Chapter 274

The weather in the north always turns cold earlier; the capital was already covered in silver by the winter month, while in Nanzhili, it was not until the second day of the twelfth lunar month that the temperature finally dropped significantly.

The first snow in Jiangbei and the official ships from Jiangnan sailed upstream along the Xuzhou River, which had not yet frozen, witnessing the last winter of the canal passing through Xuzhou.

Both drifted together to the wharf outside Xuzhou city.

Arriving at the same time was a Zhang Gelao of the Cabinet, the elderly Shen, draped in sable fur, who walked off the deck, dusty and tired, surrounded by his entourage.

Fan Yingqi, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Luo Zun, Hai Yushi of the Censorate, who had been waiting at the wharf for a long time, hurriedly went up to greet him.

Before his colleagues could pay their respects to this high-ranking Cabinet official.

Shen Shixing had already taken the initiative, his tone unkind: "What is going on with you all? Sun Jigao was reckless and destructive, and you just played deaf and dumb?"

"'The Filial Emperor failed in gentle restraint'? Can such words be fabricated in serious articles!?"

A series of high-pitched questions, accompanied by two streams of hot air erupting from his nostrils, made Zhang Gelao Shen's dissatisfaction particularly obvious.

Fan Yingqi silently turned his head away, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Although he was also a Reader-in-Waiting of the Hanlin Academy and had the responsibility of reviewing and proofreading Hanlin articles, he was busy checking accounts at the water warehouse and was unable to divide himself.

Luo Zun could not avoid it, but his expression was slightly defiant: "Zhang Gelao Shen, these words were not fabricated by Sun Jigao; they were His Majesty's own golden words—"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a chill strike him, causing Luo Zun to subconsciously close his mouth.

Looking up, he saw Shen Shixing staring at him, his gaze cold and sharp.

The meaning was very clear: even if they were truly the Emperor's golden words, everyone should not go around talking nonsense!

Seeing this, Fan Yingqi coughed lightly, trying to smooth things over: "Zhang Gelao Shen, please be magnanimous; Sun Jigao did not intentionally praise or criticize the Filial Emperor; he was just organizing the gains and losses according to the context of the national governance."

The implication was that the Emperor was not targeting anyone; he had commented on the gains and losses of Taizu and Shizong as well.

Why was it that only the Filial Emperor could not be spoken of?

Shen Shixing was furious and said angrily: "How can that be the same!"

It really wasn't that Zhang Gelao Shen was being unreasonable, resorting to the classic lines of Heart Learning.

It was just that the world was like this.

Taizu's merits and demerits were divided, which had been settled by the emperors and ministers of more than a dozen dynasties, and the theory of "firm restraint" was clearly recorded in the national history.

Shizong's inability to distinguish right from wrong, relying entirely on his likes and dislikes, was also the consensus of the world; even in Shizong's Veritable Records, there was no hesitation in recording "the family is clean" to show praise or blame.

But the Filial Emperor was different.

The Filial Emperor was a moral saint who loved the virtuous and cherished the people, a wise monarch who practiced self-cultivation in silence, and a golden statue molded by the concerted efforts of all the civil and military officials—to put it more directly, this was the consistent expectation of the scholar-officials for the Zhu family, and an object that every future emperor needed to learn from.

What did the Emperor mean by claiming that the Filial Emperor was "gently restrained" at this time?

If you don't want to learn from the Filial Emperor, don't say it out loud; isn't this just stirring up trouble!

People like Fan Yingqi and Luo Zun only cared about the immediate merits and failed to stand in the position of high-ranking court officials to consider the pros and cons and remonstrate with the Emperor.

Instead, they let the Emperor act recklessly, stood by and watched Sun Jigao talk nonsense, and published words that humiliated the Filial Emperor to the world.

There was simply no one who could save them any worry!

It was the Cabinet that suffered, having to return from Nanjing to clean up the Emperor's mess.

Thinking of this, Shen Shixing became increasingly irritable and waved his hand: "Forget it, I will go to Huai'an myself to find His Majesty; you all just tell me the aftermath of Xuzhou one by one!"

