I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 614 Your Majesty, I Understand

Zhu Yijun had a blank expression on his face, and his eyes were like deep pools, without a single ripple.

Zhang Juzheng was secretly worried.

Was I impulsive just now? Was I too proud of myself?
Nominally, she was the emperor's teacher. She had taught him for several years when he was a teenager, and they had a very close relationship.

But the power of heaven is uncertain and the will of heaven is unpredictable.

The Wanli Emperor he was facing was the most powerful and far-sighted emperor since the founding of the country.

Yes, Emperor Taizu was the founding emperor, and he held unparalleled power. But the emperor's control over the army and the people's hearts was no less than that of Emperor Taizu, not to mention that he secretly had several militia divisions.
There was another big problem. Emperor Taizu was suspicious and tyrannical by nature. As long as he had a suspicion, he would kill people without any reason.

He suspected that Prime Minister Hu Weiyong was colluding with nobles and generals, threatening his imperial power, and he wanted to kill him!

Fearing that the founding nobles might have rebellious intentions, they found all kinds of excuses to kill them. Prime Minister Li Shanchang had been retired for many years, but he was still found to have a change in the sky, a warning from heaven, and needed to kill the ministers to deal with the disaster, so all 70 members of his family were killed.

Lan Yu was originally kept as an assistant to the Crown Prince Zhu Biao, but Zhu Biao died early. He was worried that the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen would not be able to control Lan Yu and other arrogant and powerful soldiers, so he killed him!

Professors, instructors and other academic officials from all over the country wrote congratulatory messages on behalf of local officials, and in them they said "set an example and establish a constitution". "Then", thief, mocking me for having been a red turban thief, kill me!

"Wisdom begets wisdom", "sheng" means monk, which satirizes me for having been a monk; "follow the example of Xiang Wei", "follow the example" means shaving hair, which satirizes me for having been a bald donkey; "follow the example of the emperor and father to distribute the rank and salary", "follow the example of the emperor and father, I lost the emperor and father, and cursed me; "follow the Qian and follow the Kun, and decorate the Taiping", "follow the Kun means to have a shaved head, and decorate the Taiping means to have lost the Taiping early.
Kill them all, kill the entire family.

The emperor has learned the lesson of Emperor Taizu.

He also killed people without blinking an eye, but he always had a good reason. All the charges against him were backed by solid evidence that could withstand the interrogation of the procuratorate, the courts and the magistrates.

You can say that he is murderous and heartless, but you cannot say that he does not follow the rules and punishes people arbitrarily.

The key is that he is very good at killing people.
This is a bit unbearable.

Emperor Taizu ruled the country entirely based on his temper. He did whatever he wanted and the rules were just paper he used to paste on the wall.

The emperor sets the rules first and then deals with people within the rules.

So the difference now is that he was killed by Emperor Taizu, and people all over the world dare not speak out but can only sigh secretly, thinking that his death was so unjust!

He was killed by the Emperor, and everyone in the world said it was a good killing! He will be infamous for eternity, and will never be able to turn over a new leaf!

I was impulsive. I was really impulsive just now.

The reason why Yang Jinshui could reach where he is today is not only because he is indeed a talented person, but also because of the emperor’s complete trust.

But I said that he had too much power. Would the emperor think that I was jealous of Yang Jinshui and deliberately trying to sow discord between him and the emperor?
While Zhang Juzheng was feeling uneasy, Zhu Yijun spoke.

"Only Master Zhang can say this."

Zhang Juzheng was shocked.

Only Master Zhang can tell?

Do you mean that because I am the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and claim to have been your teacher, Your Majesty, I dare to take advantage of my seniority and say such things?

"I can understand Master Zhang's deep concern for me. Even if others can see this, they won't say it to avoid getting into trouble. Only Master Zhang is willing to say it."

Zhang Juzheng's heart finally settled down. After all, the emperor was not Emperor Taizu, and his state of mind was much higher than that of Emperor Taizu.

