Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 228 If you want to live, destroy the pot!

Tian Jing's eyes moved, and there was a hint of brilliance in his eyes.

He looked at Xia Zhibai and asked, "Grandmaster, do you think His Majesty will take other actions?"

"No." Xia Zhibai shook his head and said, "The South is in chaos now. Given the current situation, the court can only choose to keep things quiet. Even if Your Majesty has a follow-up, it can only be settled later. But the people who settle the accounts at that time have been deliberately pushed to the forefront."

Tian Jing frowned and asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"

"Besides, with the Jinyiwei's ability, how could they not find the person behind this?"

Xia Zhibai smiled, "Of course we can find out, but as you said before, if we find out who is the marquis, the prince consort, or even the son of the Grand Tutor, will His Majesty really overturn the table?"

"Besides Zhou Dexing's son, even if the others were involved, they were all involved secretly. You only know a name, and the specific extent of their involvement is entirely up to the other party. They can easily clear themselves out with just one word."

"And even if Sima Lun and Li Shanchang's son were killed, what would happen?"

"Can the blame be put on Li Shanchang, Chang Sheng and others?"

Tian Jing opened his mouth and shook his head. This was of course not possible.

Moreover, since these people dared to participate and even reported their names, they must have already thought of a way to deal with it. Moreover, many of them have iron certificates of immunity from death granted by Your Majesty himself. How can Your Majesty go back on his word?

Xia Zhibai added: "I have already said that this is based on the current situation, but what if the situation does not continue?"

Tian Jing was stunned and asked in amazement: "How is this possible?"

"Why not?" Xia Zhibai looked at Tian Jing with a smile.

Tian Jing looked around and finally confirmed that Xia Zhibai's eyes were on him. The doubt between his brows became even heavier, and he asked puzzledly: "Me? I am just a fourth-rank official, and I have long been regarded as a discarded pawn. What can I change?"

Tian Jing gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Xia Zhibai laughed and said, "Why do you have to belittle yourself?"

"You are indeed only a fourth-rank official, and you are indeed considered a discarded pawn by all parties, but the fate of the world is uncertain. Are you really willing to be killed like this? Are you willing to be manipulated by others like this, or even be calculated and tricked by others at will?"

Tian Jing blushed.

Of course he was unwilling, but what could he do?
Even His Majesty can't do anything, what can he do now?
See this.

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "Deputy Tian Yun, you underestimate yourself and your position. Your Salt Transport Bureau is currently at the center of this storm. You are naturally qualified to influence the follow-up of this storm."

"Remember what I asked you earlier?"

"Which side are you on?!"

“If you choose nothing, you’re standing in the South.”

"If we allow the situation to develop, eventually all the officials of the Salt Transport Bureau will be pushed out to their deaths."

"But if you stand on the side of the court, the situation will be completely different, because now His Majesty is dissatisfied, but it is difficult to make trouble. If you stand on the side of the court, you can provide His Majesty with an opening to make trouble, and then the situation will naturally change."

"Although you are from the south, you are currently an official of the imperial court."

"Based in Kyoto-Yingtianfu!"

Tian Jing was stunned.

There was a struggle in his eyes.

But this hint of struggle came and went quickly.

He has been abandoned by the South, so naturally he cannot stand on the South again. Although standing on the side of the court may very likely repeat Wu Yong's mistakes, at least he can vent his anger. He, Tian Jing, is not so easily manipulated!
Think about it.

Tian Jing's eyes became firm, and he bowed respectfully to Xia Zhibai and said, "Please teach me, Grand Scholar Xia."

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "I have already told you the method I am going to give you."

"You are a court official, so naturally you should put the court first."

"When local troubles arise, you should speak out for the country. As a loyal minister, report everything we have discussed before. You don't need to consider the reaction of the South, let alone worry about the dissatisfaction of the South. You need to be a troublemaker and completely disrupt the original situation."

"As an official of the Salt Transport Bureau, I feel deeply about the chaos in the local area and am determined to thoroughly standardize the salt administration."

"Abolish the household registration system and start a temporary 'worker and peasant' registration system."

"Establish and improve the factory system. Factories can only use the 'employment system' and can only employ workers from the 'worker-peasant' category. Completely eradicate the chaos of the old system and bring stability to the people."

"At the same time, he submitted a memorial to the court, saying that the reason for the unrest in the local areas was essentially because people had no jobs to make a living, and that it was difficult for the south to support people in the short term. He suggested to the court to 'migrate' the population northward. In order to encourage the population to move northward and reduce the pressure in the south, the north should provide certain jobs or certain fields, and the court would grant certain tax exemptions or low taxes."

“Of course, the specific methods will be agreed upon.”

"Besides."