Fan Yingqi and Luo Zun looked at each other.

Both of them somewhat understood why this Zhang Gelao of the Cabinet was like a powder keg, full of anger and venting everywhere.

Things had already happened, and only then was Zhang Gelao Shen called to Xuzhou to clean up; was this the attitude that should be shown to a Zhang Gelao of the Cabinet?

It was clearly just wanting the seal of the Cabinet on him, calling him here to draft and sign!

If this continues, in the future, everyone will tease him as the "Three-Decree Minister"—only taking the imperial decree, receiving the imperial decree, and obtaining the imperial decree, with no other opinions.

It was only because Shen Shixing had a good temper and was easy to knead that he didn't see Wang Xijue catch a cold on the spot and refuse to come?

Since the superior was in a bad mood, naturally no one would go to touch the bad luck.

The two of them were very respectful and bowed: "We have prepared the documents and files; Zhang Gelao Shen has traveled far and is tired, please get on the carriage to review them."

A good scene play cannot have a few people just standing there talking; it needs scenery and positioning.

The subordinate officials retreated to both sides along the path pointed out by Luo Zun, revealing a carriage.

Shen Shixing snorted coldly, did not stand on ceremony with the two, brushed his sleeves, put them behind his back, and got into the carriage.

Fan Yingqi and Luo Zun gave the coachman a look to start, and then followed him in.

It was much warmer once inside the carriage; the two streams of air under Zhang Gelao Shen's nostrils disappeared without a trace, and even his expression softened quite a bit. Soft seats were arranged on both sides of the carriage, and there was a small carved rosewood table with files, documents, tea sets, and snacks.

Shen Shixing sat down alone on one side and carefully took out a large seal from his bosom.

The Emperor's southern tour was a "hanging seal at the imperial carriage," with the Cabinet also having to temporarily cast a seal, named "Seal of the Cabinet at the Imperial Carriage," with nine-fold three-line characters, a straight handle as a knob, and small regular script characters on the side saying "Cast by the Ministry of Rites on the 9th day of the 2nd month of the 18th year of Jiajing."

After carefully checking that the seal was intact, Zhang Gelao Shen placed it on the inkpad, ignored the tea and snacks, and reached out to move the documents on the table in front of him, preparing to become a heartless stamping machine.

It was mainly personnel appointments.

The Xuzhou officialdom was shaken, and in order to ensure the daily operation of the offices, a large number of officials had to be temporarily transferred to fill the vacancies.

The Emperor had anticipated this before his southern tour and brought a bunch of former *jinshi* and current *shujishi* (bachelors); every time he arrived at a place, he would leave a batch of people to fill the vacancies like laying eggs.

There was nothing to look at carefully, so Shen Shixing quickly drafted the responses.

One after another.

It was not until a volume of documents on the construction of the national road came into view that Shen Shixing slowed down.

He looked up at Fan Yingqi and asked with some dissatisfaction: "Recruiting twenty thousand laborers? Didn't the court deliberation previously propose using corvée laborers?"

The construction of the national road was not a whim of the Emperor.

It was a resolution made by the Wenhua Hall after cement roads were tested in various places—thirty miles in the southern suburbs, one hundred and thirty miles in Tongzhou, four hundred miles in Xuan-Da—and found to be unobstructed, followed by cost accounting and maintenance estimation.

Politically, the struggle between the north and the south was intense; strengthening traffic exchanges and promoting local material and cultural exchanges was inevitably the only way to unify the north and the south and achieve great harmony in the world.

Economically, the south had abundant grain, and producers began to plant large quantities of economic crops such as cotton and mulberry trees, breaking the pattern of self-sufficient production and seeing the emergence of economic structures based on economic crops and handicraft industries such as textiles and glass.

Since the south had production, it had to open up markets in the north; the current fragmented, dilapidated, and limited-capacity official roads could no longer meet the needs of north-south travel.

This great official road, three zhang wide, paved with cement, and connecting the north and the south, could be said to have emerged in response to the political and economic needs of the era.

