Chapter 699: Freezing to Death Without Tearing Down the House, Starving to Death Without Looting

The planning of the Emperor's travel was set long ago to give the local area sufficient reaction time, so as not to lose face for everyone. And the Shanghai Magistrate Yao Guangming had prepared the crying for the Emperor to execute justice long ago, waiting for the Emperor to come and execute justice, to satisfy the Emperor's sense of justice.

When the Emperor goes on an inspection, it cannot be all harmonious. There must be problems. Otherwise, wouldn't the Emperor have come in vain? But there must not be big problems. Once there are big problems, it will involve himself, and his official hat and head will be lost.

And this Ren family was within the scope of crying for the Emperor, belonging to the category of being able to satisfy the sense of justice without involving Yao Guangming himself.

"The Ren family and the Chu family, colluding with the Japanese and selling opium." Yao Guangming first told the Emperor the two major crimes that were enough to exterminate the clan. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Chu Xunxiao dared not offend the Ren family because if the Ren family was provoked, maybe tomorrow, the whole family of the Chu family would not see the sun of the next day."

After the former Chief Grand Secretary Xie Qian died, Xie Qian's family was wiped out by the Japanese pirates who were wandering around. The tragedy of the case reached the ears of the Emperor and even shocked the Emperor.

The Chu family had no elders who were former Chief Grand Secretaries, so naturally, they dared not be presumptuous with the Ren family who colluded with the Japanese.

Yao Guangming told the Emperor everything he investigated one by one. The Chu family's collusion with the Japanese was introduced by the Ren family. To be precise, this Ren Qiubai was the "letter of intent" for the thorough cooperation between the two families. When the thunderous anger of the nine-clan extermination came, it would definitely involve their Chu family, becoming people on the same boat, so they could rest assured to do business.

The collusion between the Ren family and the Chu family was mainly to transport grain to Japan, because Japan was very short of grain and the price of grain was extremely high. But the Great Ming law prohibited selling grain to Japan, and the route for selling grain was very strange, completely detached from the Great Ming hinterland.

"That is to say, after loading enough grain from the Yuanxu Islands, although on the customs clearance document, it was transported to Songjiang Prefecture, when leaving the Shouli Prefecture, it would head north, arrive in Japan, exchange for Japanese slaves, transport them back to the Yuanxu Islands, and distribute them at Davao City on Mindanao Island. These treacherous merchants then turned around and transported the obtained goods back to the Great Ming to exchange for silver?" Zhu Yijun was surprised by this chain.

These people really knew how to drill loopholes. The biggest risk here was the section from the departure from Shouli Prefecture to the arrival in Japan. As long as this section was not discovered, then the other voyages were completely legal! It could be said to be very hidden.

"Yes, all the procedures are legal. This was discovered only during the Great Audit last year when we reconciled the accounts with Shouli Prefecture for the first time and found that something was wrong. Last year, the rice and grain flowing into the Great Ming from the Naha Port of Ryukyu were 1.3 million shi less, and then we realized this problem." Yao Guangming bowed and said.

This loophole was that the accounts of the four major Governor's Office shipping departments were independently audited. Moreover, when auditing, the imperial court paid more attention to the military pay museum, which involved the imperial court's annual revenue. As for the details of the goods, there was not so much manpower and material resources to audit. This independence was actually caused by the incomplete construction of the Governor's Office system.

Even Yin Zhengmao had to suffer the anger of the Luzon scholars. The widespread lack of scholars made the Governor's Office's accounts originally very fragmented. Being able to understand the tax was already doing their best.

The moment Songjiang Prefecture and Shouli Prefecture reconciled the accounts, this loophole in the system, which was not big or small, was discovered.

1.3 million shi of grain was the source of the Ren family and Chu family making big money.

"As for selling opium, the Chu family took the Ren family together." Yao Guangming continued to report. This business of selling opium was the Chu family's unique skill. The reason why the Ren family was willing to let Ren Qiubai "marry down" was also because they saw the rich profits of opium.

