Chapter 113 Two Flowers Bloom, Adding Firewood to the Fire

In the first year of Wanli, on June 22, it was the Great Heat.

This is the hottest solar term, also known as the dog days.

There were floods and scorching heat in Huguang, and the situation was like a pot of boiling porridge.

It was different in the capital city. It rained, but there was no flooding. Perhaps it all flowed into the undercurrent underground, leaving only pure heat on the surface.

Fortunately, during the morning court sessions in Wenhua Hall, the eunuchs would place some ice cubes to cool down the hall, making the officials feel more comfortable - this was also one of the few "extravagant" items that the emperor did not cut back on.

After a year of adjusting to various political affairs, both large and small, the cabinet team headed by Zhang Juzheng gradually demonstrated a rare centripetal force in the Ming Dynasty.

At least within the cabinet and the six ministries and nine ministers, tolerance for the sake of the country has become a political consensus of some size.

The court discussions were finally no longer as noisy as they used to be in the vegetable market, and people gradually began to present facts and reason more often.

The efficiency is naturally slightly higher.

Today's court discussed, first of all, following the proposal of the Governor-General of the Grand Canal, Wang Zongmu, to abolish eleven delivery stations including Huaiyang, Fengxu, etc.

In addition, the construction of Emperor Muzong's Zhaoling Mausoleum was completed, and he rewarded Shangshu Zhu Heng and others with silver coins. He also allowed the son of Vice Minister Xiong Ruda to study in the Imperial Academy.

Afterwards, the cabinet asked the two palaces to send officials to check all the money and grain in Zhaoling.

Xiyuan issued an imperial edict in approval, and ordered that from now on, whenever a major project is completed, it should be reported for inspection, and this would become a permanent rule.

Afterwards, the Governor of the Beijing Camp, Gu Huan, and the Cabinet Assistant Minister Wang Chonggu discussed five matters concerning the Beijing Camp, namely, arranging the ranks of the generals to clarify their duties; arranging the chariots and fighting methods to facilitate their exercises; discussing recruitment to strengthen the camp; storing up general talents for possible deployment; and storing military equipment to ensure practical use.

The emperor held court in the Wenhua Hall and immediately ordered the Ministry of War to discuss the matter in detail.

At noon, news came from Shanxi Province that King Dai Zhu Tingqi had passed away. The two palaces and the emperor were grief-stricken and sent Funing Marquis Zhu Gang to offer sacrifices.

According to the regulations, court sessions will be suspended for three days.

Unfortunately, the suspension of court does not mean a holiday. All departments and offices must perform their duties and responsibilities and none of them can be discounted.

Especially as August approaches, the performance evaluation system, which has been piloted in the two capitals and one province for a year, is coming to an end, and all government offices in northern Zhili are gearing up for it.

Of course, the directions of the efforts are also different.

This year has been a very ugly year, with people trying hard to give gifts and try to build connections everywhere.

They still refused to give up and intended to fight to the end. They worked hard to connect with each other and try to find a critical moment to deceive the cabinet and the emperor.

Of course, the ones who are most motivated are those who have stood out this year.

Everyone knows that a new official will make three big moves upon taking office, and the new policies will cost a fortune.

This is the step to advancement! Who wouldn't want to seize it?
If the subordinates are busy, the superiors will naturally be busier.

Even the emperor who had not yet taken power could not escape.

Inside the east wing of the Wenhua Palace, there was another dialogue between the emperor and his ministers.

Zhu Yijun sat upright and held out his hand in polite response: "Mr. Yin, please get up quickly. It's a hot summer day and you must have been tired from the journey."

As he spoke, he began to look at the former cabinet minister in front of him, Yin Shidan.

This was a rare occasion when he had seen a cabinet minister who was not good-looking.

Previously, whether it was Zhang Juzheng, Gao Yi, Lu Diaoyang, Yang Bo and others, they either had a square face that was steady and upright, or a long face with a broad forehead that was elegant and amiable.

But the Lord Yin Shidan in front of him had prominent cheekbones and a slightly flat nose, and his appearance was only average.

