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

Chapter 1562 Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue

"Oh my, isn't this the famous Master Hai? It's been a long time!"

At Tongzhou Wharf, Wang Yan greeted Hai Rui and his family with a smile.

"Oh my, isn't this the all-powerful and upright Wang Daqingtian? This humble official will kowtow to you, sir?" Hai Rui also imitated the sly tone.

"No need, let's go quickly. It's terribly hot, and your whole family isn't in good health. If you get sick from the heat, you'll be in trouble."

"I've been practicing the health regimen you taught me, and I feel great."

Wang Yan shook his head: "You seem so useless. I can tell at a glance that you haven't been eating anything good these past few years. If you don't eat well, it's hard for your health to improve. It's funny how you are. I've made so much money these past few years, and thanks to His Majesty's benevolence, all the officials in our Great Ming have received salary increases. You've all become Assistant Magistrates, with substantial monthly salaries, yet you're still so strapped for cash? And you look malnourished again."

"When I see the people suffering, I always have to help them. Hey, don't even mention the government's money, it all has its uses." Hai Rui grinned, his dark face telling a story of many hardships he had endured.

"There are too many pitiful people; how can one person save them all? There are so many wealthy families; you can easily find an excuse to get a lot of money from them. Who would dare to cause you trouble? Let those wealthy families who exploit the people help the common people instead. If we're talking about the right path, it should be local development, so that the people can earn more money than before."

"If life is truly difficult, then the government should be used to resolve it, instead of you, Master Hai, taking pity on yourself and causing your family to suffer along with you."

"Alright, you won't listen to me anyway. Let's go have a big meal and drink first. We'll go to the capital tomorrow." Wang Yan waved his hand, then laughed. "It's funny, you go out and serve as an official for a few years, live a hard life for a few years, and then you can be in the same place as me, live a good life for a few years, eat well and get fat, and then go back to live a hard life in the countryside."

"Who told you, Master Wang, to be considered a powerful and wealthy man these days? How much can I possibly eat?"

"Oh dear, so the master doesn't mind that I'm greedy now?"

"Everyone in the world knows that all the money you, Master Wang, have embezzled has gone into raising meat, so that the people of my Great Ming can afford to eat meat. Of course, the money you earn is also clean and honest. Let me tell you, there can't be less meat today!"

Hai Rui was already quite used to Wang Yan's style and understood his pursuits perfectly. Aside from his greed and lust, Wang Yan was practically a saint. The two had known each other for many years and shared similar interests, so Hai Rui didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

To be honest, Hai Rui consulted Wang Yan on many occasions when handling government affairs over the years. For example, when he went to govern local areas, he wanted to act like Wang Yan, since he had witnessed it firsthand several times and had a much deeper understanding of the inside story.

However, it looks easy, but it's difficult in practice. When it came to actually implementing it at the local level, he was in a complete mess, scrambling to keep up. The assessment of local wages, the stability of prices, the peace and stability of the people—a whole host of things were piling up on his shoulders, making it a real challenge for him.

He had no choice but to write to Wang Yan, find out the problem, and ask for a solution. Under Wang Yan's guidance over the past few years, local governance has been thriving.

After all, it was being implemented according to the Shuntian Prefecture model. Even if it couldn't achieve complete success, just accomplishing 30% would greatly alleviate local conflicts and give the people a much-needed respite. Besides, Hai Rui was a man of principle, and with Wang Yan as his patron and providing personal remote guidance, the local governance was naturally quite good…

Tongzhou has a port, and with the rapid development of shipping in recent years, it has naturally prospered around the port.

There were tens of thousands of laborers here, some working as porters, others doing construction. They needed to marry and have children, and they needed food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Naturally, the town began to expand, and commerce naturally began to flourish.

Furthermore, because this was the first stop for all kinds of goods arriving at the port, shrewd merchants gathered here to buy and sell, naturally forming a huge delivery market. At the same time, all kinds of goods were sold here, turning it into a large marketplace.

You can find all sorts of things from all over the country, including all kinds of random items from overseas, here. The bustling atmosphere of this shopping mall is no less than that of Beijing, which is only 30 kilometers away.

Because once the goods arrive in Beijing, they have already begun secondary sales, but what Tongzhou is doing is equivalent to primary distribution, which is business-to-business (B2B) rather than business-to-consumer (B2C).

The area is also equipped with a variety of consumer venues, including restaurants, hotels, brothels, and more—basically everything you can think of. It's quite comprehensive.

