I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 220 The Craftsmen's Spring! Zhang Taiyue's Powerful Return to Court
August 18th, near dusk.

Jiangling County, Jingzhou, Huguang Province.

A courier delivered Emperor Wanli's memorial requesting reinstatement after his death to Zhang Juzheng.

Dressed in mourning clothes, Zhang Juzheng knelt in the front courtyard of his residence after reading the memorial, facing the direction of the capital, and wept bitterly.

He lamented that he had been reinstated by the court and had to stop observing the mourning period, lamenting that he could no longer fulfill his filial duties at home, violating Confucian ethics and moral principles...

Then, he cried bitterly in front of his father's memorial tablet.

She cried until she nearly fainted before her five sons persuaded her to go back to her bedroom to rest.

This process, regardless of whether it is entirely sincere or not, cannot be skipped and must be made known to the world.

Later, upon hearing that Zhang Juzheng was to be reinstated, the officials of Jingzhou flocked to Zhang's residence to visit him, urging him to take heart and saying that the emperor's command could not be disobeyed and that national affairs were more important than family matters.

……

The next day, in the afternoon.

Shi Qing, a commander of the Imperial Guards, led several Imperial Guards to the Zhang residence in Jiangling.

He had already arranged Zhang Juzheng's return route to Beijing.

Zhang Juzheng's mother, Lady Zhao, was escorted to the capital by Wei Chao, a eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial who was about to arrive.

Zhang Juzheng ordered his five sons to observe mourning in Jiangling on his behalf. After arranging all the affairs at home, he dressed in plain clothes and embarked on his journey back to the capital the next morning.

……

August 20th, the first day of Zhang Juzheng's journey back to Beijing.

into the night.

Inside a post station.

Zhang Juzheng dipped his brush in ink and began to write a memorial to the throne.

He is 54 years old this year, and has hemorrhoids in his buttocks, so he cannot ride a horse. He can only travel by sedan chair or horse-drawn carriage on land, and by boat on water.

It would take at least a month to return to Beijing using these modes of transportation.

Zhang Juzheng, who held the title of Grand Secretary, did not want to neglect his political duties, so he chose to travel during the day and handle government affairs at night.

Zhang Juzheng first explained why he had to return to court after the young Wanli Emperor had refused to grant him leave, and then thanked the young Wanli Emperor for taking care of his mother, Lady Zhao.

After that, Zhang Juzheng began to deal with the matter of the inner court's desire to add 270,000 taels of silver.

The young Wanli Emperor sent Shi Qing to escort Zhang Juzheng back to Beijing.

On the one hand, it was to express the importance attached to Zhang Juzheng, and on the other hand, it was naturally to inform Zhang Juzheng of some information.

Zhang Juzheng already knew that he had been reinstated and returned to the capital. The biggest reason for this was Shen Nian, who faced so little resistance from the court.

Zhang Juzheng immediately expressed his approval of the young Wanli Emperor's decision to increase expenses for the harem.

However, it was also believed that 200,000 taels of silver per year was excessive for compradors.

He suggested setting aside 100,000 taels of silver annually for purchasing agents, and that the payment be made in one lump sum, but rather transferred from the Ministry of Revenue to the Imperial Court on the first day of March, June, September, and December each year.

In the event of famine or war, the purchase of silver would be suspended first, and the funds would be used to supply civilian or military needs.

As for the 70,000 taels of silver for purchasing horses and fodder, these were supplied by the Beijing Garrison and the inner court was not allowed to interfere.

In addition, Zhang Juzheng also expressed his views on the death of Shi Yingyue, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, who remonstrated against the government.

His courage is commendable, but it is actually blind loyalty.

The court may give him a grand funeral and provide compensation to his family, but the officials in the court must never take him as an example in the future.

In addition, Zhang Juzheng also praised Yin Zhengmao.

As the Minister of Revenue, he was doing this to safeguard the imperial treasury, but he could not be too rigid and could not back down even a step.

……

Zhang Juzheng's handling of the situation was almost identical to what Shen Nian had described at the Wenhua Hall that day.

