Chapter 1556: I'm Just Informing You

The Longevity Palace was more magnificent than the Jade Palace, and the square outside naturally had to be even larger.

And it wasn't just simply large; there were various sculptures and statues in the square, as well as flower beds planted with lush, evergreen pine trees. It was quiet and fresh.

However, within a hundred meters of the Longevity Palace, there were no tall trees, only some sculptures and some flowers and plants for decoration.

After all, the Jiajing Emperor had an affinity for fire, so he had to be extremely careful.

Wang Yan walked unhurriedly with Lu Fang, his eyes appreciating the sculptures here.

Lu Fang smiled and said: "The suggestions you put forward are quite good. The Master walks and looks around here every morning."

"How could I make suggestions, Eunuch Lu? I was just thinking about spending more money so that Your Majesty could enjoy himself better. There is no such thing as wasted silver, is there?"

"You are still capable. Otherwise, why would the Master value you the most? Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and the others just think about how to make the Master spend less money, or even not spend money at all. But you say, with so many people eating and chewing in the palace, how can we spend less? It's still you who racks your brains to send money to the Master, fearing that the Master's expenses will be cut short."

"As a subject, it is to relieve worries for Your Majesty. It is all something that should be done. Xu Jie and the others are rebellious subjects, doing dirty things while wanting a clean name. It is simply hypocritical and shameless."

Lu Fang was already very accustomed to Wang Yan seizing every opportunity to scold Xu Jie. After all, Wang Yan was cultivated by the Jiajing Emperor specifically to form his own faction; isn't it normal to scold Xu Jie? If Xu Jie were the same age as Wang Yan, they would probably be able to fight.

Lu Fang turned to ask: "Is the Master's dragon body well?"

At the same time, the most important thing was to suppress the rising southeastern great families, not letting them cause trouble in the southeast, making the southeast and the center centrifugal, and the central power unable to reach the southeastern locality.

Wang Yan said, "Your Majesty's dragon body is fine, it's just that he has taken too many immortal pills. Pills are great tonics, and there is an accumulation of pill poison. Previously, Your Majesty was not as old as he is now, and his muscles and bones could withstand it. Now, after so many years, Your Majesty is already sixty-four, and his body is definitely weaker than before. He can no longer withstand the great tonics of the pills."

"I see Your Majesty's appearance, he doesn't want to stop taking immortal pills. Eunuch Lu, you should persuade Your Majesty. If he continues to take them, his body will be too weak to withstand the tonics, and Your Majesty's dragon body will be even worse."

Lu Fang nodded, was silent for a moment, and asked directly: "If Your Majesty stops taking immortal pills, this lifespan..."

"I can't say for sure."

"What if he continues to take them?"

"I can't say either, Eunuch Lu." Wang Yan looked like he was about to cry. "How dare I talk nonsense about such things? The human body is mysterious and contains the universe. My cultivation is shallow; how can I explain it clearly?"

"It's me who asked too much, and it's also difficult for you." Lu Fang let out a long breath. "I'll see if I can persuade him..."

Even Lu Fang said so, so one can imagine how difficult the Jiajing Emperor is to deal with now.

Still the same sentence: the Jiajing Emperor certainly knew he couldn't live forever, and even once tried to reconcile with himself. But when it really came to this time, he couldn't help but hold onto some fantasies. After taking the pills, he could numb his brain, and the feeling of being an immortal gave him some comfort. Thus, these immortal pills were difficult to stop.

To put it plainly, he was unwilling to give up and always wanted a sustenance.

Moreover, the Jiajing Emperor had been taking pills for decades; how could he not know whether the pills were good or bad? He had already formed a serious psychological and spiritual dependence, and it was truly difficult to quit.

Anyway, Wang Yan had done enough; he had said everything he should have said, and if the Jiajing Emperor didn't listen, he couldn't blame him.

On the other hand, even if the Jiajing Emperor died now, it wouldn't affect his own position. After all, having reached his level and accomplished so many things, anyone with eyes could see who was truly paying selflessly for the Great Ming.

The treasure notes were still being promoted, and he was still in charge. This matter was also something only he could do. Although many people swore that being in charge of the Imperial Bank would definitely ensure it wouldn't collapse, they didn't believe these words themselves, let alone others.

After such a long time, and after the display of Wang Yan's solid governance achievements, the way of economy and wealth circulation had become the most popular "manifest learning" in recent years. Of course, this was outside the imperial examination.

People frantically studied and organized all of Wang Yan's ideas, hoping to do better, earn more, and become a higher official. But they also knew clearly that they could never surpass Wang Yan. The reason was simple: Wang Yan faced so many assassination attempts; even if they were lucky, it would be difficult for them to survive three times—it was truly life-threatening.

