My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 245 "A Memorial Requesting the Emperor to View the Crystal Palace Exhibition"

April 21st.

Just as Yang Sizhong had predicted, Su Ze's memorial was met with tremendous resistance from both the court and the public as soon as it was sent to the Six Ministries.

A large number of officials submitted petitions opposing the expansion of the scope of the civil service examinations and the collection of commercial taxes. This force was mainly composed of officials from the southeast, and their influence was enormous. Even the current emperor and cabinet dared not suppress them forcefully.

This included many of Su Ze's fellow townsmen, and many Suzhou officials accused Su Ze of disregarding his hometown folks for personal gain.

The outer court was bustling with activity.

Yang Sizhong sat in the Office of General Affairs and Postal Service, looking at the memorials on the table. He personally picked up a pen and paper and wrote down the names of these opponents.

Putting down his pen, was Su Ze about to miscalculate this time?
Just then, Wu Shaozu, the official in charge of administration, suddenly rushed in.

"Da Yintai! Someone wants to beat the drum to appeal!"

Yang Sizhong suddenly raised his head.

Since Zhu Juntang and his son struck the Dengwen Drum last time, the Office of Transmission has also begun to send people to guard the Dengwen Drum.

In any bureaucratic system, the prevailing attitude is to avoid trouble, and the petitioning drum system was a disaster for the bureaucratic system.

The imperial legal code established the Dengwen Drum, and the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs dared not remove it. However, the solution to this problem has always been simple: just have the soldiers surround the Dengwen Drum.

As long as the petition drum doesn't make a sound, isn't that enough?

Zhu Juntang and his son managed to exploit a loophole in the Office of Transmission, and given their status as members of the imperial clan, ordinary soldiers dared not stop them.

However, it is even more difficult for ordinary people to beat the drum to appeal to the emperor.

Yang Sizhong had a premonition, and he said to Wu Shaozu:
"Who wants to sound the drum for petitioning the emperor?"

Wu Shaozu said:
"It is Fan Baoxian, the clan head of the Fan family in Datong, Shanxi."

merchant?

Yang Sizhong naturally knew about the Fan family of Datong; the Commercial Daily was backed by such a family.

Yang Sizhong frowned. What grievance had the Fan family suffered in Shanxi?
This is trouble.

If it were another family, the Ministry of Justice wouldn't go through so much trouble; they could simply drive them away.

If things get too out of hand, just call the police.

However, the Fan family controls the Commercial Daily, and if it is not handled properly, it could cause a major incident.

"I'll go take a look."

Yang Sizhong had no choice but to leave the government office and go to the Dengwen Drum.

A dozen or so people in plain clothes stood in front of the Dengwen Drum, led by a shrewd old man.

Yang Sizhong looked at the old man. Judging from the attitude of the people around him, he should be Fan Baoxian, the ancestor of the Fan family.

Although Fan Baoxian didn't recognize Yang Sizhong, upon seeing his official robes, he immediately said:

"This humble citizen, Fan Baoxian, pays his respects to the Grand Secretary."

Yang Sizhong nodded in return and then said:

"The Dengwen Drum is a national treasure. Why would the Fan family want to beat the Dengwen Drum?"

Although Yang Sizhong spoke politely, his tone was unfriendly.

Fan Baoxian immediately knelt down, holding the petition high above his head and said:

"This humble citizen represents thirteen merchant guilds and seven hundred and ninety merchants from Shanxi, and is submitting this petition!"

Upon hearing the words "petition," Yang Sizhong frowned even more.

The subordinate brought over Fan Baoxian's petition, titled "Petition to Levy Commercial Tax in Shanxi."
Even a high-ranking official like Yang Sizhong, with his composure, changed his expression at this moment!

He quickly read through the petition, and saw that the last part was the petitioner's signature and fingerprint.

The thirteen merchant guilds, including the four major families of Shanxi, all had their guild leaders and assistant managers sign and affix their seals.