In the imperial court, the words of other officials might not have much effect on the young Wanli Emperor and Yin Zhengmao, but the two would absolutely listen to what Zhang Juzheng said.

After dealing with this matter.

Zhang Juzheng then wrote letters to Li Chengliang, Qi Jiguang, and other commanders-in-chief of the nine border regions, expressing the court's attitude towards foreign affairs.

Only Zhang Juzheng dared to make such a statement during the reign of Emperor Gaozong.

When Zhang Juzheng called for war, the Ming Dynasty could fight; when Zhang Juzheng called for peace, the Ming Dynasty could make peace.

No one in the court understood the Ming Dynasty better or was better able to control it than Zhang Juzheng.

Some people have criticized Zhang Juzheng for using private letters to govern, but Zhang Juzheng's method was indeed highly efficient.

Zhang Juzheng also sent copies of these letters to the young Wanli Emperor. After seeing them, the young Wanli Emperor was no longer worried about unrest on the border.

The news of Zhang Juzheng's reinstatement and return to the capital quickly spread throughout the prefectures and cities.

These past few days, Zhang Juzheng has been on his way back.

When passing through various places.

After the local governors, provincial treasurers, censors, and prefectural officials learned of Zhang Juzheng's return route, some paid their respects by the riverbank, some arranged chance encounters along the way, and others held banquets at post stations in advance, preparing all sorts of supplies for Zhang Juzheng.

At first, Zhang Juzheng kept refusing.

Later, because so many officials came to greet him, he stopped refusing them. Without affecting his itinerary, he would have a simple meal with some of them and chat about local people's livelihood.

Zhang Juzheng knew that this move could easily lead to impeachment by some officials.

But at that moment, he couldn't care less about any of that.

He has already been labeled a "powerful minister who controls the country," and his power and prestige will surely increase once again after his return to the capital.

He just wants the new policy to be fully implemented.

As for his personal reputation, he no longer cared whether it was pure or impure.

……

On August 26, Zhang Juzheng's memorial reached the capital.

Yin Zhengmao, the Grand Secretary and Minister of Revenue, whose neck was harder than the bricks and stones of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, was the first to submit a memorial to the young Wanli Emperor, bowing his head and saying that the Ministry of Revenue had not considered the increase in expenses for the inner palace, which was a dereliction of duty. He was willing to accept Zhang Juzheng's suggestion to allocate 100,000 taels of silver to the inner court every year for purchasing goods.

Emperor Wanli replied to Yin Zhengmao, saying that he had not considered things thoroughly and had asked for too much money for personal use, and that he was willing to accept Zhang Juzheng's suggestion.

The issue of the private use of silver within the inner court was completely resolved in almost a single day.

Emperor Wanli neither rewarded nor punished the Ministry of Revenue, and ordered the Imperial Guard to give Shi Yingyue, a censor in the Ministry of Revenue, a grand funeral and to provide compensation to his family.

This demonstrates Zhang Juzheng's ability and his prestige.

What the entire court of officials could not accomplish with their combined efforts, Zhang Juzheng could achieve with a single memorial.

As soon as he spoke, Emperor Wanli and Yin Zhengmao chose to compromise.

His suggestion left the entire court without any objections.

Some officials also felt that the incident was orchestrated, because the biggest beneficiary was Zhang Juzheng.

Because of this incident, almost all the officials in the court who opposed Zhang Juzheng's decision to revoke the mourning period compromised; because of this incident, Zhang Juzheng's days of holding power were about to return.

But the officials only gossiped about it privately.

During the ten months that Zhang Juzheng was away from the court, they all realized that the current court truly could not do without Zhang Juzheng.

Also.

With Zhang Juzheng's imminent return, officials in the capital were also motivated.

Lü Diaoyang and Ma Ziqiang disliked demoting or reprimanding officials, but if Zhang Juzheng knew that an official was incompetent or procrastinating, he could reprimand the official until he couldn't lift his head.

……

The weather was slightly cool on August 28th.

The streets of the capital were bustling with people, as the first Craftsmen's Exhibition, sponsored by the Ministry of Works, was about to begin.

