Chapter 597 The Iron Law of Public Opinion: Guessing is Fact
There are many ways to persuade.
There were those who carried the coffin to remonstrate, Hai Rui scolded the Taoist Lord, Jiajing Jiajing, every family was clean;
There were those who directly contradicted, for example, in the second year of Longqing, the late emperor asked for three hundred thousand taels of silver, Zhang Juzheng just refused to give it;
There were roundabout ways to make the emperor happy, and then he tried to make a fool of himself, such as the model of Master Lin's three mountains;
There was a show of acting skills, which seemed to be a quarrel. , which is actually reasonable.
These methods actually have the same purpose, to blame Chen Shan and admonish the emperor.
This is not the first time that Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu have acted in front of the emperor. The reason why they show off their acting skills is to make the emperor listen. Neither tax increase nor tax reduction is appropriate.
If the ten taxes and five five taxes were directly set at the beginning of the country, and the tax increase was enough, it would indeed prevent mergers. Now that there is no merger, there is no merger. The tax increase is deliberately creating a civil unrest; tax cuts, Or simply not accept them, which means abandoning the most numerous people in the Ming Dynasty.
The two Song dynasties did not establish a land system and allowed private annexation, which meant abandoning the common people and choosing to share the world with the scholar-bureaucrats. The scholar-bureaucrats came from the rural gentry and powerful right-wing class.
The interesting part is also here. Whether it is tax increase or tax reduction, the final results can actually show a high degree of similarity. Different approaches lead to the same goal, but the people are displaced and unable to sleep overnight.
The only golden mean is for someone to bear the infamy and be the evil person.
"When I read the ancestral precepts of Emperor Ming Dynasty before, I was wondering why Emperor Taizu Gao admired harsh punishments so much. Today, I know that sometimes, I have to do it." Zhu Yijun looked at it Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu said: "Since you have to do it, you must do it; since you have made a promise, you must fulfill it."
"Songjiang Prefecture tried a whipping method, taking the census of Dingkou in the 11th year of Wanli as an example. There will be no increase in taxes, farm service will be equalized, and silver will be levied per acre. No additional subjects will be allowed. If there is any violation, it will not be tolerated and the crime will be punished with three levels of punishment. "
Zhu Yijun made a promise. This commitment is divided into three parts.
Never increase the tax for breeding Dingkou, that is, the land tax will not increase. According to the population in the eleventh year of Wanli, the head tax will be spread into the acres. This is to encourage the birth of children. The Ming Dynasty has implemented it in Gansu. Now there is an additional pilot project in Songjiang Prefecture;
The second part is the land equalization service. This part of the labor service actually includes the gentlemen who were exempted from tax before, and all kinds of distinguished gentlemen also have to do it. Paying taxes in one piece is just an extra tax on the land;
The third part is that no additional subjects are allowed, and those who violate it will be punished with a third-class penalty. This is already a very severe punishment. Originally it was just dismissal, but in this case If you make a mistake, you will be exiled to Java; originally it was just a crime of exile to the border area, but if the crime is increased to third degree, you have to be beheaded. If you commit the crime of beheading, it is a clan execution.
Severe punishments and three additional levels of punishment are Zhu Yijun's promises. Now Zhu Yijun's credibility is as solid as a rock.
"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu stopped arguing and blushed. They bowed their heads and sang a hymn together.
It is not Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu who should bear the infamy on His Majesty, but this matter can only be done by Your Majesty, and neither of them can do it because they are part of the bureaucracy.
Additional three levels of crime, if they are allowed to do it, it will become a tool of party struggle and will be regarded as a tool of party struggle.
Both of them are party leaders, leaders of the Zhang Party and the Labor Party.
Zhang Juzheng's examination method was also a tool for party unity and opposition when it was first implemented. Until the names were obscured on the draft list, the names were filled in the base books, and the base books of the hundreds of officials were placed on the Wenhua Hall official book screen. In the small box, the system construction of the examination method was completed.
The key to the small box is in the hands of His Majesty, thus achieving relative fairness.
