I'm really not doing business

Chapter 473 My achievements in this life are all due to my own efforts.

What is Wang Chonggu opposing? In fact, he was worried that the New Deal would come to nothing under the violent impact. Just like Wang Anshi's reform, if Zhang Juzheng's New Deal collapsed, the Ming Dynasty's New Deal would collapse.

Wang Chonggu was reminding His Majesty that any government order requires people to implement it, and the administrative power of the Ming Dynasty was not as strong as imagined.

Power is not so mysterious. The more information you have, the more 'substantial authority' you will have to your subordinates. If the information you grasp is not clear enough, you will only have 'formal authority'. Due to the complexity of information, the entire society will be uncertain. , leading to the blurring of the boundaries of various types of affairs, which is why the "top leader is responsible" system with a high degree of human governance has emerged.

At the local level, it was the governor who was solely responsible for major events, such as the invasion of Japanese invaders into popular uprisings. At the imperial court, it was the emperor who was solely responsible for the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty.

When the top leader takes full responsibility, dictatorship will appear, and dictatorship is power, and power will inevitably breed corruption.

Substantial authority leads to the responsibility of top leaders, gives rise to dictatorship, and breeds corruption. This is an inevitable shortcoming of all bureaucracies, or it is also the basic logic of social operation. No one can escape it, from large dynasties to small firms, business gangs, and workshops. , every household is like this.

At present, there are very few female workers in the Ming Dynasty, so all responsibilities in the family are borne by the husband, including all living expenses of the family, education and literacy for future generations, family development, etc. The wives and concubines do not leave the house or leave the house, and external information If you have a vague understanding, then the husband has absolute authority in the family, so there is a saying that when you marry a chicken, follow the chicken, marry a dog, follow the dog. This is also the reason why concubines and outhouses act like cows and horses, and they are called partners but are actually slaves. .

The head wife at least has the recognition and protection of public order and good customs and the law, so she can kill and seize the concubine's house.

Wang Chonggu must convince his Majesty, who is actively informed, has formed substantial authority, is fully responsible for the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty, has the ability and strength to take responsibility, and has complete imperial power. Otherwise, if the Huan Tian Fa is carried out with such a big fanfare, the Ming Dynasty will be riddled with holes.

All of Wang Chonggu’s objections are based on reality and practical opposition, rather than barking like a cheap scholar, carrying the banner of etiquette and talking endlessly, but saying nothing about the actual content. The success of the Huantian Law is certainly gratifying. Congratulations, but the pain of the process and the slim hope of success are things that must be considered.

In the Ming Dynasty, most of the grain collection orders were sent out by the county government officials who found someone to be named as the grain chief. They then took along the government servants who were full of different religions and unknown origins, armed to collect the goods, while the people picked up all the food they could pick up. Weapons, armed resistance to taxes, this kind of struggle has been staged in the Ming Dynasty.

Most of the rural gentry and gentry are actually bullies who bring trouble to their families. The bricklayers who build a house for their family still have to give them change, and others don't peel off their skin when they pass by.

Wang Chonggu bowed his head again and said: "Your Majesty is well versed in the theory of contradictions and is extremely accomplished in the theory of contradictions. Once the fundamental contradiction between man and earth is ignited, there is no way to explain it. The moment the fundamental contradiction is ignited, it is the end of the world. The most intense moment.”

Grain chief, starting from the fourth year of Hongwu, the area with a grain payment of about 1 shi is a district. Large households are appointed as grain chiefs for generations, collecting and transporting grain, and also formulating rules, compiling atlases, reporting disasters and faults, reporting tax evasion, and urging Food shortage.

"So, the Great Situ and the Young Situ were right, they have to wait for the Ming Dynasty's capital camp to return to the capital." Zhu Yijun had a thorough understanding of the corruption of the Ming Dynasty's grassroots organizations, so he never said that it would be done overnight. Zhang Juzheng had already drawn up three stages. Come on, these three stages will take ten or twenty years to achieve.

Wang Chonggu is now a bit jealous. Obviously he knows that his idea is completely crooked. In the final analysis, it is just a sentence that goes against the grain.

