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

Chapter 1515 Jane is in the Emperor’s Heart

"Is this cement?"

Jiajing looked at the pile of dry cement powder in front of him with a puzzled expression.

"Your Majesty, it is indeed cement. This wall was built last night using cement and red bricks."

In the open space of the West Garden, the eunuch pointed to a wall and gave a reply to Jiajing.

Jiajing hummed in agreement, then leaned closer, looking at the cement, the cement and red brick walls, and even touching them.

Finally, the soldiers guarding the palace were summoned to inspect the red brick wall. They kicked it, pushed it with wooden stakes, and so on, ultimately destroying the wall that the craftsmen had worked so hard to build all night.

"good."

Jiajing stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the scattered bricks on the ground. "Wang Yan said that the royal family should have a monopoly?"

“That’s right.” Lü Fang, who was standing by his side, responded, “Master, Wang Yan also said that as long as people at all levels embezzle less silver, the common people can use cheap cement, and the imperial merchants can also make a lot of money to build palaces for His Majesty.”

"In his eyes, all I do is modify palaces?" Jiajing snorted in dissatisfaction, his tone tinged with arrogance.

Lü Fang laughed and said, "Your Majesty, Wang Yan is just a lowly ninth-rank registrar. How could he possibly understand the hardships Your Majesty endures every day?"

"I understand, you're asking him for an official position."

“Master must have already made arrangements, so there’s no need for this servant to say anything more.” Lü Fang hesitated slightly. “There is just one thing that I don’t know whether I should say.”

"You've already said it, what else shouldn't you say?" Jiajing glanced at him.

Lü Fang then laughed: "Wang Yan had Zhu Qi send over a painting he wrote of Laozi leaving Hangu Pass to the west. The painting also has his handwritten copy of the Tao Te Ching. He said he wanted to present it to His Majesty on His Majesty's birthday, but he was afraid that by then he would have no way to send it out, so he gave it to Zhu Qi in advance."

"Speak up!"

Jiajing said in his unhurried tone, "Since it is a gift for the Emperor's birthday, it should be brought out on the day of the Emperor's birthday. Now that you have said it, what am I supposed to do? Should I look at it or not?"

"Then let's take a look, Master. I'll bring the painting over in a bit."

Lü Fang had served Jiajing for decades, and the two could even exchange some lighthearted jokes. He had an intimate understanding of Jiajing's condition.

"You..."

Jiajing smiled and then said, "It really is fate. I remember Wang Yan once said that the best way to change rice paddies to mulberry trees is for the court to lend grain to the people so that they can switch to planting mulberry seedlings. Now this Shen Yishi is so audacious that he has lent out all the grain. It really does just what Wang Yan wanted."

"Wang Yan is pleased, but Grand Secretary Yan and the young Grand Secretary are not so happy."

"I am also unhappy! How will the court make up for the deficit? Recently, Hu Zongxian has submitted another memorial requesting that the Japanese pirates take action and that military funds be allocated, which will be another large sum of money..."

After a brief complaint, Jiajing said nothing more and returned to Wang Yan's words, "Didn't Wang Yan say he wanted to build new houses for all the people of Chun'an? Let him continue. He made such a big promise and came up with things like red bricks and cement. We have to let him finish the job before we talk about anything else."

"Master, regarding the cement business, should we give him a share of the profits?"

"I am not one to seize by trickery or force. Let him take half of the profits. You must keep an eye on things and make sure his subordinates don't embezzle his money. Otherwise, he might blame me."

"No, Wang Yan is loyal to the emperor and the country, and has never spoken ill of His Majesty."

"You're only talking about the people below. Whose servants are they?" Jiajing glanced at Lü Fang. "The people below are getting more and more outrageous. You, as their ancestor, need to keep a close eye on them."

"This servant..." As she spoke, Lü Fang was about to kneel down and beg for forgiveness.

Jiajing waved his hand: "I did not punish you. I am not omniscient, but you are?"

"Your Majesty is wise."

"Alright, let's arrange for someone to buy this cement. Everyone has to pay money, even the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the Directorate of Works. The king said he could let me build a palace, so let's use this money to build a palace. Then my good officials won't be able to say that I'm extravagant anymore."

"I never imagined that the officials in the court would be less considerate of His Majesty than Wang Yan, a mere ninth-rank registrar."

