Chapter 224: The Brave Tiger Minister, the Heart and Shield of the Empire

Wang Chonggu was very happy with this creation and invention of Liu Sanda. Fire prevention in this woolen mill was the top priority. Although Liu Sanda's method could not prevent trouble before it happened, when the copper bells rang, the fire situation could be controlled in time, which could avoid many losses.

Wang Chonggu was overjoyed and even specifically met Liu Sanda, asking if Liu Sanda wanted to go to the Academy of Physical Sciences. Liu Sanda felt that he was a carpenter by origin and didn't know many big characters. Wouldn't it be a joke to go to the Academy of Physical Sciences?

The Academy of Physical Sciences doesn't look at origin. If you don't know many characters, as long as you are willing to learn, it's fine. Liu Sanda has clever thoughts and a pair of clever hands. Wang Chonggu asked for merit for Liu Sanda and requested His Majesty's holy grace to let Liu Sanda enter the Academy of Physical Sciences.

The Yongding Woolen Mill is not just one Liu Sanda, but hundreds and thousands of Liu Sandas. They are craftsmen. They want to solve problems in production, improve production tools, and hope to get more labor remuneration and products.

Especially products.

"Son, you did very well this time." Wang Chonggu took Wang Qian through the workshops one by one, checked the wool materials that were about to be released, and said to Wang Qian beside him with great approval about the affairs in the court.

Sun Jigao was the main force in attacking Wang Chonggu. The restoration school hated Wang Chonggu, who gathered wealth and promoted profit, the most.

Wang Qian's merit was seen by the court officials, seen by the Grand Secretary, and most importantly, seen by His Majesty. Hence Hai Rui is not a person who takes credit. The reason he launched the general attack on Sun Jigao was entirely because Wang Qian's strength was still not strong enough to face the counterattack and revenge of the restoration school.

In officialdom, what is strength? It is to continuously infiltrate one's influence through specific things, obtain a group of like-minded people, comrades, peers, and people who share the same fun, and then influence the court situation.

This is strength. Wang Qian, a Censor who had just started his career, clearly didn't have the strength to face the storm, so he took refuge under Hence Hai Rui's name.

Hence Hai Rui is too upright, and Wang Qian is too strange.

But this time, Wang Qian handled the Sun Jigao case very well, far exceeding Wang Chonggu's expectations.

"Father, have you ever been corrupt?" Wang Qian touched his chin and asked with a look of doubt.

Wang Chonggu went directly into a rage, pointing at the door with a red face, and shouted angrily, "Get out! Get out for me immediately!"

"Don't let me see you, or I'll break your legs! You just handled a little thing, and your tail is up to the sky, and you're staring at your father, right? You, this seventh-rank Censor, was still bought by your father, selling my old face, and begging for it at the All-Chu Guild Hall!"

"Get out!!!"

Wang Qian was obsessed with anti-corruption, and even stared at his old father.

"Struck a nerve, and now you're angry from embarrassment?" Wang Qian immediately realized something was wrong. Wang Chonggu's appearance was suspicious of being a thief.

If the "three aunts and six grannies" told Wang Qian in the future that he had a bunch of half-brothers, wouldn't he really cut this sharp blade of anti-corruption at his old father's head?

"I'm a thief? I'm hating that I didn't give birth to you! I'm not a thief, what are you feeling guilty about!" Wang Chonggu cursed angrily.

This is also the crux of why anti-corruption is always tiger-headed and snake-tailed.

Everyone is eating in one pot. The sword that executes anti-corruption smashes everyone's pot, and you can't eat it yourself. Isn't this a self-defeating act?

Everyone is of the same class, all are His Majesty's subjects, all are Great Ming's blue-sky officials. You want to anti-corruption, but as you anti-corruption, you anti-corruption to your old friends, fellow disciples, relatives, and friends. Do you take action or not?

Wang Chonggu let out a turbid breath, telling himself not to be angry. His good son, Wang Qian, didn't intend to borrow his head to get promoted, but Wang Qian was just reminding Wang Chonggu not to learn from Zhang Siwei and bury the whole family's life.

Wang Chonggu said very seriously, "Since His Majesty built the Happy Stele Forest, I have never received a cent! His Majesty gave too much, and I feel uneasy holding it."

