I'm really not doing business

Chapter 929 The Rationality of Robbing the Rich to Help the Poor

Can you get money if you have power? Actually, no, and it is very difficult.

If you are like the brothers Li Wenquan and Li Wengui, who take all kinds of money, the possibility of being caught is very high. The more you take, the faster you will die.

If you want to get money after gaining power, you need some skills. You can't take all the money. You need to know which money you can take and which you can't take, how to take the money you can take, and how to exchange the money you can't take for achievements and political achievements. All of these require you to strike a balance.

Power rent-seeking is a technical job. On the one hand, power must be rented out at a suitable price, and on the other hand, one must maintain the stability of one's own power and ensure that one can always receive the rent from power.

How to strike the right balance is clearly and directly stated in Wang Chonggu's "Self-cultivation of the Five-Step Snake". Therefore, Wang Chonggu's book was included in the special gift package that Zhu Yijun gave to the candidates for the imperial examination. Of course, how much one reads depends on one's luck.

Corruption is impossible to eradicate because human nature is selfish. When power is in hand, money and beauty are readily available, few people can resist the temptation.

The fundamental purpose of the imperial court's investigation into corruption is to do everything it can to curb the scale of corruption and prevent it from becoming institutionalized. When corruption becomes institutionalized and no one thinks that there is anything wrong with it, the country is not far from its demise.

Who exactly made the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes less convenient? The powerful and wealthy businessmen who held the treasure notes, the Baochao Bureau and the Ministry of Revenue who redeemed the treasure notes, and the Ming Dynasty Cabinet all knew the situation. Everyone was waiting to see whether Your Majesty would investigate.

Your Majesty's failure to investigate and take action is also an attitude, an attitude called connivance. If the treasure notes fail again, you cannot blame the powerful and wealthy businessmen for not cooperating with the court's orders.

The emperor was willing to take care of it and deal with it, and he showed an attitude of getting to the bottom of the matter. This attitude is called killing relatives for the sake of justice. However, the court officials were unwilling to adopt this attitude, because Li Wei, Li Wenquan, Li Wengui, and Li Wenjin are your maternal grandfather and uncle. If the emperor wanted to kill even such blood relatives, he would be even more ruthless when it came to killing ministers in the court and the powerful.

Everything has its limits, and your majesty’s determination to get to the bottom of the matter is excellent, but when it comes to murder, anyone would be resentful.

Empress Dowager Li could not persuade him, and could not even exchange it for the prince of Lu's return to his fiefdom, because this was the harem interfering in politics and reaching out to the imperial power;
Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu wanted to persuade him, and they were able to do so, but the emperor refused to see him and simply refused to see the first and second assistants.

The nobles were watching to see if the emperor's punishment was severe. If not, they would make a fortune together. If it was severe, they would stay away to avoid getting into trouble.

The powerful and wealthy businessmen were a little afraid. They were afraid that the Baochao New Policy would fail, but they were also afraid that the emperor was too cruel, indifferent, and too aggressive. Their attitudes were very contradictory.

"I was planning to handle the case punishable by execution, but what should I do with this 7800 taels of silver?" Xu Chengchu looked embarrassed. According to the anti-corruption rules left by Hai Wenzhong and Hai Rui, personal gains of less than taels were not enough to get him stripped of his title, let alone a political case.

The idea of ​​executing the entire Wuqing Earl's Mansion and the emperor's grandfather and three uncles was really bold.

Hai Rui said that Xu Chengchu's problem was that he was too stubborn and too strong. When Hai Rui looked at Xu Chengchu, it was as if he saw his former self, and he was not exaggerating.

Chen Mo used his seal on each case file to represent his findings, and said to Xu Chengchu, "Leave it to His Majesty for disposal."

Xu Chengchu still gave his own opinion.

Chen Mo brought the memorial and case files of the Censor Xu Chengchu to Tonghe Palace and reported the details of the case.

"Li Wenquan and Li Wengui, as royal relatives, abused their power and acted recklessly, privately set up gates and prevented people from exchanging banknotes, causing the banknotes to lose credibility and the new policy to be in jeopardy. Although only 7,800 silver coins were involved in the case, their actions violated national policy and shook the foundation of the country. Their crimes are unforgivable."

