Yu Dayou was to return to Chaoshan that evening, and the two walked towards Yongjinmen.
Li Wenjin said in a low voice, "Brother Yu, is it right?"
Yu Dayou thought of his sister's tragic death, the truth of which remained undiscovered, and this nephew, though renowned, was equally ill-fated. He couldn't help but sigh,
"How could it be wrong... just by looking at his temperament..."
Li Wenjin looked around to ensure no one was present, then leaned in and whispered, "Do you think His Majesty knows?"
"I think he already does..."
Yu Dayou was very sure.
Li Wenjin also nodded and sighed, "Then what are His Majesty's considerations for letting him come to reform the laws?"
Yu Dayou replied with a bitter smile, "This Emperor, originally believed in the prophecies of Taoist priests, saying 'kings do not meet kings.' By rights, he should definitely not meet him, but why was he sent? I don't know... Perhaps it's a good thing, but good things can turn into bad things..."
Mmm,
Li Wenjin understood his meaning: the Emperor was very fond of this orphan and showed him great care, but this might actually lead to internal strife...
"Brother Yu, Fourth Brother said His Majesty might want him to be the King of Yan, and with Prince Yu succeeding, this child will protect him..."
Yu Dayou smiled bitterly, "What of it? What happened to that King of Yan later? It's clear that the future is truly hard to predict... I only wish this child would remain a Taoist priest forever and never let that father know..."
"Indeed..."
As they thought of the future, their moods became melancholic, an inexplicable sense of foreboding lingering.
Li Wenjin felt increasingly distressed thinking of Yu Dayou and the nephew-uncle duo facing such perilous circumstances. As they parted, he sighed,
"Brother Yu, if it really doesn't work out, don't push yourself too hard. Prioritize protecting that child... At worst, you'll be dismissed from office, but don't get caught up with Zhang Jing or Yan Shifan..."
Yu Dayou was filled with mixed emotions that day. Seeing his old brother about to part again, he said sadly,
"Don't worry, Second Brother. If it really doesn't work out, I'll abduct him to Nanyang... and report that we've died in battle..."
Mmm.
With resolve, the two parted ways and disappeared into the cold night.
...
The next day,
By noon, Zhang Juzheng and Zhu Mo's respective teams had drafted the proclamations.
Zhang Han, as governor, issued the notice in his own name, affixed with the seals of Zhang Juzheng, Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and Minister of War, and finally with Zhu Mo's seal as Grand Scholar of the Wuyuan Pavilion. It was posted in various prefectures and counties that evening.
After a whole day of work,
Zhu Mo was very tired, but Zhang Juzheng was like a machine, still flawlessly energetic, his vitality astonishing. No wonder the officials in Jiangnan were so exhausted they complained incessantly.
He sent Li Zhi to Wansong Academy to find He Xinyin and discuss how to academically support the four reforms. He himself, along with Lü Kun and a team, set off for Jinshanwei that evening.
...
Several days later,
Yan Residence,
Night.
Zhang Jing, Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, stood before the desk with a grave expression. Old Yan Song was, as usual, practicing calligraphy, while Yan Shifan sat in his armchair, playing with a string of beads, seemingly a little distracted. The other officials were also seated, appearing relaxed, but each held a bead of sweat in their hands.
Because, besides the family retainers, there were also four or five major merchants present, all prominent figures in the East Sea and Nanyang regions who had long been engaged in maritime trade and had very close ties with the Portuguese.
The atmosphere at this moment was starkly different from before, imbued with a trace of unease...
Old Yan Song finished writing the characters "坦荡" (tǎn dàng - open and aboveboard), put down his brush, and asked calmly,
"Tingyi, what were you saying just now?"
Zhang Jing, with a hint of impatience, still calmly said,
"Esteemed Elder, Da Yinei Chang is already recruiting ronin, and the Portuguese East India Fleet Commander in Ryukyu, Souza, has also sent a secret letter stating that he can muster one hundred warships, three thousand arquebusiers, and ten thousand ronin pirates... Uh, they can reach the East Sea in at most two months..."
Mmm,
Yan Song nodded and then asked, "What are their terms?"
"Esteemed Elder, they simply want to open the ports, saying they want to establish at least three trading ports..."
Mmm mmm,
Yan Song was now sitting on the couch, slowly closing his eyes.
Everyone knew that this was another momentous occasion.
For the past ten to twenty years, the Portuguese and the Japanese had maintained a harmonious relationship with the Yan faction. The reason was that the Yan faction, in addition to the Directorate of Weaving and the Maritime Trade Office, provided silks, teas, and ceramics to the merchants protected by the Japanese pirates. These merchants, when selling to the West, reaped profits ten times over.
The Yan family organized production and supply domestically, with their supply network spreading across coastal provinces, and almost every prefecture and county had agents and producers. The Yan faction, much like the Japanese pirates, primarily collected protection fees and shares, only occasionally intervening directly in operations. The goods supplied by these producers were handled by figures like Wang Zhi and Xu Hai, auctioned at maritime bases. Only then did these merchants acquire the goods and transport them to Nanyang and the West.
However, two years ago, Wang Zhi was apprehended, and the supply chain was broken.
Many merchants could no longer obtain sufficient goods through small-scale smuggling channels, nor did they have stable prices. Consequently, trade plummeted, and it had been nearly two years. These merchants sought out the Yan family's protectors, and at the beginning of last year, they discussed a strategy to gradually restore the supply.
Because,
Although Hu Zongxian was not entirely obedient, Zhang Jing in Fujian and Zhejiang was one of their own. Goods went out from Fujian and Zhejiang and were distributed through Lì Port and Yuè Port, thus allowing maritime trade to recover by half. And to accelerate production expansion and sell at lower prices to compensate for the losses of the past two years, Yan Shifan initiated the devastating act of destroying dykes and flooding fields.
If Yan Shifan dared to do something as shocking as destroying dykes and flooding fields, would the small Yan faction members in the prefectures and counties dare to lend money to buy land or convert tenants into laborers? After more than a year of forceful implementation, not only was the supply gradually stabilizing, but the profits also increased. The merchants all praised Yan Shifan as the most powerful protector in the Far East.
But now,
This positive trend came to an abrupt halt,
Because a Zhu Mo suddenly emerged and completely ruined things. In their view, Zhu Mo's reforms were devastating!
On one hand, the Directorate of Weaving controlled almost all the silk, and the supply of smuggled goods was insufficient. On the other hand, the large-scale weavers, due to the rise of small workshops, had basically cut off the supply of silkworms and weaving workers. Production capacity had been idle for the past six months.
Even more ruthless was,
In the past few days, the Provincial Governor's yamen had introduced new regulations. It was no longer possible to buy land, only to rent it. To maintain the original scale, this would require an additional ten to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Although after abolishing indentured servitude, those servants and retainers indeed wanted to work for a living, the new "employment law" stipulated that wages should be paid at or above the minimum standard, increasing the costs for the weavers by twenty to thirty percent.
The weavers under the Yan family could not supply silk, and the Japanese pirate merchants therefore had no goods. They could only place orders with the Directorate of Weaving, and at present, demand exceeded supply, with prices already two to three times higher than before. In just half a year, they had lost tens of millions of taels of silver.
With reduced profits, they could no longer afford to support as many Japanese pirates as before, and many units had disbanded. In the past six months, their forces had been reduced by at least half, forcing them to retreat to the outer seas and islands of Taizhou卫. And Qi Jiguang, skilled in warfare, had managed to surround their water forts.
Precisely because of this, the Japanese commander Da Yinei Chang in Kyushu was in a hurry to recruit troops. If the Yan family could not solve the problem, they would resort to military means.