Wanli Ming Emperor

Chapter 214: Getting back to the basics and meeting Chi Nan again

After the emperor finished speaking, all the ministers looked at each other, unable to answer for a while.

There is no way. Today, Wang Anshi's reputation has long been trampled into the mud by Sima Guang and others who hold pens. Due to his poor mass base, he has almost been labeled as the most treacherous prime minister in a thousand years.

No reputable minister has ever made a positive comment about this stubborn prime minister.

Luo Dajing put Wang Anshi and Qin Hui on the same level, saying, "The cause of national unification, which was united but then split, was Wang Anshi's fault, and the cause of split and not reuniting was Qin Hui's fault"; Zhu Xi commented that he "spread poison throughout the world and caused great disasters and chaos"; "History of Song Dynasty" directly regarded Wang Anshi as the culprit for "the loss of national affairs"; even the lines in the folk novel "Three Words and Two Shots" about feeding livestock are all "Laolaolao, Wang Qigong, come and eat."

Of course, it’s not that no one has spoken up for Wang Anshi.

Lu Jiuyuan expressed his dissatisfaction and said that "the discussion was unfair", and Yan Xizhai said that Wang Anshi's posthumous reputation was "his merits were half-minimized by historians, and he was innocent but the historians slandered him."

But this not only failed to stir up any momentum, but instead caused a lot of trouble.

After Zhu Xi's death and the final verdict on his life was drawn from the History of the Song Dynasty, the minority who argued for Wang Anshi almost disappeared.

Zhang Juzheng, who may have had some sympathy for him in this dynasty, could only express his feelings in a euphemistic way in his "Zizhi Tongjian Zhijie", saying that he "does not understand the truth, does not know the times, has talent but no knowledge, how pitiful."

Even a reformist like Zhang Juzheng was so secretive about it, which shows Wang Anshi's political opinion.

Therefore, even though the emperor had spoken the truth about overturning Wang Anshi's case, the ministers were temporarily at a loss.

The hall fell into silence for a short while.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun was too lazy to wait for these people to react and asked them one by one.

He was about to look at Shen Shixing when he met Wang Xijue's gaze.

The latter had no choice but to speak first: "Your Majesty's so-called reversal of the verdict, if you want to turn these hundreds of years of evil into virtuous ministers in one fell swoop, it is really too much to force people to do."

"In my opinion, it is better to separate the Xining Reform and Wang Anshi. The new law was also timely and was entrusted with the trust of Emperor Shenzong of Song. It was only Wang Anshi who was stubborn and intolerant, and he corrupted the new law and brought disaster to the Song Dynasty."

"This is in line with worldly conditions and will not shock the people."

The emperor wanted to reverse the verdict on the Xining Reforms, but not necessarily on Wang Anshi.

The difference between them is naturally incomparable, and it can be regarded as a compromise.

But to his surprise, the emperor simply shook his head and said, "Are you kidding me, Lord Wang? The Xining New Law and Wang Anshi are both damaged, and cutting ties is no easier than overturning a verdict."

"Besides, when can people and things be divided into two?"

Overturning a verdict is something that is most subject to rules - it is never about right or wrong, but about expressing attitude.

People are things, and things are people.

Let’s not talk about the joke of blaming the matter but not the person. In history, Zhang Juzheng was counterattacked and everything he did was wrong.

The new law is bad, the people employed are wrong, and the motives are heinous.

Even a person like Liu Shiyan could have his case overturned on the grounds that "it was a pity that he was framed by the powerful minister and stripped of his title", and was invited back to take charge of the work, and for a time "remained in the Nanjing Governor's Office as usual" - it would be better for Liu Shiyan to continue committing crimes and die in twenty years than to accept that Zhang Juzheng was right to strip him of his title.

split into two?
No one dared to divide Emperor Taizong into two, saying that although he was an outstanding ruler, he gained the country in an unjust way by rebelling.

Not to mention pointing directly at Zhu Di of our own dynasty, even if it was a comment on the former Emperor Taizong of Song, it would be an allusion to a heinous crime.

People and things are still divided into two parts, and this kind of nonsense can only be performed on the stage.

Wang Anshi and the Xining Reforms were both on the same boat. If Wang Anshi had been tyrannical and greedy for wealth, how could the reforms have been of any use?
It is for this reason that Zhu Yijun wanted to raise the flag for the new law and overturn Wang Anshi's case!
Who doesn't know that the Xining Reforms disturbed and harmed the people? Who doesn't know the shortcomings of Wang Anshi?
There must be a reason why he has been insulted by the government and the public for hundreds of years.

