Chapter 469 In a world of great strife, the strong will become stronger, and the weak will perish!
Wang Chonggu opposed the inclusion of speculation in the criminal list. He did not oppose it without reason, nor did he stand in a right-wing position to defend those Shanxi merchants who manipulated ticket prices, but based on practical considerations.
Wang Chonggu looked at His Majesty's face and whispered: "Your Majesty, this kind of news, true or false, has never been uncommon. Three people become tigers and everyone talks about gold. Many times, rumors spread. It may also be some idle people who talk nonsense. The more they are spread by word of mouth, the more evil they become. Rumors only need wise people to distinguish right from wrong and determine the authenticity. It is the speculators who need to judge whether the news is true or false. "
Speculation is whether speculation is true or false.
It is difficult to trace. Even if the law is formulated, how to implement it is still a problem.
What is a rumor, what is intentional noise, and how to define it? The trading house itself is filled with all kinds of true and false news.
Don’t the speculators who participate in the game in the trading house think that they must be smarter than others and be able to distinguish between true and false and then make profits?
The trading house is a besieged city. When you stand outside, you will see it very clearly. Once you enter, you will lose your rationality. People who enter the game want to get out, but the sunk costs keep them trapped. Unable to extricate myself.
If manipulating ticket prices is a criminal offense, it is not just an administrative penalty, then who will be willing to enter the market? The trading house's new policy was a complete failure.
"Your Majesty, take this time the dealer manipulated Chidao Tickets as an example. This time they continued to manipulate for fifteen days before it became known to everyone. If fifteen days were changed into It lasts for three months, and then slowly eats in and spits out bit by bit. This is the second question I am worried about, how to define normal trading and manipulation of tickets." Wang Chonggu said his second question. worry.
Because of the difficulty in defining it, this crime can easily become a bunch of crimes. The most feared criminal name is such a vague definition and unclear words. The harm is that the handling officials are indiscriminate and rely on this crime for everything. In the end, this provision will be because of Over-enforced, it gradually turns into a sleeper clause.
This happened more than once in Ming Dynasty.
Wang Chonggu said with a strange expression: "I am stupid, let alone go to Suiyuan to build the Chi Road, even if the guillotine is put on their necks, I guess they should do it right. Some time ago, the Ming Dynasty attacked Bansheng. There are still Baishi Tongfan. Sometimes, when you are in a trading situation and face countless idiots, it is difficult not to take action. It is like when the crops are ripe and the court says they cannot be harvested, how can the people endure it? What?”
“A very specific metaphor.” Zhu Yijun agreed with Wang Chonggu’s words. He is a farmer. When the wheat is ripe, it must be cut. Even if the king of heaven comes, he can’t stop it. Stay! Seeing the wheat rotting in the field was worse than killing him.
The meaning of Wang Chonggu's words is also very clear. There are too many fools and not enough liars. How strong will do you have to resist cutting the leeks?
"If the punishment name is not enough, what do Wang Cifu think should be done?" Zhu Yijun wanted to know how Wang Chonggu could fill this gap. It was impossible without formulating rules. This was something the court fiddled with, and the court must draw it up. Come out and let people play under the rules.
Wang Chong said concisely and concisely in ancient words: "A fine."
"A fine?" Zhu Yijun's eyes lit up, he leaned forward and said, "Speak carefully."
>Wang Chonggu said quite accurately: "If the income is less than five thousand taels, the income will be confiscated and a fine of twice the amount will be imposed; if the income is from 5,000 to 10,000 taels, the income will be confiscated and the fine will be tripled; if the income exceeds 10,000 taels, the income will be confiscated and the fine will be tripled. If the amount is extremely large, a heavy fine will be imposed."
"Okay! That's what Wang Cifu said." Zhu Yijun finally adopted Wang Chonggu's opinion.
A trading house is a place for speculation. In a place of speculation, the gains from speculation must be confiscated and fined. What is the difference between this kind of behavior and taking off your pants and farting? If you want to rob, just say it outright. Is it necessary to make such a big detour?
The internal logic is anti-corruption, and its fundamental purpose is to prevent collusion between officials and businessmen.
