Chapter 1072

Working by the Emperor's side, some things must be made known to the Emperor, and some things the eunuchs must be clear about. When the Emperor asks, the eunuchs must be able to answer.

Memory is also a political talent. One person's wisdom is short, and the crowd's wisdom is long. Many times, the content spoken by ministers must be recorded; you never know when it will be used.

Li Yougong collected a great deal of intelligence in Lingnan, and less than one-tenth was memorialized to His Majesty, but Zhang Hong saw everything Li Yougong did in Lingnan very clearly. If His Majesty asked and he couldn't answer, and it wasn't in the memorandum, going to investigate again would greatly affect His Majesty's efficiency.

His Majesty is a living person. Even if his memory is extremely good, it is impossible for him to be all-knowing and all-powerful; he needs the assistance of his ministers.

Li Yougong is very certain that the Ming cannot be an exception, such as the sins manufactured during the opening of the seas.

In the process of opening the seas, although the Ming had a high moral disadvantage, and high morality limited some of the imperial court's actions, merchants are naturally profit-seeking, and some things are done without any psychological burden.

For example, trafficking in barbarian slaves; this matter is inevitable. These are production tools. Developing Nanyang requires a large amount of labor. The better the Wanli Reform is handled, the less willing Ming people are to leave the hinterland, and the more Nanyang lacks people.

Barbarian slaves enter the Ming illegally. As beneficiaries of order, the Yamen can only handle things according to the rules. However, the Ocean Trading Firm does not have many restrictions. Every year, countless barbarians want to reach the Ming, this other shore. Some are blocked at the Strait of Malacca, and some are blocked at Luzon.

Very few barbarians can truly reach the Ming, but the five Maritime Trade Offices strictly guard against these barbarians entering.

When the interests of the imperial court and local interests are consistent, some policies can be implemented. When the interests of the imperial court and local interests conflict, the implementation of policies will be obstructed in every possible way. Obviously, in the matter of blocking barbarians, the interests of the imperial court and the local areas are highly consistent.

Zhu Yijun continued to process memorials. Before the new year, Hou Yuzhao wrote a memorial to the court. This memorial rarely discussed the implementation of the Single Whip Law in the six prefectures he was responsible for. The name of the memorial was "A Further Discussion on Turning Over and Deep Plowing as Urgent Matters."

In the memorial, Hou Yuzhao summarized the lessons learned from land return and consolidating the land return policy, giving the Emperor a conclusion that had been tested by practice.

This conclusion is:

First, all the benefits generated by new policies, the ingenuity of the hundred crafts, and the prosperity of the population will eventually return to the fields and be occupied by the landowners.

Second, the interests of the local gentry and literati are fundamentally incompatible with the interests of the ten thousand surnames, just like ice and charcoal are incompatible.

Third, although the policy of land return and equalizing fields is implemented, the roots of the local gentry are intertwined; if a wild fire burns them, they will sprout again. They cannot be eliminated overnight.

Hou Yuzhao's meaning is very clear: one, all benefits brought by reform, technological progress, and population growth will become land rent and be distributed to the owners of the land; two, the interests of the local gentry and literati are forever opposed to the interests of other classes, like fire and water; three, land return and equalizing fields cannot eliminate the class of local gentry and literati.

After Hou Yuzhao gave these three conclusions, he told a little story he saw in Hangzhou Prefecture.

Zhejiang land return started in the thirteenth year of Wanli. A large number of local gentry and literati, either voluntarily or forced, lost their land and entered the county, department, and prefecture cities. They still followed their own behavioral logic, buying a large amount of land and shops in the city to make a living.

Hou Yuzhao brought two hundred northern camp soldiers with him during the Zhejiang land return. These camp soldiers liked Hangzhou *pian'erchuan* very much. This is a type of Hangzhou small noodle dish. The toppings for the noodles are preserved vegetables, bamboo shoot slices, lean meat slices, etc.

There are many such small noodle shops in Hangzhou Prefecture. At the beginning, these small noodle shops would fill you up for ten *wen*, but you could only eat three eggs.

