The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Time flew by and it was noon. Wei Guangde was thinking about whether he should go out for dinner when he heard Jinda's voice outside, "Is Guangde here?"

Then Lu Bu's voice was heard.

Wei Guangde immediately stood up and went out to greet him. At this time, he was already an editor of the Hanlin Academy and a seventh-rank official. He was not comparable to his unofficial commoner.

"Brother Defu."

When Wei Guangde went out, he cupped his fists at Jinda.

"Guangde, let's go. It's time to go out for dinner. Everyone is waiting for you in front."

Jinda smiled when he saw Wei Guangde coming out.

"good."

As Wei Guangde spoke, he turned around, closed the door, and followed Jinda out.

There is nothing here now, and Wei Guangde is too lazy to lock the door. Isn't there still a reed here?

Following Jinda out, he saw Zhu Dashou and Tao Dalin also outside, along with several others.

After being introduced by Zhu Dashou, Wei Guangde found out that they were Chen Jin, Cao Dazhang and Wen Yinglu who were in the first class of the previous palace examination, and there was no one else.

Wei Guangde was still puzzled. In the last imperial examination, shuji scholars were selected. The exact number was unknown. This was also the reason why it had been decided not to recruit shuji scholars in this imperial examination.

Since the eighth year of Jiajing, the rule of selecting a concubine every two years has been followed in subsequent imperial examinations. However, this rule was broken in the imperial examination in the 35th year of Jiajing.

In fact, it’s not a breakthrough, it’s just a freak.

As for the Hanlin Academy, there are no Shuji scholars now. Several Shujishi appointed in the 32nd year of Jiajing Dynasty left the academy early last year. They were either awarded to Shizhong or supplemented their academic qualifications, making Wei Guangde the only Shujishi in the Hanlin Academy. .

Several of the most junior people in the Hanlin Academy gathered together, and soon found a nearby restaurant, went up to the second floor, ordered food, and sat down to chat.

In fact, it was mainly Chen Jin and Cao Dazhang who were imparting their experience to the new scholars. During the conversation, Wei Guangde also learned that Zhu Dashou and the others had nothing to do in the Hanlin Academy this morning, they were just getting familiar with the environment.

"In the afternoon, I will take you for a walk around the Hanlin Academy. Please recognize the door."

Chen Jin, the top candidate in the last imperial examination, smiled and said to them, "Three years from now, when a new Jinshi comes in, you will do this work. This is the tradition of the Hanlin Academy, haha."

Wei Guangde and others were all laughing together, which may mean that Wei Guangde might not have a chance. After all, he is a commoner, so he might leave the hall early.

Once he leaves the Hanlin Academy, this matter has nothing to do with him, that is, Zhu Dashou and the others can continue.

As the food and wine were served, the atmosphere of the banquet became lively with the sound of drinks.

Chen Jin and others were talking about things in the Hanlin Academy, and the four new scholars listened quietly. Gradually, the conversation turned to the court. After all, many bachelors in the Hanlin Academy hold other titles, such as Min Rulin, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. , he has the title of Zhan Shi of Zhan Shifu and Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but the official position is only temporary. He is now the boss of Zhan Shifu and in charge of government affairs.

Yin Zhanshi, who is now in charge of the affairs of the Academy, is also the second-in-command of Zhanshi Mansion, helping Min Rulin manage Zhanshi Mansion, but he is still more in charge of the affairs of the Hanlin Academy.

Well, Wei Guangde soon felt that the Hanlin Academy was really a school for reserve cadres. As long as there were vacancies at Zhanshifu and Taichang Temple, there was a high probability that they would be filled by people from the Hanlin Academy, and then there would be vacancies in the six departments. When there is a vacancy, taking the title of Liubu Shilang is indeed a bit fast. No wonder scholars want to enter the Hanlin Academy.

"Guangde, I'm afraid you don't know yet. The most fierce competition in the court recently is not the official position, but those few topics. I found the policy paper you wrote two days ago, which is the paper of the provincial examination and the general examination. After looking at it, your remarks are very consistent with the faction that currently has the upper hand in official circles."

At this time, Wen Yinglu, who had been relatively quiet before, spoke up. He was the third overall winner in the previous term. He probably had the same sense of presence as Wei Guangde. He had two giant Buddhas on his head. Naturally, he didn't talk much on weekdays. Now he started talking to Wei Guangde. .

"What remarks? What are you arguing about in the court?"

Wei Guangde was still a little curious.

"Speaking of this, it's true. Yiyong was looking for your paper that day, and we also read it."

Chen Jin answered at this time: "One is the Japanese policy, and the other is the theory of wealth, which are the papers of your provincial examination and the general examination. They are completely consistent with the current trend of the court."

"Tell me in detail what happened. We are all ears."

Zhu Dashou said immediately.

For those of them who are new to the officialdom, they naturally want to know more about what is going on in the court now. No matter what it is, they will be exposed to it in the future. The more they know, the better.

