Chapter 567: Ming Dynasty’s First Group Photo

Zhu Yijun did not host a banquet to entertain the Ming Federation of Industry and Commerce, but instead forced them to line up in the open space in front of the Ziguang Pavilion.

Zhu Yijun sat in the middle, with four advisors sitting on his left and right, and on both sides were the accompanying cabinet minister of finance Wang Guoguang, Taifu Temple chief Zheng Luo and others.

Song Yingqing, Shen Jialiang, Zhou Muxian and others stood in two rows at the back.

In front of them stood two groups of people.

They were divided into two groups, with seven or eight people on the left and five or six people on the right. In front of each person was a board placed on a wooden frame, and next to them was a table.

Some were drawing on white paper on the board with charcoal pencils, while others were outlining on paper with fine brushes.

Each shows his or her special powers.

On the left are painters from the Hanlin Academy’s Calligraphy and Painting Academy, and on the right are painters from the Imperial Observatory’s Painting Academy. They used two different painting methods to record this epoch-making event.

The painters of the Hanlin Academy of Painting and Calligraphy used the meticulous brushwork technique.

The painters of the Imperial Observatory’s Painting Academy were headed by two Western painters.

One is an Italian painter, who is said to be a disciple of the famous Italian painter Titian. The other is a Dutch painter, who is said to be a disciple of the famous Italian painter Raphael.

The two were poor and became sailors, and came to the East by chance. One of them accidentally saw the recruitment notice of the Ming Dynasty in the trench mirror and took the initiative to join the Shaofu Supervisor.

Another was a senior captured member of the Spanish fleet.

Then he joined the Imperial Observatory Painting Academy and took in dozens of Ming Dynasty painters as apprentices.

The Ming Dynasty inherited the painting skills of the previous dynasty, focusing on freehand brushwork and similarity, as well as figurative painting methods such as fine brushwork.

The painting skills of the Western Yi people focus on realistic resemblance, but also emphasize artistic conception, especially religious paintings.

But in general, Western painting methods have advantages in terms of light and shade, perspective proportions, etc.

Learn from others’ strengths to overcome one’s own weaknesses, be open-minded and good at learning, and there will be nothing wrong with that.

But it was impossible for Zhu Yijun and others to just sit there stupidly and let the painters from the two academies paint for them.

The painters from the two academies first painted Zhu Yijun’s “imperial portrait”, then refined the positions, expressions and facial features of the other people, made a draft, and then added the detailed appearances of the other people one by one to complete a complete painting.

In a few days, the first group photo of the Ming Dynasty, “The Holy Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty Summoning Ministers of the Cabinet and Elite Members of the Federation of Industry and Commerce”, will be freshly released.

An hour was up and Zhu Yijun was the first to stand up, thus ending the imperial summons.

“Master Zhang, let’s talk for a while.” Zhu Yijun called Zhang Juzheng, then turned to Qi Yan and instructed.

“Qi Yan, proofread the book in the library and write to the Imperial Court. Publicize the news that I have summoned the Ming Federation of Industry and Commerce. Especially the six words I mentioned to the Federation of Industry and Commerce. Everyone in Ming must know about it.”

“According to the order.”

Zhang Juzheng stood nearby, his eyes flickering.

He expected that the Emperor would publicize the affairs of the Federation of Industry and Commerce, which was also what he was conflicted about.

Confucianism emphasizes righteousness over profit. Emperor Taizu suppressed merchants and followed the ancestral rules of righteousness.

However, in recent years, Zhang Juzheng saw the rapid development of industry and commerce in the southeast, as well as the prosperity of coal and iron in Luanhe and Taiyuan, and the national treasury revenue improved day by day.

It is because we have money in our pockets that we can calmly implement new policies and accomplish many practical things.

Could it be that the sage was wrong, or Emperor Taizu made the wrong decision?

Zhang Juzheng was feeling very conflicted.

Previously, he believed that after more than ten years of thinking, he had a clear idea of ​​how to change the deep-rooted problems of the Ming Dynasty.

Although the Emperor’s treatment of Prince Yu and Crown Prince had given Zhang Juzheng a great shock and impact, he felt that it was only a stopgap measure.

However, when the emperor ascended the throne, Zhang Juzheng discovered that the new policies that were previously considered radical and absurd by conservatives were just the emperor’s appetizers, and more grand and shocking national policies were being introduced one after another.

Only then did Zhang Juzheng understand that the emperor had been seizing power, financial and military power, exploring new sources of revenue and training new troops since the 41st year of the Jiajing reign.

During the Longqing period, as the crown prince in power, he continued to expand financial resources and build military achievements while tentatively implementing his new policies.

