"The Ming Dynasty has a territory of thousands of miles, ten miles of different rains and hundreds of miles of different winds, and there is no right policy that can walk the world. The same command, which is good government here, may be bad government in another. The places where the little nephew has been are limited, and this is the only place where he is a pro-civilian official, because most of what he says at the moment is from Jiangning, but it may not be impossible to cover the entire southeast. Shibo practiced the new law, the upper court was the court, and the lower was the people, which should have been a great joy, the court had silver taels, and the people were exempted from miscellaneous labor, which was a matter of killing two birds with one stone. Taking the southeastern people's land as an example, a limited field has insufficient food rations, and it is necessary to plant miscellaneous items to complete the course, which is a great drag on the people, and even the fields have become a burden. Another example is that in the past, a family was assigned to serve according to Ding, without considering the livelihood of the family, and it was also the yamen itself that saved trouble, causing the people to suffer. The new law now changes these things, and it will be of real benefit to the people. ”

Zhang Juzheng snorted, "After a while, you will be my son-in-law of the Zhang family, so there is no need to say these polite words between you and me." If you want to listen to compliments, the old man only needs to go to Shangyuan's civil and military affairs, so why use you? I'll let you go to the local area, just to see what these people below have made the old man's new law look like. I don't need you to say that I also know that the collusion of the officials with the inferior gentry will make the old man's new law unrecognizable, and make the people gnash their teeth, thinking that I am a traitor who misleads the country and harms the people, so they will fulfill their wishes. The old man sent the supervisor down to find out how bold the people below were and how bad their behavior was. ”

Fan Jin smiled, "Shibo is like a god, and the little nephew admires it." However, this kind of business cannot simply blame the officials and local gentry and officials, and sometimes, they can't help it. Taking Jiangning as an example, before the slavery change, a large number of young and strong people were slaves in the gentry's homes, and the assignment was heavy. If the imperial court hired people to serve, it would find that there was no one to find at all. The household registration in the county yamen is seriously lacking, and it cannot be used to collect taxes or send servants, and the real power is held by those officials, and the officials have held the officials hostage. However, the imperial court's examination method only assesses officials, and in the end, there is only a dead end left if the upper and lower sides run together. ”

Zhang Juzheng glanced at Fan Jin, "Are you saying that the old man's test method is wrong?" ”

"The little nephew didn't dare, the little nephew just felt that the assessment was not accurate enough simply by money and food. In particular, some foolish officials are simply trying to pass the examination to force the localities, knocking out the bones and sucking the marrow, ignoring the people's suffering, and if they don't do it well, it will lead to a popular uprising, and the expenses used at that time are not a problem that can be solved by paying taxes in that county in one or two years. In some places, on the one hand, they collect money for exemption from service, and on the other hand, they also need the people to serve, although there are reasons why the officials and officials are full, and there is also a reason that they cannot hire people. If it is not apportioned, it will not be completed. Therefore, the little nephew believes that governing the country first governs the officials, and the law governs the people first. If you are eager for quick success, you are afraid that it will backfire. Taking the measurement of land as an example, Shibo's intention to reclaim land for the country is good, but in order to complete the examination, the officials below overreported the figures, and even measured the desolate tombs and uncultivated wasteland, which was contrary to Shibo's original intention. At the time of the Tao, the money and grain that could not be cultivated were levied and still had to be sent to the people, and this saving the people became harmful. ”

Today, I am afraid that there are no more than ten ministers who are brave enough to say these things in front of Zhang Juzheng, and some of them who oppose the new law may not be as thorough as Fan Jin. What's more, Zhang Juzheng had prejudices with them first, and the words of the other party may not go to his heart. Fan Jin, the prospective son-in-law, is also the vanguard of his own subordinates, and in order to help him win the love, he has all kinds of insidious means, and it can be determined that he is the ace of his own hardcore loyal ministers. Such a person must speak for his own good, and even he said this, which shows that the problem does exist.

Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment, "You mean, the prison officer sent by the old man does not report good news?" In order to implement the new law, he even united with the ministers below to lie to me? ”

"Everybody's just too anxious." Fan Jindao: "A new law that should be applied to the whole country must be adjusted according to the actual situation, and cannot be set in stone. But now everyone's hearts are too anxious, and they always want to make a contribution in front of the elderly, and they are all proud of measuring the land or collecting money and grain, and even take this as the only way to become an official, and the people will suffer. ”

Zhang Juzheng actually knew in his heart that his approach was too radical. But now that the age of the Son of Heaven is increasing, once he becomes pro-government, he is not sure whether he will continue to follow his own path. At least when the Son of Heaven is in power, he must show him an achievement, so that he can continue to support the new law and not repeat it.

There are not many parts of this kind of mind that can be said to people, and in front of his son-in-law, Zhang Juzheng can't fully reveal it. If the people below feel that their Shoufu is not omnipotent, how dare they charge into battle and overcome obstacles? He sighed and said, "Retreat is erudite and knowledgeable, and you should know the story of King Jinggong of the previous dynasty." At that time, before the new law was enacted, it was completely abolished by the old party, and even gave away the land in order to do the opposite. The harm is far worse than before the new law, and I have the same old party now. If they don't hurry up, I'm afraid that they will also be like the traitors of the previous dynasty, and they will spoil the country's major affairs for the sake of the dispute between the old and the new. ”

"Shibo, the little nephew thinks that the defeat of the new law of the previous dynasty is not the defeat of the old party, but the defeat of himself. Wang Jinggong's new law is to only pay attention to the law, not to the people. As a result, the law that seems to be very good is followed by evil government that harms the people, and even new laws for the sake of new laws are endless. For example, the Qingmiao Law, the intention is indeed good, and the little nephew also engages in Qingmiao loans in Shangyuan. However, the premise of such a thing must be voluntary, and as a result, the officials at that time forced the people to borrow money, and used the Qingmiao Law as a weapon to exploit the people and even their own satiety, which is simply unreasonable! It's the same with the exemption money, who can rejoice if you have to serve after paying the money? As time passed, the new law became the target of public criticism, and it was already crumbling, and what the old party did was just push it on top, and it was done. If the new party does not have problems on its own, it will not be so easy for the old party to overturn the new law. ”

Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment, "Then if you are the new party, how will you act at that time?" ”

"Treat people before practicing the law! Officials who are infallible are selected first, and one or two states are used as a model, where the new law is introduced, and the rest of the law remains the same. Compare the old and the new to the emperor clearly, and let yourself see clearly. What are the shortcomings of the new law, which can be improved in a timely manner, and what can be referred to in the old law, we must not give up. It is easy to turn around under the boat, and it is easy to check and fill in the gaps if there are problems. As long as the new law is indeed good governance, and the people have their own choice, it will be logical to implement the new law at that time. At the time of the experiment, another group of officials will be cultivated to ensure that they are reliable and usable, and when the new law is implemented, they will be sent down, and so on. In this way, the implementation of the new law will be very slow, and it may not be able to spread across the country for decades, but it will be very stable. Tell the officials that the purpose of letting them implement the new law is for the sake of the people. Paying more money and food is not as good as the people's living in peace, and the people's will is the benchmark for consideration. The prison officials should inspect the people, and if there is a civil change, they will naturally be dismissed, and if the people gnash their teeth and call them cool officials, they will also be deposed. ”

"Slow! The new law is beneficial to the country, and sometimes it is inevitable that it will not take care of the people. ”

"It also makes the people feel that they are taken care of. Some orders do not necessarily have to be carried out, and if they do, they must let the people know that their parents and officials have given their lives to fight for them, but they have not fought for them. And he tried his best to obtain forgiveness for the people, and did the best he could within his ability. In this way, the resentment of the people will not spread on the officials and the court, and even if someone instigates rebellion, it will not really become a catastrophe. The little nephew heard that in Shibo Sangzi, he almost went out of the thief. ”

