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

Chapter 1531 No Weaknesses

It's already past eight in the morning, and the day's production and daily life have begun.

The market has already become lively.

The shopkeepers of wealthy and powerful families were buying things; vendors were hawking their wares; shopkeepers were drinking tea by their doors; beggars were kneeling and begging; women were strolling around in groups; and there were also farmers who looked like they had gotten up early from outside the city.

Looking at this market, it still has quite the grandeur of a dynasty.

However, Wang Yan's arrival caused panic among the crowd, with chickens and dogs running wild, as if they had suddenly arrived at the end of a tyrannical dynasty.

Ignoring everything else, Wang Yan strolled into the first shop with his hands behind his back. It was a grain shop selling rice, flour, and cooking oil.

"Greetings, sirs." The shopkeeper greeted them with a smile and bowed as he came out.

Wang Yan smiled and nodded: "We won't check the accounts today. Just estimate a number yourself and pay the cleaning fee. But I'm warning you, don't try to cheat. Otherwise, if the accounts don't match up when we check them later, and the difference is too big, the fines will be so heavy that your future employers will be ruined."

"Yes, yes, yes, you are right, sir. But... this is a grain shop, and profits are already meager..."

"Got it? You don't want to pay the full amount, right?" Wang Yan patted him on the shoulder and then said, "Where are the Fire Armor Warriors?"

"The villain is here!"

Right next to Wang Yan, a burly man stepped out. His name was Zhao Erniu, and he was the leader of these fire-armored soldiers.

"Erniu, could you check if their house is at risk of fire?"

"Yes!" Zhao Erniu said firmly, then stepped forward and began to find fault, "These piles of clutter could easily cause a fire..."

"Did you hear that?" Wang Yan smiled at the shopkeeper and then called out, "Come on, you from the household registration department."

“Sir!” A middle-aged man in his thirties stepped forward.

"Write a seal, affix the Daxing seal, and I'll seal the shop. Also, write a fine notice, fining him one thousand taels of silver, to be paid within three days. If he doesn't pay, the shop will be confiscated and sold. Once the fine is paid, the shop can only reopen when the fire hazard has been thoroughly investigated."

The shopkeeper knelt on the ground and kowtowed, "My lord! No, no!"

Magistrate Wang, with his hands behind his back and a sidelong glance, said, "Why not? I am the magistrate of Daxing County. Can't I punish a small grain shop like yours?"

"Your Excellency, you're collecting too much money, and you're not making money selling grain. That will cause grain prices to rise, which will affect the livelihood of the people in the capital! Your Excellency, please reconsider!"

"Trying to scare me? Disrespecting the authority of an official of the court and desecrating the laws of the court, come here and give him twenty lashes."

"Your Honor..." The bailiff hesitated, holding the board.

Wang Yan understood what the yamen runner meant; he was in a dilemma, unsure of how far to beat her.

He waved his hand: "Play normally!"

Immediately, the constables rushed forward and quickly subdued the grain shop owner, then lifted his shirt and began to flog his buttocks. Twenty strokes of the cane left his skin torn and bleeding profusely, his trousers soaked with bright red blood.

Wang Yan chuckled: "You dare threaten me? You must have a powerful backer. Pass on this message: if prices rise today, we'll confiscate their property; if prices rise tomorrow, they'll be beheaded. If all the grain shops refuse to pay their cleaning fees today and are shut down, leaving no one to sell grain, then I'll start raiding the grain merchants. You son of a bitch, daring to set fire to my place, let's see who's tougher, let's see who dies first!"

After making his statement, Wang Yan glanced around and casually pointed at a young hanger-on. "Liu Zhenghong, right? You keep a close watch on this area. Any businesses sealed off are prohibited from operating. If they earn even a single copper coin, you blow the whistle to gather the brothers, arrest them, and confiscate their shops. Understand?"

"Yes, sir! I understand!" The young man named Liu Zhenghong answered loudly, chest puffed out and head held high.

