I'm really not doing business

Chapter 634: It's All Because of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty
Wang Chonggu had made it clear and direct enough that the reason why he was able to deposit six months of labor remuneration for the craftsmen in the Ministry of Revenue was because it was public money, and as long as it was public money, it would be used like dirt. It was equivalent to saying that in dividing up the cake of the great engineering project, Wang Chonggu left a little for the poor and coolies, and it was their own labor remuneration.

Secondly, the court has the money to do this kind of thing.

If the imperial court were to use this method to control all workshops and merchants in the world, it would only end up making the government policies a mess.

"You two, when there are contradictions and conflicts between metaphysical ideas and physical practices, practice is more important. Han Feizi said: Things are different in different times, and when things are different, we must be prepared for change. Therefore, a sage does not seek to restore the past, but is willing to break the old rules. This is the general principle of reforms throughout the ages." Wang Chonggu had a headache just looking at Hai Rui and Shen Li. These two truly upright people were too troublesome to deal with.

Han Feizi said: When the world changes, everything will change accordingly, so we must be prepared to deal with this change. We should not expect to follow past practices completely, nor should we stick to previous routines and allow things to remain unchanged. We must know how to be flexible in doing things.

Fake moralists and fake upright people can be dealt with by simply pulling out all kinds of negative information, but the real upright people and idealists can only find ways to convince the other party.

Zhang Juzheng frowned and said, "I agree with the second assistant's point of view. The method of paying for the six-month salary is not suitable for popularization. It's not that it won't be recognized. I'm afraid that this policy will become a bad policy like the Qingmiao Law. The Qingmiao Law was originally well-intentioned, but after its implementation, it became a sharp knife to exploit the people."

"Once the six-month compensation method is introduced, the powerful and wealthy will probably celebrate, because they can annex others like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, and finally form the monopoly they have always dreamed of, and collect rent without doing anything."

"Originally, the world is such that the strong get stronger, the weak get weaker, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. The laws made by the court also help the powerful to annex each other. The final result is a stagnant pool of water with no vitality at all."

If one only looks at it from the perspective of the court, one would see the workshop owners and merchants as being in opposition to the court. However, the most terrifying thing about this decree is the harm it causes to small workshops. It will allow the wealthy and powerful to complete a road of mergers that would have taken two hundred years to complete in a single go. I'm afraid they would wake up laughing in their dreams.

"What Yuanfu said makes sense." Hai Rui understood Zhang Juzheng's worries immediately after hearing it. Mao Dun told Hai Rui that nothing has only advantages and no disadvantages. Everything has two sides. Only after thoroughly understanding both sides of the contradiction and weighing the pros and cons can a decision be made.

Zhang Juzheng's new policy is complicated and intricate, but to put it simply, it can be summed up in three words: suppress annexation. His new policy from beginning to end revolves around suppressing annexation. This is Zhang Juzheng's pursuit.

Wang Chonggu said immediately: "Besides, with the government-run factories there, the private houses dare not go too far. It is a process of strife between the government and the people, which is beneficial to both the government-run factories and the private houses. The government-run factories and the officialdom have all the problems that the officialdom has. The Xishan Coal Bureau and the woolen cloth government-run factories have all of them. Only when the private houses have enough vitality can they curb the rigidity, bloat and corruption of the government-run factories."

"The market is very fair. Those who cannot survive will be eliminated. To ensure the vitality of private workshops is to ensure the vitality of government factories, and vice versa."

The reason is easy to explain. The government-owned factories play a leading role. Once the government-owned factories have set a good example, the private factories naturally dare not go too far. This is a mutual process.

"Then how can we enforce it? After the meat eaters and producers sign the labor contract, if the meat eaters fail to execute it, the court will have no handle on them. I'm afraid that the decree will be nothing but a piece of waste paper." Minister of War Zeng Shengwu raised his own question.

This is not okay, and that is not okay either. So what can we rely on to restrain meat eaters? After all the twists and turns, is it still going back to relying on morality to restrain meat eaters? That is equivalent to no restraint.

Wang Chonggu looked around and whispered, "Tax inspection."

