I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 161 Public Discussion at Court! The Young Wanli Emperor's Cunning Tricks

On the ninth day of the seventh lunar month, at dawn, at the Huangji Gate.

Regular meetings.

Wu Guifang, the Left Vice Minister of War and the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, was urgently recalled. Yin Zhengmao and Shen Nian, who were under house arrest, also appeared in the civil officials' ranks, dressed in their official robes.

Lean slightly.

After all the civil and military officials performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows, and the official from the Court of State Ceremonies announced that "the ranks are in order," the court assembly officially began.

The current regular court assemblies are no longer just a formality, but are gradually becoming the main way to resolve important political issues.

As usual.

It should have started with the officials on duty at the Office of Transmission reading aloud the recent memorials.

However, the memorials submitted in the past few days were all impeaching Yin Zhengmao and Shen Nian. There was no need to read them aloud; the officials already knew what they contained.

The young Wanli Emperor announced loudly, "Today, we will skip reading memorials and focus on the matter of the grain transport in Tongzhou."

As soon as the young Wanli Emperor finished speaking, Wang Wei, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Yin Zhengmao disregarded the law and arbitrarily executed an official whose crimes had not been reviewed. This is extremely heinous. Shen Nian, a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, had a duty to advise him, but not only did he fail to do so, he also assisted him in committing evil. He is an accomplice. I believe that neither of them should stand in the court today to discuss this matter!"

Wang Wei stood tall and spoke in a very loud voice.

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

……

In an instant, more than ten officials stood up to second the motion.

The young Wanli Emperor looked at Wang Wei and asked, "Wang Wei, what did I just say we would discuss today?"

Wang Wei, with his neck stiff, said, "Your Majesty, it is naturally the matter of punishing Grand Secretary Yin Zhengmao and Hanlin Lecturer Shen Nian for their improper handling of the Tongzhou canal transport affairs!"

"Is that what I said?" the young Wanli Emperor retorted, his tone suddenly turning icy.

Wang Wei and the group of people who echoed his sentiments were somewhat stunned.

The young Wanli Emperor continued, "What were my exact words? Answer me!"

Wang Wei thought for a moment and said, "Today, let's skip reciting memorials and focus on the matter of the Tongzhou canal transport!"

The young Wanli Emperor slowly stood up and looked down.

"Although the canal transport in Tongzhou has returned to normal, the people along the canal are filled with resentment. They are cursing the canal officials for treating people like animals and saying that the oppressive government is more ferocious than a tiger. Can't you hear them?"

"The most important thing today is to resolve the long-standing grievances on the canal and ensure that the canal riots never happen again. Only then can we discuss the crimes of these two men. Can't you see which is more serious?"

Little Wanli frowned slightly.

"In the section of the North Canal, the eunuchs dispatched by the Directorate of Ceremonial, the censors of the Censorate, the officials of the Ministry of Works, and the officials of the Ministry of Revenue are all embezzling funds. I need to know the situation, and everyone needs to know the situation. Do you know more about the Tongzhou section of the canal transport than those two? Would you be satisfied if I executed them and the matter was resolved?"

"Many officials, when discussing politics, only shout for severe punishment of officials who have problems, but cannot offer a single useful solution. This kind of approach to politics is not what the court needs!"

"What pains me is that my desk is full of memorials, but not a single one addresses the problem of the Grand Canal! The court proclaims to the people that it will create a prosperous era where everyone can have enough to eat, while a group of canal laborers are dying from overwork. Don't you feel ashamed? I do!"

Emperor Wanli, in a rare display of temper, lost his temper during the regular court session, causing the civil and military officials below to bow their heads in unison.

"Your Majesty, we are guilty! Please punish us!" Wang Wei and the officials who had concurred with him knelt down and shouted in unison, their foreheads covered in sweat.

In their eyes, the most important thing today is to get the court to severely punish Yin Zhengmao and Shen Nian.

"Step down!" said the young Wanli Emperor.

Immediately, all of them slunk back into the queue.

Shen Nian couldn't help but look at Zhang Juzheng, who was standing at the very front.