The reason why the successful examination method is widely supported is because the names are obscured on the draft list. After the examination is publicized, the names are filled in in full view of the public.
“When a country loses its trust, people’s hearts become suspicious. This is a sentence that Mr. Wang often mentioned when giving banquets. And Mr. Wange wrote a memorial specifically on how to prevent people’s doubts.” Zhu Yijun flipped through a thick notebook in his hand. It was not so much a memorial as a professional book similar to "The Four Secrets of Wang Qian's Fortune".
Wan Shihe has a lot of content in this book. If you really want to sum it up in one sentence, it is to face doubts and deal with them head-on. Covering your mouth is the stupidest way, because things have become so fermented that you must cover them up. When he spoke, he was already well known.
The act of covering one's mouth confirms the authenticity of this incident, and covering one's mouth will allow people who pay attention to the matter to easily infer various inferences through the process of covering one's mouth. Possibly, at this point, things will be absolutely impossible to control.
Because the various answers in the minds of the viewers who are paying attention to this matter may be based on inferences based on clues, or they may be groundless conjectures, and most likely they will be labeled based on their stance and tendency. And the last one is very likely.
The truth of the incident and the incident itself became insignificant at the moment when I covered my mouth.
Covering your mouth will definitely become a seed of doubt, which will quickly take root, sprout, bear fruit, bring more and greater controversies, and lead to worse consequences.
This is the iron law of public opinion, speculation is fact.
As long as the covering of the mouth happens, then the possibility is established. In people's minds, baseless conjectures are facts.
Responding positively is the only way to deal with it.
"Both of you, since you are here, don't go back empty-handed. Each of you has a copy. Mr. Wange has paid great attention to it." Zhu Yijun asked someone to bring two books written by Wan Shihe and ask Zhang Ju Zheng and Wang Chonggu took it back to see.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu took the book back. Wang Cifu never went to Wenyuan Pavilion to attend classes except to go to Wenyuan Pavilion to do some math. There was not much going on today. , took the book to Wenyuan Pavilion and sat in class for a long time.
"Mr. Wange, when did you become so powerful?" Wang Chonggu looked at part of it and looked at Wan Shihe in surprise.
"We all rely on the Holy Teachings." Wan Shihe answered this question very clearly. He has never been great, but His Majesty is the great one.
Wang Chonggu held his forehead and said helplessly: "Is there any difference between you and those believers in Taixi, who are always blessed by God's grace? I don't know what to say about you."
"Maybe it's because you read a lot. After reading a book a hundred times, its meaning will become apparent." Wan Shihe gave another answer. He added: "Your Majesty also asked you to read."
As Imperial Party, Wan Shihe attributed his personal struggles to His Majesty's teachings.
"Old Wange, this makes people shut up. Since there are so many harms, and this kind of thing has happened again and again in the past dynasties, we still choose this method again and again. This is Why?" Wang Chonggu asked curiously.
“Because of arrogance.”
Wan Shihe took a sip of tea and said calmly: “Anyone who chooses this method to shut up people is actually a kind of arrogance that doesn’t care. "
"It doesn't matter what the person being silenced said, what the person whose interests were harmed thinks, or the judgment of the Spring and Autumn Period, so what if it causes worse consequences? Damage him at all."
"Because you don't have to take responsibility, you are arrogant."
Since Wan Shihe wants to give advice to the emperor, he has naturally improved his theory. Wang Chonggu has not seen the future. , that’s why I was confused. He wrote it very clearly in the book.
You don’t have to take responsibility, so you don’t care, so you are arrogant.
“To put it bluntly is a bit too dry.” Wan Shihe said with a smile: “Let’s give an example, the previous mule ban case in Emei County.”
"Zhao Wenchang, the magistrate of Emei County, doesn't care about the life and death of the Bangbang workers, nor does he need to worry about their lives, because no matter how much the Bangbang workers complain, they can only complain, because they still have to live, so they can only choose to kill them. He picked up the pole and continued to carry the mountain, so Zhao Wenchang was very arrogant, because the stick worker could not hurt him at all."
