Chapter 1552: Everything Is Fine Except It Costs Lives

Wang Yan had been in the spotlight for six years now; for him, the line "Who in the world does not know you?" was not an exaggeration, but a very realistic verse.

Through various forms of dissemination, even more than half of the common people knew that in the imperial capital of Great Ming, there was a man named Wang Yan who had reduced taxes for the people, enabled them to live in brick-and-tile houses, made it easy for them to take wives and continue their family lines, ensured they no longer suffered from cold or hunger, and even allowed more people to eat meat...

The common people held many fantasies about Wang Yan; they could not determine what was true or false, but they longed to live the life they had heard about...

As for the powerful families, numerous officials, and local landlords, Wang Yan's name truly struck their ears like thunder.

Initially, these people merely regarded Wang Yan as a favorite who had risen by licking Emperor Jiajing's boots comfortably; such individuals were a dime a dozen. The Forbidden City housed a large contingent of people writing Qingci memorials, and the greatest task of those in the Hanlin Academy was to compose excellent Qingci; every year, individuals were promoted and employed for writing good Qingci, which was nothing remarkable.

After all, everyone knew that the cement and white glazed glass from earlier times were creations of Wang Yan, which had been handed over to the imperial family for exclusive operation. This matter was actually quite accepted, for without offering tribute to Jiajing, Wang Yan's position at that time would have been utterly untenable. Since he could curry favor with Jiajing anyway, it was better to offer tribute directly, ensuring Jiajing would remember him and secure a bright future.

People assumed Wang Yan was merely lucky to have produced these two items and happened to be at the critical juncture of converting rice fields to mulberry fields, placing him at the eye of the storm, which led to his promotion by Jiajing and his rise to power.

It was only when Wang Yan, with audacity that knew no bounds, risked his life to collect sanitation fees in Daxing and imposed fines on the powerful families that people truly understood: Wang Yan's rise was not due to luck; he was genuinely capable of scraping up silver for Jiajing.

Subsequently, Wang Yan's various actions fully demonstrated his hostile attitude toward the powerful families, showing a particular fondness for finding excuses to execute them and seize their wealth.

Fortunately, despite all this, after six years, people finally understood Wang Yan's painstaking efforts, believing he intended to make the common people earn more money while also making the powerful families earn even more.

Wang Yan had successfully achieved a polarized reputation between these two different groups.

In the mouths of the common people, he was an upright official more upright than the blue sky itself; whenever one suffered injustice and could find no resolution, seeking out the Great Lord was the right choice, as he would absolutely never let the common people suffer losses. For those suffering from severe illnesses with nowhere to seek treatment, if they were fortunate enough to reach the Great Lord, he would provide prescriptions free of charge; while not claiming to cure every ailment instantly, the results were nearly that effective.

Yet in the mouths of those within the ruling class, although Wang Yan was an opposing enemy, he had not betrayed his own class; he was merely seeking another path beneficial to both sides, which was why he targeted the powerful families, officials, and landlords. This was a difference in the 'Dao', a difference in pursuit.

Of course, although members of the ruling class somewhat approved of certain behaviors of Wang Yan, this did not prevent them from attempting to assassinate him; it seemed there was little difference between becoming a class enemy and facing such treatment, as the predicament was identical.

What Wang Yan faced was already the most intense; all that was missing was the deployment of organized military units to deal with him...

The reason his current appointment caused such a significant impact lay in two aspects.

First, he was too young, frighteningly so. For someone of such age to reach this position, while being so capable of generating revenue and so obedient, meant any emperor would employ him. It was foreseeable that Wang Yan would inevitably become the Grand Secretary; it was only a matter of time. Considering Wang Yan's style of governance in Chun'an and Shuntian Prefecture, it was even more foreseeable that these matters would certainly be promoted across the realm through extremely intense methods.

Second, Wang Yan was being sent to Jiliao, and he had been granted military authority, which inevitably led people to speculate even further.