Wang Chonggu loudly told His Majesty that there are no grassroots organizations in Ming Dynasty, and it is impossible to implement the return of farmland and dredging. Policies need people to implement them. Without the construction of grassroots organizations, just talk about government orders with your hands empty, which is like a flower in the mirror.

This is the basic rule of the court, because everyone knows that once the fundamental contradiction is touched, it will be shocking, blood will flow like a river, and the fig leaf will be torn away, which will be a bloody reality.

Therefore, the county government must rely more on pledges and payments from large households, so that there is no need to go to the countryside to collect excessively and cause civil unrest. Over time, the Ming Dynasty has essentially formed a social and political order in which the landlords and rich people are the grassroots leaders in the countryside.

The system is designed so perfectly that when there seems to be no harm, it is the most dangerous moment.

Zhu Yijun said with certainty: "I never said that it would be completed in a short time. Wang Ci Fu is worrying too much. We should take our time."

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, nodded and said, "What Wang Cifu said makes sense."

During the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, it was not until the tenth year that the land measurement was initially completed.

Many times, courtiers avoid talking about some things, because they can only avoid talking about them, otherwise big trouble will happen.

Wang Chonggu's advice not only convinced Zhang Juzheng, but also convinced the emperor that this was not to stop eating because of choking, but to prevent Ming Dynasty from falling into the quagmire. Since it was not feasible, it could be postponed and discussed later.

Zhu Yijun was at his peak in the Spring and Autumn Period.

The economic base determines the superstructure. Local government offices need the rural gentry to pay their taxes, so they can only open the door for the virtuous and gentry to pay their bills. Everyone can accept it and determine the cadastral ownership. There are too many tax evaders. It makes sense that the Ming Dynasty suffered a huge financial loss and the imperial court wanted to find out how much land it had and who owned it.

Just like when Tan Lun was impeached for coughing in the Asahi Temple, the officials of the Ministry of Science and Technology just used the banner of strict etiquette to force Tan Lun to either let Wang Chonggu's family dog ​​eat imperial food in the Beijing camp or become an official. However, Zhang Dang wanted to protect his position. Next to Tan Lun, Lu Shusheng, the Minister of Rites, also coughed.

As long as the land restoration is implemented through court approval, even if the land restoration is not announced, if there is such a tendency, the oil pan will be lit. How can the rural gentry prepare the court to get involved in their core interests? Woolen cloth?
At worst, there will be another Japanese invasion, or there will be a layer of civil unrest to let the emperor know who is the master of the world.

Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu were both assistant ministers involved in the cabinet. They were all too aware of the dangers of taking this for granted.

The more the imperial court encourages farmers and mulberry trees to grow, the more luxurious households will feel that the masters are putting huge benefits in their own pockets. Officials, factories and organizations are in full swing, and sea trade is booming, but they are left to face the loess. Looking up to the sky and rolling in the earth, the Zheshe households themselves will find ways to enter handicraft workshops or even machine workshops.

Without anything else, not farming land for tenants, not leasing acres to tenants, the number of refugees would increase, and the court would be unable to cope with it.

"You're right." Zhu Yijun fully agreed with Wang Chonggu's opinion. The imperial power of the Ming Dynasty did not extend to counties. In the early days of the country, this was possible. However, as time went by, the grassroots organizational structure completely collapsed.

Throughout the struggle, we avoided talking about the fundamental contradictions and instead focused on specious and trivial matters.

This was a good thing at the beginning. After all, if you hold power, you can enrich your own pockets and bring trouble to the countryside. However, as the official land decreased, more and more people fled, and mergers became serious, the grain chief urged the grain collectors to pay taxes, and the taxes that could not be collected were He had no choice but to pay the compensation himself. After it became hard labor, the grain chief also began to flee.

The grassroots organization of Ming Dynasty completely collapsed.

Everyone tacitly refused to touch the untouchable topic, but in the end it was Tan Lun who broke the news himself.

Therefore, the local government and the rural gentry have a cooperative and symbiotic relationship. The local government needs the rural gentry to cooperate in paying taxes and paying taxes to the court.

Wang Chonggu further said: "Sometimes, the more you try to persuade him to give up, the more he refuses to give up. For example, for this farmland, whether the court reduces the rent, sells it to the public, and releases the land, it is a life-threatening matter that cannot be mentioned. But we did the opposite and encouraged Nongsang.”

