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

Chapter 1532 Zhang Juzheng

"Master, this is great news!"

At Yuxi Palace, Lü Fang strode up to Jiajing, who was meditating, directly disturbing his peaceful practice.

However, Jiajing was not angry; he was in such a good mood that many things became minor issues.

Jiajing didn't even open his eyes before asking, "What good news has made you so rude?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me." Lü Fang cupped her hands and then said, "Wang Yan collected silver all night and by morning he had collected two million taels of silver. After counting it several times to confirm that there was nothing wrong, he had Zhu Qi escort it to the palace."

Just yesterday, Zhu Qi asked him how much silver he could collect and how he would handle it. Wang Yan said he could collect five million taels. He wouldn't discuss how to handle it for now, but once he had collected two million taels, he would have Zhu Qi escort it to the palace. He said he wanted His Majesty to renovate the palace properly and that he had heard His Majesty only had eight sets of clothes for each season, so he wanted to buy His Majesty more clothes.

"My lord, how could I not be excited about such a wonderful event? This is just disrespectful behavior before the Emperor, disturbing your peaceful repose."

Jiajing's eyes were already open, and he couldn't suppress the smirk on his lips: "I actually wish you were more unruly. Wang Yan is good; even Yan Song is not as good as him."

This is the highest praise. After all, Yan Song was Jiajing's front man. All his efforts over the years were not as pleasing to Jiajing as what Wang Yan did in just a few days.

Because Wang Yan not only made money for Jiajing, but also greatly enhanced his authority as emperor, because a useful and swift knife appeared under his command...

After laughing, Jiajing asked, "If I were given two million, how much would he get for himself?"

"Zhu Qi said that Wang Yan took 100,000 taels of silver in front of him, saying that he wanted to do what he did in Chun'an, to buy pigs, chickens, ducks and geese and give them to the people to raise, so that the people could eat meat and he could also make money. He also said that if there are too many things, they will become worthless. He just wants to raise as many pigs, chickens, ducks and geese as possible so that the people of the world can eat meat. Then he will have done immeasurable good deeds. He said that he is even more saintly than Confucius."

“He doesn’t hide anything at all.” Jiajing was even more satisfied. “I will give two million taels, and he will give one hundred thousand taels. That’s exactly half of the cost of cement and white glass that I’m giving him. Not bad.”

“Wang Yan is reasonable and knows his limits,” Lü Fang added. “When good things happen, he thinks of His Majesty first. He is a good subject.”

Jiajing nodded with a smile and then said, "Since Wang Yan has given me money to build palaces, I cannot thwart his good intentions. Lü Fang, repair all the palaces in the palace, and build the Wanshou Palace as well. In addition, I will go out of the pass to take a look at the empty land in the palace in a few days. We must spend the money."

He seemed to remember something else and paused for a moment before saying, "Lu Fang, for this construction project, we need to pay the craftsmen. It's a good thing that they can earn some money while I'm building the palace, and we also need to see if what Wang Yan said is right or wrong. From now on, all the construction projects in the palace should be paid. Let's give them three years' worth first and see. You need to keep an eye on the people below. I'm giving money to the people, not to them. If they overstep their bounds, they'll be punished."

"Yes, Master, I will certainly discipline them properly."

"Just do your best. How can you manage the people below you?"

Jiajing waved his hand, and with Lü Fang's help, stood up from the platform, spread his arms to expand his chest and stretch his muscles, and stood in front of the glass window.

"I bet the cabinet is figuring out how to squeeze the money out of Wang Yan right now..."

……

Another day and night passed in the blink of an eye. Twenty-four hours had passed since Wang Yan mobilized a large force to raid Wang Chonggu's home. It was the eighth day since Wang Yan took office as the magistrate of Daxing County.

That day, the Daxing County government office was bustling with activity. At the site of the original central hall, which had been burned to ruins, there were more than a dozen large pots, and Wang Da and his son were leading more than twenty men and women in their busy work.

The courtyard was filled with tables, and nearly five hundred people sat together, buzzing around.

Wang Yan stood on a large box and raised his arms in a shout.

"Brothers, thanks to everyone's unity and hard work, and thanks to the clerk in the household office getting sores on his hands and feet, the cleaning fees, fire hazard fines, and overdue interest, we have collected every single copper coin."

Here, I would like to commend the yamen runners, hangers-on, firemen, and officials at all levels. For example, yamen runner Wu Da… hanger-on Liu Zhenghong… fireman Zhao Erniu… treasury clerk…

Without your support, no matter how capable I am as the county magistrate, I wouldn't have been able to collect so much silver. You are all excellent.

