The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1508 The Junior Registrar
With a bang, the covered bowl was smashed on the ground, shattering into pieces...

Zheng Bichang glared and shouted, "This is outrageous! A mere county magistrate and a minor registrar dare to stir up such a mess at this time? What are they trying to do? Huh? Old He, go and arrest them!"

He spoke almost through gritted teeth...

He Maocai looked equally desperate: "We can't arrest them, Lao Zheng. The official documents have already been sent to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and they say the Censorate has also sent someone to deliver the documents. They're on horseback at top speed, and we can't stop them at all. Everyone who needs to know already knows. What they've done is in accordance with the rules, so what reason do we have to arrest them?"

The two of them sat there sulking, seemingly oblivious and unhappy.

"Stop just drinking tea and say something," He Maocai said irritably. "This matter definitely needs to be reported. Right now, the situation in Zhejiang is being handled by express courier, and it will reach the capital in four days."

"Do you think I don't know?" Zheng Bichang glared at the impatient He Maocai and said irritably, "What we can do now is for you to quickly send people to investigate the case, arrest Luo Zhengwen, the Assistant Magistrate of Hangzhou, and send people to Chun'an to destroy all the evidence they have."

"Old Zheng, these two from Chun'an dare to do something like this at this time, so they're not people who listen to us. Otherwise, they could just send us official documents directly, why would they send them to the Embroidered Uniform Guard as well?"
"Didn't you see the people of Chun'an wailing at the government office? They don't dare send anyone to the provincial capital to make a scene, do they? I think it's just that the capital is too far away; otherwise, they wouldn't dare send people to the imperial city gates to wail. Tell me, how am I supposed to arrange for people to destroy the evidence? I'm afraid they'll detain all my people, and then things will be even more difficult to handle."

Before he could finish speaking, Zheng Bichang's words were slammed into his face: "This won't work, that won't work, then tell me what we should do? You've heard the news that came from below. They dared to extort money and grain from local wealthy families and managed to get 30,000 shi of grain, enough to last another month!"

If we wait another month, the mulberry seedlings will grow even later, and the plan to switch from rice paddies to mulberry trees will be in jeopardy. Producing 500,000 bolts of silk will be impossible without this problem. Now, with this added burden, it's truly..."

“Old Zheng, I see now. This time, the conversion of rice paddies to mulberry fields is probably not going to work.” He Maocai snorted, his tone equally unpleasant. “Hu Zongxian even killed his own student, so he will never agree to it, not even if Grand Secretary Yan is his teacher.”

And then there's Tan Lun, you see him? He's one of Prince Yu's men. Standing next to Prince Yu are Xu Jie and Gao Gong, who are specifically targeting Grand Secretary Yan and the Junior Grand Secretary. They'll definitely try to obstruct this matter.

They were just looking for excuses anyway, and now look what's happened—a county magistrate from Chun'an County, and a registrar who's only been in office for half a month, have handed over the knife…”

"How could I not know? Old He, the most important thing now is what we do!" Zheng Bichang said in a low voice. "Last year, when we repaired the river and built the dam, you and I also got a share of the profits. If this gets out, we won't be able to escape either. We'll be finished, even if we don't die..."

He Maocai said in a sinister tone, "Their official document states that they are only accusing Luo Zhengwen, the Assistant Magistrate of Hangzhou. Why don't we let Luo Zhengwen..."

He raised his hand and slashed it across his throat, but there was no fierce look on his face, as if killing a fifth-rank official was nothing unusual.

"Will it work?" Zheng Bichang asked hesitantly.

“Old Zheng, this isn’t like you. Luo Zhengwen is dead, so the matter of Xin’an River ends with him. We can confiscate his house and make some money. What’s wrong with that?”

Zheng Bichang shook his head, took a sip of tea from the covered bowl, calmed himself down, and let out a long sigh.

"Old He, this time I have a very bad feeling about you."

"So what if it's good? So what if it's bad? Old Zheng, at this point, we two brothers have no way out. You're just overthinking things."

Zheng Bichang looked at him as if he were an idiot: "Alright, go handle it. Make sure Luo Zhengwen is sensible and doesn't cause trouble for us. The overall situation in the Southeast can't be disrupted. Let him consider the bigger picture."

"What about Chun'an..."

