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

Chapter 1518 Cleaning Fee

"A report of victory? A royal declaration?"

Upon hearing Lü Fang's words, Jiajing was surprised, "What victory did he report?"

Lu Fang took out the official document forwarded by Hu Zongxian and said, "More than 500 Japanese pirates have wreaked havoc in Chun'an. Chun'an had already captured the Japanese pirates who were spying on intelligence and made preparations in advance. Three thousand local militia were mobilized, of which one thousand were near the county seat, five hundred were in the city and were in charge of Chun'an Magistrate Hai Rui, and five hundred were outside the city and were personally commanded by Wang Yan. The other two thousand were also under the command of Wang Yan."

Ever since discovering the Japanese pirates' intelligence gathering, Wang Yan had been living outside the city with the local militia. This time, having discovered the pirates' tracks ahead of time, Wang Yan personally donned armor and charged ahead, leading the Chun'an militia to a crushing defeat for the pirates…

After listening to Lü Fang's report, Jiajing took a look at the official document reporting the victory and said with a smile, "I didn't expect him to lead troops into battle. Although it was a small skirmish, it is already quite remarkable that he dared to personally charge into battle."

"Not only that, Master, Wang Yan extracted the hiding place from the Japanese pirates. Before this good news was sent up, he had already led the local militia to wipe out the Japanese pirates, saying that he wanted to completely eliminate the Japanese pirates in Chun'an and thoroughly investigate any collusion with them. Master, Wang Yan is truly both a scholar and a warrior."

"They all deserve some credit."

Jiajing smiled and nodded, letting out a long sigh of relief. "Wang Yan is so considerate and capable, unlike my loyal ministers who always cause me trouble."

Shen Yishi's account books had been submitted, and Jiajing had them calculated, uncovering corruption surrounding the Jiangnan Arsenal over the past twenty years. This infuriated Jiajing.

Damn it, how much silver did he earn from the textile bureau? How many palaces did he build? And those people actually earned more than him? And they're still not satisfied with all that money, they even blame him for building palaces?

This incident made him even more dissatisfied with Yan Song and his son. Even though Yan Song had been the main force that helped him defeat Xia Yan, and even though Yan Song had been with him through thick and thin for decades.

These people are all trying to make money off him, and they're also trying to pin all the problems on him. They're all trying to fool him.

Unlike Wang Yan, who only diligently does his work below, and doesn't forget to share the burdens of His Majesty by finding ways to earn money for him...

Just as this topic came up, Lü Fang said, "Master, Wang Yan is indeed thoughtful. Besides reporting the victory, he also created a piece of white glass, saying it was made by firing sand. It's very cheap to make, but it's very useful. It's clear and bright, so it can be used to make windows. In addition, it can be used to make all kinds of utensils."

He said that as long as production was controlled and these goods were sold to officials, wealthy local families, or foreign merchants visiting the Ming Dynasty, the profits would be several times greater than those from cement. He added that if the business was managed properly for three to five years, and if those below him embezzled less money, His Majesty could afford to rebuild the Forbidden City.

"What? He wants to tear down my Forbidden City?" Jiajing said, both amused and exasperated. "Bring me that white glass thing to take a look."

"Yes."

Lü Fang responded, turned around and nodded to the eunuch serving at the door, who then turned and left with small steps. A short while later, a row of eunuchs entered, some carrying large pieces of glass, some carrying wine vessels and tea sets, and others carrying various bottles and jars.

"This item is fragile, and many pieces broke on the way here. Fortunately, Wang Yan sent a lot, so all of them survived," Lü Fang briefly explained the transportation process to Jiajing.

What Jiajing was most interested in was that large piece of glass, which was the best glass produced at the time. However, it still contained impurities and was not pure, but it was still worthy of being 'clear and transparent'.

“My lord, this size can be cut to your liking, and it’s perfect for making windows. Wang Yan wrote that using white glass for windows will allow the light to gather and become even warmer, making winters more comfortable.”

Emperor Jiajing tapped the glass lightly with his knuckles, then had a young eunuch hold it up to the light. He examined it for a long time before nodding in satisfaction: "Go and fetch the craftsmen. Hurry up and produce this white glass in the capital so we can replace the windows in my Jade Palace with new ones. I reckon all the officials in the capital will need to replace their windows by then. We can make money off them and replace all my windows."

This deal, like the cement deal, gives Wang Yan half a share. He always thinks of me when there's something good going on, and I can't let him lose money. He sold off his entire fortune just to become an official and make money, hahaha…”

Lü Fang chimed in with a laugh: "Wang Yan is good at making money, and he is also proficient in strange skills and crafts. He has also developed his own style in calligraphy and painting. He is both literate and martial. It is all thanks to His Majesty's great virtue that he has such talent."

