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

Chapter 1526 Intending to Reform?

"Third Master, what about me?"

Qi Dazhu, who was kowtowing along with everyone else, was completely bewildered.

Before Wang Yan could speak, Zhu Qi said, "Let him follow me, Brother Wang. You know Dazhu is a talented man with long arms and a slender waist. He's perfect material for our group."

Wang Yan raised his head at Qi Dazhu: "What are your thoughts?"

"I just want to follow the Third Master!"

"Then follow Seventh Master. If you work hard and make something of yourself, you'll bring honor to your ancestors, and your family will be able to live a good life. Moreover, once you become a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you can help me frame... ah, I mean, help me investigate traitors, so that they won't disrupt the Ming Dynasty and the country, and won't offend His Majesty's heart."

Lü Fang shook her head with amusement, not taking the framing seriously. She thought it was a basic skill for officials; if you couldn't even do this, what kind of official were you? What kind of power struggles were you engaging in? And how did you even get promoted?

“Alright, then it’s settled.” Lü Fang said, “Three days from now, you will report to the Ministry of Personnel, and someone will naturally escort you to your new post. You can stay here for the next few days, and after you take office, you can live in the county government office. If you don’t want to, you can find a brokerage firm to rent a place to stay.”

Wang Yan shook his head repeatedly: "Let's see after I take up my post. It's not right to spend my own money..."

"I'm actually hoping you don't spend any money." Lü Fang walked to the side with her hands behind her back, looking at the tea can. "This is from Shaanxi or Gansu, right?"

“Your Excellency is very knowledgeable and insightful, that’s right. I also heard about this tea from a merchant and found it to be exquisite and elegant, so I’ve been drinking it this way ever since. I also know a bit about medicine, so I make some tea to replenish qi and blood in winter, some to clear heat and detoxify in summer, and some to prevent colds in spring and autumn.”

You can add sugar, dried fruit, or something similar; it's sweet and delicious. When you're hungry in your spare time and it's inconvenient to start a fire, you can easily fill your stomach with some dry food and tea.

Lü Fang asked, "Your prescriptions vary from person to person..."

"It can be used in all cases. Even if it's not suitable, the worst that can happen from drinking it all day long is diarrhea or a sore throat, which will be fine the next day. For someone like you, as long as you add less sugar and dried fruit, and just a little seasoning, it's like drinking tea all day long. It's not a big deal, just drink it as you like. I will write down the prescriptions for the four seasons. It will be good for you to enjoy them when you get home."

Lu Fang was pleased with Wang Yan's quick wit, knowing that Wang Yan was not talking about him, but about His Majesty, yet he was also talking about him, because Wang Yan's request for him to sweet-talk him was true.

The most important thing is that Wang Yan wasn't stupid enough to say he knew about the Emperor's health condition in front of so many people; that would have been a huge problem.

How did Wang Yan know about His Majesty's health condition? Because he treated him.

Why are you being given medical treatment?

Because I'm sick!

His Majesty has health problems!
If this rumor were to spread, it would surely stir up another political storm. After all, the position of crown prince had remained vacant ever since Jiajing's second son died suddenly after being named crown prince.

Despite having figures like Xu Jie on Prince Yu's side, things weren't actually stable. This was because Jiajing had another son, the fourth prince Zhu Zaizhen, who was enfeoffed as Prince Jing. Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan were inclined to support Prince Jing…

Immediately, Wang Yan prepared pen, ink, paper, and inkstone and clearly wrote down a bunch of prescriptions, while Lü Fang took his findings back to the palace. He decided to drink them for a while first.

Although Wang Yan is now someone who can be absolutely trusted, Lü Fang is always very cautious when it comes to the Emperor…

"Third Master, His Majesty is so good to you. You're a great master now, and a great master of the capital." Qi Dazhu was even happier than Wang Yan, and he spoke without restraint.

Wang Yan slapped him on the back of the head: "What nonsense are you talking about? A big shot in the capital? Do you think I can be that kind of person? Dazhu, you need to watch your mouth. You'll be a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard from now on, so you have to be careful with your words and actions. Watch what others say and do. Otherwise, if you accidentally offend someone or reveal secrets, you'll lose your head. It might even implicate me."

We came to the capital together, so we're in cahoots. Making trouble for you is making trouble for me. If we find a mistake on your end, we can magnify it and use it against me. Seventh Master, you need to teach Dazhu a lesson. He's an honest, simple farmer; he doesn't understand all this cunning."

Zhu Qi shook his head: "Then you're really putting me in a difficult position. To be honest, I don't understand all those intricacies either. As for the matter of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields, I'm still completely confused about the details. I've established myself in the Northern Garrison Command based on two things: loyalty to the emperor and honing my skills."

