Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 282 Someone is a coward!

The second meeting ended quickly.

In less than an hour, everything was settled.

The merchants didn't say much from beginning to end, and were basically at the mercy of others.

What surprised Xia Zhibai was that officials such as Li Benmo, Zhang Tong, and Lin Shijia did not take the initiative to fight for it, but gave up all of a sudden. As long as it did not involve asking the court to send people to occupy large salt factories, they almost nodded in approval.

Xia Zhibai was a little surprised by the quick response.

End of the meeting.

Looking at the empty lobby, Hua Lun said with a smile: "Brother Xia, you miscalculated this time. The local government did not block it at all and it was approved directly. But from the speed, why do I feel that something went wrong in the south?"

Lian Zining nodded in agreement.

He said in a deep voice: "I also feel something is wrong."

“It was so smooth.”

"When we first came to Yuhang, although Minister Zhou and others greeted us with smiles, they were hiding daggers behind their smiles. When I think of that smile now, I feel a chill down my spine. The officials of the Zhejiang Provincial Government do things the same way. They pass on everything they tell others to do, and if they ask again, it means they have passed it on to the people below."

"When asked about the specific progress, they would send someone to ask, but they would not tell us the actual progress."

"With the government being so obstructive and the equally slippery Salt Transport Bureau, if they were to create obstacles, there would have been at least several more rounds. How come they suddenly changed after only two days?"

"why is that?"

Lian Zining was a little confused.

Xia Zhibai didn't quite understand. He was actually ready for a debate, but Li Benmo and the others didn't seem to have such an intention at all. They just struggled briefly and then gave up directly. They gave up quickly and even kept silent in the end.

It became a one-man show by Xia Zhibai alone.

Xie Min hesitated for a moment and asked uncertainly, "Could it be that the Jinyiwei found out something?"

When they heard Jie Min's words, they were all stunned.

Then a look of sudden realization appeared on his face.

After Jiang Li came to Yuhang, he has been elusive. Even Xia Zhibai has only seen him a few times in the past six or seven days. And when he sees Jiang Li, he usually looks hurried and no one knows what he is doing.

Xia Zhibai didn't ask either.

And it's not just Jiang Li, Tang He is the same.

There are basically no people.

Xia Zhibai stroked his chin and thought to himself, "It's possible. Duke Xin still has a lot of influence in the south. Many meritorious groups have to give Duke Xin a face, or at least they don't dare to embarrass him. And I don't know what the Jinyiwei is investigating these days. We keep causing trouble here. I'm afraid the local government is already in a state of panic. It's really hard to cope with it."

"finally."

"Let me take advantage."

Xia Zhibai also grinned.

Hua Lun and others shook their heads; they didn't think so.

Perhaps Tang He and Jiang Lin did put pressure on the local government, but if Xia Zhibai had not caused such a big fuss himself, the local government would not have surrendered so easily. I am afraid they would have continued to hold on. All this is what Xia Zhibai deserves.

At best, it is just the lesser of many evils.

As for what Tang He and Jiang Li were secretly investigating, they didn't have the courage to inquire.

I didn't dare to ask.

How could they dare to pay attention to something that could make Tang He and Jiang Li so concerned? It was good that they didn't find out anything. If they really found out, who knows how many people would die. Tang He and Jiang Li were also here on the orders of His Majesty.

"What are you going to do next?" Hua Lun looked at Xia Zhibai.

Xia Zhibai stretched his body and felt a lot more relaxed. He said, "Register all the salt factories, and then work with the Chief Secretary to integrate the salt factories. At the same time, let the engineers modify the machines."

"Why are you so determined to improve the machine?" Hua Lun was a little puzzled.

Xia Zhibai smiled mysteriously and said, "Machines are different from people. It is very easy to see some things. If there is a problem with the improved machine, I can only arrange people to repair it. In this way, I can understand the usage of these machines."

“Then we can have a general assessment of the operation of the salt plant.”

“In the machine age, technology is important.”

“And I have the technology!”

"In addition, if the parts of the improved machine are damaged, you can only ask me to replace them. Of course, it's not that you can't replace them yourself, but the machine is something that only the factory I own strictly produces according to the standardization. The ones produced in other places may not be so standard."

“I have the best value for money.”

"In the end, all the salt factories in the world, all parts and components will have to be approved by me for a period of time."

Hua Lun and the others were stunned.

They don't know the ins and outs of it.

I just felt a little scared.

Just a machine actually has so many tricks. If Xia Zhibai hadn't told them, they would not have realized it at all. These people in the South still regarded these machines as tools to make money, not knowing that they had fallen into Xia Zhibai's trap from the very beginning.

