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

Chapter 1544 Promotion
Wang Yan wasn't lying; he genuinely didn't care where he went.

He was also aware of his own limitations; he only had two options: either be sent to the frontier or remain in the capital. He wouldn't be allowed to go anywhere else and cause trouble.

Everywhere he goes, there are spheres of influence, and everywhere there are powerful figures. Wang Yan is unwelcome wherever he goes. Especially in the provinces, Wang Yan is resourceful, a skilled fighter, resilient, and incredibly audacious. His communication with the central government gives him ample time to accomplish many things. He might even have already caused bloodshed in the provinces, wiping out entire families of high-ranking officials, before the central government even receives the news.

Once the central command has processed the information and made a decision, and then the information is delivered to Wang Yan's territory, everything will be fine...

People with any sense would not want to send Wang Yan to govern their hometown. Wang Yan is already a sixth-rank official, so his post in a local government would definitely be upgraded. Even if his post is not upgraded, his power and responsibilities would be heavier. Given Wang Yan's tendency to seize power, he would still be a big shot in the local government. The officials who lead him would be extremely unlucky, and they would probably be sidelined within a few days.

Everyone knows whether their own hands are clean or not, and everyone knows how many can withstand scrutiny.

Wang Yan's famous saying, "Make money off the rich," has already been spread, and it's a disaster for large families wherever it goes. Even in remote areas like Yunnan and Guizhou, it would require Jiajing's permission.

It's obvious that Wang Yan was chosen by Jiajing to replace Yan Song as his successor, and was put out to compete with others. How could he possibly be sent to a remote place? Especially since Wang Yan himself had made great contributions. People aren't blind; the significant changes in the development of the capital were obvious to everyone.

Under such circumstances, it would be inappropriate to send Wang Yan to a remote and impoverished area, otherwise how could others feel at ease doing their work?

Although everyone is busy with their own interests, there is a consensus that this country still needs people who get things done. In every unit, there are those who freeload, but there also needs to be those who do real work and solve problems.

Unless Wang Yan is sent to a remote area to be the top official, but that's obviously impossible. We have to consider Wang Yan's age and his future promotion prospects. Wang Yan is only twenty-three years old and already a sixth-rank official. If he's sent out as a prefect, what will happen after his three-year term? A high-ranking official in charge of a region before he's even thirty?
How many people must have suffered back then...

Outside Yuxi Palace, boxes of items were being carried out by eunuchs, lined up at the entrance. As someone carried out a box, someone else carried it in.

Inside the Yuxi Palace, Wang Yan held up a list and said, “Coral and green trees grow around the hills. Your Majesty, this is red coral that the Annamese people harvested from the South China Sea. It is ten feet square and fifteen feet tall. Its color is beautiful, and it can also be used for medicinal purposes… It is worth three thousand taels of silver.”

The items were brought in one by one, and Wang Yan introduced each one. Jiajing looked at each item, keeping those he liked on the spot, while the rest were sent to the palace treasury.

I looked at all the treasures that were delivered, from breakfast until noon.

Wang Yan then summarized: "Your Majesty, including these treasures, as well as silver and gold, Hu Zongxian has presented a total of 240,000 taels of silver worth of goods. If these treasures were sold, they should fetch even more, with an actual value of nearly 300,000 taels."

Seeing Jiajing nod in satisfaction, Lü Fang exclaimed, "I really didn't expect that Hu Zongxian would achieve this in just two years."

“If Minister Hu didn’t have this much ability, wouldn’t he be letting His Majesty down?” Wang Yan replied with a smile. “Minister Hu has made contributions, General Qi has also worked hard, and the soldiers fighting on the front lines have risked their lives to achieve what we have today.”

"Have the soldiers received adequate compensation?" Jiajing asked a rare, albeit somewhat sensible, question.

Lü Fang replied, "Your Majesty, everything has been given in full. It's all thanks to the soldiers' bravery that the compensation and pay are adequate."

"Hu Zongxian is reliable in his work."

Jiajing nodded with satisfaction.

The palace's finances have improved significantly in the last two years. Cement and glass production alone bring in a million taels of silver annually. Hu Zongxian's maritime trade also brings in tens of thousands of taels of silver worth of goods each year, including many rare and precious items. In addition, Wang Yan's cleaning fees collected in Daxing amount to over a million taels of silver annually, half of which is sent to the palace. All these various transactions bring in two million taels a year.

This figure represents the amount of silver that Jiajing used to painstakingly acquire from various sources in a year, while also having to listen to the various complaints from the cabinet and the various upright officials urging him to spend less, constantly having to put up with their tempers.

