Chapter 617: The Great Alliance of the Wanli Reform Opposition

At the last moment, Zhu Yijun did not send Xu Zhaode to the sky, not entirely because of Wang Chonggu's remonstrance, but because he was a bit anxious and eager for reciprocal revenge, and ignored one thing.

The matter of Li Sanhu's explosion and assassination of the current Assistant Minister was more complicated than it appeared on the surface.

Xu Zhaode's speed of pleading guilty was too fast, and the investigation of the whole case was too smooth. Everything was just right, so natural.

Since Zhu Yijun ascended the throne as a ten-year-old emperor, he has been walking on thin ice. He has done everything, and there has never been a thing that was so smooth. This was too silky. It seemed that everything was arranged.

Perhaps it can be said that Xu Zhaode's pleading guilty was because the Embroidered Uniform Guards came too fast, the evidence was solid, and Xu Zhaode could not deny it;

Perhaps it can be said that the Embroidered Uniform Guards' means of investigating the case were too violent, making the case come to light so quickly;

Perhaps it can be said that the Xu family lost the chicken that laid golden eggs, the coal market, and in anger, they took a risk and raised the dead soldier Li Sanhu to take a risk;

It can also be said that Xu Zhaode was for buying out the Suiyuan tickets, for huge economic benefits, to make up for the loss of the coal market; it can also be said that Xu Zhaode held a fluke mentality, Li Sanhu used gunpowder to attack, Li Sanhu definitely could not survive, and there would be no proof;

Everything makes sense.

But when Zhu Yijun saw Wang Chonggu himself, he suddenly thought of something, which made all these "perhaps" become excuses to cover up the truth.

Before the explosion and assassination occurred, there was a wave of impeachment against Wang Chonggu, which was the infighting of the Jin Party, attacking Wang Chonggu as a tax-gathering official.

This was a whole set of combination punches. Starting from stirring up the wind of public opinion, first fixing Wang Chonggu in the ranks of treacherous officials, and then laying out the layout around the coal market, Xu Zhaode's risk-taking became logical. In order to vent his anger, the Emperor would definitely choose to kill regardless of everything.

Once Xu Zhaode died, everything would be over.

Two problems appeared in the whole set of combination punches. The first problem was that Li Sanhu killed the wrong person.

Zhu Yijun thought about this problem from the perspective of class. Even without the Wang family of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, it was not so easy to assassinate.

For example, this time Li Sanhu's explosion attack did not figure out which one was Wang Chonggu, but only recognized Wang Chonggu's carriage and rushed up, resulting in killing Wang Chongyi.

The second accident was Wang Chonggu coming forward to stop and remonstrate. Even if the accident of Li Sanhu's failure occurred, the matter was still being pushed forward according to the plan. The Emperor and the ministers, in order to maintain the collective interests among the meat-eaters, chose to let the Emperor fool around and send the Xu family and Xu Zhaode to the sky together.

Even Hence Hai Rui did not come out to stop it, because Hence Hai Rui is also a minister, and Hence Hai Rui also has family members. Hence Hai Rui offended more people than Zhang Juzheng. If he did not punish and deter strictly, he, Hence Hai Rui, would be the next victim.

But Wang Chonggu came out to stop it, the reason being justice. He did not hope to take revenge in a private lynching way, but to let Xu Zhaode plead guilty and be disposed of by national law. Wang Chonggu is the Minister of Justice, and it is his duty.

The scene had been arranged properly. Xu Zhaode and his family members were escorted to the North Town Fushi prison, while Zhu Yijun did not give an order for a long time, looking at the Xu family mansion, thoughtful.

"Assistant Minister, you reminded me correctly. There are still people behind Xu Zhaode." Zhu Yijun told Wang Chonggu the problem he was thinking about.

Wang Chonggu was stunned, and then his face changed. He was old, not confused. As soon as the Emperor said this, Wang Chonggu immediately understood the Emperor's meaning.

"Your Majesty, these people are still plotting the government factory! Damn it! Thinking that by killing me, this government factory will be theirs! Dreaming!" Wang Chonggu's face changed several times, becoming even more angry. They moved his family members and wanted to move his hard work. He immediately understood the initial motivation of everything: the government factory.