Shen Shixing, as one of the formulators, naturally knew the details very well.

When the Wenhua Hall deliberated, why did the corvée labor decided upon by the ministers suddenly become paid recruitment?

Not to mention changing the plan, coming to ambush him, and tricking him, Shen Shixing, into signing?

The person who did the cost budget was Fan Yingqi, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Facing the Zhang Gelao's questioning, he was not panicked at all and gave a righteous response: "Zhang Gelao Shen, this really was His Majesty's golden words."

"After His Majesty surveyed both banks, he felt deeply the hardship of the corvée laborers, so he insisted on changing corvée to recruitment, which can be considered as using work as relief to feed the base people."

"The Ministry of Revenue also thought this was the trend of the times, so we signed and stamped it."

The "trend of the times" in Fan Yingqi's mouth refers to the fact that for two hundred years, the Ministry of Revenue has been trying to shift from corvée levies to national silver-paid recruitment.

While there is certainly the reason that the Ministry of Revenue cannot control corvée but can take a cut from the silver levies, the more fundamental consideration is the benefit to the country and the people.

In the ninth month of the first year of Jiajing, Tan Lu, a Hai Yushi in Nanjing, began to memorialize Shizong, saying that the poor people near the river run around all year without rest, and requested that the river management officials notify the local authorities to levy silver to hire laborers for convenience.

Since then, when Gui E tested the Single Whip Law in the counties of Jiangnan, he directly ordered that "corvée labor shall be levied in silver to recruit laborers."

This is because paying for labor can prevent the authorities from bullying the poor and favoring the rich, exempting poor families from corvée, and can absorb idle ruffians to come and work, thereby increasing social stability.

In addition, these laborers who come for profit will run away if the pay is not enough, increasing the difficulty for corrupt officials to exploit them.

It is simply a triple win.

Shen Shixing also understood this truth, but he understood even better why such a good policy that benefits the country and the people has never been implemented.

He stared at Fan Yingqi with a look of scrutiny and asked: "Initially, levying thirty thousand taels of silver in Jining was not possible; now it is millions of taels; can you really collect the silver?"

Corvée labor is one thing; the authorities bully the small and ignore the big, and the poor who are apportioned are the easiest to bully, serving every year, and if they are apportioned to repair roads, it's about the same.

But silver-paid recruitment is different.

You have to actually collect silver from the wealthy, and only then can you hire people to work; the difficulty is worlds apart compared to corvée.

In the fourth month of the second year of Longqing, Jining wanted to levy silver to hire laborers, but it was collected until the fourth year of Longqing, and only seven thousand taels were received, so it had to be abandoned and corvée labor was levied instead.

Thirty thousand taels were already difficult; now they want to hire twenty thousand people, twenty taels per person per year, which would be four hundred thousand taels a year!

The project from Xuzhou to Yingtian Prefecture is only the first phase, which will take five years; to connect the whole line, it will take at least ten years of work.

With such a large sum of silver suddenly needed, can it really be collected?

Luo Zun and Fan Yingqi both laughed upon hearing this.

Fan Yingqi was spirited and took the initiative to endorse the matter: "Zhang Gelao Shen, in Xuzhou alone, we have already raised 376,200 taels, a full year's recruitment silver!"

"Don't ever say that silver cannot be collected; they are now begging for ways to donate silver!"

This is where Zhang Gelao Shen doesn't understand the market.

Specific problems need specific analysis; it is naturally difficult to raise silver for things that have no profit, but it is different for things that benefit the hometown and facilitate trade.

For road construction projects, local gentry and wealthy families have always competed to send money.

For example, the Zhongxu Ma post road, which took one year to build and is 350 miles long, was also built by levying silver to hire laborers; who knew how much money the national treasury spent?

Only one hundred taels of funding and one hundred shi of rice!

Where did the rest of the money come from? It was all raised by the gentry and people of Ma Hu Prefecture, who competed to contribute money and effort!

Leaving aside the mentality of Wang and others who were forced to seek redemption, just talking about such an official road that connects the two capitals, is three zhang wide, and is paved with cement, there is only the logic of paying money to beg the official road to pass by one's door; where is the talk of being unable to collect silver and being forced to change the route?