If Wang Chonggu wanted money, His Majesty had already given too much. If he wanted power, His Majesty let him enter the cabinet, and he declined in every way. As for connections, in the arena of officialdom, connections are sometimes unreliable and may be a burden and a disaster.

Therefore, Wang Chonggu didn't intend to take money. He was a Great Ming official, already above ten thousand people, second only to His Majesty and the Grand Secretary.

Wang Qian then smiled and said, "That's good."

Wang Qian looked at the huge woolen mill and admired his old father from the bottom of his heart. His methods were all conspiracies and tricks, not on the table, but his father could stand firm in the storm, and his foundation was this woolen mill and the Xishan Coal Bureau.

He frowned and asked, "Father, I have a few questions. Why can your Yongding Woolen Mill succeed, but others' woolen mills, no matter how they try, let alone lose money, can't even weave, and are just washing wool and spinning yarn for the official mill? Some time ago, the court discussed that it was because the 'cheap scholars' couldn't do it. But now? The shopkeepers reused by the merchants can't do it either. What is the reason?"

Wang Chonggu held his hands, shook his head, and said, "It's not that I'm hiding it, because Great Ming's powerful and wealthy gentry still refuse to admit that labor gives value, and supply and demand determine price, confusing value and price, and then denying the labor theory of value."

"How can it be done?"

"Wool is washed by craftsmen, spun by spinners, woven by weavers, and dyed by dyers with great effort. It doesn't grow on the shelves. If you don't admit the labor theory of value proposed by Qiu Jun in the Jingtai years, no matter how much money you throw into the woolen mill, it's a dead end."

"To be more specific, manual factories can ignore the labor theory of value, but in this manual factory, labor value must be valued."

In the process of weaving and dyeing cloth in the manual factory, there is a kind of gauze specially used for the palace. The steps are extremely complicated. The yam is crushed and placed in a bamboo basket, then wrapped in cotton cloth and pressed to squeeze out the yam water. Then the cloth is put into the dye and dried in the sun, then soaked in yam water again, boiled, and dried in the sun. This process alone takes fifteen days.

Then, the silt from the river pond is dug out, mixed with water, filtered through cotton cloth on a bamboo basket, mixed into mud, applied to the gauze, dried in the shade, washed with water, and then a deep black color is obtained. Then it is sealed with yam water and finally dried in the sun.

This is the production process of the manual dyeing factory. It is so complicated and troublesome. If the craftsmen are not willing to do things with care, they can't make the cloth, can't sell the goods, and can't make money.

Without goods, there is no profit. Without profit, there is no survival.

The merchants of the powerful and wealthy, they have long formed a fixed way of thinking. How can they succeed in the woolen mill if they do their best to exploit those below?

Letting them show compassion for the small people is not as reliable as a sow dreaming of climbing a tree.

Wang Qian could understand the problem his father said, but he asked with some doubt, "Father, why do the powerful and wealthy refuse to admit that labor gives value, but only talk about supply and demand?"

Wang Chonggu pondered for a while and answered, "Son, labor and supply and demand actually discuss the fundamental problem: what is wealth? What is its root? Qiu Jun thinks it is labor, while Great Ming's 'cheap scholars' have determined it is supply and demand."

"Only by determining supply and demand can they maintain their current power and status, and can they continue to exploit and prey on the people with peace of mind. Because the landless tenants and wandering people who are already no different from slaves have no effect in the theory of supply and demand. This is the reason."

"Once the labor theory of value is admitted, one must face a terrible problem: why are the powerful and wealthy powerful and wealthy? How do they maintain such a generous life? Why do they take whatever they want from the people?"

"The answer to all this is exploitation. This is taking their lives and digging their roots. Of course, they don't admit it from the bottom of their hearts, nor can they admit this fact."

Wang Qian was stunned. He finally understood why the labor theory of value and the theory of supply and demand could argue like this in major miscellaneous newspapers.

This is a dispute over the road.

Because once the labor theory of value is admitted, it is equivalent to admitting that the three, six, and nine grades are built on the basis of exploitation, although the meat-eaters know this well.

"However, however, is the labor theory of value necessarily correct?" Wang Qian asked blankly.

