I'm really not doing business

Chapter 914: Profits and losses in the tide theory, punishing the treacherous outside the Yanghe Gate

Whose official factory is it?
In name, the official factories are the official factories of the Ming Dynasty and are collectively owned by the imperial court, but in terms of specific ownership, the official factories of the Ming Dynasty are Your Majesty’s official factories. After all, most of the official factories were built with Your Majesty’s real money.

Zhang Wenda was suffocated by this sentence. He finally understood how difficult it was to deal with people like Wang Chonggu. Those who could climb up to the cabinet step by step were really not simple.

"Wang Ci Fu, these government-owned factories nominally belong to His Majesty, but in fact, they are located in local areas. Do you think these government-owned factories really belong to His Majesty? Even if they do now, what about in the future? If I don't do it, there are plenty of people who will." Zhang Wenda continued to express his point of view. He was not quibbling, he was telling the truth.

He was going to die.

These government-run factories belong to His Majesty and the local government today, but they are destined to belong to the local government tomorrow.

"You're right." Wang Chonggu rubbed his hands on his crutch twice and sighed. The Ming Dynasty had experienced this kind of thing before. Didn't the government-run factories during the Yongle period eventually fall into the hands of these powerful and wealthy people?
Just as Zhang Wenda said, if he doesn't take action, there are others who will.

Zhang Wenda continued, "Your Majesty is furious. I am doomed to die. As the old saying goes, a dying man speaks kindly."

"Wang Ci Fu, I have a question for you as the leader of the Labour Party. Can you allow a government-owned factory to keep losing money? In other words, can Your Majesty tolerate a government-owned factory losing money all the time?"

"The Dinghai school system can lose money, the Chidao can lose money, but what about these government-owned factories? Moreover, the reason these government-owned factories lose money is rigidity, bloat, and corruption. There are also people who make a lot of money in them, and they are not much better than me."

"There are bad people among the old nobles who cling to Confucian classics, and there are also bad people among the new nobles who follow the imperial decree to open up the sea. Are there no bad people in the government factories?"

"Wang Ci Fu, I am just a prefect. This position is high in Jinhua Prefecture, but it is not that high either. Above me there are the Provincial Administration Office, the Provincial Surveillance Office, and the Governor's Office. I am just a fourth-rank official. Without the cooperation of some people in the government factory, how could I have such great ability?"

"If we cannot tolerate the government-owned factory losing money all the time, and it is really operating at a disadvantage, should we allow it to close down?"

Zhang Wenda's question is a bit confusing. If we really understand it according to the theory of survival of the fittest, that is, the survival of the fittest and the elimination of the unfit, then should these outdated, poorly managed, overly bloated, and overly rigid government-owned factories be closed? If they are not allowed to be closed, will the court continue to support them?
Can the imperial court afford it?

There were official factories including those directly under the imperial court, those under the provincial government, those under the prefectures, counties, and even iron smelters under the county government. Where did the imperial court get the money to support so many rentiers?
The Ming Dynasty could only maintain 100,000 troops in the capital and 160,000 naval forces, but that was already the limit.

As the leader of the Labour Party, Wang Chonggu certainly understood Zhang Wenda's words. The growth of productivity could not keep up with the growth rate of the unproductive rentiers. Your Majesty and the court could not afford to support so many rentiers, so they could not tolerate the continued losses of state-owned factories. Naturally, they had to allow the state-owned factories to close down and let the resident craftsmen be transferred from craftsman registration to civilian registration.

As long as we follow the principle of survival of the fittest, there will always be people who take advantage of the situation and take advantage of it.

Today, the three official prefectures of Ningbo, Shaoxing and Jinhua were embezzled, and there will be more tomorrow.

"You asked a very good question." Wang Chonggu paused his dragon-headed cane again, feeling a little helpless.

In fact, extreme liberals also have to face this problem. When material is not abundant, labor is still needed to sell labor. To produce enough material, it is necessary to distribute it to the workers so that they can work with peace of mind.
However, when material wealth is extremely abundant, there is no need to distribute it to the workers, and it is enough to focus on feudalism and personal oppression.

The distribution of profits between manual workshops and mechanical workshops is different. Many weavers and weavers are genuinely afraid of those roaring steam engines. The more machines there are, the more difficult it will be for weavers and weavers to make a living.