The grassroots construction of the Ming Dynasty was the lijia system. On the basis of the lijia system, there were the yellow book and the fish scale book. The li chief, the grain chief, and the postman were the grassroots organizational structure of the Ming Dynasty. This system has been completely destroyed. The chiefs were replaced by rich households, and the grain chiefs became hard labor.

(basic structure)
What Wang Chonggu said makes sense. The land restoration law will eventually fall to the countryside. The logic of the land restoration law is unworkable. It allows the landlords to enrich the people and the rural gentry to cut their own flesh and feed it to them in the past. The common people who can dominate and do good things, take what is given and take away from others, the rural sages and gentry are not the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who cut off their flesh and feed it to the eagles.

Zhang Juzheng taught Zhu Yijun to think twice before acting. One must not not think about things, but also not overthink them. Those who are good at responding to the affairs of the world should focus on poor reasoning and respond with decisiveness.

"The imperial court also encouraged farming and mulberry farming. The more attention it paid to farming, the Zheshe households would feel that they were being treated like cattle and horses, and the less willing they were to annex the land, and even give up their land."

Taking "Returning Fields and Dredging" as the program and constantly tinkering and perfecting "Returning Fields" in practice is the reality of practice.

Maintaining the status quo is the best way.

It means that people must think over and over again when doing things, but at the same time, they should not overthink. Everything in the world must be based on reason, and decisiveness is also needed.

But no one mentioned it on the promotion list.

This is the same as the failure and limitations of the public land law caused by Jia Sidao. The grassroots are rural gentry and gentry. It is logically unfeasible to ask the rural gentry and gentry to implement policies that are unfavorable to them.

Wang Chonggu looked around and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, in fact, we can secretly visit Chencang and understand the decree of returning the fields in reverse. From the time we go to the time they take the initiative, sometimes people are like donkeys, barking and not standing. Asking him to kneel down or not, forcing him to move backwards is called stubbornness. The more you ask him to stand up, the more he will kneel down. "

Therefore, the objections of Wang Chonggu and Zhang Juzheng are highly consistent. His Majesty wants to give the people of the world a home so that they can live and work in peace and contentment. However, once the decree is implemented, it will cause the people of the world to be displaced.

The investment in these assets requires money, and with continuous investment, acres of land can be replaced by money.

Wang Chonggu's land reclamation plan and Zhang Juzheng's purpose were exactly the same, but their methods were completely different.

"How did Wang Cifu come up with such a trick?" After Zhu Yijun heard this, his face was full of disbelief. He planned to give up for the time being and wait for the productivity to further improve before discussing the matter. As a result, Wang Chonggu devised a secret method to assassinate Chen Cang.

Wang Chonggu knows His Majesty very well, and His Majesty is not a person who gives up so easily. For example, everyone thought that after the exchange between Yang Bo and Zhang Juzheng, the assassination of the king and the murder of Jia were completely over. However, they did not expect that Zhang Siwei was executed by the clan, and Zhang Juzheng was killed. Siwei himself was made into a specimen; for example, at first everyone thought that Longqing had settled his grudges with the Beilu during the peace talks, but His Majesty still sent troops to the capital to capture Anda Khan and behead him in the capital.

This is His Majesty the Emperor who must retaliate. Your Majesty is never a person who gives up easily. At this time, I persuaded Your Majesty to take back your thoughts. Your Majesty just temporarily suppressed the heart that was ready to move, and will definitely continue to implement it in the future. This is also the reason why Zhang Juzheng brought Wang Chonggu here, and Wang Chonggu provided another solution.

How did Wang Chonggu come up with such a weird method? He was full of melancholy and said with a little helplessness: "There is a rebellious son in the family who is worried. The more he is not allowed to do something, the more he has to do it. Now that we let him do it, he dare not do anything. Done."

Wang Qian is indeed the most rebellious son of the Ming Dynasty. He inherited the family business by himself. He really had no taboos in doing anything. The more he was not allowed to do it, he would do it. If he was not allowed to make money, he would have to overturn the Pearl Case. Wang Chonggu started from Wang Qian He found a way to break the situation.

