Wanli Emperor Chapter 113 Part 2

Chapter 113 Part 2: Two Blossoms, One to Fuel the Fire

The Salt Certificate concerned the future right of mintage precisely because both the Inner Court and the Ministry of Revenue were unwilling to yield—each wanted control of its printing. 

At times, he truly resented Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Revenue, for his astuteness on such matters.

Yin Shidan, hearing the emperor's praise, felt as refreshed as if drinking ice water on a summer's day. He spoke with renewed vigor. "In that case, this subject has proposals to present to Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun smiled and gestured. "Minister Yin, please speak."

This was negotiation—he was signaling he would not accept the post unless the terms proved satisfactory. Zhu Yijun welcomed this; it was the mark of sound political discourse.

Yin Shidan paused in thought, then rose and moved to the center of the hall, positioning himself with the ceremonial grace befitting a sovereign-and-minister audience. He bowed respectfully. "First, to prevent private forgery, the Salt Certificate should be replaced every five years, with unified exchange for salt and the annulment of expired certificates."

Since the emperor intended to treat it as a proto-Treasure Note, the Salt Certificate could not be registered to a specific name. 

Without registration, forgery had to be guarded against. If matters went awry and the Salt Administration Office collapsed, he would bear the blame. 

Other methods of security fell to the artisans; these were not his concern. From a strategic view, timely renewal and the invalidation of expired certificates were paramount.

Zhu Yijun nodded earnestly, signaling him to proceed. This agreement was clear.

Yin Shidan maintained his bowing posture. "Second, this subject respectfully requests that the authority to issue the Salt Certificate be vested solely in the Salt Administration Office. At that time, if even a single Salt Certificate cannot be exchanged for salt, this subject is willing to face execution."

He had been chastened by past events. The issuance of Treasure Notes had been reckless; previous Salt Certificates had also been issued in catastrophic excess. 

What if someone again embraced the mentality of "drinking poison to quench thirst," grasping for quick profit and nothing more? What would that make of him, Yin Shidan? 

If there existed even the slightest possibility, he would never have raised such an unpleasant matter at his first meeting with the emperor. Yet since he was to assume this post, he had to consider the risks. Only by holding authority in his own hands—issuing only as many certificates as there was salt—could he continue the work.

Just as Yin Shidan braced himself for further persuasion, the emperor agreed readily. "That is intrinsic to the arrangement itself. The Salt Certificate printed by the central government each year will correspond to the quantity of salt tax collected. It will be issued solely by the Salt Administration Office; the central government will absolutely not issue any additional certificates."

In this initial phase, cultivating confidence was paramount. All other financial objectives had to yield.

Yin Shidan released a great sigh of relief, and his tone relaxed considerably. "Third, the Salt Tax Offices in Haibei, Sichuan, Yunnan, and other distant regions sit high in the mountains, far from main roads; transporting salt is inconvenient. I request that Your Majesty permit this subject to sell salt locally in those areas."

The Kaizhong System relied on salt from Lianghuai and Liangzhe, with Shandong added at most—all due to canal transport. Distant regions had to adapt to their geography. He simply feared the emperor might command blindly, without accounting for reality.

Zhu Yijun nodded without hesitation. "Permitted.” Geographic resources cannot be ignored now; overly advanced ideas would be easier to ruin things. Take Sichuan—given its geography, it can only use local Ba salt. It has been so for hundreds of years, and even in my previous life remained so, called Ba salt or 'salt-Ba,' by habit, not without reason.

Yin Shidan completed his proposals—or rather, his conditions for accepting the post—in one sustained breath. Everything had gone surprisingly smoothly, and his assessment of the emperor rose several notches. He then hesitated, wondering whether to pose the final question.

Zhu Yijun perceived his pause, pursed his lips, and asked proactively, "What else does the Minister have to present? Speak without reservation."

Yin Shidan shook his head quickly. "Your Majesty, it is not that I have other concerns, but... There is one matter I must ask Your Majesty to clarify."

Zhu Yijun nodded. "Feel free to speak."

Yin Shidan pondered for a long moment, choosing his words carefully. "Your Majesty, regarding salt sales in Lianghuai—should they be adapted to local conditions?"

He had guessed somewhat that the central government intended to split the Southern Directly-Administered Region—or at least demote it to regular province status. 

Otherwise, why establish the Salt Administration Office in Shandong to suppress the Lianghuai Salt Distribution Commission? He simply did not know how much pressure he was expected to exert.

Zhu Yijun turned his head, regarding the cautious Yin Shidan. He could not help but smile. As expected of a former Grand Secretary, his mind was truly perceptive.

Since he had asked, there was no reason to hide it. He spoke bluntly. "Naturally, it must be adapted to local conditions. For Lianghuai salt, the prefectures of Yingtian and Fengyang each have their own situation—in geography, water transport, and the Hui merchants. Minister, you may grasp these matters as you see fit."

Beyond crude cartography, economic reorganization was an indispensable component of redrawing administrative boundaries.

Yin Shidan understood and bowed silently in acceptance.