This number is not fixed; it increases every year. After all, Hu Zongxian's armed smuggling group is growing larger and larger, and Wang Yan's governance of Daxing is getting better and better, resulting in more and more taxes being collected, and naturally, more and more silver being sent as tribute.

At the same time, Jiajing was also ruthless in taking money from the national treasury. He would take what he was entitled to, and it was wrong not to withhold money from me just because I had other funds.

So, in the past two years, Jiajing has been able to spend four million taels of silver annually, which is truly wonderful. Inside and outside the palace, there are construction sites everywhere, as Jiajing has planned many new projects.

Wang Yan also actively offered suggestions and advice, such as building sculptures outside the Jinshui Bridge to praise the emperor, all of which were funded by the imperial palace and paid for by hiring people to do the work.

This is also what makes Wang Yan quite gratified: Emperor Jiajing was sensible, not stingy, and willing to spend money on the people.

The results certainly did not disappoint the money Jiajing spent. For the past two years, the people of Shuntian Prefecture have lived quite well, and tax revenue has been plentiful. However, because other places did not charge cleaning fees and there was no renewed clearing of fields and checking of households, the return of funds was not reflected. Only in Daxing could the changes be seen through comprehensive data.

Another important reason is that the money shops were transformed into the Imperial Bank of the Ming Dynasty, which merged the Treasury of Paper Money and the minting of coins into them. The printing and issuance of paper money was no longer managed by the Ministry of Revenue, but became an institution directly managed by the emperor at the same level as the Ministry of Revenue.

The framework of this institution was set up by Wang Yan, and the staff was trained by him. Currently, the amount of paper money printed is entirely up to Wang Yan. Therefore, the money given to Jiajing is directly printed by him for Jiajing to spend—very convenient…

As long as Emperor Jiajing remained true to his original intention and continued to lavishly spend money, allowing the currency to circulate, and without those who pretended to know better interfering, the accounts would eventually balance out as the economy developed. In short, Jiajing could spend as much as he wanted.

After all, given the current size of the Ming Dynasty, with an annual revenue equivalent to over ten million taels of silver, even using the simplest and most basic calculation, it could print over ten million taels of silver to spend. This is because the amount of silver that couldn't be collected is several times that of the ten million taels collected. As long as the people accept the new paper money, it won't even cause a ripple in the face of such a massive scale.

However, Wang Yan was still very cautious about printing money, printing coins steadily based on various comprehensive data. For a vast empire like the Ming Dynasty, anything done could not be spectacular, but rather stable.

It seems that although Wang Yan caused a lot of trouble in the capital, he never really left Shuntian Prefecture, so he was of little use to the Ming Dynasty as a whole.

Everyone knows that increasing commercial taxes is necessary and would be good for the empire, but no one is willing to spend more money out of their own pockets. They all wear pained expressions, as if they've made tremendous sacrifices for the empire, constantly worrying about the country and its people.

Regardless, Jiajing had certainly enjoyed himself these past two years. He'd been on the throne for forty years, but none had been as carefree as these last two… “How many ships does the fleet have now? How many are willing to fight?” Jiajing inquired about the specifics.

Lü Fang replied, "Reporting to my master, the fleet consists of four large ships of 1,500 liang each, eight ships of 1,000 liang each, and thirty-six ships between 500 and 1,000 liang each. There are 1,500 brave warriors, as well as more than 1,000 other boatmen and sailors. There are twenty cannons, more than 500 muskets, more than 1,000 sets of rattan armor, paper armor, and leather armor, and countless bows and crossbows."

"It's remarkable that things have developed to this extent in just two years." Jiajing nodded in satisfaction and said, "Hu Zongxian has done a good job."

He then looked at Wang Yan, who was working on the tribute list, and said, "You've also put in a lot of effort. I know that the fact that we've grown to our current size so quickly is definitely due to your advice."

This sounds like praise, but upon closer examination, it's not so good. It implies that Hu Zongxian lacked the ability and courage, and that it was all Wang Yan's instigation. It portrays Wang Yan as an incredibly audacious person…

Wang Yan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I certainly have made contributions, but to be honest, I didn't actually offer many ideas. The only things I talked about with Minister Hu were the soldiers' pay, pensions, and benefits, and the goods purchased from Southeast Asia, especially goods."

Your humble servant's primary concern is the livelihood of the people of our Great Ming. Engaging in maritime trade serves two purposes: first, to strengthen the navy, control the southeast, and suppress the powerful families there; second, to plunder wealth from overseas to supplement the livelihood of our Great Ming people.

