Chapter 351 There are no nobles in the Ming Dynasty
Sun Kehong’s meaning is very clear. The court will not allow the grain of the Ming Dynasty to go to the sea, but it will allow overseas grain to be transported to the Japanese country and be exchanged for silver, and continue to seek huge profits. Sun Kehong sees this from the imperial edict Very clear.
Then what are these businessmen crying and howling when they come to his house? I cried that the imperial court refused to let them strip the common people of their rations in exchange for silver. They cried that it would be more troublesome to search for food overseas. I cried that the imperial court controlled it so leniently and quickly. The emperor banned this business before it was stable. .
What if a simple injunction is enough, but what if it is accompanied by an order to sue the person for confiscation of assets? This paper ban is not a blank piece of paper, but it has great effectiveness.
“Overseas, is it easy to say? The sea is very windy and rough, and there are frequent pirates. If you are not careful, the ship will be destroyed and people will be killed. Even if you barely reach the shore, you will have to be exploited by various small foreign countries. Is there any profit at all?" A merchant still felt dissatisfied and shouted loudly.
Sun Kehong tilted his head and looked at the man, and said with a sneer: "This is Songjiang Ocean Trading Company. You, me and him are all maritime merchants. This is not a newspaper poster or a yamen court. Do you need to pretend to be pitiful? Nowadays, seagoing ships are just like flopping in a bathhouse. Are you questioning the quality of the ships at Songjiang Shipyard? "
"And this? As for the pirates, your ship ran out of the Strait of Malacca and went to the east of Nagasaki before the pirates appeared. Are there really pirates in the Dagang? Do you think the Ming navy is as fat as you? , Nothing can be done?!”
“The small country of Panyi will show off its power and want to break into other people’s palaces and rob them all. Tell me, what’s wrong with you? The small country of Yi is exploiting, have you ever paid a tax of one cent to the small country of Fanyi? You don’t want to pay this to the Ming Dynasty!”
“Don’t fart in front of me!”
Sun Kehong's words were very, very rude. When he faced Ming officials such as Wang Daokun, Guo Rulin, Zhao Shizhen, etc., he was always cautious and courteous. How can I stand firm?
"Mr. Sun, what you said means that you are standing with the imperial court. You are the chief merchant of our merchants!" The merchant was scolded in the face and immediately retorted loudly. Everyone is a merchant. How could Sun Kehong, the business manager, speak for the court? Instead of reacting to the court's tyranny, he allowed them, businessmen, to adapt? !
Sun Kehong slammed the table, pointed at the man's nose, and said sternly: "I, the merchant, were appointed by the court, not you!"
"Speak for you. ? ! How can I speak for you? Why did the court issue this order? I said over and over again: I have to pay taxes. My family even pays taxes for the boat business. How about you? There are so many things to do about paying taxes!”
“Draw six out of 100 values! You are all a bunch of bastards, you have to increase the tax to three or five out of ten. Give up? "
"You are using tricks to evade taxes, and you are hurting the interests of me, a tax-paying merchant! I will prepare an account and send it to the Songjiang Prefecture Yamen. I will give it to you first. A windfall!"
After saying this, Sun Kehong was stunned. The more he thought about it, the more he thought it was a good idea. He turned to his boss and said, "Sun Sheng, go right away and bring it with you tomorrow. Let’s go to the Songjiang Mansion Yamen to report the case. This windfall will be ours!”
“What are you looking at! Get out of here and go home to collect money to pay the fine!”
Sun Kehong told all the merchants to get out. They'd better make up the tax. It doesn't matter if they don't. The imperial tax inspection institute will investigate on their own. As for whether they offended these merchants, everyone is a maritime merchant. There is already a conflict of interests, and they have already offended each other. Just laughing on the surface does not mean they are friends.
"Big boss, do you really want to sort it out?" Sun Sheng waited until the merchants left and said with an embarrassed look: "Are we going to be the target of public criticism?"