Officials take advantage of their positions and status to always get more information than ordinary people. Once officials and merchants team up to make huge profits in trading houses, this is unfair to other people and violates the rules. He wrote the Ming Dynasty's "Constitutional Affairs".
The "Constitutional Affairs" is specifically used to regulate the behavior of officials, with a total of ninety-five articles. This is a typical example of using power for personal gain and is the focus of the court's anti-corruption campaign.
With the fluctuations in the trading houses, this private trading fair with thresholds, these bookmakers obviously have their own sources of information, accurately received the news in advance several times, and used the information to make huge profits. , at this time, there is no ambiguity in the definition. As long as there are officials involved, it is manipulation of tickets.
Penalty with multiple fines is applicable to the powerful, right-wing and wealthy businessmen in the private sector. The "Constitutional Matters" is applicable to officials and shall be dealt with according to corruption.
Zhu Yijun and Wang Chonggu had an in-depth communication about the multiple fines. After getting a satisfactory answer, Zhu Yijun asked Wang Chonggu to leave.
"Wang Cifu, stay, stay." Seeing that Wang Chonggu was going back to the Ministry of Justice, Lu Guangzu took two hurried steps and asked in a low voice: "Wang Cifu, is this matter over here?"
"Why, is it possible that Dali Qing wants to let Da Situ or Da Sikong leave his post?" Wang Chonggu frowned, raised his hands and said, "Dali Qing should not spend all day with those science and education officials. , The Ming Dynasty raised them just to let them find fault. We are all working, and we are not the same people as them.”
Kedao Yanguan is not a deformed product. On the contrary, they have always been the most important thing for the Ming Dynasty. An important force to correct mistakes, these officials of science and education can bite whoever catches them, but the six departments who do things cannot do like them.
"It's best to end here." Lu Guangzu was relieved when he heard Wang Chonggu say this.
“What do you mean?” Wang Chonggu looked at Lu Guangzu’s brows and asked, “Dali Qing means, is it me who started the public opinion criticizing Da Situ and Da Sikong this time? "
Lu Guangzu asked Wang Chonggu if it was over. This in itself is very strange. What does the whole thing have to do with him, Wang Chonggu? !
Lu Guangzu’s opinion is not his personal opinion, but perhaps the opinion of the entire capital. Wang Chonggu had a motive to do this. Wang Guangguang was a traitor to the Jin Party. Cleaning up the family was the first motive, and the second motive was It is the formulation of the rules of the trading house, so that the rules are beneficial to oneself from the beginning.
Wang Chonggu was irritable. He was already furious, but soon he calmed down because he discovered something that he had not noticed in the past. If Lu Guangzu hadn't asked, Wang Chonggu would not have thought about it. problem, his foundation has actually changed.
He suddenly discovered that his foundation had changed from the deep-rooted Jin Party in the past to a government-run group. The officials in the capital still looked at people with old eyes, thinking that he must be because of past grudges and grudges. He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to trouble Wang Guoguang, but Wang Chonggu knew very well that his motives were insufficient.
Official-factory alliances are more reliable than relying on clan parties. This discovery made Wang Chonggu ecstatic.
“It’s all just old sesame and rotten millet. It’s not worth mentioning. It’s really not me this time, but there are already ways to deal with it. These science and education officials can no longer bite the dust. Let it go, that's why I ended it here." Wang Chonggu explained, and didn't care whether Lu Guangzu believed it or not, he turned around and left, heading to the Penal Department Yamen.
In the gap between human nature and evil, finding the boundary between good and evil is a long-term contradiction, and it requires continuous adjustment of laws and regulations with the development of the times. It is never static.
Soon, Wang Chonggu completed the "Regulations on Trading Houses" and supplemented the "Constitutional Matters" to fill this legal gap, prohibiting manipulation and collusion between officials and businessmen. If he wants to act as an 'informed person', he will face punishments of different specifications such as confiscation of income, demotion, dismissal, deprivation of official status, exile, etc. Multiple fines are restricted to the public.
After filling in the blank, Ke Daoyan finally stopped.
Zhu Yijun got the second issue of "Xiaoyao Yiwen".
Ever since Lin Fucheng fought with the Confucian scholars in Taibai Tower without falling behind, the Songjiang School has gained a firm foothold in the Ming Dynasty Jingtang!