Zhu Yijun continued to explain: "Master Zhang is very clear about how the Shaofujian has developed step by step to where it is today. Today, he also knows that this Shaofujian is even better than the Shaofu of the Qin and Han dynasties."

Zhang Juzheng nodded without saying anything.

Indeed it is!
Qin and Han Shaofu, do you have so many factories?

Can we make guns and cannons? Can we build large sailing ships that can sail across the oceans? Can we trade at home and abroad and make a fortune every day?
How many militia divisions does it have?
While visiting the woolen factories, coal mines and steel mills, Zhang Juzheng heard the factory and mine managers mention that Kailuan had the Kaiping Militia Division and the Luanhe Militia Division, three artillery regiments and six infantry regiments.

In addition, there is a cavalry regiment in Zunhua, which is backed by the Luanhe and Liaohe grasslands.

Hulugang is close to the sea and has a Marine Corps.

The militia divisions will train for three days each month and intensively train for ten days each year, completely following the new army drill manual. To put it bluntly, the militia divisions will be able to fight back and forth with the new army.

How can it be?

It has been seven or eight years since the comprehensive suppression of the Japanese in the southeast in the 41st year of Jiajing, and Qi Jiguang went north to train new troops under the order of the emperor. Since the first year of Longqing, 50,000 to 60,000 veterans and non-commissioned officers have been discharged, as well as thousands of officers.

A large number of these officers, non-commissioned officers and veterans "transferred to civilian jobs" and entered various factories, serving as managers, workers, and logistics personnel. They are the backbone of the militia division.

The rest of the militia division's soldiers are young and strong men from the factory.

Zhang Juzheng saw with his own eyes that everything done in factories and mines had to follow rules and regulations, and the most important thing was to obey the arrangements of superiors.

How is it different from the military?
The biggest difference between elite troops and cannon fodder lies in military discipline.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Shaofu Zhang Han organized the slave craftsmen of the Shaofu, went out of Hangu Pass, and successively killed Tian Dan, King of Qi, Wei Ju, King of Wei, Zhou Shi, Prime Minister of Wei, Cai Ci, Pillar of Chu, Xiang Liang and Zhang He, and beat Chen Sheng and other militiamen and the former troops of the six kingdoms.

If Xiang Yu had not burned his boats and defeated Zhang Han, there might have been no Emperor Gaozu of Han.

Is the militia division of the Shaofujian of the Ming Dynasty worse than the slave craftsmen army of the Shaofujian of the Former Qin Dynasty?

There is also the Security Department!
During his inspection tour, Zhang Juzheng discovered that the most active department in the factories and mines was the Propaganda Department, who were really good at winning over people's hearts and boosting morale.

After inspecting the Fengrun Woolen Fabric Factory, in accordance with the emperor's order, these propaganda departments began to take the initiative to attack the surrounding villages and towns. They would influence more people and win over more people's hearts.

The Security Department is the most low-key, but it is also the most powerful.

Its duties are to protect the safety of factory and mine property, detect thieves who steal and destroy factory and mine equipment, materials and other supplies; protect factory and mine technology and production secrets, detect thieves who steal and leak secrets, and other prescribed matters.

As soon as Zhang Juzheng saw them, he smelled a strong scent of Jinyiwei.

How many factories and mines does the Shaofu supervise?

How many propaganda departments are there? How many security departments?

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng shuddered with fear. After much thought, he made up his mind to explain the matter to Zhu Yijun in detail.

Zhang Juzheng was willing to explain it thoroughly, and Zhu Yijun was also willing to explain it thoroughly.

“The establishment of the Shaofu Supervisor is actually because I don’t trust certain officials at the central and local levels, so I started a new organization.

At the beginning, the Qingliu faction headed by Prince Yu’s Mansion fought with Yan Song’s faction with great pleasure, while the Jiangnan faction headed by Xu Jie and the traditional civil servant faction sat on the mountain and watched the fight. Well, I call them the conservative establishment faction. "

“Establishment?”