But if we want to overturn a verdict, we must do it thoroughly, without any cover-up or compromise.

Wang Xijue had been in the local area for a long time, and he was speechless for a moment when he heard the emperor's words. Just like in history, this guy talked about the facts, opposed Zhang Juzheng when everyone supported him, and supported Zhang Juzheng when everyone opposed him, making it difficult to please both sides.

At this time, Li Zaiting, the governor of Fujian, suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, I have a personal opinion."

Zhu Yijun turned his head and looked.

This guy seemed to be more capable after not seeing him for many years. Just from hearing these words, Zhu Yijun felt that this guy was trying to show his affection.

He waved his hand, signaling Li Zaiting to continue.

Li Zaiting said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I have read the History of Song Dynasty and feel that its writing is extremely complicated and vulgar, and its narrative is erroneous and brief."

"After just a cursory reading, I found that the narrative was mixed, inaccurate, wrong, omitted, and contradictory, and there were more than a hundred places where the transmission and protection, fabrication, inappropriateness, and discrepancy were found. Ke Weiqi was so inspired to write "A New History of the Song Dynasty" to correct its errors. This shows the value of "History of the Song Dynasty".

"There are many errors and mistakes in it, but no one has corrected them for hundreds of years, including the case of Wang Jinggong."

"If we want to get back to the original and make history, we might as well revise the biography of Wang Anshi."

As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers had different expressions and fell into deep thought one after another.

Li Zaiting said this cleverly.

It is a recognized fact that the History of Song Dynasty is poorly written.

Because "Song Shilu" was once called "a tool of the party and government", "full of false accusations", and "the most controversial", and "Song History" written based on the Shilu was notorious for listening to one side of the story, failing to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and focusing on doing things perfunctorily.

All talented and learned people despise "History of Song Dynasty".

For example, Ke Weiqi mentioned by Li Zaiting was such a person. He was a Jinshi in the Jiajing period and one of the most famous historians of his time. Because he was dissatisfied with the history of Song Dynasty, he simply collected the histories of Song, Liao and Jin, eliminated the false and retained the true, and wrote "New Edition of History of Song Dynasty" to correct the errors.

Therefore, under such circumstances, it is only natural to rewrite the biography of Wang Anshi, who suffered the most from the old party’s political persecution, to dig out the errors and set the record straight.

Of course, since the biography has been rewritten, a new conclusion will naturally be made based on new historical materials.

This is a practical and feasible method.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and nodded. This approach was just right.

He turned his head and looked at Wang Shizhen standing beside him: "Mr. Wang, Lan Tai wrote the history book, and the final verdict is final. It is our responsibility to take an attitude on this matter. What do you think?"

Even a man as smart as Wang Shizhen rarely showed any sign of embarrassment at this moment.

He pondered for a long time before speaking slowly: "Your Majesty, although there are many errors and omissions in the History of Song and the Veritable Records of Song, looking at the Xining Reforms, the Green Seedling Law, the Market Exchange Law, the Horse Protection Law, etc., they are all tyrannical and money-making, bringing disaster to the world."

"History is clear and there will be no discrepancies in general."

"Only Wang Anshi's original intention still has some room for improvement."

Wang Shizhen, who was in charge of Lantai, had a very clear attitude.

No matter how whitewash it is, it must be based on historical data.

Re-editing does not mean editing randomly, and revision does not mean editing blindly.

It is a fact that the new laws are cruel to the people. Since Wang Anshi is in charge of the country, he must take responsibility.

If we want to clear our name, we can probably only discuss Wang Anshi's motives.

Naturally, the emperor didn't need to name everyone one by one to express their opinions.

After Wang Shizhen spoke, Shen Shixing thought for a moment and also calmly expressed his opinion: "Your Majesty, Wang Anshi is ignorant but ambitious, which is a pity."

Shen Shixing's attitude is the attitude of the cabinet.

It also often represents the attitude of Zhang Juzheng who was observing mourning at home.

Shen Shixing quoted this statement from Zhang Juzheng's direct interpretation of Zizhi Tongjian, "talented but without knowledge", and only changed the order and wording to express his agreement with Wang Anshi's ambition.

Tyrannical and money-making, bringing disaster to the world?
Then Lord Shen said that Wang Anshi was just "ignorant" and his "knowledge" could only support him to that step.