"In view of the chaos in the southern salt market, it is recommended that the southern salt administration implement planned production and plan the salt production volume for the coming year in advance. If the salt supply is insufficient, the south can help the northern salt companies by purchasing salt from the north."

"at last."

"The salt transport offices across the country will work together to establish a Ming Salt Association, and all salt companies in the world must join it."

"In addition to the basic functions of service, coordination, self-discipline and rights protection, the association will also conduct macro-control of salt production in various regions according to the actual salt usage in various parts of the country, and strive to keep the salt supply in the Ming Dynasty stable for a long time, and avoid salt shortages or overproduction."

Listening to Xia Zhibai's words, Tian Jing was stunned.

Is this really possible?
If I submit this memorial, I will be completely cut off from the South.

No room was left for the South. The South was blocked from all sides and had no room to struggle. The salt companies in the South were even forced to close down. He didn't dare to think about how much opposition the court would voice if he submitted this memorial, and how much criticism he would receive.

Just thinking about it, Tian Jing couldn't help but shrink his body and felt a chill on his back.

But then.

Tian Jing snorted coldly.

They are unkind, so why blame him for being unjust?

If Nan Fang hadn't been so ruthless, how could he have been forced to this point?

And if you want to break the impasse and find a way to survive, you have to go to extremes.

Right now, the southern interest groups are forcing His Majesty to back down, and when he submits this memorial, all the criticism and conflicts will fall on himself. He will undoubtedly have to face the wrath of all parties, but at the same time, it also allows His Majesty to get out of it. This change of mind is his chance of survival.

And it's death anyway.

Either die for His Majesty, or die for the Southern Group.

He would rather die for His Majesty.

He has completely understood the advice Xia Zhibai gave him.

It's about magnification.

The forces in the south are currently under control and they dare not let the situation get out of control. They are just using this to intimidate the court into making concessions. However, Xia Zhibai is different. He simply ignores the affairs of the south and takes another approach. He believes that the reason why these incidents broke out in the south is not because of the intervention of the court, but because of the current irregular salt administration.

So they simply skipped over the issues in the south and made drastic changes to the salt administration.

Let the South's attack strike the air.

They even ignored the many demands and dissatisfactions of the South and directly restricted the salt factories in the South. They used the power of the government to force the salt factories to close down. Weren't these people in the South trying to make the salt factories so that the cooks in the South couldn't survive? And then they stirred up trouble to make the court give in?

Xia Zhibai is even more cruel.

He just pretended not to see it.

Some people even directly believed that the South could not afford to support so many salt workers, so they should simply stop doing so and send all the salt workers to the North. Once all the salt workers were sent there, the unrest in the South would naturally be resolved.

In order to achieve his goal, Xia Zhibai even proposed to implement "planned production" in the south, which was to force these extra "salt companies" to death, thereby releasing more stove households, and then bringing these stove households to the north to enrich the northern population.

As for the shortage of salt in the south.

The North has absorbed so many salt workers and there are no restrictions on production, so the salt will be transported here in time.

Rob the salt market in the south.

In the past, smuggling of salt was rampant in the south.

But after these measures, the number of cooks in the south dropped significantly. The only salt that could be smuggled was produced by steam engines. However, these salt factories had to register with the Salt Association. Those that were not registered were illegal. The court could directly arrest people and punish them, thus eliminating the rampant smuggling and contraband in the south from a physical level.

Once these policies are implemented, the salt market in the south will still be controlled by the north.

Normally people would bargain, but Xia Zhibai just went for broke. Since Nan Fang couldn't do it well, he might as well give up.

Tian Jing took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

He looked at Xia Zhibai and said with a wry smile, "Has Xia Daxueshi thought of these ideas a long time ago? Is he just waiting for me to fall into his trap?"

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "This is really unfair to me."

"The situation in the world is changing rapidly. How can I guess and predict it? My original intention at that time was indeed to achieve a smooth transition of salt administration. Unfortunately, these people in the south were too complacent and too aggressive. Since they didn't know how to restrain themselves, I naturally had to strike with thunder."

"I just spoke a few words. It is you, Deputy Tian Yun, who really need to face the attacks from the officials in the court."

Tian Jing laughed, his eyes regained their spirit, and he no longer had the impatience and anxiety he had before. He said calmly, "Don't worry about this. Since they have entrusted my life to me, I naturally cannot let them down. Besides, your idea is very good."

“I just lacked this kind of ruthlessness in the past.”

"It also lacks your ruthlessness and recklessness."

"Let's be unbridled this time."

"I also want to see how these people will look when I suddenly do things that do not go according to their ideas, a life that has been clearly arranged by them. I'm sure it will be very exciting on the spot."

"Haha."

Tian Jing laughed wildly.

The smile was cold and a bit crazy.

(End of this chapter)