"Ah, so it's based on tax inspection!" Zeng Shengwu suddenly realized, looked at Wang Chonggu and said with approval: "I have no objection."

"I have no objection. If you have said that there would be a tax inspection earlier, then what else is there to say? Tax inspection is good, very good." Hai Rui immediately agreed with Wang Chonggu's statement. It seemed difficult to gain widespread support for saving six months' labor remuneration, and there was also the risk of mergers, but tax inspection could really cost lives.

You don't want to pay for your labor, right? Even after the court has made a ruling and arbitration, you still deny it. Don't blame the Tax Inspection Office for keeping an eye on you.

Hai Rui had dealt with these powerful people too many times. These powerful people definitely had money, but they just didn't give it to him.

The tax inspectors of the Tax Inspection Office were called the Ox-Head and Horse-Faced Tax Collectors, and the tax collection notices issued by the Tax Inspection Office were widely called death warrants. Any wealthy family who was issued a tax collection notice would be skinned alive, even if they did not die.

All tax collection activities of the Tax Inspection Office must be accompanied by a demand note. If there is a note, collection will be made; if there is no note, no collection will be made. However, anyone who arbitrarily collects tax without a demand note will be charged with treason and all the relatives and friends will be implicated. This will not be tolerated under national law.

This is the experience summarized after continuous trial and error when the tax inspection office was first established as a pilot project.

Behind every collection notice are countless clues reported by informants. The tax inspectors and the imperial guards check the accounts and find out the clues from the traces. In order to be worthy of their work, the tax inspectors will try every means to collect the taxes.

Paying taxes is as inevitable as death.

His Majesty the Emperor who set up the Tax Inspection Office is truly a genius!
"There are two ways to increase wealth: one is creation, the other is transfer. No matter how things change, the essence remains the same." Grand Minister Wang Guoguang said confidently: "Creating wealth is production. In the days of slash-and-burn farming, people could only gather and hunt. Later, people domesticated crops and livestock and started farming. Peaches can be picked in the peach orchard without risking life in the wild."

"Transfer is plunder, which can be violent or reasonable. For example, the Ming Dynasty relied on its strong productivity to gain commodity advantages in many commodities, and then used these advantages to earn the price difference through trade. This is reasonable. For example, the Western countries relied on more powerful military force to plunder the land, which is violent."

"The transfer of wealth is always a zero-growth game. Where there are winners, there must be losers. If someone has more money, someone else will have less money. Therefore, the Ministry of Revenue believes that since we need to adjust the contradiction between meat eaters and producers regarding labor remuneration, we should focus on encouraging production, that is, creating wealth, rather than focusing on transferring wealth."

"It is true that production is tiring and slow, while annexation, plunder, and exploitation are fast and easy. People prefer leisure to work, but this is the duty of the court."

Wang Guoguang's meaning was very clear. Taxation was a means of transferring wealth. The decree formulated by Wang Chonggu did not encourage production but only encouraged transfer. The Ministry of Revenue did not particularly approve of this decree.

Wang Chonggu frowned, thought for a moment and asked, "What do you think, Grand Tutor?"

Wang Guoguang took out a memorial and said, "For those who refuse to pay labor remuneration on the grounds of business difficulties, when the tax inspection office finds that there is no executable property, this private workshop will be transferred to the collective ownership of the craftsmen and apprentices, and compensation will be divided into shares based on length of service. The government factory will appoint a general manager, accountant and master craftsman to find ways to revitalize this private workshop within three years."

“This is to encourage production.”

It has always been the civilians who coveted the government factories, but now the situation has reversed, the government factories covet the civilians! This surprised Zhu Yijun on the platform. Does this mean that if the enemy can go there, I can go there too?
"Isn't this just a confiscation of property?" Wang Daokun, the Minister of Industry, said in a daze, "It's all for nothing. Grand Tutor, I'm afraid you'll be accused of competing with the people for profit."

"If the court doesn't confiscate property, won't it be accused of competing with the people for profit? Looking through the national records, the court has been competing with the people for profit for more than two hundred years. Where is the profit?" Wang Guoguang asked immediately.

When you are accused of rebelling, you'd better actually be rebelling, or have the ability to rebel, then no one will dare to accuse you.