One Shengping No. 7 steam engine is equivalent to the work of three hundred weavers and weaver girls. How could this not terrify them?

"It's like there is no hell. How can those missionaries sell fear and attract believers? Therefore, the court allowed the government-owned factories to close down. Based on this fear, it would force the government-owned factories to reform themselves and eliminate themselves."

"People are not worried about the lack of money, but the inequality of income. My government-run factory works hard to make money and pays tribute to the national treasury. Then the court uses the national treasury to support a group of lazy people. After a long time, this profitable government-run factory will no longer make money."

"Just think according to the principles of contradiction. If government-owned factories make profits, they must also make losses. The imperial court is not omnipotent. The survival of the fittest is an irrefutable truth." Zhang Wenda sighed heavily.

Wang Chonggu frowned and said, "You are right. We should allow the government-owned factories to close down, but is this a reason for you to steal from His Majesty? I'm afraid not."

"Do you think I'm justifying my crime? That's not the case." Zhang Wenda said with a somewhat relaxed expression, "I knew this day would come sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to come so soon. After being caught, I was just waiting to die. The most tormenting moment was when the knife hadn't fallen."

"Now, I just have to wait to die."

"I am a silver-tongued man, but Your Majesty can still not kill me? Obviously not. Everyone has to pay the price for their mistakes."

In the Ming Dynasty, even the emperor was no exception. Emperor Shenzong's methods were already the pinnacle of political tactics, but when the time came, he was scolded by Hai Rui and nailed to the pillar of shame in history, unable to move.

"Besides, there is one more thing. The economy is like the tide. It has high tides and low tides." Seeing that Wang Chonggu didn't say anything, Zhang Wenda started talking about his understanding of the economy.

"Oh?" Wang Chonggu sat up straight and said, "Please explain this concept of high tide and low tide in detail."

Zhang Wenda thought for a long time before he spoke: "In my opinion, when the total social debt is increasing, it is the rising tide. At this time, looking around, there are opportunities everywhere. No matter what you do, you can ride on the wind."

"But when it comes to paying back the debt, that is, when the overall social debt stops growing and needs to be reduced, when it needs to be repaid and debts are eliminated, it is low tide. At this time, looking around, you can see bones and corpses everywhere."

"It is impossible for the total debt to keep increasing. Debt is like eating the food of the next year. If you eat the food of the next year, you will definitely go hungry in the next year. The biggest measurement indicator here is interest."

"Once interest rates start to go down, the tide will begin to fall. At this time, dissatisfaction will grow like weeds. Even if the court tries every possible means, it will still be against the trend and it will be difficult to achieve any results."

"It is easy to plan for a strong country, but difficult to plan for a weak and chaotic country."

Zhang Wenda was a genuine Jinshi, not an official appointed through imperial favor. He was a bad person but not stupid. He overcame many obstacles step by step before he passed the imperial examination and came to where he is today. He also had his own thoughts on family, national and world affairs.

What should we use to measure the economic ups and downs? It is enough to use the amount of interest.

When the interest rate of money houses is high, it means that there are opportunities everywhere, money is in short supply everywhere, and the economy is booming.

When the interest rates of money houses begin to decline, it enters a downward cycle, and the best strategy is to wait and see until the winter.

Zhang Wenda changed the subject and said with a bit of coldness: "With the rise and fall of the tide, there will be a group of fish that will die on the beach. The ups and downs of the economy are inevitably accompanied by destruction before construction. But some fish are already stranded, but they still want to jump around and refuse to die. At this time, someone has to help them die."

"Because they are unwilling to die willingly, more people will die, and even endanger the country. This is also the case with the succession of dynasties."

"Your Majesty is not afraid of fame and loves to kill people, which is actually very good."

“Total demand and total supply are fundamentally contradictory because distribution cannot be fair.”

"For the sake of profit, meat eaters will blindly expand production without limit, but the distribution will be unfair, so that the affordable demand of the majority of workers cannot keep up with the speed of this expansion, and ultimately lead to an excess of total supply relative to total demand."

"This phenomenon is particularly obvious during a downward cycle. At this time, the imperial court will kill people who deserve to die but refuse to die, and eliminate a number of civilian workshops and government factories to get through the downward cycle."