The young Wanli Emperor at the time clearly did not possess the eloquence to utter such words; it must have been Zhang Juzheng who taught him.

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard, quite satisfied with the young Wanli Emperor's performance.

He guessed that some officials would do this, so he specifically reminded the young Wanli Emperor how to refute it.

The officials' tendency to "prefer punishing guilty officials to solving problems" has long been a common problem in the imperial court. Zhang Juzheng took this opportunity to have the young Wanli Emperor warn them.

After the young Wanli Emperor sat on the throne again, Zhang Juzheng stepped forward.

at this time.

Of all the officials in the court, only Zhang Juzheng dared to stand up and speak out.

"Your Majesty, next, please have Grand Secretary Yin and Attendant-in-Ordinary Shen report on the current problems with the canal transport!"

"Okay!" Little Wanli nodded.

soon.

Yin Zhengmao and Shen Nian walked out at the same time and reported on the problems existing in the Tongzhou canal transport.

The direct cause of the canal transport laborers' riot was—

On a sweltering day, after hundreds of people suffered heatstroke and fell into the river, Ding Yuanzhi, the prefect of Tongzhou, asked his four superiors to allow the laborers to rest at noon and 11 pm, but they refused. He then asked for an increase in their monthly wages, but that was also refused. He further requested more rice every day, but that was also refused.

Afterwards, the laborers discovered that the four men who had been slashed were carrying contraband, and then they looted them in a frenzy.

After failing to reach an agreement with them, Ding Yuanzhi was thrown into the river. After being rescued, Ding Yuanzhi wanted to make a big fuss to attract the attention of the imperial court, so he led a group of canal workers to take control of the canal boat and tie up the four men...

Although this action violates the law, it is a last resort.

“Your Majesty, Ding Yuanzhi is indeed guilty of instigating a riot and kidnapping his superiors, but his purpose was to seek rights for the canal transport workers.”

"In my opinion, the root causes of this incident are as follows: First, local governments forcibly conscripted people with almost no pay and imposed excessive labor, which the people could not endure, making a riot inevitable sooner or later; second, officials severely exploited the people, with officials and clerks smuggling their own money, exacerbating the exploitation of the canal transport laborers, truly a case of the rich feasting while the poor freeze to death on the streets; third, the canal officials were too demanding, working day and night to complete their tasks, showing no mercy to the lives of the people, hence the people called it the oppressive government on the canal!"

After saying that, Yin Zhengmao looked at Wu Guifang, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner.

This is a matter that he should answer.

Wu Guifang strode out and first bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, such a riot occurred during the busy period of grain transport. It is my fault for failing in my duty. However, grain transport has its own difficulties."

"After the seventh year of the Chenghua reign, the main mode of the Ming Dynasty's grain transport was military transport, with more than 12 grain transport soldiers responsible for the transport. Each soldier was promised a monthly ration of 12 shi (a unit of dry measure) and a travel allowance of 2 to 3 shi per person per year. However, in recent years, the monthly rations have often been delayed or even not issued, resulting in many grain transport soldiers smuggling goods, and some even deserting. The court could only turn a blind eye to this."

"There was no other choice but to use civilian labor. There were two main methods of civilian labor: one was forced labor, which was a mandatory and unpaid system, providing only a small amount of food or wages; the other was hiring, which involved paying people to work as laborers in the canal transport."

"Because the Single Whip Law was still in the trial stage, and most of the north did not have the practice of replacing labor with silver, there was a lot of labor on the canal. Under the pressure of a group of inspectors, the local officials along the canal had no choice but to forcibly conscript laborers, which led to public resentment, but they could not delay the grain transport!"

"As for officials smuggling in their own goods, it is true that some of them did want to embezzle, but the wear and tear on the cargo ships, the dredging of the waterways, the hiring of laborers, and the purchase of various items to tow the ships were all paid for by the local state government. They had no choice but to find ways to smuggle in their own goods to make up for it."

……

"The so-called oppressive policies on the river, which exhausted the people, were largely due to the heavy tasks set by the imperial court. Anything could happen on the canal, so all local officials hoped to complete their tasks as quickly as possible, making the people living along the canal extremely hard-working!"