"They all use the guise of doing what's best for me to line their own pockets. Even Wang Yan, a mere clerk, is thinking of me when he has a lucrative business. You must take good care of him and make sure he's not bullied by his subordinates. He's such a loyal and considerate person; don't let such a devoted minister become disloyal to me, or I'll truly become a tyrant."

"Yes, Master, I will take good care of you."

"Go, have someone bring that painting here. I want to take a good look at it. I really don't know how he developed such powerful and magnificent brushwork at such a young age. Is he truly born with divine talent?"

Emperor Jiajing mentioned returning to the palace to rest, so Lü Fang gave a few instructions to the eunuchs around her and then quickly followed in Jiajing's footsteps to serve him back...

After Shen Yishi lent the grain he had used to buy land to the people of the two counties, Zhejiang became unusually quiet. Everyone was at a loss and waiting for news from the capital; it was the calm before the storm.

However, no matter what kind of storm it is now, it has nothing to do with Chun'an. After all, the grain has already been lent to the people, and all the rice fields have been converted to mulberry seedlings, with every household raising silkworms and reeling silk. At this time, it's just the beginning, and there's no output at all, so naturally, this place is very quiet.

In order to properly cultivate mulberry trees and raise silkworms, Wang Yan sought out professional mulberry growers and silkworm breeders in the county, gathered their experience, and mobilized the county's scholars to go to the villages to impart relevant knowledge to the people.

The scholars were naturally unwilling, but they couldn't resist Hai Rui's effective methods of dealing with them. Yes, Hai Rui.

Now, Wang Yan's main job is to act as a strategist who comes up with ideas. As long as his suggestions can convince Hai Rui and benefit the local people, Hai Rui will rush to implement them with great enthusiasm.

Hai Rui was like that; he was reasonable, very reasonable. He was also very principled, even stubbornly so.

How can it be acceptable for scholars, who enjoy privileges, to be unwilling to impart knowledge to the common people in order to enable them to better cultivate mulberry trees and raise silkworms?
Of course, the main reason was that Wang Yan had already suppressed the opposition forces in the county. Even wealthy families were struggling to survive, so what trouble could some scholars from small families possibly cause?

"Auntie, sister-in-law, niece."

Wang Yan swaggered into Hai Rui's residence, completely disregarding the rule of not entering other people's backyards, because he believed that he and Hai Rui were close friends.

"Greetings, Uncle," Hai Rui's daughter greeted Wang Yan sweetly.

Wang Yan laughed heartily, ruffling the little girl's hair, and pulled out a few sugar cubes from the pocket in his sleeve: "Eat your meal first, then you can have the candy. Don't eat them all at once." "Thank you, Uncle."

"Come on, serve me the dishes." Wang Yan waved his hand, and the clerk behind him diligently brought in one dish after another.

"Wang Yan!" Mother Hai was displeased. "Don't make things difficult for us. We are a poor family..."

"Auntie, the money for today's meal didn't come from the wealthy family. To be honest, the master has started cracking down on them lately, so how could I possibly ask them for money again?"

"Then what is this money..." it was Hai Mu who spoke.

Hai Rui's wife was holding the child's hand; she had no say in the family.

Wang Yan laughed heartily: "Didn't the master tell you that the emperor was helping me with business and would give me half a share of the profits?"

"But we can't give you the money so quickly."

"I borrowed it from the government office. I'll pay it back sooner or later anyway, so it's no big deal for me to owe it for now. Okay, let's eat."

Wang Yan sat down casually, letting Hai Rui's daughter pour him wine. He sighed, "When people are honest officials, their families run businesses and make money. The officials then do favors for their families' businesses and ask for favors, while the families spend money to support the officials. Although they are nominally upright officials, they still spend their days drinking, eating meat, and having women."

"I'm not trying to be mean, but aunties and sisters-in-law, officials make their families look pale and thin. I've only ever seen one like this—this magistrate. He's a truly honest official; he doesn't take a single extra penny."

"Only by doing this can one stand tall as a person!"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear you scolding me. Anyway, this meal was completely clean. You can say it was a gift from His Majesty the Emperor."

The sea mother shook her head: "I didn't scold you. My son said that you are a rare good official, a good official who works for the people. Otherwise, why would everyone in this government office, and so many people in Chun'an, respect you so much?"

“Mother is right. Clerk Wang has done a good job. Without him, I wouldn’t be doing so well here.” Hai Rui walked in with a smile, giving Wang Yan face and praising him.

"I didn't expect you to be back tonight." Wang Yan greeted him, but didn't stand up, still sitting there eating and drinking. "Will you be eating or not tonight, sir?"

