Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

A few days later, the emperor and all the ministers who had gone south to pay homage to their ancestors headed north. Before leaving, Zhu Jian ordered the crown prince, the empress, the imperial concubines, and other princes to stay in Nanjing. Because of the pleasant climate in Nanjing, the imperial concubines and princes were allowed to rest.

Because Consort Tian was ill, Zhu Jian felt that the situation in the north was uncertain, so he left all the people in the harem and the Crown Prince in Nanjing, which was also a way to consolidate the imperial power in the south!

Yang Sichang is now the governor of Southern Zhili, stationed in Nanjing, which is sufficient to maintain the stability of the entire Jiangnan province.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived at Yanzhou Prefecture. Shall we take a look at the Yanzhou Textile Bureau that Wu Jun has newly built?" Wang Chengen, who was accompanying him, asked.

Zhu Jian nodded slightly: "Bring down the 100,000 one-tael silver coins manufactured by the Wuchang Textile Bureau and give them to Wu Jun so he can use the new silver to purchase cotton and spin cloth!"

"Also, let Zheng Sen, Li Dingguo, and Liu Wenxiu stay!"

"Cao Bianjiao, Zhou Yuji, He Renlong, and Liu Guoneng will escort the emperor! The rest of you will continue north to the capital!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" After Wang Chengen left, Cheng Guoxiang came to Zhu Jian's side!

Before long, the group split into two teams and headed north to the capital.

Another group, led by Zhu Jian, headed to Yanzhou Prefecture with Cao Bianjiao and others.

The next morning, a gentle breeze blew and the sun shone brightly on the earth. Outside Yanzhou Prefecture, Wu Jun and his entourage were already waiting to greet them.

"This servant, Wu Jun, greets Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects! Long live the Emperor!"

"Rise!" Zhu Jian looked around and saw that all the officials, including the Shandong governor and the prefect of Yanzhou, had arrived.

Zhu Jian slowly approached Wu Jun and asked, "How many bolts of cloth has the Yanzhou Textile Bureau produced so far?"

"Your Majesty, there are now 10,000 horses, all of them indigo blue!" Wu Jun replied truthfully.

"Wouldn't it be faster if we didn't dye it?" Zhu Jian felt that color and such were not very useful. He wanted to quickly increase the production of cloth to update the cloth armor on a large scale, equip the troops, and quell the cloth shortage in the market, squeezing out Songjiang cotton cloth.

Originally, Zhu Jian planned to seize territory in Songjiang and confront these merchants directly with weapons. However, while in Shanxi, a convicted official suggested that they weave cloth directly in the place of origin, which would reduce transportation time and eliminate the need to seize the market in Songjiang.

As long as the supply and price of raw materials are guaranteed, the private cloth business in Songjiang will soon be constrained by the problem of raw materials and reduce production. Since the price of Songjiang cotton cloth is mostly very high, it is not something that ordinary people can afford. In the end, this will only push up the price of Songjiang cotton cloth. Merchants will raise prices for small quantities but at high prices, so they will not lose anything. Ordinary people will then turn to buying cheaper Yanzhou cotton cloth, so they will not lose anything either. The ones who will ultimately suffer are the wealthy merchants and nobles of the Ming Dynasty. Cotton cloth that used to cost one tael of silver may now cost two taels, and may cost more in the future. This is a disguised way of taking money from the wealthy merchants and nobles to increase the vitality of private commerce.

"Your Majesty, the original color of the cloth is light yellowish-brown, mostly worn by mourners and poor people. It doesn't sell very well in the market. Blue is the easiest and simplest color to dye, and it only takes three days longer!" Wu Jun said truthfully.

After listening for a moment, Zhu Jian nodded slightly: "Let's dye it blue then. We need to expand the scale further, recruit more refugees and artisans! The weaving bureau should buy cotton on a large scale! It will be used for weaving cloth!"

"Your Majesty, if this is done, it will definitely encroach on Shandong's farmland, and there may be a danger of food shortage!" said Song Xuezhu, the governor of Shandong, who was standing to the side.

He felt that if all the cotton was taken away by the weaving bureau, all the people would turn their farmland into cotton fields, and then Shandong would definitely face a food shortage.

"Shandong is currently experiencing a severe drought and locust plague. Cotton is more resistant to locusts and drought than millet and wheat! As for the land conversion you mentioned, that's a matter for the people themselves. I remember that the largest amount of land in Yanzhou Prefecture belongs to the Prince of Lu. I will go and talk to the Prince of Lu and have him plant all his land with sorghum to alleviate the food shortage!"

