Chapter 598

The Single Whip Law harmed the interests of local yamens and the gentry class like the blade of a tiger-head guillotine: where some paid the price, others reaped the gains—the local yamens and gentry suffered losses, while the court and the poor laborers benefited, in a roughly 70-30 split: the court seventy, the people thirty.

Of that thirty percent the people received, a portion was still seized.

Thus, the Single Whip Law was, from start to finish, an internal struggle among the ruling class—an internal conflict among hereditary officials, appointed officials, and the gentry class, a bloody battle over ownership of producers and means of production.

Shen Shen Shixing, appointed as a Ministry of Personnel Secretary and Provincial Governor of Songjiang, a fifth-rank official overseeing the coastal stronghold of Songjiang Prefecture, was a colossal joke; after suffering punishment for his poor judgment and falling so hard, Shen Shen Shixing's methods visibly turned harsher.

"Has the Single Whip Law intensified local tensions?" Zhu Zhu Yijun frowned as he studied the memorial, first questioning himself: had he pushed too hard, placing excessive pressure on the regions? Unresolved conflicts from before had been followed by new ones, leaving even Shen Shen Shixing overwhelmed.

"Your Majesty, I believe it is already too late—we have been exploring monetary taxation since the early Emperor Jiajing era and should have made substantial progress." Feng Bao rejected the emperor's self-examination; the emperor felt it was slow, but since Gui E first proposed the Single Whip Law, fifty years had passed in preparation.

In the ninth year of Emperor Jiajing, Gui E first proposed the Single Whip Law in court; ministers led by Yang Yang Yiqing strongly obstructed it. In the first month of the tenth year of Emperor Jiajing, Gui E was forced to retire and return home. Since then, over the past fifty years, the Great Ming has intermittently explored and refined the theory—there is now sufficient historical depth, and institutional exploration is complete.

In fact, as early as the ninth year of Emperor Wanli, ministers such as Wang Wang Guoguang and Zhang Zhang Xueyan had already begun submitting joint memorials urging implementation of the Single Whip Law; yet only today, three years later, has Your Majesty timidly begun piloting it in Songjiang Prefecture.

Given the law's impact on millions of commoners, caution is prudent.

"I am open to discussion. Previously, Sun Sun Kehong raised two concerns; I guaranteed no additional taxes and strict criminal penalties to ensure the true implementation of the Single Whip Law." Zhu Zhu Yijun set down the memorial, his expression grave.

This emperor, Zhu Zhu Yijun, is open to discussion; if the court merely slapped its forehead and decided to push a policy without regard for local suffering, forcing through a widely opposed decree would only yield lip service and chaos. After the conflicts arose, Great Ming's edicts had already begun seriously considering bottom-up input—though some assumptions remained, and not every angle could be covered.

"One of the shipyards at the Songjiang Shipyard was burned—specifically, the fast-sailing shipyard. The shipyard's chief Zhao Li Shizhen, Guo Guo Rulin, and others reported to court that someone deliberately set the fire." Zhu Zhu Yijun's fingers tapped incessantly on the table.

"Arson is indeed a clever tactic—it leaves nothing behind, not even evidence. Spring is dry, so fires are common—but it's already late March, and Songjiang Prefecture has been drenched in rain." Zhu Zhu Yijun exhaled a long, weary breath.

Never, under any circumstance, should they have touched the shipyard.

Feng Bao whispered: "It could still be an accident. Common homes are full of wood; a single spark can ignite them. Before fireworks were banned, the capital suffered multiple fires every New Year's Day."

"If they burned the shipyard, it was likely opposition to opening the seas, not opposition to the Single Whip Law."

This doesn't add up—the shipyard was tied to the opening of the seas; in the ninth year of During Zhengtong, the Yingzong Emperor planned to sail southward to the Western Seas, but the palace had run out of silver and hoped to profit from official ships and official trade; the two hundred ships built in Fujian were burned to ashes by a civilian uprising.

Just as the Single Whip Reform was being implemented, the burning of the shipyard seemed utterly out of place.

"Our Ming officials love to do this—when they can shift blame, they never take responsibility themselves. Under the Single Whip Reform, tensions have escalated, and powerful local elites have become convenient scapegoats." Feng Bao explained the reasoning behind his thoughts.