Not every government factory is extremely profitable. For example, the engineer corps camp that built the road and building the road itself is a pure loss-making business, which is to allow coal to reach Xuanfu smoothly and realize the exchange of coal and silver. For example, the coal yard in Jianghuai fell into operational difficulties due to labor costs, market, and other factors, with extremely meager profits, and even some expenditures exceeding income.

Wang Chonggu already knew why he became the target, because the two wool factories and the Xishan Coal Bureau were the big profit-makers of the court's government factories, on par with the shipyards, and slightly inferior to the plantations. This is also the foundation for the court's government factories to withstand resistance and flourish day by day.

Not being humble, the reason why the wool factory and Xishan Coal Bureau are what they are today is entirely because Wang Chonggu managed them well.

If Wang Chonggu dies, will the wool government factory and Xishan Coal Bureau definitely fall into operational difficulties? Not necessarily, but as long as Wang Chonggu is still alive, the wool government factory and Xishan Coal Bureau will definitely not fall into operational difficulties. Without Wang Chonggu, it is extremely important for those who seek the government factory.

Still looking at the pile of scrap metal that the Emperor made. The more fiercely they scold and the more violent the means, the more it shows that they are greedy for the huge profits of the government factory.

"Light the fire." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling Zhao Mengyou to light the fire, sending the Xu family mansion to the sky. The mastermind behind the scenes will be discussed later. The first thing to do is to send the Xu family to the sky.

The rumbling explosion sounded continuously. The red and fiery Xu family collapsed in the continuous explosion. The Embroidered Uniform Guards' craftsmanship was very exquisite, and it did not even affect any surrounding buildings. This is a ruin, a scar, and a warning.

Zhu Yijun returned to the palace. He explained carefully to Zhao Mengyou, drew out several key directions for investigation, and asked Zhao Mengyou to investigate and visit, must find out the doubts in the Emperor's heart.

Zhao Mengyou is a good hand at handling cases, but to figure out these things, it also takes time. It was not until Zhu Yijun met with foreign envoys in the Wenhua Hall that Zhao Mengyou investigated everything the Emperor wanted to know by mid-June.

"Xu Youren began to transfer assets overseas in the seventh year of Wanli. During the official selection and migration of wealthy households in the sixth year of Wanli, the Xu family began to transfer assets overseas. Before the decree of the profit tax was issued, they sold all their family property and moved to Luzon."

"After communicating with the Luzon Governor's Office, it was found that Xu Youren did not buy property in Luzon, but went to the Yuanxu Islands."

"Xu Youren is not one person behind him, but a group of people. Your Majesty is truly clear-sighted." Zhao Mengyou was sincere. This is not a simple revenge case, but a political case.

"Political activities have always been complex. Many times, they are just tacit understandings. Even the people who do this don't know their accomplices, and even the parties involved can't explain what happened." Zhu Yijun couldn't help but think of the book brought back from the grassland by Lin Fucheng, a local liberal, a book filled with scandals between the Emperor and the Three Ladies.

Political activities are extremely complex, and sometimes, people in them don't know the truth, and political activities seem to never need the truth.

"In the eighth year of Wanli, Xu Youren moved into the capital, but the Xu family only moved an empty shell into the capital. Xu Youren is the head of the Xu family, and he can't run away. There are twenty-six families like the Xu family that moved an empty shell."

"This is the first force behind Xu Youren, the power-holding squires who defected overseas." Zhao Mengyou first told His Majesty that this power-holding squire who would rather defect from the Great Ming than live under the Emperor's nose is not just the Xu family, but twenty-six families.

The Great Ming has a strong concept of being attached to the land, but in the eyes of these people, the Emperor's migration of wealthy households to enrich the capital is aimed at exterminating the family. They are deeply rooted in the local area and cannot be disposed of, so they are moved to the capital.

According to Zhao Mengyou's investigation, these twenty-six families are generational sea merchants. They have roots overseas. Moving overseas is definitely not a temporary idea, but a long-prepared one. In the second year of Longqing, when the sea was not yet opened, these twenty-six families were already smuggling merchants.