But no matter what, Wang Anshi is a man of "ambitions". Isn't he much better than Sima Guang and others who stood by and watched the Song Dynasty decline?
In short, Wang Anshi must bear the responsibility for the failure of the Xining Reform, but this is due to the limitations of people and the times, and it is by no means because Wang Anshi has a bad heart.

Wang Shizhen glanced at Shen Shixing, seemingly considering something.

After a moment, the former nodded slowly.

There is indeed nothing far from the facts. Wang Anshi is a moral gentleman, and his motives and purposes have never been questioned. Even Sima Guang would not deny Wang Anshi's intention to save the country. Now he is just preparing to pick up this direction of propaganda again.

Now that Lantai and the cabinet have reached a consensus, half of the matter is settled.

Zhu Yijun finally looked at the Minister of Rites Wang Zongyi and asked, "Do you agree, Mr. Wang?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Wang Zongyi looking up at the beams in a daze.

Yin Zhengmao next to him was about to give a reminder.

"To reply to your Majesty, if things go on for a long time, they will inevitably fail. If there are problems, they will change. This is the way of heaven."

Wang Zongyi came back to his senses and spoke slowly.

The first sentence quoted Zhang Juzheng's original words when evaluating Wang Anshi.

He looked very emotional and continued, "During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, the country was in decline and on the verge of collapse."

"If the world does not change, it will die. If it changes, it may die."

“Just like today, no matter success or failure, we must change!”

The implication of drawing lessons from the past and recalling the present was so strong that everyone present could naturally hear it and were all moved.

Isn't this the reason why everyone is gathered in the Huangji Palace to discuss state affairs?
Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, then he was the first to applaud: "It is true that reforms are necessary to overcome the shortcomings. We cannot praise reforms only when things are accomplished."

"Wang Anshi saved the nation from extinction, and he was still honored despite his defeat!"

Seeing that there were no more objections, Zhu Yijun finally made the final decision - Wang Anshi was devoted to serving his country, and he could be said to be a gentleman.

Wang Shizhen silently wrote down these words.

When Zhao Jin offered sacrifices to heaven in the southern suburbs, he compared Wang Anshi to Zhang Juzheng and criticized the new law. I wonder how he would react if he knew that the court wanted to write a new biography of Wang Anshi after his retirement.

When Wang Shizhen thought of this, he couldn't help but glance at the emperor out of the corner of his eye.

Different from Song Shenzong's wavering, the current emperor has never hesitated at all regarding reform.

But then again, compared to the good reputation that Song Shenzong still had after Wang Anshi was counterattacked, if the new law fails now, his reputation will probably not be better than Wang Anshi's reputation over the past hundreds of years. Even if he fails, he still has honor... I hope that he will not have to wait for future generations to overturn his verdict.

Outsiders naturally would not know what Wang Shizhen was feeling in his heart.

With the emperor's statement, the tone for overturning Wang Anshi's verdict was set.

That brings us back to the emperor's original proposal.

Zhu Heng never spoke without taboos, and he went straight to the point: "Your Majesty just mentioned the slogan for the new policy. I wonder if you want it to be like Wang Anshi's 'Three Insufficiencies' or Kong Pingzhong's poem 'Xining Slogan'?"

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "Neither is good. At least it should be simple and direct so that people can understand it at once."

Slogans like "three inadequacies" may sound deafening, but they are too vague and ordinary people will be confused when they hear them.

Writing poetry is even more elegant, but it is too high-brow and not popular among the general public, which is not conducive to publicity.

At this time, Chen Sanmo, the official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, I think that Li Siye's theory is very appropriate and can be used immediately."

Zhu Yijun turned his head and asked curiously, "Who is Chen Qing referring to?"

Chen Sanmo was also a Jinshi in the 44th year of Jiajing, in the same class as Shen Li and Wen Chun.

But compared with the latter two, the former's quality is much worse.

Shen Li had rejected the respect of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng respectively. Chen Sanmo was just the opposite. He first regarded himself as Gao Gong's disciple, and when Gao Gong left the court, he regarded Zhang Juzheng as the leader of his party. After the emperor took power, he warned Zhang Juzheng that the emperor's disciples should address each other by their titles when on official business.

In short, he was a person with a bad reputation, and even Zhu Yijun was unsure of his approach.

Facing the emperor's questioning, Chen Sanmo blurted out: "Naturally, it is one of Zhuo Wu's two words, distribution!"

He looked a little fanatical, and it was obvious that he agreed with this from the bottom of his heart.

Li Zhi's status in the literati circle was now catching up with Zhang Zai. The so-called "Two Poems of Zhuo Wu" were directly compared to the "Four Sentences of Hengqu" and were widely circulated.