And after researching and summarizing for so long, they naturally knew that the Imperial Bank wasn't just printing money on a whim. How much to print, how to print, how to issue, how to recycle, how to solve problems, how to ensure the strength of the treasure notes, how to ensure price stability... all these things, the various affairs of the Great Ming were all linked to the Imperial Bank.

Now, not to mention Wang Yan not stepping down, even if Wang Yan wanted to step down, no one would agree, and they wouldn't trust anyone else. If they ruined the good situation, it would be over. Everyone in this generation would be scolded for a thousand years.

Furthermore, Wang Yan's sphere of influence was now north of Baoding and Tianjin, east of the Taihang Mountains, including Shuntian Prefecture. It could be said that everyone from top to bottom was his person, and he had indeed governed these places far better than before. Everywhere was well-governed, and everywhere could be said to be a place of political harmony.

The people's lives were better than ever before, reaching the peak of the past thousand years. None of the past prosperous ages could compare to the lives of the people under Wang Yan's governance...

At the same time, although Wang Yan already had considerable political power, in terms of quality, quantity, and momentum, he was inferior to other political groups. Except for always striking hard against the powerful and great families, Wang Yan was completely harmless and was a person with fully tested ability to solve problems.

So, all in all, Wang Yan had very strong irreplaceability. Even if the Jiajing Emperor died now, Prince Yu's ascension wouldn't prevent him from continuing to hold high power. He might even go further.

After all, people grow. No matter how low Prince Yu's level was, after so many years and so much research, he had made some progress. If Prince Yu was smart enough, he would continue to heavily use Wang Yan. On one hand, let Wang Yan make money; on the other hand, let Wang Yan be a target.

Wang Yan never represented himself, but the Emperor's will. Of course, letting the people live a good life had nothing to do with the Emperor; that was the change brought about by his ability while executing the Emperor's will...

After talking to Lu Fang for a few more words, Wang Yan was led by a little eunuch out of the West Garden and went to the Wenyuan Pavilion located in the eastern part of the Forbidden City.

Wenyuan Pavilion was the administrative agency of the Grand Secretariat, and daily government affairs were handled here.

When Wang Yan arrived, he saw a group of people writing "Qingci" (Taoist prayers).

"Yo, are all the Grand Secretaries and Vice Ministers busy?"

Hearing Wang Yan's sharp and sarcastic words, Zhang Juzheng was the first to speak: "Why, is Grand Secretary Wang dissatisfied with His Majesty? Otherwise, are we wrong to write Qingci?"

This madman was thin to the bone, wearing a single garment and running in circles in the cold wind, his mouth saying strange words. Something about the Longevity Emperor, something about the Loyal and Filial Emperor, something about Yang Jinshui, Zheng Bichang, He Maocai...

Wang Yan pointed vaguely at Zhang Juzheng, walked closer to look at the Qingci Zhang Juzheng was writing, and then sat on a chair. "I said you were busy; did I say I was dissatisfied with His Majesty?"

Li Chunfang smiled from the side: "Listen to the tone; Grand Secretary Wang's tone is extremely sharp and mean."

"Your minds are dirty. Who doesn't know that I, Wang Yan, am the most practical, always walking straight and sitting upright, truly achieving the unity of knowledge and action? On this point, I think Grand Secretary Xu knows best. Isn't that right, Grand Secretary Xu?"

Xu Jie seemed not to hear, sitting there wearing glasses and looking at the paper in front of him, as if conceiving how to write the Qingci perfectly.

"Old thing, you're good at playing deaf and dumb."

"Wang Yan!" Zhang Juzheng was unhappy, actively protecting his teacher.

"You don't need to be happy; you're also an old thing, no better." Saying this to Li Chunfang, Wang Yan looked at Zhang Juzheng. "You say I don't respect His Majesty. Why, do you respect His Majesty? I heard you want to negotiate peace with Altan Khan and trade. It's truly unreasonable. Our Great Ming is now strong and well-equipped, so why would we fear those small barbarians?"

"Back then, Altan Khan invaded the capital, looted for eight days, and for twenty years has repeatedly harassed the border, harming our people, with blood debts piled high. Such a great hatred, and you ignore it, only wanting to negotiate peace. It's simply a great humiliation. Can you put His Majesty in your eyes?"

Gao Gong spoke with a loud voice: "You speak lightly. War between two countries is no child's play. Moving hundreds of thousands of troops requires silver. If it drags on and we can't win, the situation our Great Ming has managed with such difficulty will be destroyed in one day. Can you bear this responsibility?"

"Why can't I?"

Wang Yan also spoke with a loud voice. "Old Gao, you are a kind person. Touch your conscience and speak. How much does the good situation of the Great Ming have to do with you? It was me who was assassinated over thirty times, and with His Majesty's support, we cleared fields, checked households, overturned old cases, and collected cleaning fees in Daxing, then Shuntian Prefecture, and then Jiliao, suppressing the annexation of land by great families and landlords."

