Chapter 940

Zhu Qiyu smiled bitterly: "State Master, how can I face my ancestors after I die?"

Pan Yun said solemnly: "The Founding Emperor and Taizong, upon hearing this, would only be pleased—they would never blame Your Majesty."

"Filial piety must arise from natural instinct; Your Majesty knows deep down that the old laws are flawed, and forcing yourself to uphold them is not filial," Pan Yun said sternly. "True filial piety means skillfully continuing the will of one's ancestors and faithfully carrying out their deeds. If Your Majesty wishes to honor your forebears, you must first understand the true will of the Founding Emperor and Taizong."

Yu Qian stepped forward at once: "In the past, the Founding Emperor decreed that imperial clan members must not leave their fiefs without permission, nor enter the capital without imperial edict, to prevent collusion and threats to the throne. Now, after the first generation, many descendants have descended to the rank of Fengguo Zhongwei, and others have lost their titles due to crimes. These people hold no power or influence and can no longer threaten imperial authority—the concerns of the Founding Emperor have diminished."

Zhu Qiyu's heart stirred: "Are you suggesting that clan members without titles may leave their fiefs, while others may not?"

Yu Qian lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, then said: "It need not be limited to those without titles. In my view, we may begin exemptions from the rank of Zhenguo Zhongwei downward."

The old Zhu's system for clan titles granted Prince of the Blood and Commandery Prince ranks hereditary, perpetual privilege—passed indefinitely to the eldest legitimate son without demotion.

All other sons were demoted one rank upon inheritance: demotion meant becoming Zhenguo General; those who committed offenses were demoted two ranks.

Zhenguo General, Fuguo General, Fengguo General, Zhenguo Zhongwei, Fuguo Zhongwei, Fengguo Zhongwei.

Once reduced to Fengguo Zhongwei, descendants permanently inherit that rank without further demotion—but only the eldest legitimate son receives full rights; other offspring receive only the basic clan support.

The old Zhu envisioned it well: by the seventh generation, when titles reached Fengguo Zhongwei, children would accumulate over generations, supported by imperial stipends—whether through accumulated wealth or personal ability, the Zhu bloodline would endure forever.

But he forgot: there exists in this world a creature called a prodigal son!

Not everyone can be like him, content with just owning a plot of land to till.

His descendants declared they were not happy at all, could not understand their old ancestor—who denied them a good life and insisted they till the soil?

Yu Qian: "The Founding Emperor's second ironclad decree for the clan was that clan members must not take the imperial examinations or engage in trade—intended to prevent them from competing with commoners and oppressing the people. Yet many clan members, especially Prince of the Blood, Commandery Prince, and Zhenguo General, secretly engage in business under the names of managers, advisors, or in-laws."

"Conversely, among Fengguo General and below, those who dare or can engage in trade are nearly nonexistent," Yu Qian said. "Therefore, I propose a slight modification: clan members of Zhenguo Zhongwei and below may not engage in trade within their fiefs; Fengguo General and above must still be barred from examinations and trade."

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly; she stepped aside and listened in silence, no longer interjecting.

Cao Nai immediately added: "This policy could follow the military's system of officer rotation, where the court temporarily appoints new officials to replace those in each region."

Zhu Qiyu was slow to react: "Huh?"

Pan Yun said softly: "I mean commerce, industry, or other professions—outside their fiefs, they need not be restricted. But if they wish to take the imperial examinations, they must be separately selected, or a separate examination track could be created for the clan, admitting only a fixed number each time, then distributed to various departments."

Pan Yun said: "Beyond military and state affairs, the Great Ming has countless areas to develop. The imperial clan's bloodline has a natural talent for mathematics and craftsmanship."

Zhu Qiyu: "Huh?"

Yu Qian's eyes brightened further: "Your Majesty, this matter should not be implemented immediately. We may first pilot it in one location—if it proves controllable, genuinely improves the lives of clan members, and benefits local finances, then we may expand it widely."

Pilot policies? The Great Ming has precedents for this.

Whenever the imperial court introduces new policies, it always tests them in one region first, then expands upon success.

Only those eager for quick results rashly devise a plan they believe brilliant and then enforce it nationwide at once.

When problems arise, they are always major ones, and the situation often becomes uncontrollable.

Zhu Qiyu asked: "Where should we pilot it?"

Several ministers exchanged glances, then all turned to Pan Yun.

Pan Yun thought a moment, then said: "Let us begin in Fengyang."

Everyone fell silent. The birthplace of the dynasty.

There were many problems there.