As for the search of the coastal defense inspectors, they didn't take it to heart at all, because this business had been done for several years and nothing had happened. Because the imperial court was rigid, it always reacted slowly. By the time the imperial court discovered it, they had already escaped, or simply left the Great Ming, went to the Yuanxu Islands, became the king of the Thousand Islands Country, and were happy and happy.

The Ren family and the Chu family had this idea correctly, but when Yao Guangming set his sights on the Ren family, he discovered the unusual actions of the Ren family, followed the vine to find the melon, and caught the iron evidence of the Ren family and Chu family selling opium. Witnesses and material evidence were all available, and the iron evidence was like a mountain.

"They sold opium to Japan..." Yao Guangming reported the specific origin of the opium. Compared to the Great Ming hinterland, which was strictly guarded, sending it to Japan was safer.

Colluding with the Japanese to sell grain, selling opium to Japan, and then taking away Japanese women and Japanese slaves, this was the strange part of this case, which required the Emperor to dispose of it, because all illegal acts occurred overseas, and the victims were Japanese.

The Chu family and Ren family looked down on Great Ming soldiers from the bottom of their hearts. The Great Ming Navy spent 2.2 million silver in military expenses a year. How many Japanese pirates did they kill?

They did this business, and they could transport 3,000 to 3,500 Japanese slaves and over 500 Japanese women from Japan a year. Wasn't it more efficient than your Great Ming Navy?

They would never think that they could do this and take whatever they wanted from the Japanese because the navy was on the side, making the Japanese have to accept their exploitation honestly. Otherwise, in a bad maritime trade environment, their ships couldn't reach, and if they reached, they would be robbed, and maritime trade would be impossible.

This was the consistent thinking of these powerful families. All the gains were relied on their own efforts. They never thought about what would happen if they left the Great Ming environment.

"It seems that they harmed the Japanese, but doing business and doing business is to make money. How much money can an opium ball be in Japan, and how many people can afford to smoke it? Only by trying every means to open the Great Ming market can they obtain rich wealth. It seems they are harming the Japanese now, but before long, they will harm the Great Ming." Zhu Yijun frowned and said.

Merchants pursue profit, guided by interests, especially those who do this kind of desperate business. How can they have any family and country feelings? In the end, it will still harm the Great Ming commoners. Taking opium as an example, how many powerful families in Japan can afford such expensive things?

Yao Guangming said quite sincerely, "Your Majesty, it's not before long. They have already started doing it now. The coastal defense inspectors have already seized several ships with opium, totaling seven boxes, estimated to be testing the inspection intensity of the Great Ming coastal defense inspectors. These ships all have inextricable connections with the two families."

Zhu Yijun heard this and nodded, saying, "Tax audit, consolidate evidence, catch people."

"Your Majesty, they also did something that is not human." Yao Guangming frowned and said, "They set up a maritime insurance, which made a mess."

"Oh?" Zhu Yijun sat up straight and said, "Tell me in detail."

The Great Ming maritime insurance policy was constructed based on the business model of insurance merchants in Antwerp, a southern city in the Netherlands region, specifically to promote the development of maritime trade. The insurance of the Great Ming official yamen was mainly concentrated on ocean trade, with a water journey of over 50,000 li. The profit of ocean distance trade insurance was only about 3%.

As for the near-sea maritime trade insurance within 50,000 li, it was handed over to private

Thanks to the establishment of the Great Ming Maritime Academy and the Naval Design Institute, the Great Ming's return voyage rate has increased year by year, from the initial 80 percent to the current 95 percent, and because of the safety of the Great Ming's territorial waters, the territorial water insurance business can be described as a steady profit without risk.

The Ren family and the Chu family have made a complete mess of things, and their methods can be described as extremely disgusting, primarily the Ren family.

The Ren family never comes forward themselves; instead, they find a broker or agent on the street, and most of the time they find outsiders, not locals from Songjiang Prefecture. This way, when it's time to run, no one can be found. Using low prices and high payouts as their main competitive means, they give the insurance salesmen extremely high authority. When the salesmen are selling, they often use their authority to promise rebates, and besides rebates, they promise high profits.

