Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 112: It is useless to teach others with a hundred words, but teaching by experience can penetrate people's heart once and for all! (First update)
The next morning.

Xia Zhibai just got up.

Fang Mo walked forward excitedly and said, "Sir, good news, great news. Guo Huan was impeached by the censor and thrown into jail."

Xia Zhibai said "hmm" calmly and didn't respond much.

Fang Mo was a little confused.

Why didn't Xia Zhibai react much when he heard the good news?

This is Guo Huan.

The day before yesterday, someone was sent to cause trouble.

Guo Huan was a third-rank official and the right vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and was in charge of various financial matters.

If nothing had happened to Guo Huan, given the arrogance Zheng Ao displayed at the time, he would have inevitably caused trouble for their Kyoto Salt Shop in the future. Being targeted by such a powerful official from the Ministry of Revenue, how could their Kyoto Salt Industry end up well?
He has been very worried lately.

They were worried that Guo Huan and Zheng Ao would come to cause trouble someday. If they didn't deal with them well, they might even be imprisoned.

But now that Guo Huan is in prison, all worries are gone.

This should be a great joyous event.

Xia Zhibai didn't want to say more about this. He glanced at Fang Mo calmly and said, "Have the accounts of the prefecture and eight counties been delivered? I will personally check and review them later, and then send them to the palace. Also, the salt shop has opened today. As the shopkeeper of this shop, you should focus on the shop and not on these trivial things."

Fang Mo was embarrassed.

He looked a little embarrassed and said, "They have all been delivered and are in the accounting office."

Xia Zhibai nodded and walked towards the accounting office.

Fang Mo looked at Xia Zhibai's leaving figure suspiciously, still unable to understand why Xia Zhibai wasn't excited?

When he heard the news, he was so excited that he almost jumped up.

Think about it.

Fang Mo's eyes became firm.

Xia Zhibai must have noticed that there was something wrong with Guo Huan a long time ago.

It must be like this.

"The number one scholar is the number one scholar. His courage and knowledge are greater than those of ordinary people." Fang Mo couldn't help but sigh.

After arriving at the accounting office, Xia Zhibai began to count and unify the accounts.

The inventory and statistics of the salt shop's accounts are actually not that troublesome. Most of the salt shop's data for the past three months are open and transparent, so there is no need to worry about fraud.

Xia Zhibai took a quick inventory and made sure there were no major problems with the data, then he sorted the accounts and put them aside.

When he came to the accounting office, besides checking the accounts, more importantly, he had to write a "concept".

Let me talk about the expectations and prospects of the salt industry.

This is very important.

Zhu Yuanzhang was born into a peasant family and had a very shallow understanding of economics. He basically only focused on immediate and current benefits. He was even a little impatient for quick success and was eager to do things that would produce immediate results. To some extent, this could be regarded as a kind of path dependence.

Zhu Yuanzhang encountered many difficulties in his life, but he finally overcame them with his outstanding recklessness.

on the other hand.

Zhu Yuanzhang was too "smooth" after he took command of the army.

There are rarely major or disastrous defeats.

Zhu Yuanzhang "won" too many things, and he became somewhat blindly confident, even self-righteous.

In particular, many of the "winning methods" were based on Zhu Yuanzhang's own on-the-spot judgment, which ultimately led to victory. This led to Zhu Yuanzhang trusting his own intuitive judgment more than the advice of other ministers.

Because he won!
He doesn't need to listen to the advice of his ministers.

He conquered this empire by relying on his "autocratic" and "overcoming opposition from all sides" attitude. Especially after the death of Zhu Sheng, Liu Ji and others, Zhu Yuanzhang's judgment reached a level of almost blind confidence.

This is the emperor's self-righteousness.

Because he had always been right. He had always been correct.

In such a situation where failure is rare, even an emperor can easily become conceited.

This is what Zhu Yuanzhang did.

An emperor in this psychological state is invincible, and no one can refute him at all, because everything the ministers suggested did not happen, which cannot prove that what the ministers said was right, but everything Zhu Yuanzhang did in the past was right.

When comparing the two, the difference is obvious.

The emperor will only think that you are challenging his authority.

The emperor cannot be humiliated.

Therefore, over the years, any minister who dared to impeach or oppose Zhu Yuanzhang's policies were basically killed.

Xia Zhibai figured it out early on.

We can only criticize Zhu Yuanzhang as a person, not his specific policies.

If you want to speak out about the policy, you must first come up with solid "evidence", otherwise you are challenging the imperial power, questioning Zhu Yuanzhang's authority, and even denying Zhu Yuanzhang's correctness.

Xia Zhibai came back to his senses.

It is useless to teach others with a hundred words; only events can teach people once and for all.

It has always been difficult to get an emperor to admit his mistakes and correct them.

Zhu Yuanzhang especially.

Xia Zhibai also deeply understood this, so he resolutely chose "business".

Because "business" is the fastest way to get results and the easiest way to get the most intuitive data. When the numbers that cannot be tampered with are placed in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, no matter how angry or hateful Zhu Yuanzhang is, he can only be forced to accept them.

Because right is right and wrong is wrong.

Numbers are the purest.

Xia Zhibai picked up the pen, looked at the accounts in front of him, thought for a moment in his mind, and began to write quickly. Of course, he did not write much, just a simple presentation of the prospects and future of the salt company after expanding production.