Among them, Gao Gong was the pioneer.

Charge into battle and test the enemy’s strength.

Well done, the prince has made great contributions to his administration.

It was not a good move. This was a matter of the Longqing Dynasty and has nothing to do with the Crown Prince.

The person who led the charge was Emperor Longqing’s teacher, Gao Gong, and had nothing to do with the crown prince.

It was not that the emperor, who was the crown prince at the time, wanted to distance himself from the relationship, but that there was a layer in between, providing a buffer, and there would be no direct conflict between the two sides.

In political struggle, the most important thing is to solve problems, not just people.

Just as the Emperor said, if we can find ways to reduce the number of people who oppose us and increase the number of people who support us, our new policy reforms will be able to proceed smoothly.

Resolving the problem of people is only one of the means of struggle, not the goal of the struggle.

After three years of open and covert struggles in the Longqing reign, the emperor had a good idea of ​​the strength of the Ming officialdom, the literati, and various forces in the central and local areas, as well as their attitudes towards the new policy reforms.

But it cost a high arch.

Now that the emperor has ascended the throne, he has appointed himself as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, which is actually the Prime Minister.

Previously, Emperor Taizu abolished the prime minister and directly managed the six ministries. Now the emperor is in charge of the six ministries and temples himself, and takes care of the central and local “administrative” affairs. Why?

It is better to establish a buffer layer so that there is room for maneuver.

The result of Emperor Taizu directly managing the six ministries and personally handling state affairs was that whenever the national policy changed, many people had to be killed.

There was no way out. There was no buffer or turnaround. In addition, Emperor Taizu had a tough and murderous character. So the government and the people would perish together.

If it were during the Jiajing period, he would not have dared to serve as the prime minister of the cabinet.

Emperor Shi Miao was suspicious and cold-hearted, and it was rare for his ministers to have a good ending.

Yan Song worked for him all his life, but now he abandoned him just like that.

But the emperor is not worried. Yan Song followed the emperor’s wishes and was willing to take the blame for the late emperor Shimiao to preserve Shizong’s reputation after his death. If the emperor said he would protect him, he would definitely protect him.

Public opinion in the country was surging, with calls for war and killing, but the emperor turned a deaf ear and always ensured that he had a peaceful end.

There is also Hu Zongxian, a member of the famous Yan Party. After switching to the Prince’s Party, he has been loyal and hardworking, and is now the head of the Advisory Bureau.

He was equivalent to the former Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty’s Political Affairs Hall, and his status was even higher than his own. He was also granted the title of Duke of Xuancheng County, and the title was hereditary.

That’s enough. It’s enough for a minister to meet such a responsible monarch.

Gao Gong and his mentor Xu Jie?
Haha, the emperor is just responsible, not a pushover.

After Zhu Yijun finished explaining to Qi Yan, he turned around and said to Zhang Juzheng, “Master Zhang, let’s take a walk along the lake.”

Now the concubines also lived in the Western Garden, which was divided into two parts: the Beihai Lake area to the north of the Xi’an Gate, Yuhe Bridge, Chengguang Hall and Qianming Gate was where the concubines lived, and the Zhonghai Lake and Nanhai Lake areas to the south were where Zhu Yijun worked and received foreign officials.

Zhu Yijun, with his hands in his sleeves, walked along the tree-lined path by the lake, one in front of the other, with Zhang Juzheng.

“Master Zhang, the Ming Dynasty has accumulated problems for a hundred years. There are too many ills and too many problems to deal with. We, as a teacher and student, cannot just try to deal with everything at once. We need to get to the main points.”

“Your Majesty is right. I hope Your Majesty will give me your instructions.”

“Master Zhang’s performance evaluation method is a good one.

The administration of officials is the first priority of the new policy reform. I have always emphasized and been thinking about how to rectify the administration of officials. The performance evaluation method proposed by Master Zhang is a good idea. “

Zhu Yijun exclaimed in admiration.

It has to be said that Zhang Juzheng was indeed a reformer. He started by introducing the Kaocheng Method, the Ming Dynasty version of the KPI assessment method, which just hit the weak spot of Ming Dynasty officials.

But the consequence was that officials at all levels resisted desperately.

Because they knew that once the performance evaluation system was fully implemented, their days of carefree living would be over, and they would be replaced by slaves for the Ming Dynasty.

This is life!

Looking at the entire human history, it is a history of oxen and horses. Sometimes we want to be oxen and horses but fail, and sometimes we are glad to be oxen and horses.

Now you are working like cattle and horses in the Ming Dynasty. It is your blessing that I have increased your salaries and allowances.