This was not the most important thing. What was most difficult for him to understand was that this Lord Yin had a mark on his chin that was neither deep nor shallow, as if the scar had not healed completely.

Isn’t it said that one can’t achieve a high position without an official appearance?

Zhu Yijun looked at it twice more out of secret curiosity.

Yin Shidan was also sizing up the young emperor. Regardless of what he was thinking, he naturally noticed something from the frequent glances he made at his face.

He did not shy away from the question and said frankly, "Your Majesty, this injury on my jaw occurred after I joined the cabinet."

Zhu Yijun was not embarrassed when his thoughts were seen through. Instead, he became more curious: "Newly added?"

This mark doesn't look like it was caused by a fall.

Yin Shidan bowed his hands and lowered his head so that the emperor could not see his expression: "Your Majesty, the injury on my jaw was caused by a fight with Ding'an Earl when I was in the cabinet."

The voice just fell.

"Cough cough..."

Zhu Yijun couldn't help himself and choked as he tried to hold back his laughter and swallow his saliva.

As expected, it’s Gao Gong!
After Yin Shidan said this, Zhu Yijun remembered this matter.

When Gao Gong returned to the cabinet, he was extremely powerful. He would find excuses to expel anyone who he could no longer command.

Yin Shidan naturally did not escape the disaster.

When the matter came to a head, he rebuked Gao Gong in a stern voice in the cabinet, "If you expel Lord Chen, expel Lord Zhao, and then expel Lord Li, now you are expelling me."

Having said that, he raised his arms and hit him.

Zhu Yijun originally thought that the fight had not taken place, but now it seems that the fight was probably quite intense...

Cabinet fight, it's really two familiar yet unfamiliar phrases put together.

Zhu Yijun satisfied his desire to eat melon and pretended to clear his throat.

Let's put the recent incident behind us.

He turned to the main topic: "I heard that Yin Qing had been to Nanzhili before entering the capital. Now that he has been in the capital for several days, he should have a plan in mind for the affairs of the Salt Administration Office, right?"

The Ming Dynasty was so efficient that the things we decided with the cabinet last year have finally been implemented at the end of June.

Yin Shidan nodded and said confidently: "I have not only been to the Lianghuai Transportation Office, but also to the other Liangzhe, Changlu, Shandong, Fujian and other salt tax transportation offices. I have also visited them one by one."

"I have all the original intentions of the central government to establish the General Office of Salt Tax, the disagreements between the Ministry of Revenue and the inner court, and the requests of several transport offices."

Zhu Yijun glanced at Yin Shidan with a little surprise.

How come he didn't know that this former cabinet minister had such a practical side?
However, now that he has come to this, it is obvious that he is trying to show off his talents.

Zhu Yijun understood the atmosphere and there was no reason not to give him a chance.

He swallowed the words he had prepared, and asked in a tone of inquiry, "Why are you teaching me, Lord Yin?"

Yin Shidan shuddered.

Good, good, good. It is just as the rumors say. This young emperor has been deeply influenced by classics and treats people like a wise ruler.

Just for the superficial effort of showing courtesy to the minister, his performance today was not in vain.

Even if it was just superficial respect, he had never felt it from Emperor Muzong - when he was beaten, Emperor Muzong even took sides with Gao Gong.

Yin Shidan subconsciously straightened his back and raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not teach you, but I have some superficial insights."

He paused and continued, "It is said that the central government established the Salt Administration Office in order to take over the salt tax authority and supplement the tax revenue."

"Some of the ministries and government offices that understand the situation speculated that the central government intended to use this to coordinate the opening of the Central Law and balance the north and the south."

Zhu Yijun listened carefully and nodded frequently.

Only now that the atmosphere in the Ming Dynasty is open, people are allowed to discuss these matters freely.

But I guessed it right.

At this time, Yin Shidan changed the subject: "However, I presume that your majesty and the cabinet's intentions are more than just this."

Zhu Yijun showed interest and looked at him encouragingly.

Yin Shidan said confidently: "The central government used the Kaizhong Law to re-print salt permits...but they were unwilling to follow the old system and delegated the power of printing to the Salt Administration Office and various transportation offices."