"Your twisted logic does make some sense." Wang Chonggu agreed with what Zhang Wenda said.

Zhang Wenda used high tide and low tide to describe the ups and downs of the economy, used the level of interest rates as a standard to measure it, and used the theory of contradiction to analyze why the phenomenon of high tide and low tide occurs.

Distribution cannot be absolutely fair. If total supply and total demand become unbalanced, a crisis will break out.

The only way to resolve the crisis is to kill people and go bankrupt.

Zhang Wenda looked at Wang Chonggu and leaned forward and said, "A fool's a thousand thoughts will eventually lead to a good outcome. I have actually figured out a way to deal with this situation."

"Oh?" Wang Chonggu asked curiously, "What solution have you come up with?"

Zhang Wenda immediately said, "Wang Cifu, does this government-run factory have to be run by the government office itself? Government-run factories have their own problems, and private factories have their own problems. Can we learn from each other's strengths and overcome our weaknesses?"

"Sometimes I think that the imperial court should be the major shareholder, accounting for at least 60% of the business, and the rest should be handed over to the private houses. The big shopkeepers of the private houses will be responsible for the actual operation."

"The court will only assess the profits of the government offices. If there is no profit or even a loss of principal, the court will intervene to conduct an audit. Once there is a problem with the government-private joint venture workshop, the court can also intervene in the detailed audit and correct the problem in an attitude of overriding everything else."

“After intervening to correct the situation, we will then withdraw and allow the big managers to continue to run the business.”

"Just like you and your son-in-law Cao Xuecheng?" Wang Chonggu sneered first. He was originally a little disdainful of Zhang Wenda's method, but he soon realized the key point of Zhang Wenda's words, the test score.

The word "performance" is closely related to promotion and transfer. In order to keep their official hats, the officials in the Ming Dynasty can really do anything.

"Cao Xuecheng is quite capable." Zhang Wenda said helplessly, "He went through so much trouble to marry my daughter, and after marrying her, he spent the whole day having an affair with his ex-wife. Sigh."

Wang Chonggu asked in surprise, "You knew about Cao Xuecheng's murder of his wife? Did you know about it before, or did you hear about it after being imprisoned?"

"I knew it when he took action." Zhang Wenda was frank. Cao Xuecheng could hide such things from the common people, but he could not hide it from him, his father-in-law, the prefect.

Zhang Wenda didn't even need to keep an eye on it personally. Cao Xuecheng asked Ningbo Prefecture to settle the matter, and Ningbo Prefecture only helped out for Zhang Wenda's sake.

Zhang Wenda's daughter was not so unruly at the beginning, but she became more and more unruly after she found out that Cao Xuecheng was having an affair with his ex-wife. In the end, it was difficult for the couple to maintain their relationship even on the surface.

"You know this is a road of no return, why do you still want to go?" Wang Chonggu began to understand. For the sake of money, is he willing to give up his life? Is money really that important?
Wang Chonggu was a man who valued his life very much. He could give up silver in exchange for his own survival.

Zhang Wenda spread his hands and shook his head, saying, "I didn't know before that this was a road of no return. As I walked along, I suddenly realized that there was no way back."

Not everyone can see clearly where the road under their feet leads to. When they suddenly realize it, it is actually too late.

"You will not escape the death penalty, but His Majesty is merciful and will exile your family to the Jinchi Governor's Mansion. You don't have to worry about your old mother and wife. Jinchi is in dire need of people." Wang Chonggu stood up and ended the interrogation.

"There really are gold mines in the Big and Small Jinchi. I heard there are also thousands of acres of fertile fields there. Is that true?" Zhang Wenda still asked the question that concerned him. Only with fields can people live well. After all, gold cannot satisfy hunger.

Wang Chonggu shook his head and said, "Ten thousand hectares of fertile land? No, no, no, it's one million hectares of fertile land."

"In that case, thank you, Wang Ci Fu." After hearing this, Zhang Wenda bowed solemnly and bid farewell to Wang Chonggu.

