Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 203 This involves Zhou Dexing and other founding generals! (First update)
Xia Zhibai returned to the salt shop.

It was quite lively outside the salt shop.

Seeing Xia Zhibai coming back, Jing Man smiled and said, "Sir, as soon as you left, a lot of people came to the store, all trying to get information. These people in the city are really well-informed. I thought we had to spread the news of your return ourselves, but they did it for us."

Jing Man had a smiling face.

Xia Zhibai chuckled, turned around, looked around, nodded and said, "It seems that even though I've been away for so long, there are still many people who miss me. It doesn't matter, they can come and see if they want, just think of it as attracting more people to our store."

"in addition."

"Don't call me sir anymore."

"This title sounds awkward."

"I have just been appointed by His Majesty as a Grand Secretary of the Imperial Academy."

"Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy?" Jing Man was stunned for a moment, and thought about it in his mind. He didn't remember that there was such an official position in the Hanlin Academy. As a clerk, he had longed for the Hanlin Academy and knew the situation of the Hanlin Academy very well, even more than Xia Zhibai.

See this.

Xia Zhibai said calmly: "Your Majesty has newly established it."

"It can be considered a fifth-rank."

"Fifth rank?" Jing Man's eyes lit up instantly, his face full of excitement.

He was really delighted.

Although Xia Zhibai was the top scholar in the past, he was not granted a formal official position and was always regarded as a temporary official. This kind of temporary official with unclear rank made the clerks who were ordered to come here feel very uncomfortable. They felt like they were being demoted, especially since Xia Zhibai called himself a "business official."

Merchants are people of very low status.

Naturally, the status of commercial officials is not high.

As a result, they were also looked down upon by many clerks. Jing Man, Fang Mo and others were always angry, otherwise no clerk would have chosen to leak the secret. They just wanted to jump ship, they didn't want to be inferior to others, and they didn't want to be looked at differently.

Everything is different now.

Xia Zhibai is of the fifth rank.

His official position was higher than that of Jinshi such as Hua Lun and Lian Zining.

He was even taller than many heads of government offices in the imperial court, and they could straighten their backs instantly.

This is not the most important thing.

The most important thing is that Xia Zhibai's promotion to a higher position also dispelled a rumor, which was that Xia Zhibai had angered His Majesty and His Majesty would not give him any important responsibilities. Now with Xia Zhibai being appointed as the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, those who looked down on them with this in mind no longer dared to look down on them.

Jing Man said solemnly: "Jing Man greets the Grand Secretary."

Xia Zhibai's lips twitched slightly, and he rolled his eyes and said speechlessly: "I just told you about this matter, and I didn't want you to make a big deal out of it. I don't take these titles lightly. I know you have been under a lot of pressure, and now you are all getting better."

Jing Man chuckled and scratched his head: "That's for sure."

"The Grand Secretary was the top scholar last year. How can an ordinary person compare to him?"

"When Li Sheng and the others who escaped heard that you were appointed as a fifth-rank university scholar, I'm afraid they must be regretting it."

Xia Zhibai smiled bitterly and shook his head.

He could understand Jing Man's feelings. After Jing Man, Fang Mo and other clerks were transferred here, they were on his side. If he was neglected, they would also be neglected. It's just that Xia Zhibai rarely understood this before.

He always naively believed that things could change as long as he took action.

But after a trip to the north, his ideas changed a lot.

Come from reality and go to reality.

What he needs is a fight!
What he needed was to cultivate or win over a large number of like-minded people, or even most likely just temporary companions. During the nine months of traveling in the north, he gradually realized the local people's simple gratitude and dependence on the Ming Dynasty.

From ancient times to the present, for thousands of years.

Local people are accustomed to following the arrangements of the court and rarely make their own judgments on current affairs in the world.

As for judging whether the political line is correct or not, no one cares, let alone the local people, even the local officials. He does want to improve the status of workers and peasants, but what can the improved workers and peasants do?
They had never directly managed factories or the country, nor had they accumulated relevant experience, let alone experience in fighting against the scholar-official class.

So it's difficult to get them to fight.

finally.

Xia Zhibai only thought of one possibility.

Even after the workers and peasants rise up, one of them will inevitably be purged, along with the scholar-official class. And it will be a purge of the entire class. This is inevitable. This method is too extreme and basically cannot be defeated.

It takes time for workers and peasants to progress.

The only thing he has to do now is to undergo ideological transformation.

At the same time, accelerate the progress of local workers and peasants.

His top priority is not to come up with some ideas or some rhetoric, but to develop the economy. Only when the economy develops and the number of workers and peasants increases, can they stand up straight.

Economic development is the top priority.

"Go to work first." Xia Zhibai ordered and turned back to his study.

Jing Man nodded, raised his head high, and stood in the shop like a victorious rooster.

Return to the study.

Xia Zhibai spread out a piece of paper and thought while grinding ink.

Subsequently.

He began to write.

He made a lot of promises in the North this time.

If you want the consent of the local chief minister, you naturally have to pay some price.

The first thing is to attract people to the north.

There is a shortage of people in the North.

After a long period of war, the population escaped seriously, and even many military households fled. Many people even pretended to be couples and went north. After being settled, they ran away. Many governors in the northern provinces were troubled by these. The court only cared about sending people away and did not care about the follow-up.

Over the years, Zhu Yuanzhang moved a lot of people to the north, but many of them ran back secretly.