Because land return affected part of the food supply, the price of grain in Hangzhou city rose briefly. And Zhejiang plants more rice than wheat, so the price of flour rose. The small noodle shop that the camp soldiers often ate at started to raise prices, from three eggs to one, and the price rose from ten *wen* to fifteen *wen*, and it also changed from filling you up to just one bowl of noodles.

But as land return progressed, the supply and demand relationship returned to balance, and material costs fell, but the price of the small noodle shop did not drop back.

At first, the camp soldiers scolded the owners of these small noodle shops for being heartless, saying that the price of rice and wheat had clearly dropped back, but the noodle shop still had such high prices.

Soon, Hou Yuzhao learned that it was not that the owners of the small noodle shops were heartless, but that the rent in the city had risen, because the profits of the small noodle shop owners had not increased significantly, but had decreased instead.

This extra money did not become the shopkeeper's profit, nor did it become the labor remuneration for the shop assistants, but became rent.

Decorating, hiring people, training apprentices, getting up early and staying up late to make toppings, purchasing goods, etc., all efforts became the reason for the increase in rent.

If the shopkeeper chooses not to rent, years of effort will be wasted. It is difficult to bring stable customers to a new shop, and if he doesn't rent, there are plenty of people who will. In a place where every inch of land is worth an inch of gold, the shopkeeper can only accept the rise in land rent.

These local gentry and literati who entered the city have a very common tacit understanding about when to raise prices and how much to raise them. Especially the brokers and agents in the city who make a living by leasing, will constantly tell these local gentry and literati that it is time to raise prices and how much to raise them.

If the shopkeeper chooses to quit, then the landlord can immediately, through these brokers and agents, rent the shop to the next dreamer.

Hou Yuzhao soon discovered that it was not just the catering industry, but among the 152 industries in Hangzhou city, 99 percent of the industries were in this state.

These shopkeepers are not doing business, but are working for the landlords. Their efforts and struggles have all become land rent, distributed to the new local gentry and literati.

For example, the Zhejiang Li Zhizao was established in Hangzhou Prefecture city. Hangzhou Prefecture has a population of over 2.2 million, and the Li Zhizao has 24,000 weavers. Before the Li Zhizao had built its own official quarters, the Li Zhizao gave silver every month to let the craftsmen rent houses to live in.

And the landlords of the nearby houses would constantly inquire whether the labor remuneration of the weavers had increased, how much it had increased, and how much the subsidy given by the Li Zhizao to the craftsmen for renting houses had increased, in order to raise the rent.

That is to say, the labor remuneration of the craftsmen in the Li Zhizao was transferred to the hands of these landlords through land rent.

When the Li Zhizao was building official quarters for craftsmen, it caused civil unrest. The Li Zhizao built four "Ten Thousand Family Gardens" to settle the weavers. As a result, when construction started, people kept going to the construction site to cause trouble.

Hou Yuzhao adopted very decisive means, arresting all these idlers who dared to cause trouble and the landlords who instigated the trouble. Nanyang is short of people, even short of people to crack whips. They were all exiled to Nanyang, and then no one dared to bare their fangs at the Hangzhou Prefecture Yamen.

There were too many such things, such as the Zhedong Canal, the construction of the Hangzhou-Songjiang road, etc. Hou Yuzhao is a person who looks at problems from a standpoint. As long as the standpoint is completely opposite and they are judged to be enemies of the Wanli Reform, Hou Yuzhao would never show mercy when taking action.

After land return and consolidating land return, Hou Yuzhao observed the Zhejiang economy and obtained the three conclusions he mentioned.

Agricultural technological progress, building bridges and repairing roads to increase the flow of goods, agricultural surplus being able to exchange for more commodities, and the increase in food supply do not lead to a corresponding increase in price; in fact, in places where the population is highly concentrated, the price of grain is still rising due to supply and demand.

The benefits of agricultural technological progress are swallowed up by land rent such as land and storage.

Food, clothing, housing, and transportation are all closely related to land rent, and the living standards of craftsmen are actually beginning to decline.

Craftsmen are always thinking about a problem: clearly, as their work experience becomes richer, production efficiency increases, and labor remuneration increases, the money in their hands becomes more, but the money seems to be less and less useful. In life, however, there are troubles everywhere. This is really not because the craftsmen are not working hard enough.