"The main criminals, Li Wenquan and Li Wengui, were stripped of their titles and salaries, demoted to civilian status, and exiled to Hami to serve as soldiers on the border. They are not allowed to return to the capital without an imperial decree."

"Accomplices Li Wenjin and the Baochao Bureau knew about the situation but did not report it, condoned and shielded the officials and thugs, etc., shall be caned 30 times, dismissed from their posts and never employed again, and sent to Liaodong and Jilin as exiles."

"Although Wuqing Earl Li Wei was not involved in the case, he was not strict in managing his family and allowed his son to cause trouble. He was stripped of his title and made a commoner. He confiscated Tsinghua Garden and rebuilt it into a school to show the emperor's intention to promote education."

"Although this case is minor, it is like an ant breaking a dam, and should not be ignored. Your Majesty's thunderous handling of the case is not to kill relatives, but to protect the law;"

"The law is not enforced because it is violated from the top. If there is no severe punishment, how can the people be convinced? If Your Majesty sacrifices the public interest for private gain, the new law will be in danger. If you sacrifice private gain for success, the world will be convinced and the national policy will be accomplished." Zhu Yijun finished reading Xu Chengchu's suggestions for handling the matter.

This was a severe and strict punishment. If it was something else, embezzling 7800 silver coins would never have led to the confiscation of property and exile, but since it involved the policy of treasure notes, this was the only way.

"Are you sure there are only 7800 silvers?" Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Mo with a frown, asking if Chen Mo had noticed anything.

"Your Majesty, these are all we have found so far, but there can certainly be more." Chen Mo thought for a moment and asked the emperor whether he should add a little more to the scale of the case, or transfer some of the unsolved cases to Li Wenquan and Li Wengui.

This is what the Tiqi do, doing dirty and tiring work and taking the blame. If the emperor has the will, they have to carry it out.

Chen Mo ensured that the task was carried out perfectly, leaving the court officials speechless.

"No need to fabricate, just tell the truth." Zhu Yijun waved his hand. Zhao Mengyou had followed the emperor for a long time and knew that the emperor never allowed the Imperial Guards to accuse others. This was to protect the Imperial Guards themselves.

The ups and downs of the Tiqi Yamen from the Yongle period to the Wanli period all prove that the Tiqi knife is very sharp, but if used improperly, the knife can be easily broken and must be carefully cared for.

False and unjust cases and fabricated charges would cause public outrage and eventually weaken the Tiqi Yamen, which would most likely never recover.

Once the Imperial Guards weakened, officials above the fifth rank in the Ming Dynasty would lose the sharp sword on their heads.

The East Factory, the West Factory and the Inner Factory cannot replace the role of the Jinyiwei Zhenfusi Yamen, because the commanders of the East Factory, the West Factory and the Inner Factory are all eunuchs. Eunuchs bringing their men to investigate foreign officials will only result in opposition for the sake of opposition, and the formation of a faction between court officials and the eunuch party.

Zhu Yijun pointed at the case file and said angrily, "These two idiots! Idiots! Idiots who sacrificed everything in the Wuqing Marquis's Mansion for less than 8,000 taels of silver!"

In fact, Zhu Yijun had already made preparations for Empress Dowager Li to sit in a pagoda and not see the emperor even on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, or even during the New Year or other festivals.

On the one hand, Zhu Yijun was angry at the two idiots. They made such a big fuss but only got such a small amount of silver. If they got more, they would be done with one death and a hundred would be killed, which would also serve as a warning to others. On the other hand, he was angry at them for not abiding by the law and doing whatever they wanted by relying on their status.

This anger is because they did bad things, but also because they didn't do bad enough.

Wuqingbo had been very honest in these years. Zhu Yijun had originally planned to promote Wuqingbo to Wuqinghou. After making Empress Dowager Li happy, he wanted to see if she would agree to let Prince Lu go to Jinshan City. He was about to be conferred the title of marquis, but these two rebellious sons had an idea and wanted to make some money to spend. Forget about being conferred the title of marquis. He lost his title and even his family home.

Even the matter of Prince Lu's enfeoffment was delayed.

In fact, from Chen Mo's investigation, the reason why these two idiots did such a thing was entirely because Li Wei, the patriarch, did not give them money, and any money they had was spent on his own manor.

