I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 311 We spend the winter in Liaoyang!
Under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, Yu Youding put down his chopsticks, sat upright, and spoke slowly.

"Lord Feng Pan, Lord Feng Zhou.

The student was from Ningbo and had an old relationship with the Shen family. He knew the two successful candidates in this year's imperial examination, Shen Wanxiang and Shen Yikuan. When Shen Wanxiang came to Beijing to take the imperial examination, he visited the student and the student also visited him in return.

I happened to meet him having a party with some like-minded people, so we chatted for a while and happened to talk about the ban on foot binding.

After the conversation, the students found that what they said was not without reason. According to them, the increasing number of people in the southeast supporting the lockdown was entirely driven by economic reasons.

Wang Shizhen stroked his beard and said, "Economy? Well, Li's new school of thought mentions this word the most. In their mouths, the word economy not only means managing the country and benefiting the people, but also includes the national economy and people's livelihood, farming, industry and commerce, transportation, finance and taxation, etc."

“Create wealth, distribute wealth, consume wealth.”

Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen were slightly stunned, then pointed at Yu Youding with a smile and said, “Yes, this is what Li’s new school often mentions.

Bingzhong, please continue. Why is economics the reason for the rise of foot-binding prohibition? "

"Lord Feng Pan, Lord Feng Zhou, in recent years, maritime commerce has flourished, and industry and commerce have flourished. The production of silk and cotton cloth in the southeast has doubled every year, and the momentum is very scary.

Silk cocoon, spinning, weaving, satin, embroidery and other factories are all in need of workers. Factory owners offer high wages just to recruit workers, but often fail to recruit enough workers.

Wang Shizhen nodded and added, “I have heard about this from my relatives and friends in my hometown.

In Suzhou, Changzhou, Songjiang and other prefectures and counties, there were always some idle people in the county towns in previous years, doing nothing. Now they are not seen, all of them have entered these factories. In the countryside and villages, tens of thousands of women are greedy for huge profits and have flocked to the cities to work in the factories.

A relative who lives in the countryside said that it is rare to hear women quarreling in the countryside now. Women have no time to quarrel because they are busy working in the factory to make money.

Everyone nodded.

Having enough food and clothing is the top priority for ordinary people. As long as there is an opportunity, they will flock to it like moths to a flame.

Yu Youding continued, "As Fengzhou Gong said, there is a shortage of laborers in the southeast. However, silk cocoon, spinning, weaving, satin, embroidery and other factories do not require physical labor, but only require carefulness and dexterity, which is most suitable for women to do.

It is said that in today's market, a skilled spinning worker in Shanghai can support a family of four with her monthly income. If two people in the family work in a factory, they can become a well-off family in one or two years.

Zhang Siwei understood, "I see.

The common people were suffering, and as long as they could earn a living, they would move forward. Foot binding would affect women's work and delay their earning money. Common people and factory owners all hated foot binding, so they jointly petitioned the court to ban foot binding.

"Yes, Lord Fengpan. Some people bind their feet just so their daughters can marry into rich and powerful families and have enough food to eat. Now there are countless factories that are in urgent need of workers. There are many ways to make money, and there is no need to bind feet.

"Foot binding would also delay work, and if you were not careful you would fall, or get injured or disabled. Therefore, in order to avoid trouble, many factory owners issued notices not to hire women with bound feet."

Shen Shixing then asked: "In this case, the people, whose means of supporting their families are cut off, will naturally hate foot binding and hope that it will be banned.

But I see that the people who are making the loudest voices in the ban on foot binding are merchants from the southeast and a few aristocratic families. Many of them were previously obsessed with foot binding, thinking it was elegant, but how come they have all changed so suddenly? "

"These aristocratic families often hold shares in factories. The more money the factory makes, the more dividends they get. If all women bind their feet, there will be no workers in the factory, and they will lose a lot of profits.

Rumo, elegance can't make a living! "

Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen clapped their hands and sighed, "Bingzhong's words have cleared the fog for us to see the sun. It is true that the Art of War says, 'The rapidity of rushing water, which can even float stones, is momentum.' The economy is just like this momentum."

Shen Shixing asked, "Lord Fengpan and Lord Fengzhou, the court is arguing over the ban on foot binding. What does this have to do with Lord Yude?"

Zhang Siwei stretched out his hand and moved it around on the table. "Everyone, eat the food! Eat and chat at the same time. Don't let the food get cold."

He picked up the chopsticks, took a few bites of food, wiped it with a cloth after eating, and answered slowly.

"The loudest voice in support of the ban on foot binding was Mr. Zhuo Wu. He wrote articles in Shuntian Zhengbao, Minsheng Bao, and Shangbao, calling for a ban on foot binding.

"It is important for a scholar to work for himself and to be content with himself. If he does not work for himself but works for others, even Bo Yi and Shu Qi will be considered as lewd and perverse. If he does not work for himself but only works for others, even Yao and Shun will be considered as dust and chaff."

Although people are selfish and have selfish desires, this is understandable. But they cannot harm others to benefit themselves. This is not selfishness, but bad intentions. Some scholars, in the name of so-called elegance, appreciate small feet and golden lotus, and take pleasure in torturing women. This is not selfishness, but a bad conscience.

Worse still, it goes against the teachings of the saints: a benevolent person loves others.”

"When Mr. Zhuo Wu spoke out, his old friends and disciples followed suit and cheered with unparalleled force. Among those who firmly opposed the ban on foot binding was Yu Changde.

He advocated everywhere that sex separation was in accordance with the laws of nature. If women bound their feet, they could stay in their boudoirs and avoid obscene and immoral things. He quoted scriptures and argued with Li Zhi with great pleasure.