Bureaucrats adore passing the buck—deny, deflect, deny again; after all, the fault isn't mine. Sure, powerful elites are brazen and dare anything, but Mazhou, Songjiang Prefecture, Ningbo, Yuegang, and the Guangzhou Maritime Customs were the emperor's southern treasuries—reaching into these places is sheer stupidity.

"Shen Shen Shixing thinks the same way." Zhu Zhu Yijun agreed with Feng Bao; Shen Shen Shixing felt the same—the mass production of fast ships had been stumbling, last year's target wasn't met, and this year's fire made it even harder; instinctively shifting blame was perfectly normal.

"Shen Shen Shixing sent Luo Luo Bingliang, still in Songjiang, to investigate—and Luo indeed uncovered something suspicious: this time, it's the Qu family of Shanghai County." Zhu Zhu Yijun handed Feng Bao a secret memorial.

From the memorial alone, it's clear that Zhao Li Shizhen and Guo Guo Rulin, the shipyard's chief administrators, were trying to shift blame, pinning the production accident on powerful local elites to evade imperial punishment.

Shen Shen Shixing ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate; Luo Luo Bingliang found no evidence at the shipyard. At this point, Zhao and Guo's punishment was already sealed—nails driven, coffin shut. But while inspecting taxes in Shanghai County, Luo accidentally uncovered a lead.

Tax inspection primarily involved auditing accounts: the emperor ordered Luo to check whether the Twelve Flower Queens of Songjiang and the Six Benmu Flower Crown Gentlemen had paid their taxes, and whether taxes on Xiafei Street had been fully remitted—if not, immediate collection was required.

As Luo investigated, he discovered hundreds of suspicious expenditures totaling 600,000 taels—an amount equal to the cost of an imperial mausoleum, vanished without a trace.

Since the Ming implemented the Six-Book One-Account and double-entry bookkeeping system in the second year of Emperor Wanli, it was immediately embraced by the people, for everyone knew how Zhang Zhang Siwei's clerks had skimmed seven-tenths of the profits.

The destination of these hundreds of transactions, totaling over 600,000 taels, must be traced.

Everyone avoided discussing where the money went, until finally, the Embroidered Uniform Guard found their breakthrough in Qu Wang Daocheng, the grandson of Qu Qu Hehang.

"Qu Wang Daocheng—'water flows, success follows'—his name's meaning is quite fitting," Zhu Zhu Yijun leaned back in his chair, sighing.

The brothels are arenas of fame and fortune; Qu Wang Daocheng, this obedient grandson, has taken all twelve flower beauties under his name solely for fame and profit, or to gain others' approval; when Wang Qian visits the Taibai Pavilion, if he doesn't first send ten flower baskets, can he still be called Master Wang?

To show off, Qu Wang Daocheng, in front of the Flower Queens and guests, declared he could walk sideways through Songjiang—everyone owed him respect, because his grandfather held the accounts.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard, hoping for even a faint clue, went to the Qu residence. The seasoned Qu Qu Hehang showed no weakness, but Qu Wang Daocheng's father, Qu Qu Youming, displayed obvious panic—like cats catching the scent of fish, the guards immediately surrounded the Qu mansion.

This ledger detailed the Qu family's dealings with officials at every level of the southern administration, totaling over 1.1 million taels; besides the 600,000 taels found on Xiafei Street, another 500,000 taels remained unaccounted for.

This was a bribery ledger, listing major heads, deputy administrators, and even acting administrators of the Songjiang shipyard; the acting administrator was the second-in-command, and if the chief administrator was absent, he became the boss.

"So someone really set the fire," Feng Bao sighed after reading the memorial. The report had been sent from the Songjiang Tax Office to the Beijing Northern Commandery Office, then presented to the emperor by Zhao Zhao Mengyou—Feng Bao had never seen these reports before.

"How could Qu Qu Hehang have raised such a grandson? He should've just strangled him at birth," Feng Bao also sighed.

The Qu family had successfully transformed—from landlords collecting tenant rents to workshop owners and maritime merchants; Qu family ships filled all three ports of Songjiang. Originally, the Single Whip Reform had little to do with them—they could've stayed neutral, watching from the sidelines.

But Qu Wang Daocheng and his father, Qu Qu Youming, insisted on becoming the top power brokers in Songjiang.

