I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

On the first day of the ninth lunar month, at dawn, in Liaoyang City, Liaodong.

Li Chengliang, the General Commander of Liaodong, walked out of the General Commander's Mansion, a rare sight as he was dressed in a moon-white Confucian robe.

Today is the auspicious day of the opening of Chengliang Academy.

Li Chengliang, as the headmaster, was not just a figurehead; everything at Chengliang Academy was built according to his vision of what an academy should look like.

Currently, Chengliang Academy has recruited more than 50 instructors, more than 500 students in its first cohort, and more than 300 support staff.

All expenses were paid out of Li Chengliang's own pocket.

Li Chengliang did not select students based on merit. Although he was not well-educated, he understood the meaning of the eight characters "education for all and teaching according to aptitude".

Among the recruits were low-ranking military households, sons of military officers, illiterate vagrants, and his own descendants.

He brought people from different classes together, intending to have them learn together.

Shen Nian, the invited lecturer, greatly admired Li Chengliang's "one-pot" approach, believing that such an atmosphere was more conducive to cultivating exceptional talents.

If everyone studies with the goal of becoming an official, then their path will become narrow.

……

soon.

Shen Nian and Hai Rui also arrived at Chengliang Academy, located in the southeast corner of Liaoyang City, next to the Confucian Temple.

A plaque hangs above the academy's main gate, bearing the four characters: Chengliang Academy.

These four characters were handwritten by Li Chengliang. Although they are not very beautiful, they are of great significance.

Then, in the front hall, second hall, third hall, study room and other places, there are plaques personally written by Shen Nian, Hai Rui, Zhang Xueyan and others, with texts such as teaching and learning from each other, learning through play, and education for all.

A moment later, the opening ceremony of Chengliang Academy began.

Headmaster Li Chengliang spoke first, and on the theme of "learning for practical application," he talked about the purpose of establishing Chengliang Academy and how Chengliang Academy will develop in the future.

Subsequently, Hai Rui, who was in charge of all student affairs, began to speak, outlining the specific arrangements for student affairs.

This was followed by a speech by Zhang Xueyan, the governor of Liaodong, to encourage the students to study.

Finally, Shen Nian gave the closing speech, focusing on the theme that "becoming an official is not the first choice for scholars," and discussed the future development paths of the students.

Shen Nian spoke with great enthusiasm, and the students below listened with great enjoyment.

If the theme of Shen Nian were placed in other academies in the Ming Dynasty, it would most likely be driven away by the scholars. In the eyes of countless scholars, the purpose of studying was only to take the imperial examination and become an official, nothing more.

……

In the blink of an eye, it was September 15th of the thirteenth year of the Wanli reign.

At this point, a full year and a half had passed since Shen Nian left the capital.

Shen Nian had a very fulfilling and happy year and a half.

A few days ago, Shen Nian received a letter from Shen Maoxue. After planning the construction of Winter City and Oriental Port, the latter made a pledge to Shen Nian that Oriental Port would be officially put into use in the spring of next March.

Once Dongfang Port is put into use, the "Maritime Silk Road" that Shen Nian had planned will be completed, and trade will be unblocked, making everything possible.

Next, he needed to expel the Jurchens and Mongols who loved plunder and war, and turn the northern border into a fertile land of prosperous trade.

In this way, the external threats from the north will gradually disappear.

When the former Jurchen lands became a fertile ground for trade, both the Jurchens and Mongols were immersed in the enormous benefits brought by trade, and wars naturally decreased until they were completely wiped out by trade and the Liaodong cavalry.

...On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Liaoyang City was filled with the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year.

Shen Nian received a series of good news from Shen Maoxue.

After the opening of Jibei Port, various specialty products from the Ji-Liao region and the Jurchen and Mongol areas sold like hotcakes, prompting many tribes to spontaneously organize caravans to supply goods to Liaodong. All the official markets and trade fairs were extremely busy, and even trade in Shanxi, Datong, and Xuanfu was boosted by Jibei Port.

The various tribes of the Jurchen no longer relied on hunting and plundering as their main occupation, but instead began to engage in trade.

Nurhaci quickly became the most famous middleman among all the Jurchen tribes, making a fortune.

Shen Nian couldn't help but laugh when she noticed that the best-selling goods in the border market were no longer grain and cloth, but books such as Journey to the West, novels, and erotic picture books.

As the saying goes: "When people are well-fed and warm, they think of lustful desires."

After the living standards of these foreign peoples beyond the Great Wall improved significantly, they naturally needed to pursue spiritual enjoyment.

This shows that Shen Nian's business strategy was very successful.

……

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, in the capital, at the Cabinet Office.

The five cabinet ministers, Shen Shixing, Yu Youding, Wang Jiaping, Xu Guo, and Shen Yiguan, sat together, their faces somewhat gloomy.

Fifteen minutes ago, the Ministry of Revenue submitted the revenue and expenditure documents of the Taicang Treasury for this year to the Cabinet.

The documents show that this year, the Taicang Treasury had an annual income of 3,671,800 taels and an expenditure of 4,224,730 taels.

Expenditure exceeded income by more than 500,000 taels.

You need to know.

This marks the first time since the third year of the Wanli Emperor's reign that the silver reserves in the Imperial Treasury of the Ming Dynasty have declined, and the first time that expenditures have exceeded revenues.

In the ninth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, the annual silver revenue of the Taicang Treasury reached over 4.5 million taels. During the New Year's Day court assembly in the tenth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, the young Wanli Emperor made a bold statement: within three years at most, the annual silver revenue of the Taicang Treasury could exceed 6 million taels.

Today, this bold statement has become a joke.

Grand Secretary Shin Si-haeng frowned and said, "Why is this year so bad?"

Shen Yiguan's eyes darted around, and he said, "This year's expenditures exceeded income, mainly because His Majesty is building a mausoleum. Now that the money has been allocated, we won't need to spend so much money in the future!"

“You can explain why income exceeds expenditure, but how do you explain the decrease in annual income?” Wang Jiaping asked rhetorically.

Shen Yiguan thought for a moment and replied, "In previous years, the increase was too large because the Single Whip Law was first implemented. Now it has returned to normal. In the past, the annual income was more than three million taels of silver. Now the annual income of the Imperial Treasury is still more than four million taels. What is there to worry about!"

When it comes to fabricating reasons and making excuses, Shen Yiguan can be called the number one person in the current court, and the young Wanli Emperor liked him to say such things.

"Alright! Alright! We have indeed been a bit lax this year. Let's work harder and be more frugal next year!" Shen Shixing was worried that Wang Jiaping and Shen Yiguan would start arguing, so he immediately used these words to define the matter.

Actually, everyone knows the truth.

The main reason for the sharp decline in Taicang Treasury revenue was the weak cabinet and slow enforcement of laws, which rendered performance evaluations ineffective and led to a recovery in mergers and acquisitions.

Grand Secretary Shen Shixing did not overturn the reform measures implemented since the early Wanli era; he simply lacked decisiveness and always tried to treat everyone equally, which resulted in the increasingly lenient performance evaluation system and the gradual emergence of land annexation in local areas.

……

The following day, Shen Shixing submitted a memorial to Emperor Wanli, reporting on the decline in the Taicang Treasury's revenue and reminding him to be more frugal in the future.

But the young Wanli Emperor didn't take it seriously.

He simply believed that after several years of rapid expansion, the Ming Dynasty had slowed down somewhat, which was a normal phenomenon. He was completely unaware that the Ming Dynasty had now degenerated from order to chaos. (End of Chapter)