The Wuqing Marquis' Mansion looks bright and beautiful on the surface, but in fact it is not well-off. Li Wenquan and Li Wengui suddenly had an idea and hit it off.

The damage caused by the bad guys' careful planning and cautious operations is often not as great as the sudden inspiration of a fool.

"Let's do as Xu Chengchu suggests." Zhu Yijun approved it without changing a word and sent it to the cabinet.

When they arrived at the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu discussed it and decided to make some changes. They deleted the sentence of stripping Li Wei of his title and making him a commoner, hoping that the emperor could show a little affection. After all, the punishment of confiscating the property of Empress Dowager Li's father was already very severe.

Zhu Yijun thought about it and brought the memorial to the Cining Palace, where he met Empress Dowager Li.

Empress Dowager Li had to meet him. Even though she had clearly expressed her support for all the emperor's decisions, she was still very concerned about the case and somewhat anxious.

Supporting her son was not a difficult choice. Between her son and her mother's family, Empress Dowager Li was of course closer to her son.

"Mother, this is all, 7800 taels of silver, and Li Wenjin took 800 taels of silver." Zhu Yijun handed the case file to Empress Dowager Li for her to review.

The case is very clear, the imperial guards did not frame anyone, Xu Chengchu is a loyal minister and has done his best to investigate. The Wuqing Earl's Mansion relies on the emperor's grace and rewards to survive, and all the money in the family is rewards, the source of which is simple and clear.

"Such severe punishment will surely deter those with evil ambitions." Empress Dowager Li approved the contents of the case file. This was the full capability of the three Li Wenquan brothers.

The three brothers came from a poor family. They had no knowledge, had not read much, and had no abilities, let alone the two words "Hongyi". They were short-sighted and tried to attribute the relationship between relatives from the countryside to the emperor.

The emperor was a lonely man, and even his biological mother, Empress Dowager Li, had to guard the border carefully and did not dare to make any attempts.

The longer the emperor has been on the throne, the more isolated he becomes due to the alienation of power. In other words, the emperor and imperial power become one and indistinguishable from each other.

"The cabinet's meaning is that there is no need to strip his title. I am willing to show some leniency." Zhu Yijun took out Xu Chengchu's memorial, which contained the emperor's comments and the cabinet's rejection. The main point of contention was whether the Wuqing Marquis' Mansion should be retained.

It is impossible to return Tsinghua Garden to the emperor, as he has been eyeing this garden for a long time.

Empress Dowager Li understood that Zhu Yijun meant to forgive. If she nodded at this time, she would not be able to shake her head about the matter of Prince Lu's enfeoffment.

Empress Dowager Li closed the memorial and said with certainty, "Your Majesty, it is said that a country has its own laws and a family has its own rules. If someone opens his mouth, the law will give way to human feelings. Then is there any rule to speak of?"

"Just like marching in battles, mother, have you read the Eastern Expedition? Ma Lin is the Marquis of Yangcheng and the son of Ma Fang. Ma Lin's mother is still alive. When Ma Lin was fighting in the Korean battlefield, charging and killing the enemy, Ma Lin's mother did not ask General Qi to find some easy work for Ma Lin. She could only recite scriptures every day and pray to the Bodhisattva for her son's safe return."

"If you don't revoke his title, it's against the rules. The same goes for the cabinet. We can't be so confused about national policy."

Empress Dowager Li disagreed, and her reason was the same as she had said, the country has its own laws, and this loophole cannot be opened. Although the case is small in scale, it has a great impact. She, Empress Dowager Li, is pleading for her family today, so should Ma Lin's mother also go to the Beijing camp to plead for Ma Lin?

It is better to strip the title, so that he will not do anything wrong because of the title.

Of course, Empress Dowager Li insisted on stripping the title, which also expressed that she would not compromise on the issue of Prince Lu's enfeoffment.

The eldest son is a son, the younger son is also a son, and they are all flesh and blood. Empress Dowager Li would not agree to let Prince Lu go to Jinshan City to suffer this punishment.

When Zhu Yijun left the Cining Palace, he shook his head slightly helplessly. The matter of Prince Lu's enfeoffment still needed to be managed. Empress Dowager Li didn't want to care about the lives of these people at all.