Next came a dense array of names and handprints—all belonging to businessmen from Shanxi!

Is this Su Zilin's backup plan?

Yang Sizhong glanced at Fan Baoxian with a playful look. It seemed that Su Ze's memorial had succeeded again.

Was all of this planned?

Fan Baoxian was so nervous that her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.

Although the Fan family was considered the leading merchants in Shanxi, they dared not utter a sound in front of powerful officials like Yang Sizhong.

The atmosphere at the scene froze. Just as Fan Baoxian was wondering if his petition had failed and if he had offended the Grand Secretary, he was wondering how to prepare for the future.

Yang Sizhong suddenly said:

"Withdraw the officers and soldiers."

The official Wu Shaozu exclaimed in surprise, "Ah? The Grand Silver Terrace?"

Yang Sizhong glanced at his clueless subordinate and said to Fan Baoxian:
"Doesn't the Fan family want to beat the drum? If you don't beat the Dengwen Drum, how can I process your petition?"

Fan Baoxian immediately understood, and the surrounding soldiers made way for him, allowing him to ascend the Dengwen Drum Platform.

He looked at the red-handled drumsticks, gritted his teeth, picked them up, and started playing.
-
The petition drum has sounded again!

As the drums sounded, all eyes in the court fell on the Office of Transmission.

The four cabinet ministers, upon hearing the drumbeats, all looked toward the Office of Transmission with varying expressions.

The last time the petition drum sounded, the court removed a hereditary prince. What will happen today when the petition drum sounds again?
Before the Secretariat could even go to the Office of Transmission to investigate, Yang Sizhong arrived at the Cabinet with a petition.

"Fan Baoxian, a merchant from Shanxi, struck the Dengwen Drum, representing the merchants of Shanxi, to petition for the imposition of a Shanxi commercial tax!"

After Yang Sizhong finished speaking, the expressions of the four elders present all changed.

His round, arched face broke into a wide grin, unable to hide the smile on his face.

The fact that merchants voluntarily requested the collection of commercial taxes further validates the theory of pragmatism and the moral principles of the four classes of people.

Merchants who are only interested in profit know to take the initiative to contribute to the imperial court and request the imposition of commercial taxes.

Isn't this exactly the result of "education" that Confucianism loves most?

Zhang Juzheng was also in a good mood, but he used the gesture of stroking his beard to cover up the smile on his lips.

Expanding the scope of commercial tax collection and implementing the civil service examination were both things that Zhang Juzheng approved of.

Now that Shanxi businessmen have taken the initiative to petition, many obstacles have been cleared up.

With Shanxi as a pilot area, and if we achieve some results, we can continue to expand the scope.

Zhang Juzheng didn't know how Su Ze managed to get Shanxi merchants to petition for the imposition of commercial taxes.

But Su Ze's move was a completely open scheme. Now that Shanxi businessmen are petitioning on their own, how can other places object?

Zhao Zhenji was both happy and worried. They were naturally willing to levy commercial taxes, but as a relatively conservative scholar-official, Zhao Zhenji did not know where the Ming Dynasty court would go.

Although Lei Li was not in charge of other affairs, the court's finances were surplus after the commercial tax was levied, which meant there was money to build river works.

Gao Gong said:

"Gentlemen, please come together into the palace to present your petition to His Majesty."
-
Newspaper office. These days, Su Ze has been busy with the opening of the southern branch office in Shanghai, so he asked the Crown Prince for leave and has been working at the newspaper office for the past few days.

He looked at the system settlement report.

The memorial requesting the expansion of the civil service examination and the reform of the official system was passed, and Shanxi held the civil service examination and began levying commercial taxes.

The rapid development of industry and commerce in Shanxi, particularly in coal mining, wool textiles, and grassland trade, has transformed the province's industrial structure and led to its rapid economic growth.

The development of the banking industry in Shanxi has also made Shanxi a core force in the economic and industrial development of northern China.