Wang Guoguang’s meaning was very clear: since he would be scolded anyway, he might as well do it boldly.

"It's not a confiscation of property, but it's not because it was not confiscated by the court, but by all the craftsmen." Wang Guoguang said with a strange look on his face: "Didn't you notice? There is a gap between the government-owned factories and the private workshops, one above and one below, and the private workshops collectively owned by the craftsmen are the middle area."

The people of the Ming Dynasty liked to compromise, but on one side there were government-owned factories and on the other side there were private workshops, so there was a lack of compromise. Now the Ministry of Revenue is taking the lead in exploring a compromise between the government-owned economy and the privately-owned economy, that is, the collectively-owned economy.

"A production model in which producers jointly own the means of production. This exploration has actually already begun in government factories. After all, craftsmen have the right to a portion of the dividends, which is realized with the grace of Your Majesty." Wang Guoguang added.

Wang Guoguang's idea was not made out of thin air, but was based on the practice of government-owned factories. The Xishan Coal Bureau and the Woolen Factory would distribute 30% of their profits downwards. This was also a certain kind of collective ownership economy. The craftsmen occupied certain means of production, and their experience was part of the means of production. The Ming Emperor distributed dividends in the form of rewards.

Those who have the right to dividends are shareholders and one of the owners of the state-owned factory.

"Confiscation of means of production is a very appropriate statement to include in the guarantee of labor remuneration." Wang Chonggu agreed with Wang Guoguang's proposal. Since they had to explore the construction of the system anyway, they might as well start with those powerful and wealthy people who refused to abide by the law and even did not want to pay the people for their labor.

"Regarding the issue of guaranteeing labor remuneration, it will be temporarily under the management of the household registration offices at all levels. We will see in the future whether it is necessary to set up a special law enforcement agency to enforce it. For the time being, we will conduct a pilot project in Songjiang Prefecture." Zhu Yijun stamped his seal on the ticket and mentioned the pilot location, which was Songjiang Prefecture again.

The Ming Dynasty court put pressure on Shen Shixing again, as Songjiang Prefecture was the pilot area for the Wanli Reform.

Hai Rui of the Censorate took out a memorial with nearly a thousand words. He summarized it into four points and then summarized these four points in eight words: "Let the horses go to the southern mountains, and promote culture and military affairs."

"This censor has written nearly a thousand words, each word is brilliant and logically complete. He speaks well and is right, but what should we do when the enemy comes?" Zhu Yijun had no intention of letting the court officials speak, and he first opposed the article.

The Ming Dynasty's military expenditure was 12 million silver coins a year, of which the maintenance of the Beijing Camp and the Songjiang Navy exceeded 4.5 million silver coins. The Ming Dynasty's military expenditure accounted for more than half of the court's annual revenue. The huge military expenditure made the court have no choice but to restrict its actions in many matters, the most typical of which was the construction of the Chidao.

Reduce the size of the Beijing military camp and the navy, use the saved expenses to collect taxes, and benefit the people.

This censor was not a lowly scholar. What he meant was that the kiln workers and craftsmen were the best source of soldiers, and the engineering corps were the best reserve. By reducing the size of the Beijing Army and the Navy, the number of engineering corps could be increased from twelve to twenty-four or even more, thereby promoting construction.

If there is an external enemy, we can deal with it with a little training.

The huge expenditure of training one elite soldier in the Beijing Camp can train ten engineers.

This is also a way to strengthen the military, rather than disbanding the Beijing Army and the Navy.

Zhu Yijun said sincerely: "Yes, the Ming Dynasty has now established the Nagasaki Governor's Office. The Japanese pirates have been stopped in the waters of Tsushima Island, Jeju Island, Nagasaki, and Ryukyu. They can no longer harass the southeast of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty's Beijing Camp has conquered Tuman Khan and Altan Khan, and the north has gradually become stable. It seems that it is time to let the horses go to the south. But once the Beijing Camp and the navy are gone, these crises will come back again."

"This memorial is not for discussion, it is passed."

No matter how reasonable the memorial is, if the emperor rejects it, it cannot be discussed in court.