Afterward, the sovereign and subject discussed matters such as the office's location, staffing quotas, and operating funds—relatively less important matters, yet necessary groundwork for mutual understanding.

With the proper business concluded, the atmosphere relaxed considerably. 

Speaking of Yin Shidan's time as lecturer to the late emperor, Zhu Yijun even proactively sought his teachings on the essentials of the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning and Governance from the Zhenguan Era. 

As warmth deepened, Yin Shidan composed a poem on the spot and presented it to the emperor, who praised it lavishly as a work that "embodied the refined elegance of Qi and Lu, held the stirring sorrow of Yan and Zhao, and possessed the graceful beauty of Wu and Yue."

It made Yin Shidan's old face bloom like a chrysanthemum. It was only regrettable that the emperor did not, as he had imagined, gift a poem in return—a small disappointment that suggested the previous poem had not been written by the emperor himself after all.

Just as the two were conversing pleasantly, Zhang Hong entered from the eastern side hall.

Yin Shidan, sharp-eyed, saw him with hands tucked in his sleeves and recognized the sign of urgent business. 

After Zhang Hong entered and stood directly at the emperor's side in silence, Yin immediately understood. He rose and took his leave. 

Zhu Yijun offered gentle words of encouragement and had Wei Chao, the Directorate of Ceremonial's Scribe Eunuch, escort him out.

Only after Yin Shidan had withdrawn did Zhu Yijun regard Zhang Hong, stretch, and rise. "Speak. What is it?"

The matter was not urgent, or Zhang Hong would have reported directly without waiting.

Barely had these words fallen when Zhang Hong respectfully knelt and withdrew a red-approved Memorial from his sleeve. "Your Majesty, it concerns the memorial previously sent to the Ministry of Rites. Their deliberation states, 'The ancestral laws cannot be lightly changed.' They implore Your Majesty to reconsider."

Nicely phrased, but a rejection all the same.

Zhu Yijun fell silent, did not take the memorial from Zhang Hong's hand, and fell into thought.

He naturally knew its contents. It concerned the matter previously discussed with the Grand Secretariat: lifting commercial prohibitions on the Imperial Clan, extending noble titles, and related reforms. 

These were all follow-ups to the Huguang affair, which could not end with mere punishment. 

The Imperial Clan members who had killed officials and commoners over the years were numerous. If the root cause was not addressed, countless more Zhang Chuchengs would emerge.

Consider the Chu Princedom alone. Historically, in the thirty-second year of Wanli (1604), Prince of Chu Zhu Yunjin had appropriated twenty thousand taels destined for the court. 

Governor of Huguang, Zhao Kehuai, immediately arrested thirty-two suspects. Subsequently, on the fifth day of the intercalary ninth month, over three thousand Imperial Clan members, bearing weapons, stormed the governor's yamen, stripped Vice Commissioner Zhou Yingzhi and Dou Zicheng, and beat them. They beat Governor Zhao Kehuai to death on the spot.

Even after government troops arrived, "they surrounded the Provincial Administration Commission, demanding to loot the treasury, rampaging through the city, and plundering at will." Such lawlessness revealed just how arrogant the Imperial Clan had become.

Therefore, the Zhang Chucheng affair was never merely about Zhang Chucheng alone, nor did the Huguang Imperial Clan problem involve only Huguang. More critically, it concerned halting the Imperial Clan's spawning of such aberrations. 

After the Imperial Commissioner had departed for Huguang, Zhu Yijun had already discussed Imperial Clan reform with Grand Secretariat members Zhang Juzheng, Gao Yi, and others, precisely because he understood that such reform would easily provoke sensitive nerves. He had gifted poems to the Senior and Associate Grand Secretaries to secure their support.

He had not anticipated being stalled by the Ministry of Rites.

Ancestral laws cannot be changed?

The Ministry of Rites and the Court of the Imperial Clan harbored many who voiced such objections. But more, he suspected, simply wished to oppose him. It seemed Zhang Siwei held strong opinions about him. Zhu Yijun could not help but smile.

He looked at Zhang Hong and suddenly asked something entirely unrelated. "Jiang Keqian returned yesterday, did he not?"

Zhang Hong lowered his eyes. "He returned to the capital last night."

Zhu Yijun was thoughtful. "He traveled by fast horse, so he naturally arrived quickly. If traveling by normal post stations, roughly when would the news reach the capital?"

Zhang Hong considered. "Shanxi is close, after all. The news should arrive in another two or three days."

Zhu Yijun said, "I see."

He took the memorial, glanced at it, and tossed it onto the imperial desk. 

He instructed Zhang Hong, "Go and tell the Grand Secretaries and my teacher. Say... tell them to convene a Court Conference and recommend Zhang Siwei for the Grand Secretariat. We will grant it this time."

Originally, the Ministry of Rites was not a critical position; letting Zhang Siwei remain there a while longer was acceptable. Unfortunately, now that they needed to move against the Imperial Clan, the Ministry of Rites's obstruction could not be tolerated.

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