[National fortune +2.]

[Prestige +300.]

[Remaining Prestige: 1220.]

It seems that the four provinces of Shanxi will not appear in this time and space, and Shanxi will become the province that develops first.

Su Ze had just put down the [Portable Ming Dynasty] when he pulled out another list.

This list was sent by the Ministry of Justice; it was incomplete and the clerk who sent it didn't say a word.

But after looking at the list, Su Ze knew that these were the officials who had opposed him a few days ago.

It's obvious who sent this list; it's clearly a political investment.

Just as Su Ze finished putting away the list, Shen Yiguan rushed into the newspaper office.

"Brother Zilin! The Shanxi merchants have petitioned for the imposition of a commercial tax, and His Majesty has approved the holding of the civil service examination in Shanxi Province and the imposition of the commercial tax!"

Shen Yiguan rushed into the newspaper office and, seeing Su Ze's calm demeanor, suddenly realized:

"I was really stupid. Brother Zilin must have made arrangements long ago."

Su Ze looked helpless. In the past two days, he had explained to countless people that the petition submitted by the Fan family of Datong was not something he had planned.

But no matter how he explained, it was useless, and Su Ze was too lazy to explain any further.

Moreover, strictly speaking, I did spend 100 prestige points, which can be considered as "indirectly" contributing to this matter.

Su Ze finally understood why the system only deducted 100 prestige points to push this matter forward. The Shanxi merchants must have been planning this for a long time, and it just so happened that when he submitted his memorial, the Fan family also took the opportunity to submit theirs.

However, in Shen Yiguan's view, Su Ze was tacitly admitting that it was all part of his scheme.

Shen Yiguan didn't ask any more questions, but instead said:

"The merchants are loyal to the country and know the virtues of Ming merchants, sharing the country's burdens. His Majesty is very satisfied and has granted the Fan family of Datong the status of imperial merchants. He has also issued imperial edicts to the thirteen merchant companies that jointly submitted the petition, allowing them to trade with the grasslands."

After Anda granted them tribute, Mongol merchants were allowed to conduct business in the horse market.

At the same time, the Ming Dynasty also had an imperial edict, which was a document jointly recognized by the Ming Dynasty and Anda Khan. Merchants from the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols who obtained the imperial edict could use it to conduct business across the border.

In the past, the Fan family of Datong also had several imperial edicts, but these edicts were rented from imperial merchants and princes of Shanxi at great expense.

Emperor Longqing was indeed a generous emperor. This political investment immediately brought political returns to the Fan family of Datong: the status of imperial merchants and imperial edicts, which were things the Fan family had always dreamed of.

"His Majesty also exceptionally appointed Lin Bingzheng, the magistrate of Fangshan County, as the Provincial Education Commissioner of Shanxi, in charge of the Shanxi civil service examinations."

The Provincial Education Commissioner was an official in charge of education affairs in the Ming Dynasty. He was mainly responsible for the management of prefectural and county schools at all levels and for supervising the local imperial examinations. It was an official position that could be either high or low.

The position of Provincial Education Commissioner had no official rank, and in many places there was no government office to hold it. Apart from major educational provinces like Southern Zhili, the position was often vacant in northern provinces as well.

The Longqing Emperor promoted Lin Bingzheng, and his new position as the Provincial Education Commissioner of Shanxi was different from previous ones; he became an official in charge of the civil service examinations.

From this perspective, it's a sure thing that Lin Bingzheng will be promoted. As long as the first trial of the Ministry of Personnel in Shanxi is successful and the reform of Shanxi's commercial tax is carried out effectively, Lin Bingzheng's achievements will allow him to be transferred back to the capital and enter the ranks of Beijing officials.

Moreover, his contributions to education are considerable, and his reputation is good; he might even be directly transferred to the Ministry of Rites.

For someone like Lin Bingzheng, who ranked low in the imperial examinations, this was a significant step towards a bright future.

