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

Chapter 1540 Change
The reason Jiajing came out of seclusion was, of course, because all sorts of things had been settled.

After the failed assassination attempt by the armored soldiers, Kiyota Chaguchi's operation was a success; no one could stop or resist it.

Furthermore, with Hu Zongxian impeached and brought to the capital, Jiajing could no longer remain secluded. He had to come out and discuss state affairs with the cabinet ministers…

Over the past three months, Wang Yan mobilized a large amount of manpower and resources to thoroughly investigate and register the entire Daxing district, from eighty-year-old centenarians to newborn babies, from tenants and servants of wealthy families to even legally registered Taoist priests and monks within the district, as well as slaves that had not been sold in brokerage firms. Everyone was registered and recorded.

The household registration information in the Daxing government office can be used to find every individual within the Daxing jurisdiction. The land information can be used to find every acre of land within the Daxing jurisdiction.

Wang Yan issued a proclamation and instructed officials to investigate and spread the word, informing the people that the buying and selling of land was prohibited within the territory of Daxing. Private transactions were illegal and would be dealt with by the government. He also stated that miscellaneous taxes in Daxing would be gradually reduced until they were eliminated. Even land rent would be reduced in the future.

After all, in the Ming Dynasty, the land tax was actually one-thirtieth, which was a heavy tax. But although it looked like one-thirtieth, there were actually a lot of other miscellaneous taxes, which was common in most ancient times.

Wang Yan had already abolished a significant portion of the miscellaneous taxes in Daxing, collecting only land taxes. This effectively reduced the burden on the people, allowing them to earn more.

On the other hand, the taxes that people paid less in the past have been doubled back through sanitation fees. At the same time, people can also participate in various construction projects in Daxing to earn money, and their lives are much better than before.

Especially in families with many members who haven't separated their households, the elderly father takes charge of the family, sending one or two people to work on construction sites to earn money, while the rest take on more farm work. In this way, nothing is delayed, and the family earns even more money.

In this regard, Wang Yan put a lot of effort into calculating the expenses and income of farming and construction before finally setting the wages so that the income from working on the construction site was slightly higher than that from farming, but not so large that people would completely abandon the land, thus maintaining this balance.

It's already June, and the land has long been cultivated, so there's not much farm work to do. The labor force has gone to various construction sites to earn money, and many even bring their own food.

Resources were limited, so Wang Yan didn't provide meals, but the money he distributed actually covered their food and drink, so it was a profit either way. At the same time, the people buying more grain was also a form of consumption.

The grain merchants within the eastern part of the city have long been subdued. Whatever grain price Wang Yan sets, that's the price. Of course, this is assuming there are no natural disasters or man-made calamities causing a reduction in local grain production and a significant price increase. If that happens, Wang Yan won't have any influence unless he kills entire families.

After all, a 100% profit is enough to drive anyone crazy, let alone double or triple the profit...

In short, from the time Wang Yan took office as the magistrate of Daxing County at the end of January in the 41st year of Jiajing's reign until mid-June, a period of five months, he successively collected sanitation fees, cracked down on organized crime, cleared fields and checked population, and carried out large-scale construction projects. After this series of procedures, the county's finances were more abundant, the population increased significantly, tax revenue soared, and construction improved, leading to a great improvement in Daxing's governance.

The entire Daxing district is making great strides forward, and anyone who isn't blind can clearly feel the difference.

Leaving aside the various construction sites bustling outside the city, let's just talk about the eastern part of the city.

The streets are cleaner and smoother. All the broken flagstones have been replaced with new ones, and the small potholes and even dirt roads have all been repaired with flagstones mixed with cement.

Every day, various kinds of garbage and sewage are collected by designated personnel. In some areas, public latrines have begun to be built to make it easier for people to use the toilet when they are out and about, thus solving the problem of difficulty in finding toilets in daily life.

The streets are busier every day, and the markets are more vibrant. The most obvious sign is the gradual increase in cleaning fees, which fully demonstrates the economic prosperity.

The increase in cleaning fees naturally leads to a rise in the labor demand of various related industries, resulting in more people earning money. The overall situation in Beijing is improving, and the city is visibly becoming more vibrant.

Others may not feel this deeply, but only Wang Yan, Jiajing, Lü Fang, Huang Jin, and others understand the current state of the capital.

This was what Wang Yan told Huang Jin. Huang Jin was a factory worker, so he needed to know everything, big or small. Wang Yan instructed him to record and summarize daily data on various commodity prices, the flow of people in and out of the markets, the number of cargo and passenger ships at the docks, and the income of the people, and to compare these data every day.