"Send people over to investigate as usual, and close the case to Luo Zhengwen. As long as Luo Zhengwen is dead, it's all a minor matter. The key issue is the fields in Chun'an. If they continue like this, the plan to convert rice paddies to mulberry fields will really fall through. How will we explain that to Grand Secretary Yan and the Junior Grand Secretary? How will we explain that to the Emperor?"

"You hurry up and figure something out, I'm going to take care of things," He Maocai said, then got up and left.

Comparatively speaking, He Maocai displayed a more violent temper and less patience than Zheng Bichang, so he became quite impatient with Zheng Bichang's babbling and groaning...

On May 23, Luo Zhengwen, the Assistant Magistrate of Hangzhou, was boating on West Lake when he fell into the lake and drowned.

Wang Yan warmly welcomed the Right Councilor of the Zhejiang Provincial Governor's Office, the Vice Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of the Provincial Judicial Office, and the Deputy Commander of the Zhejiang Embroidered Uniform Guard, who had come to handle the corruption case in Xin'an River.

He repeated his question: "Are you saying that Luo Zhengwen, the Hangzhou Prefect involved in the case, accidentally fell into the water and drowned?"

"It's important. We have already searched Luo Zhengwen's house and the business run by Luo Zhengwen's cousin, which you mentioned in your article. In addition, the other people involved in the case have also been arrested. We are just waiting for the authorities to investigate the details before reporting to the three judicial departments."

These are the words of the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Wang Yan clicked his tongue without any attempt to hide it, then waved away the servants in the room and spoke very bluntly: "I believe all of you superiors know how Luo Zhengwen died, so it's best if we don't lie. I don't care about that either. To be honest, the reason I did this was for money and provisions."

Luo Zhengwen not only embezzled funds intended for river repair and dam construction, but also stole and sold official grain from the Chun'an granary. Now that all of you officials are present, I wish to act on behalf of the people of Chun'an to recover the owed funds. Is this permissible?

"Of course not. The imperial court has its own laws on how to deal with embezzled funds. How can you, a mere registrar of Chun'an, arbitrarily demand them?" This was said by the Right Councilor of the Provincial Administration Commission, who was very impolite.

So Wang Yan nodded: "In that case, we can only let the people of Chun'an go to the province to ask for it themselves."

"How dare you! Are you trying to rebel? Huh?"

“Wang Yan doesn’t have that kind of courage. The county’s grain reserves are only enough to last another month. What can be done when the people are starving?”

"Then sell the land! There are dozens of silk merchants, big and small, in Chun'an, waiting to buy land with grain, but the people won't sell. Why won't they sell? Because of you, the Chun'an County Magistrate, you, the Chun'an Registrar, who frame your colleagues, extort money from wealthy households, and rack your brains to find grain. Do you think you can manage this forever?"

Tian Youlu! Wang Yan! You are obstructing the national policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields, ruining our dynasty's grand plan, and your intentions are sinister! Your hearts deserve to be punished!

Tian Youlu sat below, his face ashen, without uttering a word. He never imagined that one day he would be scolded like this by his superior. This was what a good official should bear; what did it have to do with him?
But Wang Yan had already forced him to become a good official who stood up for the people. He had written official documents and stamped them. He would be arriving in the capital in two days, and there was no room for him to regret it.

So, listening to the words of these superiors whom he couldn't reach no matter how hard he jumped, his thought was simple: he was tired, so he decided to destroy everything...

"Your Excellencies understand. You are not here to investigate a case, but to investigate Wang, and to force Wang to cut off the people's food supply..."

Wang Yan sat there as steady as a mountain: "It is only right and proper for the people to pay taxes and for the government to help them. You know best how low those silk merchants have driven down grain prices."

Wanting to make money is understandable. Wang also wants to make money, but that's not how you make money. Draining the pond to catch all the fish is not a viable path. You officials may manage this year, but what about next year? Will you only realize your mistake when the people rebel and your homes are ransacked, raped, and robbed by rioters, and a knife is stuck in your throat?

"A mere registrar of Chun'an dares to presume to discuss matters of national importance? What do you know? Officials force the people to rebel? You think you can just make them rebel because you say so?"