"Brother Zilin? What's next after Shanxi? Shandong? The governor of Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Tuzhou is your staunch supporter. Have you already made arrangements?"

Su Ze's face darkened. What kind of talk was this, Shen Yiguan? He was just a fifth-rank official, and the governor of a province was his staunch supporter?
I simply submitted a proper memorial to the emperor, so how did it come to be perceived this way by the court officials?!
Seeing that Su Ze did not intend to answer, Shen Yiguan gave him an "I understand" look.

Even the honest Luo Wanhua couldn't stand it anymore, so he stepped forward and asked:

"Brother Jianwu, aren't you busy lately? I heard the Korean envoy has arrived again. Aren't you busy with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

After Su Ze's previous memorial exposed the trick of the Korean envoys in swindling money with inferior paper, the Ming court established the standards for tribute, and tribute gradually faded from its original trade behavior to a ceremonial one.

The ceremonial tribute missions transformed into state gifts exchanged by the emperor in return for equivalent gifts. After the vassal states could no longer obtain huge profits from the tribute missions, the frequency of the tribute missions from Korea decreased significantly.

But this time, North Korea had no choice but to pay tribute.

After the last tribute mission from Korea returned, the scribe Heo Jun reported to the King of Korea the agreement reached with Su Ze.

After hearing this, the King of Joseon immediately agreed to Heo Jeon's petition.

The Chongmungwan newspaper in North Korea published the "Joseon National News," which was essentially a copy of the "Yakbu Shinbo" newspaper, except for the front page which was changed to reflect domestic news from North Korea.

In addition, thirty scholars from within Korea were selected to study at the Imperial Academy of the Ming Dynasty.

This time, the Korean envoy was the same scribe Xu Zhi from the previous mission. The Korean delegation also traveled by sea, disembarking directly at Zhigu and arriving in the capital in two days.

Receiving the Korean envoys was naturally the responsibility of Shen Yiguan, the head of the Ministry of Rites' Department of Receptions.

Shen Yiguan complained:

"There are established procedures for receiving diplomatic missions, and the host and guest departments can handle things very well, so there's no need to worry too much."

"The real problem is that there are too many envoys coming to pay tribute this time, and they are all clamoring to go to the Crystal Palace to see the exhibition."

Luo Wanhua said doubtfully:

"What's the trouble? Let them go if they want to see it."

Shen Yiguan sighed and said:
"Things are not so simple. The imperial court has its own rules for tribute envoys. They cannot run around the capital."

“A private visit is fine, but it’s against the rules for these tribute envoys to attend the ceremony.”

Su Ze understood Shen Yiguan's meaning.

The envoys who came to pay tribute were, after all, foreign subjects, and the Ming Dynasty had its own system of governance.

Of course, the Ministry of Rites did not interfere with the envoys' private visits to friends and entertainment in the capital; these were all the envoys' private affairs.

However, if it is necessary to organize public activities for envoys, that is the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites.

Arranging envoys' activities without authorization is a diplomatic issue. If a diplomatic incident occurs, the censors will not miss the opportunity to impeach the Ministry of Rites.

This is also why bureaucracies tend to be conservative.

If you act in accordance with the rules, and if something goes wrong, you will be held accountable according to the rules, but the responsibility is limited.

If you don't follow the rules, you'll face unlimited liability if something goes wrong.

Su Ze smiled slightly and said:
“That’s easy, Brother Jianwu. These envoys have come to our Great Ming to pay homage to His Majesty, haven’t they?”

Shen Yiguan nodded.

Su Ze said, "Then why don't we invite His Majesty to attend the opening ceremony of the Crystal Palace Expo? Then the envoys from these vassal states can also attend the ceremony and pay their respects to His Majesty. Wouldn't that be in accordance with the proper etiquette?"

Su Ze pulled out a draft memorial that had already been prepared.

Please peruse the exhibits of the Crystal Palace Exposition.

(End of this chapter)