Wang Qian no longer embarrassed Lin Fucheng. Soon, "Xiaoyao Yiwen" discussed the limits of freedom. It does not violate public order and good customs, and does not violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty. This is the first element of the limits of freedom, otherwise freedom The school of thought has become an advocate of aiding the evil deeds and ruthlessly exploiting rationality from top to bottom.
Just like Zhu Yijun, as the emperor and the top meat eater in the Ming Dynasty, supported absolute freedom, then as the emperor he could rob it openly, and Mr. Huang could also kill Lin Fucheng in the street.
Liberal order, emphasizing individual freedom, is by no means disordered freedom, but carried out within a certain order framework.
Lin Fucheng’s definition of freedom is very clear: freedom from the will of others.
This definition is simple and clear, and even seems a bit vulgar, but Lin Fusheng defines it this way, because many times in order to make some definitions look elegant, too many comments make the definitions confusing, so it is not as good as Simple and clear explanation.
For a more convenient and intuitive understanding, Lin Fucheng in the second issue of "Xiaoyao Yiwen" described in detail the victory of slaveholding in Jiangnan. There were wealthy households who kept slaves as many as one or two thousand people. All such slaves had their own The deed of selling one's body means that one's descendants will not be able to leave the country for the rest of their lives.
In the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing, there were musicians of the Qian family in Taicang who secretly traded with their servants. The master's family was dissatisfied, but the servants clamored for a deed of betrayal. In response to the call, each came to the door of their master's house, and Force the body to contract.
Some wealthy households led their servants to suppress them, and many slaves broke down the door and set fire to the house; some wealthy households returned the deed to the slaves, but the slaves still refused to let go, broke into the hall, and raped the female relatives; some tied up the master's house. Those who use knives to tattoo, carve humiliating writings on people's faces, etc.
After the Taicang Slave Revolution, there was an Oolong Hui in Taicang, which specialized in robbing families and homes, and fighting against Sochi. At its peak, there were 3,400 people in the village, which made them famous for a while.
This was a slave rebellion that few people knew about. At that time, everyone’s eyes were focused on the Japanese invasion. Few people heard about the slave rebellion, or they simply regarded it as a report about the Japanese invasion. imperial court.
Is Taicang the only one case?
In "Xiaoyao Anecdotes", Lin Fucheng listed the "Li Renhui" in Macheng, Hubei, the "Bi-cutting Class" in Jintan, Changzhou, and the "Dadao Gang" in Jiading, Kunshan. These are dynamic civil society organizations that have the right to claim their lives. There are tens of thousands of people protesting, and the momentum is huge, and it is gradually forming a very cohesive slogan.
Eradicate the noble and humble masters and servants, and level the rich and the poor.
Lin Fucheng used a lengthy article to describe in detail the living conditions of slaves in the south of the Yangtze River, the fierce conflicts between slaves and their masters, and the brutality of the struggle, and criticized the production relations that forced personal dependence.
“No more?” Zhu Yijun turned to the last page and said with unfinished content.
Jiangnan has developed to the point where it is no longer possible to have both sides, and there is no way to annex it. The resistance began. The slaves used various means to kill the masters who had been domineering in the past. The nose squad will cut off the noses of the masters they catch, the machete gang will chop people into pieces, and the oolong guild will occupy the fields and open warehouses to store grain.
"Master Lin has seen the phenomenon, found the problem behind the phenomenon, and explained the reason. So what's the solution? Is this gone?" Zhu Yijun put down the happy anecdote and said angrily.
Feng Bao said cheerfully: "In Master Lin's own words, how can they have any solution? If there is a solution, why are they still working as a pen editor in the poetry club?" Master, being able to do this is already the limit of Master Lin. The scar has been picked. As for how to cure the wound, that is a matter for the court. If there is a solution, then he should sit in the Wenhua Palace and be the master. Ming Gong.
"That makes sense." Zhu Yijun handed "Xiaoyao Yiwen" to Feng Bao and said, "Show it, sir."
"Yes."
In fact, the court has also After noticing the problem, the first step to implement Wang Chonggu's "Asking for the Equalization of Fields" is to conduct a census of Dingkou to find out how many people there are in the Ming Dynasty, so that we can proceed. The most important thing for conducting a census of Dingkou is to find out the situation. The hidden population in Haoyou's family is actually the actual slaves of the Ming Dynasty.