Soon, Empress Dowager Li asked the eunuchs of the Cining Palace to draft an imperial decree and submit it to the cabinet, telling the cabinet her attitude: If the title is stripped, there is no hope for it. I did not allow him to be conferred the title of Earl of Wuqing in the first place, so it is better to strip it to avoid further mistakes and disturbing the peace of the world.

In the sixth year of Longqing's reign, the two palaces were honored together, and the title of Wuqing Earl fell on Li Wei. At the beginning, Empress Dowager Li did not agree with it very much. She knew the virtues of her father, elder brother and younger brother too well. If their virtues were not worthy of their position, it would bring disaster.

Li Wei caused trouble twice and Li Wenquan caused trouble once, both of which disrupted the emperor's great cause of revival.

This time, no matter what the cabinet's attitude is, the title must be stripped. If it is not stripped, next time there will really be several three-foot white silks, and the whole family will suffer.

"It seems that Empress Dowager Li still does not allow Prince Lu to go to the vassal state." Wang Chonggu finished reading Empress Dowager Li's imperial edict and looked at Zhang Juzheng and said, "We gave His Majesty a reason, but it's a pity that the Empress Dowager did not accept it."

The cabinet refuted the emperor's edict and crossed out the four words "demotion of title and becoming a commoner" in order to allow the emperor to use the cabinet's floating votes to bargain with Empress Dowager Li.

Unfortunately, Empress Dowager Li understood but refused to allow it. This was normal, as Wu Zetian also passed the throne to her son, not her nephew.

The trial was open, the case was made public, the verdict was announced publicly, and the punishment was carried out in a fair manner. Under the emperor's instruction, the Ministry of Rites disclosed the case in full in the court bulletin, and Shuntian Prefecture also announced the details. The case was very simple. The title of Wuqing Earl was stripped, the mansion was confiscated and turned into a school, the principal offender was exiled, and all the accomplices were sent to military service.

This punishment is definitely not just making someone drink three cups of wine.

The civilian price of Baochao rose sharply again, catching up with the official price of the Ming Dynasty. Within two days, it exceeded the official price. One Guan of Baochao was exchanged for one tael and two coins of silver, or 750 Wen.

Grand Tutor Zhang Xueyan had never expected such an outcome. No matter what, the bad things done by the Wuqing Marquis' Mansion had damaged the credibility of the Baochao. Reasonably speaking, the civilian price of the Baochao would never exceed the official price. In the view of the Ministry of Revenue, the loss of credibility was permanent.

Otherwise, the Hongwu Baochao would not have been eventually abandoned.

Soon, Zhang Xueyan found out why. It was because of a shortage of money. The Ming Dynasty needed money so much that when money was most needed, salt permits could be used at a premium, and flying coins and thin iron coins cast by the people were in great demand.

After the Wanli Reform, people became even more short of money.

Compared with the flying coins and thin iron coins used by the people, the Ming Baochao is still very exquisite and authoritative.

Moreover, Baochao is much more convenient than silver and copper coins. The imperial court issues a limited amount of Baochao, does not over-issue or issue indiscriminately, exchanges the notes regularly, and redeems them under certain conditions. All these factors determine that Baochao is more convenient for large-scale transactions and carrying.

There are restrictions on the redemption of Baochao, and there are also restrictions on exchanging Baochao at the Baochao Bureau, which is why this premium is caused.

On the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month in the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign, the Wuqing Earl's Mansion case was declared over.

Since the heavy snowfall overnight at the end of October, there has been no precipitation until December, not only in the capital, but also in Shaanxi, Gansu and Suiyuan. Moreover, the temperature this winter is much higher than last year, making it a warm winter.

The censors who had been clamoring for severe punishment of the Imperial Observatory for deceiving the emperor gradually shut up. A not-so-heavy snowfall, a warm winter throughout, and even Suiyuan, where the snow was three feet thick, did not have large-scale snowfall. It is self-evident what this means.

What the Imperial Astronomical Observatory said about the imbalance of yin and yang, and floods and droughts, really happened.

"The only good news is that the engineering corps that built the highway has dug thousands of wells along the way." Zhu Yijun looked at the sky. This was the only good news. These wells were a means to combat drought. It cannot be said that they were better than nothing, but at least they could alleviate some of the drought.