During a debate several years ago, Li Zhi specifically proposed the term "distribution" on the basis of fairness - one of the foundations of the court's existence is to distribute the world's wealth.

The so-called foundation means that if it cannot be done, there will be no basis for existence.

A few words like these are often enough to represent heresy.

But Chen Sanmo openly said this in the Huangji Palace at this time, which really made his colleagues look at him sideways.

Zhang Han from the Ministry of Justice frowned and said, "The new policy has its own laws and regulations. Why are you quoting Li Zhi's heresy?"

When Zhang Han heard that the think tank scholars of the Imperial College were going to come to the table for dinner, his shame was almost written on his face.

"I think it is appropriate."

Li Zaiting expressed his support without hesitation.

"Sima Guang once said that the wealth of the world has a fixed number. I think the word fixed number is not good, after all, the wealth of the world will inevitably increase over time. But if we use the word total number, it is appropriate."

"The total amount has been determined. If it's not here, it's there. Now the treasury is in trouble and the people are suffering. Everyone in the world knows where the money is."

"Whether it's the salt administration, the royal family, or the land measurement, they are all just 'distribution'."

"Holding the officials and gentry to distribute the money to the national treasury and the common people to the people, the people can tell who is the enemy and who is the friend at a glance. Isn't this the most appropriate slogan?"

Zhang Han was displeased: "What Libudang said is wrong. If this heresy is taken away by refugees..."

It seemed as if they were about to start an argument.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun spoke out in time to extinguish the seeds: "The way of heaven is to reduce the excess and make up for the deficiency."

"The imperial court is acting on behalf of heaven, which is the eternal righteousness. Li Zhi is just repeating the words of the saints. Zhang Qing does not need to be too sensitive."

If you find heretical doctrines unacceptable, there will always be a statement by a saint that fits your mood.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "According to Mr. Chen's suggestion, the slogan should focus on 'distribution'. Let the Hanlin Academy come up with a few catchy sentences."

Zhang Han wanted to say something but stopped himself, finally closing his mouth.

Zhu Yijun was afraid that he would continue to dwell on this topic, so he quickly looked at Wang Guoguang and said, "Mr. Wang, let's talk about taxes and see how they are distributed this year."

This is where the annual meeting topic comes in.

All the ministers sat upright and took heart.

Wang Guoguang was unable to get a word in on the previous topic as he was distracted and thinking about other things. Only when he was called back did he come back to his senses.

"Reporting to Your Majesty." Wang Guoguang paused to give himself time to organize his words, "In the seventh year of Wanli, in addition to the summer taxes and autumn grains retained from various provinces, a total of 13,231,440 shi was reserved."

"All the taxes collected from the central government treasuries amounted to 21,320,000 taels of silver, of which 5,984,600 were from the Taicang Treasury."

In the fourth year of the Wanli reign, it was stipulated that all property, whether retained by local provincial government offices or transported to central locations, must be registered with the Ministry of Revenue.

Nowadays, all the central government treasuries, big and small, whether it is the Taicang Storehouse, Taifusi, Jieshen Storehouse, or even the Neiku, still have their own share of the revenue, but the Ministry of Revenue has to keep a general account.

This is also why in the annual meetings in previous years, Wang Guoguang could only report the annual income of Taicang warehouse, but now he can report them together.

Not only that, when recording the annual accounts of the national treasury, two sets of accounts must be made - one set is recorded based on actual amounts, and the other set is recorded based on the silver price.

Of course, although it is just a small standardization work and a change in the statistical method, it has actually greatly increased the authority and workload of the Ministry of Households.

Since then, the Five Ministries and the Inner Treasury have frequently been at odds with the Ministry of Revenue.

If the Ministry of Revenue had not been expanded, Old Wang would have threatened to retire - in fact, there was some reason to complain about the expansion. The Imperial College had complained about the Ministry of Revenue every year, saying that it admitted too many young students, which significantly reduced the admission rate of the Imperial College's candidates. Of course, since it was the Imperial College, it was unlikely to cause any noise with its words.

Wang Guoguang continued, "…mining taxes, customs duties, and salt taxes are all the same as last year. Farmland taxes account for 82%, down 2 percentage points from last year. Commercial taxes have increased by 2 percentage points from last year due to the rise of offshore shipping, the establishment of a trade agreement with the three guards of Duoyan, and the increase in profits from Huguang clan property. This is an increase of taels of silver."

