Zhu Mo shook his head, thinking—
If you do everything, what do I do? Am I just supposed to fight?
Moreover, the nature of this state-run bank is still unclear. If everything is crammed in, won't it become your Zhang Juzheng's domain? This will not do!
As he thought, he increasingly felt that this "Great Ming State-run Jiangnan Bank" was becoming more and more like that East India Company. If this continues, it will be a big mistake!
The moment he thought the problem seemed serious, he felt a little panicked and immediately said,
“Brother Taiyue, the state-run bank can’t do everything… I think we still need to sort it out, and it’s best to start a new entity, open a channel on top, specifically to manage these industries…?”
Zhang Juzheng's mind raced, and he had already figured out the reason. He couldn't help but laugh and say,
“Zi Xuan, it’s probably too early to talk about these things… The matter is still in its infancy. We'll open the road when we encounter mountains and build bridges when we meet water… There are a thousand threads to untangle now. We have to break through first. It’s not impossible for you to start a new entity, but that would shake the Six Ministries, and that’s no small matter…”
Mm-hmm,
Zhu Mo naturally agreed with this.
But the problem was real—
If it continues like this, and if by chance I encounter some trouble and die, you, Zhang Juzheng, will control the lifeline of the Great Ming with this super investment holding entity. If your ambition grows then, all my efforts will have been in vain, benefiting you scholars? And the world will likely suffer even more…
For such serious issues,
The damned system has always been unreliable.
Zhu Mo thought for a moment, feeling that it was still necessary to start from the top-level design—
It would be best to establish a separate ministry, independent of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, perhaps called the "Ministry of Production," specifically to manage state-invested industries, including Jiangnan's silk, salt, and tea, as well as future smelting and mining. The reason for distinguishing it is to emphasize that these industries are state investments, and their profits are to be used for the entire world.
This Ministry of Production should not be managed by the Grand Secretariat but should have personnel from both the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Grand Secretariat to manage it. The final decision on major matters should be made by the Emperor…?
However, such issues were too far-reaching, and his head began to ache after thinking for just a while—
It was clear that
If this idea were pursued now, it would be difficult to proceed. At the very least, it would have to wait until the Yan family was dealt with and the differences with Zhang Juzheng were resolved. Then, this design could be implemented. At that time, with a single decree, the state-run bank could be transformed into the "Ministry of Production."
For now, we really have to act, and there's nothing else to discuss…
…
At this time,
Zhang Juzheng suddenly said again,
“Zi Xuan, last time we talked about allowing private kilns to also fire, and I’ve looked at some in the past few days… I think this is indeed a way, just like merchants like Xu Yang and Shen Yishi also work for the Directorate of Weaving. If they are given the status of Imperial Merchants later, they can be managed together with the official kilns. This will be a form of management before we reopen the channels!”
When Zhu Mo discussed this with him last time, he was reserved. Having just thought of the East India Company, and seeing Zhang Juzheng’s eagerness now, he decisively said,
“No! The practice of Imperial Merchants will not work… Brother Taiyue, think about it, what has Xu Yang done? Under the guise of Imperial Merchants, he has done everything imaginable! If these private kilns are given the status of Imperial Merchants, it will be a pile of trouble in the future…”
Speaking of which,
He suddenly remembered something—
He recalled that a great god on a certain forum had said that the reason Jingdezhen adopted the "official partnership with private firing" was because the court had no money, and someone came up with this bad idea. In the end, the court's revenue actually decreased, and it became impossible to distinguish between official and private kilns… This practice was naturally a path to ruin.
Now that we have money, why engage in this?
It's not that official kilns cannot entrust some orders to private kilns, but there is a fundamental difference between this and Imperial Merchants. Entrusting orders is simple enough, requiring only bidding. However, Imperial Merchants are absolutely not allowed. Merchants are merchants, and officials are officials; how can they be mixed together?
Thinking of this,
He suddenly felt that this point might lead to a long-term disagreement with him, or even a fundamental disagreement. It was best not to reveal it for now, and wait for the orders from foreign merchants to arrive.
He immediately changed the subject and said,
“In a while, when foreigners come to buy silk, we will need to show them samples in Jiujiang. We need to produce a batch as soon as possible, preferably one that accurately gauges the pulse of foreign merchants… Someone needs to be found to do this.”
Mm-hmm,
Zhang Juzheng nodded. Seeing the strange look on Zhu Mo’s face, he stopped talking about proxy firing.
The next day,
The two asked the supervisor of kilns to recommend a talent named He Chaozong, also known as He Lai. This person fired impressive Guan Yin statues that were lifelike and possessed great artistic attainment, earning him the title "He Lai Guan Yin" among porcelain craftsmen. He was a master-level figure in Jingdezhen.
Who were Zhu Mo and Zhang Juzheng? They immediately appointed this person as deputy supervisor of kilns and ordered him to fire a batch of porcelain depicting Buddhist figures, landscapes, and figures from folk customs within two months. According to general understanding, foreigners are initially interested in exotic foreign customs before developing customized needs.
This trip,
The two stayed for seven or eight days, and finally settled on a preliminary plan—
The official kilns would expand by 50 kilns, increasing production from 100,000 pieces to 300,000 pieces. Each official kiln would receive 500 released chattel slaves to perform manual labor. These were the second batch of released slaves. Although they did not have craftsman status, they now had a place to settle.
…
A few days later,
The capital, Yan Mansion.
Yan Shifan was writing a memorial at his desk, stroke by stroke. Old Yan Song, uncharacteristically, was watching him from the side, his expression indifferent and solemn, as if contemplating something.
All the officials held a memorial in their hands, their faces filled with indignation, but seeing Yan Shifan also writing, they felt slightly more at ease.
After he finished writing, Yan Song said indifferently,
“Read…”
Yan Shifan immediately felt a surge of displeasure, but his father had spoken so plainly a few days ago. Thinking that this was the time for forbearance, he dared not retort.
He cleared his throat and recited a seven-character poem, word by word, with varying intonation.
Yan Song tasted it while scanning the crowd. After he finished reciting, he slowly said, “Have you all finished writing your poems?”
“Your subordinates have all written them.”
Mm,
“On the third day of the sixth month, in the Hall of Imperial Splendor, His Majesty requires all officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital to present poems. Are you all prepared?”
The crowd fell silent—
After the council that day, the next day, Prince Yu, through Xu Jie, "suggested" a theme to the Grand Secretariat. The topic was simple: the four characters "以义制暴" (Yi Zhi Bao, literally "Righteousness Controls Violence"). The officials were to write poems on this theme, praising the Battle of Zhoushan and the joy of the pirate leader's demise.
Everyone understood: The Battle of Zhoushan was a tragic defeat for the combined forces of private pirates, and to a large extent, it was also a shared humiliation for the Yan family’s faction. Dayu Zonglin, as the top enforcer of the private pirate forces, had his head sent to the Great Ming capital by so-called "foreign righteous men." Prince Yu declared this as "Yi Zhi Bao," which was a direct slap in the face to the Yan family officials, and they were forced to slap themselves…
How could this not make everyone dejected and frantic?
But looking at Yan Song’s expression, everyone felt the same: they had to endure. He had been overbearing for half his life, and he could endure this. What shame were they afraid of losing?