Top Scholar

Chapter 610 My Master Loves You
On the way out of the palace, Lin Zhihong listened quietly to the three men's enthusiastic discussion about seigniorage. Once in the carriage, he finally couldn't help but ask:
"Brother, if minting silver coins can make a steady profit, why didn't wealthy families and government officials mint them in the past, but instead kept minting silver ingots?"

"Actually, there's an extra benefit to officially minted silver ingots—when paying taxes to the government, if the ingots are in good condition, there's no need to pay extra for the fire loss," Su Lu said calmly.

"Isn't this also a form of seigniorage, just manifested in a different way?"

"Fire loss?" Lin Zhihong and the others suddenly realized.

That's right! Melting up silver fragments and dismantling silver ingots both incur losses, known as "fire loss." Isn't this fire loss essentially the seigniorage tax collected by local officials?!
If silver dollars are used instead in the future, then the reason for this fire loss will be gone.

Everyone finally understood that Su Lu's true purpose in minting silver coins was to transfer the revenue from local taxes to the emperor.

Su Lu decided to explain things clearly to his brothers, "Previously, the Ming Dynasty prohibited the circulation of gold and silver, so naturally these tricks didn't exist. Now we're at a critical juncture—although silver has become the main circulating currency, the bulk of the court's tax revenue still comes from grain. This situation will change sooner or later..."

“In fact, there are already calls to convert all the taxes of the nation into silver,” Su Man said softly.

"Isn't that Xia Bangmo?" Zhu Zihe couldn't help but laugh. This fellow was a madman advocating for 'combining labor service with silver,' and even gave it a flamboyant name: 'the whipping method'...

“Brother Shunyu may seem a bit crazy, but he’s actually a genius, and his idea will definitely come true.” Su Lu firmly believed, “At that time, the tax surcharge will become the main source of gray income for officials across the country. It will be much more difficult to promote silver dollars and take the seigniorage from them then!”

He paused, then said in a deep voice, "But it's much easier to change now—the Ming Dynasty pays more than 26 million dan of tax grain every year, but only two million taels of silver are sent to the Taicang, and most of that is miscellaneous items such as industrial and commercial taxes, salt taxes, and customs duties. So the fire loss has already appeared, but it is still negligible."

"Officials haven't realized how much profit is involved, or even if they have, they're powerless to change the tax structure. So, implementing the 'conversion of yuan to taels' now faces the least resistance. If we don't do it today, the resistance will be a thousand times, a hundred times, greater later!"

As he spoke, he sighed with a touch of melancholy: "It's often like this. A reform can benefit both the court and the people, but the officials and gentry will be unhappy. In a world where no incremental growth can be found, the court, officials and gentry, and the people form an impossible triangle—there's no way to satisfy all three parties."

There was another part Su Lu didn't say: it was fortunate that Eunuch Liu was there, he was able to keep the officials in check, whether they were happy or not, they had to obediently accept it.

Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, why not seize it and make the most of it?

~~
After leaving the palace, the classmates went to Wang Ao's residence to pay their respects and have a New Year's feast, but Su Lu had to first kowtow to his master and Grand Secretary Yang...

He first went to Li Gelao Alley, kowtowed to the master and mistress, and received his New Year's money. Madam Zhu knew that the banquet at the Guanglu Temple was essentially a free meal, so she went to the back to arrange lunch for him.

No matter how Su Lu refused, it was no use.

"Don't worry about her drugging you, she knows your dosage now," Li Dongyang said to Su Lu with a smile as he lay on the soft couch.

Not long after his cough with blood cleared up, he felt a feeling of pressure in his anus, blood in his stool, and his hemorrhoids flared up again. The imperial physician diagnosed that the reason was that the treatment for his cough with blood had been too much, with the use of yin-nourishing herbs such as Rehmannia glutinosa and Scrophularia ningpoensis, supplemented with cold herbs such as Scutellaria baicalensis and Gardenia jasminoides. Long-term use of these herbs not only damaged the spleen and stomach's yang energy but also caused the intestines to become greasy and obstructed.

In addition, his prolonged sitting at his desk already made it easy for blood circulation around the anus to be poor. All these factors combined caused him to develop hemorrhoids.

Anyway, Li Dongyang suffered a lot this winter, and he became so thin that Su Lu couldn't bear to see him like that, so he quickly smiled and said:
"Master, look at what you're saying. How could I possibly think badly of my Grand Tutor's wife?"

"I don't think you're looking out for me at all," Li Dongyang said dejectedly. "You asked me for that 4.5 million, and now you're acting like we're not on good terms."

"Why has Master become so sensitive?" Su Lu said with a wry smile, "I've already given you so much money. If I distance myself from you now, wouldn't all that money have been wasted?"

"That's true." Li Dongyang nodded, then said in a low voice, "Then why don't you ever come to see me?"

"I'm busy," Su Lu quickly explained, "It's almost the end of the year, and there's so much to do."

"I thought you were afraid of me and were going to ask me for money again," Li Dongyang muttered.

"Don't worry, Master, don't worry." Su Lu shook his head and smiled, "Because there really isn't a single drop left. The Emperor is supporting all the disaster victims in the capital. How can we ask him to contribute another penny? We just can't bring ourselves to ask."

"See, you're still worried I'll ask you for money." Li Dongyang pouted and said, "Don't worry, it's Chinese New Year, the elders give the younger ones lucky money, why would they ask you for money?"