At this point, this business has actually deviated from the definition of insurance itself. These salesmen start by talking about the rate of return—five or six points a year is on the low side—and they are very persuasive because this silver will all be lent out at high interest. Rather than calling it insurance, it is more like a pawnshop business for fundraising and lending.

When enough funds have been raised, the outside broker or agent receives a generous reward and then disappears without a trace. The salesmen also know very well what they are doing; when the broker disappears, they also change their names and hide, or even change their appearance and go to another company to continue the same work.

The Ren family, who actually received the large sums of silver, hides behind the scenes instead. This is also the reason why the Ren family's territory has grown larger and larger over the years, and their silver has become more and more plentiful. Running workshops is bitter work, and maritime trade is exhausting—how can it compare to the speed of making money through this kind of fundraising and lending?

"This has caused the maritime merchants of Songjiang Prefecture to constantly argue with Provincial Governor Shen, demanding that official insurance be monopolized, and that territorial water and inland river transport insurance be launched, so as not to let these money-grubbing guys destroy the insurance market and the business environment," Yao Guangqi said with considerable emotion.

The imperial court's official insurance only covers ocean-going voyages; there is no insurance for territorial waters or inland river transport, and Shen Shixing has never even proposed its establishment to the imperial court.

Because in Shen Shixing's view, this area should be left to the private sector to prevent the public from criticizing the imperial court for being too greedy. Besides concerns about public opinion, there is also the limitation of manpower. The Great Ming has already exhausted its efforts to handle ocean-going insurance properly. As for the larger-scale territorial water and inland river transport, if the imperial court really wants to manage it, the manpower, material resources, financial resources, and energy required would simply be too great.

As a result, private insurance is in a mess, and the Songjiang maritime merchants argue with Shen Shixing every day, demanding that the imperial court manage this chaotic market.

"When it's managed, they complain that it's managed too broadly; when it's not managed, they complain that it's chaotic. When will these guys finally understand that they can't have it both ways?" Zhu Yijun sighed. His inclination was the same as Shen Shixing's—the imperial court cannot manage so much; where would they find so many mathematical talents?

Yao Guangqi asked in a low voice, "Are they willing to increase the premiums? Your Majesty, official insurance is already the most expensive; is that not enough?"

"It's not enough." Zhu Yijun shook his head again. He said with a hint of helplessness, "This is not a question of premiums. The imperial court is also composed of specific individuals. Being able to reach this level is the result of the officials in Songjiang working together with one heart and doing their utmost."

Every three-masted galleon requires 500 silver; this is for voyages over 5,000 li and under 10,000 li. For voyages over 10,000 li, it is calculated by the voyage distance and is even more expensive, costing thousands or even tens of thousands of silver. Increasing premiums looks good, but mathematical talents need to be cultivated, and this kind of chaos will continue for a long time.

And the most important thing is to avoid the unlimited and excessive expansion of official insurance, which would lead to the worsening of the problem of bloated bureaucracy.

"In the midst of contradictions, one must constantly seek a solution that everyone can accept, so as to achieve harmony. The imperial court can only handle cases as they arise, trying its best not to let things worsen excessively." Zhu Yijun did not seek perfection in any policy, but chose rationality instead.

"Your servant obeys the decree." Yao Guangqi bowed his head to receive the order. He felt slightly melancholy; on the road of development, there are not only flowers but also thorns.

Yao Guangqi had just encountered a very thorny issue. August is the month when typhoons are most severe in Songjiang Prefecture. This month, many ships could never return to the New Port again; they sank in the wind and rain, remaining in the ocean forever. His Majesty the Emperor could not even go out because of the heavy rain.

There will be another pile of fundraisers under the guise of insurance about to go bust. Those maritime merchants who lost their principal, the families of sailors who lost their loved ones, and the traders who lost their goods will definitely block the Great Ming government offices, hoping that the imperial court can make decisions for them and uphold justice. And those brokers who took the money and ran were originally salesmen who changed their names; they are basically impossible to find.

Whether it is insurance or trading houses, once these things develop toward profit-orientation, where fundraising is greater than doing actual work, these social contradictions will erupt.

