Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Wang Wenzhen's stay in Suzhou had a huge impact.

Because he is Wang Tiquan's successor, there are rumors that he will take over the position of Governor of the East Factory.

This easily reminds people of Wei Zhongxian——

It was when Wei Zhongxian was the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot that he left behind a horrific memory in Suzhou.

The Suzhou gentry soon realized that this was a silent threat from the current emperor:
If they continue to resist, don't blame the emperor for releasing another Wei Zhongxian.

What particularly frightened the Suzhou gentry was that the people in Suzhou were not united at all. Even if they wanted to mobilize the people to expel Wang Wenzheng, they could not find anyone.

After much difficulty, they found some scholars to demonstrate against Wang Wenzhen, but these people did not expect that Wang Wenzhen and Liu Lishun would appear together.

This made those scholars feel very uneasy. They had never expected that the chief examiner of the Jiangnan Provincial Examination would appear here.

Liu Lishun looked at these scholars, frowned and said solemnly:
"What are you doing?"

"Is there any grievance?"

Most of the scholars present were timid and did not have the courage to respond to the examiner who was the number one in the imperial examination. Only one scholar who had defaulted on paying taxes and did not even have the qualifications for the provincial examination said:
"We are here to drive out the eunuch party."

"As the number one scholar, Mr. Liu enjoys a good reputation throughout the country."

"Why are you associating with the eunuch party? Have you surrendered to the eunuchs?"

Liu Lishun's face suddenly changed, and he scolded:

"absurd!"

"Where are the eunuchs?"

"Wei Zhongxian and other traitorous eunuchs have long been executed, and Prime Minister Han has presided over the case and made it an ironclad case."

"If you have any objections, why didn't you speak up when it was announced earlier?"

The list of suspects was made public in September last year. After half a year of being publicized, some new people were added.

These people didn't say anything at the time, but now they just randomly point fingers at people and call them eunuchs. In Liu Lishun's opinion, this is just making trouble.

The public notice period had just ended not long ago, and the scholars in Suzhou still remembered this incident. Many people covered their faces and were speechless when they heard Liu Lishun say this.

They dared to quibble in front of other people, but they did not dare to make unreasonable arguments in front of the person who presided over the provincial examination and decided their fate.

Liu Lishun scolded them:

"Considering your ignorance, please disperse immediately."

"If you stir up factional strife again, don't blame the court for being shameless!"

Knowing the emperor's taboo against factional struggles, and worried that the struggle between the eunuch party and the Donglin party in the Ming Dynasty would continue like the struggle between the new and old parties in the previous Song Dynasty, Liu Lishun severely reprimanded these people and dispersed them directly.

These scholars had no confidence in front of the chief examiner, and when they heard Liu Lishun say this, they immediately scattered like birds and beasts, fearing that if they stayed too long, the examiner would remember their names.

Even if some of them were unwilling, they did not dare to stay and face Liu Lishun alone.

After these people left, Wang Wenzheng came out and said with a smile:
"We have seen the power of the No. 1 Scholar."

"If you hadn't come forward, there would have been some trouble today."

Liu Lishun sighed and said:

"I didn't expect that the party struggle in the capital had long passed, but some people in the south were still holding on to this matter."

"This is not targeting the eunuch party, but it is about uniting the party and excluding all dissidents!"

Liu Lishun, who studied under Yuan Keli, admired the Donglin gentlemen. But this did not mean that he agreed with the Donglin Party's principle of uniting with the party and suppressing dissidents.

Especially those who consider themselves as Donglin Party members, most of them are attached to the Donglin Party because of its great power. I am afraid no one can tell how many villains there are among them.

This made Liu Lishun feel more deeply the complexity of Jiangnan and its alienation from the imperial court.

Wang Wenzheng said to him:
"Our family came to Jiangnan this time, and another mission is to find the orphans of Donglin and banish them overseas."

"The Emperor has compassion for them and doesn't want them to be taken advantage of, so he plans to confer titles of nobility on them all and let them live in wealth and luxury."

"This matter still needs the top scholar to come forward, which will make people more convincing."

Liu Lishun nodded and appreciated the emperor's approach.

Many Donglin gentlemen were killed for no reason, and it would be unjustifiable not to give an explanation.

The emperor rehabilitated them and conferred titles on them. Even if the praise was a bit excessive, it could appease the people of the world.

After those Donglin orphans were canonized, they would no longer be dissatisfied with the court, but would be grateful.

What he didn't know was that Zhu Youjian did this because the backbone of the Fushe Society in history were the descendants of the Donglin Party.

