Chapter 808

Wang Wang Jiaoping's thoughts aligned perfectly with Wang Qian's—flowing water does not rot.

Those high-barrier private trading societies persistently pressured officials to ban short-selling at Yanxing Trading House not to protect small investors, but to keep the power of short-selling exclusively in their own hands.

These private trading societies are not moral benefactors; they stir up such public opinion for their own purposes.

Private trading societies can manipulate markets through backroom deals, borrowing and lending negotiable instruments, and even colluding to control prices.

Ordinary small investors lack both the capability and channels to borrow these negotiable instruments; thus, only private trading societies can short-sell, while small investors are left to be exploited.

These private trading societies fundamentally seek a monopoly on short-selling rights—not for the sake of small investors.

Volume Three of the Theory of Class Struggle clearly states: economic status determines political alignment; small investors' weak economic position places them at an absolute disadvantage in any contest, a reality no system can alter.

Wherever they are, small investors cannot escape their fate of being exploited.

Thus, Wang Qian chose not to ban short-selling, preserving the market's pricing power over private capital, forcing private capital to manage prudently, ensuring substantial profits and dividends to maintain their value—trash belongs in the trash heap.

Wang Wang Jiaoping's saying, "flowing water does not rot, a turning hinge does not decay," conveys the same principle.

The official factory system, led by Wang Wang Chonggu, is a highly closed system—not due to Wang Wang Chonggu's incompetence, but because it directly implements the Yongle Emperor's system of resident craftsmen, unchanged since its inception.

The resident craftsman system itself is a hereditary, highly closed structure, inevitably causing stagnation and obstruction.

This closed system has advantages: Wang Wang Chonggu's absolute authority allows him to mobilize full resources when he decides to act—in short, such a system can clench its fist to strike.

But the drawbacks are obvious: under complete closure, craftsmen's production relations remain bound by personal dependency, not freedom.

Wang Wang Chonggu's plan to form a guild and establish a bottom-up oversight system directly contradicts his autocratic authority structure.

Wang Wang Jiaoping's memorial primarily considers five aspects: dynamic rotation, compensation and security, supervision and checks, production promotion, and self-governance versus official control.

"If the official factory can accept imperial oversight, then the guild may have a chance: its management must be complex—not solely craftsmen, nor solely officials, but one-third craftsmen representatives, one-third clerks serving dual roles, and one-third imperial appointees," Wang Wang Jiaoping explained regarding dynamic rotation.

If Wang Wang Chonggu

can accept a more open official factory system, no longer fully closed, then real progress may be made.

Wang Wang Chonggu rubbed his thumb against his fingertip and asked: "Your ideas are sound. The decay of rule of law always flows top-down, rarely bottom-up; if you can control the guild's management, you can control the guild."

"Continue."

Wang Wang Jiaoping leaned forward, pointing to the memorial: "Rotate every four years, at most one reappointment. For any reason, no official factory guild official may serve more than eight years, nor be reappointed—long tenure breeds factionalism."

"And enforce avoidance rules: if one family member holds office in the official factory guild, no relative within three generations may hold any managerial position."

Of the five major points, the first—dynamic rotation—is: the guild's structure is divided into thirds—one from master craftsmen, one from clerks serving dual roles, one from imperial appointees; rotate every four years, reappointment allowed at most once; no official factory guild officer may serve beyond eight years, nor be reappointed—long tenure inevitably leads to entrenched factions; also enforce kinship avoidance: if any member of a clan holds a guild post, no relative within three generations may hold any managerial key.

Wang Wang Chonggu stopped rubbing his fingertip and asked: "You speak well—flowing water does not rot, a turning hinge does not decay. Indeed true. But what of compensation and security?"

Wang Wang Jiaoping replied: "The official factory operates three tiers of schools—minor, middle, and advanced—and provides craftsmen with three meals daily, builds official housing, and supplies lodging—this is already excellent treatment, and must be sustained to maintain craftsmen's productivity."