" "The one who was the target of public criticism?" Sun Kehong's expression suddenly changed, his whole person became full of anger, and even his facial features were a little distorted. He ferociously patted his wasted leg and said through gritted teeth, "So what if he was the target of public criticism?" The day Xu Jie broke my leg because of some cloth business, didn’t they just follow Xu Jie to pursue and beat my old Sun family? At that time, weren’t we, the old Sun family, the target of public criticism? "
"I, Sun Kehong, have gained power today, and I will not let them have an easy day!"
Sun Kehong's temperament changed drastically because his leg was crippled by Xu Jie, and he became extremely angry if he said the slightest mistake. , Sun Sheng heard Sun Kehong's anger, and thought about the situation in his family back then. Indeed, their old Sun family was already the target of public criticism at that time, and it became even more so after they surrendered to the imperial court.
"Big boss, I'll do it right now." Sun Sheng stopped trying to persuade him and they all ate in the same trough, eating more when they kicked others.
“That’s right!” Sun Kehong’s expression gradually became normal. After taking a sip of tea, he began to miss the time when Sun Keyi was still around. When his younger brother was around, Sun Kehong’s mood would be even stronger. It's more stable because there are people taking the lead.
The next day, at dawn, Sun Kehong did not run to the Songjiang Prefecture Yamen with his account books. Instead, the Songjiang Prefecture Yamen rushed to Sun Mansion with more than a thousand naval officers and soldiers, which is the backbone of Songjiang Prefecture. , seemed stable, but the undercurrent was strong. Sun Kehong was worried that it would not be safe if he went out with the account book, so he asked Songjiang Governor Wang Daokun to pick it up.
As soon as Wang Daokun heard that he had made great achievements, he immediately rushed to the Sun Mansion with his people and successfully obtained the account book.
All the merchants who were watching, and even those who were planning to do something, could only lament. Behind Sun Kehong's seemingly arrogance, he was extremely cautious and did not give anyone any chance.
Songjiang Prefecture New Port is the city shipping company with the largest throughput in the Ming Dynasty. More than a thousand three-masted plywood ships enter and exit the city shipping company every day. For other city shipping companies, the maximum number is 120 ships a day. There are many, still Bosiyue Port in Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province.
Songjiang Ocean Trading Company is the largest trading bank in Songjiang. The account books in their hands contain details of the distribution of goods in the Ming Dynasty. With such account books, they will not be afraid of tax losses.
"General Sun Shang is loyal to His Majesty and embodies the excitement of the imperial court. He is the home of hairpins, rituals, music, poetry and calligraphy. It is as it should be, so there is no need to be formal." Wang Daokun signaled to Sun Kehong that he did not need to attend the ceremony. He was inconvenienced and did not need to do so much. Red tape.
Sun Kehong, a businessman, actually ordered the governor of Songjiang to run back and forth. This was a violation of the rules. In the Ming Dynasty, the most powerful officials were the most powerful.
Of course Tiantian has such great achievements, Wang Daokun is willing to keep running!
"Thank you, Governor Wang." Sun Kehong finally got up without struggling anymore. Since the emperor gave the hairpin to the home of ritual music, poetry and calligraphy, he finally no longer had to lie on the ground in embarrassment to meet the official. At least he can maintain his dignity, and the court officials are willing to give him dignity.
Wang Daokun said with great satisfaction: "In the past, the court had no choice but to collect taxes. Tax collection could only be done by the tax collection agency. We, the coastal defense inspectors, did not have the authority to recover arrears, call for payment, audit, and investigate. It was somewhat passive, but now it's better. The Tax Inspection Institute has finally expanded, and our coastal defense inspections finally have a place to use."
"Since Yu Shuai established the navy and coastal defense inspections in Songjiang, I have always been worried that the navy and patrol inspections are not a long-term solution. After all, for the court, this is a place to spend money, but the benefits are general, broad and not specific. Now it’s better, coastal defense patrols If we can really reduce the tax loss of the court, it is necessary to exist for a long time."
Sun Kehong said with a smile on his face: "Governor Wang, the coastal defense inspectors were also in trouble before, this sea. Taxes are the most difficult to audit, and coastal defense inspections have no authority. Anyway, our family follows the rules and never lacks taxes.”