The emperor has come up with a new term again, but every time he comes up with a new term, it is very meaningful and hits the point directly.

"Your Majesty, what does this establishment mean?"

“The establishment faction, Master Zhang, can be understood as those who possess power, big or small, in the existing official system and the court’s operating system, and who can gain many benefits from it.

Or you can call it a bureaucracy.

There are officials and clerks; there are clean streams and muddy streams. In short, they are officials who value their personal interests more than the interests of the country. "

Zhang Juzheng understood. No wonder the emperor quietly killed Xu Jie.

It turns out that in the emperor's mind, Xu Jie was the chief leader of the Ming establishment. However, the actions of Xu Jie and his followers also conformed to the definition given to them by the emperor.

They always try to shirk their responsibilities in the name of protecting their reputation.

On the surface, they were indignant at the corruption and abuse of power by Yan Song and his party, and called for their execution. In fact, they were also corrupt, but they were more hypocritical. Not only did they not admit their corruption, they also built a bright and beautiful memorial archway.

Seeing the look on Zhang Juzheng's face, Zhu Yijun knew that he understood, so he continued: "Master Zhang accompanied me on my eastern tour, visited so many factories, and deeply understood what the new productive forces are.

New productive forces must adapt to new production relations. Previously, whether it was Yan Song’s party, the Qingliu party, or the establishment faction with the largest number of people and the greatest invisible power, they were all conservatives.

Most of them may accept the new productive forces, because they can make as much money as a cornucopia or a money tree. But they will never accept the new production relations.

Yes, the aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River have passed down farming and studying from generation to generation.

When they started out, it was the combined efforts of the clan members, with most working diligently on the land to support a few people in studying and taking exams for fame, and then if one person succeeded, the whole family would benefit from it.

After he became rich, he hired others to do the farming while he himself enjoyed life, read books, made friends, and easily gained fame and fortune, and his power would last forever.

This is their true tradition of farming and studying.

Their roots are in farming and they are tenant farmers. Their path to success is "farming and studying." They are certainly unwilling to give up their comfortable lives and take the risk of "transforming" into new production relations.

Not only do you not forward it yourself, you also don't allow others to forward it.

When others transform into new production relations, adapt to new productive forces, and gain enormous wealth, they must seek a corresponding social status, move their tables, and grab their seats.

The vested interest groups will be extremely hostile to newcomers who come to grab the cake.

Zhang Juzheng replied carefully: "Your Majesty, I understand your painstaking efforts. The conservatives are unwilling to accept the production relations, so Your Majesty can only create new production relations, and the Supervisor of the Imperial Household is one of them.

But now that the Shaofujian has been put on the right track, Yang Jinshui has worked hard and made great contributions, so the emperor should still reward him generously. "

The reward was generous, which meant transferring Yang Jinshui from the Shaofujian in the name of promotion and arranging other people to take over the Shaofujian.

A common tactic used by all dynasties.

Zhu Yijun did not directly answer the question, "I can understand Master Zhang's sincerity. If you are not close to me, I will not risk my life to say such a thing.

But Master Zhang, don't worry, Yang Jinshui can't control the Shaofu Supervisor alone."

Zhang Juzheng's eyes flashed, but he said nothing and continued to listen to Zhu Yijun's words.

"Yang Jinshui is a very good person, with great talent, especially in economics. He has learned all the little economic knowledge I have, and he has surpassed me.

He stayed in Chaotian Temple for some time. As a man who had been brought back to life from the dead, he became very cautious and knew when to advance and retreat.

I feel very confident using him.

but"

Zhu Yijun thought about it and decided to talk it out with Zhang Juzheng. In the future, he and Zhang Juzheng would work together on many things. Without enough trust between the monarch and his subjects, it would be difficult to get things done.

