When Yan Song and others arrived at the Yangxin Hall, they found that the emperor seemed to have expected their arrival and had prepared seats for them early.
"I bow to your Majesty, long live my emperor!"
Under the leadership of Yan Song, everyone bowed respectfully.
"Well, everyone, get up."
Jiajing was sitting on the dragon chair at the moment. When he saw the ministers coming in, he raised his eyebrows and said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After several people got up from the ground, Yan Song immediately said: "Your Majesty, I have lived up to my trust. The truth of this case has been found out!"
After Yan Song finished speaking, he bowed slightly to Jiajing and raised the memorial in his hand high above his head.
"Lu Fang, go get it for me."
Jiajing glanced at Lu Fang beside him and said this.
"Slave, I obey."
After Lu Fang finished speaking, she came to Yan Song and took the memorial.
Jiajing took the memorial from Lu Fang and did not open it in a hurry. Instead, he said to everyone: "What are you doing standing there? Sit down, everyone!"
"Your Majesty must have something to tell us again!"
When everyone saw this, they thought so in their hearts, and then sat down on the seats that had been prepared.
Just as everyone was sitting upright, not even daring to take a breath, Jiajing had already finished browsing the contents of the memorial, put it aside casually, and said slowly.
"Well, I already know the reason for this!"
"Right now, I want to ask you a question, how to prevent this kind of thing from happening?"
"After all, today you are a carpenter, and tomorrow you are a silversmith. In the end, what if all the 369,581 people on the list of craftsmen rise up to protest?"
Jiajing's voice was not loud, but in the eyes of everyone, it sounded like heartbreaking words.
"Your Majesty, I feel that this group of craftsmen must not be treated too favorably."
"It should be dealt with strictly and severely. It is best to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys! It also allows the remaining people to see the consequences of disobeying the imperial court!"
"If this group of people makes trouble and the court gives in without a bottom line, where is the majesty of the court?"
After hearing what Jiajing said, Xu Jie stood up immediately and said this.
"What a nonsense. There are 370,000 craftsmen registered in the capital!"
"It can be seen from the fact that the carpenters could not bear the oppression and started to resist. The contradictions have reached an irreconcilable level! If we continue to follow the previous policies, it will be equivalent to laying a curse on our Ming Dynasty."
"Xu Jie, what are your intentions?"
Jiajing turned his gaze to Xu Jie, and then said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, this is a humble minister who didn't think carefully. Please forgive me."
Xu Jie was frightened when he saw such a big hat as the emperor being pulled off, and he quickly appealed to Jiajing.
In fact, if possible, Xu Jie wouldn't want to stand up and get into trouble!
The reason why he had to stand up was, firstly, because of the group of people behind him. They did not want to see the emperor abolish the craftsmanship system. After all, they were among the handicraft workshops currently opened by the imperial court! If Your Majesty abolishes the craftsmanship system, where can you find so many skilled craftsmen who do not need to pay too much salary?
The second reason is because you cannot have the same voice every time. If things go on like this, it will give His Majesty the illusion that the entire cabinet is monolithic!
Therefore, sometimes someone must stand up and express different opinions to express his attitude to His Majesty.
Sure enough, Jiajing did not criticize Xu Jie too harshly, but immediately comforted him: "Speaking of which, what Mr. Xu Ge said just now is of some reference value."
"Thank you so much, Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the emperor gently revealed the matter, Xu Jie's eyes were full of gratitude, and he immediately thanked Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly. You are so keenly aware of the shortcomings of the craftsmanship system. You are truly far-sighted and wise!"
Yan Song stood up immediately and patted Jiajing on the back.
"Oh, since Mr. Yan Ge also realizes the disadvantages, why not tell me about it?"
After listening to Yan Song's words, Jiajing was in a good mood and couldn't help but want to take the exam and asked.
After listening to Jiajing's words, Yan Song became solemn and said slowly.
"Your Majesty, the current craftsmanship system has three drawbacks!"