Wang Chonggu nodded deeply. He recognized the labor theory of value, so he adjusted the production enthusiasm of the official mill. He said very definitely, "I am the supervisor of the official mill. I think the labor theory of value is correct. Let's return to that question: what is wealth? Wealth is not money, wealth is not debt, and wealth is not silver buried in the pigsty. Money is wealth only when it circulates. When it cannot serve as an equivalent, it is nothing."

"Money is wealth only when it circulates. So what is exchanged for money? It is the commodities produced continuously in the factory."

"Commodities are wealth."

"The West is facing the nightmare of soaring prices, so Philip II went to great lengths to transport silver to Great Ming from far away, because the West's silver has already been dammed. If it tilts down, I'm afraid Philip II's head will be twisted off."

"The consequence of having only silver and currency but no commodities is the predicament of the West. This exposes the West's real problem, which is the inability to produce commodities."

"Only commodities that circulate are wealth."

Wang Qian pondered again and again, bowed and said, "Father's words are reasonable. Your subject will keep Father's teachings in mind."

"Son, merchants pursue profit. What is this profit they pursue?" Wang Chonggu looked thoughtful and said with a heavy face, "The profit they pursue is actually the gap between the value created by labor and the labor remuneration. What they pursue is this profit."

"The gap between the value given by labor and the labor remuneration is the exploitation in the production process."

"Admitting the labor theory of value means admitting the existence of the gap between labor value and labor remuneration, and admitting the existence of exploitation, which is equivalent to admitting that one is the immoral side. Therefore, the labor theory of value cannot be admitted."

Wang Chonggu didn't know if Wang Qian could understand what he said, but it didn't matter. Just write it down for the time being. After experiencing some things in the future, he would naturally understand.

"Who is your next target?" Wang Chonggu asked with some curiosity.

Wang Qian said very firmly, "This cannot be said."

"I am your father!" Wang Chonggu was anxious.

"That can't be said either." Wang Qian was still very firm, greased his soles, and ran away without a trace.

Altan Khan didn't get the gold seal, so he had to take a detour outside the pass to go to Xining. Taking a detour outside the pass, Altan Khan must guard against the harassment of the Western Barbarians, and the road is too far away. So Altan Khan wanted to send Sanniangzi to the capital to pay tribute and discuss with the masters in the capital whether they could be lenient.

And Great Ming didn't even let Sanniangzi enter the pass. This matter had already had a clear decree from the imperial court and could not be changed. If he really wanted to invite foreign monks, he should set up an altar in his old nest and call people over to talk.

Great Ming didn't know Altan Khan's thoughts. The Great Ming Emperor only cared about Great Ming's interests. Even if Altan Khan went to Xining for faith, Great Ming wouldn't let him pass.

What the Great Ming imperial court didn't know very well was that this time the imperial court didn't give the Commander's gold seal, which caused a kind of suspicion among the Northern Barbarians. The ten Battalion Commander under Altan Khan began to generally suspect whether Altan Khan was still recognized by the Great Ming imperial court. The rekindling of war was not what the ten Battalion Commander wanted to see. And Sanniangzi, who advocated peace, gained a large amount of political capital in this round of confrontation.

This kind of political capital, one day, when it really needs to stand in line, Sanniangzi will gain a lot of recognition, and then influence the direction of the entire Mobei.

On the morning of the fourth day of the fourth month, the morning light was slightly bright. The Great Ming Emperor ran towards the Jieku Academy in a panic. His shoes were still worn wrong, and the two were not a pair. This was not dignified and did not conform to Empress Dowager Li's education of the Great Ming Emperor.

Zhu Yijun brought a long tail and arrived at the Jieku Academy, panting and saying, "Feng Bao, go and ask... about the situation of the Grand Marshal."

At the fourth watch yesterday, Tan Lun suddenly had a phlegm attack and was urgently sent to the Jieku Academy. When Zhu Yijun received the news, it was the fifth watch, and he didn't even have time to wash, so he rushed to the Jieku Academy to inquire about the situation.

When he arrived, Zhu Yijun was a bit timid, so he let Feng Bao inquire.