"Yet occasionally, surplus profits arise when merchants place urgent orders, requiring craftsmen to work overtime. In such cases, seventy percent of surplus profits must be distributed downward—not the previous thirty percent—whether through production tool innovation, safety improvements, enhanced meals or housing, but most importantly, through bonus funds."

"Only thus can lasting stability be achieved."

This is the second section of the memorial, on compensation: When market profits occasionally exceed expectations due to urgent merchant orders demanding round-the-clock labor, seventy percent of such gains shall benefit the craftsmen—either through new machinery, workshop safety measures, improved rations or schooling, but most crucially, by rewarding diligent and skilled craftsmen with bonuses, to preserve their diligence.

In essence: keep the fire bucket filled with water, to win a game you must first play, and overtime demands overtime pay.

When craftsmen work overtime and the official factory gains surplus profit, yet craftsmen receive no increased pay—not even two taels of meat added to their meals—how can their diligence be maintained?

"What does this have to do with the guild?" Wang Wang Chonggu frowned. "This seems unrelated to the guild."

"Any matter involving profit distribution must be managed by the guild. The guild's accountants and the factory's accountants must jointly audit accounts to ensure seventy percent of surplus profits are distributed downward. The guild must exercise oversight: if embezzlement or corruption occurs, the imperial appointees serving on the guild must petition the Censorate to investigate and prosecute." Wang Wang Jiaoping explained the rationale.

Wang Wang Jiaoping elaborated on the guild's funding sources.

If surplus profit distribution is verified and embezzlement or corruption confirmed—if craftsmen are denied their meat or overtime pay—then upon investigation, thirty percent of the confiscated ill-gotten gains from corrupt officials shall be allocated to the guild to sustain its operations.

Wang Wang Jiaoping clarified his memorial in full: the five parts are interlocking, each supervising the next, ensuring the guild fulfills its duties—voicing craftsmen's real needs, promoting production, and preventing privilege stemming from nepotism.

"Your vision is excellent, but success depends on people," Wang Wang Chonggu sighed. "No matter how well-designed a system, it requires people to implement it. Along the way, some will falter—but the establishment and evolution of any system never happens overnight; it must evolve through contradiction."

"Good. You've returned to the capital just in time. The official factory guild matter is now yours."

Wang Wang Chonggu approved Wang Wang Jiaoping's "Memorial on Opening Doors, Breaking Isolation, and Establishing the Guild: Five Measures," and entrusted the entire task entirely to Wang Wang Jiaoping.

"Vice Minister Wang, I have a question—please enlighten me," Wang Wang Jiaoping sat upright, his expression anxious and bewildered, his gaze hollow. "I established two iron smelting workshops in Guangzhou Prefecture and noticed a peculiar phenomenon."

"We lack no manpower—in fact, skilled craftsmen abound. Our smelting workshops hired 134 ironworkers and over five hundred apprentices in just three days."

"We lack no money either. Minister Yin forced wealthy elites to donate for pacifying pirates by seizing their properties; Minister Ling used his sword to compel donations to suppress Yao rebellions—thus came Luoding. When I arrived in Guangdong and Guangxi, I feigned ignorance, and they still donated."

"We lack neither money nor people—we lack nothing. Then why did the court previously abandon shipbuilding and iron smelting?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Wang Chonggu smiled faintly: "This is precisely the greatest challenge you will face: how to properly manage these contradictions—it will test your ability."

"I can tell you clearly why this phenomenon exists: it is due to insufficient demand. The closed, self-sufficient, low-exchange small-farmer economy lacks sufficient demand. Thus, after silver flowed into Great Ming, it was hoarded in pigsties—not invested in workshops to pursue greater profit."

"Someone will risk death for profitable business, but no one will lose money—because no profit means no investment. This silver is as good as dead."

"Of course, public opinion blames the elite for being vulgar, only collecting rent. In my view, this is a narrow perspective: the powerful elites, wealthy merchants, and local gentry prefer hoarding silver and using it to buy land and consolidate holdings. They do not merely collect rent—they are forced into it by the prevailing order."