This time, unlike the last time when all those who came to Beijing were craftsmen involved in river management (including carpenters, blacksmiths, stonemasons, etc.).

It involves more than ten different trades.

There are various industries, including engineering and construction (i.e., the construction of palaces, government offices, and bridges), textile printing and dyeing, crafts and artifacts, ceramics, and shipping and transportation.

Those who excelled in their respective fields all gathered in the capital.

There is also a special category of craftsmen: weapon makers, namely bow makers, arrow makers, armor makers, gunpowder makers, etc.

Their skills were related to the development of the Ming Dynasty's military power, so they were assigned to the Ministry of War and were not exhibited to the public.

These artisans can be divided into two categories. One category is shift artisans, who are paid in lieu of labor service and make a living by being employed in private workshops.

Another type is the housekeeper, who cannot pay silver in lieu of service and must serve at least ten days a month. They are the key group for service.

Shift workers have more freedom than stationary workers, but their monthly wages are meager, and they are still at the bottom of the social ladder.

What these two groups of people have in common is that they are hereditary artisan households, and without a special pardon, they cannot leave their registered status or participate in the imperial examinations. Their social status is far lower than that of ordinary households.

This time, the number of artisans who came to the capital was five times that of the last time.

The artisans were so enthusiastic.

On the one hand, it was because at the last Anlan Conference, some craftsmen were richly rewarded, some were hired by the Ministry of Works, and some were allowed their descendants to participate in the imperial examinations because of their inventions.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Works announced that those with skills or inventions who were valued could not only become clerks, but also officials.

This time, the Ministry of Works took the lead again, the Ministry of Revenue provided the funding, and other government departments fully cooperated.

It opens on the first day of September and closes on the fifteenth day of September.

The exhibition still follows the model of "craftsmen as the main participants and students of the Imperial Academy as the secondary participants," and there will still be generous rewards. Various inventions will be compiled into books by the imperial court, allowing some craftsmen who cannot read a single character to be remembered in history.

Of course, the competition is even fiercer this time.

The Ministry of Works selected just over two hundred inventions from more than five thousand artisans and set up exhibition booths for them.

The newly appointed Minister of Works, Li Youzi, attaches great importance to this artisan exhibition.

He saw how artisan inventions liberated productivity and greatly benefited the development of the handicraft industry.

He even collaborated with some larger private artisans, enabling them to recruit more craftsmen with unique skills and inventions, allowing these people to inspire each other and create more valuable inventions.

……

The first Craftsmen Exhibition officially opened on the first day of September.

The students in charge of giving the explanations were all very excited. They prepared a lot of explanations and even invented a lot of new words.

At this moment, they no longer felt that craftsmen were lowly.

They recognized the impact of these inventions on productivity and the reduction of burdens on many low-level laborers; their value far exceeded the value of writing an exam essay that would earn praise from teachers.

Some students were even preparing to take up crafts as a side job or change careers altogether.

Emperor Wanli greatly enjoyed the atmosphere of the artisan exhibition.

On the opening day of the exhibition, he spent most of the day wandering around the chessboard street exhibition, accompanied by Shen Nian and Feng Bao, and a group of imperial guards protecting his safety.

This exhibition has undoubtedly and subtly elevated the status of artisans.

……

September 10th.

Minister of Works Li Youzi submitted a memorial to the throne, hoping that the court would reduce the burden on artisans throughout the country.

For some artisans who possess inventions or technologies that can liberate productive forces, they are exempted from artisan service, and their sons are allowed to participate in the imperial examinations without having to leave their registered residence.

in this way.

This was equivalent to granting a segment of artisans the same rights as the four classes of people: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.

This move will rapidly elevate the status of artisans and encourage more artisans to contribute more inventions and technologies.

Emperor Wanli immediately agreed to the request and ordered the Ministry of Works to draft new regulations for artisans, reducing their burden and increasing their pay.

This greatly excited the artisans in the capital.

Once their descendants could participate in the imperial examinations, their lives would have hope. Even if they failed the exams, they could still use their knowledge to improve some crude inventions and unleash their greater value.

This statement from the imperial court actually sends a signal: the court will never mistreat those who benefit the people.

