Chapter 1515: Cleaning Fee

"Reporting a victory? Wang Yan?"

Hearing Lv Lv Shengyi's words, the Emperor was surprised, "What victory is he reporting?"

Lv Lv Shengyi took out the official document forwarded by Hu Zongxian and said, "Over five hundred Japanese pirates caused chaos in Chun'an; previously, Chun'an had captured Japanese pirates spying for intelligence, so preparations were made early. Three thousand local militia were mobilized, with one thousand near the county seat, five hundred inside the city under the charge of Chun'an Magistrate Hai Rui, and five hundred outside the city personally commanded by Wang Yan. The other two thousand were also under Wang Yan's command."

"Ever since discovering the Japanese pirates spying for intelligence, Wang Yan has been living outside the city together with the local militia. This time, he detected the Japanese pirates' tracks in advance; Wang Yan personally donned armor and wielded weapons, charging at the forefront, leading the Chun'an local militia to inflict a crushing defeat on the Japanese pirates..."

After hearing Lv Lv Shengyi's report, the Emperor still took the victory document to glance at it, saying with a smile, "I didn't expect him to know how to lead troops and fight battles; although it was a small skirmish, daring to personally charge into the battlefield is already exceptionally commendable."

"Not only that, Your Majesty, Wang Yan interrogated the Japanese pirates and learned their hiding places; before this victory report was submitted, he had already led the local militia to suppress and kill the Japanese pirates, vowing to thoroughly purge Chun'an of Japanese pirates and strictly investigate matters of collusion with them. Your Majesty, Wang Yan is truly accomplished in both civil and military affairs."

"Indeed, he has some merits to his name."

The Emperor smiled and nodded, letting out a long sigh with an "Aiyo," "Wang Yan is still the considerate one, capable of getting real things done, unlike those so-called loyal ministers of mine who always cause me distress."

Shen Yishi's account books had already been submitted, and the Emperor had someone calculate them, discovering corruption surrounding the Jiang Nan Manufacturing Bureau over the past twenty years, which made the Emperor very angry.

"Damn it, how much silver did he earn from the Weaving Bureau? How many palaces did he build? Yet those people earned even more than he did? And after earning so much, they were still dissatisfied, even blaming him for building palaces?"

With this matter emerging, he became even more dissatisfied with Yan Song and his son, even though Yan Song had been the main force helping him overthrow Xia Yan, and even though Yan Song had accompanied him through wind and rain for several decades.

"These people are all earning his silver, yet they push all the problems onto him, everyone fooling him together."

"Unlike Wang Yan, who only works diligently below, never forgetting to share the burdens for his Emperor, thinking of ways to earn silver for him..."

Just as this was said, Lv Lv Shengyi spoke up, "Your Majesty, Wang Yan is indeed thoughtful; besides reporting the victory, he has produced something called White Glaze, said to be fired from sand, very cheap to produce but extremely useful; its clarity and brightness make it suitable for windows. Additionally, various utensils can be made from it."

"He said that if production is controlled and these items are sold only to officials, local magnates, or foreign merchants trading in our Great Ming, this commodity will earn several times more than cement. He also said that with careful management for three to five years, if those below embezzle less silver, it would be enough for Your Majesty to rebuild the Forbidden City."

"What? Does he intend to demolish my Forbidden City?" The Emperor said with a mix of laughter and helplessness, "Bring that so-called White Glaze for me to see."

"Yes."

Lv Lv Shengyi responded, turned toward the eunuch serving at the doorway, and nodded; the latter quickly turned and left with small steps. In a short while, a row of eunuchs entered, some carrying large pieces of glass, some holding wine vessels and tea sets, and others carrying various bottles and jars.

"This item is fragile; quite a bit broke along the way, but fortunately Wang Yan sent so much that samples of each type were preserved." Lv Lv Shengyi briefly explained the transportation process to the Emperor.

The Emperor was most interested in that large piece of glass; it was currently the best glass produced, though it still inevitably contained some impurities and was not perfectly pure, yet it already deserved the description 'clear and bright.'

"Your Majesty, this can be cut to any size, making it perfect for windows. Wang Yan mentioned in his letter that using White Glaze for windows allows light to pass through and concentrate, increasing warmth by three tenths, making winters much warmer."

The Emperor lightly tapped the glass with his knuckle, had the young eunuch hold it up against the light, examined it back and forth for a long time, then nodded in satisfaction: "Go fetch the artisans; hurry up and produce this White Glaze here in Jingcheng, and install new windows for my Yuxi Palace. By then, I reckon the officials in the capital will all want to change their windows. We'll just earn their money and replace all my windows."

"This business, like cement, will give Wang Yan a half-percent share. Since he thinks of me whenever there's a good opportunity, I cannot let him lose money. He even sold off his family property just to become an official and earn silver, hahaha..."

Lv Lv Shengyi echoed with a laugh, "Wang Yan is skilled at earning silver, even more proficient in the ways of clever crafts; his calligraphy and painting form a school of their own. Capable in both civil and military affairs, having such talented individuals is all due to Your Majesty's boundless virtue."