The Sun family not only does not steal, leak, or avoid court taxes, but occasionally earns too much. , conscience was disturbed, and he took out the money and donated it to the maritime school and the shipyard. Regardless of such a big label as loyalty to the emperor and the country, the Sun family contributed to the imperial court, and the return was extremely huge.
The boat painting business is enough for the Sun family.
The Seventh Year of Wanli's New Deal, the expansion of the Taxation Bureau, and the trend of comprehensive investigation and pursuit of customs tax arrears first started in Songjiang Prefecture. At this time, the administrative power of the court was far stronger than during the Jiajing period. A strong wind blew across Songjiang, Nanya, Fujian, and Guangdong and Guangxi.
On the tenth day of February in the seventh year of Wanli, the Songjiang Prefecture Tax Office began to issue tax reminders. This means that the accounts have been completely settled. Who owes how much, how much should be paid, and how much should be fined. There is already an accounting book , the court's debt collection officially began.
On this day, a five-masted ocean-going ship came from the direction of Yuegang and slowly approached the new port. Guided by the barge, it slowly docked. The flag hung by this ship was not the seven-star flag of the Ming Dynasty. It is not the red cross of the West, but the lion and sun emblem.
Wang Daokun did not expect that the fleet of the Mughal Empire, which had left in August last year, would return to Songjiang Prefecture again in February this year, completing a round trip in just six months. , the Ming Dynasty is still in progress in clearing out the pirates on Wanli Seawall. The sea route is not smooth along the way.
Of course, in front of the five-masted ocean-going ship, the idle pirates must also consider whether they can eat it, instead of being bombarded to pieces by the cannons on the ship's side. The giant beast of the ocean not only has a strong ability to resist risks, but is also armed to the teeth with firearms.
The man who led the fleet this time was still Shah Maimaiti. The big customer Shah Maimaiti who added 50,000 silver to each ship and bought two ships returned to the Ming Dynasty again. , this time, he brought nearly three million silver in cash and more than two million silver in goods, including cotton and grain, which were specialties of the Mughal Empire and sold well in Central Asia.
Shah Maimaiti purchased a large number of Taiyue grain boxes specifically for grain trafficking.
“These are four big food horses from Yuewan. They are hard-working and have endurance. Such handsome horses are given to the Ming Emperor as a gift. His great, wise and supreme Emperor will definitely like them. ." Shah Maimaiti introduced the four horses behind him.
This was a gift from Emperor Akbar to the Ming Emperor. He thanked the Ming Emperor for his generosity and sold him two large ships, allowing him to save some face in front of the increasingly pressing Taixi people.
Shah Maimaiti focused on two horses. One was maroon, with a touch of snow-white between its brows. It was tall and mighty, with extremely developed tendons. It looked like it was good at running, while the other was. The eyes are wide apart, sharp and sharp, standing on the same spot, scanning constantly, with a look of disdain.
Shah Maimaiti said with a smile: "This one is called Feiyi. It runs much faster than other horses, and this one is called Shengjian. It is extremely fierce on the battlefield, even more powerful than a sword." A bit sharp, these four horses can be called thousand-mile horses in the Ming Dynasty."
A good general assists the master of the Ming Dynasty, and a BMW matches the hero.
Shah Maimaiti knew that the Ming Emperor practiced martial arts and was very good at martial arts, so he gave him four horses as a gift.
"Do the Mughals have many horses?" Wang Daokun looked at the four horses with a solemn expression. Recently, the Ming Gongs of the Wenhua Palace have been having a headache over the source of the horses. The Tatars do not want to sell them. , there is no way in the Western Regions, and the Ming Dynasty has no channels to obtain military horses except military horse farms. This is an important obstacle to the formation of the Ming Dynasty cavalry.
And now, Shah Maimaiti is coming with his BMW!
“I am very happy to hear the word Mughal from the mouth of Ming officials. As you said, if the Mughals don’t have horses, are they still Mughals?” Shahamai Maiti said with a smile on his face.