"I think your majesty is interested in making a great contribution to the salt permit."

Zhu Yijun did not comment.

He noticed that this Lord Yin was a bit arrogant and liked to show off.

It's no wonder. After all, he is a leading figure in the literary world who is as famous as the Seven Masters of the Early and Later Dynasties. It is normal for a scholar to have some serious problems.

In this case, he naturally has to show his support and accommodate the elderly.

He showed a look of surprise, and immediately ordered the eunuch Wei Chao beside him: "Quick! Give Yin Qing a seat."

He turned back and urged Yin Shidan: "Yin Qing, please continue."

Yin Shidan was very pleased. He bowed in thanks and sat down leisurely.

Then he met the emperor's gaze and said word by word, "Your Majesty, do you want to use the salt vouchers to make plans for the treasure notes?"

Zhu Yijun immediately stood up and said excitedly: "Yin Qing is indeed a great talent!"

This look was partly fake, but there was also some genuine surprise in it.

Just as Yin Shidan expected, he was planning to do so.

Credit currency is the path that must be taken for the advancement of the times.

It’s a pity that Taizu’s Baochao failed so completely. A credit currency without a credit anchor is just waste paper.

Salt, as a hard commodity that is circulated throughout the world, naturally qualifies as an anchor.

As long as every salt voucher can be exchanged for a corresponding amount of salt, the salt voucher will be the prototype of the next generation of Baochao - the name Baochao is too rotten, and it will definitely have to be renamed.

But whether it is called salt voucher or salt ticket, it is essentially credit currency.

Now it can only be exchanged for salt, but if one day this thing can be used to offset taxes, it will no longer be limited to salt taxes.

This is also a pilot to some extent.

He also wanted to issue credit currency directly and achieve his goal in one step, but he had no silver mines and was burdened with the bad reputation of Baochao.

If they really did this, they were afraid that the Ming Dynasty would not die fast enough.

The current situation has its pros and cons, but at least it can be controlled flexibly - it is better than handing over the right to mint coins to Spain or the private sector.

Once we have gained experience, the Japanese mines will be almost open. Then we can move on to issuing credit currency anchored by gold or silver, which will be a way of moving forward at the same time without delaying either.

It is precisely because of this that the salt permits, which concern the future right to mint coins, were the reasons why both the inner court and the Ministry of Revenue were unwilling to give in and wanted to be responsible for printing the salt permits.

Sometimes I also hate the Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang for being too sensitive about these things.

When Yin Shidan heard the emperor's compliment, he felt as refreshed as drinking ice in summer.

He said excitedly, "In that case, I have a proposal for your majesty." Zhu Yijun smiled and stretched out his hand, "Mr. Yin, please speak."

This means that they are negotiating conditions and are unwilling to take the position if the treatment is not good.

Zhu Yijun was also happy to see this link, as it created a good atmosphere for political consultation.

Yin Shidan thought about it, and simply stood up and walked to the center, standing in a position where the emperor and his ministers could dialogue and the picture was the most harmonious.

He bowed respectfully and said, "First, to prevent counterfeiting by the public, salt permits should be renewed every five years, and the salt should be replaced uniformly, and expired salt permits should be abolished."

Since the emperor wants to use it as treasure paper, the salt vouchers can only be bearer.

If it is anonymous, it must be prevented from being forged.

Otherwise, if something went wrong and the Salt Administration collapsed, he would be to blame.

As for the other means - that's the craftsman's business, he doesn't need to consider them.

From a big picture perspective, timely updates and replacements, and getting rid of the past, are the top priority.

Zhu Yijun nodded, gave him an earnest look, and motioned him to continue.

This attitude means agreement.

Yin Shidan maintained his salute posture and did not stand up: "Secondly, I dare to give the right to sell salt to the Salt Administration Office alone."

"If anyone fails to lead to the production of salt, I will be executed!"

He was also scared.

The issuance of treasure notes was unbridled, and the salt permits before that were also rampant.

What if someone again tries to quench thirst with poison and just make a quick buck, then what will become of Yin Shidan?