The Qu family split into two factions: one led by Grandfather Qu, advocating abandoning land rents—too troublesome, unprofitable, and raising grain prices invited crackdowns; better to fully embrace maritime trade and compete with the Sun family of Songjiang for control of the Yuanxu Islands. The other faction, led by Qu Qu Youming and Qu Wang Daocheng, wanted everything: keep land rents—their core business, never abandon it—and also pursue maritime trade.

"If you burn one shipyard, will you stop the Single Whip Reform? After all these years, why can't they understand? If they raise legitimate concerns, wouldn't the court listen? The more they act out, the more they invite heaven's wrath," Feng Bao said helplessly.

According to Qu Qu Youming's confession, the arson at the Songjiang shipyard—targeting only one fast-ship dock—had one goal: strike while the iron is hot.

Shen Shen Shixing had already been demoted three ranks due to the Dong Wei affair; if he failed to meet the fast-ship production target, the court would punish him severely—he'd be finished.

If Shen Shen Shixing fell, someone else would replace him, and the Single Whip Reform would face uncertainty; whoever took over would need time to learn the system before implementing policies—whether the reform could be completed then was uncertain.

"If Shen Shen Shixing is gone, I'll send Ling Ling Yunyi to Songjiang Prefecture," Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled his trademark radiant smile: "They think Shen Shen Shixing is too gentle, weak, and easy to bully? I'll give them a stern grandfather to deal with them—hahaha."

"You think a virtuous magistrate with a gentle disposition isn't good enough?"

When the Single Whip Reform was first proposed for Songjiang, Hai Rui had questioned whether too much pressure was being placed on Shen Shen Shixing—opening the seas while implementing the Single Whip Reform placed a double burden, and indeed, the water-balancing master struggled, pressing down one end only to see the other rise.

Civil unrest and arson were two effective tactics: civil unrest meant oppressive rule was worse than tigers—officials drove people to revolt; arson was hard to trace—like the Wang Gongchang explosion in Emperor Tianqi's second year, which even killed a prince, yet no cause was ever found.

Powerful elites had mastered both tactics, but this time they were unlucky—because of a grandson who loved showing off: Qu Wang Daocheng.

"Submit the ledgers to the Censorate tomorrow," Zhu Zhu Yijun endorsed the Embroidered Uniform Guard's report, transferring the ledgers to the Censorate; a ledger triggering a seismic upheaval across Songjiang was now in Hai Rui's hands—like an grandfather losing his son, with no uncle left.

In the summer of Emperor Longqing's third year, Hai Rui rebuked Emperor Emperor Longqing for his extravagance, urging him to cut palace expenses, as state finances were severely depleted—how could the emperor waste so recklessly? The emperor rubbed his head: "Go serve as governor in the southern court—don't annoy me anymore."

Before Hai Rui even arrived in Ying Tian Prefecture, he received a ledger implicating officials across the entire Jiangnan region—similar to a bribery record, involving officials of all ranks in the fourteen prefectures of Ying Tian; upon his arrival, some officials, intimidated by his reputation, voluntarily retired, while others, skeptical of his authority, sought to challenge him.

As a result, after only six months in office as governor of Ying Tian, Hai Rui was ousted; he had encountered all manner of tactics before—old, familiar maneuvers—but the final, fatal blow came from the emperor himself: Emperor Emperor Longqing, persuaded by censor Dai Dai Fengxiang's accusation that Hai Rui "protected wicked commoners and oppressed the gentry," promoted him to a higher post, forcing him into retirement.

Now, another ledger strikingly similar appeared before the court.

The next morning, Hai Rui, after court, left the Zhao Wenhua Palace and headed straight to the Northern Commandery Office to receive the ledger.

"Gone? Where's the ledger?" Hai Rui leaned forward, eyes narrowed: "Commander, the emperor's edict ordered you to hand this ledger to me—do you not trust me?"

"How could you say such a thing, Grand Censor? Who would we distrust if not you, Grand Censor Hai? All court officials lack integrity, yet you remain trustworthy. Why is the ledger missing? It's a long story—please sit down." Zhao Zhao Mengyou gestured for Hai Rui to sit.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard intended to deliver the ledger to the Maritime Inspector by sea, but recent storms were too fierce—the inspector is human, not a god; he couldn't cross the sea, so we switched to land transport—and that's when trouble struck—the guards escorting the ledger were attacked." Zhao Zhao Mengyou detailed the ledger's disappearance.

From Songjiang, the guards departed in three groups as a decoy—but all three were intercepted: either by mountain bandits, pirate raids, or stations claiming no horses were available, leaving them stranded; or anonymous notes offering huge bribes for the ledger.