Over the past two years and more, Tan Lun had served as the Governor-General of Jiliao military affairs, while Qi Jiguang had managed military operations, training troops, establishing military farms, and preparing border defenses; they had eliminated the old and weak from the troops, reorganized them, and compressed the proportion of ghost soldiers to ten percent. Due to immense resistance, neither Tan Lun nor Qi Jiguang had been able to achieve full actual staffing.

Of course, eating ghost salaries was considered secondary; after all, by eliminating the old and weak, recruiting young men, and intensifying training, they had at least ensured the combat effectiveness of the troops.

What mattered were the expenditures for troop reorganization, training, and border preparation; while the daily maintenance of the troops was a considerable expense, it remained within an acceptable range. However, once mobilized, the costs would multiply several times over.

Although the current actions of the Jiliao border army had not yet initiated war, the expenditures were already nearly equivalent to those of actual warfare. Grain, vegetables, meat, sugar, salt, cloth, and a host of other items—all of these cost money.

As the undisputed economic center, in response to the movements in Jiliao, the prices of various supplies, which Wang Yan had suppressed for four years, had risen slightly over these past two years.

Had it not been for Shuntian Prefecture's massive reserves of supplies and the fleet's powerful transportation capabilities, the prices of various goods would have skyrocketed to the heavens.

However, even if prices truly did skyrocket, it would not necessarily be a bad thing. After all, whoever dared to drive prices sky-high, Wang Yan dared to send their entire family to heaven; this was an absolute feudal iron fist that would hammer them to death.

Of course, the main issue of soaring prices was only temporary. Under normal circumstances, without such strong purchasing power, there was no need for such vast quantities of supplies, so the supply volume naturally decreased. The inability to meet the surge in demand over a short period would naturally manifest in the prices.

In reality, the current productive capacity of Great Ming was fully capable of meeting the supply; one only needed to get through this brief vacuum period. However, without intervention, merchants would release goods in small quantities to maintain high prices.

How could the common people understand such complexities? If prices rose, they bought, fearing they would rise even higher and become unaffordable when needed. When people rushed to panic-buy in a swarm, they lost the ability to think about whether they actually needed the items. This applied when prices were high, and similarly when prices dropped for promotional sales.

In short, Wang Yan utilized the resources of Shuntian Prefecture and those brought back by the overseas fleet, leveraging market mechanisms to guarantee the military expenditures of Jiliao.

This matter was also fraught with complications; there were simply too many places requiring money, and attitudes toward border affairs varied. If there was no fighting, one could barely muddle through, but if war broke out, where would one find the money? To put it plainly, the issue was poverty.

Therefore, after continuous negotiations, some additional silver was obtained from the Ministry of Revenue. However, Shuntian Prefecture still bore nearly half of the expenditures. For this reason, Jiajing, feeling quite aggrieved, halved the silver collected from Shuntian Prefecture, all in pursuit of his grand goal of becoming an emperor unparalleled in ten thousand ages...

Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang executed Wang Yan's plan, expanding and constructing the mutual trade markets with the Three Guards of Duoyan. This included building houses, inns, shops, and restaurants, as well as paving the ground with stone slabs. Except for the lack of city walls, it was essentially a small town.

The core of Wang Yan's plan, however, was not about improving the existing mutual trade, which was merely an expansion of what already existed. The primary focus was on absolute control over the trade markets and preventing others from conducting private transactions.

From the location of the Three Guards of Duoyan, influence could extend west to the Tartars on the grasslands, north to the Three Guards of Jianzhou, also known as the Jurchens, and east to Korea.

Resources were quite abundant, such as cattle, sheep, and horses, animal furs, various mountain delicacies and medicinal herbs; transporting all these to Great Ming territory yielded considerable profits.

On the Great Ming side, there were advanced technologies and goods such as flour, hemp, cloth, brocade, silk, tea, dried fruits, porcelain, salt, sugar, and, most importantly, ironware, among others.