……

After Wu Guifang finished speaking, Yin Zhengmao and Shen Nian both smiled helplessly.

They claimed that local governments were forcibly conscripting people to perform labor on the river.

Wu Guifang claimed that the imperial court's shortage of monthly rations for the grain transport troops led to desertion, forcing the court to forcibly conscript civilians. They also claimed that officials and clerks were smuggling goods for personal gain.

Wu Guifang stated that the excessive expenses on the Grand Canal forced officials and transport troops to smuggle goods for personal gain, which was a last resort.

They claimed that the officials in charge of the Grand Canal oppressed the people too much and that they would not rest until they were killed.

Wu Guifang stated that this was due to the strict enforcement of performance evaluation laws by officials on the canal.

After going around in circles, it turns out it was all the court's fault.

After Wu Guifang finished speaking, Zhang Juzheng stepped forward.

"The shortage of monthly rations for the grain transport troops is a last resort for the imperial court. The importance of grain transport is paramount, and the deadline set by the imperial court cannot be relaxed!"

When Zhang Juzheng said this, he clearly agreed with what Wu Guifang said.

To put it bluntly, the imperial court was short of money.

Zhang Juzheng paused for a moment, then cupped his hands towards the young Wanli Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the current problems with the Grand Canal have been exposed, causing public resentment. I believe we should address this issue head-on."

"First, the number of the canal transport troops was recounted, and the number was reduced from 120,000 to 60,000 to 80,000. Monthly rations were supplied on time to ensure their livelihood."

"Secondly, the military movement and the civilian movement are combined, but the civilian movement no longer adopts forced labor, but adopts an employment law, employing people when busy and not using them when not busy, with transparent monthly wages to prevent local authorities from deducting wages."

"Thirdly, we must completely eliminate the smuggling of goods during the canal transport. Once discovered, the perpetrators will be severely punished, with fines equal to ten times the value of the smuggled goods."

"In this way, the problems with the canal transport can be gradually alleviated, but the imperial court will have to spend an extra sum of money!"

The young Wanli Emperor nodded slightly, looked at Yin Zhengmao, and asked, "Grand Secretary Yin, is it possible to complete this?"

Yin Zhengmao raised his head and said loudly, "The Ministry of Revenue will definitely guarantee the timely supply of monthly rations to the grain transport troops. As for hiring laborers in the localities, the localities should pay for it. If some local prefectures really have no money, the Ministry of Revenue can provide it. We will absolutely not shortchange the people by a single coin or a single grain of rice!"

Yin Zhengmao's stance in the Ministry of Revenue has always been: save where you should save, spend where you should spend.

If local laborers were to be provided by the Ministry of Revenue, it would be a bottomless pit. However, if the local laborers were to be provided and then reported to the Ministry of Revenue, it would be much faster, and there would be many supervisors.

The young Wanli Emperor then looked at Wu Guifang, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner.

Wu Guifang immediately bowed and pledged, "Your Majesty, if the grain rations for the transport troops are delivered on time and the wages for hiring the people are paid on time, I guarantee that after three months, there will be no more smuggled items on the transport ships!"

Little Wanli nodded.

"At present, the court can only provide limited funds, but at least it has given them hope. You must let them know that their lives will get better and better in the future."

"Your subject obeys!" Wu Guifang bowed again.

Emperor Wanli paused for a moment, then continued, "The money and grain have been delivered, but this is only what the grain transport troops and the people deserve."

“Every year, up to a million people participated in the canal transport, tens of thousands died, and countless people were disabled due to forced labor. The canal transport was for the imperial court, for the border troops, and to ensure everyone’s basic needs for food, clothing, shelter and transportation.”

"I believe that a series of policies to care for the people should be introduced next, so that the canal transport workers can see hope without wasting money and food, and so that they can no longer say things like 'human beings are treated like animals, and the oppressive government is as fierce as a tiger'!"

"The four points that Ding Yuanzhi requested—'rest from the scorching heat, clothing in the cold winter, medical care when sick, and burial when dead'—are things that the court must achieve, but they are not enough. Do any of you gentlemen have any good suggestions?"