In a private room on the second floor of the restaurant, Hai Rui looked out at the bustling city and listened to the noise, and couldn't help but sigh.

"It's changed so much in just a few years, it really feels like the world has changed. You're amazing."

"No matter how great I am, I can't do so much by myself. In the end, it's people's greed that drives this. The powerful and wealthy want to earn more, the common people want to live better, and the court wants to become stronger. It doesn't want the powerful and wealthy to become too unruly."

I found a balance that allowed the wealthy to make money, improved the lives of ordinary people, strengthened the imperial court, and suppressed the wealthy. As wealth continued to grow, many things naturally came to fruition.

Just as the earliest markets were for trade, gradually, permanent residents appeared, leading to the emergence of towns that facilitated trade between nearby villages. To protect themselves from wild animals and enemies, they progressed from building fences to constructing walls, eventually forming cities.

The Ming Dynasty is currently experiencing a similar process. As people want to earn more, they naturally produce new things, expand their territory, and so on. What are we officials supposed to do? Watch over this process, constantly correct any deviations, and ensure stable development.

"You have so many reasons," Hai Rui couldn't help but retort.

"I'm telling you the absolute truth, so just learn from me."

The two chatted and drank about the bustling scenery outside, and after a few rounds of drinks and several dishes, they finally got down to business.

"What position will I be given when I return to Beijing this time?"

Hai Rui wasn't stupid; he knew perfectly well that Wang Yan had transferred him back. However, he didn't complain that Wang Yan hadn't informed him beforehand, because informing him would have been pointless and would have only kept him up at night. It was better not to say anything and just issue a transfer order to bring him to the capital.

"Take over my position as the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture and act as the prefect in charge of Shuntian Prefecture. I didn't tell you before because I was afraid you wouldn't be able to sleep."

"I really can't sleep."

Hai Rui's eyes widened in surprise. "Your Majesty really wants me to be in charge of Shuntian Prefecture?"

"Of course." Wang Yan said with a smile, despite Hai Rui's skeptical look. "But it's definitely still my strong recommendation. Old Hai, you still don't understand."

His Majesty doesn't actually care who is in charge of Shuntian Prefecture. What His Majesty wants is for Shuntian Prefecture to remain as it is, for the powerful and wealthy to behave themselves, for the people to live in peace and prosperity, and for the capital to have the grandeur of an empire. At the same time, he also wants to ensure that the annual tribute is no less than two million taels of silver.

This is also my demand. I can't just stand by and watch the good situation I've built with my life be ruined by others. You're one of my people, and a reliable one. I trust you with the Shuntian Prefecture in my hands. As for whether you can handle this responsibility well, don't worry. I'll be staying in the capital this time, and I'll be directly involved in some matters.”

"You want to stay in the capital? I need to be in charge of Shuntian Prefecture, and there's also Minister Hu on the Tartar side..."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "See, you've got it all figured out right away. Hu Butang has taken over the Tartar side. He and Qi Jiguang are old partners. They've been fighting for more than two years, and the Tartars have long been defeated. It's because we've always disagreed with their peace offer that this war didn't take so long. It would have been over in half a year."

"The Tartars have sued for peace?"

Wang Yan nodded.

"His Majesty didn't agree, and neither did Xu Jie and the others?"

Wang Yan continued to nod.

"Why?" Hai Rui didn't understand.

"Because war makes money," Wang Yan explained patiently. "Since the start of the war, the statistics show..."

What Wang Yan told Hai Rui was precisely the previous plan to expand domestic demand and stimulate the economy. At the same time, with the victory in the war and the gradual expansion of territory, the population and land were both increasing. Wang Yan's previously formulated plan for immigration and governance began, driving development in this area and making the people of the grasslands rich. Naturally, products from the Ming Dynasty would be brought over, thus starting a new cycle of consumption.

In addition, there was Liaodong. Although there were no major battles, they were slowly and subtly cutting into the Doyan Three Guards and the Jurchens, and people were also beginning to migrate to Liaodong and carry out large-scale construction.

As for North Korea, it was simply a matter of dumping goods on them. Over the years, North Korea had long since started circulating paper money, and they were creating wealth for the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, the constant consumption of various resources due to war has led to the rapid development of various rudimentary manufacturing industries in the Ming Dynasty in recent years, with large factories and small workshops springing up like mushrooms after rain.