Ironware was naturally forbidden from being sold indiscriminately, yet what those merchants sold were precisely these prohibited items. After all, the more something was forbidden, the more profitable it became to do it.

What Wang Yan sought to restrict was precisely these people's smuggling of strategic materials.

At this time, the increased military funding began to show results; the thousand-li defensive line of Jiliao was sealed tight. Attempting to pass through the Great Wall defense line from Juyong Pass to Shanhai Pass was exceedingly difficult.

If anyone along the route dared to bend the law for personal gain and accept bribes to let people pass, once caught, their entire family would suffer disaster, and a whole string of people from top to bottom would be dealt with. This was not something those with ulterior motives could resist; there was absolutely no room for negotiation. Whoever dared to incite trouble would lose their head. The great army commanded by Qi Jiguang was relatively obedient.

Senior officers had been transferred away, mid-level officers were gradually replaced by Qi Jiguang, and although corruption ran rampant within the military, the sufficient military funding meant the soldiers below did not lack pay; furthermore, since Qi Jiguang was skilled at building good relationships with the troops, it was unrealistic for officers in Jiliao to stir up trouble.

Moreover, the policies were not implemented immediately upon arrival; they were slowly planned for over a year before execution, with preparations being very thorough, and those who disobeyed had already been largely dealt with.

Cutting off the trade of prohibited materials caused the difficulty of transporting these goods to skyrocket, naturally driving up prices and enticing even more people to attempt transportation. However, under Qi Jiguang's rigorous blockade, the volume that could be smuggled out was ultimately far less than before. At the same time, Qi Jiguang also used this situation to earn even more money...

However, precisely because of the blockade, the Three Guards of Duoyan, the Three Guards of Jianzhou, and the Tartars became dissatisfied; coupled with some instigation and provocation by Great Ming merchants, these forces naturally became restless.

Both the Three Guards of Duoyan and the Three Guards of Jianzhou were under loose rein rule; if they became restless, dragging out their leaders to behead them and promising some benefits to those below to create division would solve the problem. This set of tactics could be said to be mastered by every Great Ming official, and Tan Lun handled it very well.

The key issue, however, remained the Tartars.

By refusing to sell them advanced ironware and the like, they sought to apply pressure, directly beginning probing attacks against the Jiliao defensive line.

At the time, this caused quite a stir, and there were many voices in the imperial court calling for Wang Yan to be beaten and killed. They believed Wang Yan had provoked the war; since this was Wang Yan's idea and he was the one pushing it forward with full force, if there were problems, Wang Yan was certainly the one to blame. As for the fact that the Tartars had frequently invaded the borders originally, that was not within their consideration.

Fortunately, Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang proved worthy; without necessarily defeating the Tartars, they at least prevented them from breaking through the Jiliao defensive line. Holding the line without defeat was victory; there was no need to achieve major military accomplishments.

Qi Jiguang fought steadily and cautiously; the Tartars were merely probing, and upon discovering their pressure was insufficient and that launching a large-scale campaign would be too costly, they withdrew on their own after more than two months of probing.

Only then were the results stabilized. Qi Jiguang's inspection of border smuggling was neither too loose nor too tight; some leakage was inevitable, as there were always oversights and people trying to exploit loopholes, an unavoidable situation, but overall, more than half had been cut off. The previously blatant smuggling was thoroughly eradicated.

Tan Lun continuously carried out construction in Jiliao, establishing military farms for border defense and conducting some business around the trade markets, which counted as increasing income and reducing expenditures. As for resolving more issues regarding the Jiliao border towns, that was beyond Tan Lun's capacity...

All of the above, taken together, constituted this second point.