If there was any possibility, he did not want to bring up anything unpleasant when he met the emperor for the first time.

However, since I have accepted this task, I have to consider the risks.

Only when he has the salt in his own hands and issues as many salt permits as possible can he get things done.

The matter was of great importance, and just when Yin Shidan thought he would have to spend some more time talking.

To his surprise, the emperor readily agreed: "This is what the question implies."

"The salt permits printed by the central government each year will correspond to the amount of salt tax and will only be sold by the Salt Administration Office. The central government will never issue salt permits again."

In the initial stage, the most important thing is to build confidence.

Other financial purposes take a back seat.

Yin Shidan breathed a sigh of relief.

The tone of his next words was much more relaxed: "Third, the salt tax offices in Haibei, Sichuan, Yunnan, etc. are too high and too far to transport salt."

"Your Majesty, please allow me to sell salt on the spot."

The salt used in the Zhongfa Salt Processing Project was from Lianghuai and Liangzhe, with Shandong added at most because of the convenient water transportation.

As for further away, we have to adapt to local conditions.

I’m afraid the emperor will give blind orders.

Zhu Yijun nodded without saying anything and said, "Yes."

Geographical resource endowment is what we cannot ignore today. If we think too far ahead, it is more likely to cause harm.

Take Sichuan for example. Due to the geographical conditions, the only way to produce salt is to trade in the local area. This has been the case for hundreds of years.

Even in his previous life, he was still called Bayan, or Yanba. It had become a habit and there was a reason for it.

Yin Shidan finished speaking his proposal, or the conditions for taking office, in one breath, and everything went surprisingly smoothly, and his evaluation of the emperor became much higher.

Then he hesitated, wondering whether he should ask the last question at this time.

Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Zhu Yijun curled his lips and asked, "What else do you want to say? Just speak frankly!"

Yin Shidan quickly shook his head: "Your Majesty, it's not that I have any concerns, but... there is one more thing that I need your Majesty to explain clearly."

Zhu Yijun nodded: "Just say it."

Yin Shidan pondered for a while, carefully considering his words, and then slowly said, "Your Majesty, should the salt trade in Lianghuai be adapted to local conditions?"

He could more or less guess that the central government now intended to split up Nanzhili - at least, to downgrade it to a province.

Otherwise, the Salt Administration Office would not have been set up in Shandong to suppress the Lianghuai Salt Tax Transport Office.

I just don't know how much effort he will put in.

Zhu Yijun turned his head and looked at Yin Shidan who spoke in a cautious tone.

I couldn't help but sigh in my heart.

As expected of the former Grand Secretary, he has a very insightful mind.

Since the question has come to this, he did not hide it and said frankly: "Of course, we have to adapt to local conditions. The salt in Lianghuai, Yingtian Prefecture and Fengyang Prefecture, whether it is geography, water transportation, or Huizhou merchants, each has its own situation. You can decide for yourself."

Administrative divisions, in addition to simple and crude map demarcations, also include economic differentiation as an indispensable part.

Yin Shidan understood what he meant and bowed silently in response.

Afterwards, the emperor and his minister discussed matters such as the location of the government office, staffing, operating expenses, etc.

These things are relatively unimportant. They are necessary ways for the ruler and his subjects to understand each other.

After finishing the serious business, the atmosphere became relatively relaxed.

Speaking of Yin Shidan's lectures to the previous emperor, Zhu Yijun also took the initiative to ask about some key points of "The Great Learning" and "Essentials of Zhenguan Administration".

When the atmosphere was tense, Yin Shidan composed a poem on the spot and presented it to the emperor. The emperor praised the poem highly, saying that it embodied the elegance of Qi and Lu, the tragic grandeur of Yan and Zhao, and the gracefulness of Wu and Yue.

Let Yin Shidan’s old face bloom like a daisy.

It was a pity that the emperor did not give him a poem as he had imagined, which made him feel a little regretful.

It seems that the previous poem was not written by the emperor himself.

Just when the two were having a pleasant conversation.

Zhang Hong walked in from the east side hall of Wenhua Hall.