After a struggle, Mr. Zhuo Wu gradually gained the upper hand, and then the imperial edict was issued throughout the country."

Zhang Siwei stopped there and didn't say anything further.

Shen Shixing and Yu Youding had been in Beijing for some time and were no strangers, so they knew why Li Zhi was able to gain the upper hand.

Many people thought that it was the Crown Prince of Xiyuan who stepped forward to support Li Zhi. In fact, there was no need for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to step in!
First of all, the mainstream public opinion in the Ming Dynasty is now reflected in newspapers, and the influence of the upright literati on public opinion is gradually decreasing.

But all newspapers in the Ming Dynasty were under the management of the Taichang Temple. Li Zhi was the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple. There was no Taichangqing in the Taichang Temple, so he was the boss.

If you, a player, argue with the referee, can you win?

Secondly, the Taichang Temple had a missionary team. The first was a team of teachers, who were distributed in private schools, academies and colleges in various places; the second was a team of lecturers, who were distributed in towns and cities in various places and used newspapers as a basis to preach to the people.

Do you think they will help you or their biggest boss?

Finally, Li Zhi had a group of wealthy people supporting him.

Foot binding delays earning money and must be banned!
Countless factory owners and shareholders firmly supported Li Zhi. How did they support him? They contributed money.

Huge amounts of money were spent on finding ghostwriters to publish articles in newspapers criticizing the heinous crime of foot binding; honest censors were found, and a price was clearly marked on the fees they would pay to write petitions in support of banning foot binding; money was given to support famous scholars in holding literary conferences, which would be held in famous scenic spots or top restaurants. The conferences were grand and luxurious, and would make people look impressive if they could publicize them, but the theme had to be "Some Arguments That Foot Binding Is Violation of the Teachings of the Saints."

How could Yu Changde fight against Li Zhi when he was rich and powerful?

Of course, there were many wealthy and powerful people who supported foot binding and opposed the ban. Some wealthy officials, the richer and more powerful they were, the more they liked this perverted tune.

But this hobby is not important enough to sacrifice one's wealth and future.

Who knows what Xiyuan’s attitude is?

They remained neutral and waited and saw what would happen.

Yu Changde and others seemed isolated and helpless.

After a struggle, the anti-foot-binding faction gained the upper hand, and the cabinet voted and the Western Court approved it. Taking the Empress Xiaoci Gao, the mother of the Emperor Taizu and the famous benevolent mother, as a model, the emperor issued an imperial decree to ban foot-binding throughout the country, and those who violated it would be fined 50 taels of silver.

Some elegant scholars looked down upon it and said that fifty taels of silver could buy a thirteen-inch golden lotus, which was enough!
Don't worry, there are detailed rules behind the imperial edict: if any female family member has bound her feet since the first day of the third year of Longqing, or if any female family member has forced or induced others to bind their feet, she will be prohibited from participating in the imperial examination, provincial examination, joint examination, military examination, and recruitment of civil servants in various provincial governments.
If your family is rich and can afford the fine, you can ask the women in your family to bind their feet, or induce other people's daughters to bind their feet. However, you will never be able to embark on a career in politics and can only be a wandering idler wandering in the countryside.

As soon as this edict was issued, Li Zhi's reputation soared.

Yu Changde became a big joke.

He was so angry that he blamed Li Zhi for all his hatred.

Shen Shixing and Yu Youding now understood why Yu Changde hated Li Zhi so much in his words and kept saying he wanted to kill him.

Why bother!
Seeing their expressions, Zhang Siwei advised: "You two, the world is unpredictable, and people's hearts are hard to predict. The secular torrent is like walking on thin ice. It has been a thousand difficulties and dangers for us to get to this point.

Some people are willing to risk their future and wealth for a fight of pride. If you can’t persuade them, there’s no need to persuade them.”

After these words were spoken, not only Shen Shixing and Yu Youding were deeply touched, but even Wang Shizhen couldn't help but sigh.

On a hill more than a hundred miles north of Chifeng City in the Liaohe River, hundreds of vehicles were connected end to end, forming a circle following the terrain of the mountain.

Thousands of Northern Barbarian cavalrymen, brandishing their swords, shouting loudly, and urging their mounts to circle around the hill, occasionally drawing their bows and shooting arrows at the Ming army on the hill.

Thousands of Ming soldiers raised their muskets, hid behind the carriages, and worked in groups of three or five, firing at the Northern Tartar cavalry.

From time to time, the Northern Tartar cavalry fell off their horses.

"Boom!" Occasionally, the sound of a submachine gun would be heard, a shotgun would fly out, horses would neigh and people would scream, and three or five Northern Tartar cavalry would fall to the ground.

On the hill, Ye Mengxiong supported the bloody and dying Li Chengcai, tears streaming down his face.

Zhenbei Pass is nothing more than a stone wall built along the mountain. There is a half-stone and half-wooden fortress on the pass. It is already leaning to one side and there are fires and smoke in many places.

Tumen Khan rode a tall horse and stood on a hill nearby, looking at the teams of Chahar cavalry, who were well-equipped and in high spirits, riding their horses into Zhenbei Pass.

He raised his whip, pointed to the south and shouted.

"My children, we have already breached the natural barrier of Zhenbei Pass, and the Ming army has fled. Ahead is Kaiyuan City. If we take it, we will spend the winter in Liaoyang!"

"Long live the Khan!"

Tens of thousands of Northern Tartar cavalry waved their swords and guns and shouted excitedly in unison.

The sound resounded throughout the heaven and earth, and the mountains and rivers changed color.

(End of this chapter)