Zhao Zhao Mengyou smiled broadly: "After this bumpy journey to Tianjin, the ledger was ultimately lost—three guards were ambushed by twenty-seven bandits, barely escaped, but the ledger was seized."

"Outrageous! Utter lawlessness! The ledger reached the emperor's ears, yet they dared to block its delivery to the capital! Is there still any law in this Ming realm!" Hai Rui slammed his fist on the table—whether the ledger reached the capital was the emperor's decision; but obstruction along the way clearly meant someone didn't want it to arrive.

Pulling one hair sets the whole body in motion; Qu Qu Hexing's ledger implicates not only officials in Songjiang Prefecture but also those in Ying Tian Prefecture.

"Grand Censor Hai, your integrity is like a steadfast pine; we guards are crude men, unfamiliar with such matters, but we know we eat the emperor's salary and serve him faithfully. The three guards received prior orders: prioritize survival; if necessary, sacrifice evidence—hence they escaped the ambush." Zhao Zhao Mengyou smiled: "The emperor said: when necessary, preserve your life—so long as the green mountains remain, firewood will never run out."

Hai Rui realized this made sense—the most fanatical loyalists in the Ming were these Embroidered Uniform Guards; without orders, they'd rather die fighting than surrender evidence. Yet this very evidence was lost in their hands.

"Commander, you're sitting calmly—you must have prepared something?" Hai Rui relaxed; if the Northern Commandery Office couldn't be trusted, the emperor wouldn't rely on it—it had long since broken from its old role as a subordinate of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, becoming a fully imperial military judiciary, intelligence, and tax oversight super-agency.

"Nothing special—we simply printed five hundred copies of the entire ledger. The one sent to the capital was just a printed version; if lost, so be it. Since it's gone, no need for courtesy—sell it openly across the southern administration." Zhao Zhao Mengyou shook his head: "The emperor is willing to give our officials a shred of dignity."

"Too bad—they themselves reject dignity. Then let's expose them—let all two capitals and fifteen provinces, all four governorates, see exactly who took bribes and how much."

Hai Rui picked up his tea, sipped to calm himself, and turned the cup: "This was the emperor's idea, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Once I botched a mission and lost an unimportant document—the emperor scolded me for being foolish and taught me this method: Embroidered Uniform Guards escorting documents are rarely challenged; if they are challenged, it's perfect—we can use it." Zhao Zhao Mengyou grinned: "The emperor truly has brilliant ideas."

The petty scholars' tactics grew worse: the more they obstructed, the more we amplified—and doubled down.

With this ledger now openly sold and widely circulated, severe punishment is mandatory—at least triple the penalty. Originally, if the ledger reached the Censorate, punishments could be graded by severity and bribe amounts; sometimes, we still had to consider high officials' feelings—the Eight Privileges hadn't been abolished.

On the third day, Hai Rui saw partial details in the unofficial gazette; to beat the headlines, Songjiang informants rushed to the capital the moment they got the published ledger, printed copies, and flooded the market—racing for timing, racing for headlines.

The heated debates between Lin Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi on religion and the alienation of power were instantly buried.

The Maritime Inspector carried the original by sea; the watchtower scouts carried copies by land—both advanced in tandem, delivering the ledger to the capital and the Northern Commandery Office, then the original reached Hai Rui.

Censorate officials saw the ledger details published in the gazette and knew they'd be working overtime again.

"The Grand Censor of Nanjing Censorate, Li Yonglu; the Vice Censor, Yuan Yuan Hongyu; the Left Vice Minister of Rites, Song Cunde, and 140 others are implicated in the Qu family bribery case. Effective immediately, by imperial decree, they are to be investigated!" Hai Rui flipped through the ledger, summoned the Censorate officials, and began oversight.

"The emperor's edict must be obeyed," said Li Li Youzi, Right Grand Censor, displaying the emperor's handwritten edict—a short scroll; except for military titles, all Ming edicts were now short scrolls.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng strongly supported this action.

When Hai Rui retired, Zhang Zhang Juzheng wrote him a letter: "I, though unworthy, hold a high office and participate in court deliberations, yet I failed to reward those who uphold the law or crush frivolous arguments—I feel profound shame."