The young Wanli Emperor deliberately glanced at the officials who had just stepped forward.

Officials like Wang Wei were eager to bury their heads in their official robes. They were skilled at impeaching officials, but they were far less adept at offering advice and suggestions.

The young Wanli Emperor looked around, but none of his ministers answered.

"If you can't think of anything right now, then think about it carefully. Before the next court session, I require all officials who recently submitted impeachment memorials to submit a plan to alleviate the suffering of the people. Those who fail to submit one will be fined three months' salary!"

"Your Majesty, we obey!" the officials replied in unison, bowing their hands in unison.

The young Wanli Emperor continued, "Now, let's discuss the charges against Grand Secretary Yin and Lecturer Shen!"

"All of you, think about this: if you were ordered to deal with the riot of the canal workers at the Matouji ferry crossing, what would you do?"

"Wang, you speak!" The young Wanli Emperor called on him directly.

At this moment, Wang Wei, the censor of the Ministry of Revenue, just wanted to slap himself twice. He especially regretted being the first to stand up against Yin Zhengmao and Shen Nian.

"Answer me!" the young Wanli Emperor emphasized.

Wang Wei cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Your ...

"What if Ding Yuanzhi insists on killing the four men? What if if you take them away, thousands of people will riot and fight the soldiers? In that case, it might not just be four men who die. How do you resolve this?"

Wang Wei's forehead was covered in sweat.

"Pfft!"

He knelt on the ground, his voice trembling with sobs, and said, "Your Majesty, I...I would rather be beaten to death by the people at the ferry than...have my head cut off!"

He gave a standard answer that was all talk and no action.

"I am questioning you in this way not because I am targeting you, but to make all of you think about what you would do if you were in this situation?"

“It is indeed a crime to kill a guilty official without authorization, but wouldn’t the consequences be even more serious if we didn’t kill him? Would it turn those helpless people into rebels, and would it burden Ding Yuanzhi, an official who wholeheartedly seeks justice for the people, with the crime of ‘killing an official’, thereby inciting more people to be hostile to the court!”

"My lords, think it over carefully. Do you dare to sacrifice your careers for the sake of the court and the people?"

"At this moment, I do not know what crime to charge these two men with. They are very familiar with the affairs of the Tongzhou canal transport and are also going to write a policy to relieve the people's suffering. I will first imprison them in the imperial prison and then determine their crimes when we discuss the policy at the next court session!"

"My lords, does anyone have any objections?"

"Your Majesty, I have no objection!" all the civil and military officials said in unison.

Everyone could see that the young Wanli Emperor intended to imprison Yin Zhengmao and Shen Nian in the imperial prison not to punish them, but to have them discuss ways to care for the people, so that they could offset their mistakes with their good deeds.

If anyone wants the two to be punished more severely, they need to come up with a better way to care for the people.

The young Wanli Emperor nodded in satisfaction, then stood up.

Just when the officials thought the court session was about to end.

The young Wanli Emperor looked at the rising sun and said, "In another half hour, the sun will become scorching. Some officials should get a good tan. Perhaps after experiencing the heat, they will know how to write policies to care for the people!"

After saying this, the young Wanli Emperor left.

Immediately afterwards, the civil and military officials withdrew one after another.

Wang Wei, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, and more than ten other officials who had endorsed his proposal, conscientiously began to bask in the sun.

They wouldn't dare leave until they were completely soaked in the sun, until they were almost fainting or pretending to faint.

At this time.

Zhang Juzheng glanced at the dozen or so officials sunbathing, then looked at Shen Nian with a puzzled expression.

Shen Nian was taken aback, then quickly shook her head.

He knew that Zhang Juzheng believed that the young Wanli Emperor had instructed Shen Nian to punish these officials by making them sunbathe.

Shen Nian would never teach such a boring and twisted prank.

This must have been something the young Wanli Emperor came up with on the spur of the moment.

At fifteen years old, it's the perfect time to enjoy all sorts of pranks.

Shen Nian thought it was a bit childish, but she liked it very much.

(End of this chapter)