"Because other businesses lack demand and yield no profit, and Great Ming's Emperor Wanli Reforms began stimulating demand through maritime trade."

"Secondly, there is the longstanding issue of monetary scarcity—no need to elaborate further."

The closed nature of the small-farmer economy, the short-sightedness of the elite, and monetary scarcity were the primary causes of past underinvestment and underproduction. The issue of monetary scarcity has been discussed too often; Wang Wang Chonggu skipped over it.

Wang Wang Chonggu answered Wang Wang Jiaoping's doubts: it was not that Great Ming's elite were short-sighted, but that without demand, there would be no supply—no matter how many talents or how much capital, a market without demand remains stagnant.

This is the result of intertwined economic structure, culture, and institutions—the primary contradiction Wang Wang Chonggu faced during his fifteen years overseeing the official factories.

But the contradiction Wang Wang Jiaoping now faces differs from Wang Wang Chonggu's.

Wang Wang Chonggu continued: "The contradiction you face is insufficient public confidence despite relatively ample currency, and the court's lack of effective means to organize talent and maximize their potential."

Wang Wang Chonggu explored this issue from two angles: insufficient confidence and effective means.

Insufficient confidence is a historical legacy. The court's embarrassment lies in this: the people of Great Ming—even the powerful elites most harmed by His Majesty—trust His Majesty more than they trust the court.

His Majesty keeps his word: follow his rules, and the powerful elites can ride the court's great ship to immense profit while gaining the reputation of loyalty to the throne; defy him, and his blade is never dull.

In the past, the court broke promises too often, so the people would rather believe His Majesty's wisdom than trust the court.

This created a bizarre phenomenon: unless an imperial edict is issued, everyone remains Guanwang.

Recently, rumors of the Elder Jinchi Governor's gold mine spread wildly, stirring public excitement—but no one acted until the imperial estate displayed natural gold nuggets, and only then did the people believe it was real.

With an imperial edict, the elite scramble to join; without one, the court shouts until hoarse and no one listens.

The lack of effective means stems largely from old literati—the Confucian scholars—who refuse to grant political standing to any talent in science or engineering, seeking to monopolize power entirely.

The Official Recommendation Law was proposed by Wang Wang Chonggu; the court took a shortcut, cutting through chaos by establishing a fait accompli, then leveraging the strategic dynamics outlined in the Struggle Volume to push the policy forward.

Even so, it was only piloted by the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial University; the policy remains incomplete, and resistance remains strong.

Beyond that, there are issues of compensation and career prospects: the Ministry of Revenue, to secure a single bookkeeper, even had Grand Secretary Wang Wang Guoguang personally intervene, issuing orders to prohibit talent from the Imperial University from flowing into the private sector.

All these require continuous refinement of the political system as development proceeds.

"Thank you, Vice Minister Wang, for your insight. Now I see—the path ahead is long and obstructed," Wang Wang Jiaoping realized after speaking with Wang Wang Chonggu that the situation he faced was far more complex than he imagined, nothing like governing the Two Guangs as a provincial governor.

"Master, someone from the palace has come—telling you to go to Qianmen Tower at once. His Majesty is furious!" The gatekeeper rushed in, pale and frantic. "The eunuch said His Majesty is in a rage!"

"What? Is His Majesty going to execute someone? Can I stop him? Why not send for Zhang Zhang Juzheng?" Wang Wang Chonggu exclaimed in shock.

The gatekeeper hurriedly replied: "The Chief Minister has already gone, Master. This is a criminal case."

Hearing it was a criminal case, Wang Wang Chonggu's vision darkened. He immediately set off for Qianmen Tower with Wang Qian and Wang Wang Jiaoping, asking incessantly about the details—especially concerning his Iron Forest Army.