Putting aside the fact that the Ministry of Revenue's words gradually became like those of the emperor, Shen Shixing immediately asked, "What about this year's non-tax revenue?"

During the eight years since the emperor ascended the throne, there has not been a single year without property confiscation. It can be said that property confiscation was one of the main sources of funds for the implementation of the new laws in recent years.

Even an honest man like Shen Shixing found it addictive.

Wang Guoguang smacked his lips and said, "Lord Shen, the property seized by Shi Maohua, Liu Shiyan and his gang has not yet been recorded in the accounts. Excluding the rotten banknotes, the current value of the silver is only 1.1 million taels."

There wasn't much cash in hand, but mostly calligraphy, paintings, and jewelry.

Shen Shixing smacked his lips and secretly calculated how much Shi Maohua, Liu Shiyan and others would have after their houses were confiscated.

At this time, Wen Chun, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up and advised the emperor: "Your Majesty, non-tax revenue is not a long-term solution. The pursuit of profit by the judicial department may ruin the atmosphere."

If too many houses are confiscated, officials will have trouble making a living.

The reason why Shi Maohua and others would rather do something desperate is not necessarily because the emperor is too harsh.

Zhu Yijun readily agreed: "This is natural."

After a simple perfunctory reply, he looked at Wang Guoguang again: "What about the expenditure?"

Wang Guoguang said: "In reply to your Majesty, in the seventh year of Wanli, the local governments kept their own money and used it accordingly, and the central government's expenditure totaled 18.9 million taels of silver."

"Border pay accounts for 47%, 5 percentage points more than last year; the salaries of the military camps and guards still account for 14%..."

The military expenditure of the Ming Dynasty has remained high at 60% for many years.

“陛下内府供用仍占10%；宗藩禄粮占19%，较去年降了1个点，较万历元年降了10个点；朝官俸禄占6%……”

The salary expenditure of court officials was the lowest, but this had tripled compared to the first year of the Wanli period.

In addition, because of the performance of local officials, this part is directly retained by the provincial governments.

"Among them, 41.9% of income was in silver, and 49.4% of expenditure was in silver, concentrated in the wealthy southern regions such as Nanzhili, Zhejiang, and Huguang."

Silverization is the only way forward. It is impossible to jump to credit currency in the blink of an eye.

Before that, adjusting the software is something that has to be done.

Zhu Yijun felt extremely comfortable as he listened to Wang Guoguang's meaningful words.

Since the new policy, the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works Zhu Heng have both kept a low profile and have little presence, but their abilities and loyalty are impeccable. Although they do not have the talent of a prime minister who can balance yin and yang, they are truly capable of taking charge.

In particular, the reform of the Ministry of Revenue went smoothly without any delay.

The data statistics on silver payments were only mentioned last year, but they were directly implemented this year. Aren’t these solid supporters the basic base of the new policy?
"In addition, in compliance with your majesty's order, I have worked with my colleagues to compile the Wanli Accounting Records, which will be completed this year and presented to your majesty."

Wang Guoguang picked up the four sets of books in front of him with both hands.

Zhang Hong took it with ease and presented it to the emperor.

Zhu Yijun reached out and took it.

He had read the original version two years ago. It can be said that this book is the general outline of today's tax law.

It covers everything, including the Treasury Supervisor, Guanglu, royal family, official salaries, grain transport, warehouses, military salaries, military farms, salt, tea, money, and miscellaneous taxes.

After turning two pages, Zhu Yijun signaled to Wang Shizhen beside him, "Director Wang, leave the original volume in the History Museum for collection. As for publication... I'm afraid we'll have to think about adding another volume."

Wang Guoguang was stunned for a moment: "Your Majesty said there is another volume, but did I miss anything?"

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "It's not that Wang Qing missed something, it's just that I have to deal with something this year, and it has to be dealt with here."

After that, he stretched out his hand and waved to the side.

Immediately, Wei Chao, Li Jin, Sun Long and others, each holding a pile of books, piled them in front of Wang Guoguang.

In the puzzled look of Wang Guoguang, Zhu Yijun extended his hand and explained to Wang Guoguang: "This is the account of the inner court since the first year of Wanli. All the properties, income and expenditure over the years are listed here."

"Since I have already made my promise, there is no reason for me to keep it empty. Your Excellency, please compile these into a book and enter them into the Wanli Accounting Records."

As he spoke, Zhu Yijun turned to Chen Sanmo, the official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, and said slowly, "From now on, every year, the six departments will review the accounts of the inner court and publish them throughout the country."

(End of this chapter)