The questions and answers between Wang Chonggu and Zhang Wenda in prison were soon presented to the emperor. After reading the entire case file, Zhu Yijun's face changed and he sighed heavily.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Wenda does seem to have some talent, but he must not be forgiven, otherwise the administration will inevitably collapse." Feng Bao saw the look on his face and knew that he felt sorry for Zhang Wenda's talent. "No, I don't intend to forgive him. He has already stolen from me. If I forgive him, he will steal from me again in the future. He is guilty of a death sentence." Zhu Yijun answered Feng Bao's concerns very clearly. It was a pity, but Zhang Wenda really deserved to die.

Zhu Yijun never showed mercy when it came to killing people.

"I just thought of Liu Hanru, the one who ran the Sanduao private market comparable to the Yuegang Maritime Customs. What a pity." Zhu Yijun thought of Liu Hanru again. This honest official who did not take shortcuts could have become a capable official now.

Wang Chonggu interrogated Zhang Wenda about the three government-owned factories in Ningbo. Before the interrogation, the three government-owned factories had already been recovered.

This question and answer session covered many aspects and contained a large amount of information. Zhu Yijun reviewed it again and made a transcript.

We must allow government-owned factories to close down. Otherwise, if they can make money regardless of drought or flood, inertia will destroy all government-owned factories. We must force government-owned factories to reform themselves. If they are in trouble, they must change. If they are not at the end of their rope, people will not change.

The standard for measuring economic ups and downs is the level of interest rates; interest rates are a standard, not the root cause of economic tides. The root cause of these tides is unfair distribution, and total demand cannot keep up with total supply.
Without destruction, there will be no construction. Without bankruptcy, there will be no next prosperity. The people who should jump but haven't jumped, and who should die but haven't died, will hinder the development of productivity. When it comes to destruction and construction, someone needs to take historical responsibility and send them off.
In the initial exploration of the government-civilian joint venture model, Zhang Wenda and his son-in-law Cao Xuecheng accumulated some experience and can be seen as pathfinders. Accumulating more experience can enable the court to preserve itself in the economic tide.

This can be regarded as Zhang Wenda's last words of advice before his death.

On August 18th of the 17th year of the Wanli reign, the streets of Hangzhou were deserted. The Ming Emperor set up a large execution platform outside the Luomu Camp at Yanghe Gate for a public trial and allowed all the people of Hangzhou to participate in the trial.

There were only one thousand seats in the inner field, with only one hundred tenants and hooligans, three hundred craftsmen, and six hundred powerful tycoons, wealthy businessmen, and officials from prefectures, counties and regions. This punishment was mainly intended to punish the officials of the three prefectures and the wealthy businessmen who relied on their monopoly position to do whatever they wanted.

Flags were waving above the Yanghe Gate, drums and trumpets were beating loudly, the dragon flag was fluttering in the wind, and the Ti cavalry in distinctive armor were maintaining order at the entire public trial. Everything was in order.

The 428 people who were killed were all involved in murder cases and had the blood of ordinary people on their hands. Even Zhang Wenda, the cleanest of the bunch, forced the Su family to sell the Shunyuan Weaving Workshop for one silver dollar.

The Su family accepted the compensation from the court, but did not dare to touch the weaving workshop again. The Su family was afraid of death, so no matter how high the profit of the weaving workshop was, they did not dare to touch it.

"Royal brother, my misdeeds in the past have now been put on display in such a big way, and it has become an inevitable process in the trial of major cases. Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Zhu Yiliu also participated in this public trial, and he was really a little uneasy.

The system of public trial was created by him out of his own will. His original intention was to embarrass the scholars and officials.

Now it has become an important tool for the Ming Dynasty to have clear laws and the construction of the rule of law!

This made Zhu Yiliu a little panicked and even a little afraid. He was afraid that his own mischief would lead the Ming Dynasty into trouble.

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "There is nothing wrong. You are fooling around, but I am not fooling around. The nine ministers are not fooling around either. This is a decision made after court discussion. It is to make the revised Ming Dynasty Code useful."

"Liu'er, remember this. No matter where you go, a man without integrity cannot stand. This is true for being a man and governing a country. Since the Great Ming Code has been compiled, it is for people to abide by. Whether it is the people or the officials, they must follow it as a code of conduct."

"Public trial, that is the wood used to move the wood and establish the trust in the Ming Dynasty."

The Wanli Reform was a comprehensive reform for the Ming Dynasty's rebirth from the ashes. It was by no means a small-scale campaign. The Ming Dynasty was transforming from a small peasant economy to a commodity economy. The past system of complete rule by man would cause legal injustice and would be unable to adapt to the commodity economy.

