Thief Emperor

Chapter 1122 Li Yun's Flaw

"Father."

Inside the Ganlu Hall, Prince Zheng, Li Cang, dressed in purple, bowed respectfully to His Majesty the Emperor.

His Majesty the Emperor was at this moment flipping through the latest issue of the Tang Dynasty official gazette. After reading it once, he turned to Prince Zheng and asked, "When did you return?"

"yesterday afternoon."

Prince Zheng lowered his head and said, "After I returned home and washed up, it was already dark, so I didn't dare to disturb Father. Today, after tidying up, I came to see Father immediately."

Li Yun looked at him and asked, "What did you gain from this trip to Jinling?"

"There are some."

King Zheng looked at Li Yun and said, "From what I have seen and heard on this journey eastward, it is clear that the Jiangdong region is now far more prosperous than other places, and can even rival the capital."

"Because of its prosperity and the recent emphasis on commerce, many merchants have recently moved to Gangdong Province."

Prince Zheng paused, looked at Li Yun's expression, and then continued, "Father, I dare to ask you some questions about the new policies I have witnessed along the way."

His Majesty the Emperor finally put down the official report in his hand and then looked at Li Cang.

"That's what you say."

Prince Zheng bowed his head and said, "Please don't take offense."

"There are some things that only your sons can say to you, because your sons truly care for you, Father. The officials would not dare to offend you."

King Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "First of all, the biggest problem is that merchants are flocking to Jiangdong, and there are already signs of collusion between officials and merchants."

"besides…"

King Zheng lowered his head and said, "In Jiangdong, there are now many textile workshops, as well as soap, fireworks, and glass mirror workshops."

"Some of these workshops are original industries from Jiangdong, and others are industries that flowed out of the Jinling Workshops created by my father."

"These industries all require a large workforce."

King Zheng lowered his head and said, "Now...now...there have been some cases of human trafficking in Jiangdong. Because Jiangdong no longer restricts household registration, most people can move around freely. Some unscrupulous workshops are deceiving people into working in their workshops."

"They were either coerced or tricked into signing contracts of servitude."

"They only provided food, but didn't pay wages, forcing them to work day and night."

At this point, King Zheng looked up at Li Yun again, only to see that His Majesty the Emperor's face was ashen.

He was startled and immediately knelt down smoothly with a thud, bowing his head and kowtowing, saying, "Father, your son...your son..."

His Majesty the Emperor stood up, his face grim: "Have you arrested them yet?"

Prince Zheng wiped the sweat from his brow. He naturally understood who his father wanted to arrest. After a moment of silence, he bowed his head and said, "Father, the indenture does not violate the rules of the court."

"The indentures that the local merchants, gentry, and officials concocted are entirely legal. Although I have secretly found some evidence, the main matter this time is to go to the Duke of Ningguo's mansion to offer condolences and to handle matters related to going to sea."

"Your subject has no authority to enforce the law..."

Emperor Li was furious and slammed his fist on the table.

"How abominable!"

"hateful!"

At this moment, Li Yun was indeed burning with rage.

He went to great lengths, spent a lot of resources and energy, and even watched as some of the workshop's "patents" were leaked out, before finally creating a large group of workers in Jiangdong.

To his utter surprise, before the industrial and commercial enterprises he envisioned had even taken shape, unscrupulous capitalists had already begun to emerge!

And this is actually one of the biggest loopholes in his system.

Because during the feudal imperial era, the existence of indenture contracts was not denied, and there was no emphasis on human rights.

Without human rights, those workshop owners can employ workers without any moral boundaries.

In fact, the rise of industry in another world also involved a long period of unscrupulous labor practices.

His Majesty the Emperor took several deep breaths to calm his thoughts. He looked up at his third son, wanting to say something, but still couldn't bring himself to speak.

Prince Zheng was kneeling on the ground. He cautiously looked up at his father and was startled to see that his father was breathing heavily. He quickly stood up, walked to his father's side, stroked his father's back, and helped him catch his breath.

"Father, I misspoke. I deserve to die. Please don't be angry. These cases are not common yet. I have only seen a few in the past few months."

His gaze shifted, and he quickly said, "By the way, Father, I have already taken care of the voyage arrangements you entrusted to me. The new fleet set sail more than two months ago..."

"If all goes well, we may be able to bring back what Father Emperor wants from overseas next year."

Emperor Li closed his eyes and waved to his son, saying, "Alright, I won't die."

