Chapter 605: The First Collaboration of Wei Zhongxian and Chen Hong

"This…this…" Zuo Guangdou was still hesitant, his expression somewhat grim.

That the Great Ming lacked workers, he as Minister of Revenue naturally knew well. Every household was recruiting, yet still fell short—so much so that a new institution had emerged, called the intermediary.

What the intermediaries did was very simple: recruit workers for the various workshops. In plain terms, they went out to the countryside to pull in poor tenant farmers or drifters and get them to come work.

In the past, these matters were handled by government officials. Now the intermediaries did it with great zeal, because for every person they brought in, the workshop would pay them a referral fee.

The government now strictly forbade signing indentured servant contracts—that is, without a deed of sale, the buying and selling of people was not permitted.

So employment contracts had now become very common, and every workshop's contract had to be notarized at the government office.

Your contract had to be this one; if you wanted to use a different contract, you needed the government's approval. This was, to a certain extent, a standardized contract—not to be altered at will.

This policy was not too difficult to implement in the Great Ming, after all, those who did business were wealthy merchants and magnates who could find people. The laws of the Great Ming were different from those of later generations—fooling the court did not end well.

This strict management system was something everyone could still accept.

Yet even under such circumstances, Zuo Guangdou was still somewhat worried.

If the common people all left the land, then who would farm in the future? What if something went wrong with the grain supply?

Grain was the foundation of the state; "agriculture as the root" meant grain as the root. It had been so since ancient times—without grain, there was no stability.

As for "agriculture as the root," they had never treated the farmers as the root, but rather agriculture itself. In plain terms: farm honestly, produce grain honestly, pay taxes honestly, and harbor no improper ambitions.

Although many new ideas had emerged in these past two years, this traditional way of thinking could not be changed overnight.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Zuo Guangdou and said, "What, is there still something you don't understand?"

"There is nothing I don't understand now." Zuo Guangdou nodded and said, "Your minister is merely worried—if this matter is truly carried out, will it cause the common people to swarm into the cities and thereby abandon the fields? If the fields are left untilled, then we will have a grain famine."

Zhu Youxiao had actually thought about this kind of thing before. For instance, wages in the cities were high and treatment good—a month of labor paid as much as a year of farming in the countryside—so many people would rush into the cities in droves.

If that happened, it would create a tide of migrant workers, and the land would be abandoned.

One should know that even in later generations, this kind of thing had occurred. When no one farmed the land, the state had to subsidize the farmers with money to get them to farm—there was nothing absurd about it.

To solve this problem, the only way was agricultural workers. In plain terms: land belonged to the landlords, and those who farmed worked for the landlords.

If it were a small-peasant economy, with each family holding just a bit of land, that wouldn't work. Large landlords and large estates were the foundation.

"Don't worry about that—by then the landlords will pay more." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile. "As for the abandoned fields, they'll be wasteland, and the court can reclaim them anew."

Upon hearing these words, Zuo Guangdou shuddered outright.

The Emperor's move was quite ruthless.

In one sentence: if you dare let your land go fallow and not farm it, the court has the right to take the land back. In plain terms, if your land goes fallow, it's no longer yours.

With that in place, who would dare let their land go fallow?

Unless the land was no longer worth anything.

"Then your minister understands." Zuo Guangdou said hurriedly. "After returning, your minister will produce a plan."

"Then do it well." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said.

Zuo Guangdou rose to his feet and said respectfully, "Then your minister takes his leave."

Having said this, Zuo Guangdou turned and walked out directly.

Glancing at him, Zhu Youxiao said nothing.

Many things could not be anticipated in advance; they could only be resolved once they had begun.

Moreover, this was a long-term matter that simply could not be solved in a short time. Industrial upgrading, foreign wars, overseas colonization—all these things had to proceed slowly.

The only things that could be done as quickly as possible now were surveying the land and having officials and gentry pay grain taxes alike.

Glancing at Wei Chao standing beside him, Zhu Youxiao said, "Fetch Chen Hong and Wei Zhongxian."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Chao quickly acknowledged and went out to find them.

Before long, Wei Zhongxian and Chen Hong walked in from outside.

Though both wore smiles on their faces, when they looked at each other, their eyes were somewhat icy.

These two fellows both wished they could finish the other off right now, but there was no way.

The rivalry between the two was simply too intense, and Zhu Youxiao couldn't be bothered to manage it—let them fight. As long as they didn't go too far, it didn't matter.

After the two knelt down, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Rise."

After the two got up from the ground, Zhu Youxiao looked at them and said, "The news should have spread by now—you two should both know about it, right?"

In fact, Wei Zhongxian had known a bit earlier, since the matter with Cui Chengxiu had been arranged by him.