"But it is different for those who are idle and have nothing to do. The kings of hell who are pointing everywhere can really hurt Zhao Wenchang. Because the demands of these living kings of hell cannot be satisfied, Zhao Wenchang will have no way to get filial piety from the powerful right-wingers. This is what really concerns him. How much can I get?”
“Later, His Majesty learned about this matter and immediately issued a strict order to resume the raising of mules. This is because His Majesty cares about it and must be responsible to the people of all directions, otherwise the people of all directions will really do it. If you don't make a choice with your feet, our Ming Dynasty will be in mourning."
"In the future, all the officials will know who is the Lord of Hell in the Ming Dynasty."
Wang Chonggu was stunned. He paused and said: "King of Hell? Those scholars are the King of Hell?"
"What are they if they are not the King of Hell? They went to Mount Emei to play around, and all the donkeys and mules in Mount Emei were useless. They were kept in vain, only You can kill and eat meat." Wan Shihe said with emotion: "What is the living king of hell?"
"It makes sense." Wang Chonggu recognized this title. This group does not care about production and grain. Regardless of whether the scholars are distinguished, they are the living kings of hell, but there is also a king of hell in the Ming Dynasty.
The small-scale peasant economy is extremely closed and self-sufficient. These donkeys and mules who specialize in mountain climbing in Mount Emei will end up eating hot pot with chili peppers.
“But the criticisms of these court officials against Jiegeyuan are not in line with the situation you mentioned. You must know that the senior medical officers of Jiegeyuan have scalpels in their hands, and they don’t use these people. No matter what the medical officers do, if they don’t treat them, they will have to wait for death." Wang Chonggu pointed out another phenomenon.
In the Emei County mule ban case, the poor and hardworking stick workers really had nothing to do with Zhao Wenchang, which is why Zhao Wenchang was so unscrupulous and not responsible, so arrogance is established.
But Jiecuyuan is different. Jiecuyuan is really holding a knife. The great medical officials want to make things difficult for people. They don't even need to use any means to just say thank you behind closed doors and make people wait for death.
"This is another reason. Alas, they chatter endlessly and are weird. When seeing a doctor, the great medical officers never refuse to admit them. In the eyes of the court officials, they are easy to bully and easy to bully. Then Can't you just bully them?" Wan Shihe sighed and said, "A gentleman can bully others."
"These court officials are also stupid, they put their lives on it. The ethics of great medical officials.”
Wan Shihe also explained that it is not that the theory has loopholes, but that there are times when the theory is not applicable. This kind of behavior of putting down the bowl and scolding the mother is a problem of human nature. .
Wang Chonggu nodded in approval. The humble Confucians of the Ming Dynasty were afraid of the sharp blades in the hands of powerful soldiers, but not the sharp scalpels in the hands of great medical officers, because in their eyes, scolding was enough. These doctors How dare the officials deny medical treatment to gentlemen like them?
In his view, this is not entirely a personal issue, but also a class issue.
Wang Chonggu saw that it was getting late, so he wandered home with his book in hand.
"Yuanfu, Wang Cifu has not arrived yet, and he just left like this? After all, he came here and didn't finish the class? Yuanfu doesn't care about it? He left early!" Wan Shihe looked at Looking at Wang Chonggu who left early, he said in great surprise.
No matter how you don’t care about anything, you are still in your position. You can finish your tea at a certain time before getting off work, right? ! What do your colleagues think of you leaving so early?
"Why doesn't Mr. Wange care?" Zhang Juzheng asked with a smile.
Wan Shihe spread his hands and said, "I can't control him." "I can't control him either. I have asked him to come to the cabinet to work over and over again. Do you think he cares about me? He is just looking for a place to read today, otherwise I left early." Zhang Juzheng shook his head happily and continued to deal with various official documents.
Thank God for Wang Chonggu being able to cooperate with Zhang Juzheng in this play. The two of them are indeed life-and-death political enemies, but they are not completely separated. They often cooperate. This is not a party ban. .
