Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 226 This is a game between the local government and the imperial court!

Xia Zhibai remained silent.

The surroundings fell into silence for a long time.

Tian Jing stood up, his back straight, facing away from Xia Zhibai, and said in a cold voice: "As someone who has been through this, I advise you not to be so self-righteous. This world is not in a state of chaos without someone. You are not that important!"

"I don't know why His Majesty would tolerate you."

"You are not Wei Zheng, and you don't have Wei Zheng's abilities."

"Your Majesty will not listen to you either."

"You are just a tool used by His Majesty to comfort the world."

"But the world has its own laws of operation. How can a mere person like you shake it?"

"You have only been an official in the court for a short time, so you don't know what kind of officials the Ming Dynasty wants. I can tell you that being an official in the Ming Dynasty is very simple."

"Farmers must not abandon their farming, nor be allowed to wander into the city, let alone become bandits; workers must not abandon their sharp weapons, nor be allowed to gamble or drink; merchants must not abandon their trade, nor curry favor with the rich and powerful, nor lend money for profit; students must not abandon their studies, nor be allowed to engage in opportunistic practices or to curry favor with the rich and powerful."

"You heard it, too."

“These are things that ordinary people at the bottom cannot do.”

"Not a high-ranking official."

"The sages' words of benevolence, justice and morality have long been discarded in today's world."

"As the saying goes, if you are not upright yourself, how can you correct others?!"

"Only the upper class can get the money and grain. The lower class is not allowed to touch it."

"hehe."

Tian Jing sneered, his eyes full of contempt.

He had seen through the world a long time ago.

Decades of perseverance only resulted in poverty.

By letting go of "morality", he rose to fame overnight, from a small county in the south of the Yangtze River to the imperial court. Although he was not very conspicuous in the power center of the Ming Dynasty, he was much better off than when he had been holding on before.

But he still had a little conscience in his heart.

Don't want to fall too much.

Therefore, when Wei Heng and others tried to curry favor with the upper-level officials, he did not show much enthusiasm, nor did he do much substantive work. He even tried to avoid getting involved, let alone being dragged into the "Salt Administration" storm. It was just that he could not avoid it because of his position, but he just wanted to cover up the matter as soon as possible. If he could appease the local people a little, it would be considered as having done something practical.

But it is absolutely impossible for him to offend the entire interest group.

There are too many and too powerful interest groups in Jiangnan.

Death upon contact.

He doesn't want to die yet.

Xia Zhibai raised his eyes and looked at Tian Jing with a complicated expression. He could see the struggle in Tian Jing's eyes, but he could also see Tian Jing's inner uneasiness and escape. Tian Jing climbed up from the Jiangnan area and had a thorough understanding of the interests of the Jiangnan region.

He didn't dare get involved.

I don't even want to touch it.

I just want to cover up the Jiangnan incident as soon as possible.

Tian Jing could do this, but he couldn't, because he was the one who invented the steam engine. If he ignored it, wouldn't he become an accomplice of the powerful and the wealthy? Moreover, these stove owners were exploited too miserably and too cruelly.

He couldn't turn a blind eye.

Xia Zhibai said calmly: "Do you really think that no one can touch Jiangnan?"

"Yes." Tian Jing said indifferently.

His tone was firm and extremely certain.

No one can touch Jiangnan.

Neither can Your Majesty.

Because too many people are involved, even Your Majesty would have concerns, and in the end it would have to be left unresolved. This is not just the case in the Ming Dynasty, it would have been the same in other dynasties. How could Your Majesty destroy your own foundation?

Moreover, the indiscriminate killing of meritorious officials has a huge impact on the world.

Xia Zhibai shook his head.

He stood up, walked to Tian Jing's side, and said indifferently: "Jiangnan is the economic center of the Ming Dynasty. Nearly 60% of the Ming Dynasty's tax revenue comes from Jiangnan. In some seasons, it can even reach 70%. Given the strength of the Jiangnan region, even if Your Majesty wants to take action, he will be cautious."

"Once there is a problem with taxation in Jiangnan, the normal operation of the Ming Dynasty will be disrupted."

"Plus, Huaixi is the place where the dragon rises."

"Too many great men of the Ming Dynasty came from this land."

"Today, Jiangnan has people in the court, generals in the army, a prosperous economy, a developed culture, and many scholars. It is destined to continue to prosper and become the most important territory of the Ming Dynasty. Even in the future, the Ming Dynasty will still rely on the tax revenue of the Jiangnan region to survive."

"Such splendor, wouldn't it make people greedy?!"

Tian Jing frowned.

He looked at Xia Zhibai suspiciously, not understanding what Xia Zhibai meant.

Xia Zhibai smiled and said:
"If God wants someone to die, he will make him crazy!"

"The Jiangnan region may still prosper for a long time in the future, but no imperial court will allow local forces to grow, let alone allow the central court to be held hostage by local officials!"

"The Tang Dynasty fell due to the feudal lords."

"It is subject to the control of the local government in terms of military."