After a long while, he finally spoke, "Go, go to the Hall of State Affairs and summon a few prime ministers."

King Zheng nodded first, then asked, "Father, who did you summon?"

"Call them over, all of them."

"Yes."

Prince Zheng quickly stood up and walked to the outside of the hall. He met Eunuch Gu and tugged at his sleeve, saying, "Grand Eunuch, my father is furious. Please keep an eye on him and make sure nothing bad happens."

"I'll go and invite a few gentlemen over." Gu Chang quickly bowed his head: "Your Highness, please rest assured, I'm here, nothing will happen."

Prince Zheng then left Ganlu Palace and went to Zhongshu. He went directly to Prime Minister Du, bowed and said, "Prime Minister Du, you, you should go to Ganlu Palace quickly."

"My father has something urgent to discuss with you."

Minister Du stood up, looked at Li Cang, and asked, "Why is it the Third Prince?"

Prince Zheng smiled wryly and said, "I just returned from Jiangdong and said a few words about the new policies, which angered my father."

"Father has ordered all of you ministers to go there immediately."

Du Qian was also startled. He tugged at Li Cang's sleeve and asked, "What did the Third Prince say?"

King Zheng hesitated and refused to speak directly. Du Qian had no choice but to immediately summon several ministers and, together with King Zheng, went to the Ganlu Palace.

By this time, His Majesty the Emperor had barely recovered. He sat in the main seat, looking somewhat lost. When he saw everyone enter, he gestured for them to sit down.

After the ministers were seated, King Zheng prepared to leave. The emperor glanced at him and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "You sit down too."

King Zheng sat down obediently.

"Tell the gentlemen what you saw in Jiangdong."

Prince Zheng repeated it cautiously.

The gentlemen listened, and all seemed to be deep in thought.

His Majesty the Emperor slammed his hand on the table, his voice hoarse: "Truly hateful, truly hateful!"

Having served Li Yun for many years, Minister Du knew from the scene that Emperor Li was truly enraged. He quickly said, "Your Majesty, the Secretariat should immediately issue a document to the Jiangdong region, ordering them to severely punish these villains."

Li Yun waved his hand and said quietly, "Anything not prohibited by law is permissible."

"We must find out the truth: those who trafficked people should be dealt with according to the law, and those who voluntarily bought and sold people should be dealt with accordingly."

His Majesty the Emperor shook his head and said, "Let's not deal with it for now."

"However, the rules need to be redefined."

The emperor said in a deep voice, "From now on, the slave system will be abolished."

The slave system was a common system in feudal times, and this system has now become the biggest loophole in Li Yun's new policies.

In other words, his system has a bug.

Du Xiangong seemed to be deep in thought, then asked, "Your Majesty, shall we also abolish household slaves?"

He cautioned, “There are countless people in the world who keep slaves. If the imperial court were to issue a decree to abolish slavery, it would be difficult to say whether it would even be feasible.”

"That means government orders are carried out smoothly."

"These slaves have regained their freedom, but where are they to go now?"

Emperor Li opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't refute it.

As an emperor, creating this social class out of thin air in an era where industrial workers did not originally exist was already his greatest ability.

He couldn't allow this nascent class to grow up immediately.

The only solution at present is to plant the seedling first, and wait for it to grow strong and healthy in the future.

As Du Qian said, in every prefecture, state, and county in the country, there were countless people who kept slaves. In extreme years, selling oneself into slavery was even the only way for poor people to survive.

We can only proceed step by step.

It's too difficult to abolish this system by simply issuing a decree that can be implemented throughout the country.

Even if it were to be carried out, there would be nowhere to distribute the slaves of the world.

Unless, he starts another business and overturns the current situation.

After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Li finally recovered. He looked at Du Qian and said, "The slave system can be temporarily suspended, but rules must be established that from now on, all industrial and commercial workshops may only hire workers and must never use slaves for work."

"Once discovered."

"Severely punish them!"

The emperor looked at the several prime ministers of the Central Secretariat and said in a deep voice, "The Central Secretariat should draft specific regulations in the next few days."

"Publish it!"

The prime ministers all bowed and replied, "Yes."

His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand: "You may go now. In a few days, Brother Shouyi will bring the charter to see me."

Several prime ministers left one after another.

After they left, Prince Zheng stood up, bowed his head and said, "Father, did I... say something wrong?"

"Do not."

The emperor looked at him and shook his head slightly.

"You're right."

(End of this chapter)