Previously, Xu Jie and others had never imagined that Wang Yan's agitation for action in the border towns was intended for him to take personal charge. Thinking back to the prolonged debate surrounding Wang Yan's next destination, they felt like monkeys being played with by Wang Yan. Of course, the main blame lay with Jiajing's bias, but who would dare speak ill of Jiajing? They could only wait for Wang Yan to leave the capital and seize the opportunity to apply some pressure on Jiajing...

Wang Yan paid no heed to their thoughts; after bidding farewell to Hu Zongxian, Hai Rui, and Wang Yongji, and accompanied by the factory guards and imperial bodyguards arranged by Jiajing, he marched grandly to Santun Camp, the seat of government in Near Jizhou, to assume his post.

Here, Wang Yan received a warm welcome.

"Greetings, Department Head Wang," Tan Lun said with a smile as he approached, his attitude quite enthusiastic.

"Department Head!" Qi Jiguang's joy was written all over his face.

Wang Yan and Qi Jiguang could be said to have known each other for many years; Qi Jiguang was very familiar with Wang Yan's temperament, character, and style of action, making him the most comfortable, reassuring, and worry-free civil official leader he had ever served under...

Wang Yan gave Qi Jiguang a frivolous nod as a greeting, then laughed heartily and bowed his hands to Tan Lun, saying, "It has truly been a long time, Department Head Tan."

Back in the days of Chun'an, Tan Lun had someone escort Hai Rui's elderly mother, wife, and daughters to Chun'an, while he himself went ahead to prepare the way, sharing two meals and drinks with Wang Yan.

Tan Lun laughed heartily: "Indeed, it has been too long. Who would have thought that the ninth-rank registrar of former Chun'an days would, in merely six years, rise to the esteemed position of a Ministry Hall dignitary?"

"It is all due to Your Majesty's trust and reliance, granting me great authority. You see my youthful triumph, yet in my heart, I tread on thin ice. Previously, when the Tatars breached the borders, the court officials wished nothing more than to execute me. Now that I am in charge, should anything go awry, I fear I shall truly have to carry my own head back to present myself before Your Majesty."

"You have only just arrived; do not speak such inauspicious words. Hurry into the city, bathe and refresh yourself; today we shall drink until neither of us can stand."

Wang Yan waved his hand: "Let me spoil the mood with a blunt remark: this meal must be prepared by the cooks I brought along; only then can I eat with peace of mind."

"Understood, understood; caution ensures safety for ten thousand years." Tan Lun wore an expression of deep admiration. "You have caused quite a stir arriving here, and you have always been uncompromising. Once you reach Jiliao, you will certainly strike hard. Whether within the army or outside it, whether from Jiliao or elsewhere, everyone is watching you; truly, one cannot be too vigilant."

"If one wishes to accomplish things, one cannot cling too tightly to one's own safety; such risks are unavoidable. As long as there is understanding, all is well."

Wang Yan turned to Qi Jiguang and said, "General Qi, first deploy two thousand troops to return; starting tomorrow, we shall begin a thorough survey of fields and registration of households throughout Jizhou."

Tan Lun hesitated before speaking: "Is it truly necessary to be so hasty?"

"It is merely the subordinates carrying out duties; sooner or later, it must be done. Let us first gather the necessary personnel."

"But for surveying fields and registering households, is it really necessary to deploy troops?"

"This is a border garrison; it is better to be prepared than sorry. Furthermore, tomorrow I must also review past cases, after all, I concurrently hold the post of Jizhou Grand Coordinator. Let us plow through Jizhou completely before speaking further. I know you have done well in increasing revenue and reducing expenditures, but my strategy of surveying fields, registering households, and reopening old cases aims one step higher."

Wang Yan smiled self-deprecatingly, "It just costs a bit of one's lifespan. Haha, let us go, into the city..."

Having only just arrived, Wang Yan was already acting like the master; Qi Jiguang was already ordering messengers to transmit commands, while Tan Lun could only shake his head with a bitter smile, leading a large contingent of local officials to guide Wang Yan into the city...

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