In fact, a significant portion of these data were already statistically available; it's just that Wang Yan added more data, expanding the scope of the statistics to include all aspects. This provided a clearer understanding of the actual situation in the capital.

However, a clear understanding is not the same as a clear understanding.

Even if Jiajing hadn't become emperor, he would still have been a wealthy prince. Lü Fang and Huang Jin, both of whom had been in the palace for decades, probably couldn't even remember the poverty they experienced in their childhood.

However, knowing some general outlines, and clearly understanding that the capital was progressing and improving, that its people were becoming wealthier, and that the market was becoming more active, ultimately pleased Jiajing. This made Jiajing even more aware of Wang Yan's exceptional abilities, beyond simply giving him two million taels of silver…

Wang Yan is now free of trouble, and Ma Defu, along with the newly arrived county magistrate, has taken care of most of the usual issues. There are no unusual problems in Daxing now.

After all, he had subdued them all. The powerful and wealthy dared not cause trouble for him. He had even beaten Yan Shifan and slapped Xu Jie's second son. With Jiajing openly supporting him, what fool could possibly dare to disobey him? Furthermore, all the local thugs, ruffians, beggars, and the like had vanished. People on the streets were very kind, and businesses operated with great integrity.

If it weren't for some audacious criminals who commit theft and robbery, and some ordinary people who act like scoundrels and take advantage of others, the area around Dongcheng would be considered a haven of peace.

As long as Wang Yan ensures the normal operation of the Daxing government office, maintains ideological unity among its staff, ensures a certain degree of integrity among its personnel, and controls the direction of development, he can lead Daxing to new heights of glory.

So he usually just wandered around with a few constables and guards, looking for anyone who was foolish enough to kill him. At the same time, he would refine his plans while he was out there.

They also organized doctors to establish hospitals, recruited midwives, enrolled young women, and researched childbirth techniques to help babies survive, etc.

In short, the goal is to vigorously promote various public construction projects, continuously increase investment, launch new projects, create jobs, expand domestic demand, and boost consumption.

For example, the government purchased a large quantity of cement, which was a royal monopoly, for building houses and repairing roads. All other tools and materials were also purchased with money.

Moreover, they purchase goods from various large and small businesses in Dongcheng, because these businesses all operate here. The Daxing government can collect taxes from them, and a considerable portion of the revenue can be returned to the local government.

Otherwise, if it were given to someone else, they would probably just hoard the money they earned, which would be another kind of trouble...

On this day, a light drizzle fell, much like the morning rain in Weicheng that dampened the light dust.

Instead of going out for a stroll, Wang Yan arrogantly ordered his yamen runners to set up a large umbrella and prepare a hot pot at the entrance of the county government office.

"Sir, this pot of mutton is warmer in winter, but it's too dry now," said Wang Da, the head of the kitchen, as he hand-cut mutton.

"Why else would we eat this while it's raining today?" Wang Yan fiddled with his chopsticks, turning the meat in the pot. He then picked up a large chopstickful and dipped it in the sauce in his bowl. It was already much better than later, and there were quite a few different kinds of sauces available.

Wang Da is now practically Wang Yan's personal chef, cooking a variety of dishes for Wang Yan every day, handling everything from grocery shopping to cooking himself.

Someone had once approached Wang Da, asking him to poison Wang Yan. Wang Da vehemently refused, wanting to kill the person who approached him. However, there were two people on the other side, and he couldn't handle them, nearly getting killed in the process. After that, he became extremely cautious, watching his men like they were thieves, fearing that someone might have poisoned Wang Yan.

Wang Da understood deeply that everything changed after Wang Yan came to power. Only when Wang Yan was alive could he have a good life and stand tall. In Daxing, there was no one he feared, and he was very proud.

"Yes, sir, I was just saying that." Wang Da smiled憨厚ly.

He kept Wang Yan's instructions in mind, and over the past few months, he had gained weight and had a rosy complexion, clearly a good cook.

"Has the matter of your grandson starting his education been settled?"

"It's settled, it's settled! The clerk turned green with fright when he heard I was cooking for the master..."

As the two were chatting, a group of people walked over from not far away.

Wang Yan glanced at him, then politely stood up and, when the man approached, cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Minister."

This time, Hu Zongxian did not correct him again. He also bowed to Wang Yan and said, "I am about to return to my hometown and have come to say goodbye."

Zhu Qi said, "He's stayed with me for a while now, and Dazhu even guarded Hu's camp. It's only right that I see him off."

