Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 251 People are superstitious about authority, and you represent authority!

Day two.

Xia Zhibai went to the Hanlin Academy early in the morning.

When he arrived at the front hall, Xia Zhibai met some acquaintances, but these acquaintances looked somewhat unfriendly. After all, dignified officials such as Deputy Censor-in-Chief and Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue were now assigned to Xia Zhibai's subordinates.

Naturally, they couldn't have a good face.

Xia Zhibai looked around, but found that Hua Lun was not there.

He did not invite many people to the court this time, only four people, Hua Lun, Lian Zining, Jie Min, and Ding Zhifang.

Today, these four people hold similar official positions, and basically serve in the six ministries.

He actually wanted to call a few more people, but the others he knew had all been appointed as local county magistrates this year, so he really couldn't call them all. So after some thought, he could only call those who were still in the capital.

Seeing Xia Zhibai, Lian Zining frowned and said unhappily: "Xia Zhibai, what do you mean?"

"You are just a fifth-rank official, and you want me, the Deputy Chief Censor, to help you?"

Xia Zhibai laughed and said cunningly: "This is serious. Whether it is me, the Grand Secretary, or you, the Deputy Chief Censor, we are all serving the people. How can there be any distinction between high and low? Besides, you are still the Deputy Chief Censor, but right now the matter is urgent, so you have to temporarily commit yourself."

"If there really was no one, why would I want to do this?"

"What about Hua Lun?"

Xia Zhibai didn't say much about this matter, but instead asked about Hua Lun's situation.

Lian Zining said, "Hua Lun is currently the Minister of Rites. The Ministry of Rites is very short-staffed right now. It will be difficult for him to hand over the work in a short time, so it may take some time. But Xia Zhibai, what exactly do you want to do by bringing us together?"

"Didn't the court arrange for personnel?"

"Duke Xin and the Royal Guard will be traveling with us."

"How can we be of any use?"

Lian Zining asked about his confusion. He was of course aware of Xia Zhibai's recent troubles and had no intention of getting involved. But Xia Zhibai seemed to be determined not to let them go and insisted on dragging them in. They were helpless.

Xia Zhibai nodded and said, "The court did arrange some personnel, but Duke Xin and the Imperial Guard are obviously not people I can command."

"Although there are officials from the Salt Transport Bureau to help, I still don't trust them."

“Things are grim in the South.”

“But it can be big or small to a certain extent.”

"Some of you work in the Imperial Censorate, and some work in the Ministry of Works, which is just right."

“I want to keep the South thing as small as possible.”

Lian Zining frowned but didn't say much.

Xia Zhibai really didn't know many people in the court. He went out to do business at the beginning, and then stayed in the north for more than a year. Although he was appointed as the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy when he came back, he was only a fifth-rank official and had little contact with officials in the court. Even if he wanted to ask for help, he was afraid that he would run into a wall.

What's more, Xia Zhibai himself is not liked by others.

Lian Zining had been in the court for a while, and had long lost his youthfulness and immaturity. He said in a deep voice, "I don't want to get involved in the affairs of the South. You know, I was born in Jiangnan, and this time it's the South that's causing trouble. No matter what the result is, it will be detrimental to my career."

Xia Zhibai nodded.

He smiled and said, "Of course I know this."

"But you don't have to worry too much. Since I dared to call you here, I must have my reasons."

"It won't affect your career."

"And you overestimate the status of the South."

"The South is indeed a force that cannot be ignored in the world, but the Ming Dynasty is not just the South. What I want to do is to break the old southern pattern. The world has always been a small peasant economy and has always advocated self-sufficiency. The South has a developed economy and can support people. To a large extent, the South can be independent of the world."

"Now that you and I are both court officials, we should know that no dynasty would allow such a situation to happen."

"In order to strengthen control over the South, the central government can actually destroy the South's economy, forcing the South to rely on the central government."

"It's just that your Majesty was born in the south and doesn't have the heart to do so."

"But it is imperative for the court to strengthen its control over the south."

"What happened in the south this time can, to a certain extent, be regarded as a test of the imperial court by the south, or even a certain economic decoupling, so that the imperial court can reduce supervision and return to the 'tax farming system' of the Yuan Dynasty, where the imperial court only collects taxes and cannot interfere in local politics."

"This is something the court absolutely cannot tolerate."

"They will definitely be suppressed."

Lian Zining remained silent.

He actually knew something.

It’s just that too many people and interests are involved.

It's simply not something an official like him can handle.

In these court meetings, he has been deliberately avoiding the topic of the South.

Xie Min sighed and said, "Brother Xia, since you know this, you must know that this matter is so difficult to accomplish that it is almost impossible to move forward. The number of officials involved is so great that it makes one's scalp numb. Although we have a certain official position in the court, it is really not worth mentioning compared to those people behind the scenes."

"You are making things difficult for us."

Ding Zhifang also had a bitter look on his face.