In December of the fourth year of Wanli, Wu Guifang, the governor of water transport, returned to Beijing and submitted the "Six Discussions on Farming". The fourth article was: The refugees were summoned to provide farmland. Those who were unable to cultivate land were given cattle seeds by the officials and returned the following year. Official Sanmin. The original owner of the service is recognized and no dispute is allowed. The original owner was not allowed to appeal, even if the law did not support or recognize the deed of betrayal. Wu Guifang's article was for farming. At that time, this article could not be implemented. Finally, the other five articles were implemented in Daningwei, Quaningwei, and Liaodong.
At that time, the administrative power, military power and economic power of the Ming Dynasty could not support the practice of this article. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty officials did not understand the problem clearly, but did Less than.
Zhu Yijun picked up the memorial, which was written by Wan Shihe, the minister of the Ministry of Rites. He had written the new "Overseas Fanguo Zhi". This volume was about the Mughal Kingdom, or India, Wan Shihe. Shihe has exhausted his efforts, but there are too few historical materials about India. The most detailed records are from the current Mughal Kingdom.
Wan Shihe discussed a type of commodity in the memorial, cotton and cotton cloth.
In the tenth year of Emperor Xiaozong's reign in the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese Vasco da Gama bypassed the Cape of Good Hope and arrived at the Port of Calicut in India. He finally came into direct contact with Indian weavers. This was the first time that the Thai people came into contact with Indian weavers. A lot of middlemen are needed.
Before Vasco da Gama arrived in India, Persian merchants used ships to transport cotton and cotton cloth from India, and then rode camels across the desert to deliver the goods to the Ottomans, who then used ships to transport the cotton and cotton cloth are sold all over Thailand and the West.
Cotton and silk are completely different. Cotton is a bulk commodity, not a luxury product like silk, which is equivalent to gold. The trade of this bulk commodity will directly promote maritime trade and prosperity.
In Wan Shihe’s view, only bulk commodities are qualified to become global commodities, and only bulk commodities can promote maritime trade to develop a complex maritime trade network centered on the Ming Dynasty. Only bulk commodities can To maintain the scale of the industry, only bulk commodities can provide enough wealth to build an army and project violence to distant corners of the world. In Wan Shihe's view, cotton cloth will become a global commodity.
As for the Ming Dynasty, it did not have a product advantage in the commodities of cotton and cotton cloth.
Global commodities is a concept mentioned by Wan Shihe. In his view, global commodities require several necessary conditions. First, they are bulk commodities, second, they are widely used, and third, they are easy to preserve. and transportation, silk did not have this potential because its production was limited and it would not be commonly used.
Porcelain can become a global commodity, cotton can become a global commodity, alcohol can also become a global commodity, tobacco can also become a global commodity, and silver can also become a global commodity.
Worldwide commodities connect all the criss-crossing economies on the earth. Worldwide ocean trade is being built. Even England is actively exploring the world trade system. During this construction process, Ming Dynasty must maintain its celestial empire. In order to prevent its status from falling into the abyss, it must control the commodity advantages of more global commodities.
There is no place to grow cotton, but the Ming Dynasty has more advanced cotton spinning technology. Whether it is horizontal or vertical scale, it must be ahead of the Mughal Kingdom in order to ensure the absolute advantage of cotton products and make the Mughal Kingdom become raw material country.
The steam engine is the original spark that ignited everything. It is now shining with tiny bits of light, and it will surely shine like the sun in the sky in the future.
Wan Shihe used the scroll of the Overseas War to Mongolia the Ughur Kingdom and asked His Majesty to pay attention to world commodities and the world sea trade network.
The original order of the entire world is gradually dying out, and the entire world is also looking for a new order. In the process of shaping the new order, how many civilizations are dying quietly? The Spanish colonists brutally wiped out the Mayan kingdom and destroyed everything.
There is nothing special about the civilization of the Central Plains, and it is not as resilient as imagined. It also perished once two hundred years ago. In the fourth year of Jingtai, the Roman Empire in Western Europe was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, and Rome was declared officially destroyed. There was no lightning return.
