I'm really not doing business

Chapter 576 Putting Power in Jail

The trend of neglecting the essentials and pursuing trivial matters and competing for extravagance has spread to both the Southern Court and Zhejiang. This is a phenomenon that Zhang Juzheng cannot see in the capital, and it has also caused Li Le's concern. His main reason for returning to the capital to report on his position is because of this matter.

The influx of a large amount of silver led to money being the most important thing in the Jiangnan area.

"Money is omnipotent and has even gradually become the standard for measuring good and evil, right and wrong, and right and wrong. As a result, everyone worships money and believes that money can make the world go round." Li Le said worriedly, "Admittedly, this is the inevitable result of the development of the commodity economy, but it is still too dramatic."

The influx of a large amount of silver and the blockage in Nan Ya caused the situation that Li Le saw.

Li Le tried to study the reasons behind this trend. In Nan Ya, with the continuous concentration of means of production, the continuous clarification of the division of labor in production, and the gradual abundance of commodities, the general equivalent for measuring the value of commodities - silver, seemed to have become the general equivalent that could buy everything, and even a magical power that could determine the fate of others, leading to a worship of money, and the ultimate result was that money was supreme.

"There is a brothel in Yuhufang where you can send flower baskets. Just like in the capital, each flower basket costs one hundred taels of silver. Ten flower baskets cost one thousand two hundred taels. The more you buy, the more expensive it becomes. The more expensive it becomes, the more people buy it. How strange is that? You spend thousands of gold just to win a beautiful woman's smile and get everyone's praise. People compete to become rich."

"There was a weaver in the brocade workshop. She was originally promised to a man. Her parents had arranged for her to be married, and the matchmaker had arranged for her to be married. It was the right time for her to get married. But on the wedding day, her parents asked for five taels of silver for the sedan chair. Her husband's family could not afford it, so the sedan bearer carried the bride and went back to her parents' home. The relatives and friends who had come to the banquet were helpless."

"This trend has also spread to the Imperial College of Nan Ya. When I first arrived at Nan Ya, the Imperial College was led by Geng Dingxiang, and it was quite simple. Even people wore linen clothes. This spring, when I went to the Imperial College of Nan Ya, everyone was wearing silk and satin, with some accessories hanging around their waists, fearing that they would fall behind others, and holding mahogany fracture fans in their hands."

"It's a weird look, and it makes people worried."

Li Le used three cases to illustrate the widespread practice of the Southern Yamen government of neglecting the fundamental interests and pursuing money above all else.

"How did you deal with these three things?" Zhang Juzheng asked curiously. In the letter, Li Le mentioned these things but did not go into detail.

Li Le said with a painful expression, "The Yuhufang brothel had to pay a tax of 40 silver coins to the court for every flower basket sold. I thought I could stop this practice, but after two days, I discovered that these guys took out 20 silver coins that were supposed to be distributed to the brothel girls."

"For a flower basket worth 100 taels, the prostitutes were only given 22 taels of silver. Now I took 20 taels away. The prostitutes scolded me profusely, saying that I was greedy for the prostitute's money!"

"This decree had to be stopped, stopped. The 20 silver coins were not even distributed to the brothel girls. These owners kept all of them for themselves. It's because the brothel girls rarely go out and don't understand the execution and suspension of the decree. These brothel girls still scold me!"

"It turns out that these employers have long been trying to find ways to reduce the share of these women. The additional tax I set immediately became an excuse for them to exploit them, so they just took advantage of the situation."

Zhang Juzheng thought about it for a while and realized that it was not so easy to ban extravagance. Li Le’s practice told Zhang Juzheng that this thing would not only attract criticism, but also be easily exploited by powerful and wealthy people.

As soon as the court said it would collect taxes, they would immediately levy them down to their subordinates. If the court stopped collecting taxes, they would remain silent and allow the court to continue to be criticized. This was perfectly normal in the process of implementing government orders.

"How do you respond?" Zhang Juzheng asked seriously.

Li Le gnashed his teeth and said, "I set a tax of one thousand silver coins for a flower basket and asked Luo Bingliang, the chief of the Taxation Bureau, to do the tax inspection. Suddenly, no one in Nanjing sold flower baskets anymore."