"First of all, any craftsman who is registered as a craftsman will not be able to leave the registration for generations! And this completely cuts off their hopes. Not everyone is interested in craftsman skills. Currently, there are thirty-seven registered craftsmen. Thousands of names!”
"Among these 370,000 craftsmen, some are good at farming, some are good at reading, and some are good at business! In short, these people have their own strengths, but because they are registered as craftsmen, they cannot choose what they are interested in. Work leads to a huge waste of talents and is not conducive to the circulation of social classes. This is one of them!"
"The second is the imbalance between effort and reward! Not only do the entire family of these craftsmen, young and old, have to participate in production, but their income is meager and their status is low. They are not tolerated by other classes. If things go on like this, they will easily develop slackness and their work efficiency will be greatly reduced. reduce."
"The third is that because these craftsmen are registered as craftsmen, they are often oppressed by officials in the workshops. Over time, they will inevitably feel resentful and will become an extremely unstable factor! Once natural or man-made disasters strike, when these people When the craftsmen cannot survive, they will immediately rise up and start trouble.”
After Yan Song finished speaking, he heard a crisp sound of applause. Looking around, he saw Jiajing sitting on the dragon chair, applauding with a smile on his face.
"Well, what Mr. Yan Ge said is right, and I won my heart."
"Wei Chen doesn't dare. Wei Chen only came up with this based on the plan proposed by His Majesty earlier! Therefore, it should be attributed to Your Majesty."
Faced with Jiajing's praise, Yan Song smiled and then declined.
"Old Yan Ge, there is no need to be modest. What you just said has benefited me a lot!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he turned his eyes to Yan Song and said.
"What does your majesty mean by clapping just now? Does it mean to express praise?"
At this moment, others began to speculate as to what His Majesty's behavior meant.
"In that case, let's formally discuss the abolition of the craftsmanship system at the next cabinet meeting!"
Jiajing looked around and immediately announced his decision.
"Wei Chen obeys your orders!"
Seeing that Jiajing had made up his mind, everyone had no reason to object, and they immediately responded in unison.
"May I ask Your Majesty, how should the criminal in this case be dealt with?"
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng stood up and asked Jiajing.
"Only punish the head evildoer, never ask for threats!"
Jiajing turned his gaze to Zhang Juzheng and spoke word by word.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the emperor had given specific instructions, everyone immediately responded.
"Okay, let's just stay here for today, and we'll get ready when we go back!"
"In addition, the Maritime Trade Department cannot relax and must implement it as soon as possible."
After Jiajing finished speaking, he turned his attention to Gao Gong, Yan Shifan, and Zhang Juzheng, and warned them.
"We will definitely live up to His Majesty's trust!"
Upon seeing this, the three people quickly saluted Jiajing respectfully and responded in a deep voice.
…
Capital, Shuntianfu Yamen.
At this moment, Yin Ding Shichang of Shuntian Prefecture was enjoying tea leisurely.
In his opinion, although the main criminal Ren Shiwang has not been arrested yet, the facts of the case have been revealed! Once Ren Shiwang is caught, the whole case can be declared completely solved.
At this moment, the footsteps of the guard came from outside the house. As soon as he entered the door, he knelt on the ground and reported: "Reporting to Mr. Fu Yin, the main criminal Ren Shiwang has been arrested!"
Ding Shichang was overjoyed when he heard this. He quickly put down the tea cup in his hand and asked the guard.
"Oh, who caught him? I must reward him well!"
Seeing Ding Shichang asking questions, a hint of embarrassment appeared on the guard's face.
"That... that, Mr. Fu Yin, this Ren Shiwang was... was..."
Seeing the hesitant look on the guard's face, Ding Shichang's patience was exhausted and he couldn't help but increase his voice: "Who is it that caught Ren Shiwang?"
"Report to Mr. Fu Yin that they are a few beggars."
"What?"
(End of chapter)