The imperial laws had long been ineffective in the southern administration and Zhejiang; when Hai Hai Gangfeng assumed office, he immediately enforced the law rigidly, overwhelming local authorities, sparking rumors and panic; as a grand secretary, I could participate in court deliberations, yet I failed to reward law-abiding officials or correct shallow arguments—I am deeply ashamed.

At that time, the chief minister was Gao Gong; when Hai Rui was forced into retirement due to promotion, Zhang Zhang Juzheng specifically wrote to apologize.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng admired Hai Rui's character and bore him no grudge; it was merely the political climate—he had tried, but failed.

The fourteen prefectures of the southern administration, including Songjiang, experienced a seismic upheaval—so many implicated, so widespread, the entire court was stunned.

"Your Majesty, I believe too many are being implicated," Zhang Zhang Juzheng personally visited the Tonghe Palace study, urging the emperor not to extend punishment indiscriminately; investigate only those named in the ledger, and stop there—this was Zhang's conciliatory stance, already submitted in a memorial, now presented in person.

Zhu Zhu Yijun grew angry upon reading the memorial—and even angrier seeing Zhang Zhang Juzheng; though Zhang, once a radical reformer, now seemed conservative, such cautious words still displeased Zhu.

"Master! They've burned my shipyard! They've tried to assassinate my Embroidered Uniform Guards! Only because my guards are capable did they barely escape!"

"Now you tell me to stop here? How do we stop here? I know—you want to retreat a step to secure implementation of the Single Whip Reform; this is basic politics—exchange is everywhere. I won't dig deeper, and they'll obey imperial orders."

"Do I not want dignity? They themselves reject dignity—they dared to intercept my guards transporting evidence! If I do nothing, tomorrow they'll dare to assassinate the emperor!"

"Master, you once taught me: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—never show weakness. The emperor must be strong! This is the lesson you taught me!"

Zhang Zhang Juzheng had indeed seriously taught Zhu Zhu Yijun how to be emperor: emperors can be many things, but never weak—otherwise, everyone will bully you.

"Indeed, I taught you that," Zhang Zhang Juzheng was struck by his own words—he had lived by this principle for years.

"Then why do you petition for mercy? You yourself cannot practice it, yet you demand I do?" Zhu Zhu Yijun exhaled sharply—admit it! If not, I'll pull out the lecture notes from our earlier lessons and confront you face to face!

"Your Majesty, according to class theory, we must let them off," Zhang Zhang Juzheng bowed.

The memorial was full of empty talk about imperial benevolence, but in person, Zhang revealed his true reasoning.

Zhu Zhu Yijun glanced at the Secretariat secretary's seat—seeing he had stepped out to use the restroom—then spoke: "Explain in detail."

Zhang Zhang Juzheng also glanced at the secretary's seat before speaking: "Your Majesty, the Single Whip Reform is an internal struggle among hereditary officials, appointed officials, and scholar-gentry; internal struggles require uniting all possible allies; politics is simple—it's about who has more people."

"Your Majesty, stopping at the ledger's names, avoiding extended purges, is unity; continuing purges pushes everyone to the opposition—press harder, and they unite tighter."

"Huang Taiji teaches yin and yang—pull and strike, breaking the unspoken understanding among them, dividing and conquering each."

"Everything is for the new policy."

After careful thought, Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded: "Yes, that makes sense—but not one of these 140 names on the ledger shall be spared!"

Zhang Zhang Juzheng hurriedly said: "As for the ledgers, not a single entry must be overlooked. His Majesty promised triple punishment—and triple punishment it shall be. Those originally sentenced to exile shall be beheaded and displayed; those ordered to retire shall be exiled to distant lands such as Java, to instill fear."

"Your Majesty, they long for you to drag everyone into this net, to turn the matter into a storm of outrage and public resentment. Those who once had an escape route will now be forced to take desperate risks."

"But what if more troubles arise?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked irritably, pointing at the ledger on the table.

"The Beijing garrison moves south," Zhang Zhang Juzheng replied, speaking with absolute certainty: "Sometimes, drawing the fist back is to strike harder when it's thrown forward."

"Excellent. I shall follow your advice," Zhu Zhu Yijun said, looking at Zhang Zhang Juzheng. "You must stop pretending to be a conservative. 'Initiator of the Emperor Wanli Reforms' and 'conservative'—these two labels are utterly incompatible."

Can the Grand Secretary who proposed moving the Beijing garrison south really be a conservative? That label is nothing but a disguise!