If you don't believe it, ask the gentry of Xuzhou if they are willing to crowdfund one million taels to invite the canal back?

Shen Shixing looked at Fan Yingqi with suspicion, then looked at Luo Zun.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and wrote down the draft response for this document.

Shen Shixing looked at it again with little confidence, then passed the signed document to Fan Yingqi and quickly opened the next one.

"Is there enough cement?"

After drafting several more memorials, Shen Shixing suddenly remembered something, stopped his work, looked up, and asked Fan Yingqi.

For road construction materials, the Ministry of Works has always had corresponding standards; how much crushed stone, sand, soil, and lime are used, and whether it is enough, everyone knows.

As for modified soil, which is cement, Shen Shixing didn't have much of an idea either.

Its raw material is volcanic ash, which relies heavily on imports, and coupled with Ryukyu's claim that it is difficult to collect and production is limited, it is hard to say whether it is enough for large-scale use.

"It's not quite enough; the river management office also needs a lot to pave the Yi River, so His Majesty could only give the formula to Wang and the others, letting the people of Xuzhou set up their own factories to calcine artificial cement."

Fan Yingqi's expression was calm as he revealed a new situation.

Shen Shixing was stunned: "Artificial cement, can it be used to pave roads?"

He had also paid some attention to the situation of artificial cement.

Years ago, the Inner Court discovered by chance that volcanic ash could be used to make cement, so the Ministry of Works intercepted it and came forward to demand volcanic ash from Ryukyu as one of the tribute items.

Tribute items, naturally, have to be picked and chosen to avoid being replaced by inferior ones.

Since they have to be selected, there must be a quality standard for what is good and what is bad, which is what factors affect the quality of the cement produced.

After several comparisons, the craftsmen discovered that the clay content in the lime ore is different, and the quality of the cement produced is completely different.

With this discovery, the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works couldn't help but start thinking: the raw materials for cement seem to be just lime and clay? Since that's the case, can lime and clay be adjusted in proportion and calcined to make artificial cement?

The cost of verifying this doubt was not high, and craftsmen immediately began to experiment for the sake of rewards.

The results of the experiment were mixed.

The happy part was that by comparing the usage of two parts lime to one part clay, cement was indeed produced!

The sad part was that its quality was not even close to natural cement, especially since it couldn't withstand soaking, and the river management office didn't even bother to look at it. Fan Yingqi nodded and confirmed: "Although it is a notch worse than the cement produced from volcanic ash, it is still much better than three-in-one soil, and it is just right for use in corners."

Whether it can be used depends on where it is used; the river management office may look down on it, but it is not bad for road repair.

At least it can be used as a second-class cement to relieve the production pressure of volcanic cement—volcanic ash is hard to find, but lime mines are everywhere. Luo Zun mentioned on the side: "Craftsmen in the Ministry of Works speculate that it may be because the furnace temperature is much lower than that of volcanoes, so it is not burned through enough."

"Otherwise, there is no reason why cement made from the same materials would be so much worse than volcanic cement."

"His Majesty has already approved the Ministry of Works to send craftsmen who burn cement to Huguang to use the improved blast furnace of the Anshan Steel Plant to try high-temperature calcination; perhaps there will be good news after the New Year."

Confucianism has undergone several major transformations and is now almost unrecognizable.

The attitude of Ming officials toward "strange skills and ingenious crafts" has always tended toward practicality, and now, under the further transformation of the Emperor, there is even a vague tendency to admire them.

However, Shen Shixing, who works day and night, although he has a good impression of strange skills and ingenious crafts, does not care much about the specific details, sticking to the principle of "use it if you have it, and it's fine if it works."

"Report the several changes to the Ministries and Courts in Beijing together; let's leave the matter of the official road for now."

After Shen Shixing gave his instructions, he continued to lower his head and flip through the documents in the eyes of Fan Yingqi and Luo Zun, who were respectfully responding.

He sometimes drafted responses without a word, and sometimes asked for details repeatedly.