"Then I will not presume to comment further. Second Master, please lead your superiors to handle the case." Wang Yan shook his head, and seeing that they still wanted to speak, he waved his hand to interrupt, "Superiors, please do not be impatient. How can this matter be closed just because Luo Zhengwen is dead? On the contrary, Luo Zhengwen's death will only make things more complicated. Superiors should think about how to deal with it later."

"Deceiving the court, Wang Yan, your crimes are heinous..."

“I have acted in accordance with the law, and it is impossible to frame me, especially at a time like this.”

Wang Yan laughed heartily, cupped his hands in greeting to the crowd, and left the main hall of the county government office.

These people dared to kill Luo Zhengwen, so they certainly dared to kill Wang Yan. But unfortunately, this was Chun'an, and outside the county government office, Qi Dazhu and his gang of armed men stood guard. Here, no one could cause any trouble. There was no political struggle here; in the end, it all came down to fists.

If your fists aren't strong enough, you'll get crushed. What's the point of fighting then?

Wang Yan failed to win the hearts of the people in Chun'an and gain the protection of the armed forces. Zheng Bichang, He Maocai, and others were truly willing to send troops directly to arrest him. After all, the best way to solve a problem is to deal with the person who raised it.

Even if the capital is furious, so what? Zhejiang is united, everyone just goes through the motions, and the investigators are bribed and given some minor credit, and the matter is perfectly resolved.

After leaving the county government office, Wang Yan led Qi Dazhu and the others to a place not far to the west of the county town. The brick kiln and cement kiln there had already been set up and were being tested for firepower to dry the bricks.

Construction was progressing quickly; after all, at that time, there was an abundance of labor, so there was no shortage of manpower. With skilled craftsmen providing guidance and leading the work, regardless of success, speed was definitely not an issue.

Not only were kilns set up here, but the abundant labor force also led to the excavation of a layer of soil from a suitable area several miles away from the brick kilns, which was piled up like mountains outside the kilns.

Wang Yan instructed the craftsmen to prepare various formulas and mix different types of clay in order to produce cheap and usable bricks.

On the other hand, Wang Yan also hoped for a chance encounter to create even more sophisticated and deceptive glass...

While officials from various government departments were investigating corruption cases in Xin'anjiang and the theft of government grain in Chun'an County, news of related cases was also being received in the capital...

In the eighteenth year of the Jiajing reign, the emperor moved to the Western Garden, where he managed state affairs and also practiced Taoist meditation.

Yuxi Palace was the residence of Emperor Jiajing.

Early that morning, Lü Fang, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who was supposed to be handling official duties, personally came to serve the emperor as he got up to wash and eat.

After a good night's sleep, Jiajing sat at the table, eating a bowl of congee. Lü Fang quickly noticed that Jiajing had taken an extra bite of cucumber, so she moved it closer to him so it would be easier for him to pick it up.

"My lady, these are the first batch of cucumbers from the Imperial Garden Bureau this year. We selected the freshest ones with the flowers and thorns still on, and used them to make this dish today. It's very nutritious and refreshing. Please eat more, my lady. I haven't seen you eat so much in a long time."

Jiajing picked up another cucumber with his chopsticks, looking very dissatisfied: "You old dog, I am practicing fasting and meditation. What good is it to be able to eat? It would be better not to eat or drink at all."

However, Lü Fang remained calm, a smile on her face, as she steadily served the emperor food: "Your Majesty has long since achieved immortality through cultivation, but even so, it is still good to savor the finest human flavors. We should eat the clouds and drink the dew, and also enjoy the myriad flavors of the human world."

Jiajing laughed heartily, drank two spoonfuls of congee, and said, "Tell me, why are you here instead of approving imperial edicts?"

"I can't escape His Majesty's eyes. There is something here that is both laughable and frustrating, and it's also difficult to deal with."

"Oh? Tell me, I want to hear how ridiculous and difficult it is to handle."

Lu Fang took out the letter of complaint that Wang Yan had submitted to the Embroidered Uniform Guard from her sleeve, opened it and placed it next to Jiajing, while she began to recount the details of the incident.

"My lord, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has already inquired about this Wang Yan. He is originally from Liaodong. He passed the provincial examination but was selected through the civil service examination. He sold his property and spent the money to go to Chun'an to take up an official post. The day after he took office, the Xin'an River breached its banks... It is said that he eats and drinks lavishly without any restraint, and he even looked for the mistakes of local wealthy families in order to obtain money and grain, which led to this incident."