The sky is high for birds to fly, and the sea is wide for fish to leap.

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment and said: "Since you want the huge profits of opening the sea, you must bear the price of opening the sea. These people are a force condensed together with extreme freedom as the core."

After a large amount of silver flowed in and the worship of gold flourished, such thoughts would naturally be born, and then gain supporters. They would never think that they accumulated such wealth because they lived in the relatively stable environment of the Great Ming, but would only feel that it was all obtained by their own efforts.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhao Mengyou was sincere. His Majesty's judgment was extremely accurate. These twenty-six families were all supporters of the extreme liberal faction, physically and mentally moving out of the Great Ming, so their behavior was unscrupulous.

"The second force is a group of moths who want to leave but are unwilling to leave. They set up poetry societies and miscellaneous newspapers. They want to leave but are unwilling, and they are not reconciled to staying. They are unwilling to accept the court's decrees. These people are a group of fourteen people headed by Shen Zibin and Luo Yuren, creating the demon book case and drumming up the wind of public opinion." Zhao Mengyou talked about the power of the demon book case created by Luo Yuren when His Majesty was seriously ill.

Why want to leave but unwilling to leave? Because there is no foundation. Not everyone is a generational sea merchant or smuggling merchant. They cannot leave the Great Ming and know nothing about overseas, but they oppose the Emperor's management being too broad and oppose the migration of wealthy households to enrich the capital. But as long as they are in the Great Ming, they are under the imperial power, so they can only endure while looking for opportunities.

The Emperor was seriously ill, and the opportunity came. The gamble was that the Emperor would not recover from his illness.

"They are all rebels intending to subvert the Great Ming." Zhu Yijun defined this group of people. They didn't have the Great Ming in their hearts, nor the common people, only the harvest of their own acre of land. Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "If the extreme liberal faction is a man-eating tiger, then these moths who want to leave but are unwilling to leave are the ghosts who help the tiger, the flank of the extreme liberal faction's banner."

"There are also some people, mainly a group of local squires who oppose returning land. These local squires seem to have done nothing, but I still discovered their activities during the investigation. The large number of so-called retail investors who bought out the Suiyuan Road this time are them. They are the victims of the new policy, and the abolition of the base slave status makes them feel like a thorn in their throat." Zhao Mengyou supplemented the last short board of the investigation.

To clearly oppose the Great Ming's new policy, there must be financiers, there must be scholar-officials who charge into battle, and there must be a large number of supporters who cooperate with the action.

"The Great Alliance of the Wanli Reform Opposition." Zhu Yijun laughed instead. After figuring out who the enemy was, the problem became clear.

This great alliance has no entity. If there is one, it is the twenty-six families in the Yuanxu Islands. Others are fish hidden under the water, invisible and untouchable, but they really exist.

The rebellious ministers and thieves have jumped out themselves! The extreme liberal faction is one, the hesitant ghosts are one, and the local squires who follow the court's decrees in public but oppose them in private are one.

Zhu Yijun wrote these three forces on paper and looked at them for a long time before saying: "That Xu Zhaode, send him to the Academy of Dissection to be a neighbor with Zhang Siwei."

"A group of jumping clowns."

In Zhao Mengyou's investigation, Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi, these liberals, were instead expelled from the liberal ranks and considered to be worshippers of authority.

Because Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi had completely rebelled against the basic claims of freedom.

Lin Fucheng, Li Zhi, and others once successfully stirred up the wind of public opinion, eventually promoting the implementation of the decree to abolish the base slave status, freeing people from the strong personal attachment and slave production relations. Isn't this freedom?

In the eyes of the extreme liberal faction, this is not freedom; there is no freedom to become a slave.

Zhu Yijun discovered that when a concept deviates from the common people and the majority, it becomes strange.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards caught a person named Zhao Zining. Zhao Zining's arrest was completely accidental. Zhao Zining was a basket of opinions. When he was caught, he was scolding the Emperor, and he scolded very fiercely. Criticizing the Emperor is still a taboo topic, but Zhao Zining dared to criticize publicly in the miscellaneous newspapers.