Wei Zhongxian and Chen Hong both quickly said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant already knows."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Good. In that case, there's no need for me to say more. This time I'm giving you two a task: go down to the localities and investigate—see if anyone is playing tricks with the land survey."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot will investigate in secret; the Office of Transmission and the Censorate will investigate openly. In a word, I want to know exactly how much land there is under heaven—no one will be allowed to conceal it any longer!"

"If any local people dare to falsify records, or if any officials collude with the localities and conceal the truth, you must both get to the bottom of it for me. Can you two handle this well?"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty—this servant will certainly do it well!" The two said in unison.

Though Zhu Youxiao's prestige was now at its zenith, his authority at the center unchallenged by anyone, and he held an invincible army in his hands, he was not so arrogant as to believe the whole realm would obey him.

Central control over the localities had always been a difficult matter since ancient times. Those below always felt that heaven was high and the Emperor far away—for instance, "I didn't do anything," or "Even if I did do something, the Emperor can't investigate all the way down to me."

Moreover, in this era the speed of message transmission was slow, so these people were even more unscrupulous.

This time, Zhu Youxiao was telling them: this matter could not be done unscrupulously.

"Wei Zhongxian, this time you go to Jiangnan. Chen Hong, you're responsible for Jiangbei. Seven provinces south, six provinces north—the two of you each take one region. Do it well, and don't disappoint me." Zhu Youxiao said expressionlessly.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The two quickly acknowledged.

"Alright, go prepare. The news will spread quickly, and you two should set out as soon as possible. If you botch this matter, you should know the consequences."

After bowing respectfully, the two withdrew together.

After the two had left, Zhu Youxiao glanced at Wei Chao and said, "Tell the Imperial Household Department to keep an eye on things too. They don't need to watch the local yamen or the wealthy households—just watch the people of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and also the Office of Transmission and the Censorate. If they do anything improper, have the Imperial Household Department report it up promptly."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Chao quickly acknowledged, then turned and ran out.

His speed was very fast, and his mood was even somewhat excited.

He now hoped that the two old fellows, Chen Hong and Wei Zhongxian, would clash with each other. When that time came, he would be able to reap the benefits of their struggle. After all, the Imperial Household Department was keeping watch over them, and news would come back quickly.

Wei Zhongxian and Chen Hong walked outside together. The two exchanged a glance, and each let out a cold snort.

Over the past two years, their struggle had grown increasingly fierce. Wei Zhongxian had been suppressed by Chen Hong to the point of being unable to lift his head, but this time, with the momentum for a comeback, the tension between the two had only grown worse.

"Why aren't you leaving?" Wei Zhongxian glanced at Chen Hong and said with irritation.

"My lower back hurts. I'm stopping to rest a while." Chen Hong shot a glance at Wei Zhongxian and asked in turn, "Why aren't you leaving? What are you stopping for?"

"My legs hurt." Wei Zhongxian also said with a blank expression, "Stopping to rest a while."

The two exchanged another glance, and each let out another cold snort.

Then Chen Hong spoke up: "Don't play this game with me. Don't we both know each other well enough? Tell me the truth—what are you waiting here for me for?"

"Who's waiting for you? It's clearly you who's waiting for me." Wei Zhongxian said with irritation, "If you're not going to say what's on your mind, I'll be on my way."

"Then go ahead and leave. I'm not stopping you." Chen Hong let out a cold snort and said with irritation.

"Then I really am leaving?" Wei Zhongxian said once more.

"If you're going to leave, then leave. Why are you asking me?" Chen Hong said directly.

"Then why aren't you leaving?" Wei Zhongxian glared at Chen Hong and said.

"My lower back hurts." Chen Hong said once more.

"Cut that out." Wei Zhongxian curled his lip and said, "Stop pretending. If you had nothing to do, would you be waiting here for me? You've seen it too this time—His Majesty is serious. How about we cooperate?"

"Cooperate how?" Chen Hong said with his arms crossed, "I don't want you taking advantage of me."

"Can you talk properly? If you can't talk properly, I really am leaving." Wei Zhongxian glared at Chen Hong and said with irritation.

"Then go ahead and talk." Chen Hong's tone also softened.

"South of the seven, north of the six—that's how the two of us have divided things, and neither can interfere with the other. His Majesty doing this means he wants us not to undermine each other, but to do our jobs steadily and properly."

"How about we help each other this time? If His Majesty finds out we've been undermining each other, you know the consequences."

Of course Chen Hong knew—otherwise he wouldn't have been waiting here for Wei Zhongxian.

They both knew very well what kind of person the Emperor was. So both of them knew in their hearts what needed to be done.