diymy Chapter 33 Hu Weiyong, is this all you've got?
Chapter 33 Hu Weiyong, is this all you've got?
Hu Weiyong spoke eloquently and confidently: "In response to these problems, the students have proposed several measures. One is to increase the efforts in land reclamation, encourage people to cultivate the land, and reduce or exempt the land reclamation people from taxes for three years."
"Second, we must rectify official conduct, severely punish corrupt officials, and eliminate the practice of withholding rations and salaries and exploiting the people."
"Third, reduce palace expenditures, cut unnecessary waste, and replenish the national treasury."
"In addition, the students also plan to promote the state monopoly of salt and iron, regulate salt and iron transactions, increase the government's tax revenue, and at the same time appease the displaced people by allocating land and seeds to them so that they can cultivate the land with peace of mind and stabilize social order."
Li Shanchang took the memorial and carefully read it word by word. His expression gradually relaxed, and a smile appeared on his lips. After reading it, he slowly closed the memorial and nodded to Hu Weiyong with satisfaction: "Not bad, not bad. Well thought out and the measures are appropriate."
"With His Majesty's temperament and vision, he will surely be delighted to see these policies of yours. Your foresight and sense of responsibility are a testament to the success of my training of you."
Upon hearing this, Hu Weiyong smiled smugly and straightened his back even more: "It's all thanks to your guidance, teacher. I've only done my bit. As long as I can share His Majesty's burdens and bring benefits to the people of the Ming Dynasty, I would gladly die for it."
The two were discussing in hushed tones how to implement these measures and how to gain support in the court when suddenly the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door. The steward walked in with a flustered expression, bowed and said, "Master, Prime Minister Hu, someone from the palace has come to deliver His Majesty's decree, summoning Prime Minister Hu to the palace for an audience immediately."
Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang's eyes lit up, and he looked at Hu Weiyong with a smile, his tone full of expectation: "Haha, you've come at the perfect time! This is your chance to shine!"
"His Majesty has summoned you to the palace specifically to discuss matters; make a good impression."
Hu Weiyong was overjoyed, his confidence radiating even more intensely, almost overflowing. He abruptly stood up and bowed deeply to Li Shanchang: "Please rest assured, teacher, I will certainly not fail in my mission and will definitely satisfy His Majesty!"
Having said that, he straightened his official robes, held his head high, looked smug, and strode out of the Han State Mansion. He boarded the carriage that had come to pick him up from the palace and sped off towards the imperial palace, his heart filled with anticipation.
He firmly believed that this time, entering the palace would surely earn him the emperor's favor, and he would wield immense power, thus proving that his years of forbearance and hard work had not been in vain.
Hu Weiyong rode in a carriage and sped all the way to the palace. He walked briskly into the Fengtian Hall, where Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne with a calm expression, exuding imperial majesty. Crown Prince Zhu Biao stood respectfully to one side.
Hu Weiyong knelt on the ground and loudly proclaimed, "Your subject Hu Weiyong pays respects to Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"
"Rise."
Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was flat and emotionless.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After getting up, Hu Weiyong couldn't wait to take out the memorial and began to give a long and detailed report on his strategies for governing the country.
He spoke rapidly, his eyebrows dancing with excitement, elaborating on everything from land reclamation and governance to state monopoly on salt and iron and appeasement of displaced people. His tone was full of confidence, as if his strategies could immediately resolve all the hidden dangers of the Ming Dynasty. He would occasionally look up at Zhu Yuanzhang, hoping to receive his praise.
Zhu Yuanzhang remained expressionless throughout, his hands resting on the armrests of the dragon throne, his eyes deep. He neither interrupted him nor nodded in approval, but listened quietly, making the atmosphere around him increasingly oppressive.
Hu Weiyong felt a growing unease, but since he had already spoken, he had no choice but to continue speaking until he had finished reporting all the policy measures. Only then did he stand aside, bowing, waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's praise.
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang was already filled with disdain: Is that all?
Is this the governing strategy devised by Hu Weiyong?