Wang Wang Chonggu's household maintains two hundred Iron Forest Army troops—elite Embroidered Uniform Guards tasked solely with protecting him and his family. After Wang Wang Chongyi's death, the Emperor had long regretted it, blaming himself for failing to protect him—but at the time, Wang Wang Chonggu was still branded a traitor, and deploying the Iron Forest Army would have raised suspicion between sovereign and minister.

Wang Wang Chonggu's family paid the blood tax for the Emperor Wanli Reforms; since then, he is no longer considered a rebel in the Emperor's eyes.

The situation was quickly clarified. Wang Wang Chonggu felt the heavens were collapsing—he only hoped His Majesty, in his fury, would not take his head as retribution.

The distant watchmen and coastal inspectors are the most dangerous scouts of Great Ming. The distant watchmen's expeditionary teams explored northward and discovered the Xianbei grasslands; the coastal inspectors face dangers no less severe.

The families of the distant watchmen and coastal inspectors reside in Nanhaizi, Daxing County. Every New Year, His Majesty personally visits them.

This time, the tragedy struck Nanhaizi's families—specifically, descendants of heroes.

Jin Wang Fugui, who died serving as a coastal inspector in the South Seas, had two children. Last New Year, His Majesty personally visited their home.

The children's mother brought them to the capital to visit relatives. A thief stole their carriage. Had only property been lost, His Majesty would not have been enraged—perhaps merely ordered Shuntian Prefecture to investigate.

But the carriage carried Jin Wang Fugui's three-year-old child.

Qianmen Tower is a colloquial term for Zhengyang Gate. The street outside Zhengyang Gate is lined with shops, the most prosperous thoroughfare in the Northern Southern Yamen.

On the east side of this street lies Luoshi Alley, a red-light district bustling with traffic, famed alongside Dongsi Dongsi Hutong.

After the incident, the Five City Military Command immediately mobilized all captains, launching a citywide manhunt. They found the stolen carriage and thief in Luoshi Alley—the child held hostage.

When Wang Wang Chonggu arrived, the Embroidered Uniform Guards had cleared the street. He walked unimpeded to the scene.

"I am the Son of Heaven of Great Ming. Give me the child. Whatever you want, I will grant it. I keep my word," Zhu Zhu Yijun said calmly, standing there, commanding respect without raising his voice.

He was furious, but unwilling to provoke the criminal's nerves. Yin Yin Zongxin could order a kill because it was a battlefield; here, beneath the Son of Heaven's feet, there was still room for negotiation. The criminal was a thief, not a notorious pirate.

Zhu Zhu Yijun strove to keep his tone steady: "If you harm the child, I will exterminate your nine clans. I promised the distant watchmen and coastal inspectors: I will care for your families. But if you spare the child, I promise you will not be troubled. Put down your knife, will you?"

No one doubted His Majesty would exterminate nine clans—he always kept his word.

The Nanhaizi families' case reached His Majesty directly—that is why he arrived so swiftly.

"I didn't know he was a hero's descendant! I'm just a thief, Your Majesty! I only wanted to steal some money—but the child kept crying!" The thief was paralyzed with fear—he had merely intended to steal the carriage, parked roadside with the driver absent, and sell it.

He never imagined that within fifteen minutes, all nine gates were sealed, neighborhood gates closed, and streets filled with captains conducting door-to-door inspections.

"Is the child dead?" Zhu Zhu Yijun drew a deep breath, his face like frost.

The thief immediately pulled the child forward, shouting: "No, no! I got him a candy to quiet him—he's eating it!"

"What do you want? Speak," Zhu Zhu Yijun sighed in relief upon seeing the child eating candy—so long as the child lived, all could be resolved.

Not only the Emperor, but everyone present exhaled in relief. The thief had driven the carriage into a neighborhood wall; his position, beside a large tree, obscured the child's condition from view.

The candy was sticky; the three-year-old was picking at his teeth, utterly unaware of the magnitude of the event.

"Don't kill me!" The thief didn't hesitate—he dropped to his knees and released the child.