In the thirteenth year of the Wanli Reform, all the problems the Great Ming is currently facing are new challenges, and it is necessary to constantly seek a path of harmony amidst these challenges.

The Great Ming has two factions in terms of economy: one advocates for more goods, and the other advocates for more currency. They are roughly the pragmatic faction and the idealistic faction. Obviously, the idealistic faction that advocates for more currency earns silver faster and bears less risk. Once accustomed to making quick money, they will never be willing to earn slow money again.

Seeing that the idealistic faction can earn so much silver, the pragmatic faction will also slowly turn into the idealistic faction, and in the end, the entire Songjiang Prefecture will become a place of chaos.

Yao Guangqi did not know what to do, and the Great Ming Emperor did not seem to intend to interfere excessively in the changes in Songjiang Prefecture. This is the experimental field for the Great Ming's new policies, and it is also the largest and most important battlefield for the Great Ming's national economy.

The Ren family and the Chu family are in deep trouble! This is something the people of Shanghai County knew immediately.

That day, the Embroidered Uniform Guards brought the yamen runners to surround the two families again, and then began to make arrests. It wasn't a total destruction, but a confiscation of property. Soon, the government office posted notices, publicizing the criminal facts of the two families. The evidence was very conclusive, especially the Ren family's fundraising and underground bank lending in the name of insurance, which had a very wide impact and many victims. Even the dogs on the roadside would spit twice before walking past after seeing them.

The criminal facts of the Ren family and the Chu family were very clear, and the public generally recognized them. However, there was a rumor in Shanghai County that the Ren family and the Chu family were in trouble because General Qi Jiguang had severely impeached them in front of the Emperor, and because the Chu family's eldest son, Chu Zhongtian, had offended a noble person who could not be offended, thus inviting disaster.

The people of Shanghai County all clapped and cheered. Although Qi Jiguang had been at the Northern Yamen for nearly twenty years, he was still the same Qi Jiguang who was eager to help others. When he encountered injustice, he had to deal with it. And that mischievous Young Master Huang, although a bit of a fop and fond of bullying others by relying on his status, had maintained fairness and justice while being a fop.

Compared to the realization of fairness and justice and the smooth operation of the Great Ming's massive national machine's error-correction mechanism, the public generally believed more in the script of "offending someone who cannot be offended," feeling that this script was more reasonable.

The opinionated Lin Fucheng of the Northern Yamen returned to his hometown of Songjiang Prefecture, but he no longer recognized the place at all. He felt a bit lost walking on the street. Having been away for a long time, those familiar streets had all been renovated. The bluestone streets were all hardened surfaces, and the street trees along the road were already lush and shady.

This strangeness caused Lin Fucheng to be late yet again when attending the gathering at the Yanzheng Tower in Shanghai County. Shanghai County was even more luxurious than the Northern Yamen, which destined it to be even more congested. After being stuck in traffic, Lin Fucheng got out of his carriage and walked toward the Yanzheng Tower, but he lost his way and took a big detour, so he arrived a bit late.

"Everyone, please forgive me, please forgive me. I haven't been back for a long time, and I got lost in this Shanghai County, which has changed so drastically and is changing with each passing day." Lin Fucheng cupped his hands toward the four directions, then sat down carelessly, looked at the three people on the stage, and asked Li Zhi with a smile: "Who are these two?"

"This one is Master Ma Jinglun, and this one is Yuan Zongdao of the Yangchun Society of the Gong'an School." Li Zhi introduced the newcomers. This Ma Jinglun is a Juren, and he is about to enter the capital to take the imperial examination, while Yuan Zongdao is one of the three Yuans of the Gong'an School; both are famous opinionated people.

Lin Fucheng looked around the stage; they were all talents of Songjiang Prefecture. What surprised Lin Fucheng was that besides talents, there were also beauties. Almost every talent brought a female companion, which was completely different from the atmosphere of past gatherings.

When a group of old men hold a gathering, it is very easy to shout slogans like "Your families must be suffering too," so gatherings in the Great Ming must be attended with beauties to prevent the atmosphere from being too serious.

