The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

It is the twelfth lunar month.

It had been nearly a month since Tang Yin dispatched his troops, but the imperial court knew nothing about his progress.

Because of Tang Yin's dispatch of troops, the impeachment against him had to come to an end. At this time, some of the censors in the court who impeached Zhang Zhou had just been released from the imperial prison. Naturally, a group of them were killed and sent to Binhai City to build ships.

It was at this time that the Ming Dynasty's fleet sailing to America returned to the Ming Dynasty's port of Binhai City after more than half a year of sailing.

For a time, people in the government and the opposition were also quite concerned.

Mainly because...

This was the second time that the Ming Dynasty sailed to America in two years. This time the fleet was larger and the ships had a stronger carrying capacity. At the same time, the number of Ming Dynasty soldiers and firearms equipped were incomparable to the previous time.

The purpose of such a massive voyage to sea is to obtain more resources.

As the fleet approached the shore, the first step of the memorial had been transmitted to the capital, which made Zhu Youtang feel most excited, but also the most terrified the civil officials in the court...

This time the fleet brought back at least 10 million taels of silver.

This was several times more than the less than two million taels brought back last time. When the number reached the capital, people in the court and the public expressed disbelief.

Previously, some people in the court were worried that the two million taels of silver would lead to a sharp depreciation of silver in the market. However, as time went by, over the past year or so, the number of commodities in the Ming Dynasty increased dramatically, especially the increase in daily necessities such as cloth, which allowed the people to experience the freedom of clothing.

With the advent of new crops, more people began to have enough food and clothing.

The purchasing power of silver was still rising, so no one dared to criticize the bleak market prospects that the 10 million taels of silver would bring. Many people even applauded it... because the Ming Dynasty court was rich.

It seemed that there was finally no need to exploit the people. Even the silver in the Ming Dynasty treasury could be kept, and the previously unpaid salaries of Ming Dynasty officials and soldiers could now be distributed in cash.

……

……

Zhu Youtang still did not attend court.

But when Zhu Youtang was sure that he had received more than 10 million taels of silver, the first thing he did was to agree with a stroke of his pen to pay off all the overdue salaries of officials in the court at once, and even gave them bonuses.

That is to say, on the basis of the original discount, add another 30%.

Originally, the part of the Ming Dynasty official's salary other than the original salary was converted into a ridiculous amount. It was often said that out of a hundred taels, it was considered good if one could get back ten taels.

But this time, one hundred taels of silver is worth one hundred and thirty taels, and it is paid out for several years at a time...

Even the most honest officials in the court could get a salary of several hundred taels of silver at a time. It felt like pie in the sky, and they could live a life without worries about food and clothing in an instant.

So much so that when the officials heard the news, they thought they had heard it wrong or it was a false rumor. But when they actually took their salaries home, and even the rice they received as salary, they realized that the Ming Dynasty was rich.

After receiving his salary, Shen Lu went to find Lin Han first.

At this time, Shen Lu admired Lin Han very much. He also knew that Lin Han had no interest in government affairs and was about to retire. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Minister of Personnel was on good terms with him to quickly get something from Lin Han.

"Mr. Lin, I'll make you laugh if I tell you this, but I took more than 470 taels of silver this time, and I heard that I can get another 200 or 300 taels by the end of the year..."

Shen Lu was very happy.

Although Shen Lu had a background as a relative of the Zhang family, it was still not easy for officials in the Ming Dynasty court to make some money outside of their main duties.

Lin Han asked: "Are you short of money?"

Shen Lu smiled bitterly and said, "Is there anyone in the world who doesn't lack money? Silver is a good thing. Elder Lin also got a lot this time, right? Your salary is much higher than mine."

"It's just over a thousand taels..." Lin Han said with an indifferent expression.

"That's really enviable." Shen Lu said, "If you can redeem so much silver every year, you should have at least three or four hundred taels of silver in a year, right?"

Lin Han said: "How can it be that easy?"

Shen Lu smiled and said, "Hasn't all the money from the past few years been redeemed at once? Three or four hundred taels of silver a year is not enough for anything. Do you still want to withdraw?"

After hearing this, Lin Han felt a little embarrassed.

He had been determined to quit before, and even laid it bare with Zhang Zhou, asking Zhang Zhou to help him talk to the emperor.