Last time, when he was consecrating in the Wenhua Hall, he asked this question specifically. The Ministry of Rites clearly knew the origin of the Mughal Empire and insisted on translating it into Mughal. This attracted the attention of Shah Maimaiti. Very dissatisfied, although His Majesty tried to excuse it by saying that Ming Dynasty had its own national conditions.
The Ming Dynasty would not be happy if someone else said that the ancestors of the Han people were the Huns. Just like the Ministry of Rites repeatedly corrected Shah Maimaiti, the Ming Dynasty was the Ming Dynasty, not the Khitan.
Now, the Ming Dynasty finally corrected this translation error, which made Shah Maimaiti very happy, and he threw coins when he was happy.
"Take it for tea." Shah Maimaiti took out a bag of silver coins and handed it to a clerk from the Shibo Department. After weighing it a little, he found that there were at least more than fifty silver coins!
The clerk refused to take it, so Shah Maimaiti smiled and said: "My boat is in your hands. You help me keep an eye on it and clean it. I hope that when I see it again, it will still be there." It's as beautiful as before."
Wang Daokun nodded, and then the clerk accepted the silver coins and led people to clean Shah Maimaiti's boat. "Governor Wang, take this for tea." Shah Maimaiti took out a bag of gold coins from his belt and handed it over.
"I can't take it. If I take it, I will be bribed. Shah's envoy, please come inside." Wang Daokun refused to accept the gold coins and took Shah Maimaitu off the trestle.
Shah Maimaiti was really very happy. This time, every time he saw someone, he threw out a bag of silver coins, some with more than fifty taels, some with as little as ten. He had two more denarii, and he had two servants, and they were full of bags.
"Is this your custom and etiquette?" Wang Daokun asked with a frown. This was really the first time he had seen such a strange etiquette.
“That’s not true, I just came to Daming again and I was in a good mood.” Shah Maimaiti didn’t know what Wang Daokun said at first, until someone else reminded him, Shah Maimaiti It suddenly dawned on me that the problem was cultural differences.
Shaamaimaiti said solemnly: "Governor Wang, I stayed in Ming Dynasty for more than a year before I met the supreme lord of the world. This year, I was most shocked. The thing is, there are no aristocrats in Ming Dynasty. As the highest king of Ming Dynasty, the emperor of Ming Dynasty lived a slightly extravagant life, but he was criticized verbally and written by his ministers. Is this unreasonable at all? "
"There are no aristocrats in Ming Dynasty, princes. A general or a minister cannot do whatever he wants. Even if he is the prime minister of the empire, if his family commits a crime, he will become a target for everyone. "
What is a noble? The nobles are capable of killing and seizing everything, and they are omnipotent! What is nobility? He is the one who sets the rules and can ignore them.
A noble had to face punishment for killing someone, and even the emperor would pay the price with his life if he refused to forgive. In their Mughal empire, a noble would kill someone, but the other party would not come to apologize, and the noble would continue to do so. Keep chasing and killing, this is the nobility, this is the strict hierarchy.
In the Mughal Empire, which implemented the four-class system, nobles were the real nobles, and the nobles of the Ming Dynasty also had to follow the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
Shah Maimaiti was a master of the Ming Dynasty. During the year of the Ming Dynasty, he survived the catastrophe of life and death. He was very curious about the Ming Dynasty. From his understanding, there were no real nobles in the Ming Dynasty, only carnivores.
For example, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, and his son-in-law Ouyang Lun, were beheaded by Emperor Gao, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, because they were greedy for huge profits, indulged in the domestic slave Zhou Bao, and beat up the tax collector of the Heqiao Division of Lantian County. For example, Yang Shiqi, the prime minister during the Zhengtong period, was finally dismissed from office because his son Yang Ji was arrogant and committed violent murders.
Shah Maimaiti did not think that there were nobles in the Ming Dynasty, they were just meat eaters.
After thinking for a while, Wang Daokun shook his head and said, "Envoy Shah was joking. It won't be a year before Envoy Shah comes to Beijing again this time."