The more the court controls, the gentry will only feel that the gentry's control is too lenient and they want to touch their family's ancestral property. However, another way of thinking is to stimulate the subjective initiative of the gentry, give up their acres, divide them little by little, lower their will to resist, and still Tian Shu, on the contrary, can be put into practice.

This is Wang Chonggu's complete advice.

"Rebellious son, rebellious son is good." Zhu Yijun was silent for a long time, agreeing with Wang Chonggu's paradoxical line.

This set of rhetoric is unconventional, but there are too many things that are unconventional in the Ming Dynasty. Being aggressive is like being disobedient. The more you restrain them, the more they will resist. It is better to let them behave themselves. Hand it over, this idea is feasible, but whether it can work or not depends on the operation.

Encouraging farmers to grow mulberry trees is a top priority for the imperial court. This is evident from the fact that Zhu Yijun’s relatives are involved in farming mulberry trees. The more the imperial court encourages, the less the powerful people invest in it, focusing more on industry and commerce instead of farming and mulberry trees. superior.

Steam engines eat people, and Wang Chonggu said his second purpose.

The Imperial Academy believed that after the Ming Dynasty's steam engines improved their production tools, both horsepower and production capacity would experience a terrible increase. People who do not think long-term must have immediate worries. The imperial court must take a longer-term view. Steam engines will not only eat overseas. The people of Ming Dynasty will also eat the people of Ming Dynasty.

Last year, the woolen official factory eliminated 7.5 weavers due to the application of a three-horsepower steam engine. This year, the advent of a -horsepower, smaller, and more efficient steam engine will also be applied to the weaving bureau and cotton textile industry. How many Zhinangs will be eliminated?

There are 1,500 firewood bearers in the Xishan Coal Bureau. After the imperial court introduced the use of steam engines, these firewood bearers have been carrying coal for half a lifetime. These 1,500 firewood loaders must find ways to relocate them. The official factory group was built to The purpose of placing poor coolies is not to create poor coolies.

These problems are worthy of Ming Dynasty's attention, and the solution is scale, expanding the horizontal scale. To accommodate craftsmen who may be eliminated.

At this time, the problem mentioned by the Songjiang School came true again. The excessive interference of the Ming Dynasty required investment, and because the return on assets would inevitably decrease, the investment would inevitably generate liabilities. The more debt there was, the more dangerous the court would be.

If the imperial court wants to expand, it will face the big problem of increasing debt. The Ming Dynasty Suiyuan Chidao and Mining already owe a lot of debt. Now it is completely demolishing the east wall to pay for the west wall, demolishing the benefits of maritime trade and making up for the losses of land development. .

Therefore, Suiyuan Chidao and Suiyuan Mining must succeed and completely complete the convection of South Yin and North coal before they can continue to move forward.

Fortunately, the person in charge of Suiyuan affairs was the very reliable Qi Jiguang.

Zhu Yijun's achievements in this life are all due to his own efforts, Wen Zhang Wu Qi, go up!

There is no doubt about Qi Jiguang's reliability. He can even mine. It was Qi Jiguang who found Taotu Mountain, which supported the entire Dabai soil supply, and reported it to the court, organized captive mining, and transported it to the capital. Mining was not a big deal for Qi Jiguang. Difficulties, especially in open-pit mines, are mainly organizational issues for Qi Jiguang.

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month of the tenth year of Wanli, before the Shangyuan Festival was over, the Ming Dynasty began to encourage farmers and mulberry trees. The content of the edict was similar to that in the past. They all ordered officials to encourage farmers and mulberry trees, suppress idleness, pay homage to the elderly, and ask the people If you are suffering, you will hear from the public opinion reports that if your official position is too dirty and you cannot be promoted, you will be weighed and punished, etc.

But there are only two more things, that is, local officials are not allowed to engage in unhurried battles, let alone allow the people to go their own way to prevent the farming season from being taken away.

It is just some unhurried labor. You are not allowed to carry out major construction projects without authorization, and you must persuade the people to cultivate the land and farm well without delaying the farming season.

In terms of implementation, the Songjiang Prefecture Municipal Shipping Department no longer issued a government order to exchange land for land. After the Songjiang Prefecture Municipal Shipping Department was established in the second year of Wanli, 10,000 acres of fertile land can be exchanged for a ship's land. This ship's land must be exchanged in the city every year. If the shipping company conducts reconciliation, it will be postponed for up to six months.