The content of the scolding was nothing more than the old three: too violent, too broad, and arbitrary. The Embroidered Uniform Guards thought this person was Xu Zhaode's accomplice, because this person was a fellow villager and classmate of Xu Zhaode, and scolded the Emperor, creating the wind of public opinion. Isn't this an accomplice?

After being caught, after careful investigation, it was discovered that Zhao Zining and Xu Zhaode, the Xu family, had no direct or indirect economic dealings, not even a little bit of involvement.

"Let him go. There are many people scolding me. If I care about everything, I won't be able to live," Zhu Yijun didn't bother to dispose of Zhao Zining, because this person's speech could be considered to basically follow the facts and was not a false accusation. It was indeed violent, indeed managed very broadly, and indeed arbitrary.

"I obey the imperial decree." Zhao Mengyou knew the Emperor's purpose, not to expand.

The first thing in the struggle is to figure out who is the enemy, who is the passerby, and who is the friend. Obviously, Zhao Zining does not belong to the enemy list.

The struggle with the extreme liberal faction is long-term, because this was raised by the Emperor himself.

"Your Majesty, the Minister of Revenue and the Assistant Minister of Revenue are waiting outside the imperial study, requesting an audience," a little eunuch said after seeing that His Majesty had finished his work.

"Summon."

Wang Guoguang and Zhang Xueyan came together. Obviously, there was something important to say. After the ceremony, they didn't talk nonsense, and presented a memorial to the imperial front. This was the opening made by Zhang Juzheng's "Five Matters Memorial" back then. The court officials' memorials could bypass the cabinet and be presented directly. Seeing the ministers, court officials, and foreign officials determined that the presentation of memorials became possible.

Zhang Juzheng only hoped that His Majesty would become a wise monarch and let the Great Ming stop sliding into the abyss.

Zhu Yijun opened the memorial and immediately knew why Wang Guoguang and Zhang Xueyan had to bypass the cabinet.

Sichuan and Guangdong were fighting.

Sichuan Governor Wang Tingzhan was from Huguang, a disciple of Zhang Juzheng, the direct descendant of the Chu Party. And the Guangdong Governor was Wang Jiaping, a student of Ge Shouli, the direct descendant of the Jin Party. Sichuan and Guangdong were fighting. This memorial naturally had to bypass the cabinet, otherwise Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu would fight first.

It is not that Sichuan and Guangdong rebelled, fighting with swords and guns is fighting, but Wang Tingzhan in Sichuan banned Sichuan silkworm seeds from leaving the province. Shu brocade and Sichuan satin, the most luxurious of luxury goods, were high-end luxury goods that were taxed at 50%.

The more luxurious the things, the more taxes are added. The more taxes are added, the more it can prove their wealth. Zhu Yijun previously taxed the big mansion on Baiwang Mountain, and the "Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Mansion" was even taxed at 100% luxury tax!

Such high taxes did not stop the enthusiasm of the power-holding squires, but made the sales of the Baiwang Mountain mansion even more popular. As soon as the decree was issued, it was sold out in less than a day.

Certification from the Emperor, a truly top-level luxury mansion!

Zhu Yijun could only scold these people for having money to burn for this result, but the taxes that should be collected still had to be collected.

Shu brocade and Sichuan satin are luxury goods, and Sichuan silkworm seeds are the key among them. No one stipulates that Shu brocade and Sichuan satin must be woven in Sichuan.

Wang Tingzhan banned silkworm seeds from flowing out to protect the local economy. To implement this ban, Wang Tingzhan even mobilized the archers of the Inspection Division to strictly check. And one of the places where Sichuan silkworm seeds mainly flowed was the Guangdong region.

Wang Jiaping was not a good person either. This business was doing well, and Wang Tingzhan said he wouldn't let it be done? With Wang Jiaping's tacit approval, with high rebates as the main thing, and the escort of Guangdong guest soldiers, the local power-holding squires in Guangdong began to steal silkworm seeds from Sichuan.