Tan Lun's magnificent life was that he was appointed as a Physician of the Ministry of War in Nanjing after passing the examination. He prepared for the Japanese pirates in Nanjing. When the Japanese pirates arrived at the Southern Yamen, the Southern Yamen had been peaceful for a long time, and no one dared to meet the battle. Tan Lun recruited five hundred strong men and repelled them. Tan Lun was promoted entirely because of his military exploits. Wherever there were Japanese pirates, he went there.

When he was the Prefect of Taizhou, he recruited dead soldiers to resist the enemy. Tan Lun personally led a thousand guards and won three battles in three battles, repelling the Japanese pirates. The "Six Tigers of Taizhou" became famous in this battle.

When he was the Vice Censor of Zhejiang, Japanese pirates invaded Haimen, and no one had the spare power to go to the rescue. Tan Lun led the army to rescue day and night for three hundred miles, broke the Japanese pirates in Taiping, and designed to let the Japanese pirates fall into the muddy swamp, completely annihilating them.

The brave tiger minister, the heart and shield of the empire.

Although Tan Lun can't fight now, as long as Tan Lun is the Grand Marshal, Great Ming can continue to invigorate the military.

And now Tan Lun was carried into the Jieku Academy. The two great medical officials, Chen Shigong and Li Shizhen, were treating him. Zhu Yijun kept staring at the door, waiting for that moment to come. At this time, many thoughts flashed through Zhu Yijun's mind, and he even had an artificial illusion.

Kill Tan Lun, and the invigoration of the Beijing Camp will have more waves. Kill Tan Lun, and the wind of invigorating the military in Great Ming will lose its pillar.

The "cheap scholars" have every reason to kill this militant and radical Tan Sima, and I'm afraid they will really do it. Zhu Yijun's fists clenched unconsciously, staring at the door with red eyes.

The "cheap scholars" even dared to set fire to the Imperial Palace. Is there anything they dare not do?

It shouldn't be. Tan Lun shouldn't have anything happen.

Zhu Yijun did so much. Since the assassination of the Emperor in the first year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun had built the Jieku Academy until now. The criminals dissected were more than a hundred. And with the rapid progress of the medical skills of Li Shizhen and Chen Shigong, and under careful conditioning, how could Tan Lun be so seriously ill?

And these years, Zhu Yijun never let Tan Lun go to the battlefield. The Danning Guard was simply a spring outing, and he didn't even let Tan Lun check the Qinglong Fortress and Xinglin Fortress.

In the original history, Tan Lun died of illness due to overwork. The Beijing Camp's military administration had been abandoned for a long time. Tan Lun worked hard to invigorate the Beijing Camp and was extremely tired.

But now, the invigoration of the Beijing Camp is handled by the little Emperor himself.

So Tan Lun shouldn't have anything happen now. If something happens to Tan Lun today, then the "cheap scholars" of Great Ming will have to bear the Emperor's monstrous anger.

"Get out, get out, delaying the morning assembly, who can bear the responsibility? In the first year of Wanli, I coughed at the Altar of the Sun and was impeached. I almost rolled home. Why are you blocking me? The court discussion is about to start. If I am late, who will go to block the mouths of those censors?" A loud voice sounded in the room, and the door opened suddenly.

Tan Lun first saw the nervous and hurried eunuchs Feng Bao and Zhang Hong. Looking past the two figures, Tan Lun saw the little Emperor's figure, and was stunned for a moment.

"Ah, yeah, why did this disturb His Majesty?" Tan Lun hurried forward, making a gesture to kneel.

Zhu Yijun immediately stepped forward, supported Tan Lun, and said quickly, "It's fine, it's fine."

He supported Tan Lun, touched the real person, confirmed that Tan Lun was still alive, and then let out a long sigh of relief, feeling relieved.

In the original historical line, Tan Lun died of a phlegm attack on the night of the third day of the fourth month of the fifth year of Wanli, at the age of only 58. But this time, Tan Lun walked out of the ward full of life, with a loud voice.

"The Grand Marshal worked hard for the country and became ill from overwork. Just rest for... five... rest for ten days." Zhu Yijun decided to give Tan Lun a holiday and let him rest. 58 years old, for Tan Lun, who lived in luxury and had excellent medical conditions, was still very young.

"Ten days? Just coughed, ten days?!" Tan Lun's eyes widened, waving his hands repeatedly, saying, "His Majesty also saw it, there is no need to rest at all. It's the attendants in the mansion who are making a fuss."