For the three people in the first class of this imperial examination, they also vaguely heard the news that Wei Guangde seemed to have obtained the favor of the saint, so the strange thing happened that he jumped from the bottom of the third class to the first place in the second class.

For the Jinshi selected by this imperial examination, most people looked down upon Wei Guangde at first, because they thought he had followed the path of Yan Ge, and it was only the Jiangxi fellows who praised him so highly.

However, after the Rong'en Banquet incident, many people's impression of him changed slightly. Later, they heard that his improvement in ranking was definitely not something Yan Song could control. There was only one person who could decide all this, and that was the Ninth Five-Year Plan. Supreme, everyone then abandoned their prejudice against him and started to make friends with him.

Wei Guangde was very busy those days. He had to find time to read Taoist books and receive visitors. There were family members of Beijing officials who sent messages, and there were also Jinshi who came to visit. When he had time, he also had to pay a return visit.

Those Jinshi were all similar to Wei Guangde. They also kept visiting the officials from the same hometown. After their advice, the Jinshi knew what was going on.

Being able to win that person's favor is considered a skill.

Now, after hearing that Wei Guangde's policies for the rural examination and the general examination were consistent with some discussions in the court, and that the faction still had the upper hand, Zhu Dashou, Tao Dalin and Jinda naturally thought they had found the reason why Wei Guangde was promoted by the emperor. They were afraid that it was him What I wrote must have been approved by the emperor.

In fact, many times, this kind of attention is a political trend.

Chen Jin and the others looked at each other and laughed.

"First of all, let me talk about the incident you made after you praised the officials in the Imperial Street. You went to the yamen of the Ministry of Rites. We were shocked when we heard about it in the Hanlin Academy. We didn't know what kind of incident you were going to make. Later we found out that it was because of the mountain. We were relieved about the Shaanxi earthquake."

Chen Jin said in a relaxed tone: "The imperial court's state resources are insufficient. You must have felt this more or less. I heard from the seniors that before the 29th year of Jiajing, the imperial court's revenue and expenditure were still barely balanced, although it was still a bit stretched. , but can still cope with it.

If it weren't for the obsessed Taoist, although natural disasters would still continue, they could always be dealt with. It would be nothing more than tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall. If they were a little more frugal, maybe the court would still have a surplus.

However, since the 29th year of Jiajing, military expenditures have increased significantly. After that, Japanese pirates broke out in the south. Taxes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were also greatly reduced. The north and south used troops at the same time, resulting in a serious shortage of state supplies, and the situation of Yin depriving Mao of food.

I remember that one of the policies for pacifying the Japanese in Guangde's provincial examination last year was about the source of funds for the suppression of the Japanese. Now the censor of Zhejiang and the governor of the pacification of the Japanese, Mr. Hu Zongxian, has been constantly submitting information to the court, asking for more military spending, and they want to recruit new soldiers for the purpose. To suppress Japanese invaders, the guardsmen could only advance and suppress them if they were not good at defending.

But think about it, how can the imperial court have the money to recruit soldiers for him?"

After saying this, Chen Jin gave up, picked up the chopsticks on the table, took a bite of food, and chewed slowly.

"Hey, Senior Chen, Brother Deyan, please stop being so secretive and just tell the truth."

Tao Dalin couldn't sit still and asked.

"Let's take Yong as an example. If you read his papers for a long time, you will have the deepest understanding."

Chen Jin kicked the ball to Wen Yinglu, but Wei Guangde also understood what was going on. It was probably about sending extra troops to suppress Japanese taxes.

"Haha, that's fine, as far as I'm concerned."

Wen Yinglu smiled and said, "The imperial court is not short of money. Mr. Hu proposed to collect military expenses on the spot in the south of the Yangtze River to suppress the Japanese. In addition to increasing taxes on a per-acre basis for the land in the south of the Yangtze River, he also wanted to collect lijin from passing merchants along the canal. The tax money collected It will be used to suppress Japanese invaders in the south of the Yangtze River. From now on, there will be no need for the imperial court to allocate additional military pay."

"Can the Jiangnan side bear it? They have already suffered heavy losses due to Japanese aggression, and they still need to pay more tax money?"

Jinda hesitated and said, obviously not supporting this idea, and then he thought of Wei Guangde who was involved in this matter. Could it be that he supports Jiangnan's tax increase?

Thinking of this, Jinda looked towards Wei Guangde and saw that the old man was sitting there, and he picked up a piece of food and put it into his mouth.

"These are not things we should consider. The people above will naturally discuss it, because the six ministries have been fiercely arguing about this matter. Neither Xiyuan nor the cabinet has expressed its position. It's just..."

Wen Yinglu said and glanced at Wei Guangde, "It's hard to say about other yamen. Most people in the Hanlin Academy think they also mean the same thing.

It is also a good thing for the people of Jiangnan that the taxes collected in Jiangnan are used to suppress Japanese invaders. Only by pacifying the Japanese invaders can they live and work in peace and contentment, and the court also has money for disaster relief. "

"Yep."

