I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 142 Hai Rui's Memorial! Young Wanli: Quickly summon the Grand Secretary! Quickly summon the Grand Secretary!
March 28th, nightfall.

Inside the study of Zhang Siwei's residence.

Zhang Siwei sat on a rosewood official's hat chair engraved with cloud patterns and opened the letter that his third brother, Zhang Sijiao, had sent by fast horse.

Inside the letter.

They also included a copy of the memorial that Hai Rui had ordered Yao Bin, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, to send to the capital.

After reading it, Zhang Siwei looked puzzled and muttered, "The structure is rigorous and the logic is sharp. Everything is based on the 'Great Ming Code,' which is indeed Hai Rui's style of speaking. However... however... the destructiveness of this memorial is far weaker than I imagined. It is not enough to destroy my Zhang family and the Wang family, let alone shake my position in the court!"

"It seems that Hai Rui has grown old, or perhaps he has finally realized that if he attacks my Zhang and Wang families, Shanxi will be finished, and the people of Shanxi will suffer!" Zhang Siwei stroked his beard and placed the letter on the table.

This memorial is titled: "Memorial on the Disorderly Conduct of Officials and Merchants in Jin Province".

Hai Rui reported a series of crimes committed by officials in Shanxi, including embezzlement, theft of official documents, and the monopoly of salt permits in Hedong and Changlu by the Zhang and Wang families.

If the contents of the memorial are all true.

Hundreds of officials and clerks in Shanxi will be dismissed, or even exiled or beheaded.

Simultaneously.

At least thirty businessmen from the Wang Chonggu family and the Zhang Siwei family will also be severely punished.

This punishment seems severe.

In fact, it was all within Zhang Siwei's expectations, and he had already found someone to take the blame.

Such punishment.

Just like cutting off some branches from a towering tree with lush foliage, it won't affect the status of the Zhang and Wang families in Shanxi at all.

In the letter.

Zhang Sijiao confidently claimed that even if the Zhang and Wang families committed serious crimes, the imperial court would not dare to punish them severely, because once the Zhang and Wang families were to fall, Shanxi would be filled with refugees and beggars.

His confidence.

Nearly 70% of the lower-class people in Shanxi relied on the Zhang and Wang families for their livelihood.

this moment.

Zhang Siwei took a deep breath and began to think of a way to deal with this memorial.

When the memorial was presented to the young Wanli Emperor, his first task was to feign submitting a memorial requesting resignation.

He was certain that the young Wanli Emperor would not dismiss him from his post because of this memorial, since there was still a lot of work waiting for him in the cabinet!

Followed by.

He then ordered the Zhang clan to fully cooperate with the imperial court's investigation, and then pushed out the "scapegoat" that had been prepared in advance.

Once the charges are clear, he will be the first to submit a memorial advocating for severe punishment of the Zhang family.

He advocated forty strokes of the cane and a year's salary deduction for those who should have been punished; and for three years' salary deduction for those who should have been punished only with a year of penal servitude. He advocated for at least two thousand li of exile.

in this way.

He can also earn a good reputation for being "impartial and impartial, and not favoring relatives and friends".

Waiting for Hai Rui to return to the court.

Shanxi is still the same Shanxi, still controlled by the Zhang and Wang families.

The more Zhang Siwei thought about it, the more relaxed he felt.

Once he gets past this hurdle, no one will target Shanxi anymore, and he only needs to wait for Lü Diaoyang to retire so he can become the second prime minister.

Until then.

His position will be more secure, and the positions of the Zhang and Wang families will also be more secure.

……

The next day, it was nearly noon.

Yao Bin, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, and two members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard returned to the capital after a long journey.

Yao Bin changed into his official robes and headed straight for the Forbidden City.

After reporting the matter, he handed the memorial in his arms to the eunuch on duty, Zhang Jing, and requested to report the matter of Shanxi to the young Wanli Emperor in person.

Zhang Jing knew this matter was extremely important.

He immediately took the memorial to the Wenhua Hall and presented it to the young Wanli Emperor.

now.

The young Wanli Emperor was reviewing memorials, while Shen Nian, the official in charge of recording the emperor's daily life, stood to the side.