There was another Northern Expedition two years ago. The North had finally recovered some of its vitality, but after this great battle, it was devastated again.

The local governor allowed himself to take over the salt market, but at the same time he also made a requirement, that is, he must bring people to the north, preferably young and strong, and preferably with families. Of course, they would also provide certain land support.

These fields will just lie there idle anyway.

Think about it.

Xia Zhibai still set his sights on the establishment.

This is currently the most attractive and tempting to local kitchen owners.

Xia Zhibai began to write.

The next day.

Kyoto Salt Transport Bureau.

The current Salt Transport Commissioner has heard the news.

Xia Zhibai was appointed as a fifth-rank academician in the Hanlin Academy.

Wei Heng did not dare to delay and immediately called the Salt Transport Bureau's transport director and deputy transport director to discuss how to deal with the situation.

When everyone was gathered, Wei Heng said in a deep voice: "You have all heard the news, right? Xia Zhibai is back, and was appointed as a fifth-rank official by His Majesty. Although his official position is lower than mine, he also serves as the Minister of Wenyuan Pavilion, and can already sit in on some government affairs. This is very disadvantageous to us."

Qi Quan's eyes were cold, and he asked a probing question: "What did Lord Xu say?"

Wei Heng glanced at Qi Quan coldly and said, "Master Xu has just been promoted to the Minister of Works. How could he care about our affairs?"

Wei Heng didn't take this at all.

Last year, affected by the Guo Huan case, many officials from the six ministries were dismissed. However, their former boss, Xu Ben, turned a disaster into a blessing, and was promoted all the way. Now he is the Minister of Works. The Salt Transport Bureau's design to steal the steam engine drawings was also secretly instructed by Xu Ben, but how could such a thing be said openly?
And they didn't dare to blame Xu Ben for the trouble.

Otherwise, if there is another "Guo Huan case", I'm afraid they won't be able to save their lives.

Tian Jing closed his eyes slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "What is Xia Zhibai's attitude towards Li Sheng's behavior now?"

Wei Heng and the others looked at each other and shook their heads, saying, "I don't know. Since Xia Zhibai came back, he has been staying at home. Except when summoned by His Majesty, he basically stays in the salt shop. He doesn't see anyone and hasn't spread any news to the outside world."

"This guy is a thorn."

"Now that we are qualified to participate in government affairs, if we report Li Sheng's affairs to the higher authorities, I'm afraid we will not be able to handle it well."

Wei Heng also had a gloomy look on his face.

They didn't take Xia Zhibai seriously before.

What can a low-ranking merchant official do even if he knows that it was their instructions?

Besides, the matter has been settled, what can Xia Zhibai do to them?

But it's different now.

Xia Zhibai was awarded a fifth-rank official position and was able to participate in political secrets. This was already a sign that he was highly valued. If Xia Zhibai bore a grudge against them because of this, they might suffer a great loss at Xia Zhibai's hands in the future.

Qi Quan was also very annoyed.

They did plot against Xia Zhibai.

But how can they let some things go their way?
The low price of salt in Kyoto Salt Shop has already caught the attention of many people. Now that Xia Zhibai is not around, people will naturally be concerned about it.

When they got the drawings, they did not keep them for themselves but gave them away very early. People like Zhou Dexing, who is now stationed in Chu, and Wang Bi, all used the drawings to privately open salt factories in their local areas.

He has made a lot of money in the past six months.

In fact, they were not afraid of Xia Zhibai, but they were afraid that Xia Zhibai would persist. Because people like Zhou Dexing, Wang Bi and others would never get into trouble, but they might not be. If His Majesty was angry, they might lose their heads.

They were naturally nervous.

Tian Jing stroked his chin and thought: "How about getting in touch with Xia Zhibai?"

"Can you explain the whole story clearly?"

"If Xia Zhibai really refuses, then he can insist that it was Li Sheng who did it and we were not aware of it. As long as we don't admit it, Lord Xu and the others will definitely protect us. Of course, it is also very likely that we are scaring ourselves."

"Xia Zhibai really dares to attack us?"

"He is only a fifth-rank official now, and you, Lord Wei, are a third-rank official."

"Moreover, some time ago, the salt transport envoys in Jiangnan region sent several memorials saying that there were problems with the drawings provided by Li Sheng, which wasted a lot of time and money, and the salt production efficiency was not high. We put these evidences in front of Xia Zhibai, he can't blame us, right?"

"after all."

"This involves Jiang Xiahou and others."

Hear the words.

Wei Heng's eyes lit up.

He pondered for a moment and nodded, "This is also a solution. Instead of being cautious, why not take the initiative? Otherwise, if they just keep their eyes on us, we will become the scapegoats. They will get the benefits, but they will also have to bear the risks."

"Tian Jing, this is your idea, so you are responsible for it."

Tian Jing's eyes widened in disbelief.

Wei Heng's eyes flashed with impatience and he said, "That's it."

Then, Wei Heng seemed to have thought of something, a hint of coldness flashed across his eyes, and he said, "This Xia Zhibai is really a troublemaker, but if we can take the opportunity to deal with these troubles, it may not be a bad thing. At least we should be picked out of it."

"Then let Li Sheng fend for himself."

"By the way, let's assign some tasks to Li Sheng as well."

“It’s also a waste utilization.”

(End of this chapter)