When Zhu Yijun began to take charge, he did not pay enough attention to the management of the canal. After all, he is not an economist and has never studied the history of the canal before. Therefore, he does not have a high level of understanding of the status of the canal in imperial governance as Zhang Juzheng, Wang Guangguang and others.
In the third year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun's understanding of the canal finally equaled that of Zhang Juzheng. The main reason is that Zhang Juzheng and other cabinet ministers have attached great importance to canal management in the past two years. Whenever there is a general memorial, Zhang Juzheng will analyze the pros and cons at length and often ask for it, which subtly changed Zhu Yijun's mind.
Zhang Juzheng pointed out to Zhu Yijun many times that because the capital was the core of the empire, with a dense military and civilian population, the output of the North China Plain was not enough to support the empire, so the rice transported south of the Yangtze River became the lifeblood of the empire.
One day, when Zhang Juzheng asked for instructions on canal transportation again, he described the importance of canal grain to Zhu Yijun and said: "If you don't have it for one day, you will be hungry; if you don't have it for three days, you will not know what your fate is." This sentence deeply frightened Zhu Yijun.
People of later generations lived in an era of extremely abundant materials and lacked perceptual understanding of the shortage of materials. After Zhu Yijun traveled to the emperor, some inconvenient aspects in life, including some enjoyment for future generations, were ordered to be solved one by one by Zhang Hong, Zhang Jing and others.
Zhu Yijun has high requirements for the quality of life, such as the development and use of bathroom facilities and daily necessities, which have gradually spread from the palace to the outside world in the past two years. Except for the temporary helplessness of household appliances Zhu Yijun, the rest of the enjoyment is not much different from that of later generations.
Because of this and traveling back to the emperor, Zhu Yijun didn't know much about the living conditions of the people.
The information and silver medals from various places describe the plight of the people, and the words are highly summarized, such as "there are more than 10,000 people floating in the house" or "a great famine, and the ground is full of hungry people", without detailed descriptions. Zhu Yijun read these memorials as if he were reading historical documents, and had no personal experience.
But Zhang Juzheng's fearful eyes and serious expression when he told him that "if you can't live without it for three days, you won't know what your destiny is." Zhu Yijun suddenly realized that even though he had lived in this world for two years, he and the world had always been inseparable. Alienated.
This feeling was absurd, but also very real, like a dagger slicing through the soft membrane that had been covering Zhu Yijun's body since he traveled through time, making him feel a flesh-and-blood connection with the world for the first time.
This feeling became clearer and clearer after that day, reflected in his daily contact with the two palaces, his younger brother, his sister and other family members, as well as in every detail of his life with Sun Qian, Wei Chao and others. Assimilate and empathize with him more and more, making him more sympathetic and resonant with the Ming Dynasty in this time and space.
At this time, Zhu Yijun looked back at his policies over the past two years, and many of his shortcomings emerged one by one.
Zhu Yijun reflected on himself. In the past two years, he had been talking about being close to the people, but his flesh-and-blood ties with the people had long been severed. The little "party spirit" in him had long been riddled with holes.
I also reflected on myself that in the past two years, I have treated political affairs as if I were playing a game, manipulating the world at will, but ignoring that every order I make affects the life and death of millions of people. ——If we go back to two years ago, many things will be handled much better.
Comparing this state of mind with when he was intoxicated by power when he first traveled to Tian Jingyan, Zhu Yijun felt that he had advanced. His sense of identification with the emperor is getting stronger and stronger, and his understanding of the mission and responsibility he shoulders is getting deeper and deeper.
Looking at water transport with this mentality, Zhu Yijun finally realized that every change in this grand canal is related to the lives of millions of people on both sides of the canal.
If conflicts cannot be properly handled and resolved, and reforms are carried out as haphazardly as the reform of the salt policy, countless people will have their families broken up and their families dead. Therefore, he very carefully used his magic weapon first: investigation and research.
With the feedback from each research report, in June of the third year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun finally constructed the overall impression of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal.
The relationship between the main canal and the central and local governments, the class distribution above and below the canal, the structure of the people who depend on it, the organic connection between the canal and major water systems, and the shortcomings of the current water transportation system of the imperial court are all detailed. sketched out, and ultimately allowed him, an emperor like no other, to find the answer to the problem.
Once you have a foundation in mind, the next step is to unify your thoughts. While Zhu Yijun was making plans, Wang Zongmu, who had suffered repeated defeats, once again suggested to the court in mid-August that he wanted to conduct a sea canal.
This suddenly stirred up a hornet's nest. With the storm of bullets, Wang Zongmu's position as commander-in-chief began to shake. Zhu Yijun continued to show off on various occasions, even in the drizzle, to protect Wang Zongmu. At the same time, an order was issued to the Ministry of Revenue to put forward opinions on the further conduct of the sea canal.
On August 30, the Ministry of Revenue sent the memorial to the Sixth Section for filing and then reported it to the cabinet. The Attendant's Office listed it as a chapter for Zhu Yijun to read in detail. Zhu Yijun saw that the content was:
"First of all, the minister described the achievements of sea transportation. I said that the benefit of all times lies in the river, and there is an urgent need to use the sea. Now the minister proposes to increase the sea transportation by 240,000 stones. I think that the sea route is unpredictable, but if you are familiar with this road, In order to prepare for emergencies, there is no need to impose additional levies. In the past, Zhang Huan and others agreed to be equal to the ministers in the matter, and said that in the sixth year of Longqing's reign, no grain and stone were washed away, so the minister issued silver to buy supplements. The ministers did not realize that Zong Mu was so wise, but he made it happen. "
"However, it was difficult to find out what happened because of the rumors. At that time, I thought that the brave minister who had done the first thing could be forgiven to see the consequences. However, in the first year of Wanli, seven ships were lost and fifteen people died. I thought that food could be replaced. And human life cannot be repaired."