Before Zhu Jian could finish speaking, a servant-like man, carrying a wooden box, squeezed to the side of Song Xuezhu, the Shandong governor, and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, this is the land deed for a million acres that the Prince of Lu sent to deliver to Your Majesty. The Prince of Lu said that how the land is cultivated is entirely up to Your Majesty!"

"The Prince of Lu also said that he had not received His Majesty's edict and could not come to pay his respects in person, and begged His Majesty to punish him!"

Zhu Jian was taken aback upon hearing this, thinking to himself: "The Prince of Lu is scared; he doesn't even want the land anymore, he only seeks safety... Usually, these vassal kings only know how to demand land, but now that they've seen me execute princes and abolish their fiefdoms, they all know how to protect themselves..."

"I will accept it. Please thank Prince Lu for me when you return. The country is in crisis and affairs are numerous, so I will not see him now. I will host a banquet for him in the capital after the country is at peace!"

"Yes! I will report the truthfully when I get back!"

Prosecutor Zhu waved his hand: "Go back!"

The Shandong governor, Song Xuezhu, took the wooden box and held it up to Zhu Jian: "Your Majesty!"

"You can let go now. Recruit more refugees to cultivate this land. Pay them 20% rent, just enough to ensure they don't starve!"

In the past, the lands of the princes were only cultivated by a few people, the fewer the better, so as to increase their income. However, as the emperor, Zhu Jian prioritized social stability. He would never allocate land to only nine people if it could support ten!

"Cheng'en, go and send someone to tell Prince De and Prince Heng to plant sorghum on all their land as well." He then pointed to the carriage behind him: "Go to the carriage and get two silver coins bearing the seal of the Prince of Chu's residence, and give them to the two princes!"

"As you command!" Wang Chengen said, and quickly walked towards the carriage not far behind him.

Song Xuezhu's throat bobbed as he stood to the side. This was a blatant warning. Everyone already knew that the King of Chu had hanged himself and that the Chu vassal state had been abolished. The fact that the emperor was sending the two princes silver bearing the seal of the King of Chu's residence was a way of telling them that this was the consequence of disobeying the imperial decree!

The reason why the King of Chu was destroyed was because he had a golden chair and rebelled! If the two kings of Deheng had not obeyed the decree, that golden chair might have appeared in their homes.

Some say that killing princes without authorization was politically equivalent to destroying the foundation of the Ming Dynasty's rule and accelerating the collapse of the dynasty. In Zhu Jian's view, this is pure nonsense from later experts and scholars. The Qing Tartars massacred so many cities and killed so many people, but they did not destroy the rule. On the contrary, the rule became more and more stable.

"Your Majesty, I have another matter to report!" Song Xuezhu said, bowing slightly.

"What is it?"

"Your Majesty, since Your Majesty exempted some salt factories in Shandong from corvée labor, there has been a severe shortage of manpower, resulting in a significant drop in production!"

After Song Xuezhu finished speaking, Inspector Zhu was taken aback. The salt factory could shut down? Was this some kind of trick on him?

"Liu Guoneng, lead 10,000 troops and arrest everyone in the Shandong Salt Transport Commissioner's Office, from top to bottom! Send them to the Yanzhou Textile Bureau to weave cloth! Starting today, the Shandong salt fields will recruit displaced people to boil salt! The issuance of Shandong salt permits will be suspended! Grain transported to Jinan will be given priority in exchange for salt!"

"Song Xuezhui, all salt affairs in Shandong are now under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Governor's Office! You are in charge of overseeing them!"

"Your Majesty, the dismissal of a large number of salt officials may invite criticism. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider!" Song Xuezhu believed that since the eleventh year of Chongzhen's reign, although the Emperor had stopped dismissing and executing officials at the level of governors and viceroys, he had instead begun to kill lower-level officials, especially those in the administrative structure who were not in charge of the administration. This was not a good sign!

In Southern Zhili, most of the tea industry officials were dismissed; now, in Shandong, salt industry officials are being dismissed as well...

"What 'three considerations and four departments' nonsense? I've already shown extraordinary mercy by not executing their entire clan!"

He then waved his hand and said, "Go and do it. I will return to the capital tomorrow!"

Salt fields have always been highly profitable and a hotbed of corruption. Zhu Jian's large-scale dismissal and exile of salt industry officials was largely due to the embezzled funds they controlled.

Once the family property was seized, the charges of smuggling salt and embezzlement were laid bare, making it possible to completely discard the old practice of gathering evidence before taking action.

The current problem of illegally issued salt permits is too serious. Although Zhu Jian did not directly invalidate them, he prioritized exchanging grain for salt, and the amount of grain transported to Yanzhou was exchanged for the amount of salt.

In this way, some of Shandong's economy was able to resume operations, driven by salt and textile production, thus mitigating the losses caused by natural disasters!

Attached is a picture!