Zhang Ju's face was a little heavy, and he waved his hand and said, "You don't have to hide it, it's what Qingqing said to you." The old man never thought that the officials in Jiangling were so useless, the people's grievances were boiling, and it became an irreparable situation. If it weren't for the old man's timely disposal, the consequences would be unimaginable. ”

Fan Jin knew about the local problems in Jiangling, and the Zhang family themselves had to bear at least seventy percent of the responsibility. Zhang Juzheng's brother-in-law even dared to beat the local magistrate of Jiangling, and the Zhang family's style of behavior can be known regardless of whether the people have any grievances. But I couldn't say this, so I had to say:

"Those officials are not necessarily worse than officials elsewhere, they are just lazy. Accustomed to being an official, enjoying happiness in the yamen, and handing over the affairs outside to the officials and officials, as long as the money and grain taxes are completed at that time, they will be considered to have completed their merits, which is far from the way of the herdsmen. The people no longer believe in the government, and they are unwilling to sue the court if they have grievances, so they only press it in their hearts. I couldn't hold it down for a long time, so I thought about thanking him. If there are any more people who incite demagoguery, it may lead to popular unrest. The reason why everyone didn't make trouble was that Xiangye was famous, and people didn't believe in the magistrates, but they believed that Xiangye would uphold justice for them, so Shibo gave an order, so it was so easy to wipe out the rebellious ministers and thieves. ”

Zhang Juzheng recalled the matter of his hometown, the situation was not so easy to deal with, with his own talents, plus the Huguang elite soldiers happened to be stationed in Jiangling, it was also very wasteful to eliminate that group of people. In terms of combat effectiveness, those people can definitely be regarded as thieves. However, what Fan Jin said is indeed reasonable, it is precisely by relying on his own fame that many people refuse to rebel, and there are not many people who really resist the officers and soldiers. If the situation at that time had become such that the people had risen up against the officers and soldiers, it would have been difficult to say whether the outcome would have been won or lost.

He looked at Fan Jin, "Then what do you say should be called a qualified herdsman officer?" ”

"Shepherds are like shepherds. If you only use a sheepdog, then of course it is easy, just find a place to lie down on your own. But as the days went by, the sheep recognized only the shepherd dog, but not the shepherd, because the two were too far apart. Even the hatred of bullying oneself for the bad things done by the shepherd is also recorded on the head of the shepherd, and the shepherd did not punish the shepherd, and he should bear this pot. If this development continues, it will be difficult for officials to control the people. If you want the people to identify with the government, the first thing is to get them close enough. The people can see their parents and officials, and let their parents make decisions for themselves and fight for their interests, so they will naturally agree with him. Even if you really suffer a loss in the end, you will admit it. After all, the people are still easy to coax, as long as they are willing to work hard, they can coax them. Feng Bangning's behavior in Jiangning this time, it is said that it takes a thousand knives to relieve the hatred of the people, but after only a few boards, it doesn't hurt or itch, and the people are satisfied, and this is the reason. ”

"Retreat, so you asked for the dismissal of the Inner Weaving and Dyeing Bureau this time and changed it to an official supervision and commercial office, just to satisfy the people? I confess that this is indeed beneficial to the merchants and the people, and it is not necessarily a bad thing for Banzai. But in this way, do you know how many eunuchs you have to offend? After all, they all counted on the Inner Weaving and Dyeing Bureau to make a fortune. What good can you give them so that these people don't hold a grudge against you? For the sake of one or two businessmen, you offended the officials and servants, and you are indeed beneficial to the country by doing this, but for yourself, I am afraid that there will be all kinds of harm and no benefit. I don't want my daughter to marry a troublemaker, and if you want me to support your claim, give me a reason to get by. ”

