Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 220: Bad times for book editors?
The last two months of the second year of Taichang should have been a joyous time for the harvest in the local area in previous years.

Now, of course, there is very little joy and more sorrow.

Even though many people resigned from their posts, most of them did so for the middle way: they just didn’t want to disobey the imperial decree and be in the spotlight, offending many people.

Although I will be sadder in the future after losing my official status.

But it’s just some.

The court was dumbfounded by the huge amount of extra 10 million taels, and the emperor remained resolute in the face of so many people resigning. This was the reason.

Except for a "madman" like Shu Baiqing, most places finally reached a compromise: they handed over a considerable amount of money and grain, but did not let the local gentry go bankrupt on a large scale.

How rich were the officials and gentry in the Ming Dynasty? The confiscation of property by the King of Chuang in the late Ming Dynasty and the subsequent confiscation of property by the Qing Dynasty can certainly give us a glimpse of this.

When torture began, tens of millions of taels of silver were extorted from officials in the capital in just a few months. In Jiangnan, the Qing government seized hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from their homes.

Therefore, the entire Ming Dynasty produced so many things in one go this time, but it was not a serious blow to the whole country. Overall, it was only one or two tenths.

But it hurts!

Jiangnan suffered the most among them.

Huguang had more than 1.8 million taels, Jiangxi had more than 1.6 million taels, and Nanzhili had more than 5 million taels.

Because of what Shen Yikuan and Zhao Zhigao did, the province of Zhejiang alone contributed nearly three million taels.

Therefore, the other one capital and ten provinces of the Ming Dynasty were just the small corners, and the total amount was less than five million taels.

Since the court treats Jiangnan like this, there is certainly nothing good to say about the emperor here.

However, after the competition between the Beijing camps, the standard-bearing battalion of the Left General of the Left Army went to Gaoyou in Yangzhou, and the standard-bearing battalion of the Left General of the Front Army went to Dangtu in Taiping Prefecture. Six thousand elite soldiers who had been trained for more than a year were already on the way.

In Taicang County, Wang Shiqi resigned in October and returned home at the end of November.

Instead, he persuaded Chen Jiru to enter the court, which made Chen Jiru look at him twice more.

"My father strictly ordered the children of our Wang family that if the descendants of Zhang Jiangling were in the court, the children of our Wang family would be ashamed to associate with them." Wang Shiqi thanked Chen Jiru, "Now that your majesty has pardoned the sons of Zhang Jiangling, the children of our Wang family do not have to take the imperial examinations or the imperial examinations. Thank you, Mr. Mei, for teaching the children of our family over the years."

Chen Jiru asked: "So, I have to find another job?"

"Mei Gong is joking." Wang Shiqi looked at him deeply. "The Taichang Temple is arguing about the great principles of learning. Does Mei Gong really not care?"

"I am just an idler, what is there to fight for?"

"What about the publication of books?" Wang Shiqi said, "Before I left Beijing, I heard that the Imperial Study under the Zhanshi Mansion had also undergone a major change. In addition to the special printing of the court newspaper, it also has another power. From now on, except for the books printed by the inner court, all the books printed by the people must first be submitted to the Imperial Study and Zhanshi Mansion, and the book number must be approved before it can be printed. Otherwise, except for hand-copying, everything else will be tightened."

Chen Jiru could not help but be stunned, with a look of anger in his eyes: "Really?"

"How can I deceive Mei Gong?"

Chen Jiru's face was gloomy.

Being a teacher to support his family was just what he said. Although the teachers were all famous and wealthy, and they had a lot of teaching qualifications, Chen Jiru's real job was not this.

From the 20th year of Wanli to the present day, his greater source of income is editing books.

The Bao family, Qian family, Xiang family, and Shen family in Jiaxing were all his partners.

"Xiang'an Du", "Bi Han Bu", "Taiping Qinghua", "Huhui", "Sixteen Views on Reading", "Records of Observations", "Reading Mirror"... With his reputation as Chen Jiru, one book after another was printed by him and sold very well in Jiangnan.