……

The first Craftsmen Exhibition concluded successfully on September 15th.

The Ministry of Works retained more than seventy capable craftsmen, paying them "three taels of silver a month, with all their food, clothing, and lodging provided" to serve as officials in the Ministry of Works, allowing them to focus on invention and creation.

Those who make significant contributions may be promoted to official positions through special circumstances.

It should be noted that the monthly income of ordinary people at the bottom of society is mostly between one and two liang (a unit of weight), while a family of five consumes about 1.5 shi (another unit of weight) of grain per month, which is 0.75 liang.

These artisans typically earn between one and two taels of silver per month.

Three taels of silver a month is not a lot.

However, the phrase "all necessities of life" is equivalent to five taels of silver per month.

These artisans were all honest, family-oriented people. With their basic needs taken care of, they could probably save 35 taels a year (total annual income of 36 taels).

After their children were allowed to participate in the imperial examinations, they became even less willing to waste money.

These people had had enough of being looked down upon. They knew very well that if a family could produce a scholar, it was a sign of great fortune, and the landlords and clerks in the county and township would no longer dare to bully them.

……

September 20th, afternoon.

Zhang Juzheng, dressed in plain clothes, returned to the capital.

He rode in a carriage straight to the palace, changed into his official robes in front of the Meridian Gate, and then entered the Wenhua Hall.

Not long after.

All the eunuchs, including Feng Bao, were waiting outside the Wenhua Hall, leaving only the young Wanli Emperor and Zhang Juzheng inside.

About half an hour later.

The three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, Lü Tiaoyang, Ma Ziqiang, and Yin Zhengmao, were summoned and also entered the Wenhua Hall.

Inside the palace, there were no eunuchs or palace maids to accompany them, nor were there any officials to record their daily activities.

This matter was most likely recorded by Ma Ziqiang, who served as the official in charge of recording daily life, and then sealed separately. Shen Nian and other officials in charge of recording daily life had no right to view it.

However, when the historical records are compiled in the future, the historian on duty will certainly be asked to open and take a look.

It wasn't until dusk that the four Grand Secretaries emerged from the Wenhua Hall.

All four had red eyes, clearly having cried their hearts out in the Wenhua Hall.

after that.

Zhang Juzheng and his three companions first returned to the cabinet, and after sitting for a while, they went together to the Drafting Office.

Shen Nian and the other eighteen draft prosecutors received advance notice and all gathered at the Drafting Division.

The Drafting Office was essentially a replacement for Zhang Juzheng. Now that Zhang Juzheng has returned, the Drafting Office will most likely be abolished.

Front office of the drafting department.

The four Grand Secretaries stood at the very front, with eighteen officials, including Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, and Shen Nian, standing on either side.

Zhang Juzheng looked at everyone, and after a long while, stroked his long beard and said, "Gentlemen, you've worked hard!"

To receive a word of thanks from Zhang Juzheng was already an immense honor.

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he looked at Shen Nian and nodded to her.

This nod was not only an acknowledgment of Shen Nian's handling of government affairs these days, but also contained gratitude towards Shen Nian.

Shen Nian quickly bowed and clasped her hands in greeting.

this moment.

He felt that the feeling of all the officials in the Ming Dynasty working together as one had returned.

He suddenly felt a support around his waist, which filled him with energy and made him look forward to the future.

This is Zhang Juzheng's personal charisma.

Zhang Juzheng and the other three Grand Secretaries stayed at the Drafting Office for a while, inquired about the recent situation of Shen Nian and others, and then left.

Shen Nian knew that something big would happen during the morning court session tomorrow, and the cabinet would definitely have to make some changes.

……

That evening, after the yamen had closed.

None of the officials in the various government offices left on time; they were all busy at their offices.

Some people are genuinely busy, while others are pretending to be busy, but neither dares to leave.

Shen Nian was pulled away by Shen Shixing because his daily lecture plan needed to be adjusted, so he was dismissed from his post nearly an hour late. However, he was still the first person to leave the post office and go home today.

This demonstrates Zhang Juzheng's influence in the imperial court.

(End of this chapter)