For the past two years, the prices of grain, oil, sugar, salt, and cloth in the capital have remained stable. Furthermore, I have expanded the Ever-Normal Granary in Daxing, increasing its storage capacity from 30,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) to 250,000 shi. This amount of grain is enough to feed the 520,000 people of Daxing for one month, or two months if they eat sparingly. Confiscating grain from the capital's grain merchants would provide enough for three months.

In addition, I have expanded warehouses and reserves of salt, oil, sugar, cloth, and other commodities to ensure stability in times of emergency. Furthermore, these large reserves will also help stabilize the market. If anyone manipulates market prices, releasing some of the government's inventory can bankrupt them. When production of these goods is insufficient and supply cannot meet demand, they can be used to stabilize market prices and protect the livelihoods of the people in the capital.”

Jiajing nodded. He knew best what Wang Yan was doing in Daxing, and these actions and his efforts satisfied him. In less than three years, Daxing had indeed been brought to a higher level by Wang Yan's governance.

If we only look at the capital, the Ming Dynasty at this time is simply at its most prosperous and glorious.

"You've been the magistrate of Daxing County for almost three years now. What are your thoughts?"

Wang Yan quickly bowed and clasped his hands, saying, "It is entirely up to Your Majesty's arrangement. This humble servant is just a brick; wherever Your Majesty needs this humble servant, this humble servant will go to add bricks and tiles, and share Your Majesty's burdens."

“That’s the truth,” Lü Fang said. “My lord, whether in Chun’an or Daxing, you are always loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and you work with sincerity.”

"Your Excellency is too kind; this is all I should do."

Jiajing examined a bright pearl in his hand: "You shall be the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture, and I will also grant you the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), so that others will not always bring up your background."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"

Wang Yan immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

Clearly, this is a promotion for Wang Yan, and it also eliminates the disparity in their social status. Regardless of whether she was a concubine or not, the imperial power has directly intervened to smooth things over. In future promotions and appointments, no one can use their social status as an excuse. Even if those who passed the imperial examinations through proper channels look down on him and ostracize him, it doesn't matter; everyone's qualifications are equal.

If you can manage the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers, so can I. If you can join the Grand Secretariat, so am I. Anyone who speaks out against this is negating imperial authority, is rebelling.

Jiajing smiled, turned around and left.

Lu Fang said, "His Majesty has left, please get up."

Wang Yan chuckled as he got up, his face full of sincere admiration: "Your Majesty has truly shown me great favor. Previously, I was promoted six ranks in a row, from a mere ninth-rank registrar to a sixth-rank county magistrate. And now, having reached this position, I have been promoted two more ranks, becoming a fifth-rank chief administrator. Your Majesty has also bestowed upon me the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). This is truly a boundless grace and virtue from Heaven."

At this point, Wang Yan knelt down once again and shouted, "Your Majesty, may you enjoy eternal bliss and longevity as long as the heavens!"

He performed this act in front of Lü Fang before calling it a day.

Lu Fang showed no disdain whatsoever: "Alright, Magistrate Wang, you may leave now. I'll see you off."

Some people are willing to be like Wang Yan, while others are not, and of course, it's better if they are. What hasn't Lü Fang, this powerful eunuch, seen and done?

After the two left Yuxi Palace, Lü Fang said, "Do you understand His Majesty's intention in appointing you as the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture?"

“Plow through the entire Shuntian Prefecture.”

Lü Fang nodded in satisfaction: "Actually, the master wanted you to be the prefectural vice-minister, but Xu Jie and the others thought you were too young to take on such an important position, and they even rejected the master's decree. It's simply..."

"Your Majesty's kindness is so great that I, your humble servant, could never repay it, even if I were to die nine times."

“Doing things well is more important than anything else,” Lü Fang said. “Although we couldn’t make you the Prefectural Magistrate directly, our master has found a way for you. By convention, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture is a high-ranking official of the second or third rank who concurrently serves as the Prefectural Magistrate. The daily administration is still handled by the Prefectural Magistrate and the Chief Administrator. So our master arranged for a Prefectural Magistrate who does not handle any affairs, leaving the position of Prefectural Magistrate vacant. In reality, it is you, the Chief Administrator, who is in charge of the administration.”

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will certainly govern Shuntian Prefecture to an even higher level. To be honest, I have long disliked Wanping. In addition, the new paper money has already spread throughout Shuntian Prefecture and is expanding outwards. Your Majesty's decision to put me in charge at this juncture is a testament to your trust in me."

"Go, and don't let His Majesty's painstaking efforts go to waste."

Seeing that Wang Yan understood everything, Lü Fang stopped and let Wang Yan leave with the little eunuch...

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