The Emperor laughed heartily, then instructed, "Chun'an has just suffered a flood disaster, and matters are difficult; I recall you mentioned last time that Hai Rui dealt with the magnates of Chun'an, leaving Wang Yan nowhere to extort silver, yet he has a greedy mouth and loves to eat, daily drawing silver from the yamen."

"The cement workshop isn't finished building yet, and now comes the White Glaze workshop; wanting to distribute profits to him will have to wait until next year. Send someone to deliver some silver for him to eat meat and drink wine; constantly drawing money from the yamen doesn't look proper."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Lv Lv Shengyi responded, then couldn't help but wipe away tears.

He was expressing gratitude on Wang Yan's behalf; having such a good Emperor as Your Majesty, who lives simply in food and clothing, yet thinks to send silver to subordinates for meat and wine.

The Emperor laughed, saying directly that Lv Lv Shengyi was flattering him.

What Lv Lv Shengyi said was of course the truth; the Emperor cultivated elixirs and practiced alchemy, so his daily food and drink indeed lacked much oil and fat, being quite bland, and he even underwent fasting every so often. His clothing was also relatively simple; he hardly ever wore dragon robes, usually wearing Daoist priest robes, making only a few new sets a year.

However, spending vast amounts of silver to build palaces was also true; rewarding Daoist priests, conducting religious ceremonies, and other various expensive materials used truly cost no small amount. Added to the various embezzlements along the intermediate links, the costs became astronomically high.

"Go, have Hu Zongxian come to see me." After laughing, the Emperor gave this order.

The matter of Shen Yishi must eventually be concluded, and the military expenses for resisting the Japanese pirates must also have a source...

Wang Yan's campaign to suppress the Japanese pirates went very smoothly; based on the pirates' confessions, he followed various clues, leading the Chun'an local militia to completely eradicate the Japanese pirates hiding in Chun'an, and also raided the homes of over a dozen magnates in several surrounding counties.

To show respect for Hai Rui, Liu Jiande County was spared; Wang Yan passed the information to Wang Yongji, allowing Wang Yongji to personally arrest people and raid homes, thereby earning a small fortune himself.

Actually, Wang Yan raiding the homes of magnates did not offend people; it merely violated procedures by enforcing laws across jurisdictions.

Even if officials in other places colluded with magnates, they were not the magnates' sons; both sides merely cooperated to earn the common people's silver. When Wang Yan confiscated the magnates' assets, he only took the liquid wealth, which wasn't much anyway; the remaining fields, shops, estates, workshops, etc., were all left for them to handle. In this process, they naturally could earn a hefty profit again.

It was merely to express their stance on Wang Yan's cross-jurisdictional law enforcement that they symbolically submitted memorials accusing Wang Yan; Wang Yan didn't even receive a document of reprimand.

Because now something bigger had happened: Yan Shifan was kicked out of the Grand Secretariat, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng were also kicked out of the Grand Secretariat, while Zhao Zhenji was transferred to serve as Zhejiang Governor, Zheng Michang and He Maocai were arrested, and Hai Rui and Wang Yongji were ordered to participate in the interrogation...

This was the plot from the original drama; the Emperor still showed consideration for Wang Yan, not assigning him such difficult tasks. Of course, the main reason was that Wang Yan was merely a tiny ninth-rank secretary. Not to mention anything else, even upon arriving at the provincial Second Bureau yamen, the clerks there wouldn't take this secretary seriously.

It is worth mentioning that outside the drama, Yan Shifan never entered the Grand Secretariat, and Zhang Juzheng did not enter the cabinet during the Jiajing reign, but served as a lecturer in the Prince of Yu's residence; only after the Prince of Yu ascended the throne was Zhang Juzheng appointed Vice Minister of Personnel and concurrently a Bachelor of the East Pavilion, thus entering the cabinet...

"My elderly mother, wife, and children, I hope you will take care of them."

In the central hall of the county yamen, Hai Rui said this to Wang Yan, who was handling a lidded bowl and scraping tea leaves.

Wang Yan nodded with a smile, "Even if you didn't say it, how could the family members of such a high official suffer bullying here in our Chun'an? As for you, going to the province to interrogate Zheng Michang and He Maocai, consider the consequences more carefully."

"What consequences should I consider? One is one, two is two; if it was done, it was done; if not, it wasn't. Since His Majesty issued a clear edict ordering me to try the case, I must investigate it thoroughly and clearly."

Unwilling to say more on this, Hai Rui turned to say, "His Majesty sent someone to deliver one thousand taels of silver as your dividend; I took the initiative to first repay the silver owed to the yamen's public account, as well as the silver you need to redeem for the meat shop. Five hundred taels of silver remain; here is the silver note, along with the receipt confirming the debt has been cleared. I have stamped them both; keep them safe to avoid future trouble."