"Your Majesty, Yao Bin, the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, has brought back the memorial from the Imperial Academy of Marine Affairs from Shanxi!" Zhang Jinghui reported.

"Bring it here quickly!" Little Wanli said excitedly.

Because Hai Rui's memorial on maintaining order was a masterpiece, the young Wanli Emperor was very much looking forward to Hai Rui's memorial.

Shen Nian also showed an excited expression.

After nearly six months of inspection tour in Shanxi, Hai Rui's findings are finally about to be released.

The eunuch Zhang Jing scraped off the wax seal on the memorial and presented it to the young Wanli Emperor.

The young Wanli Emperor opened the memorial and began to read it carefully. Before long, his expression turned serious.

"Snapped!"

After reading the memorial, the young Wanli Emperor slammed his hand on the imperial desk and said coldly, "I never imagined that Shanxi had so many problems, and that the collusion between officials and merchants had reached such a level!"

Say it.

The young Wanli Emperor handed the memorial to Shen Nian, who was standing to the side.

Shen Nian opened the memorial, which was titled: "Memorial on the Disorder of Officials and Merchants in Jin Province".

The memorial detailed the crimes of Shanxi officials selling official positions, embezzling public funds, seizing salt and grain, and the collusion between some Shanxi merchants, mainly the Zhang Siwei family and the Wang Chonggu family, and officials in a series of dirty transactions.

Shen Nian frowned slightly after reading it.

This article is undoubtedly written in Hai Rui's style, and it also uncovers numerous crimes of collusion between officials and businessmen.

But Shen Nian felt that this memorial was like scratching an itch through a boot, failing to address the core issue of collusion between officials and merchants in Shanxi.

If these crimes were to be investigated, there would be no need for Hai Rui to go.

Even if Yao Bin, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, went to Shanxi, he would still be able to find out.

this moment.

Shen Nian suspected that someone might have switched Hai Rui's memorial, or that Hai Rui might not have reported back the results he found in Shanxi at all.

Based on Hai Rui's personality and abilities.

The memorial should reflect the harm caused to the entire Ming Dynasty by the collusion between Shanxi officials and merchants, and the private benefits brought to the two families by Zhang Siwei and Wang Chonggu's power, rather than accusing such a group of small fry.

At this time.

Zhang Jing then said, "Your Majesty, Yao Bin, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, requests an audience with Your Majesty to report in detail on the situation in Shanxi."

"Let him in!" said the young Wanli Emperor.

……

After a while.

Yao Bin, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, quickly entered the hall.

"Yao Bin, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, pays his respects to Your Majesty!" Yao Bin knelt on the ground and bowed.

"Yao, please rise quickly!" the young Wanli Emperor said with a smile.

Yao Bin raised his head and saw that there were only three people in the hall: Xiao Wanli, Shen Nian, and Zhang Jing. He immediately cupped his hands in greeting again.

"Your Majesty, the memorial I just submitted, 'The Disorderly Governance of Officials and Merchants in Shanxi Province,' was actually a memorial from the Imperial Censorate that misled some people; otherwise, I would have had a hard time returning to the capital smoothly!"

“What this memorial says is true, but the problems in Shanxi are not as simple as the memorial says. The Imperial Censor has instructed me to memorize the real memorial, and I can write it down immediately.”

Upon hearing this, the young Wanli Emperor frowned.

In his view, the situation reflected in the "Memorial on the Disorder of Officials and Merchants in Shanxi Province" was already serious enough, but he did not expect the actual situation to be even worse.

Shen Nian, who was standing to the side, could tell from Yao Bin's words that their trip had not been easy.

Those who feared Hai Rui would uncover the truth might not dare to eliminate him, but they had many ways to prevent the real memorials from reaching the young Wanli Emperor in a timely manner.

"Bring me pen and ink!" the young Wanli Emperor said in a deep voice.

Lean slightly.

Yao Bin stood in front of a square table and quickly began writing on a blank memorial. The young Wanli Emperor sat at his desk, his face serious.

He knew that the content reflected in the next memorial would be something he could never have imagined.

Swish!Swish!Swish!
Yao Bin writes very quickly.