Especially the descendants of the deceased gentlemen, because of the suffering they had suffered, it was easy to gain sympathy. This gave people the opportunity to take advantage of them, and under their banner, they united with the party to fight against dissidents and act recklessly in the South.

The historical "Public Declaration to Prevent Rebellion in the Capital" was issued by these people, which once again intensified the conflict between the Eunuch Party and the Donglin Party and lasted until the Southern Ming Dynasty.

The reason why the Southern Ming Dynasty could not persist was also related to the entanglement in party struggles in the court.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian planned to send all these people away and not let them stay to enjoy the fame and reputation of their fathers. He also wanted to use their status as descendants of the victims to make officials cautious when facing them.

Many descendants of Donglin gentlemen had been granted imperial student status by him, and some had been granted hereditary official positions. They had already left Jiangnan.

Those who were going to move away this time were the remaining ones, and he didn't plan to leave anyone in Jiangnan.

This measure must be implemented regardless of whether these people are willing to go overseas or not.
-
After mentioning this matter, Wang Wenzheng asked Liu Lishun:

"Mr. Liu, have you chosen a location in the new district?"

"We came here with money this time. We are following the Emperor's orders to help Mr. Liu build a new district."

"The Emperor has already ordered that half of the money seized from the Chu clan this time should be used in the new district."

"This is a full three million taels, equivalent to three years of taxes in Suzhou Prefecture."

Liu Lishun was also surprised when he heard about such a huge investment.

When he was in Zhuolu District, he had already seen the power of the court-led investment.

With an investment of only 500,000 yuan, the appearance of Zhuolu District has been completely changed. Today, Zhuolu District has been completely built around the Zhuolu Arsenal, driving several industries.

As long as the three million investment in the new district is put into practice, its future development will definitely be better than that of Zhuolu District.

This made him feel heavy pressure, as well as the emperor's trust:
"Your Majesty, you dared to invest three million because you trust me!"

"We must use this money well and make it work."

It is clear why the emperor did this, because the Tongzhou Arsenal was built at the same time as the Zhuolu Arsenal.

Moreover, the investment in Tongzhou Arsenal was even greater, reaching a huge amount of one million.

However, the Tongzhou Arsenal failed to drive the development of Tongzhou District, unlike its Zhuolu District, which boosted industries such as sand, gravel, and cement.

Comparing the two, the emperor naturally trusted him more. This time, he was sent to build a new district in Jiangnan. Liu Lishun calculated the advantageous industries in Jiangnan and asked:
"How should we spend these three million? Does the Emperor have any instructions?"

"Should we just build a big factory like the Zhuolu Arsenal?"

Wang Wenzheng replied with a smile:

"It is a large shipyard, the Jiangnan Shipyard of the Royal Shipbuilding Group."

"The estimated investment is one million, which is the money Chu Fan will use to buy the ship."

"The emperor has not decided how to spend the rest of the money. I hope Mr. Liu can find a way to get Chu Fan to spend the money, whether it's goods or shares."

"After all, these three million are jointly owned by the Chu Clan and will be used to establish the Chu Clan."

Of the six million in cash seized from the Chu vassal, one million in cash had already been transported to the capital. This money was used as the start-up capital for the Zhuolu Arsenal and the bell tower.

Another two million had been sold for cash and transported to the capital. The remaining three million did not belong entirely to the King of Chu, but was the common property of the Chu vassal states.

Therefore, how to spend this money still needs Chu Fan's consent. Whether it is buying goods or something else, an explanation must be given.

Liu Lishun calculated the cost of building a city in Zhuolu District and constructing a new urban area, and said:

"Two million is more than enough, not to mention that we can build docks and ports in the name of building a shipyard."

“But it will be difficult for Chu Fan to get the goods with these two million.”

"Shares are easier to talk about, but we still need the cooperation of the inner court enterprises."

Wang Wenzheng patted his chest and said:
"If you need anything, just let us know. Our inner court enterprise will certainly help."

"The Emperor has already issued an order to fully support the construction of the new district."

"The Sihai Bank and Sihai Grain Store will build silver and grain warehouses in the new district, and the Susong Supervisory Eunuch Office will also move to the new district."

Obviously, this is to regard the new district as the imperial court's tentacle in Jiangnan and the base of the inner court enterprises in Jiangnan.

This is also why Liu Lishun wanted to completely nationalize the land in the new district. He had already seen the emperor's intention and planned to build a new district that was completely controlled by the court.

Upon hearing Wang Wenzheng's assurance, he immediately said:
"Thank you for your support, Your Majesty!"

"I want to change Suzhou Weaving from being directly under the Royal Weaving Company to a holding company."