"Trouble is something you look for; who else would come looking for trouble just because I eat and drink a bit?" Wang Yan took the silver note, glanced at it, then tucked it into his sleeve, turning to ask, "Have the shops in the county been dealt with?"

"The compensation has already been distributed."

Hai Rui said happily, "You just returned and haven't walked around the city to see; the county seat is very lively now. Just as you said, after the common people received money from selling raw silk, they spent more or less of it; the spending of several thousand people allowed those magnates who took over the shops to earn their fill."

"Your Honor exaggerates; it's been less than half a month, and these magnates have earned only a few dozen or at most a hundred taels of silver."

"Isn't that a lot? How much silver do the common people earn? This is merely their income for less than half a month; for the whole year, it would be several hundred or even a thousand taels."

"If we collect taxes and add another item, imposing an additional half-percent tax on them, our yamen can also have a good year."

"Market stalls and shops have established regulations; privately imposing additional commercial taxes like this seems inappropriate. Moreover, with a rate of one in twenty, plus other tax items, it already reaches one in fifteen, or even one in ten..."

Great Ming's taxation system was relatively comprehensive, with detailed classification by industry for taxation, which was quite complete. Adjustments were constantly made during this period, and numerous tax resistance incidents occurred.

"Common farmers pay one in ten for land; merchants have an easier time making money, so why shouldn't they?" Wang Yan said, "As for the claim of privately imposing additional taxes, haven't we created a new item? For instance, we could hire some lonely elderly people in the city to sweep the streets and alleys, then charge them a cleaning fee; surely that's reasonable?"

"Once we earn the silver, we can repair the county roads and fix the water conservancy systems. At that time, instead of issuing corvée labor, we will hire workers and pay wages. The common people get money, we build roads, the people have money to buy things, those shops earn silver, and they also support some clerks. Then we collect taxes from them again. Look, earning through this cycle, the silver becomes active."

Hai Rui thought for a moment, then nodded, "You are right; then I'll listen to you. Since I'm going to the province, you handle this matter."

"It's all trivial matters." Wang Yan laughed, "Speaking of which, I have to blame you; there are still two magnate families over there waiting to be raided, yet you urgently called me back. Look how much silver we missed earning. Usually, you save on food and expenses, saying this isn't allowed and that isn't allowed, until your elderly mother, wife, and children are starving and emaciated. Just this one trip I made for you is enough for your whole family to live comfortably for ten years."

"Only that little?" Hai Rui looked at Wang Yan in surprise; this did not match Wang Yan's capability for making money.

"It refers to the cost for your family's hundred mu of fertile fields, ten servants, and three daily meals of fine food, not your current situation."

"That is my fault; I intended to explain everything clearly to you, never expecting to waste so much money and grain." Hai Rui felt quite regretful, his heart aching over the money.

"Forget it; let's just let others earn a bit more wealth." Wang Yan waved his hand. "The silver earned this time is enough to repair the official road in Chun'an, which is already good enough."

"Doesn't that mean two small paths are missing?"

Hai Rui's words were rarely full of wit, causing Wang Yan to burst into laughter...

After seeing off Hai Rui, who had gone to Hangzhou to try cases, Wang Yan rarely began to administer Chun'an's government affairs himself.

He directly implemented a sanitation fee, leaving no room for negotiation; any who refused to cooperate had their shops sealed. The local braves, who had followed him to suppress and slaughter the wokou and thereby cultivated a killing aura, and who had been recruited into the county yamen as contract workers due to their merits, simply stood openly at the doorways holding blades, looking very imposing.

In no more than three days, the time it took to make several round trips between Chun'an and Hangzhou, the sealed shops reopened. For this, they paid a substantial sum as a 'tea money' fee to the yamen. Of course, the sanitation fee still had to be paid, and on a monthly basis. The tea money was merely the price they had to pay for not cooperating with the yamen's work.

Wang Yan had essentially tricked them in to slaughter them; after all, whether leasing shops, transporting goods, or dispatching and recruiting manpower, they had already invested heavily upfront. With such sunk costs already incurred, they found it difficult to withdraw even if they wanted to. As long as there was profit to be made, they could not escape.

That sum of tea money was used by Wang Yan to provide extra meals for the county yamen, and he also purchased many items to distribute among the officials and clerks. Those with higher positions received more, those with lower positions less, but everyone got a share.

Since he did not allow everyone to arbitrarily scrape money from the people, he had to find a way to make up for that portion. The yamen's welfare fields were a long-term benefit, whereas the tea money he extorted now was truly just an extra meal; everyone was happy.

Apart from the sanitation fee, he implemented no other policies. This was because Chun'an was still in post-disaster reconstruction; many houses still needed to be built, and the previous suppression and slaughter of the wokou had drawn away a significant amount of labor, seriously delaying progress.

Therefore, even the work of repairing roads, Wang Yan did not undertake; it was all postponed.

And although his such unrestrained targeting of the great families seemed to cause no trouble for now, how could it possibly be that nothing would happen...

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