In a world of great strife, the strong will be strong and the weak will perish!
This is Wan Shihe, the Minister of Rites. From a global perspective, this is a political commentary written by Wan Shihe. It contains neither propositions nor government orders. Thoughts on the progress of civilization on the basis of "awe of power but not morality".
This may be the essence of etiquette - civilization.
The capital of the Ming Dynasty has gradually entered the depth of winter. The haze caused by coal smoke has made the scholar-bureaucrats who are not engaged in production intolerable, but the people of the Ming Dynasty are not so resistant to coal smoke.
One drink and one peck, the cycle of cause and effect, enjoying cheap coal, naturally has to pay some price. Most people in the capital are more envious of kiln workers and weavers, whether they enter the Xishan Coal Bureau or The official woolen woolen factories were a sign of a stable life, and the schools created by the official and factory groups were hope.
The price of coal at Xizhimen Meishikou has remained unchanged after the weather turned cold, at six cents per pound.
This year there is a stove with a chimney in the coal market. A stove costs three taels of silver and can be used for five to ten years. If it is well preserved, it will last longer, and the stove can Use honeycomb briquettes, a kind of fuel that is mixed with loess and molded into shapes, and made by frying crushed coal, so that it can be fully burned.
New briquettes are cheaper than coal, and even if you don't have a stove from the coal bureau, you can make a stove at home with mud.
There are many more customers in clothing stores than in previous years. Furs from the north, cotton-padded jackets from the south, woolens from the Yongding River, and brightly colored clothes and pants are all hot-selling items. It’s the Chinese New Year. Buying new clothes for children has become a new fashion.
Even the Brazilian mahogany has its own name, the fragrant dragon blood tree, because clothes dyed with Brazilian mahogany have a fragrance, and because the dyed clothes are bright red and do not fade for a long time, it is so named. name.
Every official in the world is actually looking forward to a big drama, that is, the merger between the Ming Emperor and Zhang Juzheng!
These ambitious guys have been looking forward to it year after year, but they still haven't arrived, but they always firmly believe that it will be soon!
In the eyes of everyone, this is a matter of course, the emperor has always been like this.
As the supreme being in the world, when he was young, he gritted his teeth and hunkered down. No matter how much he hated in his heart, he had to respect his appearance and accumulate strength. When he grew up and had enough strength, he would treat those who dared to restrain himself. Zhang Juzheng, that must be Thunder's revenge.
For example, Wang Anshi and Song Shenzong.
In the forty years since Renzong of the Song Dynasty was in power, there was the so-called prosperous rule of Renzong, known as Yongxi in the world, and his rule was peaceful. However, the disadvantages of three redundancies in the Northern Song Dynasty began with Renzong.
In the 26th year of Song Renzong’s accession to the throne and the first year of Huangyou, the Song Dynasty’s finances experienced a deficit for the first time. The annual revenue was more than 116.13 million yuan, the expenditure was more than 120.34 million yuan, and the extraordinary expenditure was more than 11.52 million yuan. Guan, there is a shortage of nearly 15 million Guan, the country's finances are in deficit every year, and all the treasures are constantly being distributed, so that after a hundred years of accumulation, there is only an empty book.
Song Renzong had no sons. Song Yingzong, who had adopted the clan, ascended the throne and sent 46,700 soldiers to build the Yongzhao Mausoleum and bury Song Renzong. Just four years later, Song Yingzong died.
Song Yingzong’s son Song Shenzong wanted to build a mausoleum for his biological father. The entire Song Dynasty court finally came up with only 300,000 yuan, and the transportation department and 4,000 stone masons were hired to finish the job hastily. .
Just as the Longqing Imperial Mausoleum only spent 500,000 silver, and 110,000 was not settled until the second year, the Northern Song Dynasty was also facing the crisis of huge financial losses, and reformers like Wang Anshi stepped onto the stage. .
There are many reasons why Wang Anshi's reform failed, but one of the reasons was that Song Shenzong no longer supported the reform as his finances were increasing.
According to the general laws of historical development, the war between the emperor and the imperial master Yuan Fu will definitely proceed!