This fight resulted in real fire. Wang Tingzhan arrested 160 guest soldiers who stole silkworm seeds in Guangdong. Wang Jiaping asked for them but failed, so he reported to the court, scolding Wang Tingzhan for arresting Great Ming official soldiers on trumped-up charges. Guest soldiers are also official soldiers, eating imperial rations. Wang Tingzhan arresting guest soldiers, isn't this fooling around?

Wang Tingzhan also reported Wang Jiaping, and the reason was also very sufficient. Wang Jiaping crossed the line. The guest soldiers in Guangzhou ran to Sichuan. Those who knew were Great Ming official soldiers, and those who didn't know thought they were Wang Jiaping's retainers.

"This is fighting out of anger." Zhu Yijun was stunned when he looked at the memorial. He didn't expect that a small silkworm seed could make such a fuss.

Wang Guoguang said helplessly: "This is not money making trouble? Wang Tingzhan is not wrong, and Wang Jiaping is not wrong."

"Oh? Wang Tingzhan and Wang Jiaping are both not wrong, then who is wrong?" Zhu Yijun was stunned. He thought he was going to be a referee, but he didn't expect Wang Guoguang, who took out the memorial, to want to smooth things over.

This process is wrong if you want to smooth things over.

If he really wanted to smooth things over, Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu should sit together and discuss a result, and send it into the palace in the form of a floating slip. But there was no floating slip on the memorial, proving that Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu didn't want to smooth things over, and both insisted that the other side was wrong, so they brought it to the Emperor to dispose of.

"The court is wrong." Wang Guoguang and Zhang Xueyan looked at each other, and Wang Guoguang revealed the answer.

"They are fighting in the local area, how is it the court's fault?" Zhu Yijun spread his hands, a bit confused. How did the Ministry of Revenue get the result that the court was wrong from the local fighting? If the court is wrong, isn't it Zhu Yijun, this Emperor, who is wrong?

"Speaking of two things, Your Majesty, let's talk about Sichuan first," Zhang Xueyan deliberated and said: "Your Majesty, Shu brocade and Sichuan satin are not taxed in Sichuan, and these taxes are paid in Songjiang Prefecture. The Great Ming law clearly stipulates that traveling merchants are not taxed, and sitting merchants are taxed thirty to one."

Traveling merchants are not taxed, only sitting merchants who sell goods are taxed. So Shu brocade and Sichuan satin are produced in Sichuan, but Sichuan does not have the ability to consume these luxurious things, so they are all transported to the prosperous places in the south. Now it is Songjiang Prefecture, Xiafei Street, all of which are luxurious things. It is impossible for the taxes collected in Songjiang Prefecture to be distributed to Sichuan for a cent of silver.

Besides the south, the second largest outflow direction of Shu brocade and Sichuan satin is Guangdong, more precisely Guangzhou.

"Wang Tingzhan did not ask for these taxes, but banned Sichuan silkworm seeds from flowing out to protect Sichuan silkworm farmers. If every place had Shu brocade and Sichuan satin, Sichuan silkworm farmers would probably have no way to survive. Wang Tingzhan has been very polite, just for the survival of Sichuan silkworm farmers, so Wang Tingzhan is not wrong." Zhang Xueyan explained clearly why Wang Tingzhan's local protection decree was not wrong.

The whole country is a game of chess, this is not wrong, but as a local official, Wang Tingzhan still has to seek blessings for the local people.

"Let's talk about Guangdong," Wang Guoguang said: "Wang Jiaping is also not wrong. Sichuan silkworm seeds, this business has not been five hundred years, it has been three hundred years, and it has formed an extremely stable industry. Many places in Guangzhou are waiting for silkworm seeds, just as urgent as a clever woman waiting for rice to cook. If there was a way, Wang Jiaping would not let guest soldiers escort them."

Since the Northern Song Dynasty, the Sangyuan Enclosure was established in Nanhai County. Xiqiao, Jiujiang, Shatou, and other places are all big silkworm farmers. The silk produced in these places will be transported to Foshan and processed into silk and satin. Guangzhou Foshan is also one of the Great Ming's largest silk industry centers, second only to the south.

And silkworm seeds are all on a large piece of paper, and a roll can be transported. The Guangzhou area does not keep silkworm seeds.