"Mrs. Zhongshun, the governor of Suiyuan, submitted a letter of gratitude, thanking Your Majesty for sending the chief physician to Guihua City, with the most flattering words." Minister of Rites Shen Li took out a memorial. The words on it were so corny that Shen Li was embarrassed to read them out loud. He said that the Emperor was the Eternal Heaven, the Emperor was the true God on earth, the Emperor was the reborn benefactor of the grassland people, and the Emperor was the parent of the grassland people. It could be summarized as Your Majesty's kindness is still not enough.

The key point is that even an upright official like Shen Li felt that what Madam Zhongshun said made sense. The literati of the Ming Dynasty cursed the emperor every day, making innuendos and blaming others. The captives on the grassland were grateful to His Majesty and worshipped him as a god with sincerity. It must be said that the wind and public opinion during the Wanli period were indeed magical.

A large-scale smallpox outbreak occurred in Guihua City, and the chief medical officer Pang Xian was like the Bodhisattva in mythology and legends. Wherever he went, the plague would be eradicated. Pang Xian led a group of soldiers who had been vaccinated against cowpox and went in and out of the plague-ridden areas. These soldiers, as if they were protected by God, would not be infected.

The large-scale smallpox outbreak in Guihua City was actually successfully eradicated under the leadership of Pang Xian.

Now the captives have an extra layer of mythological filter over the Ming army. They really believe that these are the heavenly soldiers and generals sent by the reincarnation of the Great Emperor Zhenwu.

This was the first time that the people of the grassland defeated the raging smallpox, and the first time they gained a chance to survive at the hands of the disease. When smallpox broke out, Sanniangzi was already disheartened and was even ready to destroy Guihua City. Decades of hard work were destroyed, and all her savings were gone.

Three years after the great epidemic, even if Guihua City still exists, it is only in name only.

"Dr. Pang, who saves the world with his medicine and relieves the people from their suffering." Zhu Yijun personally wrote the eight words and asked Feng Bao to make it into a plaque and send it to Pang Xian's hometown, to bring honor to the family in a physical sense.

There was a widespread vaccination method in the Ming Dynasty, but it was originally human smallpox. It was changed to cowpox. Pang Xian practiced it in Guihua City, and then he conducted experiments in the Jieku Hospital, and even tried the medicine himself, and finally succeeded.

If there had not been the Jieguan Hospital that your Majesty had to bear the infamy for, there would have been no cowpox treatment. This is indeed a favor from the Emperor.

There were also horse bandits and wolves on the grassland. The Ming Emperor sent a young scholar, Xiong Tingbi, to conquer Yinshan with three arrows. This has become a story told by everyone on the grassland. The young scholar, who was affectionately called Xiong Da by the emperor, did not disappoint the emperor. The Ming soldiers used muskets, bows and arrows, swords and spears to eliminate the wolves, which greatly improved the production and living environment on the grassland.

All of this is the kindness of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

"I actually just want the gold, silver, copper, iron, coal and alkali from Womagang and Shengzhou." Zhu Yijun was a little overwhelmed by the extremely disgusting praise. He was scolded so much in his daily life that he was used to the mountains of critical memorials. Suddenly, there was such a memorial full of praise, which naturally made Zhu Yijun uncomfortable.

The barbarians? Within three generations, there would be no barbarians. There would only be the people of the Ming Dynasty on the grassland.

On the one hand, the Ming Dynasty was benevolent in the grasslands, but on the other hand, it was like a furious King Kong, and never showed mercy to any rebels who tried to alienate the relationship between the imperial court and Suiyuan.

In fact, the decrees implemented by the emperor in the hinterland were the same. For example, the tiger hunting order was widely used in the North China Plain. The inspection offices in various places were required to hunt and kill ferocious wild beasts in places where there were tiger problems. The reward was also very generous. After verification by the imperial court, the reward would be paid.

Perhaps it is because the voices of the lowly Confucian scholars are too loud, these benevolent policies are being implemented quietly and never make the front-page headlines in newspapers.

The Ming Emperor preferred the hinterland because the cowpox method had not been used on a large scale and there was insufficient practical experience. The vaccination in Guihua City was experimental in nature.