If you obey His Majesty's orders in everything, you can't go wrong. Hone your skills, and you'll be able to do the tasks His Majesty assigns and satisfy him. Only by doing these two things can we, his lackeys and henchmen, live comfortably. Never betray our own people, like those we purged earlier who took money from outsiders and sabotaged our own work; those people deserve to die a horrible death.

"Perfect timing, there are still quite a few people we haven't dealt with yet. Come with me tomorrow, I'll broaden your horizons and help you build your courage."

"Seventh Master, I'm just bold enough." Qi Dazhu thumped his chest loudly.

Zhu Qi laughed heartily: "You're far from it. You'll find out tomorrow."

Qi Dazhu was a decent, respectable man. In the past, he had only gathered a group of people to fight against local thugs or engage in armed clashes between different villages over resources. Even though he had been on the battlefield and seen all sorts of dead bodies, he was still no match for the intelligence agency. After all, the most extreme forms of persecution in the world today were right here.

Then Zhu Qi nodded to Wang Yan and said, "Your third master is the one with guts; he can be called the number one man in our Great Ming."

Wang Yan waved his hands repeatedly, his face full of reproach: "Seventh Master, you too, you speak without thinking. So what if you slapped Yan Shifan in the face and kicked him in the leg? What do you mean, the number one person in the Ming Dynasty? That's His Majesty!"

“You’re mistaken, Brother Wang.” Zhu Qi calmly shook his head and cupped his hands towards the palace. “His Majesty is a deity of our Great Ming Dynasty. How can he be addressed as the ‘first person’?”

Wang Yan was stunned for a moment, then gave Zhu Qi a thumbs up: "Isn't Seventh Master very astute? Da Zhu can't be wrong about you."

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter...

Wang Yan's only friend at the moment was Hai Rui, so that very day Wang Yan wrote a letter, telling him the good news that his official rank had surpassed Hai Rui's, and that His Majesty had given him a silver note of ten thousand taels for his use. He also enclosed a silver note of one hundred taels of silver, saying it was for Hai Rui's family to improve their health.

In addition, he wrote to his subordinates in Chun'an, asking if they had any business there. They had a butcher shop and a silk workshop.

The silk workshop was initially established to counter the price pressure from silk merchants when purchasing raw silk. Later, with normal market prices, the workshop didn't expand much, only having five looms. It was certainly profitable, but not by much. It was in a phase of slow expansion. Wang Yan didn't intend to take money from the silk workshop; instead, he planned to gradually expand and add more looms as profits grew. With steady development, he hoped to become a very powerful silk merchant.

After all, his words carried considerable weight in Chun'an. And the entire county of Chun'an was engaged in mulberry cultivation and silkworm breeding; if he controlled the county's raw materials and still couldn't make it work, then he was truly doomed.

As for the higher-level channels and sales, he has already connected with the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs and easily managed the Jiangnan Textile Bureau. Isn't that settled? The future prospects are still very promising.

He wrote to these people to inform them of his promotion, to boost their confidence, and also as a form of intimidation. He was already incredibly powerful here as a minor official; now that he's in the capital and has even met the emperor, isn't he even more powerful? If these people don't behave, what a miserable fate awaits them?
You should know that all the criminals in the county, including the wealthy families who were punished for their crimes, and even the Japanese pirates who were later captured alive, are still working themselves to the bone in Chun'an. They're all emaciated, yet they're being driven to work like madmen, driven to the point of death…

Apart from that, Wang Yan had no one to contact, and quietly enjoyed the sunlight in the courtyard.

However, he was not at ease, as many people sent him invitations to banquets, saying they would treat him well.

These are all people with great connections and access to information.

When Lü Fang came to see him, it meant that things had already been arranged, and all that was left was for the procedures to be completed: the Ministry of Personnel would recommend someone, the Cabinet would approve, and then it would be over. It hadn't even been discussed in a meeting yet, and these people from the capital were already starting to try and win him over.

He had been in Beijing for a month, and he had slapped Yan Shifan for a month as well. His affairs were no secret to the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital. His past was already well known to everyone.

For example, his governing methods were known for their harsh laws and severe punishments, which were highly targeted at wealthy households. The most infamous example was the heinous sanitation fee he created.

This matter has never truly subsided since he started it, but it was overshadowed by the massive anti-Yan Da controversy. In fact, there are still censors impeaching Wang Yan and other similar incidents happening now.

At the same time, considering Wang Yan's actions in seizing power in Chun'an, personally leading the local militia to suppress the Japanese pirates, defying his superiors, and most importantly, daring to slap Yan Shifan directly upon arriving in the capital, all of these demonstrate that Wang Yan was a person who was not afraid of power.