"Master doesn't think the best of me either," Su Lu said with a smile. "I'll peel an orange for you."

“That’s too spicy, you can’t eat it.” Li Dongyang shook his head and said seriously, “I have something else to tell you.”

"Mm." Su Lu nodded and peeled it for himself to eat.

"Are we going to pay our respects to Minister Yang later?" Li Dongyang asked. "We'll go there on the way."

"Be careful, he might have something to say to you," Li Dongyang said in a deep voice.

"What are you saying?" Su Lu tossed half an orange into her mouth, her brows furrowing from the sourness.

"Stop playing dumb. Last year, the Emperor suddenly seemed to have a breakthrough and started doing those things. It was clearly not Eunuch Liu's doing. If he had been in charge, he would have messed them all up! So it's definitely someone else in charge now." Li Dongyang sneered, "What's the use of hiding it so well?"

"Then we must hide it, Master." Su Lu had long anticipated that his sleight of hand would not fool those with discerning eyes.

He stopped beating around the bush with Li Dongyang and asked directly:

"How should the child deal with him?"

“That’s right. Don’t always try to solve everything yourself. Your master is a very reliable support for you.” Li Dongyang then said with a hint of resentment, “You have to give this old man some opportunities to mentor and guide me, otherwise wouldn’t it make your master seem too useless?”

"Yes, yes, yes, that's exactly what I was asking," Su Lu replied with a forced smile.

"Hmm, that's more like it." Li Dongyang nodded, shifted to a more comfortable lying position, and slowly said, "He is actually representing a group to ask you—what exactly does the Court of Imperial Sacrifices want to do?"

Li Dongyang's words were soft and gentle, but to Su Lu they were like a bolt from the blue. He had thought this day would come a few years later. He never expected that he would have to face this challenge so soon, right at the beginning of the second year…

He exhaled a long breath and asked, "Who exactly is this group?"

“Yang Yiqing, Hong Zhong, Huang Xun, He Jian, Lin Jun, and perhaps even Grand Secretary Liu… In short, he represents the 'pure stream,' so this matter must be taken seriously!” Li Dongyang’s tone deepened.
"You must not underestimate this group just because they are currently being suppressed by Liu Jin. The Qingliu faction is like a mighty river, never ceasing. These past few years have only been a dry period. Once they get through this, they will return to their positions. This is what your master told you before, that you need to consider how to conduct yourself... Now we also need to add, how should the Zhan Shifu (Imperial Household Department) conduct itself?"

"I'm fine with myself. My only wish is to be a county magistrate and lord it over everyone. But the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is a real problem. It's not just my business, it involves a whole group of people. If those guys go too far and cause a huge uproar, they could really destroy this little temple." This time, Su Lu stopped beating around the bush and just said what he meant.

“Unfortunately, they really are ruthless.” Li Dongyang nodded in satisfaction. Since his grand-disciple was willing to speak the truth, he would naturally open his heart as well. “The struggles in the imperial court have always been the most brutal—you’re either one of us or the enemy, and if you’re the enemy, you must resolutely eliminate them without mercy! This is a lesson learned in blood…”

Su Lu frowned upon hearing this. He had long known that Qingliu was a bunch of diodes, and he originally thought they were just inflexible. Now he realized that it was called being resolute in their struggle.

"But don't we have a common enemy now, Liu Jin?"

"To repel external aggression, we must first pacify internal strife..." Li Dongyang said.

"That's something you usually say when you're vying for power," Su Lu said speechlessly.

"The entire Twenty-One Histories can be summarized in four words—'Striving to be emperor!'" Then Master Shi Potian exclaimed in surprise, "Although the ministers of the Ming Dynasty did not have the ambition to usurp the throne, their ambition to compete with the emperor for power was enormous!"

Su Lu was utterly shocked. Although he often made outrageous remarks, he never expected that his master, a native-born Grand Secretary, would also make such outrageous remarks!

I've finally found the root of my and my master's unorthodox ways...

These outrageous words had been bottled up in Li Dongyang's heart for countless years, almost to the point of mold. If he didn't confide in someone soon, he might develop some kind of illness from holding it in.

Now I can finally let my guard down and speak my mind: "Essentially, it's still the same old story of kings and tyrants... Those who have held power for a long time are unwilling to relinquish it to anyone, even if that person is the emperor."

He paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Even if the power should rightfully belong to the emperor."

Su Lu laughed: "Master, don't give me that. You've been in the position of prime minister for longer than I've lived. Let's be frank today—don't you know the principle that 'one who holds the position may not be able to govern; one who governs may not be able to hold the position'?"

Li Dongyang was not surprised to hear this. Judging from his grand-disciple's performance in just one year, he was well-versed in the underlying mechanisms of power. So, talking to him about grand principles would only make him take them less seriously.

Li Dongyang was going all out to restore his master's authority! He slowly nodded and said:
"That's right. As the ancients said, 'Position is bestowed by destiny, and talent is used to govern.' Duties are conferred by one's position. The emperor's duties are granted by Heaven, and in principle, they should be unparalleled, but ultimately, they are limited by his personal abilities. Both are supreme rulers with the same duties, so how can the power of the founding emperor and later emperors be the same? They are completely incomparable."

He paused for a moment and then sighed, “So you’re right—the emperor is ultimately limited by his abilities and cannot exercise all his powers; the powers he cannot exercise naturally fall to the ministers.”

(End of this chapter)