Chapter 1523: Intending to Reform?

"Third Master, what about me?"

Qi Dazhu, who kowtowed together, was very confused.

Before Wang Yan could speak, Zhu Qi on the side said: "He will follow me. Brother Wang, you also know that Dazhu has talent, with ape arms and a bee waist; he is just the right material for our group."

Wang Yan tilted his head at Qi Dazhu: "What are your thoughts?"

"I just want to follow Third Master!"

"Then follow Seventh Master. Work hard, and you will also make a name for yourself. You will also bring honor to your ancestors, and your family will be able to live a good life. And since you have become an Embroidered Uniform Guard, you can help me frame... ah phew, help me investigate treacherous thieves, so that treacherous thieves will not disrupt our Great Ming's rivers, mountains, and society, and will not hurt His Majesty's holy heart."

Lu Fang shook his head with a smile, and didn't take framing people seriously. Just kidding, this is the basic skill of being an official. If this work doesn't work, what kind of official are you? What kind of struggle are you engaged in? And how can you get promoted?

"Alright, that's settled." Lu Fang said, "Three days later, go to the Ministry of Personnel to report, and naturally someone will lead you to take office. In these few days, stay here first, and after taking office, live in the county office. If you don't want to, find a middleman to rent a place."

Wang Yan shook his head repeatedly: "Let's see after taking office; it's not good to spend my own money..."

"I actually really hope you don't spend money." Lu Fang walked to the side with his hands behind his back, looking at the jar-jar tea, "Is this from Shaanxi or Gansu?"

"Eunuch is knowledgeable; it is exactly so. I also heard it from traveling merchants, and realizing the subtlety and elegance of this tea, I have been drinking tea like this ever since. Your subordinate also understands a bit of medical science. In winter, I use tea to drink some tonics to replenish energy and blood; in summer, I drink some to clear heat and detoxify; in spring and autumn, I drink some to avoid wind and cold.

You can also add some sugar, dried fruits, etc., sweet and very beautiful. When you are hungry in your leisure time and it is inconvenient to light a fire, you can also make do with dry food and tea to satisfy your hunger."

Lu Fang asked: "Is your prescription different for each person..."

"Everyone can use it. Even if it's not suitable, the worst that can happen from drinking it from morning to night is diarrhea or getting angry, and it will be fine the next day. Like you, Eunuch, just put less sugar and dried fruits, just put a little to adjust the taste, and it will be like drinking tea all day long, with no big deal. You can drink it as you please. Your subordinate will write down the prescriptions used in the four seasons, and it will be good for you to sweeten your mouth when you go back."

Lu Fang was satisfied with Wang Yan's alertness, knowing that what Wang Yan said was not him, but the Emperor, but it was also him, because what Wang Yan said about sweetening his mouth was true.

The most important thing is that Wang Yan was not stupid enough to say that he knew the Emperor's physical condition in front of so many people; that would be a big deal.

Why did Wang Yan know the Emperor's physical condition? Because he treated him.

Why treat him?

Because he is sick!

The Emperor's body has a problem!

If this wind leaked out, it would definitely set off another political storm. After all, since Jiajing's second son was established as the crown prince and died suddenly, the position of crown prince has been vacant until now.

Don't look at Prince Yu's side having Xu Jie and others, but in fact, it is not stable. Because Jiajing has another son, the fourth son Zhu Zaizhen, who was enfeoffed as Prince Jing. Yan Song and Yan Shifan, father and son, have the intention of supporting Prince Jing...

Immediately, Wang Yan used brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to clearly write a pile of prescriptions, and Lu Fang took the harvest back to the palace. He decided to drink it for a period of time first.

Although Wang Yan is now a person who can be absolutely trusted, when it involves the Emperor, Lu Fang is always very cautious...

"Third Master, His Majesty is truly too good to you. You are also a Great Magistrate now, and a Great Magistrate in the capital." Qi Dazhu was happier than Wang Yan, speaking without restraint.

Wang Yan slapped the back of his head: "What nonsense are you talking about? A Great Magistrate in the capital? Is that something I can be? Dazhu, you must control your mouth. From now on, you are also an Embroidered Uniform Guard, so you must be cautious in your words and actions, and watch how others speak and act. Otherwise, if you accidentally offend someone or reveal secrets, you will lose your head. It might even implicate me.

We came to the capital together, so we are one body. Looking for trouble with you is looking for trouble with me. If a mistake is found in you, it can be magnified and hit me. Seventh Master, you must teach Dazhu more. He is an honest farmer and doesn't understand so many twists and turns."

Zhu Qi shook his head: "Then you are really making things difficult for me. To be honest, I don't understand so many twists and turns either. Previously, regarding the matter of converting rice to mulberry, I am still a mess about the situation. I stand firm in this Northern Internal Security Division, relying on two things. One is loyalty to the sovereign, and the other is practicing skills well.