Jiajing laughed heartily and then instructed: "Chun'an has just recovered from the flood, and things are not easy. I remember you said last time that Hai Rui dealt with all the wealthy families in Chun'an. Wang Yan has nowhere to get money, and he is greedy and loves to eat, so he spends all his time in the yamen getting money."

The cement workshop isn't even finished yet, and now a glass workshop has appeared. If we want to share the profits with them, it'll be next year at the earliest. Why don't you have someone send them some money for meat and wine? It's not proper for them to keep getting money from the government office.”

"Yes, Master," Lü Fang replied, then couldn't help but wipe away her tears.

It was said that he was expressing his gratitude on behalf of Wang Yan, who had such a good emperor, who lived a simple life himself but thought of giving his ministers money to eat, eat, and drink.

Jiajing laughed heartily and said that Lü Fang was flattering him.

What Lü Fang said was certainly true. During his time practicing Taoist rituals and alchemy, Jiajing's daily diet was indeed quite bland, lacking in rich and oily foods. He even practiced fasting every now and then. His clothing was also rather simple; he almost never wore imperial robes, usually opting for Taoist robes, with only a few new sets made each year.

However, it is true that a great deal of money was spent on building the palace. The rewards for the Taoist priests, the rituals performed, and the various other precious materials used all added up to a considerable sum. Add to that the various acts of embezzlement in the middle, and the price skyrocketed.

"Go, bring Hu Zongxian to see me." After laughing, Jiajing gave this order.

The matter of Shen Yishi must be resolved, and the military funds for the anti-Japanese war must be allocated...

……

Wang Yan's operation to eliminate the Japanese pirates went smoothly. Based on the confessions of the pirates, he followed various clues and led the local militia of Chun'an to wipe out all the pirates hiding in Chun'an. He also ransacked the homes of more than a dozen wealthy families in several surrounding counties.

To save face for Hai Rui, Jiande County was spared. Wang Yan informed Wang Yongji, who then arrested the people and confiscated their property, making a small fortune for himself.

In fact, Wang Yan's confiscation of the property of wealthy families did not offend anyone; it was just that enforcing the law in a different location violated procedures.

Even if officials in other places colluded with wealthy families, they weren't the sons of these wealthy families; they were simply cooperating to profit from the common people. When Wang Yan confiscated the property of these wealthy families, he only took their valuables—how much was that? The remaining land, shops, estates, workshops, and so on were all at their disposal. In the process, they naturally made a hefty profit. They merely submitted a symbolic report to Wang Yan to show their disapproval of his overstepping of the law; Wang Yan didn't even receive a formal reprimand.

Because something even bigger has happened now: Yan Shifan has been ousted from the cabinet, as have Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng. At the same time, Zhao Zhenji has been transferred to the position of governor of Zhejiang. Zheng Bichang and He Maocai have been arrested, and Hai Rui and Wang Yongji have been ordered to participate in their interrogation...

This is from the original drama. Emperor Jiajing was considerate of Wang Yan and didn't assign him such a difficult task. Of course, the main reason was that Wang Yan was merely a lowly ninth-rank registrar. Even in the provincial-level government offices, the lower-ranking officials didn't take him seriously.

It's worth mentioning that, outside of the drama, Yan Shifan never entered the Grand Secretariat, nor did Zhang Juzheng during the Jiajing reign. Instead, Zhang Juzheng held a lectureship at the Prince Yu's residence. It was only after the Prince Yu ascended the throne that Zhang Juzheng was appointed Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion, which is how he entered the Grand Secretariat...

"I hope you will take good care of my elderly mother, wife, and children at home."

In the main hall of the county government, Hai Rui said this to Wang Yan, who was scraping tea leaves from a covered bowl.

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "Even if you don't say anything, do you think your family, as a high-ranking official, will be bullied in Chun'an? But you, when you go to the province to interrogate Zheng Bichang and He Maocai, think more about the consequences."

"Why should I consider the consequences? One is one, two is two. If I did it, I did it; if I didn't, I didn't. Since His Majesty has ordered me to investigate the case, then I must investigate it clearly and thoroughly."

Hai Rui was unwilling to elaborate further, and instead said, "His Majesty sent someone to deliver a dividend of one thousand taels of silver to you. I have decided to first pay off the silver owed to the government office and the silver you wanted to redeem for the butcher shop. There are five hundred taels of silver left. Here are the silver notes and the receipt for settling the debts. I have stamped them all. Keep them safe to avoid trouble in the future."

"You're the one who's causing trouble. Who else is going to cause me trouble because of my eating and drinking?" Wang Yan took the silver note, glanced at it, and put it into his sleeve. He then asked, "Have you taken care of the shops in the county?"