And I'm stuck.

Then several people nodded secretly. There is no free lunch in the world.

These people in the south thought that they had easily obtained the blueprints of the steam engine, but they did not know that Xia Zhibai had deliberately released them to lure them into the trap.

But to be fair, faced with such great temptation and worry, I'm afraid anyone would fall into the trap.

They are no exception.

I can only say that Xia Zhibai is very shrewd.

He calculated human greed!
Xia Zhibai stood up, looked at the sky, and said, "Next we should solve the problem of the stove owners. However, before solving the problem of the stove owners, we need to establish our prestige first. A man without trust cannot stand. The local government has lost its prestige. If we want the stove owners to trust the government, we need to spend more effort."

Lian Zining asked: "What are you going to do?"

Xia Zhibai said: "Of course, we will do as I said. Let the engineers publicize the usefulness of the machine, appeal to their emotions, explain the situation to them, and explain the pros and cons to the kitchen owners. Then let them make their own choices."

"Now that the Chief Secretary has given in, the matter of the kitchen owner is not that difficult."

"As long as you can sit down, there's basically no big problem."

"after all."

"Things have come to this point, and they don't trust the local government. It's unlikely that they will stay there, living in fear. Going north is actually a better way out, and the treatment they receive in the north is obviously better than in the south."

"It's hard to move away from one's hometown." Xie Min said.

Xia Zhibai nodded and said, "It is indeed difficult to move to one's hometown, but it also depends on the situation."

"How many people can stay here if they are always worried and scared? After we solve the problem of the kitchen owner, we may be able to set off back. This trip to the south is much smoother than I expected."

Lian Zining looked at Xia Zhibai seriously and said, "I have a question. Judging from the current situation, it is obvious that what happened in the south was caused by you. Even if it was not your initiative, it must have something to do with you. Why did you do this?"

"What is your purpose?"

Xia Zhibai stood tall, letting his clothes flutter in the wind, and said calmly: "Do you really want to know?"

"think."

"Then I'll tell you." Xia Zhibai raised his head slightly and said, "The things in the south were not caused by me, but they did have something to do with me. It's just that they confused cause and effect. For me, it's really unfair. I just exposed the true situation in the south."

"The more the South quibbles, struggles, and opposes, the more it shows that they are selfish."

"I told your majesty a long time ago."

"The taxation system of the Ming Dynasty has problems and must be changed, but Your Majesty did not listen. This time, by going south, I have made Your Majesty open his eyes to the actual situation in the south. Of course, I am not the only one. Perhaps Duke Xin, Commander Jiang Lin and others are also acting as Your Majesty's spies."

"Whoever it is will report the true situation in the south to the higher authorities."

“The South is not so peaceful.”

"On the contrary, there are too many evil things hidden under the prosperity."

"There are local officials, military commanders, children of meritorious servicemen, landlords and bullies, etc. These also exist in other places, but the worst thing about the south is that these interest groups have shown signs of uniting together, which is a very dangerous signal to the central government."

"The South is the South of Ming Dynasty."

"It must not become a situation where a few places in the south protect themselves."

"And to a certain extent, it also verifies what I said a long time ago."

"There is something wrong with the Ming Dynasty's scholar class."

“And it’s a big problem.”

"It's so serious that it can shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty and even directly affect the Ming Dynasty's direct control over the world. The South needs a major purge, and a purge will result in deaths and will cause turmoil in many areas. Therefore, I need to prove one thing to the world, that the South can quickly restore stability."

“Salt is a good example.”

"The advent of the steam engine did cause some trouble."

"But if you look at it from a broader perspective now, is the chaos really that serious? As long as there is no problem with the salt supply, do the local people really care?"

"I don't care."

"Even local people are happy to see officials die."

"Throughout history, many people have said that the people are fools."

“At first glance, this statement makes sense.”

"Because the people don't understand so many right and wrongs. As long as the person being killed is of higher status than them, they will applaud and secretly rejoice. Your Majesty killed me today, and the people of the world will also cheer when they hear about it. When Your Majesty kills you tomorrow, the local people will also cheer."

“Appeasing the people has never been a problem.”

"The real problem has always been the merchants, gentry, and officials who agitate for the people."

"They have enough power to stir up a big farce."

“But these people are not a monolith.”

"As long as we can differentiate and dismantle, big things can be reduced to small ones."

"With the application of steam engines, the power of local forces and the number of people they can coerce will become smaller and smaller, and it will become easier for the court to return to normal."

“And now the local forces are backing off.”

"They are cowards!"

(End of this chapter)