Everything follows His Majesty's orders, and it won't be wrong. Practice your skills well, and you can handle the errands His Majesty has entrusted to you, making His Majesty satisfied. Only by achieving these two things can we, the hawks and dogs below, live comfortably. You must not turn your elbows outward, like the batch of people who were cleaned up earlier, taking money from outsiders and ruining the affairs of our own people; that will make them die miserably. Right, there are still quite a few people who haven't been dealt with. Tomorrow, you follow me, and I will take you to see the world and practice your courage."

"Seventh Master, I just have enough courage." Qi Dazhu patted his chest with a clatter.

Zhu Qi laughed: "You are far behind. You will know tomorrow."

Qi Dazhu is a decent family man. In the past, he at most gathered a group of people to fight with hooligan gangs in the county, or fought for resources with different villages. Even if he had been on the battlefield and seen all kinds of dead people, it was still not enough to look at in a special agency. After all, in today's world, the most extreme persecution of people is all here.

Then Zhu Qi tilted his head at Wang Yan, "Your Third Master is the one with courage; he can be called the number one person in our Great Ming."

Wang Yan waved his hand repeatedly, looking reproachful: "Seventh Master, you too, speaking without restraint. Isn't it just slapping Yan Shifan's mouth and kicking his calf? What number one person in Great Ming? That is His Majesty!"

"You are wrong, Brother Wang." Zhu Qi shook his head calmly, bowing toward the Imperial Palace, "His Majesty is the deity of our Great Ming; how can he be called by the term 'number one person'?"

Wang Yan was stunned for a moment, gave Zhu Qi a thumbs up: "Isn't Seventh Master very alert? Dazhu won't go wrong with you."

The two looked at each other and laughed out loud...

Wang Yan's friends currently only have Hai Rui, so Wang Yan wrote a letter that day, telling the good news that his official position had exceeded Hai Rui's, and that His Majesty gave him 10,000 taels of silver to spend. At the same time, he attached a 100-tael silver note to the letter, saying it was for Hai Rui's family to replenish their bodies.

In addition, he wrote to his subordinates in Chun'an. He had a business there. There was a raw meat shop and a silk workshop.

The silk workshop was set up to deal with the silk merchants purchasing raw silk and suppressing prices. Later, they purchased raw silk at the market price, so his workshop didn't expand. There were only five looms. It must be profitable, but it didn't earn much. It was just in the stage of slow expansion.

Wang Yan didn't intend to withdraw money from this silk workshop, but to slowly expand it as it earned money. As long as it developed slowly, it could also become a very powerful silk merchant.

After all, in Chun'an, his words were quite effective. And the whole Chun'an, the whole county was planting mulberry and raising silkworms. If he controlled the raw materials of a county and couldn't build it up, then he would truly be a waste.

As for the higher-level channels and sales ends, he had all hooked up with the big eunuchs of the Ceremonial Secretariat, and the Jiang Nan Weaving Bureau was also smoothed out. Wasn't this also settled? The money path was still very broad.

He wrote to these people to tell them that he had been promoted, which gave these people stronger confidence, and it was also a kind of deterrence. He was already awesome in the county before, and now that he had reached the capital and even met the Emperor, wasn't he even more awesome? If these people didn't behave honestly, how miserable would their end be?

You must know that the people who committed crimes in the county, including the wealthy families who were dealt with, and the Japanese pirates who were captured alive later, are all still working to death in Chun'an... People have become skin and bones, and they are still being urged by whips to work hard, and they must work until they die...

Besides that, Wang Yan had no one else to contact and honestly enjoyed the sunshine in the courtyard.

However, he was not peaceful. Many people sent posts directly here, inviting him to a banquet, saying they wanted to treat him well.

These are all well-informed people with great supernatural powers.

Lu Fang came to find him because he had already arranged things, just waiting for the process to be completed, the Ministry of Personnel to recommend, and the Cabinet to approve, and it would be done. Now that it hadn't been discussed in the meeting, these people in the capital started to come to win him over.

He had been in the capital for a month, and he had slapped Yan Shifan's mouth for a month. His affairs had long ceased to be a secret to these dignitaries in the capital. His past was long known to everyone.

For example, his governing methods were famous for strict laws and harsh punishments, and he had a strong targeting of wealthy families. The most famous one was the evil cleaning fee he created.

This matter hadn't stopped since he created it, but it was covered up by the hot topic of overthrowing Yan. In fact, there are still censors impeaching Wang Yan for these things.

At the same time, combining Wang Yan's seizing power in Chun'an, personally leading the militia to suppress Japanese pirates, hard-topping superiors, and most importantly, daring to slap Yan Shifan's mouth as soon as he arrived in the capital, all of this shows that Wang Yan is a person who does not fear power.