For workshop owners, the craftsmen's demand for increased labor remuneration is extremely reasonable, but this represents an increase in costs, and the corresponding price of goods will increase. Price increases inevitably bring about a decrease in sales. With one rising and the other falling, the profit is not even as much as when it was cheap.

If the net profit of development is called surplus, land rent is constantly competing for the distribution of "surplus" through various ways, snatching away the surplus that should have belonged to workshop owners and craftsmen.

Hou Yuzhao used the example of small noodles to talk about the current situation of various industries in Hangzhou Prefecture, and then talked about the various struggles of the official factories building official quarters for craftsmen, to prove his three points of view.

Why do the progress of the times, reform, and individual struggle and effort eventually become land rent, flowing into the hands of these local gentry and literati who do not engage in production?

In Hou Yuzhao's view, it is because land rights are sovereignty.

Land rights are the differentiation and refinement of sovereignty. Sovereignty is the highly exclusive political power of the state and the imperial court to implement policies within its jurisdiction. As a branch of sovereignty, obtaining partial land rights means obtaining partial sovereignty.

"All things and methods collect rent; state affairs are difficult and the people suffer." Zhu Yijun finished reading Hou Yuzhao's memorial and wrote a comment.

Ming officials and scholars do not separate, especially regarding political science. This thing really requires practical experience to have a more practical understanding. Hou Yuzhao is in charge of the economy. Through the memorial, he explained clearly to His Majesty the serious harm of the local gentry and literati and the rent-collecting economy to development.

Taking Hangzhou Prefecture as an example, the land rent in Hangzhou generally increases by 5% every year. It only takes fourteen years for the price of land rent to double. In many places, the increase in land rent is not just doubling, but increasing several times.

If workshop owners get profits, they might think of ways to expand production, perhaps buying iron horses from the imperial court to increase mechanical workshops and increase output.

If craftsmen get enough labor remuneration, they can give birth to more population, can go to craftsman schools to study and improve themselves, and can have spare money to realize their whims and improve technological progress.

But the landlords in the city, when they get silver, will only buy more shops, land, etc., driving up the land price in Hangzhou Prefecture, which is equivalent to driving up the land rent in Hangzhou Prefecture.

Not all landlords will make a huge profit. Some blindly join in, easily believing the clamorous remarks of others, eating the big cake drawn by others. After blindly investing, the industry does not have enough customer traffic. While the price of the invested industry is expensive, they also owe a large amount of interest to the bank. The final result is often a mess, losing everything.

These people have all become cannon fodder in driving up land prices and accomplices of the real profiteers.

When these cannon fodder, accomplices, and ghosts leave, the profiteers begin to acquire their industries at extremely low prices. The price itself is not high, and the holding cost is not high. Just wait for the opportunity. The Ming is developing, and there is no cheap land in Hangzhou Prefecture.

But the real powerful and influential families have higher risk resistance and lower opportunity costs.

When Hou Yuzhao was in Hangzhou, he was helpless about this phenomenon and could only severely crack down on breach of contract.

The years Hou Yuzhao was in Zhejiang were exactly when the local gentry and literati entered the city. These guys were lawless, usually liked to ignore the laws of the imperial court, and liked breach of contract the most. Clearly, they signed a lease contract, but they never executed it according to the contract.

Raising prices three times a year, raising prices four times a year, are everywhere. All Hou Yuzhao could do was crack down on these behaviors of not executing according to the contract and adjusting rent in breach of contract.

This memorial analyzed the phenomenon, problems, and causes, but did not give a clear solution. Hou Yuzhao also did not have a very good solution.

Because the essence of this contradiction is: the means of production belong to the meat-eaters, and producers without means of production can only contact the means of production under the control of the meat-eaters to engage in labor and production.

In this way, the means of production became the most important means for the meat-eaters to exploit the poor people.

To solve this problem, we must eliminate exploitation. There is really not much Hou Yuzhao can do. Redistributing the means of production and changing the relations of production is the most important task of the Wanli Reform.

Zhu Yijun gave his vermilion approval to Hou Yuzhao's memorial and talked about his own views. Although this memorial does not involve specific policies, it is still very helpful for the Emperor to understand the various economic phenomena in the development of the country.