Zhang Juzheng was the authoritarian Yuan Fu, the kind of person who always said the same thing. He hated party struggle because it was all wasted. Zhang Juzheng also had a clear definition of party struggle. Fighting for the sake of fighting has no boundaries between right and wrong. , that is, party imprisonment.
Ju Zheng died, and the party started fighting.
In the eyes of most people, Zhang Juzheng was the last authoritarian figure in the Ming Dynasty. During Zhang Juzheng’s time, a struggle began over whether to continue the New Deal. When Zhang Juzheng was completely overthrown, party struggles inevitably occurred. How about you? After singing, I will go on stage.
But in Zhu Yijun's view, the party quarrels that led to the disaster of party imprisonment were essentially issues of etiquette studied by Wan Shihe, that is, the country lost its trust and the people became suspicious.
Most people, everyone from the inside out, including auxiliary ministers, court ministers, courtiers, foreign officials, influential squires, and all the people, no longer trust any decree of the imperial court. The credibility of the imperial court is completely destroyed. Bankruptcy means that credibility is almost equal to zero. Without credibility, it is inevitable that people will be tempted and suspicious.
In a society that generally lacks public trust, there is only one end of the rope in Meishan.
Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi were not in the capital, so they had much less fun. The gathering in the capital did not attract the emperor to go and watch in the form of Mr. Huang. The ice and snow on the grassland would not completely melt until March. Originally, The study tour plan, which was only half a year, had to be extended to one year.
At the end of January, the sea breeze in the Bohai Bay was still biting, but the ice on the sea had begun to melt, ships began to pass, and freight became busy.
The Ming Emperor's imperial edict is heading towards Songjiang Mansion. His Majesty's credibility is very strong. Since he has made a promise, he will never miss the mark and be punished with three drinks of wine. Instead, he will be punished with three levels of punishment.
"There is no choice to increase taxes or reduce taxes. This is the best news for Songjiang Prefecture." After receiving the order, Shen Shixing said sincerely to Songjiang Navy Admiral Zhang Cheng said.
The emperor has already taken the blame. If he doesn't do this well, Shen Shixing will have no choice but to go home with the label of incompetence.
The two core issues of a whipping method are the two issues raised by Sun Kehong, namely, the administration of officials and the promotion of subordinates, and severe punishment can indeed alleviate these problems.
"Our family has been in Songjiang Prefecture for a long time. Recently, our family heard that Felipe of the West is not planning to send a large sailing ship to ocean trade? This is just right. We, the global trade merchant of the Ming Dynasty, If the team sets out in March, then we should prepare more supplies. If he doesn’t make the money, let’s make it.” Zhang Cheng didn’t care whether Shen Shixing could manage a whipping method.
In Zhang Cheng's eyes, there are only three things, not even a penny of the palace's silver should be missing; Songjiang Town Navy must be loyal to His Majesty, this is Zhang Cheng's responsibility; Songjiang Mansion cannot be in chaos, This is His Majesty's money bag.
Zhang Cheng saw Yinzi. Recently, there have been various rumors in Songjiang Mansion. The Hongmao Fan’s sailing ship is not coming. It’s just a good thing if he doesn’t come, Daming can go by himself.
"It just so happens that the Songjiang Town Navy plans to let the Youlong accompany it, just in time to verify ocean navigation." Zhang Cheng said slightly excitedly.
If the Youlong is to be dispatched and conduct a global sea survey, Zhang Cheng is the most suitable eunuch to supervise the army. Qing Shi left his name and is already waving to Zhang Cheng.
Regarding the matter of Songjiang Mansion, the palace can send another eunuch. There are ten sparring partners in total for His Majesty. If His Majesty is not confident about Songjiang Mansion, he can send Li Yougong. If he is worried, he can send one of his confidants as a sparring partner.
“It’s just an excuse by merchants to take advantage of the opportunity to lower prices.” Shen Shixing shook his head and said: “There are various signs that Felipe II does not intend to break with the Ming Dynasty. This is not a matter of courage. If he doesn’t come , Ming Dynasty will naturally go."