Yin Shidan had sharp eyes and when he saw his hands hidden in his sleeves, he knew that it was something important.

After Zhang Hong came in, he stood directly beside the emperor without saying a word.

Yin Shidan immediately understood and stood up to leave.

Zhu Yijun gave him a few words of gentle encouragement and asked Wei Chao, the eunuch in charge of writing in the Imperial Household Department, to see him off.

Only after Yin Shidan left did Zhu Yijun look at Zhang Hong, stretch himself, stand up and say, "Tell me, what's the matter?"

Since Zhang Hong didn't report it directly, it's not an urgent matter.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Hong knelt respectfully on the ground and took out a red-stamped memorial from his sleeve: "Your Majesty, this is the memorial from the Ministry of Rites."

"The Ministry of Rites said, 'The laws established by our ancestors cannot be changed lightly.' Please think twice, Your Majesty."

It sounds nice, but in fact it is just blocking it back.

Zhu Yijun remained silent.

He did not even take the memorial from Zhang Hong's hand.

He naturally knew the content.

This was previously discussed with the Cabinet, and included matters such as lifting the ban on business for royal family members and extending titles to noble families.

These are all matters concerning Huguang, and the follow-up preparations - the matters concerning Huguang will naturally not be resolved by just killing people. Many members of the royal family have killed officials and civilians over the years. If the source is not resolved, there will be countless Zhang Chucheng in the future.

Take the Chu vassal state as an example.

Historically, in the 32nd year of the Wanli reign, Zhu Yunqin, a vassal of Chu, robbed 20,000 taels of silver that were presented to the imperial court.

Zhao Kehuai, the governor of Huguang, immediately arrested 32 suspects.

Subsequently, on the fifth day of the ninth month of the intercalary year, more than three thousand clan members broke into the governor's office with weapons, stripped the deputy envoys Zhou Yingzhi and Dou Zizhen, and molested and beat them.

And he beat Governor Zhao Kehuai to death on the spot!

Even after the soldiers surrounded the city, "the evildoers still besieged the governor's office, trying to rob the treasury, and roamed the city, looting at will."

It is clear how lawless they are that the royal family has become.

Therefore, Zhang Chucheng’s case is not just about Zhang Chucheng, and the problem of the Huguang royal family does not only involve the Huguang royal family.

More importantly, the royal family should stop keeping these weirdos.

After the imperial envoy went to Huguang, Zhu Yijun had already discussed with Zhang Juzheng, Gao Yi and others in the cabinet how to reform the royal family afterwards.

It was precisely because he understood that the reform of the royal family system would easily touch the sensitive muscles of some people that Zhu Yijun presented poems to the first and second ministers to seek support.

But I didn't expect that it is now stuck in the Ministry of Rites.

The laws of our ancestors cannot be changed?
There are certainly quite a few such people in the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Clan Court.

But more likely, he just wants to oppose me?

It seems that Zhang Siwei is very dissatisfied with me... Zhu Yijun couldn't help but smile.

He looked at Zhang Hong and suddenly asked something that was completely unrelated: "Jiang Keqian came back yesterday, right?"

Zhang Hong lowered his eyebrows and said: "I returned to Beijing last night."

Zhu Yijun seemed to be thinking: "He is a fast horse, so of course he is faster. If he goes through the post station normally, when will the news reach the capital?"

Zhang Hong thought for a moment and said, "Shanxi is close after all. We'll probably get the news in two or three days."

Zhu Yijun said "oh".

He took the memorial, glanced at it, and placed it on the imperial desk. He instructed Zhang Hong, "Go and tell Mr. Yuan Fuhe that... let them nominate Zhang Siwei to join the cabinet. I will agree this time."

The Ministry of Rites was not an important position, so it would be okay to let Zhang Siwei stay there for a while longer.

Unfortunately, now that we have to touch the royal family, if the Ministry of Rites refuses to cooperate, that won’t work.

　There are books on the same subject and by the same group of authors. If you are interested, you can take a look (I haven’t read them, but readers who have read them can tell me about it). It’s just one step away from Sanjiang.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)