But if the emperor actually wanted to take action against private bookstores, all books to be printed would have to be approved by the Zhanshi Mansion, which would be unbearable for Chen Jiru.

Not only did it cut off his financial resources, but it also left him no room to display his talents: by giving up his status as a Confucian scholar, wasn't the purpose to be free and say whatever he wanted?

"Isn't this a disaster for culture and education?" Chen Jiru said angrily, "Shen Changzhou didn't try to stop this?"

"What can Shen Taichang do?" Wang Shiqi said sarcastically, "More than 10 million taels of stolen silver were returned in one year, and almost every official and gentry in the world was guilty. Your Majesty sighed that culture and education were lost, and the morals of scholars were corrupted. You don't allow the people to speak freely, and try to see if there is any change. How can Shen Taichang refute it?"

“…Overcorrection!”

"Master Mei, this is an extraordinary time for culture and education. I am advising Master Mei, and I am also conveying the request of Duke Yansheng."

Chen Jiru was stunned for a moment: "Duke Yansheng? Retell?"

Then a hint of ridicule appeared on the corner of his mouth: Even Duke Yansheng is afraid of falling into words?
"The gentry of the world are eagerly waiting, and they also hope that the great scholars of the time will revive culture and education, and not allow heresy to usurp the throne."

Chen Jiru did not agree, but he just did not agree on the spot.

To print books, he needed to get permission, so he needed to go to Jiaxing first before making a decision.

After a while, in December, two people came to the Santai Pavilion in Jianning Prefecture, Fujian.

One is rough and the other is feminine.

After the two came in and looked at the bustling store, the rough one walked behind the counter and said, "Boss, where is your owner, Santaishan?"

"Who are you?" the shopkeeper looked at the two of them and asked.

The burly man smiled and said, "I am from the Yu family in Quanzhou."

"Yu Family of Quanzhou?" The shopkeeper was still trying to distinguish whether it was Yu or Yu. Then he saw the feminine young man holding a bronze plate and showed it to him. He was immediately shocked. "You two should move to the quiet room first. The owner has opened a Shuangfeng Hall. I will send someone to invite them now."

Seeing the shopkeeper invite the two people inside, the other guests in Santai Pavilion couldn't help but be a little surprised.

"The Yu family of Quanzhou? Looking at the shopkeeper's behavior... could it be the Jingyi Marquis family?" Some people have already understood.

"That's strange. Isn't Marquis Jingyi in the capital camp? Even if he wants to buy some books, he doesn't have to travel thousands of miles to Santai Pavilion to buy them, right? What books can't be found in the capital?" People outside were discussing. The shopkeeper inside arranged for someone to invite the "Santai Mountain Man" and personally brought in tea: "I don't know Mount Tai with my eyes, I don't know it's an angel, what are your names?"

"It's a good thing." The burly man smiled. "I am the Marquis's soldier. I followed the Marquis in Quanzhou in my early years. This time I am here to lead the way and provide protection. The shopkeeper can call me Yu San. This is Eunuch Qin Boyan from the study in the Imperial Household Department."

"Greetings to Eunuch Qin, and General Yu." The shopkeeper poured tea for them, but he was skeptical about whether it was a good thing.

But he didn't dare to offend, nor did he dare to ask first.

Of course, the eunuchs could only go out if the emperor ordered them to. How could they participate in the specific matter? They would naturally only tell their own masters.

"Since we have to wait for Master Yu, owner, do you have any good books edited by Master Yu? Please bring a few. I would like to read them."

"Eunuch Qin has given the order, I will go get it right away!"

The shopkeeper went outside trembling with fear, thinking about which books to take while having to deal with curious customers.

"Everyone... Today we have distinguished guests in our store, and I still need to entertain them. If you are not in a hurry, you can come back tomorrow."

The shopkeeper thought that no matter whether it was good or bad, it was not appropriate to make such a fuss about it.

So he sent some customers away in a polite manner and ordered the waiter to close the shop first. Then he took the stack of books compiled by the Santaishan people and delivered them inside.

