jdhmnovel Chapter 292 Isn't this bullying an honest person?!
Chapter 292 Isn't this bullying an honest person?!
Old Zhu was the emperor, and also the father-in-law of Magistrate Yang.
As for Magistrate Yang, whether he was an emperor or not was irrelevant. As long as he didn't cross Zhu Yuanzhang's bottom line, he could still try to smooth things over with Zhu Yuanzhang.
However, the father-in-law is a real headache. You can't hit him or scold him. The only option is to treat him like your own father and try to get back at him.
“My father said that you, brother-in-law, should write a long-term plan and a short-term plan for Dengzhou Prefecture, and also write a memorial on the reform of household registration and salt administration in Dengzhou Prefecture.”
Zhu Biao sat in a chair, holding a bowl of steamed rice dumplings prepared by a maid, while talking about the large amount of work that Emperor Zhu had assigned to Magistrate Yang.
“My father also said that he has sent someone to inform Councilor Wang that Shandong Province will try its best not to interfere in the affairs of Dengzhou Prefecture. Although it is not directly under the Central Secretariat, it is not much different in reality.”
"Oh, right, there's also the matter of the border market. How should this border market be opened, where should it be located, how much should the tax be, what can be traded, and what cannot be traded? You need to write a report on these things, brother-in-law."
"..."
Magistrate Yang pointed to his own nose and asked, "Your Majesty? Do all these matters require written reports?"
Isn't this bullying an honest person?!
I won't write, I won't write a single word!
Magistrate Yang said with a dark face, "Your Highness, I am unable to write the memorials on these matters in the near future. It will take at least two or three months."
Zhu Biao was slightly taken aback, his gaze towards Magistrate Yang filled with disbelief.
All these troubles are your doing, or rather, they're caused by your memorials. Now you're saying you can't write a memorial, and even if you did, it would take two or three months.
Under Zhu Biao's incredulous gaze, Magistrate Yang continued, "Your Highness, the memorials that propose these matters and the memorials that actually carry them out are two completely different things."
“For example, if I were to write a memorial from Dengzhou Prefecture, I could write thousands or even tens of thousands of words, but such a memorial would be of no use to Dengzhou Prefecture.”
"Before visiting Dengzhou Prefecture, my knowledge of it was limited to the fact that it was located in Shandong Province, was by the sea, had experienced an earthquake and tsunami last year, that Hongzhou City was completely submerged, and that the people needed to be resettled. Everything else was completely unknown to me."
"Memorials written in this way, to put it nicely, are superficial; to put it bluntly, they are deceiving the emperor and disregarding the interests of the Ming Dynasty and its people."
"The same applies to border markets. The best way to choose where to open a border market is to first identify several suitable locations, then visit each of these locations to investigate the situation in the surrounding prefectures and counties, and finally make a decision."
"As for taxes, there's not much to say. First, we need to determine what our Great Ming can sell, and second, we need to determine what Goryeo and Annam can sell. These things need to be discussed and decided by the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and even the Ministry of Rites. We absolutely cannot make decisions lightly."
"..."
“Actually, even if Your Highness hadn’t come to see me today, I would still have written these memorials later. It’s just that I need to travel all over Dengzhou Prefecture first and understand the situation in each county before I can write them.”
The more Vice Emperor Zhu listened, the more he felt that Magistrate Yang's words made sense, and he couldn't help but start to criticize Emperor Zhu in his heart.
Yes, you ask someone to write a memorial when you know nothing about it. Isn't that making things difficult for them?
Besides, what if my brother-in-law really wrote a memorial and you just took it and used it? Wouldn't that ultimately harm the interests of our Great Ming Dynasty?
The more Vice Emperor Zhu thought about it, the more displeased he became. At the opportune moment, Magistrate Yang summarized, "In short, without investigation, one has no right to speak; without on-site visits, one cannot arbitrarily write a memorial."
As Magistrate Yang finished speaking, Vice Emperor Zhu directly stated: "Brother-in-law is right. These memorials cannot be rushed. We must wait until you have a clear understanding of the situation in Dengzhou before writing them."
"As for the border market..."
After a moment's thought, Vice Emperor Zhu said, "Leave this matter to me. I'll have the Ministry of Works and the Court of State Ceremonial select a few suitable locations for the border markets, and then we can discuss it further later."
As Zhu Biao finished speaking, Yang Shaofeng was overjoyed and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Highness is wise."
Zhu Biao chuckled and then looked at Magistrate Yang, asking, "By the way, brother-in-law, do you have any good suggestions regarding the location of this market?"
Upon hearing Zhu Biao's question, Yang Shaofeng immediately perked up.
Yes, let's not talk about Dengzhou for now. Let me get married smoothly and return to Ningyang County with my two beautiful wives. I'll have plenty of time to study Dengzhou later, and Emperor Zhu will certainly submit his memorials to the throne.
Now, our focus should be on the selection of the location for the border crossing.
If necessary, I am not incapable of drafting a memorial regarding the selection of a market location.
Having made up his mind, Magistrate Yang smiled and said, "Your Highness, I believe that the location for establishing a border market should first and foremost take into account the convenience of transportation. After all, Goryeo and Annam need to transport goods to our Great Ming, and our Great Ming also needs to transport goods to both countries. Inconvenient transportation is unacceptable."
"Both Korea and Annam have seaports, and the cost of sea transport is much lower than that of land transport, so the border market should be set up in the coastal areas."
"Secondly, we must consider the salt fields. After all, the goods that our Ming Dynasty sells to Goryeo and Annam will definitely contain brine. If we are far from the salt fields, transporting the brine will incur unnecessary expenses in terms of manpower, animal power, and grain. Therefore, we should choose a place that is closer to the salt fields."
"Another advantage is the ease of hiring. After all, loading and unloading ships requires manpower. If there aren't enough people available, the market won't operate well even if it's opened."
As Magistrate Yang analyzed each point, Zhu Biao gradually came to his senses.
It is located on the coast, with salt fields, making it convenient to hire workers.
Why don't you just say that the border market in Goryeo should be opened in Dengzhou Prefecture?
It seems my father was right. My brother-in-law is just like a watchdog, always trying to bring home any good things he can get his hands on. He hasn't even taken office yet, and he's already thinking about getting benefits from Dengzhou Prefecture!
Just as Vice Emperor Zhu was internally ranting, Magistrate Yang said solemnly, "Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will write down all the ideas I have just come up with regarding where to open the border markets, so that Your Majesty and the officials of the court can have a reference."