A new official has three things to do when he takes office. Li Le's first fire burned himself to the point of being covered in bruises.

Zhang Juzheng frowned and said, "Aren't you just being vindictive? I guess these powerful and wealthy people will only laugh at you behind your back. They have no other tricks but to overturn the table."

"That's right. I was really laughed at." Li Le was also amused by his own stupidity. He shook his head and said, "I just became the governor and wanted to do something big. Governor Pan was in a hurry to go to Suiyuan, and I also wanted to prove myself. As a result, I was a little impatient."

"Later, I came up with a plan. We can sell flower baskets, but the flower baskets of each brothel must be picked up at the Drum Tower in Yingtian Prefecture. On the third of every month, the brothel girls go to the Drum Tower to get their share of the bill."

"There is no limit on the price of a flower basket. The highest bidder wins. A brothel can have no more than ten flower baskets. Isn't it for the purpose of competing for luxury? Compete! Aren't these dandies trying to compete for wealth? Compete!"

"This really made those playboys gnash their teeth in anger."

"This month, each brothel only gave out ten flower baskets. Next month, each brothel gave out a thousand flower baskets. In the second month, there were too many flower baskets, and no one bought them anymore."

Zhang Juzheng's brows were still furrowed. He shook his head and said, "You and the powerful and wealthy are doing this, but the prostitutes will suffer. After all this, I'm afraid their lives will become even more difficult. When the city gates catch fire, the fish in the pond will suffer. When the gods fight, the mortals will suffer."

"What you have taught me is right, sir." Li Le said with a smile, "We can't sell these flower baskets anymore, but we can sell wine. If we sell more, we will earn more, and if we sell less, we will earn less."

"There are many wineries in the outer city. The wines from these wineries are not so easy to sell, and the profits are extremely thin. I built a government-run winery at the entrance of the old street to find a way for the winemakers to make a living. It is also the first government-run factory that my disciples have planned to build in the Southern Court. It is doing very well."

Zhang Juzheng's brows relaxed, and he nodded and said, "Although this may be suspected of competing with the people for profit, it is better than the previous method."

"Later, the government-run wine factory ran out of wine, so the public was allowed to enter the market, and the opposition was reduced a lot." Li Le shook his head and said, "But most of the money earned from the wine sold by the brothel women was taken by the maids, and not much was left in their hands. This was determined by the production relations."

"I originally thought that after abolishing the slave class, there would be some improvement, but the effect is not obvious. It's not that there is no effect, but the lives of most slaves are still not much different from the past, especially the prostitutes."

"Because these brothel girls, especially those along the Qinhuai River, have to bind their feet. They can only make a living by binding their feet, and it is very difficult for them to even go out."

Foot binding was not a custom at all, but a physical confinement that forced people to be dependent on one another. The fate of brothel women did not improve significantly because of the decree to abolish the slave system, because their lives were completely confined to the brothels. Even when the Southern Yamen abolished the slave system, these women did not go to the Drum Tower to participate in the ceremony to abolish the slave system.

"Abolition of slavery may seem to have no effect in the short term, but over time, the effects will gradually become apparent." Li Le explained. He was not criticizing the decree for being useless, but he believed that such a long-term decree would take time to take effect. When the time scale is extended from one or two years to one hundred or two hundred years, the impact of such a long-term decree on all aspects of the Ming Dynasty would be fully reflected.

Zhang Juzheng knew that this kind of decree would not have much effect in the short term, but the court no longer recognized the legality of selling indentures. Over time, it would slowly affect all living beings. He continued to ask, "What about the case of the weaver girl in the brocade workshop?"

Li Le said with a complicated expression, "They only sentenced her to return the betrothal gift. The weaver girl couldn't stand the pointing and criticizing from others, so she jumped into the Qinhuai River. She didn't die, but was rescued. She is now living in the official weaving factory of the Brocade Workshop and refuses to go home."

"This weaver girl knew very well that the 25 silver betrothal money and the 5 silver money for the sedan chair were all her parents using her reputation to make money. They didn't give her a penny and made her bear the bad reputation. With her bad reputation, it would be difficult for her to get married, but she didn't want to get married. After jumping into the river, she returned her flesh and blood body and life to her parents, and severed all ties with them."