Jinda nodded when he heard this. After all, he was new to the officialdom, so it was not easy to express too many opinions on these issues. He said that the debate in the court was very fierce now, and obviously there were many people who thought the same as him.

When you encounter a problem, propose a solution and discuss the pros and cons. This is the policy approach to handling national affairs. You can't ruin the country with empty talk.

"Will you try it?"

Zhu Dashou asked again, knowing the questions of the provincial examination, they now wanted to know how Wei Guangde answered in the examination.

For them, they naturally know the question, but their strategies are quite satisfactory, and their suggestions are all about saving money. They should be frugal on weekdays and save money to prepare for disasters.

"Most of your papers are based on the sage's point of view and pay attention to saving money. Guangde is talking about open source. Trade the products that foreigners like such as Jiangnan silk, tea and porcelain. In exchange for gold, silver and grain with them, the court will have money. Disaster relief.”

Wen Yinglu's answer was very simple, but he also pointed out the difference between them and Wei Guangde's paper, "Of course, Guangde's paper also said that it is for the purpose of making money."

After hearing Wen Yinglu's words, Zhu Dashou and others nodded repeatedly. These words were consistent with the strategy they wrote, but with the addition of trade and open source.

"I've heard that Guangde is good at dealing with difficult problems, and I learned a lesson today."

Jinda nodded. Jiangnan people are naturally not averse to doing business.

He knows that doing business can make money. His family is not a merchant family, so naturally he does not care about the interests of merchants. Relatively speaking, he is more concerned about the previous one, asking Hu Zongxian to levy additional taxes based on land in Jiangnan. This is what concerns him. family interests.

"The imperial court wants to increase taxes on Jiangnan merchants?"

At this time, Zhu Dashou suddenly interrupted and asked.

"no."

Wen Yinglu immediately shook his head and said, "The amount of taxation is determined by our ancestors and cannot be changed without authorization."

"Then what is the court talking about?"

Zhu Dashou asked in surprise.

"Master Zhao Wenhua, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, suggested that rice and mulberry be planted in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas to increase the production of raw silk and thereby increase the output of silk and satin. Not only can taxes be collected according to the system, but also the court can make another amount of money through the Shipping Department, thus solving the problem of the court. Cost-constrained situation.”

Wen Yinglu shook his head and said.

"Changing rice to mulberry?"

Wei Guangde, who had a nonchalant expression before, suddenly screamed and lost his voice.

No wonder he had such a big reaction. In the memory of later generations, it seems that Wei Guangde had seen this episode. It was not good anyway. The local people suffered miserably at the hands of corrupt officials.

Wei Guangde pointed out that sea trade was not a way for corrupt officials to annex land at low prices. It was a real solution to the financial problems of the Ming Dynasty.

Looking at the world, Ming Dynasty is the largest economic power in this era, and its GDP is definitely the largest in the world.

That is to say, there are less minerals such as gold, silver, and copper in the country, so it seems that they are not as rich as the Western Yi. In fact, the gold and silver they obtained from the Ming Dynasty in exchange for goods are blood-stained things, wealth plundered from Africa and America.

Wei Guangde did not expect that his proposal would be interpreted in this way. This was not his original intention. Wei Guangde felt that he had to do something, otherwise good policies would be misunderstood by corrupt officials, which would hurt the people and ruin his reputation as a high-ranking Wei official. .

Look, everyone in the Hanlin Academy now knows that he mentioned increasing sea trade during the examination and increasing the production of silk and porcelain to make money from abroad. I believe the news must have spread.

It had received special care from Emperor Jiajing before. Well, with this news, most people would probably think that this represents the political trend of Xiyuan.

However, once people like Zhao Wenhua are allowed to do this and hurt the livelihood of the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I am afraid that in the end the crime will be slapped on my head, and I will be blamed for this inexplicably.

Wei Guangde could already imagine that he would become a rat in the officialdom, hated by everyone, and that he might be dismissed from office and imprisoned.

We must do something and we cannot let the situation develop like this.

Wei Guangde doesn't think there's anything wrong with raising taxes in Jiangnan to suppress Japanese invaders.

If there is a problem, it is that Hu Zongxian's method of increasing taxes on land is not good and will increase the burden on the people of Jiangnan. Wei Guangde only considers increasing business taxes and has no intention of doing anything to the land.

As for converting rice into mulberry, that is a complete distortion of his original intention.

However, Wei Guangde also realized at this time that there was a problem with the paper he had originally tested. That is, if you want to increase the sea trade volume of silk and other commodities, the premise is that you must produce more products. How can you trade without goods?

You have to think about it carefully, Wei Guangde thought in his mind.

However, it was not convenient for him to say more on this occasion. He would have to think carefully before making a decision after returning to the clubhouse in the evening.

Next, Wei Guangde listened carefully to the stories of Wen Yinglu, Chen Jin and others. These situations were very important and he couldn't help but pay attention to them.