Qin Boyan curiously flipped through the books, "The Mirror of the Great Learning and the Secret of the Fourth Generation of Wan Tianguan's Family", "The Complete History of the Han Dynasty", "The Newly-Printed Complete Mirror with Comments on the History of the Three Kingdoms", "The Cases of the Honest and Fair Judges of the Ming Dynasty"...

"Master Yu has many aliases." Qin Boyan glanced through it and said with a smile.

Yu Shiteng, Yu Junzhao, Yu Wentai, Yu Xiangwu... This Santaishan native signed his name differently in different books.

Qin Boyan looked at some of the books on preparing for the imperial examinations and asked Yu San with a smile, "How many of these books did you sell in the past?"

Yu San nodded: "The books in Santai Pavilion are good. When the Marquis and I were in Quanzhou before, the scholars in Quanzhou more or less bought them."

"The prosperity of Fujian's culture and education is also due to the contribution of Museum Master Yu," Qin Boyan joked.

The shopkeeper stood aside feeling uneasy, hoping that the owner would return soon.

Suddenly, a eunuch from the study of the Imperial Household Department came, and he was brought by Marquis Jingyi. This was beyond the level of people the shopkeeper had received in the past.

And they came here in disguise.

After a long while, Yu Xiangdou, the owner of Santai Pavilion, finally arrived here with a serious expression.

"I didn't know the angel had arrived, and I was sorry for not welcoming you from afar..." Yu Xiangdou bowed as soon as they met.

Qin Boyan stood up and looked him over first.

He looks middle-aged and a little old, but he is in good spirits and in good health.

"Is Master Yu's name Yangzhi?" Qin Boyan asked.

Yu Xiangdou's heart trembled, and he bent down and replied: "That's right..."

"You are such a lofty figure." Qin Boyan smiled. "I just flipped through the books engraved by Director Yu. There are more books here than those presented to Your Majesty in Beijing."

“Fuck…I am a commoner…” Yu Xiangdou was frightened, and the shopkeeper was trembling even more: Is this a good thing?

"...Forget it, let's go to the mansion to set up the incense table and receive the decree."

An old scholar living in his hometown suddenly heard that the emperor had an edict for him, but he didn't know whether it would be a good or bad thing for the time being, so he could only invite the two to his home first.

After receiving the order to set up the incense table, he knelt down facing north and listened to Qin Boyan read out the order.

I was stunned after listening to it.

"I am the editor, but you haven't accepted the order yet?"

Yu Xiangdou was stunned and looked up at him.

Yu San grinned and said, "Could it be that editor Yu is unwilling?"

Yu Xiangdou shuddered all over and kowtowed first: "I... no, I obey the order and kowtow to thank the emperor for his grace. Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long, long live His Majesty!"

Qin Boyan put the decree in his hand and helped him up.

"I will assign the bookstore business of Jianning Prefecture to someone else." Qin Boyan looked at him deeply. "Your Majesty knows how to use people. I will be appointed as a sixth-rank editor of the Jing Bureau of the Zhanshi Mansion as a student. From now on, all books in the world will be published through my hands. In addition, I and several uncles-in-law have been ordered to do a job, and I also need your help."

This was of course a special favor. Yu Xiangdou was really at a loss and couldn't figure it out: "I..."

After saying that, he looked at Yu San.

"It was not the Marquis who recommended you. It was His Majesty who knew about you first and summoned the Marquis to ask questions." Yu San explained.

"I, the editor, will be able to answer your questions on the way to the capital. Your Majesty is still looking forward to you spending this New Year on the road, right?"

Yu Xiangdou was indeed full of doubts and had no idea how he had gotten through to the gods.

However, after failing the examinations many times, he had given up the idea of ​​becoming an official. But now, inexplicably, he has become an official of the sixth rank and can wear a green robe.

Also...when did the Zhanshi Mansion have an editor position?

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Note: If you are interested in the story of Yu Xiangdou, the originator of copycat novels, a marketing fanatic who was ahead of his time, a bookshop owner, woodblock printing publisher, popular novelist, editor, and critic, you can watch the sixth episode of the second season of the documentary "Historical Stories" titled "Winning in the Ming Dynasty".

(End of this chapter)