While in Shanxi, Hai Rui instructed him to memorize the contents of the memorial and then ordered him to recite it twice to ensure that not a single word was wrong or omitted.

This memorial is very long, at least two thousand words.

After Yao Bin finished writing, he checked it again and then presented it to Xiao Wanli.

"Your Majesty, this memorial is based on twenty-four bamboo baskets of documents obtained by the Imperial Guard during his inspection tour of Shanxi. Every sentence is true and every word can withstand scrutiny. Please review it, Your Majesty!"

Zhang Jing took the memorial and presented it to the young Wanli Emperor with both hands.

Immediately, the young Wanli Emperor began to read it carefully.

Shen Nian, standing to the side, observed the expression on Xiao Wanli's face.

The young Wanli Emperor's face was initially gloomy.

Before long, his lips trembled slightly, and soon even his hands began to tremble.

This is a sign of impending great anger.

After reading the memorial, the young Wanli Emperor leaned back on his dragon throne, took a deep breath, and after catching his breath for about half a cup of tea's time, said to Zhang Jing, "Summon the Grand Secretary! Summon the Grand Secretary immediately!"

"Yes!" Zhang Jing bowed to the young Wanli Emperor, then strode quickly out of the hall.

"Run there, as fast as you can!" Little Wanli suddenly shouted.

Zhang Jing was startled and quickly grabbed his clothes, running outside as fast as he could.

Immediately, the young Wanli Emperor handed the memorial to Shen Nian.

Shen Nian opened the memorial.

The memorial was titled "Memorial on the Corruption of the State by Officials and Merchants".

"Officials use public resources to govern the people; merchants trade goods to make a living. When the two paths are separate, the government is clean and the people are at peace; when the two paths are combined, corruption breeds and the country is in danger."

"The Wang family of Puzhou rose to prominence as salt merchants. Leveraging their clan's influence, they cultivated relationships with border generals and monopolized salt permits in Hedong and Changlu. Each year, only one or two tenths of the grain was transported, while eight or nine tenths of the permits were used, leading to depleted border reserves..."

"The Zhang family of Puzhou, taking advantage of their position as cabinet ministers, established numerous residences and shops, monopolizing and exclusively selling all kinds of goods such as horses, cattle, and felt tents. Even more egregiously, they secretly sent people to trade iron with the barbarians and to engage in trade with the Mongol and Jurchen tribes..."

……

"The Zhang and Wang families used their official titles as weapons to exploit the wealth of the world; they used the tricks of merchants to confuse the righteousness of the court. The wealth of the two families could rival half of the imperial granary."

“Zhang Siwei, a cabinet minister, holds a high position in the imperial court but harbors the heart of a commoner, selling goods to disrupt power; Wang Chonggu, the governor of Shanxi, holds the weight of the military and the country but calculates every penny of profit, gradually becoming rich through monopoly. Is this not the disaster of officials and merchants being in cahoots?”

……

"Upon my thorough investigation, there are 123 cases of selling official positions in Jinzhong, about 500 cases of seizing salt and grain, extorting taxes and corvée labor, embezzlement by those in charge, selling idleness for corvée labor, and stealing and selling official documents... There are no fewer than 1,000 cases of embezzling military funds and land for military farms, extorting tribute from vassal states, and smuggling grain and iron to the Mongols and Jurchens... Nine out of ten of these cases are from the Zhang and Wang clans."

……

"Now, Jin is not the Jin of the Ming Dynasty, but the Jin of Zhang and Wang; Zhang and Wang are not the Zhang and Wang of the Ming Dynasty, but the Zhang and Wang of the Mongols and Jurchens."

"Datong, Xuanfu, and Taiyuan in Shanxi are three of the nine border regions, close to the capital. If Shanxi is lost, the Ming Dynasty will lose. I suggest that we strictly prohibit the exchange of officials and merchants, and block the door for rent-seeking by those in power, so that officials have no desire for personal gain and merchants have no desire to curry favor."

"Your subject, Hai Rui, is filled with deepest resentment and speaks these words from the bottom of his heart."

……

After reading the memorial, Shen Nian fell silent.

This memorial mainly describes the three major harms caused by the Zhang and Wang clans.