The Ministry of Works memorialized an exciting piece of good news and a piece of bad news: 51 official factories in the north of the Ming have been successfully completed, and recruitment has begun. But out of caution, the Ministry of Works pressed the pause button on the second batch of 54 official factories and did not continue to promote them.

Craftsmen are separated from agricultural production and do not farm. Too many craftsmen entering official factories to become resident craftsmen requires sufficient agricultural surplus. Obviously, the agricultural surplus in the north cannot quite meet the needs of the craftsmen, and Liaodong, where agricultural surplus is relatively sufficient, does not have enough population to support the craftsman population.

The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue jointly memorialized, requesting to suspend the construction of the 54 official factories.

Zhu Yijun did not give his vermilion approval to this memorial, but ordered the Grand Minister of Revenue Zhang Xueyan, the Grand Minister of Works Zeng Tongheng, and the Junior Minister of Works Xin Zixiu to be summoned the next day to ask about the details before making a decision.

He is already inclined to temporarily press the construction of the remaining official factories. Agricultural technological progress also takes time. Taking too big a step is easy to pull a muscle. Moreover, because of the problems in building official factories in the north, it has become somewhat difficult to dredge contradictions overseas.

Wang Qian and Hu Junde engaged in a war of words over the 6 million *guan* of precious banknotes that should have belonged to Luzon. Wang Qian wanted to take back the precious banknotes belonging to Luzon, while Hu Junde said that these precious banknotes had long belonged to Songjiang Prefecture, so don't even think about it.

A total of 4 million *guan* of precious banknotes remained in Songjiang Prefecture, and Luzon only had a pitiful 2 million *guan*. In the Luzon area, hard currencies like tobacco and sugar are used as general equivalents. The Ministry of Revenue gave a specific suggestion: over-issue precious banknotes.

"I cannot store so much gold. The Ming's gold sources are limited. Only Jinshan and Jinchai have gold. The gold that can be obtained is limited, and the precious banknotes that can be issued are limited. Now they have already been over-issued three times." Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial and was silent for a long time. Finally, he gave his vermilion approval to the memorial of Wang Qian and the Ministry of Revenue, specifically increasing the issuance of precious banknotes by 4 million *guan* for Luzon.

The reason is the same as the targeted increase for Guangdong. If he doesn't issue banknotes, Guangzhou Prefecture will issue sugar promissory notes, and the powerful and influential families in Guangzhou Prefecture will issue private notes. A short time is an expedient measure, but if it takes a long time, it will naturally breed disloyal hearts.

The work Zhu Yijun can do is to earn more real gold and silver back from overseas, trying his best to make everyone believe in him, believe that he can redeem these precious banknotes.

A very strange thing is that, in fact, most of the powerful and influential families and wealthy merchants know that there is not that much silver in the imperial court's meeting hall to redeem all the precious banknotes, but everyone tacitly avoids talking about it.

Avoiding talking about it, His Majesty still refuses to issue banknotes. If they talk about it, it forms public opinion, and His Majesty will be even less willing to issue banknotes.

Xu Bangrui of Dianbai, Guangzhou, had a saying that spoke their hearts: After the Wanli Reform, even if His Majesty uses straw paper to print banknotes, they can only accept it. His Majesty doesn't use straw paper, but uses cotton and banana hemp paper, which is the vastness of imperial grace!

Gold precious banknotes are His Majesty using his own reputation to guarantee the imperial court, borrowing the debt of all the people in the world.

This basic fact exists, and His Majesty has paid his own reputation to try every possible way to revitalize the Ming's economy and solve the problem of money shortage. This is the fundamental logic of the vastness of imperial grace.

The reason why private notes can circulate is because people in Guangzhou Prefecture believe that these private notes can be exchanged for sugar and tobacco.

The reason why gold precious banknotes can circulate is because His Majesty's reputation is well-known. Even when Empress Dowager Li's family destroyed the grand plan of precious banknotes, His Majesty took heavy measures to punish them.

His Majesty shoulders the sun and moon and ties the country to his body, willing to stand up and be this pillar of heaven. This is already a wise monarch and holy master. Counting the four hundred emperors in history, how many have this responsibility and commitment?

All powerful and influential families and wealthy merchants clearly know that His Majesty does not need to do these things at all, just as they never want to assume any social responsibility.