"Didn't you say that this meal was a gift from His Majesty the Emperor? What is there that Hai Rui can't eat?" Hai Rui then asked, "Your business with His Majesty has only just begun, hasn't it?"

"I drew it from the yamen's account. I'll pay it off later when the Emperor gives me the silver." Wang Yan shook his head and sighed. "It's all your fault for being too impatient, sir. Otherwise, why would I need to draw silver from the county yamen?"

Hai Rui snorted: "Now that Chun'an is stable and the people are planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms, it is the perfect time to deal with the powerful families. In the past, they preyed on the villagers and exploited the people. Today, we will make them give it all back! The land will be distributed to the people, which will solve the livelihood problem for many."

I think it's inappropriate.

"What's wrong?"

“It’s not right to distribute land to the common people.” Wang Yan poured wine for Hai Rui and said, “My lord, how do you think wealthy families prospered? It’s nothing more than being friendly with neighbors, being thrifty and hardworking, having many children, daring to fight and take risks, being able to intimidate others, and gradually developing their wealth.”

After we leave, will the new county magistrate still oppose the wealthy households like we have? Then the land allocated today will still end up in the hands of the newly powerful households tomorrow, just like before.”

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"Our yamen has taken over all those fields and made them public property of the county government. We rent them out to the people for cultivation at a rate of 10%, and the money and grain obtained are used to subsidize the yamen officials."

For example, with more money, the food can naturally be better. The government also raises chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs, so there are both eggs and meat, and the officials can eat well. Another example is firewood and charcoal for winter; the government subsidizes some of these, so everyone can stay warm throughout the winter.

Hai Rui frowned: "Everyone in the yamen is eyeing these fields, and we certainly can't let anyone take them away. But the rent—it's 10% today, tomorrow it'll probably be 20%, and the day after tomorrow it'll be 30%!"

Wang Yan shook his head: "I'm already doing business with His Majesty, how could these people below possibly cause trouble? This matter needs to be reported to His Majesty. This is not a door that you or I can open. When His Majesty makes his decree, it will be legally sound."

Even after I'm gone, I'll certainly be in a higher position, sending people to conduct surprise inspections from time to time. Anyone who dares to break my rules will be dealt with. I can't manage so much after I die, but as long as I live, I can manage. The people here support me, and as long as they support me, even if I'm not an official, I can still take care of their affairs.”

Hai Rui pondered for a long time, then nodded: "Then I'll trouble you to report to His Majesty and see what his decision is."

"Come on, sir, let's drink. To be honest, this is the first time we've ever drunk together."

"The money from before was not clean."

Wang Yan laughed heartily and pulled out two pieces of silver from his pocket: "Come, come, sir, tell me, which of these two pieces of silver is clean, and which is dirty?"

"I won't argue with you. You know best what's right and wrong." Hai Rui took a sip of wine and then served his mother some food on the table.

“You can’t argue with me.” Wang Yan chuckled and served food to Hai Rui’s daughter. “Eat more, my dear niece. You’ll be eating with me every day from now on. It’s all clean money, so your father won’t be able to find fault with it.”

"Uncle Wang, how can you spend all day like this..."

Hai Rui's wife rarely spoke, but Hai Rui glared at her and retorted, "Let's eat his food. I can't make any money, and I don't know how to earn any. If he's willing to treat us to a meal, then let's eat. His money comes from His Majesty, so let's consider it a reward from His Majesty."

"I've noticed that you can be quite shameless sometimes," Wang Yan said, pointing at Hai Rui with his chopsticks.

"Your cement formula would have been a gift to His Majesty, but His Majesty still gave you half a tael of silver as a share. This shows His Majesty's magnanimity and his care for you."

"And to take care of you a little while I'm at it?"

Hai Rui laughed heartily, said nothing more, raised his glass and drank with Wang Yan, while also eating heartily – the food was truly delicious…

Wang Yan wasn't really idle; besides serving as Hai Rui's advisor, he had many other things to do. For example, when building houses, he had to conduct on-site inspections in various places. Another task was coordinating the purchase of timber for the main beams throughout the county.

Why did Hai Rui become a wealthy landowner? One reason was to obtain the money to buy timber.

Besides that, Wang Yan led craftsmen to burn sand outside the county town.

Upon learning that the provincial authorities were taking action against Shen Yishi, he finally succeeded in producing his first piece of glass...

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