Not only did the Emperor sigh in relief, but everyone present did too; the bandit had driven the cart into the ward wall, and where he stood was a large tree, obscuring everyone's view of the child's condition.

The malt sugar stuck to his teeth, and the three-year-old was picking at them, utterly unaware of the great event that had just unfolded.

"Don't kill me!" The bandit didn't hesitate—he dropped to his knees and let go of the child.

The thief, seeing the rightful owner had arrived, immediately made promises and demanded terms—he was terrified, utterly terrified.

The Captain, the Chief of the Shuntian Prefecture's Criminal Office, and the Shuntian Deputy Governor all urged him to hand over the child; the thief dared not surrender the child, fearing that doing so would mean being pierced by ten thousand arrows.

The thief, holding the hostage, demanded an audience with the Emperor—only the Emperor's promise would reassure him.

Xu Jue walked over, picked up the child in his arms, and handed him to His Majesty; Zhu Zhu Yijun held the child and carefully inspected him, confirming no external injuries and no shock-induced convulsions from the sudden ordeal—his attention settled entirely on the candy—then he relaxed and handed the child to

the mother, her face streaked with tears.

"Don't be so careless again—a three-year-old child cannot be left alone on a cart," Zhu Zhu Yijun gave detailed instructions, urging Jin Wang Fugui's widow to be more vigilant henceforth.

Zhu Zhu Yijun walked up to the thief pinned to the ground and, after a moment's thought, said: "You stole, and I was displeased; you stole from the descendants of heroes and martyrs, and I was even more displeased—but you did not harm the child, and I am pleased."

"I promise not to execute you—punish you for theft alone. Do you accept this?"

"I accept, I accept—thank Your Majesty for your great mercy!" The thief bowed his head like a pestle pounding garlic, over and over; everyone said His Majesty had a violent temper and loved to kill—but wasn't this perfectly reasonable?

"You, a grown man with hands and feet—why not do anything else but steal for a living?" Zhu Zhu Yijun's reason for sparing him was simple: after this case, as long as any thief still had surviving kin or any official remained, none would dare oppress the descendants of heroes and martyrs excessively.

The preferential treatment for descendants of heroes and martyrs lasts only one generation—their children—and will not create a hereditary privileged class based on bloodline.

"Minister Wang," Zhu Zhu Yijun said as he prepared to leave, criticizing Wang Wang Chonggu's handling of criminal affairs: "In the capital of Great Ming, beneath the Son of Heaven's feet, the model region of the realm—this thief seems far too numerous."

He has stolen from the descendants of heroes and martyrs—imagine how many idle and degenerate folk there must be in the capital.

"Your Majesty, rest assured—in three days, the capital, inside and out, will be utterly clean," Wang Wang Chonggu hurriedly bowed.

Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded and said: "Hmm. This must be done consistently and long-term—not merely in the capital. Recently, the Southern Ocean Viceroy's Office reports that Hanxiang Town lacks laborers; powerful families and wealthy merchants complain their workshops lack workers; even local gentry say they lack hands for farming—aren't there plenty of people?"

"The idle and degenerate are idle because they have nothing to do—but not all are merely lazy and gluttonous; most lack any skill to rely on, and do not know how to earn a living."

"Arrest them all—and send them to operate sewing machines! Teach them to work, give them a skill to depend on, so they can at least feed themselves."

Under a social order divided by culture, custom, and language, these idle and degenerate serve as creators of bottom-layer mutual harm and catalysts of conflict—unworthy of direct punishment, even essential tools to prevent the lower classes from uniting and turning their weapons against the meat-eaters.

But Great Ming is horizontally structured—it must eliminate the idle and degenerate. This elimination must combine mercy and severity: kill to physically eliminate serious and vicious offenders; save those without skills or connections by finding them a way forward.

"Your servant obeys the decree—Your servant respectfully sees off Your Majesty!" Wang Wang Chonggu bowed again, rising only after the Emperor's carriage departed, his face as dark as water.