People, both men and women, were all busy, and a large number of professional laborers without land appeared. New ideas were also surging across the land of the Ming Dynasty, after all, thought must keep pace with social development, and the two promote each other. This also led to various debates among intellectuals, and many novel viewpoints emerged.

Furthermore, due to the overall positive development, people's lives have become more comfortable, and the feeling that "good days have arrived" has gradually spread to more people. The cost of living has decreased, and the surplus has increased. As a result, people's already strong desire to have children has been put into action. In recent years, the population has begun to grow explosively, with everyone trying their best to have children and expand their families.

All these seeds that Wang Yan had sown over the previous years finally blossomed and bore fruit when he began to attack the Tatars, intimidate the surrounding barbarians, and demonstrate the power of the Ming Empire, forming an unstoppable momentum...

"I never imagined it would be like this."

Jiajing smiled and nodded, "You've worked hard. This battle was well fought. According to your reasoning, I really hope we can continue fighting. It's a pity that the Tartars are not strong enough. They will be completely defeated in less than three years."

Emperor Jiajing, Xu Jie, and others disagreed with the Tartars' pleas for peace. This wasn't because they understood the reasoning behind Wang Yan's arguments; after all, they were intelligent men, and naturally had many ideas, but none as systematic as Wang Yan's. They were simply astonished by the data they observed: the war was making the Ming Dynasty richer the more they fought. Therefore, peace was out of the question; whoever wanted peace, they would be dealt with…

To be honest, the various statistical data they were looking at all came from Wang Yan. After all, Wang Yan had always shouldered the heavy responsibility of managing the Royal Bank, and he was the one who proposed all sorts of statistical indicators and assigned a large number of people to collect data in various places. As a result, after several years of development, the Royal Bank had become even larger than the Ministry of Revenue.

Another interesting point is the issue of becoming an official. Wang Yan, a candidate who passed the imperial examination, had to spend money to become an official. However, due to the expansion of government offices in recent years, it is very easy for a candidate to become an official. Unless he wanted to go to a good government office, he did not need to spend money at all. People were needed everywhere, and he could go to become an official if he wanted to.

Wang Yan laughed and said, "Your Majesty need not worry. There are still the Oirats, and I have heard that there is also the Mughal in the southwest of our Great Ming, and there are Japanese pirates in the east. We also need to deal with the local chieftains in the southwest. We can just send out a large army to advance slowly. Sooner or later we will be invincible and the world will be at peace."

"You're just too bloodthirsty." Jiajing shook his head with a smile, his hands behind his back, looking like a kind old man. "I was just saying it casually. What, aren't the lives of our soldiers important? They are all good sons of our Great Ming. It's always good if fewer of them die."

"Your Majesty is benevolent. The soldiers at the front know that Your Majesty is always thinking of them, and they will surely fight even more bravely."

"What use is it for me to think about them? The real reason is to ensure that the soldiers are paid in full. Let's fight slowly. I am at ease knowing that Hu Zongxian will take your place; there won't be any problems."

"Minister Hu is mature and prudent, and he has long been acquainted with Qi Jiguang. Their cooperation is seamless, and he will surely have no worries in managing Liaodong and the grasslands."

Jiajing looked at Wang Yan: "What are your plans next?"

"It is entirely up to Your Majesty's arrangement. I am but a brick of the Ming Dynasty. Wherever Your Majesty places me, I will go. This has been the case for the past thirteen years." Wang Yan sincerely bowed.

Emperor Jiajing was very satisfied with Wang Yan's attitude: "Thirteen years have passed, you've also passed thirty, and I'm getting old..."

"Your Majesty is practicing Xuanxiu..."

"Alright, you're a divine physician, you even saw through my illness? Seeking immortality and enlightenment is ultimately futile..."

Wang Yan bowed his head and clasped his hands, not responding at all.

Lü Fang said, "Master, if you fix it a little more, it will definitely be done."

“What Eunuch Lü said makes sense,” Wang Yan sensibly agreed.

“It still needs to be repaired, why do you need to persuade me?” Jiajing waved his sleeve and said, “Go to the Ministry of Revenue, be the Left Vice Minister, and be in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. You are the best at making money, and you can be the head of the Ming Dynasty.”

“Your Majesty is in charge, and I am Your Majesty’s accountant.” Wang Yan sighed. “Your Majesty, shouldn’t the palace be repaired? I see that several palaces have burned down again. We need to hurry up and rebuild them.”

"You should discuss this with Lü Fang..."

Jiajing waved his hand, and Wang Yan, understanding the situation, left...

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