Lin Fucheng sighed. These talents and beauties were all competing for attention. They were simply here to show off their wealth. Looking at the pile of trinkets on their bodies, one could tell that these talents' minds were not on the content of the gathering at all, but on these beauties. How to outshine others in front of the beauties was the purpose of their attending the gathering.

But that's fine too; everyone has to buy a ticket to enter, and gatherings cost money to attend.

Li Zhi's expression was very relaxed because the windows of the top-tier private room were closed, proving that there was no one inside. The Great Ming Emperor's itinerary today was to inspect the Songjiang Prefecture Iron Horse Factory. The first thing Yao Guangqi did after coming to Shanghai County was to settle the pending Songjiang Prefecture Iron Horse Factory in Shanghai County.

Huating, Qingpu, Shanghai, and Pudong, four places, were fighting for this Iron Horse Factory. Yao Guangqi, relying on his special relationship with the leader of the Industrial Party, Wang Chonggu, obtained the settlement of the Iron Horse Factory in Shanghai County. This is a project that even the Emperor personally cares about.

Yao Guangqi has outstanding ability and has made this Iron Horse Factory quite impressive. It can already produce three types of Iron Horses: the Shengping No. 3, with 30, 16, and 10 horsepower, with an estimated annual output of 1,000 units.

With the Emperor away, even if Lin Fucheng spoke wildly, he wouldn't be heard by the Emperor personally.

"Lin Dashi came just in time. We were just discussing the Great Ming's policy of promoting literature and suppressing martial arts," Ma Jinglun said quite calmly. "I am an old scholar, and I still feel that promoting literature and suppressing martial arts is the policy for stabilizing the country. There is nothing wrong with promoting literature and suppressing martial arts."

Yuan Zongdao nodded and said, "My view is the same as Master Ma's. If one day I pass the imperial examination and reach the presence of His Majesty, I will say the same thing. Promoting literature and suppressing martial arts is beneficial to the country. Strengthening the military should be done in moderation; if you give them more, there will be trouble."

Li Zhi was a bit unable to persuade Ma Jinglun and Yuan Zongdao; these two were very stubborn.

"I agree with the views of the two gentlemen. Indeed, there is nothing wrong with promoting literature and suppressing martial arts." Lin Fucheng nodded in strong agreement. This is his consistent way of gathering; he affirms and supports the other party's point of view.

"I think there is nothing wrong with promoting literature and suppressing martial arts because throughout the dynasties—Han, Tang, Song, and Ming—no matter how the system changes, there is a common understanding, and that is Great Unification. The two Song dynasties, which were not under Great Unification, were mocked mercilessly by our Ming scholars." Lin Fucheng first stated why he supported it; there was a very clear reason.

The scholar-officials of the Great Ming often claimed to surpass the Han and Tang, and their attitude toward the two Song dynasties was mostly based on criticism to absorb lessons.

"Uh, what is the connection between Great Unification and promoting literature and suppressing martial arts?" Ma Jinglun was a bit confused. His and Yuan Zongdao's arguments were mostly based on the idea that "knights use martial arts to violate prohibitions"—that if the power of military men is too tyrannical, it will affect the stability of the country, form a direct threat to the Emperor, and influence the execution of imperial decrees.

As soon as Lin Fucheng came up, he raised the issue to the height of Great Unification, which made Ma Jinglun a bit panicked.

Is this perspective a bit too big?

"Why do dynasties emphasize Great Unification? How did this understanding of the majority come about?" Lin Fucheng looked at everyone and said, "Because Great Unification means stability, it means the borders are secure, the hinterland will not experience high-intensity wars, and it means the lives of the people can be basically maintained. Better to be a dog in a prosperous age than a human in a chaotic one."

"In the late Northern Song Dynasty, there was a poet named Li Qingzhao. Her first half of life was carefree, just like in her poem: 'Often I remember the sunset at the creek pavilion, intoxicated and not knowing the way back. When the fun was over, I returned by boat, mistakenly entering the depths of the lotus flowers.' But the world suddenly changed; the Jin soldiers came. In her later years, her situation was also like her poem: 'Cold and desolate, miserable and wretched, sorrowful and distressed.'"