Fan Jin nodded, and then replied: "The reason for this is very simple, two words: fairness. The common people want justice, and the businessmen must also be fair! This raid on Huang Enhou is not considered to serve the imperial court, and his own private wealth accumulated over the years has reached 680,000 taels, which is not counting the house he built in his hometown and the further results of recovering stolen goods in his hometown. Whether it is river work or water transportation money, in the final analysis, it is the people's fat and people's ointment. There are countless cases of Jiangning's businessmen being persecuted by him! How can they not complain in their hearts? Long live the money spent, the people are not happy, what is the significance of such a yamen? As for what benefits the eunuch can get, the little nephew can't say it's good, but the little nephew can bring benefits to the Son of Heaven, the eunuch is the slave of the Son of Heaven, and the master's family has benefits, and it is also appropriate for the slave to suffer some losses. ”

Zhang Juzheng said: "How can things be so simple. If you use the officials you said to supervise the business, the one who calls the shots becomes the businessman. How can businessmen ensure that these people are attentive? In fact, the official governor can't be controlled, and in the future, he will inevitably become a businessman who will not be able to blackmail officials. ”

"Businessmen seek wealth, it is not too big to fall, as long as they think of a way in the general business, it is impossible to blackmail the government. At the beginning of the country, all industries withered, and the country had no corn, so it was necessary to emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce in order to seek abundant grain. Now that the country is safe and secure, the grain situation has improved a lot compared with the beginning of the country, and there is no food, no stability, no business, and no wealth, and it is time to consider business. ”

Fan Jin muttered to himself in his heart, what kind of style is the Ming Dynasty himself, don't you know it in his heart? How much he did to kill the rich businessman as a fat goose, he knows it in his heart. Now that the rich people in the southeast region regard saving money as a stupid symbol, how can businessmen not lose their tails? In a sense, it is in the best interest of the whole country to give businessmen the illusion that they can resist the government, let them take the initiative to participate in national affairs, and then know how to save money. But these words had to be muffled in my heart and not mentioned in my mouth.

"When the business road is prosperous, materials can be circulated, and the north and south groceries are exchanged, and the entire Ming land will be made into a live chess. The grain at the border is transported by merchants, and where there is a shortage of rice, merchants can also sell grain there. It is not like now, where there is no rice to eat in some places, and grain has to be burned in others. Of course, the imperial court must also be controlled inside, which is the official governor that the little nephew said. If you want to be governor, you must have capital, and the little nephew proposed that the official collect grain, which is to ensure that the grain is stored in the country and the wealth is hidden in the people. Of course, the treasury needs money, but the style of the government is known, and as much money is saved, countless people are eager to spend it. The previous dynasty's sealing money did not escape this fate. Now that the state is insufficient, it is natural to accumulate some money, and in order to keep the money after the treasury is full, I am afraid that it will take more effort and effort. ”

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "I've thought about it." But at that time, it was better to bother and work than to worry about running out of money. This is the next thing I want to ask you, the governor always has money, wants to store grain in the country, and also has money to buy rice, where does this money come from? It is true that Huang Enhou's stolen money can be the master to stay in Jiangning, and it is enough to repair water conservancy and buy food, but what will happen in the future? Your successor can't just count on killing fat geese, you have to think of a way for them, and you have to think of a way for the southeastern officialdom. ”

"The little nephew has thought about this, but it is four words. Shibo management officials, the throttling has been done to the extreme, and the next step is open source. ”

Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said, "Open the sea? Should you be like that madman, who wants the Ming Sailor to attack Zhuyi and engage in colonization? ”

"Ignorance and nonsense are not worth mentioning. Overseas feudal country is difficult to control remotely, Yunnan a Qianguo Gong, the court is walking on thin ice, if it is an overseas place, how to ensure that it is used by the imperial court, two or three brocade clothes with a letter of the decree, you can capture the main general of 100,000 border troops. This kind of thing is absolutely unattainable overseas, and we cannot give anyone a chance to rebel, and overseas closure is bound to be impossible. But in addition to overseas territories, there is another way to open source: do business! ”