It is a common phenomenon that a daughter who is married off is like water spilled. The husband's family will not divorce her, and divorce is very rare. The parents in this family are so cruel. Even if they really get the five taels of silver for the sedan chair, how much grievance will their daughter suffer in another family?
This case was the most impressive example for Li Le when he was the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture. It was one of the most direct examples of the huge challenge that money posed to public order, good customs, laws, and social consensus. Just for five taels of silver for getting out of the sedan chair, everything was in a mess.

Weaving girls in brocade workshops were one of the few women in today's world who could work a respectable job in public, rather than selling their smiles and bodies. Plus, there were schools in the government-run factories, and most of the weavers were literate. Although they could not be said to be well-educated, they could recognize the words and phrases used in daily life. The families that the weavers married into were considered middle-class families in Nanjing, not too poor, but not too wealthy either.

It was supposed to be a happy marriage of everlasting love and happiness, but it ended up like this, all for five taels of silver for getting out of the sedan chair.

"What about the matter of the extravagance competition in the Imperial College?" Zhang Juzheng did not make any comment on the case of the weaver in the Brocade Workshop, because this was not an isolated case, but a custom that emerged in the Southern Court. Zhang Juzheng had heard of this evil custom in the Northern Court, and the Southern Court had also issued a clear ban, but the effect was poor.

"It was stipulated that students entering the Imperial College must wear a uniform dress code and are not allowed to wear any accessories. Any extravagant behavior is regarded as bad conduct that reveals poor moral character. Only then has the trend of extravagance in the Imperial College been curbed." Li Le was very strict about this matter, and even a uniform Imperial College uniform was created to prevent further deterioration of social morals.

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "Well, this is the only solution. The Beiya Imperial College should also implement this policy, as should the three-level academies and the Royal Institute of Technology. After all, these are places for studying and self-cultivation, and the trend of competing for luxury should not spread to the academies anyway."

School is the place where one's outlook on life, world view and values ​​are formed. If this place is poisoned by the trend of competition for luxury and extravagance, it is inevitable that it will completely slide into the collapse of rituals and music.

Zhang Juzheng's face was extremely solemn, because the alienation of power to people is limited and partial, and it is particularly obvious to the bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty. The bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty are a small part of the larger group of the Ming Dynasty. The alienation of power to people can also be eliminated in the same way as metabolism.

However, the impact of money's alienation on people is universal and far-reaching, and has penetrated into every aspect of the Ming Dynasty. The court needs to respond to this alienation with caution.

"Difficult." Zhang Juzheng thought for a long time and finally said one word.

Zhang Juzheng recalled a question asked by the emperor during the lecture. If you punch someone, it will cost fifteen coins, and if you beat someone to death, it will cost two taels of silver. People who grow up in this situation will really treat others like objects. Even people, as objects, are not as valuable as the porcelain vases at home.

This is also a manifestation of the alienation of money to people.

New situations will bring new challenges. It is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to stop the influx of silver. The problem of money shortage in the Ming Dynasty has become more serious. Moreover, silver is gradually becoming a means for the Ming Dynasty to implement redistribution. If the inflow of silver stops, the new policies of the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed.

Zhang Juzheng said with a little uncertainty: "I think the essence of the problem is that the currency is in Nan Ya and blocked in the metropolis, but I have never been to Nan Ya, so I don't have a comprehensive understanding of this matter. Li Le, what do you think?"

"The blockage of Baiyin has exacerbated the widespread occurrence of this phenomenon." Li Le conservatively agreed with Zhang Juzheng's view.

"No, the essence of this problem is not the silver dam." Zhang Juzheng immediately denied his own statement. He looked at Li Le and said, "The pursuit of money is the pursuit of material things and the pursuit of a better life. This is not wrong. Therefore, the essence of the problem is whether people are slaves or masters of money."

“That’s the key.”

Zhang Juzheng immediately realized his one-sidedness and corrected it as quickly as possible.

Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment before saying, "There must be a clear and definite boundary here. People are the subject and money is the appendage. We need to rationally control human desires. This rationality can be public order and good customs, consensus, or even law."

"Besides the question of whether people are masters or money's servants, it is also very clear that this is caused by the huge gap between the rich and the poor."

"Let me think about it."

Any political decree cannot be thought of in a snap. It takes time to think about the key points. Zhang Juzheng was in the Northern Yamen and could not see many things clearly, so he communicated with Li Le for a long time, but this communication was still a glimpse of the whole picture. After an hour of understanding, Zhang Juzheng finally determined that the southern tour was necessary.

The court officials must see it with their own eyes; hearsay alone is only part of the illusion.

"I will organize what you said into a memorial overnight and send it to the palace tomorrow." Zhang Juzheng sent the two students away and began to write the memorial. The content was mainly about phenomena, rather than problems, causes, and solutions. Therefore, the memorial was written smoothly. Before the curfew ordered by His Majesty, Zhang Juzheng completed his memorial.

Zhang Juzheng did not make things difficult for You Qi. When it was time to rest, he put down the memorial and went to rest. This matter could not be rushed.

Zhu Yijun received Zhang Juzheng's memorial. Li Zhi had already mentioned the alienation of money on people, and Li Yashi had also mentioned it. Now there is one more person, Li Le. People from all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty had certain expectations and warnings about the changes that money would bring to the Ming Dynasty. Of course, some things are bound to happen, but this is also a drastic change that the Ming Dynasty must go through. We cannot not eat for fear of choking to death, otherwise we will starve to death.

Zhang Juzheng formally began to think about the system and how to use institutional design to reduce the chaos in this social change.

"Sir, you said that this is a phenomenon caused by excessive concentration of means of production, that is, the huge gap between the rich and the poor caused by mergers. Sir, you are trying to analyze this phenomenon and solve it." Zhu Yijun admired Zhang Juzheng's courage very much!

This problem could actually be avoided instead of faced, because it is very tricky and has a big impact. However, the adverse effects it causes will take a long time to fully manifest, and it may take ten or twenty years for it to become an intractable disease. Zhang Juzheng did not avoid the issue, but faced it bravely.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had a pile of miscellaneous newspapers at his hands. These newspapers only contained one content: discussing how to establish more supervisory mechanisms to check power, which was probably to put power in a cage.

"Put power in a cage. What is this cage? A prison?" Zhu Yijun flipped through several memorials and shook his head. His level was completely inferior to that of Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi. Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi had learned a lot now. They did not propose any policies at all, but only talked about problems.

Put power in jail.

This seems like a beautiful idea, but who will be responsible for building this cage? Who will be locked up in this cage? Who will supervise the normal operation of this cage? In the end, it will become a spiral door problem of power supervising power.

As the most powerful person in the world, Zhu Yijun would not ignore it. He would not let anything become a constraint on himself. The ethics and morals of three generations ago and the laws established by the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty would not do. These were tools to better rule the Ming Dynasty, not constraints.

Even the Ming Dynasty's ancestral precepts are tools, not constraints.

After Zhu Yuanzhang passed away, he could no longer take care of his affairs after his death. He paved the way for Zhu Yunwen to ascend the throne. In the end, Zhu Di still won the world. Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestral laws were still in effect, but every emperor would make some modifications. Zhu Yuanzhang decreed that eunuchs were not allowed to interfere in politics, and the Silijian had existed since the Yongle period.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty certainly has the final right to interpret the ancestral laws and the imperial precepts.

Zhu Yijun would not accept any form of so-called constitutional model. He was an absolute dictator, and when he felt it was necessary, even Zhang Juzheng could not stop him.

In Zhu Yijun's view, based on his actual practice, the so-called constitutional government is an outright lie, and constitutional monarchy is nothing more than a fig leaf for the meat-eaters to revel in. With such a fig leaf in existence, no one needs to be fully responsible for the corruption of the country.

The essence of constitutional monarchy is the lie that the meat eaters only enjoy the benefits of power but do not bear any responsibilities!