"That's also because I let them make a fuss." Zhu Yijun's tone was very firm, "Ten days means ten days, not a minute or a second less!"

Tan Lun still wanted to argue, but Zhu Yijun flicked his sleeves and said, "This is an imperial decree. If the Grand Marshal doesn't obey the decree, I will tell the Grand Tutor that the Grand Marshal disobeyed the imperial order!"

Zhu Yijun hadn't washed yet, and he still had to listen to politics at the Imperial Gate, so he didn't say much and hurried back to the palace with a long tail.

Tan Lun stood in place. This was a free holiday. He was already very idle, and now he would be idle until he got sick? The little Emperor really is, always using Zhang Juzheng to suppress people everywhere.

Tan Lun, this Grand Marshal, was idle because there were several people in the Ministry of War who were Tan Lun's right-hand men.

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Liang Menglong, was the Viceroy of Military Affairs who followed General Qi twice, and was also Zhang Juzheng's student. And the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War was Liu Yingjie, who was also good at military administration and was in the Zhang Dang. After Zhang Juzheng died, he was designated as a Zhang Dang member by Zhang Siwei and other treacherous villains.

And the Vice Minister of Inspection, Wu Baipeng, who inspected the construction, was a comrade-in-arms who fought side-by-side with Qi Jiguang, and a life-and-death friend who could entrust his back to the other party.

The Beijing Camp was personally inquired by His Majesty. Therefore, Tan Lun, this Grand Marshal, was a bit idle. This ten-day holiday was really a bit too much.

Zhu Yijun was disheveled, his face wasn't washed, his hair wasn't combed, and his shoes were worn wrong, just to see if Tan Lun had anything happen. Once this news spread, the court officials would inevitably have to think about a question: if they really took action against Tan Lun, what kind of monstrous waves would it set off?

You know, the little Emperor and Zhang Juzheng were almost cut from the same cloth—thin and ungrateful, reporting every grievance.

The court officials were sincerely glad that Tan Lun survived. Although he was so ill that he had to rest for more than ten days, he survived.

Tan Lun survived, which meant the court officials would be tossed around a few fewer times. They were really tossed around enough.

This was also information asymmetry. Tan Lun's physical condition was a secret. Therefore, Tan Lun's ten-day holiday was generally seen by the officials as being caused by serious illness. The people who went to visit Tan Lun were endless, all wishing Tan Lun: "Like the constancy of the moon, like the rising of the sun, like the longevity of the Southern Mountain, not decaying and not collapsing."

In short, it was to wish Tan Lun must be healthy. If Tan Lun was not healthy, I am afraid the officials in the capital would have bad luck.

Tan Lun met Wu Baipeng, who returned to the capital to report on his duties, at the All-Zhe Guild Hall. This time, Wu Baipeng needed the imperial decree of the imperial court for three things.

The first was Altan Khan's Commander's gold seal, the second was Sanniangzi's entry into the court to discuss, and the third was the resettlement of the 190,000 landless tenants in the Northwest by Wang Chonggu.

"The Grand Minister of Justice has always had a virtuous reputation in the Northwest. Everyone is grateful for his kindness. He emphasizes agriculture and land reclamation, promotes water conservancy and settles the small people, runs public schools and disciplines academic administration, advocates filial piety and persuades the people's customs, forbids fighting and forbids theft. The Northwest has been fought for twenty-five years, and it has been riddled with holes. Finally, there is a spirit of invigoration." After Wang Chonggu returned to the capital, Wu Baipeng went deep into the Northwest to investigate and study Wang Chonggu's resettlement of the small people, and the answer given was that the Grand Minister of Justice had the merit of living people.

In the first year of Wanli, Wu Baipeng, as the Datong Regional Commander Ma Fang, bribed court officials to avoid the Great Wall construction inspection. Zhang Juzheng took the opportunity to pursue him relentlessly and drove Wang Chonggu out of the court, letting him return to Xuan-Da to plug the holes. The relationship between Wu Baipeng and Wang Chonggu had already been at odds after this incident.

But Wu Baipeng submitted memorials twice for Wang Chonggu's merit in settling the people in the Northwest, which shows that after Wang Chonggu returned from the court to Xuan-Da, he was really seriously plugging the holes.