I know that many people plunder the people's wealth, embezzle public funds, fawn over superiors while bullying subordinates, and oppress the people—the list of evil deeds is endless. However, as the sages said, we should give people a chance to repent and reform, to correct their mistakes, and to do better even if they haven't done anything wrong. All the documents, ledgers, and files in the government office were burned to ashes, and I can't find out who embezzled money or who committed evil.

Therefore, the past is wiped clean. As for the future, you can all see clearly my methods. Anyone who dares to bully the good will have their whole family suffer. Anyone who dares to embezzle money will be dealt with according to my methods. Let's see how long you can hide, and see if the Imperial Guard can make you wish you were dead.

Of course, I know that my brothers' salaries are not high. Who doesn't have a big family? A bunch of friends and relatives? They all think we're doing so well in the government office, and they always try to take advantage of us.

What's the point of living a life if not to save face? Even if you're starving, you still have to put oil on your mouth before you go out. I've seen what my brothers in this government office have been doing these past few days, and I believe the majority are honest and law-abiding people. Only a few are bold enough to follow their superiors in corruption, or to join the Five City Garrison Command and some local thugs in oppressing the people.

In any case, I can't let most of my honest and hardworking brothers do the hardest work, earn the least money, and suffer the harshest scolding, or even worse, have to take the blame for those inhumane people.

This is something others may not know, but as long as I, Wang Yan, am here in Daxing, I will absolutely not allow it to happen.

I've said all this to two reasons: first, to encourage everyone, and second, to make it clear why I'm giving you money, and that you should accept it with a clear conscience. Anyone who lacks a conscience will suffer.

Alright, let's get down to business. First, the burning of the government office and the assassination attempt on me involve more than a dozen powerful and wealthy families. After we've dealt with them all, their land in Daxing will be converted into government stipends, allowing us to increase everyone's salaries.

Secondly, we've collected a considerable amount of silver this time, and everyone has put in a lot of effort, so everyone should be rewarded. I've seen how each of you performed, and based on your performance, I've personally listed out the silver you deserve.

Those whose names I am about to call, come forward to receive your silver and kowtow to His Majesty in gratitude!
"First one, He Chuan, five taels of silver! Come forward!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the room erupted in a clamor, boiling like water, the noise even more shrill than the whistle of a kettle...

Immediately afterwards, Wang Yan had people come up one by one to collect their silver, and each of them kowtowed in the direction of the emperor to express their gratitude for the emperor's great favor.

Finally, Wang Yan loudly proclaimed, "County Magistrate Ma Defu, one thousand taels!"

Ma Defu, in his forties, stared wide-eyed at Wang Yan in disbelief. After all, Wang Yan had already distributed silver to the officials, and he, as the county magistrate, was sure to receive some as well. But he never expected Wang Yan to give him a thousand taels!

"Magistrate Ma, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and kowtow to His Majesty to express your gratitude!"

"Master, isn't this..."

"Take what's yours. Don't worry about whether it's proper or not. This money was obtained by me, so it's naturally my responsibility. Let anyone who complains go and get the money themselves. It's honest money, so take it without worry. You're all officials now, who wants to be like Hai Rui, a poor official? Hurry up and kowtow to express your gratitude."

So Ma Defu kowtowed, his hands trembling as he received the silver notes, ending the money distribution ceremony. Then everyone began to feast and drink lavishly. The people were even more excited and boisterous. Now, if Wang Yan told them to take up arms and go out to kill people, they wouldn't even stumble.

Even the person who received the smallest share of silver had five taels! Many others received tens or hundreds of taels.

Most importantly, it wasn't just officials who received several hundred taels; it was the well-behaved yamen runners, hangers-on, firemen, and minor officials who all received several hundred taels. Officials weren't any special; some even received only ten or twenty taels, which was less than what Wang Da, the cook, received. He and his son split one hundred and fifty taels.

Especially since the money was distributed in front of everyone, there was some tension between those who received less and those who received more.

Wang Yan easily divided his subordinates into two factions and used money to motivate them.

He had reason to believe that when his orders were carried out in the future, those who received less money would be more proactive in order to win his favor as the county magistrate.

As for these people complaining about him, that doesn't matter. Once such a competitive environment is established, no matter how much they complain, they won't dare to do anything underhanded. On the surface, they'll have to be more eager to curry favor than anyone else, otherwise they'll be reported and ostracized...

In conclusion, it was a happy meeting for all, and everyone was satisfied. Wang Yan's authority was consistently upheld from top to bottom throughout Daxing.

Everyone knows that this is just the beginning.