Shah Maimai After resting in Songjiang Prefecture for three days, Ti boarded the Ming Dynasty's new trimaran hydrofoil sailboat and started heading north. This is a new type of hydrofoil sailboat. It is about three feet long and has three masts. It is an improved version of the painted sailboat. The boat speed is Slightly lower, but the comfort has been greatly improved. The boat speed is slightly lower compared to the hydrofoil sailboat. The trimaran hydrofoil sailboat still only took three days to reach Mizhou, Shandong.
Five days later, Shah Maimaiti’s envoy arrived in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
Sanniangzi stayed in the capital for a month. She was mainly in the capital to discuss various details of the wool business. Sanniangzi was also very aware of the lack of horses in the Ming Dynasty. Although Wang Chonggu expressed some euphemisms that made her The lady had the idea of playing some more role, but the third lady thought about it and finally did not take the initiative more.
There is an essential difference between the capitulation faction and the peace negotiation faction. Sanniangzi is not convinced. After she became a capitulation faction, several people still supported her.
When Shah Maimaiti checked into the Siyi Pavilion, he made some noise, letting everyone in the capital know that he, Shah Maimaiti, was back.
Shah Maimaiti threw his money bag around when he was happy, and by chance, it happened to be thrown on Cai Jixun, a Han Shaoqing from the Seyi Palace, and this Han Shaoqing Cai Jixun happened to be a The real Qingliu is the kind of Qingliu who would rather die than accept the food that comes. Shah Maimaiti threw the bag of silver over, and Cai Jixun became furious on the spot and walked away.
Everyone in Shah Maimaiti was dumbfounded. This was the cultural difference. After understanding the reason, Shah Maimaiti no longer dared to throw away money to people in official robes. No matter what, Shah Maimaiti I didn't expect that there are people who really don't like silver.
This incident caused quite a stir, mainly due to Cai Jixun himself, who was at the forefront of the storm. He was opposing the imperial court's intensification of tax collection, and Zhang Juzheng's decree to expand the Tax Institute and inform him. And there was a lot of noise.
Most of the Qingliu still supported Cai Jixun. The Emperor of Ming Dynasty also specially observed Cai Jixun. He was a Han Shaoqing from the fifth rank of Siyi Palace and was extremely knowledgeable. In addition to being a Jinshi in the 44th year of Jiajing, Working in the Siyi Hall, he is proficient in Tatar, Xifan Tibetan, Indian Sanskrit, Hui Hui, Baiyi, Gaochang and Latin.
Cai Jixun was not short of money, and he was not willing to be poor. He translated several Thai and Western scripts and made a lot of money at the book club.
The logic of Cai Jixun's anger is that a gentleman loves money and gets it in a wise way. A gentleman will not eat what comes when he comes.
His political tendency is to support the Ming Dynasty to open the sea, and to open the sea with all its strength, but he Opposed to amassing profits, this is why he opposed Zhang Juzheng's two new policies this time.
The reason is very simple. Cai Jixun believes that excessive accumulation of profits is a great harm to the country, especially the continuous increase in tax collection, because the Ming Dynasty has a right-wing tax collection, and these taxes found out, In various forms, it will inevitably become a knife for stripping the people. The Ming Dynasty's gains from amassing profits will not cause any losses to the meat-eaters. They will put all the costs on the heads of the people.
Cai Jixun's point of view was recognized by many people. Shah Maimaiti happened to bump into him, and the matter immediately became an uproar.
On February 15th of the seventh year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun summoned Cai Jixun in the side hall of Wenhua Palace, which made countless people happy! The fact that His Majesty is willing to meet the courtiers makes some humble scholars gnash their teeth with hatred, because being announced means being scolded, and makes some people with lofty ideals rejoice, because this means that His Majesty is always open to all rivers and accepts good words.
"I pay homage to your Majesty, long live your Majesty, long live your Majesty." Cai Jixun knelt on the ground and bowed his head.
"Cai Shaoqing excuses himself." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "I read Cai Shaoqing's article in the newspaper. What Cai Shaoqing said is excellent and makes sense."
Cai Jixun glanced at Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Juzheng The rule is to observe with eyes, nose and heart, without any excessive changes in facial expressions.