Starting with his grandfather, his family had been hangers-on for the government. Good heavens, this one bigwig even remembered their names! Yesterday, he told his father that the new bigwig was somewhat human, but the father didn't believe him. He'd have to brag about it to his father when he got home today. The bigwig even remembered his name; how could his future be bad? He might even become a full-fledged yamen runner…

"Work hard. As long as you follow my orders and do what I tell you, you brothers will be able to live a good life."

Wang Yan patted Liu Zhenghong's shoulder with a little force, giving him the strength and courage to follow her firmly.

Then, with a wave of his hand and a shout of "Next!", he led his men to a silk shop next door...

"Master, Wang Yan led nearly a hundred men and walked around for three days from morning till night, covering all the shops in the eastern part of the city, as well as the docks and markets outside the city. He flogged 168 shopkeepers and fined them more than three million taels of silver for fire hazards. Now, most of the shops in the entire eastern part of the city are closed."

Lu Fang sighed as she recounted Wang Yan's madness.

"There are still some that haven't been closed?" Jiajing asked with some surprise.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, those businesses that haven’t closed are all small shops. They don’t have anyone backing them up, so they don’t dare to defy the government. Especially since Wang Yan is unreasonable. If anyone dares to do something wrong, he’ll have them flogged. How could they dare not pay the cleaning fee? Otherwise, the fire hazard fines that Wang Yan creates will be enough to make them suffer.”

Lu Fang sighed, "Wang Yan has had a tough time. He's been attacked four times in the past few days. Once it was poisoning, twice it was an attack in the street with a crossbow, and once it was an attack in his shop. Wang Yan escaped all of them, but they've caught him and are interrogating him."

"It's been three days, and there's still no result? And what about the fire at the Daxing County government office? Didn't they arrest several people then? Why is there still no follow-up?"

Lü Fang replied, "Master, the king's words are hesitant to be spoken. I think he might be planning to implicate others. Today is the third day; those who were fined should pay their fines by now."

The county government office caught fire, and all the case files were destroyed. Wang Yan needed to find a way to fabricate a charge. Assassinating a high-ranking official was tantamount to rebellion, a very useful crime, and there would be no worries about the consequences.

Jiajing nodded, then asked, "How is things in the palace?"

Ever since Wang Yan introduced the "fire hazard fine" scheme, and before nightfall on the first day, he had recruited respectable young men from the East City to expand the Fire Armor force to two hundred, and granted them the authority to impose fines, a fierce reaction erupted from all sides on the second day.

The number of memorials impeaching Wang Yan has more than doubled compared to before. Most of the officials in the capital who are qualified to submit memorials to the court, as well as various imperial relatives, are targeting Wang Yan and determined to impeach him to death. This has created a great deal of momentum in a short period of time.

With his extensive experience in dealing with fire and his fire resistance at its peak, Emperor Jiajing naturally sensed a strong sense of crisis. He had long ago used the pretext of seclusion to seal off the entire Western Garden, making it impossible for anyone to see him, not even the cabinet members.

Lu Fang said, "Master, there are indeed some flies trying to find out information and cause trouble, but they have all been stopped."

"What did they find out?"

"They were all suicide soldiers; they would kill themselves at the slightest sign of trouble."

"Rebellious ministers and traitors!"

Jiajing glared angrily, then let out a long sigh, saying, "I hope Wang Yan's plan will succeed..."

“His Majesty has never said anything; it is always Wang Yan who is willing to be loyal to His Majesty. I may have had some doubts before, but now, Wang Yan is truly loyal to the emperor and loves his country!”

"Let's wait and see. He's had a tough time too. We should try to protect him if we can. There aren't many loyal ministers left..."

Lü Fang understood; Jiajing's words implied he didn't think much of Wang Yan. However, as an emperor, Jiajing also wanted to push boundaries and achieve a greater victory. This was a pent-up frustration that had been building up for so many years. Just as Lü Fang was about to speak, Huang Jin quietly entered and asked, "What happened?"