But now he suddenly received more than 1,000 taels of silver, and thought that he would have another 300 or 400 taels of silver in the coming year, not counting the year-end bonus and so on... He felt that if he didn't commit corruption and abuse of power, he could still live a wealthy life like a corrupt official...

When I think about the fact that I have a wife and concubines to support, and a whole family waiting for me to feed them, it feels like I'm telling you not to leave, stay and continue to support the family.

After retirement, you will just be living off your savings.

If you want to live such a good life again, it will never come again.

Shen Lu said: "Mr. Lin is also a representative of honest officials in the court. You never accept gifts, and even when others come to you to make a plea, you refuse them. Since you took charge of the Ministry of Personnel, the assessment of officials in the court can be said to be the most fair and just. Who wouldn't praise you now?"

Lin Han waved his hand and said, "Stop the flattery. Let me ask you, are you really stronger in recent years than before?"

"What do you think?" Shen Lu said with a smile, "Even when Minister Ma was in office, there were factions in the court. Only you never avoided relatives when recommending and evaluating officials. This kind of magnanimity is not possessed by others."

Lin Han thought about it and nodded, "It's not that I don't avoid it, it's that I have nothing to avoid."

Shen Lu smiled and said, "Isn't it because you can keep yourself out of trouble? If it were someone else, it wouldn't work."

"That's true."

Lin Han suddenly felt that it seemed necessary for him to stay in the Ministry of Personnel as a minister.

It seemed that he was the only one who was neither on the side of the traditional civil officials nor on the side of Zhang Zhou. He helped both sides and at the same time, he did not help either side.

It is actually very difficult for a fence-sitter to gain a foothold in the court, but being a Minister of Personnel and being able to stay out of both worlds is truly rare and precious.

And one more thing...

Lin Han loves money, but he gets it in a legitimate way and never commits corruption or abuse of power. He comes from a teaching background, and sometimes he gets carried away by books, but he is very principled... Even if he has a small flaw in his character, that is, he is unusual in his interest in taking concubines, but this is not against the law.

There are people who like him and want to marry him without asking him for any political help.

The only downside before was that his salary was not enough to support his family, or his life was not that comfortable. But now that he suddenly has money, he thinks becoming an official is a good choice.

"Mr. Lin, you'd better not retire. After you retire, we don't know what will happen to the government and the country."

Shen Lu said earnestly, "Now everyone in the court wants to keep you, even His Majesty often praises you. Do you think there is anyone in the court who doesn't like you? If it were in the past, wouldn't people fight over the Ministry of Personnel's assessment?" Lin Han said, "But I have already told Bingkuan..."

"Duke Cai is definitely on your side." Shen Lu said with a smile, "After all, he is your son-in-law."

"I dare not say that. My daughter is just a concubine he took into his room." Lin Han had a clear idea in his mind.

Is Zhang Zhou considered his son-in-law?
At most, they are related by marriage. Lin Yi is not his legitimate daughter. In the aristocratic families, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is still very obvious.

Shen Lu smiled and said, "Who doesn't know that your daughter's marriage was granted by the emperor? If it were someone else, who would have gotten it? Besides, Duke Cai also respects you very much."

"Bingkuan is very...respectful to me, but there are some things..."

"Please stop talking. Just think of it as me begging you on behalf of my colleagues in the court. What's wrong with staying in the court for a few more years and watching the Ming Dynasty's revival? Our Ming Dynasty also needs people like you. If you change someone else, aren't you afraid of chaos in the court and the country? Then there will be factions fighting against dissidents, and you will have endless worries."

As Shen Lu spoke, he seemed to be about to kneel down to Lin Han.

Lin Han sighed: "Let me think about this matter again."

As soon as Shen Lu heard it, he knew there was hope.

In the past, no matter what you said to Lin Han, he would have the same attitude, which was to go back home early to enjoy his retirement. To put it bluntly, he just wanted to stay out of it.

But now that there is money paving the way, even an old stubborn person like Lin Han seems to have changed his mind.

……

……

Before the silver was delivered to the capital, the officials in the court had already received their long-overdue salaries, which were paid in full and with bonuses.

Smiles could be seen on everyone's face, both in the government and in the country.

But not everyone felt excited about this, like Liu Jian and Li Dongyang, who did not show any joy on their faces, instead looked worried.

"Is Zhang Bingkuan trying to win people's hearts by doing this?"

That day, Li Dongyang stayed behind to keep watch with Liu Jian. After the candles were lit, Li Dongyang did not forget to go over and talk to Liu Jian about this matter.