These meat-eaters actually admire one thing: after such a long time, the Ming Emperor has not been completely alienated by power. This perseverance is somewhat too terrifying.

The harm of money shortage is far greater than orderly price increases and inflation. This can also be considered one of the results of the great debate of the Wanli Reform.

"I discovered something." Zhu Yijun held Hu Junde's memorial and shook his head, saying: "I discovered that power that has been dispersed has absolutely no reason to be taken back. The 4 million *guan* of precious banknotes they are arguing about should have been Luzon's, but Hu Junde is being unreasonable and refuses to take it out of Songjiang Prefecture's pocket."

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Hong said sincerely. He thought of Sun Kehong. After Sun Kehong handed over power, he could still be a noble person now, just because Chen Liuzi, Chen Jingyi, had a conscience.

Chen Jingyi had already obtained the things he wanted most. Doing superficial work was enough, but Chen Jingyi was even more filial than his own son.

"Your Majesty, the Master has suddenly arrived." A little eunuch walked in hurriedly and said with his head bowed.

"Oh? Please invite him in quickly."

Zhu Yijun tidied up the pile of memorials on the table. There were a few that made him suspicious and difficult to deal with. He would wait for Zhang Juzheng to come and ask him properly.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well." Zhang Juzheng bowed respectfully, looking at the pile of memorials on the table, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Sit down quickly. Eunuch Zhang, brew a cup of good tea." Zhu Yijun said happily: "Since the Master has arrived, I don't need to make another trip. Please help me make up my mind on these few memorials."

Zhang Juzheng looked at those few memorials and shook his head, saying: "Your Majesty, your subject has been retired for a long time and is not very clear about the affairs in the court, so I will not look at them."

His Majesty was seriously ill, so he relied on his prestige to come out and preside over the situation. His Majesty is healthy now, so he is too lazy to care. Having been retired for a long time, he has long since become lazy.

"That's fine. I will ponder it with the ministers." Zhu Yijun was good at following good advice and did not force Zhang Juzheng to work like an ox or a horse. Political affairs are very time-sensitive. If you don't touch government affairs for a few months, you will be a bit unsure of the pulse.

Zhang Juzheng did not sit down either, standing straight and bowing his head, saying: "Your subject dares to speak."

"Your subject came today because there is one thing. The Grand Physician set a three-month period for Your Majesty, asking Your Majesty to rest more, be less angry, and have fewer things to do in these three months. Your Majesty relied on being young and started to work from dawn to dusk, promising well. Rest one day every six days. It was executed last month, but this month, you haven't rested for a single day."

Zhang Juzheng felt that life is really unpredictable. For the Emperor Shizong and the former Emperor, he spent half his life persuading the holy monarch to be diligent. Now that he is old, he has started to persuade the Emperor to be lazy in government. His Majesty even broke his word and didn't rest one day every six days.

Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "It's the end of the year, isn't it busy? The six ministries all have to summarize this year's affairs and make plans for next year's affairs. With these thousands of threads, it can only be like this."

It's really not that Zhu Yijun wants to break his promise. The end of the year is the busiest day. He remembers the promise he made, but sometimes, it is indeed not easy to do.

"Sigh." Zhang Juzheng sat down and sighed: "After Your Majesty returned to the capital in September, you were bedridden. The whole Ming, inside and outside, was at a loss. Please cherish your dragon body, Your Majesty."

A king is selfless. Even the Emperor's body does not belong only to the Emperor himself, but to the collective of the Ming.

In authority and strongman politics, this strongman, the authority figure, is the core of the core. Once there is a problem with the core, there will be a big mess.

"Then rest for one day tomorrow." Zhu Yijun finally accepted Zhang Juzheng's suggestion. He made this trip specially, it seems he is really a bit scared.

Zhang Juzheng breathed a long sigh of relief and bowed his head, saying: "Your Majesty is wise."

Others couldn't enter Zhang Juzheng's door, but Shen Shixing could. When Shen Shixing discovered that the Emperor was working from dawn to dusk again and not keeping his agreement, he didn't dare to say anything to the Emperor, so he had to go to the Yicheng Marquis Mansion to invite the ancestor to come out of the mountains.