First, the harm caused by the collusion between officials and businessmen.

The Zhang and Wang families have taken collusion between officials and businessmen to the extreme. Their children either become officials or go into business.

They both discussed it and appointed officials.

Their collusion has created a vicious cycle, and they have almost taken control of the entire Shanxi province. Without strong intervention, their power will only continue to grow.

Secondly, the harm of long-term monopoly.

The monopoly here refers not only to the trade of salt, grain, tea, and cloth with foreign countries.

There is also trade with the surrounding provinces of Shanxi.

The tyranny and greed of the Zhang and Wang families left border soldiers starving and the people starving to death, while the Zhangs and Wangs amassed huge fortunes and filled their private granaries.

Thirdly, the harm of smuggling and nurturing enemies.

For personal gain, the Zhang Siwei and Wang Chonggu families violated imperial laws by smuggling iron pots and arrowheads into Liaodong, concealing them in cloth bags.

This move.

This was tantamount to treason and collusion with the enemy, putting the Ming Dynasty in grave danger of collapse.

The young Wanli Emperor murmured, “Jin is not the Jin of the Ming Dynasty, but the Jin of Zhang and Wang; Zhang and Wang are not the Zhang and Wang of the Ming Dynasty, but the Zhang and Wang of the Mongols and Jurchens.”

"Is that so, Attendant Shen?"

It was Hai Rui's words that made the young Wanli Emperor tremble all over.

Shanxi was no longer the Shanxi of the Ming Dynasty, but the Shanxi of the Zhang and Wang families.

The Zhang and Wang families are no longer the Zhang and Wang families of the Ming Dynasty, but rather the Zhang and Wang families of the enemy on the other side.

This means that the Zhang and Wang families had separated Shanxi from the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Shen Nian thought about it.

"Your Majesty, this...this...this is just the situation predicted by the Vice Commissioner of the Navy; it is not as bad as it seems at present!"

"Is this still considered speculation? Could the data summarized by the naval officer using twenty-four bamboo baskets of documents be false? The Zhang and Wang families are about to turn the world upside down!"

Hai Rui would be very pleased to hear this.

He spent nearly half a year compiling evidence of the evil deeds of the Zhang and Wang families, who held powerful control over Shanxi, in order to convince the young Wanli Emperor of his deductions.

Although the Zhang and Wang clans have not rebelled at present, if the Ming Dynasty goes to war with the Mongols and their interests are threatened, they may not necessarily stand on the side of the Ming court.

This reason was enough for the imperial court to eliminate the two major scourges, Zhang and Wang.

At this moment, Shen Nian greatly admired Hai Rui.

This memorial instilled fear in the emperor regarding the power of the Zhang and Wang families.

Thus, the destruction of the Zhang and Wang families was not far off.

The most important thing next is how to handle this matter.

Making Shanxi a bloodbath like the Taizu Emperor did would certainly be the worst possible strategy, but it's also impossible to avoid bloodshed entirely.

……

Not long after.

Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng strode into the front hall.

Zhang Jing said that the young Wanli Emperor was very anxious, so Zhang Juzheng ran all the way from the Cabinet Office to the Wenhua Hall.

Zhang Juzheng was always conscientious and diligent in his political affairs.

No one can find fault with it.

At this moment, Zhang Juzheng's face was covered with fine beads of sweat.

"Your subject Zhang Juzheng pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"Your Excellency, please excuse the formalities. Please take a look at this memorial submitted by the Imperial Maritime Court."

Seeing that the young Wanli Emperor was somewhat agitated, Zhang Juzheng quickly took the memorial and began to read it.

After a cup of tea.

After reading the memorial, Zhang Juzheng frowned and fell silent, constantly stroking his long beard that reached his abdomen.

He thought that the collusion between officials and businessmen in Shanxi was very serious, and that Hai Rui would surely be able to uncover some things that no one could see or even imagine. But he did not expect it to be so serious.

It is a matter of utmost importance to be suspected of undermining the stability of the Ming Dynasty.

Those involved in this matter.

One was a cabinet minister, and the other was a border governor.

Eradicating the families of these two individuals would be extremely difficult. A slight misstep could not only destroy the achievements of the new policies but also endanger the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)