these concubines live, which is simply a disgrace to society.

"I don't know." Shen Shixing just felt it was weird. If Hai Rui hadn't restored some dignity for these upright people, their reputation would have been ruined by them long ago. They insisted on going against His Majesty. They were not upright people, but traitors.

Shen Shixing's memorial caused an uproar. Zhu Yijun did not make a quick comment as usual, but waited for the court officials to have a full discussion before deciding whether to implement it. Zhu Yijun never expected that the first person to arrive was the Minister of Rites Shen Li.

"Your Majesty, may your Majesty be in good health." Shen Li greeted respectfully.

Zhu Yijun smiled and asked, "No need to be polite. Grand Master of the Imperial Clan is here to oppose the theory of Ming as the center of the world? Although it seems a bit impolite, if we can establish a broad consensus overseas that Ming is the center of the world, I think it is still necessary, and it is the truth."

In order to avoid the crisis of arrogance caused by centralism, Zhu Yijun specifically stated that this way of establishment was based on facts and the scope was also overseas, not the heartland of the Ming Dynasty.

"That's not the case. I agree with the Ming-centered theory." Shen Li shook his head and said, "The Ming Dynasty is opening up the sea in full swing. What Minister Shen said hits the nail on the head. The court has never considered what kind of etiquette should be used overseas."

"This kind of narrative, in which every word and action, every day life, every sitting and lying is inseparable from the Ming Dynasty, is a good way to go."

"I have discovered that China first had history, and then made full use of these experiences and laws."

"Oh?" Zhu Yijun raised his eyebrows. It turned out that Shen Li came to provide additional examples for the Ming-centered theory.

"Shangshu is the earliest historical book. The first volume of Shangshu is Yushu, which includes "The Classic of Yao", "The Classic of Shun", "The Instructions of Yu the Great", etc." Shen Li explained why China was the first to have history and made full use of these experiences and laws.

Because the Book of Documents is essentially a history book, recording the classics, instructions, oaths and other texts of the Yu, Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties.

"And now we have the tortoise shell and animal bone inscriptions, which can verify the events before the Zhou Dynasty." Shen Li told His Majesty that this was a fact that could be verified. It was not a fabrication, nor was it a far-fetched conclusion by later generations. It was a fact that could be verified by each other.

Whether it is the Ming Dynasty's Yingxue or the Central Theory, they have never gone beyond one line, that is, those who practice it should be faithful and honest. This is also the new etiquette that the Ministry of Rites has been trying to establish for so many years. Any discussion must be based on the standard of facts, not falsehood.

Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "What the Grand Master said makes a lot of sense."

"Your Majesty, hypocrisy will breed arrogance, but honesty will not." Shen Li emphasized again that this is the fundamental law, and everything else grows out of the word honesty. The result of hypocrisy is to whitewash the truth, to cover up the truth, and to protect officials. It is false and will be falsified.

Once the hypocrisy is exposed, there will be extremely serious backlash.

Shen Li continued, "The great voyages that the West is so proud of would never have been possible without the compass. To this day, the compass map is still one of the most useful sea maps, and the invention of the compass is even earlier, dating back to the Three Dynasties, when the Yellow Emperor invented the south-pointing chariot."

"The world's first geography book is the Book of History - Tribute to Yu, which describes the prosperity of the Nine Provinces."

"And now, more accurate world geomancy maps and globes are also in Daming."

The key to constructing the Ming-centered theory is to talk about the past and the present, and to prove it from all aspects. China has set this precedent and carried forward the past. Today, China is still leading the world. Only in this way can we construct a Ming-centered theory based on facts.

(End of this chapter)