Huang Jin said, "Reporting to Master, Wang Yan led the fire brigade, yamen runners, and hangers-on to collect a fine from the first grain shop for fire hazards. However, the merchant refused to pay, so Wang Yan directly ordered the arrest of the grain shop's manager and clerk, confiscated the grain, and even had the manager tortured. They discovered that the grain warehouse and the owner behind it were Wang Chonggu's business."

Wang Chonggu was a famous figure, commander of the Northwest Frontier Army, very powerful, and a man who had reached the pinnacle of his official career. He was currently still fighting against Japanese pirates.

"How did Wang Yan do it?" Lü Fang asked sensibly.

"He led his men to Wang Chonggu's house, saying that Wang Chonggu had hired someone to kill an official and was suspected of treason. He wanted to detain and investigate Wang Chonggu's family and search their house for evidence. Wang's family dared not let Wang Yan search them. They cried and begged to pay the fine and then paid the silver to redeem the grain shop and granary that Wang Yan had confiscated. They paid a total of 30,000 taels of silver before Wang Yan left with his men."

Lü Fang then asked, "What about the others?"

"Right now, everyone is stuck at the Daxing County government office, scrambling to pay their fines. They're afraid that if they pay too slowly, Wang Yan will bring his men to arrest them, and they'll even collect the cleaning fees too."

"Good!" Jiajing shouted. "Do I think these traitors are so capable? Wang Yan only swung his axe once, and these traitors couldn't withstand it?"

Jiajing spoke lightly, but he had extensive experience with assassination attempts and certainly understood the difficulty Wang Yan faced.

Five assassination attempts—could an ordinary person survive that? A normal person would have been subdued after escaping the fire at the county government office the first time. Even the toughest man would have been afraid if attacked a second time.

On the other hand, most people have families. If you're not afraid, aren't your family members? Parents, brothers, sisters, wife, and children—they're all your vulnerabilities. Give them a good beating; let a son die today, a daughter tomorrow, and if they still don't submit, their father will die the day after. I refuse to believe we can't control you alone.

Unfortunately, Wang Yan was an orphan.

He can withstand assassination attempts and has no other weaknesses.

Even when carrying out an assassination, they dare not use too many people, otherwise it would be a big deal, exposing even more problems. If the imperial guards intervened, the trouble would be immense. Going through official channels, they have no excuse. Wang Yan's actions are all in accordance with the rules. Anyone who acts against Wang Yan in a way that violates the rules will be struck by lightning.

No one is foolish enough to believe that Jiajing Emperor truly went into seclusion. If someone were to break the rules first… the Beijing garrison still has 100,000 troops…

They couldn't do anything about Wang Yan, and he was acting like a mad dog, now frantically fabricating charges of rebellion, and the key is that he could actually implicate someone. If all else fails, just stuff a few sets of armor and weapons into someone's house, wouldn't that be the same thing?

At worst, the source of the family's wealth will be thoroughly investigated. Anyone found to have unexplained property exceeding sixty taels will be beheaded. This is a rule set by the Taizu Emperor. Who is above the law?

Furthermore, Jiajing's silence was itself a form of assistance. This was in Jiajing's interest; of course, he wanted to remain silent and observe the power struggles below.

If Wang Yan succeeds, he'll make a fortune. If he fails, the struggle between the two sides will reveal who the traitors are, and they can be dealt with one by one later. Any trouble will be short-lived; it's a common occurrence, like winds blowing in one direction while rain falls in another.

In summary, Jiajing was guaranteed to make a profit.

Lü Fang sighed, "I never expected that they would be the ones who couldn't hold on first."

“What are you afraid of? Aren’t you afraid that Wang Yan will fabricate charges against them?” Jiajing chuckled. “It’s not just Wang Chonggu who’s afraid of having his property confiscated; everyone is afraid of having their property confiscated! Even if they didn’t intend to rebel, there’s always something they can’t hide.”