"But I never gamble on human nature."

Zhu Yijun's words shocked Zhang Juzheng, who felt both surprised and happy.

He didn't quite understand what human nature meant, but he could tell that the emperor would not trust people easily. Human nature here is similar to human character and human nature.

Perhaps the emperor believes that human nature is evil?
"No, I don't believe that human nature is evil."

When Zhu Yijun said this, Zhang Juzheng was stunned for a moment, then he laughed.

Seeing Zhang Juzheng smile, Zhu Yijun blinked and smiled too.

The teacher-student relationship we had in Xiyuan Xi'an Gate Academy over the past few years has enabled us to guess each other's thoughts. But Your Majesty, you can guess more of my thoughts, and I can guess less of your thoughts!

After the teacher and student laughed, Zhu Yijun continued, "I believe that most people's human nature is not innate, but is completely influenced by acquired factors."

"There is nothing in the beginning?"

"Yes, human beings are inherently contradictory. Human nature has both good and evil sides. When people are born, they are ignorant and have only instincts, without any distinction between good and evil.

His good and evil were developed based on feedback from outsiders as he grew up.

He robbed other people's things and was reprimanded by adults. He then realized that stealing is evil and would never do it again.

The adults remained indifferent and he still could not distinguish between good and evil.

If adults approve of it, he will think that stealing things is a good deed, and he will continue to do so and even go further."

Zhu Yijun explained briefly, "So I am not willing to gamble on human nature.

In my heart, there are not many people who are truly loyal. For example, among the civil and military officials in the court, there are only a few such as Lord Hai, Master Zhang, Master Li, Lord Ruzhen, Yang Jinshui, and Feng Bao.

There are very few who are extremely treacherous and evil.

Most of them are ordinary people with their own opinions. They are like the endless grass on the grassland. They go in whichever direction the wind blows.

They firmly support what is beneficial to them and firmly oppose what is harmful to them.

"A gentleman is concerned with righteousness, while a villain is concerned with profit." However, in this world, what we fear most is not the real villain, but the hypocrite. They say they do not seek profit, but secretly they only seek profit.

Therefore, I do not believe in human nature, and only use systems and rules to constrain it. The systems and rules I formulate are to ensure the interests of the majority of people, making it easy for criminals to be discovered and the cost they pay is high.

Master Zhang."

Zhang Juzheng listened quietly, pondering Zhu Yijun's way of governing the country.

"Corruption and abuse of power cannot be stopped. Even Emperor Taizu's skinning and strawing could not be stopped, yet people still continue to do it. The key is to discover it early and punish it severely.

Early detection requires the use of a sound system and continuous improvement to plug loopholes.

The fiscal and taxation system of our dynasty was a piece of shit. Everyone knew it was a piece of shit, but why didn’t anyone ask for it to be changed? Because it’s easier to fish in muddy waters.

The Shaofujian Zhen had already designed the structure. The militia division was directly under the jurisdiction of the Front Army Governor's Office. The security departments of various factories and mines were secretly established by the Jinyiwei Yiweisi. "

The truth is out. No wonder I smelled a strong scent of Jinyiwei.

"The propaganda departments of factories and mines are mostly transferred from the Taichang Temple Propaganda Bureau. After a few years of experience in the factory and maturity, they should be transferred to various places to take charge of the propaganda work in various places.

Another part is from factories and mines transferred from the General Administration of Political Propaganda of the Rong government, which are directly affiliated to major companies and trading companies. The senior executives of factories, mines, companies and trading companies were basically selected by me, some of them were Jinshi, some were Juren, or some were officials.

After they have gained experience in various industries for a few years, Master Zhang, you will have a large number of new talents who understand economics and management available to you.”

Zhang Juzheng understood it completely.

Your Majesty, you are right. Yang Jinshui really cannot control the Supervisory Office by himself, just as I cannot control the Cabinet by myself.

(End of this chapter)