Cabinet official Wang Guoguang said very seriously: "The Ministry of Revenue has drafted a tree planting law to reward those who plant trees in the capital. After the Waking of Insects, the earth's qi will be clear. After the Waking of Insects, you can choose tree species according to the earth's qi, and plant them sparsely or densely. If you plant sparsely, plant one every ten feet, and if you plant densely, plant one every three or five steps. The tree species can be mixed according to the local conditions, and they cannot be all the same. It is best to form a forest."

"For tree planting, ceremonial and roadside trees, etc., outside the three-year limit, if less than ten trees die out of every thousand, no discussion will be conducted. If more than ten trees die, the evaluation will be reduced by one level. If more than fifty trees die, the person will be fined for six months. If more than 100 trees die, the person will be fined for one year. If more than 200 trees die, the chief official will be demoted three levels to observe the effect, and the minister in charge will be fined for one year."

“If there is a major disaster, it will not be counted.”

"Isn't this too strict? If ten out of a thousand trees of this kind die, it will be included in the examination?" Zhu Yijun said immediately. He first felt that the rules set by the Ministry of Revenue were too strict. This was no longer a severe punishment.

This will basically lead to the death of all officials.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Grand Tutor, I also farm and plant trees. It would be good if 70% of these trees can survive. Your request is too high. Moreover, replanting can only be done around the Waking of Insects. Once this order is issued, I'm afraid there will be a lot of complaints and it won't be carried out."

In the huge Wenhua Hall, there were twenty-seven court officials, but only the emperor knew how to farm and plant trees. Zhu Yijun could empathize with him. After all, before he learned how to farm, he couldn't even grow a plant like the green ivy that could survive with water.

Wang Guoguang bowed his head and said, "So, outside of the three-year deadline, the dead plants can be replanted. The three-year test is to give them time to replant."

"Even if they can be replanted, this is still a severe punishment. The crime will be reduced by one level." Zhu Yijun wrote and drew on the paper. He was calculating the survival rate. In the end, he still asked for a reduction of one level in the crime. That is, only if more than fifty of the thousand plants would dry up and die, would he face the problem of a downgrade in the performance evaluation.

Wan Shihe hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this is the law passed down by our ancestors."

"In the 19th year of Yongle, Emperor Chengzu Wen moved the capital to Beiya and personally planted the first cypress tree in the Taimiao. He had people guard it and water it from time to time. Because of its effective care, it grew luxuriantly and became the leader of the cypress trees in the Taimiao. It was revered as a sacred tree, and the official who watered the tree was also called the sacred tree official."

"Your Majesty, the tree planting law during the Yongle period was much stricter than that established by the Grand Tutor. Stealing ten trees will result in forty strokes of the cane and three years' imprisonment."

Wan Shihe explained the ancestral law regarding tree planting during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. It was roughly a three-year minimum sentence and the maximum penalty was death penalty. The punishment varied depending on the amount of wood stolen, and corporal punishments such as chopping off hands and feet were not uncommon.

Wang Guoguang mainly asked officials to pay attention to tree planting and encourage tree planting, rather than just plant the trees or water them.

When the capital was moved in the 19th year of Yongle, Emperor Chengzu Wen began to encourage tree planting and imposed strict regulations on illegal logging. However, more trees were planted than cut down. After all, after Beiya became the capital, the population began to increase, and the demand for firewood and timber began to grow rapidly. Gradually, it became a dormant law. Laws that cannot be enforced will always be dormant.

The main reason why the Ming Dynasty can now bring up the old matter is that the Xishan Coal Bureau can provide 600 million kilograms of coal to the capital every year. Moreover, with the continuous expansion of production scale of Shengzhou State Factory and Womagang State Factory, this number will increase further, making tree planting possible.

"I see, but I still have to reduce the crime by one level." Zhu Yijun made a serious estimate and said, "You gentlemen don't farm or plant trees, so you don't know that this tree is not easy to grow. Let's try it out in the capital and see the results first."

Planting trees also requires skills. It is not as simple as digging a hole and burying some soil and then they will grow. They also need fertilizer and watering. Being overly demanding will not achieve the desired effect. Setting a goal that is too high and impossible to achieve will ultimately result in something that cannot be achieved.