The fact that Jiajing Emperor promoted such a person to the position of magistrate of Daxing County, bypassing his usual rank, inevitably made the powerful officials wonder what Jiajing's intentions were. Was he dissatisfied with someone? Was he going to use someone like Wang Yan, who was considered a cruel official?
While they were guessing and inquiring, they also made sure to do their bidding, since it's never wrong to be polite.

This is a level of prestige that no other magistrate of Daxing County had ever received.

After all, this is the capital. Even if the east side is wealthy, who among these people doesn't have connections? Who doesn't have a bunch of people pulling their strings behind them? Let alone the county magistrate, even the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture is caught in a dilemma.

Down below, they're impossible to control; each one has a powerful background and influence, and their various crimes are difficult to manage, even if managed, they're not easy to handle. Up above, the higher-ups are dissatisfied with their governance of the capital. The capital, the most important place in the country, is a mess of all sorts of things—is that acceptable?
But Wang Yan was different.

He had already proven his madness; after all, he even dared to fight Yan Shifan! Who is more powerful than Yan Shifan? Then who is there that he can't fight?

If possible, they all wanted to maintain a friendly relationship with Wang Yan and didn't want things to get too ugly.

From this perspective, these people are also bullies who prey on the weak. If someone is weak, they will bully them. If someone is strong, they will start to compromise and back down.

Of course, all of this is based on the premise that it has to be tough enough!
Clearly, Wang Yan is the tough one, and a very tough one at that!
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Early that morning, Wang Yan was taken by a strongman from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the Ministry of Personnel to report for duty.

He was received by Guo Pu, the Minister of Personnel.

This was a real big shot; besides joining the cabinet, he had reached the pinnacle of his official career. Guo Pu rose to prominence by writing Qingci (a type of official document), and together with Li Chunfang, Yan Ne, and Yuan Wei, they were known as the "Qingci Prime Ministers." They were all experts in Jiajing studies and were very well-received by Jiajing.

"Your humble servant Wang Yan greets Your Excellency."

Guo Pu is fifty years old this year, but he looks very energetic, like he's only in his forties. With ample nutrition and proper care, he naturally appears young. In this respect, he's no different from people today.

He stroked his beard and nodded with satisfaction: "I've heard of you before, and you are indeed a handsome man."

"Your Excellency is even more dignified and imposing. You are indeed a worthy minister who assists the country. I admire you the most."

Guo Pu laughed heartily, amused: "I heard that you wrote a poem for Hai Rui called 'Bamboo and Rock'... Let the winds blow from east, west, north, and south. Many people say that you have ruined this poem. Now, the memorials from the Censorate impeaching you are piled up in the Wenyuan Pavilion. What do you think of that?"

"It's hard to distinguish between right and wrong. I have maintained my integrity, so why should I fear the slander and defamation of others? I am of no harm to the people and beneficial to the country, but I am harmful to the property of these people. I think they are all seeking revenge for personal reasons, afraid that I will collect their cleaning fees."

"Then will you accept it?"

"Of course we'll accept it!"

"Using cleaning fees as a pretext to increase taxes is not good."

Wang Yan laughed and said, "There are quite a few items listed below, but they all fall on the shoulders of ordinary people. Would it be wrong for me to add them on the shoulders of wealthy families? That would be truly wrong."

Hearing the sarcasm in Wang Yan's words, Guo Pu did not get angry. Instead, he said, "I heard that you conducted a land survey and household registration in Chun'an, confiscated property from wealthy households, and increased commercial taxes. You also stopped issuing laborers for the county's public works projects and instead hired people with money. Are you trying to reform the laws?"

Wang Yan shook his head repeatedly: "I am but a ninth-rank official, and today I am only a sixth-rank official. How dare I talk about reform? Besides, I am just a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations). What qualifications do I have to talk about reform?"

Checking the fields and registering households was a necessary measure after the disaster. Confiscating the land and registers of wealthy households was a task overseen by Hai Rui. Collecting cleaning fees was necessary because the reconstruction of Chun'an after the disaster was extremely costly, and some assistance needed to be provided. Hiring people was also simply to allow them to earn some money, improve their lives, and survive the flood.

"If that's the case, Daxing is a county near the capital, and it's already prosperous, so why is there a cleaning fee?"

"The roads are still bad, the houses are still dilapidated. Last year's heavy snow collapsed many houses and froze many people to death. There are still beggars on the streets... As the Celestial Empire and the capital, the most virtuous place, all these things damage the face of our Great Ming Dynasty and must be carefully maintained."

Guo Pu smiled and nodded, then said nothing more. He had someone take Wang Yan to complete the formalities, receive his official robes, and go to the Daxing County government office to take up his post...

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