Half an hour later.

Xia Zhibai stopped writing.

He blew gently a few times to dry the ink on it, and stuffed the "memorial" at the end of the account book.

Then he stuffed the account book into the cloth pocket on his chest and walked towards the palace. Today's Kyoto Salt Shop is no longer as lively as before.

It became quite quiet and depressed.

Yesterday’s grand occasion seems like a passing cloud, with little trace left.

Only the wooden sign "15 cents per pound" hanging on the door seems to be firmly declaring something.

On the streets of Yingtian Prefecture, people were hurrying and many of them had serious expressions on their faces. In particular, the Jinyiwei who appeared from time to time in the streets and alleys made many ordinary people worried. The whole Yingtian Prefecture gradually moved towards a depressing and silent atmosphere.

Xia Zhibai did not stop.

In less than half an hour, they arrived outside the imperial city.

After clarifying the situation to the officials guarding the city, he waited for a while and then entered the palace.

Wenhua Pavilion.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Biao sat one taller than the other.

There were a lot of memorials piled up in front of the two men. Just a quick glance could tell that there were at least hundreds of memorials.

This is what the father and son have to deal with every day.

The father and son had just returned from the Fengtian Palace and had just finished the "morning court".

According to the Ming system, there were three court sessions a day.

It is called "morning court", "noon court" and "evening court".

Zhu Biao yawned, feeling a little sleepy, but this was the rule set by his father. Meetings had to be held before sunrise, so they had to be held before dawn. Even the emperor and the crown prince had to get up before dawn.

This kind of early morning meeting usually ends when the sun comes out.

Zhu Biao would usually take a nap in Wenhua Pavilion.

Just as the court was adjourned, an official reported that Xia Zhibai wanted to see him and present the account books of the salt company.

Naturally, he had to continue to accompany his father.

Compared to Zhu Biao's tiredness, Zhu Yuanzhang looked energetic.

He really enjoyed the feeling of personally handling the general affairs, as if everything in the world was under his control.

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang finished reviewing a memorial, Pu Gou'er tiptoed into the hall and said in a shrill voice, "Your Majesty, Xia Zhibai is outside the hall asking to see you."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyes and nodded indifferently: "Let him in."

Zhu Biao said with emotion: "Yesterday, Yingtian Prefecture was bustling with people, and Xia Zhibai's salt shop sold an astonishing 500,000 catties. The price of salt in Yingtian Prefecture has since dropped to 15 coins per catty, which has greatly reduced the burden on the people. Xia Zhibai is indeed talented in business."

Zhu Biao couldn't help but praise him a few words.

Zhu Yuanzhang put down his pen, his face remained calm, showing no emotion at all.

soon.

Xia Zhibai entered the hall.

He bowed respectfully and said, "Shangguan Xia Zhibai pays respect to Your Majesty and Your Highness."

"I entered the palace today to present the account books."

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

Xia Zhibai took out the account book from his chest.

Pu Gou'er did not dare to be negligent in the slightest. He hurriedly took a few steps to Xia Zhibai, took the account book in his hand, and then gently placed it on Zhu Yuanzhang's desk.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at it calmly, and did not rush to open it. Suddenly he said, "Guo Huan is in prison!"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

A compelling aura instantly swept through Shang's heart.

Xia Zhibai remained calm and replied, "I have already heard about it."

"He saw you the day before." Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Xia Zhibai closely, like a beast staring at its prey, as if as long as the other party made any move, he would rush forward in an instant and tear Xia Zhibai to pieces.

Xia Zhibai nodded and said, "I have seen it."

"What does Guo Huan want from you?" Zhu Yuanzhang leaned sideways, his eyes emitting a sharp and cold light.

Xia Zhibai said: "We need a unified accounting method."

"You gave it?" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice became increasingly gloomy.

Xia Zhibai said: "I agreed, but he didn't ask for it in the end, so I didn't give it to him."

"Why? We need to know the reasons and causes." Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised, but still did not relax at all.

Xia Zhibai said: "Because it is useless."

"The unified accounting method is just a way of organizing data."

"I also told him clearly that in addition to the one I gave to Hua Lun, there would be another type of account book that I submitted myself."

"After hearing what I said, Guo Huan stopped asking for more."

"Do you think we will believe what you say?" Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly.

Xia Zhibai raised his head, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, and said with a smile: "No, just like Minister Guo Huan, what he needed was not the so-called unified accounting method, but a kind of luck. However, Guo Huan did give me another explanation."

"Even if the sovereign wants his subjects to die, they must die."

Zhu Biao's expression changed slightly.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes darkened slightly, staring coldly at Xia Zhibai, and said in an icy voice: "What else did Guo Huan say to you? I want you to tell me everything."

Xia Zhibai shook his head and said, "Your Majesty thinks too highly of me. I am just a business official, and Guo Huan is the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He and I have never had any contact in the past. How could he tell me the specific details?"

"And I don't want to know."

Zhu Yuanzhang remained unmoved and continued, "We want to know what Guo Huan knows."

"You should be able to understand what we are saying."

Xia Zhibai was silent for a moment, then uttered two words.

"Military pay!"

(End of this chapter)