jdhmnovel Chapter 947: The operation to put pressure on the South Korean public was a complete success!
Chapter 947: The operation to put pressure on the South Korean public was a complete success!
Li Shanchang suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, and his back felt as if it were being pricked by wheat awns.
Yang's madness was indeed very mad.
However, Yang Dianfeng is definitely not stupid.
His Highness the Crown Prince is like a black sesame dumpling with a multicolored sheen.
To put it more accurately, it's a comprehensive and enhanced version of taking over.
Yang, the madman, suddenly threw out the "contradiction theory," and His Highness the Crown Prince also inexplicably brought up that so-called "investigation report"...
Li Shanchang's heart trembled, and he quickly bowed to Zhu Biao, saying, "Your Highness, I know I was wrong."
Zhu Biao reached out to support Li Shanchang and said with a smile, "Prime Minister Li, what are you saying?"
"You know your brother-in-law's personality."
"Even when there's nothing wrong, he still wants to cause trouble for people."
"Now that he has found a weakness in those gentry and nobles, how could he let them go so easily?"
Zhu Biao offered a few words of comfort, and Li Shanchang bowed to Yang Shaofeng, saying, "This old man... thanks Your Highness, Prince Consort."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and helped Li Shanchang up, saying twice that he dared not, but then quietly gave Zhu Biao a wink.
The operation to pressure South Korean officials was a complete success!
Zhu Biao nodded almost imperceptibly.
There is no doubt about the loyalty of the Korean prince.
However, the South Korean government must be given a warning.
To be precise, after seeing a memorial titled "A Respectful Memorial Requesting Permission for Private Ironworks" and another memorial titled "A Respectful Memorial Requesting Permission for Private Workshops to Set Their Own Wages and Working Hours," Zhu Biao decided to give Li Shanchang and the officials he brought to Liaodong a good talking-to.
People could set up textile workshops, paper mills, bookstores, and all sorts of other miscellaneous workshops.
However, workshops related to iron smelting, or iron ore and coal mining, are absolutely not allowed to be established by private individuals.
As for allowing private workshops to set their own wages and working hours, that is absolutely impossible.
Regardless of the reason.
Given the gentry's consistent nature, once they are allowed to set up their own iron smelting workshops, they will think about extending their reach into mining.
Once they were allowed to set their own wages and working hours, they dared to lower the wages to ten coins a day and set the working hours to five hours.
As the saying goes, "Every day, people are busy, all for profit; the world is in turmoil, all for gain."
The gentry set up workshops to make a profit.
Simply smelting steel would be subject to the control of the imperial court, which would strictly enforce the minimum wage standard of sixty coins a day, causing the gentry to lose a lot of money.
The officials brought by Li Shanchang had become so fanatical in their desire to develop Liaodong as quickly as possible that they resorted to any means necessary.
In the eyes of many officials, the gentry were at most fat sheep raised by the court. As long as the Ming army and the court did not fall into chaos, the gentry could not make any waves no matter how much they stirred up trouble.
Besides, Yang the Madman went to great lengths in Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture, and as a result, Ningyang County became incredibly wealthy and Dengzhou Prefecture became extremely rich. So why can't I go to Liaodong to cause some trouble?
In any case, Hu Weiyong would take the blame in the end, Li Xiang and Yang Dianfeng would cover for him, and the troops led by the Duke of E and the Duke of Cao would suppress the situation. Even if things went wrong in the end, it wouldn't escalate to the point of no return.
Li Shanchang was also captivated.
Perhaps they were captivated by the prosperity of Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture.
It's also possible that they were captivated by the allure of the legendary Fenglangjuxu.
It's also possible that a snow disaster in Liaodong made Li Shanchang eager to complete the development of Liaodong.
However, whatever the reason, it should not be a justification for Li Shanchang to allow the officials to submit those two memorials.
You, Li Shanchang, are the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, the Duke of Han, and the leading figure among the noble families of Huaixi.
You're confused about your own position because of all sorts of random reasons?
Thinking of this, Zhu Biao couldn't help but glance at Li Shanchang again.
I never expected this. Before my brother-in-law and I could even discuss how to teach you a lesson, you handed me a knife yourself.
"Are the lives of the gentry in Jiangnan also matters of fate?"
Tsk tsk.
Knowing full well that your brother-in-law dislikes those gentry, how could you, Duke of Han, still utter such a statement?
Are you afraid that the gentry of Jiangnan haven't died cleanly enough?
Now things are as they are. The gentry of Jiangnan who were destined to suffer will still suffer. You, Duke of Han, should also study the theory of contradictions.
Well, we need to have someone compile "On Contradiction" into a book, and then distribute it throughout the country, so that county schools in all prefectures and counties can add "On Contradiction" to their curriculum.
Just like my brother-in-law said, a scholar who doesn't understand why the people rebel can't be a good official.
Oh, and while we're at it, we should also have someone give the second, third, fourth, and fifth children a good talking-to.
They will all have to take up their fiefdoms sooner or later.
Without understanding "On Contradiction," "On the Gentry," and even without reading the "Investigation Report" which has not yet been compiled into a book, they cannot be good vassal kings.
Also, two more copies need to be sent to the capital.
Because I am a very filial son, I personally had the books "On Contradiction" and "Investigation Report" compiled, so how could I not let my father study them carefully?
Zhu Biao's thinking became increasingly skewed, even veering towards the perspective of excessive filial piety.
Li Shanchang frowned slightly, pondering the upcoming grand plan for the development of Liaodong.
The plan to support the gentry as easy targets was clearly not going to work.
This isn't even a question of whether my backside is crooked or not; it's a question of whether I can keep my head.
In that case, the government must strengthen its efforts in mining, steel smelting, and other related areas.
Then, workshops and mines such as mining and steel smelting should be managed by separate government offices established by the imperial court, rather than being directly handed over to local government offices.
Furthermore, since these mines and workshops were located in various prefectures and counties, and inevitably had to deal with local officials, the local government had to be involved.
Vertical and horizontal intersection management?
wrong.
The matters concerning the mines and workshops can be studied later.
However, how to deal with the officials who wrote those two memorials was an urgent matter.
That's a third-rank official, a vice minister!
They can write such utterly ridiculous memorials, yet they manage to fool this old man into agreeing with them.
Damn it, how many officials like them are there in the imperial court?
What role did the noble families of Huaixi play in this?
Li Shanchang's thinking also gradually began to go astray.
Seeing the furrowed brows of Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong couldn't help but feel a chill, while Yang Shaofeng quietly curled his lip.
Where did this go?
The scholar-officials, who had been spoiled since the Great Leap Forward, had always been capable of any schemes they could not conceive of, and any evil deeds they dared not commit.
Just then, a Jinyiwei captain rushed over and handed Xia Yu a secret letter, whispering, "Urgent report from Jiangnan!"