Wherever the engineering regiment passed, there were ditches, wells and dams to regulate the dry and wet seasons.

It is nearing the end of the year, and the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has issued an edict to build the Beijing-Guangzhou Highway and the Jinan-Yangzhou Highway. The engineering corps has been formed and construction can begin next year.

The geographers of the Academy of Gewu had measured the Ming Dynasty on foot, investigated the hydrology and geography, determined the main road plans of several highways, and conducted sufficient demonstration. The planning of the Beijing-Guangzhou Highway was even completed in the ninth year of the Wanli period.

The construction of the Chidao Road depends on when the emperor gives money.

In response, the governors of Jiangxi and Fujian expressed their dissatisfaction. The Ming Dynasty's highways were built everywhere, so why were Fujian and Jiangxi not included?
Fujian is close to the sea and has many mountains, but what about Jiangxi? There is no highway in Jiangxi. The imperial court built a main road that passed through Huguang and had nothing to do with Jiangxi.

The cabinet responded to these inquiries with a lot of clichés about priorities, but it didn't say when the Chidao would be built in Jiangxi.

The establishment of the engineering corps in Huguang, Guangdong, Jiangzuo and Jiangyou was very smooth. In addition to copying the existing experience, the population of these places was also able to support the engineering corps. In addition, the Beijing Battalion sent 4,000 elite soldiers to provide dispatch, which provided a minimum guarantee for the organization of the engineering corps.

Wang Chonggu is really old. Most of these roads are presided over by Wang Jiaping, and only major matters are allowed to be supervised by Wang Chonggu.

The plan to build 115 heavy industry factories in the north was not particularly smooth, because the court did not have enough master craftsmen and skilled artisans to dispatch. At the end of the first three years, less than factories could be put into production.

It is estimated that it will take ten years to complete the construction and put these 115 government-owned factories in the north into use.

Disorderly expansion of production will only make the situation worse.

"Your Majesty, Dr. Lin and Dr. Li have sent us a new issue of "Xiao Yao Yi Wen." Feng Bao presented a memorial to the emperor.

This leisurely anecdote is still written around Lin Fucheng's inspection in Southeast Asia. He and Li Zhi discussed the distribution of profits in a miscellaneous report.

There has been a strange rumor in the capital recently. Some people think that tenant rent is the labor remuneration for landlords organizing production. There is no doubt that this is a new trick created by absolute liberals.

Lin Fucheng, the leader of the limited liberal faction, planned to precisely block and expose this lie as soon as this trend of public opinion was formed.

Li Zhi and Lin Fucheng believed that rent was profit and not special labor at all, such as labor remuneration for organizing, directing and supervising production. This was a fallacy.

This is most evident in the plantations in Southeast Asia.

Those slaves worked hard, but could not even get enough food to fill their stomachs. Farmers would choose to give slaves less food during the slack season, and then sell the food to the Governor's Office or Ming merchants at high prices.

You cannot give slaves too much food during the slack season. When people are hungry, they have only one worry, which is hunger. When they are full, they will have countless thoughts. This is how farmers manage slaves.

Absolute liberals want to alienate profits into labor remuneration, and ultimately prove that it is reasonable for landlords, or property owners who control the means of production, to dominate the distribution of profits.

However, the actual existence of the Nanyang plantations makes this argument seem like a joke.

The distribution of profits is completely different from that of labor remuneration. The distribution of profits and labor remuneration are subject to completely different principles.

Labor remuneration is related to labor volume, labor intensity, working hours, and work content.

From the landlords in the heartland of the Ming Dynasty to the plantation owners in Southeast Asia, the profits they received were simply not proportional to the amount of labor, intensity, time, and intelligence required for so-called organization, supervision, and command.

This fundamental difference in distribution principles reveals a truth: the distribution of profits is only affected by the ownership of the means of production. Whoever owns the means of production has the right to distribute profits.

"What Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi said makes sense, but there is another problem here. Owning the means of production means having absolute power over profit distribution. Isn't that right?" Zhu Yijun said with a frown after reading the first article.

Feng Bao took another miscellaneous newspaper and said, "This is their second article."