Wang Chonggu naturally knew how to repent. It was just a little bit, and he would have been beaten to death by Zhang Juzheng. If he didn't repent, he would be looking for death. He couldn't beat Qi Jiguang, so he had to be a minister who gathered wealth and promoted profit to seek survival.

Zhang Siwei didn't know how to repent because the price paid was always Yang Bo and Wang Chonggu, not Zhang Siwei. Zhang Siwei faced fear for the first time and took 728 people to be buried with him.

"The Grand Minister of Justice is indeed a person who does things." Tan Lun wrote on Wu Baipeng's memorial, which was considered an approval of the content of Wu Baipeng's memorial.

When Wu Baipeng went to Yongfeng, Jiangxi, to be a County Magistrate in the 27th year of Jiajing, he had already started visiting and researching.

Personally going to see and personally listening to what the people said was Wu Baipeng's style of doing things. For decades, he had been consistent. He was the unity of knowledge and action and attached great importance to practice.

"Does the Viceroy Wu mean to let Sanniangzi enter the court?" Tan Lun frowned and said.

Wu Baipeng nodded and said, "The one who wants to go to Xining is Altan Khan, and the one who doesn't want Altan Khan to go to Xining is Sanniangzi, and it is also Great Ming. If you don't give Altan Khan the gold seal and promise Sanniangzi to enter the court, the grassland will be further split. Altan Khan is more powerful than Tuman Khan, otherwise Tuman Khan would not have moved far to Liaodong."

"Divide, intensify their contradictions, and then weaken their strength. With the temperament of the Grand Secretary and His Majesty, sooner or later, they will recover the Hetao. Recovering the Hetao will inevitably fight a battle with Altan Khan. The weaker Altan Khan is, the more beneficial it will be to Great Ming."

Wu Baipeng elaborated on his reasons in detail. Altan Khan is the nominal leader, while Sanniangzi is the actual leader. The contradictions between the two have become more intense as Great Ming's national strength has become stronger. As Sanniangzi, who advocates peace, Great Ming still has to be gentle, but for Altan Khan who invades, he must be punished.

Sowing discord is not Zhu Yijun's exclusive passive skill; it is the passive skill of Great Ming scholars.

Tan Lun thought about it carefully and said very approvingly, "My meaning is also to allow Sanniangzi to enter the capital to pay tribute, mainly considering that Great Ming still has to use troops against Tuman Khan this year. Great Ming's current military strength is still not enough for two-line operations, and it is easy to take care of the head and not the tail. It is better to stabilize the Northwest direction."

"What about Altan Khan? Altan Khan went to Xining, is it really for the foreign monks?"

Wu Baipeng shook his head and said, "No. According to the scouts who went deep into the barbarian camp, I am afraid it is not that simple. Altan Khan's borrowing of the way this time has great ambitions. I am afraid he wants to contact the Northwest barbarians to unite and invade Gansu and other places."

"Therefore, do not give Altan Khan the gold seal and do not let him borrow the way."

As a Viceroy of the border, Wu Baipeng's stance has great reference value for the court discussion and will also affect Great Ming's decisions.

Wu Baipeng supported not giving Altan Khan the gold seal and opposed not letting Sanniangzi enter the court, which supported Wang Chonggu. Wang Chonggu is now a villain who gathers wealth and promotes profit in the mouths of the censors, and his treatment is almost the same as Yan Song.

"Altan Khan's heart to destroy us will not die." Tan Lun said with a heavy face, "Is there any possibility of reconciliation between Altan Khan and Tuman Khan? Sanniangzi has been running around for this matter."

"There is absolutely no possibility." Wu Baipeng said very definitely, "The left and right wings reconcile. Altan Khan and Tuman Khan must die one, and it must be one side defeating and beheading the thief leader. Only then is it possible to reconcile. But at that time, it is not reconciliation, but conquest."

Wu Baipeng was very sure that the reconciliation of the left and right wings was a dream that could not be reached. Altan Khan and Tuman Khan were the relationship of who killed whom.

"If Great Ming conflicts with Altan Khan again, how many chances of winning does Viceroy Wu think there are?" Tan Lun, a war profiteer, asked the question he cared about most.

Begging for monthly tickets, Aoooooo!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 225 =====