Such a person was promoted across levels by Jiajing to the position of Daxing County Magistrate, which had to make the powerful think about what Jiajing's move meant. Who is he dissatisfied with? Is he going to use a person like Wang Yan who can be called a cruel official?

And in the process of guessing and inquiring, it didn't delay them from selling a favor first. After all, there are many gifts and no blame.

This is the style that other Daxing County Magistrates didn't have when they took office.

After all, this is the capital. Even if the east is rich, who can't find a relationship? Who doesn't have a bunch of people behind them? Let alone the county magistrate, even the Shun Tian Prefecture Governor is blocked at both ends.

Downward, he can't manage it. One by one, the background is cow-like and powerful, and all kinds of crimes are not easy to manage, and it's not easy to handle even if managed. Upward, the superiors are not satisfied with his governance of the capital. The capital is the place of good governance, and there are a bunch of messy things. Is that appropriate?

But Wang Yan is different.

He had long proven his madness. After all, he even dared to slap Yan Shifan! Is there anyone more cow-like than Yan Shifan? Then who else can't be beaten?

If possible, they all want to maintain a situation where you are good, I am good, and everyone is good with Wang Yan, and don't want to make things too ugly.

Looking at it this way, these people are also bullying the soft and fearing the hard. If it's soft, they bully. If it's hard, they start to compromise and retreat.

Of course, the premise of all this is that it must be hard enough!

Obviously, Wang Yan is the one who is hard enough, and he is very hard, quite hard!

Three days passed in a flash. Early this morning, Wang Yan was taken by the strong men of the Embroidered Uniform Guards to report to the Ministry of Personnel.

Receiving him was the Minister of Personnel, Guo Pu.

This is a proper big shot. Except for entering the Cabinet, the official position has reached the end. Guo Pu became famous for writing Qingci, and together with Li Chunfang, Yan Ne, and Yuan Wei, they were called Qingci Prime Ministers, all experts in Jiajing studies, making Jiajing feel very comfortable.

"Subordinate Wang Yan greets the Minister."

Guo Pu is fifty years old this year, looking very energetic, only about forty. With sufficient nutrition and proper maintenance, he naturally looks young. This point is no different from modern times.

He stroked his beard and nodded with satisfaction: "The old man has long heard your name, and you are indeed a talent."

"The Minister has more dignity and atmosphere; you are indeed a good minister who assists the country. Your subordinate admires you very much."

Guo Pu was amused and laughed: "I heard you wrote a bamboo and stone poem for Hai Rui... 'Let the east, west, south, and north winds blow.' Many people say you ruined this poem. Now the memorials impeaching you from the Censorate are piled up in the Wenyuan Pavilion. What do you think?"

"Right and wrong are hard to distinguish. I hold my own conduct; why fear the slander and defamation of others? Your subordinate is harmless to the people and beneficial to the country, but harmful to the industries of these people's families. I see they are all retaliating for personal gain, afraid that your subordinate will collect their cleaning fees."

"Then do you collect or not?"

"Naturally, I must collect!"

"In the name of cleaning fees, practicing the reality of increasing taxes, not good, not good."

Wang Yan laughed: "There are many names below, but they are all added to the commoners. It's not good for me to add them to the wealthy families? That is truly not good."

Hearing Wang Yan's irony, Guo Pu didn't get angry, but turned to say: "I heard that you measured fields and households in Chun'an, raided the fields and households of wealthy families, and increased commercial taxes. The county's construction projects did not use corvee labor, but used money to hire people, and so on. Do you intend to reform?"

Wang Yan shook his head repeatedly: "Your subordinate is a mere ninth-rank, and today I am only a sixth-rank. How dare I recklessly talk about reform? Besides, your subordinate is only a Juren, so what qualification do I have to talk about reform?

Clearing fields and checking households is a necessary move after the disaster. Raiding the fields and households of wealthy families is Hai Rui's business. Collecting cleaning fees is because the post-disaster reconstruction of Chun'an requires a lot, so I have to find a way to make up for it. Using money to hire commoners is also to let the commoners earn some money, live a good life, and survive the flood."

"Since that's the case, Daxing is a capital county and is already wealthy. Why collect cleaning fees?"

"The roads are still rotten, the houses are still broken, and the heavy snow last year collapsed many houses, freezing many people to death. There are still beggars on the street... The capital of the Great Ming Dynasty, the place of good governance, all these things are detrimental to the face of our Great Ming, so naturally, they must be well maintained."

Guo Pu nodded with a smile, then didn't say anything more, and had people handle the procedures for Wang Yan, receive the official uniform, and go to the Daxing County Office to take office...

?? Daily thanks to the great brothers who tip, vote for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and silently read the book for their strong support! ===== CHAPTER 1524 =====

?? Daily thanks to the good brothers who tip, vote for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and silently read the book for their strong support!