"Interesting." Zhu Yijun finished reading the second article, which explained the emperor's doubts.

Labor gives value. This is the view of Qiu Jun, a Jinshi in the second year of Jingtai, in his "University Yanyi Bu". Even if the Big and Small Jinchi City is full of gold, when people don't mine it, this gold is worthless. This gold has existed in the Big and Small Jinchi City for who knows how many years;

The same is true for the fields. If there is no labor, the fields will be left idle, overgrown with weeds, and no crops will be harvested.

Labor gives value, so workers have absolute control over the output of their labor.

This answers the emperor's doubts. Producers should have the right to distribute profits, at least in part. This is reasonable. The self-evident axiom that labor confers value seems to have been deliberately concealed and no one has ever discussed it.

The reason why Li Zhi said this was because they discovered that in the absolutely free market of Nanyang, plantation farmers could monopolize all means of production.

On the non-contiguous South Pacific islands, the larger the plantation, the more goods it produces, the greater the bargaining power it has, the higher the profit, and the lower the cost, which will help it win in the competition.

Large plantations can annex small plantations, and eventually there will be only one plantation on an island, which means that there cannot be two tigers on one mountain.

Moreover, compared with the annexation of the Ming hinterland, the annexation on the islands was more violent, direct and bloody. Usually, after a large number of people, they would start to attack other plantations, steal all the slaves and kill the owners of the manors.

Absolute freedom will inevitably lead to absolute monopoly. This is another conclusion that Lin Fucheng reached during his observations in Southeast Asia, which has been proven by practice.

"The Ming Dynasty's scholars do not think that mergers and monopolies are bad things. Lin Fucheng's views cannot arouse people's general recognition." Zhu Yijun finished reading the second article in his hand and shook his head.

Lin Fucheng's words have been tested in practice, but the literati of the Ming Dynasty would never think that his words are correct.

"This is their third article." Feng Bao presented another miscellaneous newspaper. This was a series of articles, not a single one.

Zhang Wenda, the prefect of Jinhua Prefecture, was beheaded by the emperor as a public display. Before his death, Zhang Wenda spoke to Wang Chonggu. He discovered that the economic tides, the high tide and the low tide, were caused by the imbalance between supply and demand, that is, the relative overproduction caused the economic ebb.

Lin Fucheng's third article also revolves around Zhang Wenda's final point of view.

How to maintain a sufficient balance between supply and demand, reduce the gap between high tide and low tide, prevent large-scale economic turmoil and social unrest, and maintain basic social stability. On this topic, opinion leaders in the two capitals and fifteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty all have their own views.

Li Zhi believed that the more wealth a person had, the less effect one tael of silver would have on him; the less wealth a person had, the greater effect one tael of silver would have on him.

In order to maintain a balance between supply and demand, if one tael of silver is transferred from the rich to the poor, this tael of silver will play a greater role and provide more demand.

Therefore, in order to create demand for every ounce of silver and maintain a balance between supply and demand, we must find a way to transfer the money of the rich to the poor continuously so that everyone's wealth levels are close.

In this way, the impact of economic tides on everyone can be avoided to the greatest extent possible.

Zhu Yijun rubbed his brows and said, "Publish it. Let the imperial guards protect them and don't let the guys with grudges kill them. At this critical moment of the change of the world, they say that it is reasonable to rob the rich and help the poor. How can the powerful not be afraid?"

The three articles are closely linked, and their ultimate goal is to rob the rich and help the poor.

It is unreasonable that labor gives value, meat eaters share profits, and workers only receive labor rewards;

Workers should have the right to share profits, rather than just receive labor remuneration;

Mergers and monopolies lead to a loss of market vitality and insufficient aggregate demand, which eventually leads to economic tidal waves;
If you want to create demand for every ounce of silver, you have to transfer silver from the rich to the poor.

This is the main content of these three articles by Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi.

In these three articles, it is also possible to exchange silver for grain.

If the imperial court does not want to cause imbalance between yin and yang, drought and floods, more people to starve to death and the overthrow of the imperial court, then the imperial court must find a way to transfer grain from the rich to the poor, rather than letting the grain be brewed into wine in the hands of the rich, or rot, mold and stink in the granary.

(End of this chapter)