The reasons are very, very good. The people are not doing their job and the fields are deserted. This is a top priority and must be dealt with, so the window for free exchange of ship notes is closed.

bad! bad! bad!
At the moment the imperial edict was promulgated, the ship tickets of the entire Yanxinglou Trading House rose in response, and the price rose again and again. From the initial seven silver to ten silver, a three-masted ship can be used for ten years, or even longer. , and when a ship ticket costs five silvers, it can pay back its capital in two and a half years. Even taking into account the 95% return rate, ten silvers per ticket is a doubling of profits. Ship tickets are also the strongest tickets in the trading house.

After the opening of the 10,000-acre farmland is closed, there will be no place where the ships of the entire Ming Dynasty can freely obtain the ship's fuse! To join the five major ocean-going trading houses, you must accept the arrangements of the trading companies.

The Ming Dynasty had extremely strict management of ship leads. After closing this gap, the Ming Dynasty could only obtain ship leads from the five major ocean-going trading houses. Without a ship lead, it was equivalent to a pirate. If found, the goods would be confiscated, detained, exiled, or even The consequences of a kill.

Yao Changzhen from Xitucheng still didn't believe the rumor when he heard it, so he asked his son Yao Guangqi to inquire about it, and then he confirmed the authenticity of the situation. He slammed the table and stood up, saying in horror: "What is your Majesty doing? Yes. Are you going to kick us off the boat? Go and ask the prince!"

The prince was the former Minister of Justice Wang Zhigao. Wang Zhigao's son Wang Menglin was working as a lawyer while preparing for the next imperial examination. He was a person favored by the emperor. Wang Zhigao and Zhang Juzheng were in-laws and were very well-informed. They both lived in Xitu City, so Yao Changzhen maintained a relatively close relationship with Wang Zhigao's family.

Lin Fucheng is the Master Lin in Yao Changzhen's mouth. Master Lin is very popular recently. Poetry societies are asking him to write and give lectures. However, Master Lin does not accept any work or go anywhere. He only writes " "Xiaoyao Anecdote", Lin Fucheng's poetry club was rented to him by Yao Changzhen at a friendly price, so Yao Changzhen invited him to Lin Fucheng, and he had to go.

Lin Fucheng and Wang Zhigao arrived soon, and Yao Changzhen, Yao Changxing, Yao Guangqi, Wang Zhigao, Wang Menglin, and Lin Fucheng gathered together.

"The way I see it, Your Majesty may think that the money is coming too slowly, and he plans to follow the old Yongle business and complete the official ship and official trade." After Lin Fucheng understood the details of the matter, he said with an unkind expression. This is a very dangerous move. This is a signal that Ming Dynasty’s maritime trade is losing its freedom.

During the Yongle period, Zheng He's official ships and official trade supported the five Northern Expeditions, the establishment of the Beiya capital, the official road of Nuergandusi, and the Yongle ceremony. Obviously, the Ming Dynasty The emperor wanted to exercise the imperial court's complete freedom of official ships and official trade.

At this moment, everyone present remembered the horror of the imperial court's ban on the sea. It would only take ten years for the sea to be fully opened, and it would only take fifteen years for the Hong Kong Shipping Department to open the sea!
The Ming court planned to eat alone!

"What does the prince think?" Everyone looked at Wang Zhigao. Wang Zhigao was from Jingzhou Prefecture, the same hometown as Zhang Juzheng, and his son and daughter were in-laws. The exact purpose of the court's move had to be revealed by this insider.

Wang Zhigao shook his head and said: "Don't you know about Yuan Fu? What will he tell me about what he wants to do? I don't know very well. I haven't heard Yuan Fu mention it, but I know one thing. It was a major event that disgraced the court last year. , the national debt, Suiyuan Chidao and mining certificates are debts borrowed by the court and His Majesty from the people. "

"Since the beginning of the New Deal in the first year of Wanli, the imperial court's finances have been increasing day by day. Even the soldiers on the border have been paid in six books and one account, and they have had enough to eat. This borrowing by the imperial court from the people can be said to be a great success. Your majesty has lost all face and is still frugal in wearing Tsing Yi, but the court’s finances are still insufficient. Insufficient money is an inevitable problem for the court now. "

"Everyone, there are mountains of gold, silver, copper and coal in Womagang."