In the eyes of different people, Zhang Juzheng looks different. At least in the eyes of Cai Jixun, Zhang Juzheng is Huo Guang, Wang Mang, or Dong Zhuo. Before His Majesty, he thought Zhang Juzheng would stand by the emperor's side. The emperor could not speak and Zhang Juzheng presided over everything.
After entering the palace, Cai Jixun found that this was not the case. Zhang Juzheng had no intention of interfering with His Majesty. Your Majesty agreed with Cai Jixun's views, and Zhang Juzheng remained silent and did not make any comments.
This means that His Majesty is in charge, not Taifu Yuanfu.
“Your Majesty, I believe that opening up Haizi is a national event, communicating what is needed at home and abroad, learning from hundreds of schools of thought to reach far, promoting culture and education, stabilizing the country, and promoting the rise and fall of all nations in ancient and modern times. The reason for prosperity and destruction is to let Heaven rule." Cai Jixun reiterated his point of view.
His support for opening up the sea is to support cultural exchanges, to eliminate the essentials and absorb the missing elements of Ming culture, so as to lay the foundation for the prosperity of culture and education and educate all peoples. The prosperity of culture and education is the foundation for the rise and fall of all nations in ancient and modern times. , instead of focusing all your attention on silver, this is to ignore the fundamentals and pursue the inferior.
"Does Cai Shaoqing know how much money the imperial court spent on military affairs last year?" Zhu Yijun did not refute, but asked a question.
"I don't know..." Cai Jixun was stunned, bowed his head and said, if you know it, you know it, if you don't know it, you don't know it. He has never paid attention to the cost of military affairs in the Ming Dynasty, so naturally he cannot discuss it.
Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "Last year, the army issued 9.28 million silver."
"Ah?" Cai Jixun frowned. He knew a lot, but he never expected that there would be so many. It was also thanks to the Ming Dynasty that the court was now rich. Otherwise, it would be difficult to afford the military service alone and would have to owe wages.
"Does Cai Shaoqing know that last year the imperial court only paid how much civil and military officials in the world?" Zhu Yijun asked another question.
"I don't know." Cai Jixun bowed his head again, already a little ashamed.
"Four.32 million silver." Zhu Yijun told Cai Jixun that it was very, very expensive to maintain the normal operation of the court, and the expenditure of these silvers related to the strength of the Ming Dynasty's administrative power. They claim to govern by doing nothing, but what can they do if they have no money?
Zhu Yijun said with sincerity: "Cai Shaoqing, as the saying goes, you don't know that firewood, rice, oil and salt are expensive when you are not a family member. I am the master of Yuanfu. When I open my eyes, there are two places where I want money. I want money here. Money is also needed there. "
"The soldiers have to fight for their pay if they don't get it. The officials in the capital have to go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to complain if they don't get their salary. The local officials don't get their salary, so they join in the trouble with the local gentry. , to make a living on their own.”
“The Ministry of Industry has no money, and it can’t even build the imperial mausoleum. The palace has collapsed, and there is no money to build it. Isn’t this also the face of the imperial court? When asking about internal funds, even if you don’t have money, you have to ask the household department to beg for food. Everyone is so poor that they can’t get anything.” What can Yuan Fu do if he wants money? "
"What do Cai Shaoqing think?"
Cai Jixun was stunned for a moment, and he thought about a question, what could he do if he was Yuan Fu? There seems to be no solution at all, because in his view, culture and education are the reasons for the rise and fall of all nations in ancient and modern times, and culture and education also require money! And it costs a lot of money!
"I don't know." Cai Jixun thought for a long time, but could not find a suitable answer to how to maintain the normal operation of the court without amassing profits.
Zhu Yijun sighed and said: "Cai Shaoqing, the court can't do anything without money. Who still believes in the court that can't do anything? When the court's decree arrives, it is like a piece of waste paper, which covers the luxury Aren't the gentry and the gentry more free to do whatever they want? The imperial court obstructs them in every possible way, but their swords against the common people are still so sharp that the imperial court cannot stop them."
"Cai Shaoqing, the world is trapped in annexation? , should be savored carefully.”
Ask for a monthly ticket, Wow! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
(End of this chapter)