The demands for money and provisions are all written on paper. It's said that these people are the cause of Chun'an's current predicament. Confiscating their property and exterminating their families to compensate the suffering people of Chun'an is a perfectly just and righteous act.

"Looks like he couldn't wait to become an official and make money, but when he got to the local area, he became a master of serving the people?" Jiajing laughed, picked up the letter on the table, squinted at it, and said, "Is this Wang Yan's handwriting?"

"Yes, Master. It was a letter from Wang Yan. County Magistrate Tian Youlu was forced by him to use his seal and sign his name."

Emperor Jiajing nodded repeatedly: "This young man does indeed write beautiful calligraphy, possessing the style of Wei and Jin dynasty steles, the grandeur of Tang dynasty calligraphy, and a touch of Song dynasty elegance. Yan Zhenqing, Chu Suiliang, Zhao Mengfu, Mi Fu... This young man, at such a young age, has already mastered calligraphy and developed his own unique style..."

"I'll have him write a chapter of the Tao Te Ching to help His Majesty cultivate immortality and pray for blessings."

"How dare I, the sovereign of a nation, ask a mere clerk for a word?"

"Hey, look at my mouth! I'll make this little clerk feel the master's benevolence so that he'll be willing to pick up his pen and write."

Jiajing squinted comfortably, put down the letter in his hand, and picked up the porridge again.

"Go on."

Lü Fang knew that this was an explanation of why Wang Yan, who wanted to become an official and make money, suddenly stood up for the people.

"Yes, Master. It is said that this man speaks very directly to the people in the government and to the common people. He says that he also wants to make money, but this money cannot be touched. This year the people have lost their land, how will they make a living next year? If the officials force the people to rebel, coupled with the Japanese pirates in the southeast, the harm will be great, so he will not do it."

He also said he would build houses for the people, letting them pay for the timber for the beams and rafters, with the government covering the rest. Before arriving, he was leading the disaster victims in building kilns and firing bricks, saying he wanted to investigate things thoroughly, to understand the principles of heaven and earth, and to carefully study and produce cheap and durable bricks for the people to use in building houses.

"What kind of strange skills and tricks are these, talking about investigating things and extending knowledge? If Wang Yangming's disciples and followers heard this, they'd probably skin him alive. Do the common people believe it?"

"I believe he has excellent medical skills; he was the one who suppressed the epidemic in Chun'an. He patrols daily, and he treats any patients he encounters. He's a man of his word, ever since the disaster relief efforts began..."

Lü Fang explained it in great detail. It was clear that although the Ming Dynasty was corrupt and declining, the intelligence capabilities of the secret police were still quite strong...

"He's good at winning people's hearts." Jiajing shook his head with a smile, then said, "Just like Hu Zongxian, it seems this lowly registrar is pragmatic and understands the big picture. What did he say about converting rice paddies to mulberry fields?"

"He did not object, but he complained that the silk merchants were giving too little grain when they bought the land, saying that this was a case of draining the pond to catch all the fish."

That is opposition!

Jiajing snorted, "This matter is going to cause trouble for a while, there won't be any peace these next few days. Let them make a fuss, let's see how far they go. Also, send the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Chun'an, there will be a lot of things to do there, I also want to see how this little clerk will build new houses for all the people in the county! Send Zhu Qi, he's a capable man."

"Yes, Master!"

Lü Fang smiled and agreed. Having served Jiajing for decades, he knew his master was currently in high spirits because of something new...

As for the overall situation in the southeast and the conversion of rice paddies to mulberry fields, that is not something that a mere clerk can influence or control.

Hu Zongxian's words to Hai Rui were quite apt: "You, a mere seventh-rank official, can you possibly stand up to anyone? The reason you can do things in Zhejiang that shake the court is because you have someone behind you who wants to shake the court. You can't push over those the emperor wants to use, and you can't protect those the emperor doesn't want to use."

Besides, Wang Yan was just a minor ninth-rank registrar. The fact that he managed to get his name on Jiajing's radar and pique Jiajing's interest through his own efforts was already quite an achievement...

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all the kind readers who have given me generous support through tips, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and those who have been reading quietly!