Xia Zhibai shook his head.

Lian Zining and others thought too simply.

The truly powerful groups in the South at present are actually military generals and meritorious groups.

These people followed Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the world.

After the founding of the country, the Ming Dynasty rewarded people according to their merits, and these noble families gradually developed the idea of ​​"sharing the country's fate". They did all kinds of evil things in the south, and to a certain extent, they thought that this was what their family deserved. It was just that the emperor was stingy.

Since the emperor won't give it to them, they will take it themselves.

The influence of the meritorious group in the court was so great that even the court was afraid to act rashly.

But in history, these people were the focus of Zhu Yuanzhang's subsequent rectification. From the Li Shanchang case in the 23rd year of Hongwu to the Lan Yu case in the 26th year of Hongwu, in just a few years, Zhu Yuanzhang basically eliminated all the founding heroes.

There's no way to hide.

Lian Zining and others did not realize why Zhu Yuanzhang was actively trying to win over the scholars.

Civil governance is indeed one aspect.

On the other hand, it was to check and balance the nobles in the court and use the power of scholars to stabilize the court.

It was only because of the Hu Weiyong case and the Guo Huan case that Zhu Yuanzhang had to slow down the pace of suppressing the meritorious nobles, and even had to make certain concessions in order to conquer the Northern Yuan Dynasty. However, such concessions were only temporary after all. As the situation in the court stabilized, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely begin to clean up the meritorious group.

This is the inevitability of history.

The "scholars" Zhu Yuanzhang wanted were those who stood on the side of imperial power and opposed the meritorious group.

Rather than being a scholar who is hesitant and afraid of everything.

Xia Zhibai said: "You have forgotten where you are."

"You are the subjects of the Ming Dynasty."

"Playing it safe is not suitable for you."

"I'm not making things difficult for you. You just don't see the situation clearly."

"The imperial court will definitely intervene in the affairs of the South. It's just a matter of time."

"The salt administration has only intensified these conflicts in advance. As of now, the conflict between the imperial court and the meritorious group is far from being so acute. With the imperial court temporarily suspending the Northern Expedition, the meritorious group may have sensed that His Majesty is angry."

"They will make some concessions this time."

"I will not let you deal with these forces behind the scenes this time. I will just use the power of your six departments to push some things to land as soon as possible. I will be responsible for the specific matters myself and will not involve you."

Lian Zining, Jie Min and others looked at each other and sighed deeply.

Lian Zining said, "Since we have all been ordered by the court, what else can we say? What do you want us to do?"

Xia Zhibai said calmly: "You don't have to do anything at the moment. I will just take the opportunity to spread the news that officials from the six ministries are traveling with me this time. This is mainly to increase my own weight and make the meritorious groups in the south more fearful and dare not take any action."

"at the same time."

"Can you help me spread the word?"

"Tell the governors of the south that I have no intention of staying in the south this time."

“There will only be two local conferences.”

"One is a meeting of officials and businessmen."

"Call local factories to Yuhang for consultation. Those who fail to come will be regarded as illegal factories and can be directly banned by the court. This official-business conference is mainly to resolve the issue of factory ownership. The court gives profits to the people, not to merchants."

"I have only one request."

“The merchants who come here can really call the shots!”

"The second is the workers' congress."

“This is to address the rioting in the South.”

"It is natural for the cooks to have demands. As a local government, since we are unable to handle it, we should let the court handle it. Let the local government select some representatives from the cooks who are causing trouble to attend the meeting in Yuhang. The government will then come up with a solution."

“Both are final.”

"I, Xia Zhibai, will make the decision on behalf of the court."

"No room for local discussion."

"If there are any more disturbances in the area, the local government will be directly held accountable."

"I will give them a month. After a month, I will follow Duke Xin and others to Yuhang."

"You will come with me."

Hear the words.

Lian Zining looked confused.

Because they didn't seem to be doing anything.

He even felt that they were dispensable.

Not only Lian Zining had this idea, but Jie Min and others did too.

Xia Zhibai smiled, his eyes deep as he said, "You are not important. What is important is who you represent. I am a nobody and my words are not taken seriously. Duke Xin and Jiang Lin represent the power of the court. You represent the six ministries, the Imperial Censorate, and the central court."

"I want more than just for them to sit down with me."

"I also want them to sit down and have a good talk with me."

Lian Zining still didn't quite understand.

Xia Zhibai hesitated for a moment, then changed his words and said, "You have no influence in front of the Southern Group, but as officials of the six ministries and censors, you are very persuasive among the people."

"Just like Lian Zining, you are the Censor of the Ministry of Industry. If you tell the people that steam engines are beneficial to the people, the people will agree with you more because you come from the Ministry of Industry and have some knowledge about these things. The people will naturally have some faith in the officials of the Ministry of Industry when they speak to them."

“People are superstitious about authority.”

"And the position you are in itself represents authority!"

(End of this chapter)