"Your Majesty, I obey your order." Seeing that His Majesty still insisted, Wang Guoguang bowed his head and accepted the order.

The court discussion was still going on. The decision-making center of the Ming Dynasty was making various decisions with a pragmatic attitude. Everything was in order. As the emperor grew older and his prestige was gradually established, state affairs became orderly.

July is the season when typhoons form in the ocean east of Keelung Island. At the end of June, large sailing ships from the West set foot on the sea's highway - the ocean current, and sailed towards the New World along the North Pacific Current.

The fleet consisted of a total of twenty-two five-masted ocean-going ships, and each ship was not fully loaded. This was to share the risk of shipping. Also, the silver carried by the poor sailing fleet was not enough to fill these twenty-two five-masted ocean-going ships. Ten of them were delivered to Philip II to launch a full-scale attack on England.

Under the mast of the fleet's flagship, a man was tied. He had dishevelled hair and chapped lips. His hands and feet were tied to the mast in a strange posture, unable to move.

The stars were twinkling and the moonlight was shining on the blue waves, making them sparkle. Under the moonlight, one could barely make out the man's appearance. It was Legashi, the Western envoy who had stayed in Ming Dynasty for twelve years. Legashi was put on trial before he even returned to Western China.

Marcus came under the mast with a kettle and two cakes of bread.

"You said you were living well in Ming Dynasty, so why not stay there? But you insisted on taking a boat back to the West. Now look at what you have ended up in." Marcus' tone was full of pity. He broke the mooncake into pieces and fed it to Li Yashi, and also fed him some water with Guojiao to replenish his water.

The most dangerous thing at sea is dehydration. Sea water is not drinkable. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.

Legashi's hands and feet were tied firmly to the bottom of the mast, unable to move, but he still ate the entire light cake, then he sighed heavily and said helplessly, "I'm alive."

"It's my fault. I've lived in the Ming Dynasty for too long, and I've become a giant baby of the empire. I've forgotten how dangerous it is to criticize religion in the eyes of Westerners."

"Giant baby" is a word used by His Majesty to insult the lowly Confucian scholars. It means that there are some bad guys, really bad, who only grow in age but not in brains. They are obviously adults, but their minds are like those of babies.

Legazpi admitted his mistake and was tied to the mast because among the books he brought back to the West was a series of books called "Xiao Yao Yi Wen".

The most taboo thing in Xiaoyao Yiwen is the alienation of people by religion. In Ming Dynasty, this is a topic that can be discussed casually, but in the West, even on the ship, it is a taboo. After all, everything is a gift from God, and then people can plunder violently with peace of mind.

In his travel notes, Li Yashi criticized the emperor's stinginess, and the emperor found out about it. The emperor didn't care and just said, "I am just that kind of person," and released Li Yashi from the Northern Pacification Office.

In Xiaoyao Yiwen, there was an article about the alienation of people by religion, which was completely translated into Latin by Legashi. There were not only illiterate adventurers on the ship, but also literate messengers. When these messengers saw these books, they told everyone, which immediately made the sailors on the ship extremely angry.

"You're right. Your Majesty has spoiled me." Marcus held his forehead and said, "I can't help it. The captain is the most important person on the sea, but facing angry sailors, I can only tie you to the mast."

As a captain, this was the limit of what Marcus could do. Giving Legashi water and food was hard work, but at least he was still alive.

"If we return to Taixi, I'll probably be burned at the stake." Li Yashi said pessimistically.

"That may not be the case." Marcus shook his head and said, "It would be better to return to the West. There is a very popular sect in the West now, called the Wisdom Sect, also known as the Great Ming Sect. Their church is the House of the Wise, and the Patriarch is the Portuguese Minister of State Xu Fan, the son of the murdered Prime Minister Xu Jie."

The reason why Xu Fan wanted to set up the House of Wise Men and the Great Ming Sect was actually for one reason. Western politics was still in the stage of identity politics, similar to the filial sons in the selection of filial and honest officials. In order to secure his position as Minister of State, Xu Fan got himself the identity of the wise chief of the Great Ming Sect and spread the Great Ming Sect to the East with great momentum.

In Xu Fan's words, we must fight poison with poison.

(End of this chapter)