Liu Jian asked, "Ten million taels of silver at a time. Is this news accurate?"

Li Dongyang shook his head and said, "I don't know if it's true or not, but your majesty is very generous. This batch of silver did not come from Taicang, nor from the Ministry of Revenue. It's completely... Alas!"

"The officials in Beijing have received their money, but what about the officials at the local level?" Liu Jian asked again.

"It is said that they will be paid together, but local officials have not added 30% of the salary. This is probably the difference between Beijing officials and local officials." Li Dongyang said, "Now the court and the public are talking about this. Some people even say that the salaries of officials will increase next year... There are all kinds of things. They probably think that the Ming Dynasty can survive even without relying on taxes."

Liu Jian frowned and asked, "Is this possible?"

Li Dongyang said helplessly: "You should be the most clear about the taxation of the Ming Dynasty. This year, the tax revenue of silver alone is at most 2 to 3 million taels. Adding the tax revenue of rice, it is only 4 to 5 million taels a year. If we can get so much silver back from overseas every year..."

"Impossible!" Liu Jian shouted.

"Alas!" Li Dongyang sighed, "Do you know what other news I heard? The Ming Dynasty has left more than 1,900 soldiers and horses overseas, and there are also a large number of ships left overseas. It is said that there are more than 10,000 people overseas, who are responsible for growing crops and even working in silver mines..."

Liu Jian couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

The Ming Dynasty began to colonize overseas.

"Is the news accurate?" Liu Jian asked.

"The situation will only get worse than this." said Li Dongyang.

Liu Jian said: "It's not that bad. If the Ming Dynasty can really gain a piece of territory overseas and send silver continuously, it won't be a bad thing. But I'm afraid..."

"Zhongtang, are you worried that the people overseas will retaliate against the Ming Dynasty?" Li Dongyang asked.

In this matter, it is obvious that Li Dongyang is also helping Liu Jian to make up for it.

The Ming Dynasty started overseas colonization with only a few ships and thousands of troops. I guess those overseas people are all a group of savages who eat raw meat and drink blood. How could those people threaten the Ming Dynasty?

Isn't this looking for trouble?
If we tell this to others, will even those Confucian officials who firmly stand on our side believe it?

"What exactly is that overseas place? How can it support so many people? And there is so much silver, and... Have you ever asked people with experience in going to sea about this?" Liu Jian said.

Li Dongyang shook his head helplessly.

Obviously, the traditional civil servants never cared about this matter before. Even when they came back from sailing last year, the civil servants did not take it seriously.

Some were even waiting to see Zhang Zhou make a fool of himself, just waiting for the storm to happen and the whole army would be wiped out, so that they could jointly impeach Zhang Zhou. But only now did they know that Zhang Zhou had already started building ships, and that it was not a random act, but was really profitable.

Li Dongyang said, "Now there is even worse news. A ship has landed from the south, from the seaport in the south of the Yangtze River. A batch of things has been brought up there. It is still unclear what they are. It is said that among the tributes sent to Beijing this time, there are also islanders brought back from overseas."

"Who?" Liu Jian asked.

Li Dongyang continued to shake his head and said, "I don't know. Whether they are like the Kunlun slaves, or like those people from Southeast Asia, or people from the West... I don't know anything. I can only wait until this batch of tribute is delivered to Beijing, and then I will find out the details."

Liu Jian's face was grim.

Li Dongyang said: "This time, Zhang Bingkuan is probably going to change the taxation order of the Ming Dynasty court by himself. We were planning to impeach him for his poor management of the Ministry of Revenue, but now it seems... Alas!"

He let out another heavy sigh, as if telling Liu Jian.

Zhang Bingkuan's previous position as Minister of War was very stable.

Now that he has secured his position as the Minister of Revenue, we have no reason to attack him, and there is no chance that the emperor will change his mind and take him down.

……

……

"Your Majesty, I am very happy."

Chen Kuan ran to the emperor to congratulate him that day, "The virtuous concubine will be arriving in Beijing soon, and..."

Zhu Youtang sighed and said, "What is there to be happy about? It would be great if it was a prince, but it's a pity that it's just a princess this time. If it was a prince, I would have announced it to the court and the public long ago. If it was just a little girl, I want to protect her and don't want others to disturb her. But it's good this way, both a son and a daughter... In recent years, Bingkuan seems to be worse than me in this regard." (End of this chapter)