"In fact, we exempted the people from labor services, reduced taxes, and let the people catch their breath. We also reorganized the Jiliao army of one hundred thousand, re-established the rules, and there wasn't a single empty pay; the whole army was good soldiers who dared to fight."

"In the southeast, we suppressed the Japanese pirates, beat the southeastern great families into submission, and now we have re-established the Shipping Bureau, relaxed the sea ban, and collected their commercial taxes. The salt tax in the southeast has also almost returned to the time of the Founding Emperor and the Chengzu Emperor. Now, our Great Ming's annual revenue is thirty million taels of silver, and the extra ten million taels are all things I created."

"What have you done? You scold me every day, saying this is wrong and that won't work, just thinking about how to stuff your people under my command and hold me back, fighting for power and profit."

"If you talk about responsibility, how can I not bear it? If the good situation is lost, it's lost; we can just develop it again. Not to mention anything else, first copy the Yan Song family again. As the saying goes, a thin camel is bigger than a horse; we can get a few million taels.

Besides, aren't there fat camels? If the imperial court has no silver, copy Grand Secretary Xu's family; that's another few million taels of silver. We can always cope for two or three years. As long as we get through these two or three years, life will be good again."

At this time, Xu Jie said unhurriedly: "Grand Secretary Wang, we all know that you are the Great Ming's biggest livestock merchant, with dozens of mountains all over the country. Your family property is more than a million, right?"

"Look, you're not happy when I talk about you." Wang Yan looked disgusted. "You should thank me for being able to eat cheap meat at home. Everyone says I, Wang Yan, am hugely greedy and hugely wealthy, but why don't you think about how I have raised meat for so many years, allowing the people to eat a few more mouthfuls of meat with the same money?"

"You know my situation better than I do myself. There are tens of thousands of people eating with me, and I haven't mistreated them. They have salaries, they have holidays, and I give them things during festivals. They take the money and spend it, and I collect it back through cleaning fees and commercial taxes. This is contributing to our Great Ming."

"Unlike you, Grand Secretary Xu, hiding fields and households, not paying taxes to the imperial court, and digging the imperial court's wall. Yet you are full of benevolence, righteousness, and morality, for the country and for the people. Since all the Grand Secretaries are here, I will write a memorial now, recommending Hai Rui to be the Prefect of Songjiang. Will you Grand Secretaries vote on it?"

"Wang Yan, don't claim credit that isn't yours." Zhang Juzheng said, "You did do things, but are you the only one doing things? Without others' help, what could you accomplish? Let's talk about fighting if we're going to talk about fighting; don't drag so much into it."

"You are truly unreasonable. It was clearly you who said it."

Wang Yan was extremely wronged. "This is factionalism; you are bullying people because there are many of you."

Everyone looked at Wang Yan expressionlessly, their faces saying, "I want to see how long you can perform with that clumsy acting."

With a "tsk," Wang Yan shook his head uninterestingly: "Then let's talk about fighting. My meaning is that this battle must be fought, but how to fight is open to discussion."

"Opposed!" Gao Gong said, "I've already said the reasons; we shouldn't fight if we don't have to. Aren't you talking about economic control? According to what I know, the Tatars have already started circulating treasure notes. Anyway, there's no rush; just slowly wear them down."

Others nodded in agreement, expressing their consent.

Wang Yan glanced at them: "Have you Grand Secretaries forgotten that I am now the Jiliao Governor-General? Am I here to discuss with you whether to fight or not? If you don't agree, I won't fight?"

"Wang Yan! How dare you act lightly on matters of state and war?" Xu Jie's eyes widened, and his speech was no longer slow.

"Why wouldn't I dare? If I lose the battle, I just die; if I win, you can't kill me anyway." Wang Yan said strangely, "Our Great Ming's national strength is not weaker than that of the Founding Emperor and the Chengzu Emperor. The Founding Emperor expelled the barbarians and restored China, and the Chengzu Emperor drove the barbarians far to the north. Now our Great Ming is attacking the barbarians from the north again, with elite troops and brave generals; how can there be any reason for defeat?"

Wang Yan stood up, shook his clothes, looked around, and said, "Alright, everyone bickering and getting angry can prolong life. When I return to Santunying, I will start preparing to attack the barbarians from Liaoxi into the grasslands."

"If the barbarians attack our Great Ming's heartland from somewhere else, that has nothing to do with me; if you die, you die. Alright, you discuss it properly. We'll talk about the specific details later."

"Wang Yan!" Gao Gong's loud voice—he was truly angry...

Wang Yan laughed loudly, not caring what they said, turned around, and strolled out of the Grand Secretariat...

?? Daily thanks to the good brothers who tip, vote for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and silently read the book for their strong support! ===== CHAPTER 1557 =====