As His Majesty said, the idle and degenerate of Great Ming are truly too numerous—those to be killed, kill; those to be saved, save; if truly unsalvageable, send them to the Elder Jinchi Viceroy's Office—they are the most desperate for labor!

This highly accidental case, regardless of its impact on others, was truly a collapse of heaven for the idle and degenerate of the capital.

They had never seen such an efficient Great Ming bureaucracy!

Even beggars living under bridges were dragged to the Southern Yamen for questioning; even stray cats and dogs received two slaps; even long-unsolved cases were declared closed due to this crackdown.

Within three days, every idle and degenerate person in the capital was cleared away completely.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was extremely satisfied with Wang Wang Chonggu's work—his efficiency was extraordinary—and issued rewards; he also rejected the memorial submitted by Wang Wang Xiyuan, the Shuntian Deputy Governor, requesting retirement due to guilt.

Zhu Zhu Yijun handed the approved memorial to Feng Bao and said: "The capital of Great Ming changes daily, even thrice a day. Last winter, the capital's population exceeded four million, while Songjiang Prefecture surpassed even the capital, reaching over four and a half million."

"Managing such a vast metropolis is a tremendous challenge for any office—it is not that Wang Wang Xiyuan is incompetent."

"The theft of the hero's descendant outside Zhengyang Gate is a snapshot of the city's rapid development."

In an age of rapid change, old relations of production are collapsing under the pressure of new policies, while new relations of production are constantly forming—these contradictions test the Great Ming Emperor and court alike.

"The principle that flowing water does not rot has long been recorded in the classics. A deep pool, though vast, will become a dry pond without fresh water; a great ship, though majestic, will wither if it seals itself within its borders."

"Observe today's official factories—they are like pools locked behind nine walls, windows sealed, vents blocked. Even with ten thousand hu of stored goods, how can they endure? Like a spirit pool losing its spring, algae and duckweed perish; like a golden axle breaking its mechanism, all spokes collapse."

"This is not due to heavenly timing—it is the harm of obstruction." Zhu Zhu Yijun was reading Wang Wang Jiaoping's "Memorial on Opening Windows and Doors, Breaking Locks, and Establishing Five Matters of the Workers' Alliance." After extensive discussion with Wang Wang Chonggu, Wang Wang Jiaoping revised his memorial and submitted it jointly with Wang Wang Chonggu.

The flaw of official factories lies in sealed windows and locked doors—wind and rain may enter, but imperial inspection and audit cannot. This is the greatest flaw; thus, the establishment of the Workers' Alliance must serve to open windows and break locks.

Zhu Zhu Yijun strongly endorsed Wang Wang Jiaoping's memorial, yet ultimately inscribed a single character in vermilion: "Difficult."

"Tell Minister Wang and the Junior Minister of Justice not to be too optimistic. Their ideas are good, but the Workers' Alliance will likely disappoint them," Zhu Zhu Yijun said wearily: "Eight out of ten times, it will become a haven for nepotistic idlers."

The court has many offices where officials do nothing but collect salaries—these are places that shelter idle people with nepotistic ties; if such idle people enter real power offices, they will only make things worse.

Zhu Zhu Yijun had little faith in Wang Wang Chonggu and Wang Wang Jiaoping's efforts—human nature is inherently selfish; most people are like this—once they gain a little power, they seek to cash in.

"Your Majesty, the Elder Jinchi Viceroy's Office has sent

a memorial." The young eunuch hurried in; the six Viceroy Offices' memorials were prioritized for the Emperor's preview.

Deng Deng Zilong reported something interesting in his memorial: he had recovered the sword His Majesty had gifted him.

When the Great Ming Southern Ocean Navy arrived at the Elder Jinchi Viceroy's Office, Deng Deng Zilong showed goodwill by trading his sword to the barbarians—but soon after, the barbarians attacked Ming maritime patrol inspectors, sparking the war.