What is disappointing is that on December 23rd of the ninth year of Wanli, the Ming Emperor came to the Quanchu Guild Hall again with his empress Wang and his eldest son Zhu Changzhi. On the 23rd of every month, it was The emperor regularly went to the Quanchu Guild Hall to have dinner. Many people used this incident as a criterion for whether the relationship between the emperor and Yuan Fu was harmonious.
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty’s jade chariot arrived as scheduled, much to the disappointment of some careerists!
The emperor's eldest son Zhu Changzhi seldom leaves the Tonghe Palace. The two-year-old Zhu Changzhi can jump up and down and speaks very clearly. It is also the first time that Zhu Yijun brings his eldest son here to have a meal. Zhu Changzhi likes Xiong Tingbi very much. Looking at Xiong Tingbi's tall and thick appearance, instead of being scared, I actually like the breadth of Xiong Tingbi's back.
“How is Xiong Da’s recent studies?” Zhu Yijun asked about Xiong Tingbi’s recent studies.
Zhang Juzheng thought carefully and said: "He has both civil and military skills. He was not allowed to postpone the imperial examination before. He wants to join the army, and I plan to let him go to Suiyuan."
"Suiyuan? He is only thirteen years old." Zhu Yijun said in surprise. No matter how anxious Xiong Tingbi grows, he is still a thirteen-year-old child!
"You are not young. Your Majesty led Tiqi to kill bandits in Xishan when he was fifteen. Li Rusong followed his father to kill captives in Liaodong when he was fourteen. Your Majesty, people should get married at the age of fourteen. , two years earlier than the royal family," Zhang Juzheng said seriously.
"Wait until you are sixteen before you go." Zhu Yijun waved his hands and said: "That's different, there is no way."
"I obey the order." Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and responded. After learning, Xiong Tingbi is a talent that can be made. You can also let him learn more by being around him, and it is not too late to go out to practice. Xiong Tingbi's character is too direct, and he needs to learn a little tact around Zhang Juzheng.
“The clearing of land in Sichuan finally started this year.” Zhu Yijun talked about the return of land to land. Compared with the rapid growth in previous years, the number of acres returned to land in the ninth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty was 8.44 million hectares. This is This includes Qingzhang in Sichuan, which was 7.92 million hectares last year.
After the major case of Luo Yao accepting a bribe of 340,000 silver came to an end, Sichuan's Qingzhang finally began to get on the right track.
"This year's annual harvest is abnormal, a bit too much." Zhang Juzheng also received a memorial from the Ministry of Household Affairs. The Ming Dynasty's land tax this year was converted into 15.2 million silver, industrial and commercial taxes and official factories, etc. Once it exceeded 40%, reaching 10.48 million silver.
After the Damingtian tax was converted into silver and the industrial and commercial taxes were added, the total amount was 25.68 million silver.
The largest part of this industrial and commercial tax comes from the customs duties on the sea. The silver shipped to the capital by the Municipal Shipping Department exceeded 3.2 million silver, and the official factory group contributed 1.8 million silver, which was the same as last year, among which the most important The most important thing is that the emperor led Kaihai Investment and distributed more than 2.2 million silver in dividends.
Compared with last year's 7.23 million silver, the absolute value of the increase is as high as 3.25 million silver. You must know that during the Jiajing period, the imperial court's annual silver income was only more than 6 million silver, six and a half years old.
"It's not surprising. In the entire Nanyang, the registered acres have exceeded 1.7 million hectares. There are 74 government-run plantations and 124 private gardens, for a total of 198." Zhu Yijun looked at the details of the audit very carefully. Understand that the main drivers of growth were tariffs and plantation revenues.
Farming and tax collection are indeed the two most profitable businesses at the moment.
"I earn so much a year, and I still have to issue national bonds to borrow money from the private sector. I really feel ashamed of Your Majesty." Zhang Juzheng's expression was as complicated as that.
The emperor borrowed money from the people. This was an evil thing that undermined the emperor's majesty. However, the court really had no money and spent more money as it earned. Military expenditure alone exceeded 12 million silver.
"In the spring of next year, we will invest 10 million silver to open the sea." Zhu Yijun talked about his plan to invest in the sea.
Shen Shixing felt that some projects could be subdivided, raising funds from trading houses, and shifting risks downwards, but Zhu Yijun did not plan to do it immediately.
He plans to increase investment.
(End of this chapter)