Oranges born in Huainan are oranges, and those born in Huaibei are trifoliate oranges. The leaves are similar, but the taste is different.

Like oranges, there is also the problem of Huainan and Huaibei. Sichuan silkworm seeds kept in the Guangzhou area often have offspring whose silk quality is far inferior to Sichuan silkworm seeds, so Guangzhou uses Sichuan silkworm seeds.

Wang Tingzhan banned it like this, and all the silkworm farmers in the Guangzhou area would "run out of food."

So Wang Jiaping is also not wrong.

The local areas are not wrong, so the one who is wrong is the court.

"Then wouldn't Suiyuan and Shanxi have such problems? Coal is also going south." Zhu Yijun immediately realized that this was not an individual problem between Sichuan and Guangdong, but a problem of the Great Ming as a whole.

Wang Tingzhan's regional protection will also be the regional protection of Suiyuan, Shanxi, and Liaodong in the future.

"Yes," Wang Guoguang said worriedly: "Your Majesty, from the perspective of goods or commodities, it is indeed the north sucking the blood of the south, but from the perspective of raw materials, it is the south sucking the blood of the north, or the blood-sucking of the poor northwest by the rich southeast coast."

"Suiyuan, Shanxi's coal, Shandong's cotton, Sichuan's silkworm seeds, wood, these are all raw materials."

The north is poor and the south is rich, the north sucks the blood of the south, this is also the mainstream view, but in fact, from the perspective of taxation, it is found that this is a process of raw material and commodity exchange, and there is no question of who sucks whose blood.

"Your Majesty, there is another problem here, and that is population migration. Taking silkworm seeds as an example, Sichuan merchants who made money selling silkworm seeds will settle down in the south, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and other places. For example, many Jin merchants gather in Yangzhou and settle down in Yangzhou." Zhang Xueyan reminded His Majesty that this is not simply a tax problem.

"The poor get poorer, the rich get richer." Zhu Yijun immediately understood Zhang Xueyan's meaning. This is also a kind of annexation, the annexation of poor places by rich places.

Population is flowing away, silver is flowing away. These merchants will not take the money back, but will stay in the south. The key to the exchange of coal and silver is to keep the silver in the north through the transaction of bulk commodities, promoting local development, rather than the south making money and the south spending it, not wanting to bring a cent home.

"From the perspective of taxation, we have to distribute taxes to Sichuan and other places." Wang Guoguang proposed a solution, which is to be regulated by the court, paying the taxes collected from rich places to poor places. This looks like robbing the rich to help the poor.

"There is a huge problem here, and that is that poor places cannot leave the commodities of rich places, but rich places can get rid of the raw materials of poor places." Zhu Yijun frowned and said: "Taking Songjiang Prefecture, Zhejiang Ningbo, and Guangdong Guangzhou as examples, these can completely rely on the inflow of overseas raw materials."

Raw material and commodity exchange was originally the bond between the rich southeast coast and the poor northwest, but now this balance has been broken by the decree of opening the sea.

The rich coastal areas will find that there are richer raw materials and cheaper labor overseas. The more developed the navigation technology, the stronger the centrifugal force of the southeast coastal areas will be.

Zhu Yijun's fingers kept tapping on the table, his face thoughtful. From the fighting between Sichuan and Guangdong, from Wang Tingzhan's local protection decree, Zhu Yijun saw the key to the problem: production.

This cannot be completed overnight. Making the Great Ming great again is a long way to go. While solving one problem, two problems will appear. ===== CHAPTER 618 =====

It is very difficult to make everyone rich together, but it is indeed relatively simple to make everyone poor together.

"Therefore, the key issue is production. If these raw materials can be produced at the source, the problem can be greatly alleviated. But all assets do not come out of thin air; they require accumulation, investment, and construction." Zhu Yijun stopped tapping his fingers. From the infighting between Sichuan and the two Guangs, and from Wang Tingzhan's local protectionist policies, Zhu Yijun saw the key to the problem: production.

This is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Making the Great Ming great again is a long and arduous road; the moment one problem is solved, two more will appear.