"Sell it for one million taels, and let Chu Fan take another million taels to build looms and buy cotton, and provide it to the workers of the hired workers association, who will weave it into cotton cloth and sell it."

“It’s hard to say how much money this business will make, but it will definitely attract a lot of people to the new district and make it prosperous.”

This was an idea he had come up with a long time ago, and he had selected the industry for the new district when planning it.

The textile industry in Jiangnan is extremely developed, and silk and cotton cloth are sold all over the world.

A lot of land is also planted with mulberry trees and cotton, but not much grain.

Some wealthy households in Suzhou were not afraid of the labor unions snatching their grain because they grew cotton on their land, which the labor unions had no way of harvesting.

They don’t know what’s the use of collecting it, as they have no channels to sell the cotton.

Therefore, Liu Lishun planned to have Suzhou Weaving Factory purchase cotton from the employed workers' association and provide looms to some weavers to directly produce cotton cloth and sell it to other places.

This solved a problem for the workers' association and forced the wealthy families in Suzhou to surrender as soon as possible.

It also solved the livelihood of textile workers and attracted more textile workers to join the workers' association.

In the future, we can build houses for them in the new district, so that these textile workers who have jobs and can earn money can move to the new district to live and make the new district prosperous as soon as possible.

Wang Wen Zheng applauded when he heard this, because he had never thought that the Suzhou Weaving Factory, which was almost just an empty shell, could be worth one million taels.

But the reputation of Suzhou Weaving is indeed worth the price. This is a good opportunity created by Liu Lishun to swallow up the property of the Chu clan.

So he agreed to this matter immediately and asked Zhang Yixian to cooperate.

Then, Liu Lishun had no idea what to do with the remaining one million taels.

Moreover, the construction of roads, pipelines, and city defenses in the new district also requires money, so he asked Wang Wenzhen if he could embezzle the money first.

Wang Wenzheng pondered for a moment and said:

"There is no problem on our side. The three million was ordered by the Emperor to be used for the construction of the new district."

"But we need to give them an explanation from the Chu clan. This money belongs to the Chu clan royal family."

This problem is easy to solve, Liu Lishun said:

"The Chu clan's move overseas is not something that can be done overnight."

"And since they came from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, they must have stopped at the river mouth."

"So I plan to use this money to build resettlement housing for them."

"Request the court to allow them to stay in the new district and rent it for 60 years according to the system."

This proposal made Wang Wenzhen's eyes light up, and he thought that Liu Lishun had a good plan.

The new district is modeled after the free trade zone. All land is publicly owned and only rented, not sold. The maximum lease term is sixty years.

In other words, after Chu Fan spent money to build the resettlement housing, he could only use it for 60 years and then had to return it to the new district.

The new district can use this money to build houses and roads, and use Chu Fan's people to increase popularity. The future will be eaten up without leaving any trace.

I think Chu Fan had no choice but to agree to this condition in order to stay here.

The imperial court used the money of the Chu vassal state to build this new district.

Wang Wenzhen, in a good mood, took this condition to talk to the royal family of Chu.

The various branches of the Chu clan were somewhat reluctant about this, because there was not even a shadow of the new district, and they had never thought of living here permanently.

In this way, the so-called resettlement housing is just temporary residence and will have nothing to do with them afterwards.

They thought the money was a complete waste and it would be better to use it all to buy a boat.

In the end, they added 800,000 yuan to buy ships, such as the Fuzhou Ship, leaving only 200,000 yuan for the construction of resettlement housing.

This decision made the Chu clan members regret it, because the rent of the new district kept rising after it was built, and it only took the Chu clan 20 years to earn back the cost of building the houses with vacant houses.

This alone would not be a big deal, because their ships were more profitable when used for sea trade. The reason why the Chu clan members regretted it was that more and more clan members were temporarily settled in the new area. Later, at the request of the clan members, the court allowed them to live in the new area permanently and to renew the lease after the 60-year term expired.

Many members of the Chu clan who came to live in Jiangnan for a long time could not help but blame their ancestors when they thought that they could have resettlement housing five times the size here.

As for the one million invested in Suzhou weaving, Chu Fan never felt that he was at a disadvantage.

Not only was the opportunity to cooperate with the royal family rare, but also the reason why they were able to gain a foothold in maritime trade was because of the cotton cloth produced by Suzhou.

It can be said that this cooperation is a win-win situation. It's just that the royal family earns more through power and policies.

This cooperation also became a model, attracting other clans and the royal family to cooperate in business and move overseas to establish fiefdoms. (End of this chapter)