The Emperor's good behavior and bad behavior are not constrained by ministers, especially a monarch like His Majesty who has extreme authority.

Admittedly, this month at the end of the year is the busiest time, but His Majesty was ill in September, and October, November, and December were rest months. Moreover, His Majesty promised to rest one day every six days, but refused to rest, which made it very difficult for Shen Shixing.

"There is a good thing. The penicillin brine produced by our bacteria factory can meet the needs of the Huimin Pharmacy at the prefecture level. And quinine can also meet the needs of the southern places where malaria is frequent." Zhu Yijun talked to Zhang Juzheng about the problem of the bacteria factory in Songjiang Prefecture.

The Ming has a total of four bacteria factories responsible for producing old brine, which is penicillin, an antibiotic. They are in the capital, Liaodong, Wuchang, and Songjiang. These four official factories for old brine supported the supply of old brine. The medical school graduates who rushed to all parts of the Ming were finally no longer clever women unable to cook without rice.

This batch of medical school graduates could mainly do prevention and popularize health knowledge before, but the expansion of old brine production gave them another sharp weapon in their hands.

The Wanli Reform and the magnificent prosperous age all need such small puzzle pieces to be put together bit by bit, a brilliant scene.

Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng talked for a long time about the preparation of old brine. The Ming is also improving the technique of preparing old brine bit by bit, looking for new bacterial groups, increasing output, determining the dosage of old brine for different ages and weights, etc. These things are all being perfected bit by bit.

The Ming is becoming better.

The bacteria factory does not only prepare old brine. The bacteria factory also needs to produce all bacterial groups used for fermentation, wine, vinegar, soy sauce, fresh salt, etc.

Old brine is not easy to sell at a high price because it involves human life, which means it doesn't earn much, but other things are very profitable. Therefore, the bacteria factory can not only be self-sufficient but also hand over profits.

Just like the Xishan Coal Bureau, coal is actually not that profitable because of imperial court policies, people's livelihood needs, etc., but steel products are indeed very profitable.

"Your Majesty, is Shen Shixing a treacherous official who plots against the holy chariot?" Zhang Juzheng said with a solemn expression. This was the first time Zhang Juzheng talked to the Emperor about this problem after the Emperor recovered from his serious illness.

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng with extreme shock and said blankly: "Ah? No... I was ill, and the Master returned to the cabinet just to guard against Shen Shixing?"

"It was just to guard against him." Zhang Juzheng replied very solemnly: "Only people within three feet of Your Majesty can plot against the holy chariot. He is the Grand Secretary. If it weren't him, others wouldn't have that ability."

As early as the Wang Jinglong assassination case in the first year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng told the Emperor that there were only a few people capable of plotting against the holy chariot. After Gao Gong was expelled, he didn't have the ability to stuff people into the palace.

Zhang Juzheng came out of the mountains briefly when the Emperor was seriously ill, in the cabinet, just to guard against Shen Shixing.

"It was indeed that I did not follow medical advice, and a small illness dragged on into a serious illness. No one wanted to plot against me." Zhu Yijun gave a very affirmative answer. He seriously underestimated the impact of his serious illness.

Not only could the sharp soldiers of the capital camps not accept it, but even Zhang Juzheng could not accept the Emperor having an accident, and even Shen Shixing was a suspect.

For the sake of the world, you must take good care of your body.

"Is that not so?" Zhang Juzheng sighed and said: "Your subject has investigated for so long, but I haven't found any evidence. Was there a mistake when receiving the chariot in Jinan Prefecture?"

In these three months, he has been investigating everything during the time the Emperor returned to the capital, and he did not find any mistakes.

"It just wasn't him, of course there is no evidence! Jinan Prefecture also has a very submissive heart." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said: "It was just not following medical advice. It was already said very clearly during the Great Court Meeting."

"Is that so?" Zhang Juzheng thought carefully and finally accepted the result. This disciple of his has always talked about an eye for an eye and would not wrong himself for the so-called big picture.

His Majesty the Emperor is the authority figure of the Wanli Reform, and he himself is the big picture.

"Report!" A scout ran into the Imperial Study quickly and said loudly: "Great victory in Long City, Jiaozhi! Liu Ting and Luo Shangzhi broke through Long City and captured the usurper Zheng Song alive!"