As an emperor, Zhu Yijun had only this attitude towards constitutional monarchy. No one could hope to complete the so-called constitutional monarchy under his leadership!
He didn't believe in that stuff at all! He was the emperor, and his position was that no one could challenge him, and he would not take the initiative to put himself in a cage.

But Zhu Yijun did not shut these writers up, but allowed them to discuss the issue extensively in miscellaneous newspapers.

This is inevitable during the reform. If one does not even have this kind of magnanimity, there is no need to carry out the Wanli Reform.

Emperor Yongzheng wrote a book called "Records of Awakening from Delusion", which roughly means: Resolutions and Notices on Several Historical Issues Left Over since Emperor Yongzheng entered the Pass.

This book is a debate between Emperor Yongzheng and the Han Confucian Zeng Jing. There are actually five main issues discussed in it. The first is the legitimacy of the Qing Dynasty; the second is the responsibility for the demise of the Ming Dynasty; the third is the distinction between Chinese and barbarians; the fourth is shaving the hair and changing clothes; and the fifth is Emperor Yongzheng's analysis of the ten crimes accused by Zeng Jing one by one.

What is more interesting is that Yongzheng, a man with normal aesthetic taste, did not insist on shaving his head and changing his clothes. He did not insist that braids and jackets looked good, but instead avoided the issue.

Zeng Jing said: Peacock feathers and horseshoe sleeves are the beasts in clothing; these clothes come from beasts, so the people who wear them are also beasts.

Yongzheng replied: It is according to their own customs, and those who are convenient are used; it has nothing to do with whether people are virtuous or not, or whether the political gains and losses; each place has its own customary clothing, which is used for convenience, and has nothing to do with whether people are virtuous or not, or whether the government orders are successful.

Yongzheng was a little bit upset, and immediately brought up the Han and Tang dynasties, saying that some clothes in the Han and Tang dynasties, such as feather clothes, crane cloaks, and lion belts, were also named after animals. Don’t you Han people also think that clothing is glorious? The Ming and Qing dynasties all embroidered animals on the patches!

Yongzheng was just making a complete sophistry.

Zeng Jing's main point was that the people wearing the clothes were beasts and that the clothes were ugly, and that shaving the head and changing clothes was a massacre of humans by beasts. Faced with this problem, Yongzheng could only be stubborn. After all, when shaving the head and changing clothes were a matter of keeping the hair but not the head, or keeping the head but not the hair, it caused an uproar in the world.

Each of these five problems was a serious crime punishable by the execution of the entire clan. For the last question, Zeng Jing even listed ten serious crimes for Yongzheng himself.

In fact, these five questions all point to one problem, that is, the congenital terminal illness of the Qing Dynasty, the defense between the Manchus and the Han.

However, Yongzheng still allowed such discussions and personally participated in the debate. Zeng Jing lived until December of the thirteenth year of Yongzheng's reign, three months after Yongzheng's death. Zeng Jing, the treasonous "traitor", was executed by slow slicing by Emperor Qianlong. Qianlong even went against his father's teachings and banned "Da Yi Jue Mi Lu" in a literary inquisition-style manner.

After the book "Da Yi Jue Mi Lu" was completed in the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign, it was widely published. Emperor Yongzheng even required that every official in the court and local officials have a copy, and all local officials and academic officials must lecture on the contents of "Da Yi Jue Mi Lu". Because too many copies were printed, no ban could stop its spread.

In Qianlong's view, the Dayi Juemilu would only make things worse. No one would pay attention to what Emperor Yongzheng said, but everyone would care more about what Zeng Jing said, which eventually led to widespread and large-scale doubts about the Qing Dynasty.

Emperor Yongzheng bravely faced the congenital terminal illness of the Manchu-Han conflict. He did not avoid the problem, nor did he put an end to it by beheading people and confiscating their property. He even fanned the flames and discussed the issue in depth, wanting to solve it once and for all.

But Qianlong chose to cover his mouth. Covering his mouth was of course simple, but covering his mouth was escaping. The result of covering his mouth was that there was no room for relief for this congenital terminal disease.

Every reform and innovation will have this kind of basket of opinions. Allowing such a basket of opinions to exist is a manifestation of courage in facing the problem.