The governance of the country must also be reformed, especially in terms of law, which must be institutionalized, proceduralized, and legalized. To achieve rule of law, we must go through four stages: having laws to follow, following the laws, strictly enforcing the laws, and punishing violations of the law.

These four processes are gradual, complementary, and not static.

For the Ming Dynasty, compiling the Ming Dynasty Code and constantly revising it based on practice meant having a law to follow.

The simplest thing is to enforce the law strictly. There are prefects who exterminate entire families and county magistrates who destroy families. In these days, prefects and county magistrates are the local judges. Once a sentence is passed, it must be executed. Enforcement must be strict and it is the easiest thing to do.

The most difficult part here is that laws must be obeyed and violations must be punished.

Obeying the law is the central link of governing the country according to law and the most important part of the rule of law in the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was an official-oriented country and there were countless cases of local officials abusing their power. For example, Zhang Wenda forced the Su family to transfer Shunyuan Weaving Workshop for one silver, which was a typical abuse of power.

The Ming Dynasty Code was legislated in this way, but local officials often had their own ideas. This was the biggest difficulty the court encountered in implementing reforms in the governance of the country, and public trial was one of the tools in Zhu Yijun's hands.

"I have been thinking that one day, the public trial system will be able to completely replace secret trials." Zhu Yijun looked at the execution platform and said sincerely.

After hearing this, Zhu Yiliu held his breath for a long time before uttering one word: "Difficult."

It was really difficult, especially under the imperial system. For example, Zhu Yijun still had seven unused blank imperial seals.
For example, Zhang Hong secretly tried his adopted son Chen Zeng and three accomplices, even in half a room, and beheaded them. Their bodies were fed to dogs and their heads were sent to the dissection hospital for specimens.

Zhu Yijun sat on the Wufeng Tower of Yanghe Gate, waiting for the public trial to begin.

428 criminals may seem like a lot, but in fact, they are just three prefectures and one company. The main bodies of the trial are mainly the three prefectures of Ningbo, Shaoxing and Jinhua and Ningbo Ocean Trading Company. The trial is open and the verdict is announced publicly.

The whole process lasted for nearly an hour and then it was over.

Zhu Yijun saw all kinds of human conditions. When they heard about the immediate execution, some people were stunned, some screamed in shock, some collapsed to the ground, and some tried to run away.

In so many public trials, Zhu Yijun had never seen a robbery of the execution ground. After all, the guns and cannons in the hands of the imperial guards were real weapons.

"Take it away." Zhu Yijun looked at the sun. It was almost three quarters past noon. Zhu Yijun wrote in red on the four case files and gave the order to take them away.

Feng Bao and Zhang Hong threw their whisks and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Take it."

The eunuchs on the city wall continuously passed down the heavenly message, and finally 320 Ti cavalrymen shouted in unison, shaking the sky.

Zhang Wenda was escorted to the execution ground, where he saw his son-in-law Cao Xuecheng. Cao Xuecheng was not tall, and even had a shifty look. As a result of his imprisonment, his hair was disheveled, and he looked haggard, no longer as handsome as he used to be.

"Do you regret it?" Zhang Wenda suddenly asked Cao Xuecheng.

Cao Xuecheng was confused at first, but when he saw clearly that it was his father-in-law who was asking him the question, he came to his senses. His face immediately became ferocious, and he shouted, "Zhang Wenda, it's all your fault! You made me do all those evil things!"

"You are the mastermind, you deserve to be beheaded. Why drag me into this?"

Zhang Wenda laughed instead, looking at Cao Xuecheng with a look of pity in his eyes. He shook his head and said, "So, when you were doing bad things, you never thought that this day would come?"

Zhang Wenda glanced in the direction of the Emperor of the Five Phoenix Tower of Yanghe Sect, and said in a daze: "I am different from you. I have thought of this day a long time ago. When you set a trap for me and lured me into the game, you should have thought of this day too."

After ten years of hard study, Zhang Wenda was named on the imperial examination and became famous all over the world. He devoted the first half of his life to the imperial examination. He took the examination and became an examiner not to become a treacherous official. He also had great ambitions and wanted to ascend to the throne of the emperor one day and serve the people.