Zhu Qiyu asked again: "Who could handle this?"

The ministers pondered long, proposed several names—but Zhu Qiyu frowned at each.

It was no wonder he frowned; when they proposed them, they themselves frowned—clearly they felt the candidates had flaws, were not quite suitable.

Seeing their faces all scrunched up, Pan Yun said: "I have a candidate too—I think he is very suitable."

Zhu Qiyu asked quickly: "Who?"

"Yang Zan, Right Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Revenue Bureau."

The Emperor and his ministers were stunned, silent.

Since Pan Yun had already recommended the candidate, the rest was no longer her concern. She pulled a pile of objects from her sleeve: "These major matters, you may deliberate among yourselves later. I've merely offered a suggestion. Your Majesty, my lords—since you're all here today, let me show you something wonderful."

Pan Yun placed thread and a simple lightbulb on the table, her face alight with excitement: "Hu Wei of the Ministry of Works is extraordinary. I merely mentioned it in passing, yet he actually managed to produce filament and conductive wire. Your Majesty, you must reward such talent. Oh, I also wish to discuss incentives for craftsmen—is the imperial treasury empty? No matter—I'll pay for it myself!"

Pan Yun's face flushed red, her eyes sparkling: "I will contribute ten thousand taels of silver. Send someone to oversee it—throughout the empire, no matter if they are Great Ming subjects or foreigners—anyone who invents something useful to the people shall be rewarded: twenty taels for minor inventions, up to a hundred taels, depending on practical value!"

Chen Xun pondered briefly, then said: "State Master, with such a reward system, ten thousand taels won't last long, will they?"

Pan Yun: "June is coming—the sea winds will rise. My senior disciple will return soon. I'll ask him for more money—if it's not enough, I'll add more."

She urged Chen Xun again: "Chen my lord, this benefits the state and the people—shouldn't your Ministry of Revenue contribute too?"

Chen Xun's face twisted into a bitter-gourd expression, sorrowfully saying: "State Master, if anyone else asked, I'd pretend. But you—I must be honest. You know—the imperial treasury is truly empty."

Cao Nai, seeing Pan Yun still more interested in devices than governance, felt his earlier wariness ease slightly. He thought a moment: "If the treasury cannot spare funds, perhaps the Emperor's private treasury could contribute?"

Pan Yun turned to Zhu Qiyu.

Zhu Qiyu opened his mouth, then after a long pause said: "I—I'll ask the Empress."

Yu Qian stared at the objects on the table: "What is this?"

Pan Yun demonstrated it for them.

She pulled out a hand-crank generator from thin air. Everyone's eyelids twitched; they pretended not to see it, doing their best to ignore the anomaly.

She connected the wires, stuck a yellow talisman onto the crank, and the generator spun wildly, as if possessed.

The connected filament flared to life with a soft hiss.

Zhu Qiyu, Yu Qian, and the others leapt to their feet: "This, this..."

Pan Yun snapped her fingers, excitedly saying: "This is the electric lamp!"

Yu Qian, the most perceptive, seized the key word: "Electric?"

"Yes!" Pan Yun said. "This calls for another compliment—Ministry of Works craftsman Xu Min helped develop the wind-powered spinning machine. After finishing it, he taught himself to build a wind-powered electric generator, hoping to use wind to drive other devices—grindstones, presses, rock crushers. His concept was sound, but the materials were too costly, and the Ministry of Works had no funds to support it."

Pan Yun complained further: "The Ministry of Revenue gives the Ministry of Works too little research funding. I've noticed our Ming craftsmen have many excellent ideas, yet lack funds to realize them."

"This hand-crank generator is what he made as a fallback—three months of work. I've examined it; it can still be improved," Pan Yun smiled warmly. "The filament was made by Hu Wei. Last time we observed the stars during a thunderstorm, I mentioned that electric energy could ignite tungsten filament to glow like lightning, illuminating the night—and he actually made it. Amazing—truly amazing..."

Pan Yun felt these craftsmen were more useful than her fellow Daoists—they were truly boundless in imagination, daring to think of anything.

Pan Yun grinned and said, "Fortunately, after I spoke with Your Majesty that night, I went straight to the Ministry of Works. Otherwise, the Ministry would've been burned down—Hu Wei actually dared to test tungsten filament's combustion and luminosity under high heat, without any isolation whatsoever."

Zhu Qiyu and the three ministers listened but didn't understand, asking, "What would happen?"

Pan Yun slapped her hand down with a "Boom!" and laughed, "It would explode!"