"The Ming Dynasty did not rely on the license given by Felipe II, but relied on strong ships and cannons."
There is no need to take responsibility in the capital. Officials who are responsible for giving guidance on specific general affairs can of course regard the Ming Dynasty as a means of persuading people with virtue and obtaining licenses in exchange for states. However, those who actually do things must have some understanding of what exactly they rely on to travel across the world. clear cognition.
The longer she stayed in Songjiang Prefecture, a land polluted by money, the less she believed in morality.
Felipe II's license is very similar to the Ming Dynasty's trade license. In theory, without a license, there is no right to enter the colony or the port of the Governor's Palace, but in fact it is Blank paper, on the sea, the only thing you can rely on is strong ships and guns.
The exchange of news between the Ming Dynasty and Taixi is not only the exact news of the arrival of large sailing ships or the global trade. There are countless ships passing by on the sea, and all kinds of specious news are also exchanged.
There is no doubt that Felipe is not planning to send a large sailing ship to Daming. This is false news, just for the reasons of merchants to lower prices.
Felipe II has no intention of continuing to attack Portugal, which is why Shen Shixing made such a judgment.
After conducting a tentative attack, Antonio paid the price of a free fleet of ten five-masted ocean ships to block Felipe II's attack.
Portugal's escape from the fate of being annexed was of course the result of the efforts of the Portuguese represented by Antonio, but it also had the influence of the great Eastern country, the Ming Dynasty.
The Liberty Fleet at Cape Liberty, ten five-masted transoceanic ships, made a surprise attack on the Mediterranean Sea and was sunk.
Antonio has exhausted all his resources. He has no money, no prospects, no future, a slim and bleak future, and extremely unstable political power. Antonio, who has no choice but to rely on facial recognition, gets it from His Majesty. The war loan worth 2.5 million silver was cashed in ten five-masted transoceanic ships.
After that, Felipe II sent the Spanish God of War to Lisbon for peace talks. As a result, he leased a port and recognized King Antonio's status.
Whether Felipe continues to attack is a very clear barometer.
Because Felipe discovered that Daming really treated Antonio as a friend, or as one of his own, rather than as a piece of paper that could be thrown away after use.
As one of our own people, we will try our best to use diplomatic means to prevent our people from being in a state of war, because during the duration of the war, production and life will be destroyed, most people will be displaced, and hundreds of thousands of people will be displaced. Even millions of civilians will die in the war.
The Ming Dynasty threatened Felipe, but actively provided help and support, and even when it was in a mess, under inappropriate circumstances, it still chose to make Lisbon, Portugal, a commodity for the Ming Dynasty’s global trade caravan. Distribution center.
This is to treat people as their own people, not as a piece of paper to wipe their ass.
So Felipe stopped attacking Portugal.
The reason why the Ming Dynasty regarded Antonio as an individual and one of its own was that in addition to enfeoffment, there were also seeds brought by Antonio, which injected new vitality into the Ming Dynasty's farming. This is one of the reasons why the Ming Emperor favored Antonio.
Of course, the relationship between countries is still mainly driven by interests. Supporting Antonio at this time will be conducive to expanding the influence of the Ming Dynasty in Western Europe, the maritime trade of the Ming Dynasty's ocean caravans, and the opening of the sea. , which is conducive to the inflow of silver, so this is the choice.
Shen Shixing is very clear that behind these outrageous news, there is a lack of sufficient support, which is the cornerstone of Felipe's attack on Portugal. If Felipe launches another attack on Portugal, it will be a complete break. time.
"Maybe." Zhang Cheng thought for a while and shook his head and said: "The execution of a whip method is a sacred command. If there is a need to use the navy, you must tell it in advance and don't hold on."
"Okay." Shen Shixing will not sacrifice face and suffer. When it is time to ask for the support of the Ming army, he will never hesitate.
Since the punishment must be severe, it is inevitable that blood will flow into the river.
As the governor of Songjiang, Shen Shixing announced the imperial edict. At the same time, Shen Shixing ordered the mobilization of all the government officials in Huating County, where Songjiang Prefecture is located, and prepared to go out in full force. In the physical sense, blood flowed A river once.