"I have examined the sea canals of the Yuan Dynasty, and found that three out of ten would have drifted without encountering wind and waves. It can be seen that one of the faults of sea transport is that sea transport must use ships with thousands of materials, and they can be driven by hundreds of people per ship, and transport meters and thousands of stones. If we calculate the river canals, then the sea canal One canal can carry ten river boats, and there are fewer soldiers to transport without risk of capsizing. This sea transport is not as good as two river canals."
"If it is like the Yuan Dynasty's maritime transport, we must set up lookouts and prepare defensive troops to prevent plundering. If river canals are used, thieves will not dare to peek. This river canal is the third most advantageous."
"My ministers and others have agreed that shipping by sea will only begin in the third year of Wanli, with a limit of 120,000 stones, in case of emergency use of the sea. Fu Qi Sheng Jue."
After Zhu Yijun read the memorial, he felt very unhappy and commented: "When I read the memorials, I only talked about the disadvantages of sea transportation and did not talk about its advantages; I talked about the advantages of rivers and canals but did not talk about the disadvantages. There are such advantages in the world. Is there no harm, or is it all harm and no benefit? I have repeatedly said this in the outline of "seeking truth", but you and other memorials have not seen this at all, presupposing a position, and it is difficult to correct their intentions."
"In the sixth year of Longqing's reign, I heard about it. Because the emperor's examination was very popular, the court had no conclusion - how can we say that Wang Zongmu was 'self-defeating'? The speech of Erbu was hypocritical, not solemn and lost the integrity of the minister. .”
After scolding the Ministry of Household Affairs, Zhu Yijun wrote again: "When the cabinet ministers saw this memorial, they did not ask for a detailed explanation, but responded with 'asking for the Holy Judge'. Is this the meaning of 'seeking truth'?"
"The cabinet is ordered to instruct the Ministry of Household Affairs to conduct serious research and review the report in detail. If there are any more arguments that cannot seek truth from facts, and those who make false claims about advantages and disadvantages without verifying the facts, we will rebuke them!"
Because Zhang Juzheng was coordinating water conservancy and other major political affairs, he left all household affairs to Zhang Siwei. He did not read this memorial at all. When the Chief of Ceremonies approved the emperor's red hair, Zhang Juzheng became furious after reading it.
Calling Zhang Siwei to his office, Zhang Juzheng scolded him loudly for a quarter of an hour and almost threw the memorial on Zhang Siwei's face. Zhang Siwei didn't dare to contradict him and lowered his head to listen to the instruction.
Zhang Juzheng got angry and felt that he had gone too far. He softened his tone and said to Zhang Siwei: "Fengpan, you have been in the cabinet for several months, and you still haven't figured out the emperor's temper? The emperor only governs government with the words "real things" and "seeking truth." He has repeatedly emphasized this in many meetings. You don’t even understand?”
"If the Ministry of Finance can act out of public motives, it will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of sea-cao canals and compare them with river-cao canals. Since the second half of the second year of Wanli, the memorials of various ministries have not been able to compare the pros and cons and provide detailed support. I dare to present this chapter. How can I be so confused about this matter?"
"I'm still deceiving you because of your lack of experience and using big words to deceive Sheng Cong. With the emperor's wisdom, how can you be fooled by these bastards? From now on, remember the four words 'seeking truth from facts'. If you can't act with this intention and prudence, you will be scolded!" "
Zhang Siwei only said yes and said with a wry smile: "Yuanfu, I was wrong about this matter. Jia Sanjin and others also discussed Haicao in this chapter, and their words were very spicy. I didn't dare to report it, for fear of angering the emperor. Nowadays, none of the ministers say that Hai Cao is good, and the memorial to the Ministry of Household Affairs is fair——"
Zhang Juzheng felt a little angry after hearing this. He criticized in a low voice: "How can we, ministers, block the way of speech? Every memorial cannot be withheld! If there is anything wrong, it is better to submit it again than to keep it in your hands like this." "
Zhang Siwei asked Zhang Juzheng to wait, then went back to his room and took out the memorial. When he came back, he handed it to Zhang Juzheng and said, "I am planning to talk to Jia Sanjin. Yuan Fu should take a look first."
Zhang Juzheng read Jia San's recent memorial, which first said that sea transportation was not feasible, and then came Zhang Siwei's spicy words:
"Your Majesty has sent Wang Zongmu's memorial to the Ministry of Households for discussion, and may have the intention of restoring the sea to the canal. I believe that there are barbaric roads in the world, so I will take Jiuzhiban; people have ginseng and ginger to maintain their health, so why order Wu to attach them just in case? ? A wise man will not take this, and a fool will laugh. I beg for careful consideration, stop the sea transportation, and put all the grain into the river transportation." [Note 1]
When Zhang Juzheng saw what he said in the memorial, he was indeed very disrespectful to the emperor. The last sentence is almost an order to the emperor, and the analogy in it is also vaguely mocking.
He sneered a few times in his heart, his eyes turned cold, and he said to Zhang Siwei: "If you give a memorial to the matter, the cabinet cannot suppress it. You and I will blame it, and then we will report it."
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