“Yes, we should escort the Minister.” Qi Dazhu echoed in agreement.

Wang Yan waved his hand: "I should have gone to see the Minister off, but I didn't expect the Minister to get away so quickly. Please sit down. I guess you haven't had much to eat these past few days."

Hu Zongxian sat down with a smile, watching the sensible clerk bring over bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups, and said, "Now it seems that it's better to eat something lighter."

"I love eating meat."

“Eating too much meat is hard to digest.” Hu Zongxian shook his head. “You’ve said before that a balanced diet of meat and vegetables is the best.”

Qi Dazhu dumped two plates of freshly cut meat into the pot, while Wang Yan stirred the pot with chopsticks: "I'm still young and have a good stomach, so I eat a lot of meat. Minister, you're already calling yourself an old man, so eat less meat and more vegetables, it's better for your health."

Zhu Qi exclaimed, looking for trouble: "Brother Wang, what about His Majesty?"

"Your Majesty cultivates immortal arts, so naturally you should consume less of this mortal food." Glancing at the grinning Zhu Qi, Wang Yan then asked, "What does the Minister plan to do after returning to his hometown?"

"Didn't you advise me to give away all my wealth and settle down to farming and studying?"

"Farming and studying are one thing, but we can't just rely on farming and studying."

"What do you mean by this?"

Wang Yan said, "That old bastard Xu Jie is ruthless. I heard that his son actually killed his own daughter who was going to be Yan Shifan's concubine. There's no good in that family. Xu Jie and his gang will definitely not let you off easily. They'll probably find some excuse to frame you again."

Hu Zongxian didn't dwell on Wang Yan's direct use of the word "you." After all, Wang Yan called Yan Song an old dog and Xu Jie an old bastard, showing his recklessness and fearlessness. Besides, he was just a dismissed official.

"Then what do you think I should do?" he asked sincerely.

Everyone knows that his political life is over. And considering Xu Jie and his associates' current tactics in trying to destroy him, he doesn't think they'll let him off the hook. At this point, he really has no better options.

Even if Yan's faction wasn't punished, their leader had already fallen. Hu Zongxian, the third-in-command of Yan's faction, was in trouble. At this point, others were too busy to help themselves, so there was no unity. Everyone was minding their own business, and no one was helping him.

Or to put it another way, he might be able to do a favor for a small matter, but when it comes to matters at the very top level of the Ming Dynasty, no one dares to interfere.

Wang Yan really is stubborn, and his position is unique.

Wang Yan said, "His Majesty has taken me under his wing and saved my life this time. How could you, Minister, forget such great virtue and divine grace?"

Without Hu Zongxian pressing for answers, Wang Yan continued, “Even if you return to your hometown, Minister, you must still help His Majesty. After returning home, you can recruit some people for maritime trade. Firstly, you can continue to watch over the coast for His Majesty; secondly, you can find good things overseas for His Majesty; thirdly, maritime trade is very profitable, so you can earn more silver to offer to His Majesty; and fourthly, you will have something to do.”

As the saying goes, "The pleasures of the homeland are the grave of heroes." If he were to return to his hometown and settle down to farming and studying, the nobleman's spirit of loyalty to the country would likely be completely worn away.

"My Great Ming Dynasty's maritime ban..."

"Why is your courage still so weak after going through all this? You are the one who fights the Japanese pirates, why are you saying so much? Only those who do not respect His Majesty should be banned, but you work for His Majesty, so naturally you can't ban them."

"We've finally managed to weaken the Japanese pirates and bring peace to the seas, so we should make good use of this opportunity. We can't let the pirates profit alone; we can't profit from it. Besides, many of your old subordinates live along the coast, which will make things much easier. Who knows more about maritime trade than you?"

Wang Yan placed a large piece of meat on Hu Zongxian's plate and said, "Minister, I'll give you 50,000 taels of silver as a stake later. This will be considered a joint effort between the two of us. I'll provide the ideas and the money, and you'll handle the execution. As for the profits, we'll each take half, totaling 10%, and the rest will be offered to His Majesty."

"I'll consult His Majesty later and find a prominent maritime merchant to confiscate his property. Then we'll take his ship, and have Qi Jiguang send some men to escort it at sea. We'll turn one ship into two, two into four, and bring back all the overseas wealth. This is truly beneficial to the country and its people, and a great act of loyalty to His Majesty."

Hu Zongxian looked at Wang Yan with astonishment; she truly dared to think and speak so boldly…

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