The carriage rolled over the bluestone slabs and drove leisurely into the city gate.

Perhaps because they had entered the city, a burst of clamor reached the carriage, coming from far to near; out of curiosity, Shen Shixing reached out to pull aside the curtain and looked out.

He stuck half his head out and saw from afar that a crowd had gathered at the nearby vegetable market.

Several figures in prison uniforms and high hats were kneeling on the stage; the officials of the Censorate were looking down from above, seemingly interrogating them, and the gathered people were aggressive, pointing and cursing incessantly.

Before he could look closely, Shen Shixing felt a great force from behind, inexplicably pulling him back into the carriage.

He frowned and looked behind him.

Fan Yingqi hurriedly put down the small hand that had pulled Zhang Gelao Shen and smiled awkwardly: "Zhang Gelao Shen, please forgive me; His Majesty was recently warned by the Heavenly Dao and once warned us that things that humiliate the literati should not be looked at too closely."

It is well known that the Emperor does not believe in ghosts and gods, so this is clearly an excuse.

The specific reason is hard to say, but Fan Yingqi guessed that the Emperor was mostly afraid that the court officials would feel a sense of "the rabbit dies and the fox grieves" after seeing it, which would not be conducive to gathering people's hearts, so he refused to let the scene of the public trial be described too vividly in the eyes of the court officials.

"It should not be looked at closely; it really should not be looked at closely."

Shen Shixing muttered to himself and slowly pulled back the half of his head that had stuck out of the carriage.

The Emperor's refusal to let them look closely was indeed well-considered—even Shen Shixing, who knew the ins and outs of the Xuzhou cases, could not help but feel a sense of fear and even a chill when he saw the literati's dignity being swept away.

It was not that he, Shen Shixing, was self-respecting; even he, a backbone of the New Party who followed the Emperor's lead, felt this way—what would other colleagues think if they saw it?

This is why, once the Emperor's exposition on the Filial Emperor's "gentle restraint" was published, Nanjing was in an uproar.

The Emperor would not hate the Filial Emperor, and the scholars might not have deep feelings for the Filial Emperor.

But the existence of the Filial Emperor did not lie in himself, but as a political symbol of "treating scholars leniently," hanging high in the nine heavens.

Some things are best done but not said; now the Emperor has not only treated scholars harshly but also held public trials for the people to see and commented on the Filial Emperor for the world to hear.

It is too intense.

Shen Shixing leaned back in the carriage, his thoughts flying.

He tried his best not to listen to the buzzing in his ears and asked softly: "How is the Censorate's case going?"

Luo Zun hurriedly leaned forward and explained to Zhang Gelao Shen: "Zhang Gelao Shen, we are going to the Ministry of Revenue's branch office; the case files and memorials are all there."

The Xuzhou Water Department is now under the Ministry of Works as a temporary office for supervising the construction of the official road; the Ministry of Revenue's branch office is shared by the Censorate and the Ministry of Revenue.

After Luo Zun finished speaking, he prepared to stop talking, but seeing Shen Shixing's slightly confused expression, he had to add awkwardly: "The Junior Censorate Chief does not allow us to carry documents and files privately."

In this regard, the Censorate is not as good as the Ministry of Revenue; one Left Hai Yushi-in-Chief and one Right Hai Yushi-in-Chief, both are inflexible.

The Ministry of Revenue's documents have all been drafted, and he can only watch eagerly, which affects efficiency so much.

Shen Shixing was also slightly dissatisfied with this; he was also preparing to finish quickly and go find the Emperor to talk about business.

He shook his head and had to settle for the next best thing: "Just tell me roughly."

Luo Zun pondered for a moment and recalled one by one: "Xuzhou Magistrate Wu Zhipeng, strangled; Water Department Branch Office Director Li Minqing, executed in the market; Ministry of Revenue Branch Office Water Warehouse Director Yu Deye, death by a thousand cuts; Xuzhou Vice Prefect Qin Bangyan, beheaded; Xuzhou Military Defense Deputy Commissioner Chang Sansheng, suspected of murdering Zhang Zhan, the case is still under investigation—"

Hearing Luo Zun list them like family treasures, Shen Shixing subconsciously shuddered.