"Your Majesty is well-versed in history books, so how could you not understand the principles?"

"The economy of Jiangnan is now flourishing, and the court relies heavily on the Jiangnan region, but this situation will not last long. The court will definitely find ways to take back the local control of the economy. You underestimated the Jiangnan incident this time." "Your Majesty may have known about this incident."

"That's why I let it go."

"It's just to test the extent of the place."

"This is a game between the local government and the central government."

"I proposed an idea to the court very early on, which is to build state-owned enterprises in local areas to monitor the actual local economy and strengthen actual control over the local areas. Many officials in the court are aware of this approach, but now in the Jiangnan region, the salt policy has changed, but no state-owned enterprises have been established."

"He is just using the power of the court to seek personal gain."

Tian Jing frowned even more tightly.

Xia Zhibai stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the bright night sky, and said loudly: "Do you really think that the officials in Jiangnan are stupid? Do you really think they don't know that if they do this, it will arouse public anger and cause a civil uprising?"

"they know."

“This was intentional!”

"It is to force His Majesty to make some concessions."

"This method is not uncommon."

"You should have seen it."

"Throughout the dynasties, whenever the imperial court wanted to inspect taxes, measure land, or have other reforms, the local wise men would first kill a family, usually women, and then gather a large group of people, carrying the bodies to the government gate to make a scene, forcing the government to make concessions."

“Now it’s just a step further.”

"The whole family has been turned into a household of cooks!"

"And this government office naturally changed from a local government office to a court."

"For thousands of years, this method has remained unchanged."

“But it really works.”

"Do you really think that when you told the interest groups in Jiangnan about the decision we had made, they refused because they were unwilling to give up the profits in their hands?"

Tian Jing's face changed in shock.

After Xia Zhibai's explanation, he suddenly realized something.

Xia Zhibai continued, "No matter how many suggestions you give them or how good your request is, they will not agree, because their purpose is not to calm the situation, but to make it bigger and make it known to His Majesty in order to test His Majesty's attitude."

"There aren't that many stupid people in the world."

"Especially those who have risen to their current high positions from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, none of them are simple, and they have a very clear calculation in their minds."

"Your Majesty can see it as well."

“It just didn’t stop.”

"Otherwise, do you really think those drawings can be sent out?"

"The officials and clerks who are in charge of the blueprints for me were all sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The things you did in private have long been noticed by His Royal Highness, but He has been holding back. Perhaps this was secretly prompted by His Majesty."

White sweat was already oozing out of Tian Jing's forehead.

His pupils were filled with fear.

Xia Zhibai sighed: "The riots in Jiangnan, in a sense, are a demonstration of the Jiangnan region against the imperial court, and at the same time carry a certain threat and intimidation. If the imperial court really insists on intervening in the salt administration in Jiangnan, local 'riots' will be the result."

"It's just a local government, but it has already attracted several provincial governors."

"If the imperial court really intervenes, the riot may not only be caused by the 'stove households', and the impact may not only be on a few governors."

“This is a game between the local government and the central government.”

"Local governments do not want to be subject to too much control from the imperial court. They just want to maintain the status quo, or let local governments manage local governments. The imperial court only needs to collect taxes as in the past. If the imperial court insists on intervening in the local economy, the local governments will likely become 'out of control' because of the imperial court's takeover."

“Even a riot or rebellion!”

"This is a blatant threat to a certain extent."

"It's just that the Guo Huan case just broke out, and the officials have just been replaced. In addition, because of the Guo Huan case, people all over the world are already in a panic. If another major case is triggered, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty will be in danger of being overthrown."

"Moreover, Jiangnan is the main source of tax revenue for the Ming Dynasty. If there is a problem in Jiangnan, the Ming Dynasty's finances will be in big trouble."

"That's why we have nothing to fear."

"The Jiangnan region is now forcing Your Majesty to express his stance."

"As long as Your Majesty does not speak up, the unrest in Jiangnan will not stop. As for your Salt Transport Bureau, it is just a pawn that is thrown away at random, or in other words, it is a scapegoat that the local forces will voluntarily offer to Your Majesty when he asks you for punishment in the future."

"It is to give an explanation to the world and to calm His Majesty's anger."

Tian Jing was stunned.

He looked at Xia Zhibai suddenly and was stunned.

His body shook slightly and his face turned pale. He finally understood why he was "selected" directly from Hengshan County and promoted to a fourth-rank official in the Salt Transport Bureau. It turned out that this was the purpose.

They are all pawns.

It has long been discarded.

No matter what I do, it's a dead end.

It was in vain that he tried his best to protect himself and avoid being involved in this storm.

He was even complacent, thinking that he had amazing intelligence and had managed to minimize the potential storm.

结果
He is the one deceiving himself.

In the eyes of those powerful people, he was just a roadside figure who could be trampled on or even abandoned at will. In an instant, Tian Jing felt extremely sad and ridiculous. He had been trying so hard to consider the local people before, but in the end it was just his wishful thinking.

After all, he is still a worthless life!
(End of this chapter)