GBP Chapter 229 Emperor Zhu: Those who disagree can try.
Chapter 229 Emperor Zhu: Those who disagree can try.
After thoroughly sorting out all the messy and chaotic matters, Emperor Zhu unceremoniously summoned a host of officials, including Chang Yuchun, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, Hu Weiyong, Yang Xian, Shan Anren, and Yang Siyi, to the Qianqing Palace.
"The reason we've gathered you here is that the Secretariat, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Revenue need to take the lead in redefining and establishing standard measures for the hu and dou (a unit of dry measure). We also need to produce these standard measures as quickly as possible and distribute them to all prefectures and counties in the country. From now on, matters such as tax collection will be based on the hu and dou measures redefined by the court. No one will be allowed to use any other measuring instruments, such as large or small dou."
"Another thing is that the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works need to send people to collect statistics on all the workshops in all the prefectures and counties of our Great Ming Dynasty, and what they are good at making."
"The Ministry of Works and the Craftsmen's Office need to gather another batch of craftsmen to make several more harvesters according to the revised measurement of the measuring cups and scales. The requirement is that all parts of the harvesters must be interchangeable."
"Once we figure out what the workshops in different places can do, the Ministry of Works and the Craftsmen's Camp will produce another batch of standard parts, and count how many parts there are in total. After numbering them, they will be distributed to workshops all over the country so that local workshops or craftsmen can make them."
"..."
"The Secretariat, together with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, will select several prefectures and counties in our Great Ming Dynasty that can be used to assemble harvesters. The specific requirement is that the assembled harvesters can be quickly distributed to other prefectures and counties."
After saying a long and complicated thing, Emperor Zhu Chongba looked at Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen and others with a murderous aura and instructed them: "This matter concerns the livelihood of the people of the world, and it also concerns whether our Great Ming Dynasty can prosper for ten thousand generations."
"After you and Mr. Qingtian return, you might as well tell those officials who asked you for information that we usually turn a blind eye to their behavior, but this time, if anyone dares to cause us trouble..."
Emperor Zhu turned his gaze directly to Chang Yuchun: "Boren, temporarily allocate a few hundred men from your five thousand iron cavalry to escort the people from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Artisan Camp to collect information on the workshops in various places."
"As for the rest, they will remain in the capital for the time being. If there is any need, we need you to be able to get to the prefectures and counties that need you as quickly as possible and in the shortest time to solve the problem."
"Remember to make it clear to the soldiers that this matter concerns the livelihood of all the people in the world, as well as their own and their families' livelihood."
Chang Yuchun immediately stood up, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Emperor Zhu, and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured!"
Emperor Zhu then turned his attention to Yang Xian, saying, "Your inspection team should also send personnel."
Yang Xian immediately cupped his hands and replied, "Your humble servant obeys the decree!"
Emperor Zhu gave a soft hum, his gaze sweeping over Hu Weiyong, Yang Siyi, and the others before he solemnly instructed, "I, Zhu Chongba, am not the kind of person who only knows how to order people around without giving them anything in return. If this matter is handled well, every single person in the court, from Brother Shanchang to the lowest-ranking officials, will be given a thousand acres of fertile land and exempted from taxes for fifty years."
"But if we mess this up and make a fool of ourselves in front of the people, don't blame me for not showing any mercy. Whoever messes up our business, I will wipe out their entire family. I will never go back on my word and I will never tolerate it."
As Emperor Zhu's murderous words fell, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and the others were completely bewildered.
The inspector was the emperor's eyes and ears, whose duty was to "exclusively investigate and report any injustices or illegal activities by officials in the capital, large and small, as well as any rumors."
However, Yang Xian's official title was not Jianxiao. Even though everyone knew he was Jianxiao, his official title was Zhongshu Canzhi Zhengshi. Other officials would only call him Canzheng Yang instead of Jianxiao Yang.
Now things have gotten really complicated. Emperor Zhu has directly revealed Yang Xian's status as an inspector and openly assigned him tasks.
The reason for this situation is that Emperor Zhu was sending a signal: I know what kind of people you are, but I don't care. As long as you work hard, you will get your share of the benefits. But if any of you dare to trip me up, I won't be polite to you. Anyone who disagrees can try.
Then, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and the others became increasingly angry.
No, is that guy surnamed Yang mentally ill?
Does someone with the surname Zhu also have some kind of problem?
Can't you two, father-in-law and son-in-law, do anything right?
Damn it, it's easy for you to say that you're going to redefine the weights and measures of the hu, dou, and cheng, but how do you actually do it?
The redefinition of the weights and measures involves more than just the harvesting machines; it affects how the Ming Dynasty collects taxes, how private transactions are priced, and even the border markets established for vassal states. It can be said that a single move can have far-reaching consequences.
There's also the so-called order for the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Artisan Camp to send people to collect statistics on the workshops in various prefectures and counties—that's something the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Artisan Camp could possibly collect.
Or rather, without the full cooperation of the various provincial and local government offices, prefectures, states, and counties, how could the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Artisan Bureau possibly accomplish anything?
Even if the local government is willing to fully cooperate, will the gentry and merchants also be willing to fully cooperate?
What's with all this messy stuff—first getting standard parts, then counting the components, then setting up assembly workshops and distributing them to various states and counties—which of these things is easy to solve?
Even if our Ming Dynasty has no shortage of horses and can transmit information quickly enough, the things involved here are not something that you, Emperor Zhu, can resolve with just a few words, right?
Despite their inner grumbling, when Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and others considered the thousand acres of fertile land promised by Emperor Zhu and the fifty-year tax exemption, they felt that it wasn't so unacceptable after all.
That's thousands of acres of fertile land!
Who would complain about having too much fertile land?
……
After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Li Shanchang said to Yang Siyi, Minister of Revenue, and Shan Anren, Minister of Works, "After you two return, first discuss the matter of re-determining the weights and measures of the hu, dou, and cheng. Within two days at most, you should produce the first revised weights and measures."
Yang Siyi and Shan Anren nodded slightly and replied, "Don't worry, Prime Minister Li, we understand."
Li Shanchang nodded, then looked at Liu Bowen, Hu Weiyong, and Yang Xian and said, "Why don't we split up and visit the various ministers in the court?"
Liu Bowen stroked his beard and smiled, but his smile was full of bitterness: "I will obey Prime Minister Li's orders."