He couldn't help but interrupt: "Are the people of Xuzhou so bloodthirsty!?"

This dense list of official names made one's scalp tingle.

Hearing this, Luo Zun was silent for a while before slowly opening his mouth: "Zhang Gelao Shen misunderstood; the people of Xuzhou cannot be said to be unreasonable."

"Unless they are guilty of heinous crimes, the people almost cannot bear to kill."

Hearing this, Shen Shixing was very confused.

Fan Yingqi, who was beside him, interjected at the right time, looking as if he agreed deeply: "Zhang Gelao Shen may not know."

"For example, the other day, Hai Yushi Chen investigated Xiao Jiucheng, the Magistrate of Peixian, who had embezzled more than 8,700 taels; according to the law, he should be beheaded a hundred times."

"During the public trial, the people of Xuzhou exclaimed that embezzling less than ten thousand taels made him a truly honest official, and they all pleaded with the Censorate, hoping that Xiao Jiucheng could be reinstated."

Although Xiao Jiucheng did not let the people of Peixian eat dog meat, he really didn't toss them around much, and as an old subordinate of Zhang Zhan, he cooperated with Zhang Zhan's work on the river management, whether he was willing or not, at least on the surface, so his reputation among the people was not too bad.

The people usually curse a few times to vent their anger, but when it really comes to shouting and killing, they all go up to plead for mercy.

Even when asked by the Censorate about the details of Xiao Jiucheng's embezzlement, everyone covered for him; one said the Magistrate had greedily accepted two catties of dog meat, another said the Magistrate had secretly packed up wine and food from a banquet.

In the end, Chen Wude had to follow public opinion, confiscate Xiao Jiucheng's illicit money, punish him by making him eat a few catties of dog meat, and directly reinstate him to atone for his crimes.

"For those who embezzle money without being shocking, only take bribes without harming people, and do practical things despite bending the law—the people do not hesitate to plead for them, as long as they admit their crimes and change their ways."

Literati have always said that the people cannot distinguish between good and bad officials and eat everyone's "human blood buns," but the truth is not so; Fan Yingqi at least spoke a fair word for the people.

It is true that the common people resent corrupt officials, but they do not go crazy and want to kill everyone they see.

There were even a large number of county people who took the initiative to see Chen Wude, saying that beheading someone for embezzling eighty taels was too harsh, and hoping that the Censorate would show mercy within the bounds of human sentiment.

The basic principle of the current public trial is that the Censorate and the people have agreed on three chapters—no crime for a thousand taels, no killing for ten thousand taels.

As for those beasts who often harm the people, kill to seize fields, rape women, and dig out lower bodies—should they not be beheaded and left for the New Year?

Luo Zun looked at Shen Shixing, his expression earnest, and asked back seriously: "The people pity officials like this, how can the Zhang Gelao say they are bloodthirsty?"

Shen Shixing was speechless.

A moment later, he opened his mouth again: "So, the people listed by Luo Zun are all heinous criminals who must be killed?"

In terms of the practice of treating scholar-officials leniently since the Filial Emperor's reign, these people would not actually be killed, but then again, from this angle, isn't it proof of the Filial Emperor's "gentle restraint"?

This different angle of looking at things is precisely the divergence between scholars and the people, and it is also the fundamental reason why the Cabinet has to be cautious.

Luo Zun could not stand at Shen Shixing's height to look at the problem; he only focused on the specific cases, and as soon as he thought of certain heinous specifics, his mood took a turn for the worse.

He lost his interest in talking for a while and just nodded lightly to answer with body language.

Shen Shixing did not take offense and sighed softly: "No wonder you all played deaf and dumb to Sun Jigao's article."

This question had already been answered by Luo Zun.

Fan Yingqi was silent for a moment, finally unable to hold back, looked up at Shen Shixing, and said bluntly: "His Majesty once said—"

"Politics is a bloody war, and war is bloody politics."