When a problem arises, the only way to solve it is to face it. Escaping will only make the problem penetrate deep into your bones and become a terminal illness.

Zhu Yijun allowed the opinion mongers to express their opinions, and he made very clear limits on the scope of discussion. He physically reprimanded Chen Youren and stated that the atrocities committed by the Japanese pirates could not be glorified, which was Zhu Yijun's only limit.

The only thing he did was to be faithful and to discuss issues in a realistic manner. This was just Zhu Yijun's beautiful vision.

"For example, this miscellaneous newspaper, the long serialized "Biographies of Heroes of the Eastern Expedition", I like it very much." Zhu Yijun specifically praised a long serialized article in a book called Zhengde Miscellaneous News, which included countless outstanding talents who emerged to fight against the Japanese pirates when the Japanese pirates were rampant.

Even Luo Gongchen, the director of the Duxiangguan and the commander of the coastal defense, was included in it, and Luo Gongchen's life and contributions were fully listed.

"It was run by the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, and now the Junior Master of the Imperial Clan, Shen Li, is in charge." Feng Bao took a look and said with a smile, "The Junior Master of the Imperial Clan is a loyal minister. He will publish every article and every person after he has made a detailed understanding of them. General Qi reads every issue and never makes a mistake. They are all reliable articles."

"Rather than being a miscellaneous newspaper, it is more like a historical revision, and it is extremely rigorous."

"Official report?" Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "The Ministry of Rites has done a great job. Grant the Junior Master of the Imperial Clan a crane cloak, and add the titles of Junior Protector of the Crown Prince and Minister of Rites."

After Wan Shihe entered the cabinet, part of the Ministry of Rites' affairs were transferred to Shen Li, while Chen Xuehui, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, was in charge of diplomacy. The fact that the entire Ministry of Rites did not become a gathering place for lowly Confucian scholars who held high the rites and laws to prevent the emperor from making reforms had a lot to do with a group of Confucian scholars who were good at adaptability, such as Wan Shihe, Shen Li, and Chen Xuehui.

Shen Li was promoted this time, but he was still the Junior Master of the Imperial Clan. If there were any problems in the Ministry of Rites, Wan Shihe would still be responsible.

Wan Shihe had long ago begun to organize official newspapers in the name of the court in addition to the court gazettes. Unlike folk newspapers, these official newspapers, as authoritative newspapers, were not the mouthpieces of lowly Confucian scholars. They were to fully practice the principle of "one does what one preaches" and be trustworthy. Any source of information had to be confirmed before it could be published.

Official newspapers and miscellaneous newspapers formed two camps, wrestling on the battlefield of public opinion.

If you don't occupy the high ground of public opinion, the enemy will.

This issue of Zhengde Miscellaneous News tells the story of Shi Maohua. Due to Shi Maohua's great contributions in Shaanxi, people only remember his merits in resisting the invaders, but forget his deeds in suppressing the Japanese pirates in Yangzhou Prefecture in the southeast. Shen Li completed those little-known stories.

There is a detail here. Shi Maohua trained soldiers in Yangzhou Prefecture, ate, lived and traveled with the soldiers. He was a comrade-in-arms and was someone who could turn his back to the enemy on the battlefield. This was also the reason why Shi Maohua was able to win the anti-Japanese war in Yangzhou.

At this time, Shi Maohua, who was on his way back to Beijing, was very dissatisfied with the chief medical officer Pang Xian who was accompanying him!
The chief physician Pang Xian was a disciple of Li Shizhen. Since Shi Maohua submitted a petition requesting retirement due to illness at the end of last year, Pang Xian went to Shaanxi to treat Shi Maohua.

"You are such a hateful fellow. Can't I just read a newspaper?" Shi Maohua looked very energetic and even slammed the table. He did not look like the frail old man that the court thought he was.

Pang Xian said with a smile: "Just let Governor Pan take a look, and Governor Shi just needs to return to the capital safely. We are about to reach Guihua City. Once the highway to Guihua City is open, we will be back to the capital soon."

"Are you really not going to show it at all?" Shi Maohua sighed heavily and asked helplessly.

Pang Xian nodded and said, "There is an order."

(End of this chapter)