While seemingly comprehensive, these are merely superficial solutions that don't address the root cause, and are utterly insignificant compared to the suggestions Yao'er made.
He secretly thought to himself:
Li Shanchang praised him so highly, but it turns out that Hu Weiyong was only this capable?
Not to mention comparing with Yao'er, he can't even compare to the basics of Yao'er's Whip Technique. He's not even a hair on Yao'er's head!
Zhu Biao, standing to the side, listened to Hu Weiyong's report with admiration in his eyes and couldn't help but exclaim repeatedly, "Excellent! Prime Minister Hu's thinking is thorough. If these measures are implemented, they will surely alleviate the people's suffering, replenish the national treasury, and assist Father Emperor in consolidating the Ming Dynasty!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly and mutter to himself:
This child has never experienced the finest things in life. Is this mediocre strategy something to be applauded?
If he were to hear Yao'er's thoughts, he would probably be astonished.
He suppressed his disdain and slowly opened his mouth, asking in a calm tone, "Hu Weiyong, you say you want to increase the pace of land reclamation and encourage people to cultivate wasteland. Then I ask you, how do you plan to solve the problem of the people lacking oxen and seeds when they are cultivating wasteland?"
Upon hearing this, Hu Weiyong was momentarily stunned, his confident expression freezing. He had never considered this issue before. After a moment of hesitation, he managed to come up with a reason: "Your Majesty, I...I intend to have local officials take the lead in allocating some seeds from the official granaries, while the people will raise their own oxen, with the court providing appropriate subsidies."
"Subsidies?" Zhu Yuanzhang raised an eyebrow and asked again, "The national treasury is already empty. Where will these subsidies come from?"
"Furthermore, you say you want to rectify official conduct and severely punish corrupt officials, but corrupt officials are extremely well-hidden. What methods do you have to thoroughly investigate and eliminate them without missing a single one?"
This question completely stumped Hu Weiyong. His face turned bright red, and he stammered, unable to speak. He could only reply perfunctorily, "Your Majesty, I...I plan to select loyal and devoted officials to form an investigation team to investigate each county. We are confident that we will be able to expose all corrupt officials."
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head, his tone tinged with impatience: "Investigate county by county?"
"It's time-consuming, laborious, and easy for word to leak out. Your method simply won't work."
"Let me ask you again. You say that the salt and iron industries are state-run and that transactions are regulated, yet private salt trading is rampant. How do you plan to completely eliminate private salt trading and prevent collusion between officials and salt merchants?"
Cold sweat beaded on Hu Weiyong's forehead, and his body stiffened slightly. He couldn't answer any of the three questions and could only bow repeatedly to beg for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I... I was negligent and had not considered everything thoroughly. Please allow me to go back and carefully consider and refine my strategy."
Looking at his disheveled appearance, Zhu Yuanzhang felt no pity. He slowly began to speak, recounting Zhu Yao's suggestions one by one: "We do have a few ideas, let me tell you."
"When the people reclaim wasteland, the imperial court provides them with free oxen and seeds, and exempts them from taxes for five years initially, with the tax reduction halved later, to encourage the people to reclaim wasteland voluntarily."
"To rectify official corruption, we can establish an inspection system, and work together with the Imperial Guard Commandery to investigate corrupt officials. Once verified, they should be severely punished, and their families should also be held accountable."
"As for the state monopoly on salt and iron, a special Salt and Iron Bureau can be established to manage the production, transportation, and sale of salt and iron in a unified manner, strictly prohibit private mining and sales, and strictly investigate collusion between officials and salt merchants. Once discovered, they should be executed without exception."
After a pause, Zhu Yuanzhang slowly revealed the core content of the Single Whip Law: "In addition, we plan to implement the Single Whip Law, which will combine land tax, corvée labor, and various miscellaneous taxes into a unified cash collection, simplify the tax collection process, reduce the space for officials to embezzle and commit fraud, reduce the burden on the people, improve the efficiency of the court, and enrich the national treasury."