Why Great Unification? Because the borders will be secure, the hinterland will not experience large-scale wars, and life will be stable. When the world is turned upside down, even Li Qingzhao, who came from a powerful family, would live a miserable life.

When the nest is overturned, are there any intact eggs?

Lin Fucheng said with great emotion: "Throughout the dynasties, soldiers have always been a part of instability. Let's look at the soldiers from the pre-Qin period to the present. In the pre-Qin period, there were no righteous wars in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods; they would often mobilize the power of the whole country to wage war, and the people withered. By the Han Dynasty, life finally stabilized, but the soldiers became the hawks and hounds of the noble families. In the late Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped the Han; in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the eighteen lords were in flames of war—wasn't that because the noble families held strong troops?"

"The Han perished because of its strength. The Han was indeed very strong, but the people suffered."

"During the two Jin dynasties, the Sima family brought in the Hu people to fill the Central Plains because the wars caused a great shortage of population, resulting in the Yongjia Rebellion, and two Western Jin emperors were captured."

"During the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was absurd for hundreds of years, until the Sui and Tang dynasties, when the Guanzhong noble families, mainly based on the Fubing system, gradually rose. With the establishment and improvement of the imperial examination system, although the noble families still had great influence, things were no longer what they used to be, until the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, when Huang Chao completely swept the noble families into the trash heap."

"But in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the soldiers were tyrannical, causing so much chaos that it need not be detailed. By the two Song dynasties, they overcorrected. In the eyes of the two Song imperial courts, the threat of military generals and martial men was even greater than the threat of the Hu people, eventually leading to the world falling into the hands of the Hu people."

"Should we promote literature and suppress martial arts? Yes."

Lin Fucheng simply sorted out why Great Unification and promoting literature and suppressing martial arts are linked. Great Unification is the consensus of people pursuing a stable and beautiful life. As an unstable factor, promoting literature and suppressing martial arts became inevitable. This is a historical lesson. The Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties were absurd enough and not beautiful at all. In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, everyone could become military rations.

"Lin Dashi, profound insight!" Ma Jinglun said very sincerely.

Lin Fucheng continued: "In fact, after the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, after Emperor Qinzong and Emperor Huizong were taken north, amidst the intense contradictions and conflicts of the broken mountains and rivers, military generals from the bottom, represented by Yue Fei, began to look for the meaning of soldiers in the country. And Yue Fei found it. In terms of goals, it was to recover the old mountains and rivers; in terms of military discipline, he proposed: 'Freeze to death without tearing down houses, starve to death without looting.'"

"Originally, the speculation and evolution regarding the social status, rights, responsibilities, and obligations of soldiers should have been completed in the Shaoxing period of the early Southern Song Dynasty. Yue Fei did a very good job. The Shenwu Rear Army had strict discipline and was able to fight. If there hadn't been those twelve gold medals in the tenth year of Shaoxing, and the Song army had recaptured the capital, with strict military discipline to restrain the soldiers, and the obligation to protect the country deeply rooted in people's hearts, the evolution could have been successful."

"But all this, because Emperor Gaozong of Song, under inertia, naturally distrusted the soldiers, everything came to an abrupt end in the eleventh year of Shaoxing when Emperor Gaozong of Song issued an edict to execute Yue Fei."

Ma Jinglun and Yuan Zongdao looked at each other; they heard some other flavors in Lin Fucheng's words.

"Soldiers with poor discipline who kill the innocent to claim credit, loot houses, and act like a comb passing through the hair—of course, we must promote literature and suppress martial arts. But soldiers with strict discipline, who are even willing not to fight back when beaten just because the other party is a civilian, like Qin Zhongke; let alone looting houses, they are even willing to use their flesh and blood to resist the power of heaven and earth, like the Zhejiang Nine Battalions who fought against floods—such soldiers should not be suppressed by promoting literature."

Lin Fucheng said very affirmatively: "Since they have fulfilled their obligations, they should enjoy the rights they deserve."