Proclaim power and force to promote the thorough implementation of the decree.
Only those who are gentle and virtuous, powerful and powerful, without any fear, and only by declaring power and force, can these people clearly understand what the sacred command is and cannot be violated.
His Majesty has always done things over and over again. If you have reasonable demands, you can just put them forward. The two issues raised by Sun Kehong are indeed issues that need to be clearly resolved.
But this time, Shen Shixing planned to knock off Shi Yaohao's right leg.
The four gangs entrenched on the three piers of Songjiang Prefecture, led by the Hailong Gang, are the most ferocious. This special attack has been planned by Shen Shixing for a long time.
The name of the leader of the Hailong Gang is Hai Mingyuan. He was not called Hai Laosi originally. His father was a refugee. When Hai Lao was forty-two years old, his father died on the dock. He worked as an apprentice to a framer on the God's Temple Street in Shanghai County. By chance, he became a government servant in Shanghai County.
Because of his quick thinking and decisive work, Ebi Laosi rose from the first class to the first class and became a famous boss in Shanghai County. Later, he directly joined the Xu family of Xu Jie and became a pawn of the Xu family.
The opening of the sea in the Ming Dynasty blew to Songjiang Prefecture, and countless poor coolies came to the docks to make a living. When Hai Laosi heard that Xu Jie died in Jingtang, he immediately left the Yamen and changed his name to Hai Mingyuan. On the dock, a large number of poor coolies were organized to work together to make a living.
Before the Hailong Gang came into Shen Shixing's sight, not many people knew that Hai Mingyuan was Hai Laosi.
Before, these gangs were very honest. Although they occasionally had territorial conflicts with other gangs, they were very restrained. After all, no matter how strong they were, they could not be stronger than the Ming Dynasty Navy. With the Ming Dynasty Navy suppressing it, this dock The conflicts all maintained a very tacit bottom line, that is, there should be no lawsuits involving human lives, otherwise the court's eyes would be on the dock.
Wang Daokun was promoted to the position of Grand Sikong of Jingtang, and Shen Shixing came down from the sky to become governor of Songjiang. At this time, Shen Shixing’s eyes were mainly focused on completing the Youlong Hao and the inflow of silver, and Xiao was also on the dock. Following the rules, the gangs on these docks gradually became bolder.
Bleeding incidents continued to occur, and the inspection department, Shanghai County Yamen, etc. who were bribed chose to hide it and cover up the situation.
An unconcealed fire broke out on the dock, delaying the shipment of goods for three hours. Sun Kehong, the boss of Songjiang Ocean Trading Company, finally couldn't stand the gang anymore and directly I found Shen Shixing and came to file a complaint.
When Shen Shixing finished his work on Youlonghao, he was surprised to find that some people actually thought he had a good temper! Indeed, he does have a good temper, but lying to others is equivalent to stealing power from him. It's surprising that he can endure it!
Shen Shixing felt that he was at risk of being ignored. Under his nose, the four major gangs had developed to such a scale. He felt that he had been deceived by local officials, and immediately found the commander of Nanya Town Fusi. Luo Bingliang, please help Luo Bingliang investigate.
This is also the reason why Zhang Cheng came to Songjiang Prefecture Yamen from Jinzeyuan Navy Yamen. If you are unable to do anything, ask for help. Asking for help is never a shameful thing, and it will not affect your promotion or death. If you want to save face and the emperor's mission is ruined, that would be stupid.
Shen Shixing also received the Navy's promise, so he summoned all the government officials to wipe out the gangs on the four docks.
Hai Mingyuan understands the operating logic of Ming Dynasty officialdom very well, so he has been careful to avoid risks and maintains close contacts with the officials and team leaders of each county, and even the county magistrates, county magistrates, and county bookkeepers , county captain and other officials are also good friends of Hai Mingyuan.
Shen Shixing wanted to see what choices these government officials and local officials would make under the sudden extermination order.
(End of this chapter)