Those powerful and influential people who suffered losses understood this even more clearly. Because they too had accumulated wealth from ten acres to thousands or tens of thousands of acres, they knew the uncontrollable greed that came with it.

Wang Yan had squeezed a large sum of money out of them, so naturally he should push his luck and try to squeeze even more money out of them...

"Brother Wang, you're eating again."

Amidst the noise, Zhu Qi led Qi Dazhu over and sat down at Wang Yan's table.

County Magistrate Ma Defu, who was offering Wang Yan kind words and a toast, was about to stand up and leave when Wang Yan waved his hand and said, "We're all family here, no need to be so polite. Just sit there and relax. Seventh Master isn't going to eat people."

“That’s right.” Zhu Qi smiled as he took the bowl and chopsticks, and let Qi Dazhu serve him wine. “We all serve His Majesty, and Magistrate Ma is also a loyal and patriotic man. What Brother Wang said about us being one of our own is not wrong.”

Ma Defu offered a toast with a forced smile, saying nothing. He understood that the "insider" they were referring to was the matter of receiving over five million taels of silver and sending two million to the palace. It was also Wang Yan himself who had shamelessly taken one hundred thousand taels, and Zhu Qi and others in front of him had each received several hundred or even a thousand taels of silver to varying degrees.

After such a simple exchange of flattery, Zhu Qi said, "Now that all the silver has been collected, this matter is over, and it's time to investigate and punish those rebels."

"Did Eunuch Lü speak?"

Zhu Qi nodded: "Let's do it as we said before. The industries in Daxing will be handled by Daxing, and we'll handle the others."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Seventh Master."

"What trouble? I'm just doing my duty." Zhu Qi tilted his head back and finished his drink, then stood up. "I'm leaving now, I won't disturb your good time."

Qi Dazhu quickly ate two bites of meat and muttered, "Third Master, we're off on business."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile; he really liked Qi Dazhu's straightforwardness. He told Qi Dazhu not to be polite, and Qi Dazhu never hesitated. He'd take any money offered, and when they ate together, aside from the first toast, he'd just eat and drink heartily.

Zhu Qi always smiled and said that Qi Dazhu was a smart man...

Zhu Qi escorted the man to handle the case, while Wang Yan continued to eat and drink with the people in the yamen.

Actually, this matter is not over yet. Afterwards, the housing department will have to go to each household to check their accounts and match them with the cleaning fees paid. If the difference is too large, there will be another round of discussion.

But most importantly, these people have no choice but to reluctantly pay the cleaning fee; all other issues are minor.

Wang Yan chuckled and said to Ma Defu, "Old Ma, I reckon that this time, besides the shops, we'll also find a few nice houses in Daxing when we raid those rebels. I'll live in one, and you can have one too."

"No, no, you mustn't!" Ma Defu waved his hands in a panic.

"What are you afraid of? Even if that mansion is a government-owned property, if we rent it to you for fifty years for ten taels of silver, who can say anything? Who would dare to take the mansion back? As for what happens after we die, that's none of our business, is it?"

Wang Yan said, "Old Ma, as long as you do what I ask you to do, nothing will be a problem, and no one will cause you any trouble. You also don't need to worry about what will happen after you are transferred from Daxing; His Majesty knows about you."

Having reassured Ma Defu, Wang Yan sat there eating and drinking, dealing with the officials, yamen runners, hangers-on, and firemen who boldly came over to offer him drinks, saying encouraging words.

He called everyone by name instantly, which was incredibly inspiring. He showed concern for their families and even arranged to see some of their sick relatives. Because word had spread that he was a miracle doctor, quite a few people had been flocking to him for treatment in the past few days—they were all quite bold…

Just as things were getting lively, a group of people walked in, among whom a man in a scarlet robe stood out. He had a clear target in mind and went straight for Wang Yan, who was drinking with others.

The appearance of the crimson-robed figure naturally attracted everyone's attention. The clamor vanished instantly, and the world fell silent—this was the aura of the powerful peacock in crimson robes.

Wang Yan put down his wine cup, stood up and greeted the Minister: "Your humble servant Wang Yan greets the Minister."

"I am Zhang Juzheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

Stopping his men, Zhang Juzheng introduced himself and waved to the officials, saying, "You may continue; I want to speak with your magistrate."

So everyone's eyes turned to Wang Yan.

"Why are you looking at me? Minister Zhang said to continue, so let's continue. Let's keep eating meat and drinking. We won't leave until we're drunk."

Wang Yan waved his hand, and someone brought over bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups.

"Minister Zhang, please!"

Zhang Juzheng sat down, but didn't touch his chopsticks or his wine cup...

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