"It's all thanks to His Majesty's protection; otherwise, Wang Yan would have had no chance of succeeding," Huang Jin said with a smile, flattering him.

"He's just lucky; someone else might have died long ago."

"That's because His Majesty made him tough. If it weren't for His Majesty, how could he collect cleaning fees? How could he recruit so many respectable young men to make fire armor? To be honest, all the things Wang Yan did could be punished. It was all because His Majesty protected him."

Lü Fang was also eager to flatter Jiajing, who was happiest at the moment. Flattery never fails, and this was the most effective time...

While he was enjoying himself in the palace, Wang Yan was feasting and drinking at the entrance of the government office.

The ruins of the Daxing County Government Office have been cleared, but construction cannot begin due to the cold weather and the frozen ground, so it can only remain as it is.

A large table stood in front of the county government office, on which sat a copper pot. A roaring charcoal fire blazed, and the water inside bubbled and boiled. Mushrooms and other similar items inside bobbed and swayed constantly.

"Master, the mutton is here." Wang Da eagerly brought over a plate of freshly cut mutton and poured it all into the pot.

Wang Yan sat there, stirring the meat a few times with his chopsticks, then picked up a large mouthful of meat and ate it with relish. He then took a sip of warm yellow wine, finding it truly delightful.

Not far away, there was a long queue, where a group of shopkeepers dressed in plain clothes stood stamping their feet and shivering in the cold. In a sheltered spot near the yamen entrance, there was another large table where people from the household registration office were constantly writing receipts and keeping accounts.

Without this note, they cannot open for business and their property will be confiscated!
Forging this note would be even worse; you'd be in deep trouble.

"Brother Wang, you're in high spirits! Drinking and eating hot pot, what a delightful occasion!" Zhu Qi, dressed in a red robe, led his group over.

"Oh, Seventh Master is here. Do you have His Majesty's decree? If not, we're all brothers, and I won't stand on ceremony with you." Wang Yan sat there flipping the meat, showing no intention of getting up.

"It was Eunuch Lü who sent me to come and take a look. You've arrested quite a few people, so we came to help with the interrogation." Zhu Qi didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down opposite Wang Yan, took the chopsticks handed to him by the clerk, picked up some meat, and started drinking wine.

"Magistrate Ma!" Wang Yan shouted without turning his head.

Immediately afterwards, County Magistrate Ma Defu came running over excitedly: "Your Excellency, esteemed officials."

"They're here to investigate a case. You and your men will take over the county jail and await their orders."

"Yes!" Ma Defu replied, and then hurriedly led his men to the prison.

Wang Yan nodded to Qi Dazhu, who was following in the group, and then continued drinking with Zhu Qi.

"Brother Wang, you've really accomplished something great this time."

"It's all thanks to His Majesty's protection, otherwise I would have been dead long ago, what would I be doing?" Wang Yan waved his hand. "Seventh Master, these people must be dealt with severely, and those who come after them cannot be let off the hook. But we can't do it now, we have to wait until we've collected all the money and checked all the accounts."

"Eunuch Lü gave instructions," Zhu Qi nodded, "How much silver do you estimate we can collect this time?"

"Including the fines and interest, we can collect at least five million taels of silver this time, and we can earn hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every month thereafter."

The fines are retaliation for their arson, and the penalty interest is because they deliberately delayed paying the fines and refused to pay the cleaning fees—basically, they're just looking for excuses to charge more money...

Zhu Qi's eyes widened: "So much silver?"

"This is what I robbed from the home of a powerful figure in the capital. It's all I have. From now on, I can only collect cleaning fees properly."

"What are your plans for this money?"

"Let's not talk about the arrangements yet. Once we've collected two million taels of silver here, Seventh Master, you should quickly take men and escort them to the palace. Make sure His Majesty repairs all the palaces properly and changes his clothes. I've heard that His Majesty only has eight sets of everyday clothes for the four seasons. As his subject, it truly pains me to hear that..."

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