As Zhang Wenda walked, he suddenly found himself at a dead end. It all started at a banquet hosted by Mo Lianxuan in Hangzhou.

Cao Xuecheng used all means to bribe Zhang Wenda's advisor and arranged this private drinking party, which was the starting point of the road of no return.

"I really regret it. The court has repeatedly issued orders not to hold banquets. It seems that they are too lenient, but isn't it protecting us?" Zhang Wenda sighed and said to the imperial guards beside him, "Let's go, send me off."

Zhang Wenda really knew he had repented, but Cao Xuecheng obviously hadn't. He was still making a fuss and mumbling something, but his mouth was blocked by the imperial guards.

The execution began.

Every time a head fell to the ground, there was an outburst of amazing cheers.

The onlookers were not jubilant when they saw high-ranking officials or wealthy people being beheaded. They knew full well the crimes they had committed. The Hangzhou government had posted the notice for more than a month, and the numerous crimes of the criminals had been made very clear.

The people are indeed short-sighted. If it were not for the notice, they really would not have any idea where the persecution they suffered came from. Being short-sighted and having little experience does not mean that they do not have a scale in their hearts and do not know right from wrong.

The public beheading finally ended, and the Ming Emperor ordered that all corpses be hung at the Yanghe Gate and exposed for ten days to create a deterrent effect.

Chief Medical Officer Chen Shigong believed that there was a danger of plague and requested the Emperor to drag out the large fence around the watchtower to prevent people from approaching and being infected with the plague. Zhu Yijun readily agreed.

The tribute selection case and the Ningbo Maritime Customs corruption case came to an end under the emperor's punishment. Zhu Yijun still lived in the West Lake Villa because the imperial guards were still confiscating his property and escorting criminals to exile in the Jinchi Governor's Office.

During his stay in Hangzhou, Zhu Yijun was not idle, but personally went to investigate one of Zhejiang's pillar industries, the tea garden.

The seven-day investigation made Zhu Yijun very angry. He felt a little upset and helpless, because the life of the female tea pickers in the tea garden was very difficult.

During the tea picking season, twenty female workers would squeeze into a lattice shop that was seven feet wide and twelve feet deep. Even these cramped lattice shops were temporary and could not shelter from wind and rain. Twenty people shared a large bunk bed, and miscellaneous items piled up like mountains.

Even so, during the peak tea picking season, some female workers had to sleep in the corridors because there were no beds available.

The living conditions were poor, the food was poor too, even just plain noodles. Picking tea was a very laborious job, and a bowl of plain noodles was not enough to fill one's stomach.

Former Shaanxi Governors Shi Maohua and Shen Yikuan had both told Zhu Yijun that Shaanxi people would treat wheat pickers from Gansu well.

Like the Yanxing people, the wheat pickers are people from Gansu who come to Guanzhong to work when the wheat is ripe. The Gansu people think that the landlords in Shaanxi are kind, and they will provide them with oil-splashed noodles,臊子面, stir-fried dishes, and pot-fried cakes. Even some children can get a good meal when the wheat pickers come.

Zhu Yijun disguised himself as Mr. Huang and visited various places. He found that the lives of these female workers were even harder than those of the wheat pickers.

Shaanxi, Gansu and Suiyuan are already very, very poor places. Zhejiang is so rich, but they are all coolies, so their lives are even harder!
However, during the visit, he found that these tea pickers were more positive and optimistic than Zhu Yijun had imagined, and were good at finding joy in adversity.

"In Yunnan and Guangxi, when the Annan people were asked to cut sugar cane, they all knew to give them a piece of meat at noon! Add some oil! Without oil and salt, how could they have the strength to work!" Zhu Yijun returned to the West Lake Villa angrily and shouted to Feng Bao: "Go and call Hou Yuzhao and Yan Shixuan to me!"

"I have also asked the Tiqi to investigate this matter. It is not an isolated case, but a common phenomenon!"

"The return of farmland to the land has been completed. Zhejiang's production relations must be transformed, a commodity economy must be formed, and a domestic demand market must be established. These three things must be carried out around guaranteeing the rights and interests of workers, and no carelessness is allowed."

This has always been the case with the world. Once one contradiction is resolved, a new one will emerge to be resolved.

(End of this chapter)