"The compensation has already been distributed."

Hai Rui said happily, "You just got back and didn't have a chance to walk around the city properly. The county town is quite lively now. You were right. The people have spent some of the money they earned from selling raw silk. The spending of thousands of people has made those big landlords who took over the shops very rich."

"Master, you're exaggerating. It's only been less than half a month. These wealthy families have only made a few dozen or a hundred taels of silver."

"Isn't that a lot? How much silver do ordinary people earn? This is just their income for less than half a month, which amounts to hundreds or thousands of taels a year."

“If we collect taxes, and add another category to increase their tax by half a percent, our government office can also have a good year.”

"The market stalls have their own established rules. It would be inappropriate for us to arbitrarily impose additional commercial taxes. Moreover, with one-twentieth of the taxes already levied, plus other taxes, the total tax rate reaches one-fifteenth, or even one-tenth..."

The Ming Dynasty's tax system was relatively comprehensive, with detailed industry-specific taxation, making it quite complete. It underwent continuous adjustments over time, and numerous tax resistance incidents occurred.

“The common people only pay one-tenth of the tax when they farm, so it’s easier for them to do business. What’s wrong with that?” Wang Yan said. “As for the claim that they’re levying additional taxes without authorization, haven’t we come up with some clever pretexts? For example, we can find some elderly people living alone in the city to sweep the streets and charge them a cleaning fee. That’s reasonable, isn’t it?”

"Once we've made some money, we'll repair the roads in the county and fix the irrigation systems. We won't issue forced labor; instead, we'll hire people and pay them wages. The people will receive money, we'll have repaired the roads, and they'll have money to buy things. The shops will also make money and support their employees. We'll then collect taxes from them. You see, this way, we make money all the way to profitability."

Hai Rui paused for a moment, then nodded: "You're right, then I'll listen to you. I'm going to the provincial capital anyway, so you can handle this."

"It's all a small matter," Wang Yan said with a smile. "Speaking of which, it's your fault. There are two other wealthy families waiting to have their homes raided, and you had to rush me back. Look at how much money we've lost. We've been so frugal, always complaining about this and that, that's not good enough. My mother, wife, and children are all starving and emaciated. This one trip you made could have provided enough for your whole family to live comfortably for ten years."

"Only that little?" Hai Rui looked at Wang Yan in surprise. This didn't seem to match Wang Yan's ability to make money.

“Your family had hundreds of acres of fertile land, ten servants, and lavish meals every day, unlike what you are in now.”

"That was my fault. I wanted to explain things to you, but I never expected it would cause such a loss of money and grain." Hai Rui was quite remorseful and felt bad about the money.

"Forget it, let's make some more money for others too." Wang Yan waved his hand. "The money we earned this time is enough to repair the official road in Chun'an, which is already pretty good."

"Doesn't that mean two less paths are missing?"

Hai Rui's words were unusually insightful, which made Wang Yan laugh heartily...

After seeing Hai Rui off to Hangzhou for trial, Wang Yan, unusually, began to take charge of Chun'an's government affairs.

He directly imposed a cleaning fee without any room for negotiation. Those who did not cooperate had their shops shut down. The local militia who had followed him in suppressing the Japanese pirates and developed a murderous aura, and who had been recruited as contract workers by the county government for their merits, stood openly at the door with their knives, looking very imposing.

In just three days—the time it takes to travel between Chun'an and Hangzhou several times—the sealed-off shop reopened. For this, they paid a considerable sum as a "tea fee," which went to the government office. Of course, cleaning fees still had to be paid monthly. The "tea fee" was simply the price they had to pay for not cooperating with the government.

Wang Yan was essentially luring them in to kill them. After all, they had already invested heavily in everything from taking over the shops to transporting goods, dispatching and recruiting people. The sunk costs were already there, and it was difficult for them to leave even if they wanted to. As long as there was profit to be made, they couldn't escape.

The tea money was used by Wang Yan to provide extra meals for the county officials and to purchase a considerable amount of supplies for them. Those with higher positions received more, and those with lower positions received less, but everyone received a share.

He wouldn't let everyone scramble for money, so he had to find a way to make up for this shortfall. The government's welfare program was long-term, and the tea money he extorted was like an extra meal, making everyone happy.

Aside from the cleaning fee, he didn't implement any other policies. Chun'an was still in the process of post-disaster reconstruction, and many houses still needed to be built. The previous campaign against the Japanese pirates had taken up a lot of manpower, which had greatly delayed the progress.

So even the road repair work was postponed by Wang Yan.

His blatant targeting of wealthy individuals may seem harmless at first glance, but how could he possibly be completely unscathed...?

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