According to Emperor Taizu’s ancestral system, you cannot be fed too much fodder, for fear that you will feel sleepy after eating too much and will not want to work.

Zhang Juzheng also answered tactfully: “Your Majesty is wise. He instructed me to set up the Central Steering Committee for the Ming Dynasty’s Examination System, and it has produced immediate results.”

Zhu Yijun smiled and continued, “In rectifying the administration of officials, we are also establishing a complete taxation system and financial system.

The taxation system abolished corvée and levied labor on the basis of the Single Whip Law and merged it into a unified head tax. Master Zhang, this head tax is not easy to collect. “

Zhang Juzheng’s idea was to sort out all the corvée and levies of the Ming Dynasty, abolish all the heavy taxes and levies that were arbitrarily imposed, and classify those that were normal as taxes and collect them per person.

In this way, the imperial court could collect taxes while avoiding as much as possible the imposition of additional taxes on clerks at all levels.

Miscellaneous labor levies were taxes, which might not seem like much, but because they were not regular taxes, the imperial court had no detailed rules or regulations, so the clerks could manipulate them and collect whatever they wanted.

Often, the common people were required to pay twenty taels of silver, but the national treasury only received one tael, and the rest was divided up among clerks and officials at all levels and local tyrants and bullies.

The treasury has no money and can do nothing, but the people are being exploited and becoming poorer and poorer.

When faced with famine and war, the only option was to increase salaries and taxes, and then it would be another feast for the clerks, officials, and wealthy people. The people were exploited, but the national treasury only got a little bit of money.

The Ming Dynasty was rushing down this vicious cycle and down a dead end road.

Now Master Zhang and I want to save the Ming Dynasty, and this bad policy must be changed.

Zhang Juzheng nodded in agreement and said, “Your Majesty is wise. It is indeed difficult to collect taxes based on headcount if the miscellaneous corvée and labor service are combined into tax silver.

The biggest problem is still the old one: the poor people are weak, so it is easy to collect taxes from them. On the contrary, it is difficult to collect taxes from the gentry and the rich. “

Zhang Juzheng said expectantly: “Your Majesty always has wonderful ideas. Please give me some advice. How should we collect the head tax after the merging of regular and miscellaneous corvée labor?”

Zhu Yijun smiled and replied: “Master Zhang, our ancestors have already found the answer to this question for us.”

Zhang Juzheng thought about it, his eyes lit up: “Salt and Iron Discussion?”

Zhu Yijun joked: “Haha, Master Zhang is wise!”

Zhang Juzheng replied: “Your Majesty is ashamed of this old minister.

The Salt and Iron Law made salt and iron a public monopoly and levied taxes based on salt and iron. Everyone, regardless of gender, age, wealth, or status, must eat salt.

As long as you buy salt and pay the salt tax, it is equivalent to paying a head tax. “

“Master Zhang, we can draw inferences from this.”

“learn by analogy?”

“Master Zhang, when we discussed the Single Whip Law earlier, one of the biggest problems was how ordinary people could raise enough cash to pay the discounted head tax?”

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, “Your Majesty is right. When the Single Whip Law was first implemented, its original purpose was to convert all kinds of corvée labor into silver to avoid arbitrary levies by clerks.

Many people can get cash by working, etc. However, this method is only available in places in the southeast where industry and commerce are booming, or in the villages near provincial capitals, prefectural capitals, and county towns.

The common people living in remote mountainous areas could only sell grain, cotton and other agricultural products for cash. Even if they went through the supply and marketing cooperatives of the Shaofujian to avoid being exploited too much, it was still a difficult task.

This is also what makes me anxious.

“The emperor just said that you can draw inferences about other cases from one instance, could this be related to this?”

Zhu Yijun replied: “It is not easy for ordinary people to make money, so we should take this into consideration when designing the tax system. For political problems, we should use political means. For economic problems, we should use economic means.

Master Zhang, we just said that salt tax is a kind of poll tax, and the monopoly of sugar, wine and tea can also become a kind of poll tax.

Now, the goods produced by factories are subject to value-added tax, and the goods sold to various places and entering thousands of households are subject to commodity transaction tax. These two taxes can actually be considered a kind of poll tax. “

Zhang Juzheng became alert when he heard this, “Your Majesty, please give me some detailed instructions.”

“Master Zhang, taxes are not only used to raise money to support officials and soldiers and the entire court, but more importantly, they are used to redistribute wealth. In plain words, it is robbing the rich to help the poor.”

Zhang Juzheng’s eyes lit up even more: “Rob the rich to help the poor? Your Majesty, how do you rob the rich to help the poor?”

(End of this chapter)