The imperial court wanted coal, gold, silver, copper and iron, but it lacked money to build roads and open mines, so it had to borrow money from the private sector to do so. However, at the end of last year, it was the top priority.

It’s not that the imperial court has no money, it’s that it’s not enough. This is a confirmed fact.

"It's broken! It's broken! It's completely broken this time." Lin Fucheng stood up immediately and said loudly with an extremely excited expression: "Your Majesty is so desperate!"

The emperor's frugality is well known to everyone in the world. While this throne is still there, the court is short of money again, so it makes perfect sense to focus on maritime trade!

The freedom of maritime trade is disappearing!
The Zheshe households in Xitucheng were the first to make efforts, and then the Nanya maritime merchants began to make efforts. If they could not directly exchange the ship's quotation from the City Shipping Department, they had to rely on the five major trading houses affiliated with the City Shipping Department, and these trading houses could only It is considered a semi-official operation, and the price of obtaining the ship's guide has suddenly increased.

Soon, a large number of memorials appeared in front of Zhu Yijun's imperial case. The contents were very similar to prevent His Majesty the Emperor from reversing history and returning to the era of forbidden seas. This method of exchanging land for land and ship diversion must not only be done, but also be done within five years. By extension, not only Songjiang Prefecture must have a policy, but also the Maritime Bureau of Michigan, Ningbo, Yuegang, and Guangzhou Dianbai City must have the same policy!
Zhu Yijun was silent for a long time while looking at the memorial in front of him. Zhang Juzheng's style of doing things was extremely serious, while Wang Chonggu's style of doing things focused on cheating and tricking people around. Zhu Yijun couldn't help but think of the time when Wang Chonggu tricked the official of Ke Dao. , let them go to Huangjimen Fukue to talk about the past.

This is Wang Chonggu's style. He does not have the burden of an idol like Zhang Juzheng. As a treacherous minister, Wang Chonggu does not act treacherously, how can he be worthy of the title of treacherous minister?
This time, the imperial court promoted the method of returning land to the land in order to retreat. It started quietly, and it was a proactive request. It also used the connections at its disposal to try every means to dissuade the emperor.

Zhu Yijun complied with public opinion. Zhu approved these memorials, but he still looked like "you have harmed me" and repeatedly emphasized that agriculture and mulberry trees are the foundation of the country. In ancient times, the sage kings all put the encouragement of agriculture as their first priority. Gold, pearls, and jade are not enough for hunger. There is no food and no clothing in the cold. However, with the prosperity of litigation and commerce, the agricultural work is much neglected, and the officials are ordered to prevent the fields from being left uncultivated.

These words are very reasonable. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was personally involved in farming and mulberry farming. He took Baoqisi to breed and raise seedlings. He understood the pain of reclaiming wasteland and farming. It was not a secret. This was one of Zhang Juzheng’s sins. Your Majesty was a born noble man. How could you do so for education? Bullying the emperor?
This round of retreat has been extremely effective.

This is a set of combined punches. Even if the understanding people in Shi Yao You know what the purpose of the imperial court is, they will still be unable to change the situation. The differentiation has been completed. This is the most insidious part of Wang Chonggu's move of retreating in order to advance. , divided the rural virtuous and gentry, and the powerful and right-wing.

Originally, the imperial court's move to change the land system was a thing that triggered a rebellion in the world, but now there are different voices, and it has also become a political correctness. Closing the window for exchanging land for land use means that maritime trade is not free.

The Ming Dynasty officials in the imperial court were still extremely cautious about "Returning the Fields". Most of them tried to implement it slowly with the idea of ​​giving it a try and stopping it immediately if it caused bad effects.

On the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the tenth year of Wanli, the capital was extremely lively. Lanterns were decorated on both sides of the streets. Red lanterns were hung high and swaying gently in the wind. People were coming and going on the streets, bustling with people, and a car driving from Tongzhou Come here, enter Beijing through Chaoyang Gate, and stay at Huitongguanyi.

Pan Jixun, the governor of Yingtian in the Ming Dynasty, will go to Suiyuan to regulate the Yellow River after returning to Beijing to report on his duties.

(End of this chapter)