Zhu Qiyu: …

Pan Yun seized the opportunity to propose, "Your Majesty, find another secluded, spacious, and safe mansion outside the imperial city for the Ministry of Works craftsmen, and establish a device workshop in the suburbs. That way, small, safe items can be tested within the city, while large, dangerous ones are tested outside."

Zhu Qiyu: "... I understand. Master Daoist came to me today just to ask for money."

Pan Yun: "How much would it cost to build two device workshops? You surely have vacant mansions in the city—just pick one from the empty ones and give it to the Ministry. Building outside is even cheaper—just materials and labor. Design? The Ministry's own people can handle it. Oh, and the craftsmen? The Ministry can provide them too."

The Emperor and the three ministers: The Ministry of Works was already supposed to do exactly this.

Pan Yun's demands were indeed minimal—houses just needed to be usable. She didn't demand the same quality of wood or stone as the Emperor's palace.

She directly presented the bill, handing it to Chen Xun: "Don't say the Ministry of Works is spending money—building this suburban device workshop costs less than the steps of the Qianqian Palace in the imperial palace."

Cao Nai glanced at it and said, "Indeed, the budget is only one-tenth."

Pan Yun spread her hands: "See? How frugal our Ministry of Works is."

Cao Nai wore a complicated expression: "Hu Cheng really has a good assistant."

Pan Yun: "Cao my lord, you can't bully him just because he's from a foreign land."

Cao Nai refused to accept this accusation and immediately said, "Master Daoist, watch your words—when have I ever bullied him?"

Pan Yun turned to Chen Xun and said softly, "Then it must be you, my lord Chen, who's bullying him."

Chen Xun immediately waved his hands: "I didn't either, Master Daoist—don't listen to provocateurs."

Pan Yun: "Then why is it so hard for the Ministry of Works to apply for funding?"

Chen Xun wore a complicated expression: "Even the best housewife can't cook without rice. Every department struggles—ask Lord Yu if you don't believe me."

Pan Yun glanced at Yu Qian.

Yu Qian nodded and smiled faintly: "Fortunately, the Quanzhou Maritime Customs Office sent another batch of tax silver this March, easing the imperial court's urgent crisis."

Chen Xun said, "Tianjinwei also sent a batch of tax silver—though not as much as Quanzhou, the prospects are promising."

This was also why the court unanimously approved expanding customs and further lifting maritime restrictions; compared to last year, almost no one in court opposed it anymore.

Indeed, after the great war, everyone's hearts had grown more united, and they'd seen the treasury's dire straits.

When the treasury is completely drained, what's the point of fighting tooth and nail over petty gains?

Even several princely members of the imperial clan who had engaged in maritime smuggling no longer sought to block trade—they now wanted to establish a customs office exclusively for the imperial clan.

Indeed, if you can't beat them, join them.

This topic was sensitive, so they only mentioned it briefly; Yu Qian quickly shifted the subject: "This electric lamp—can it replace oil lamps? But... isn't the cost also high?"

He bent over to examine the hand-crank generator and electric lamp, frowning: "Never mind how much it costs to pair one lamp with such a machine—just the fact that you need a yellow talisman to produce light—can every Daoist Priest draw such a talisman? What's its price?"

After a pause, Pan Yun said: "Without counting my status, each such Swift Talisman costs five taels of silver."

Yu Qian stared at her speechless: "Master Daoist, a peasant's entire lifetime spending on lamp oil won't reach five taels—can this talisman last a lifetime?"

Pan Yun choked, removed the yellow talisman, and demonstrated by cranking it by hand: "You don't even need the talisman."

Chen Xun leaned in, gleeful: "So you still need someone to crank it constantly—how much does this hand-crank generator cost?"

Pan Yun: "... It's just starting out, so naturally the cost is high—but I'm not trying to promote this. I'm just showing you that such luminous devices exist—that illumination doesn't require oil."

"But oil is cheap—at least every household can afford it."

Pan Yun: "Really? Can every household truly afford it?"

Cao Nai paused, then said: "Still, it's far cheaper than this whole setup."

Pan Yun: "We'll improve it further. The essence of this device is that we've discovered new energy, new lighting. What we must do now and in the future is reduce costs and increase efficiency."

Pan Yun looked at them with exasperation: "On this point, you simply lack the foresight of our craftsmen."

The three men politely smiled at Pan Yun—even Zhu Qiyu, who usually favored her, only gave an awkward smile.

Pan Yun clenched her teeth, thought for a moment, then said: "Fine. Tomorrow, come to the Ministry of Works—I'll show you something else, something this world has never seen. You'll finally understand what I mean."