Chapter 68                                                             �

"The students really have no choice. Then they came to ask the teacher." Wanli said.

Zhou Mengchen said: "Don't you already have a solution? Otherwise, how did Zhang Siwei die?"

The Zhang Siwei case has been in Wanli for more than ten years.

It was also the battle to establish authority after Wanli ascended the throne.

In essence, it was that after Shanxi merchants had more money, others penetrated into other fields. Zhang Siwei not only wanted to seize the position of chief minister of Shen Shixing, but also wanted to distort the reforms of Zhou Mengchen and Zhang Juzheng.

Although many of Zhou Mengchen's reforms have lifted obstacles to the development of industry, there are considerable factors that limit capital in Zhou Mengchen or Zhang Juzheng's transformation.

For example, Zhou Mengchen's protection of the lowest level.

Although this restricted some feudal landlords from exploiting the lower-level people, it also restricted some emerging factory owners from exploiting the lower-level people. Although capital expansion is cruel, workers cannot be regarded as consumables for factory operations in the Ming Dynasty.

So, so on.

Especially the control over financial aspects, and the large amount of taxation.

It makes many businessmen uncomfortable.

Shanxi merchants stood in a good team and developed rapidly, becoming the first merchant gang. There were even spokespersons in the court. First, Yang Bo and later Zhang Siwei. The industries were spread all over the world, from Moscow to India to India in the south, and it seemed that there were Shanxi merchants' business in the eastern hemisphere. Even on the sea, they still had their own power.

The struggle between Wanli and Zhang Siwei is not only a struggle between the monarch and the ministers, but also a challenge to the existing order facing capitalists.

Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty was generally conservative. Zhou Mengchen's reforms were already very radical. Now the Ming Dynasty is now intimidating, and most people feel that there is no need to continue reforms.

Zhang Siwei failed.

So much so that the Puzhou clan was divided. Now the Shanxi merchants were different before. The core of the previous Shanxi merchants was the Puzhou clan, and the core of the Shanxi merchants is the Datong clan.

Emperor Wanli said: "This is one time and another. What we could do at the beginning may not be able to do now. The imperial court can use 10 to 20 million taels of money every year. However, there are no less than ten merchant groups with this strength in the Ming Dynasty. Because of overseas development, I don't know how many people have made a fortune. However, the imperial court has a huge financial black hole. There are even a few people who have tested the right to mint coins."

"I really don't know what to do in this situation?"

What made Wanli feel distressed was not a certain person, but a surging trend.

The people became richer and the court became less and less rich. Moreover, the emerging bourgeoisie had many places that overlapped with the original gentry. The Ming Dynasty began to fight south and north, and everything went wrong. But they all had to burn money.

The painful problem that Wanli felt was that if the population was not developed, the population would grow, especially when medicine was developing very rapidly, several children in each family had died prematurely. But now there are many fewer ones.

The population tide came unexpectedly.

Wanli did not expand externally and did not immigrate. It is likely that he would spend money on disaster relief and rebellion suppression. However, if he immigrated externally and did not control it, the Ming Dynasty's management of Nanyang would be out of control.

Now, many powerful forces have formed in Nanyang, but no matter what, Nanyang still has an imperial court.

If you ignore it at all, overseas territory is likely to become an independent kingdom.

But all this is done and it all requires money.

Wanli also admitted that overseas expansion brought benefits to the court, otherwise the Ming Dynasty would not have been as much as 200 million taels. However, in the face of huge expenses, these 200 million taels were not enough.

To maintain this investment, you must make money from other aspects.

Just like Zhou Mengchen did in the past, he was engaging in national debt.

But the situation is different.

Back then, Zhou Mengchen was involved in national debt, and Zhou Mengchen had the strength to rely on the debt at any time. But now Wanli is different. After Zhou Mengchen's tossing, the emperor's power was shrinking. At the same time, all aspects of the infiltration of the cabinet were increased.

Wanli could become overwhelmed by accident.

Moreover, with the financial surplus of the Ming Dynasty court, the money could not be paid at all. Because spending money would only become more and more satisfying, and the money could not be left at all.

This represents the loss of power in Wanli's hands.

The use of money is also a kind of power.

When Jiajing was there, Jiajing could turn against him and search the house and pay for his debts. Wanli seems to be strong now. However, Wanli reasonably used the system left by Zhou Mengchen. The power beyond the system was beyond the system, and Emperor Wanli did not have much in his hands.

Faced with this trend of weak country and strong people, Wanli felt powerless.

As a representative of imperial power, Wanli felt powerlessness in the face of the rise of the bourgeoisie. This is also the fact that Wanli is relatively capable and has seen this trend in advance.

Zhou Mengchen said, "Your Majesty thinks the world is the world of one person, or the world of the world of the world?"

Wanli couldn't figure out what Zhou Mengchen wanted to say for a moment? He pondered for a moment and said, "Of course, is the world of the world?"

Zhou Mengchen said: "The ancients said that if one person ruled the world, not the world would be worshipped by one person. Your Majesty thinks it is right or wrong?"

Wanli said: "It should be right."

This sentence is also considered one of the textbooks of emperors in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhou Mengchen said, "Your Majesty, now you are in the ninth level. Do you think you can control the world with one person?"

Emperor Wanli thought for a long time and said, "It cannot be cured."

Zhou Mengchen said: "This is also the original intention of the reform of the merits. The merits are the best in the world. Your Majesty does not seem to notice that if Your Majesty regards the world as his own business, then in the face of such a situation, you will only feel uncomfortable everywhere and even lose control of the court. Your Majesty regards the world as the people of the world, and the officials only guard this thing for the people of the world, so they will not have the idea of ​​today. Moreover, the national debt belongs to the cabinet. What does it have to do with Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty only needs to take the hearts of the people in the world as your heart. If you worry about the world before you worry about the world, then you will not fight with the people in the world."

Wanli was silent for a while and said, "Teacher, I still want me to rule the world."

Wanli knew very well what Zhou Mengchen said, wasn’t it just to give up power?

This is not the answer Wanli wants.

Zhou Mengchen said: "Your Majesty can think like this, but you can also think from another perspective, such as doing nothing but doing everything."

Wuwei refers to Wanli gradually fading out from the court, and doing everything, which is to enter the country in other aspects to maintain the influence of the royal family from more aspects.

Wanli was very disappointed.

As the emperor, Wanli was not as suspicious as Jiajing, but Emperor Wanli was also a power control. How could he let the power he had finally regained back?

The chief ministers used in Wanli in recent years, such as Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue, are all very obedient chief ministers. This is also the necessity of a strong monarch below. Generally speaking, if the monarch is strong, the prime ministers below are all three-order ministers.

Now that Wanli is allowed to delegate power, how can Wanli be willing?

So, after all, I don’t have any speculation.

Wanli left in a hurry.

Zhou Mengchen sent Wanli away and thought about it and attracted his three disciples.

These three disciples are also considered to be Zhou Mengchen's close disciples. One is named Guan Yingzhen. He is a native of Huguang. He is easy to learn, but Zhou Mengchen knew that most of his fondness for learning was disguised. His mind was above the court.

Zhou Mengchen naturally had no political cleanliness. He did not teach him because Guan Yingzhen was impure.

The other person is Xu Guangqi.

He is from Shanghai who came to Wuchang to study. He is particularly talented in science. Zhou Mengchen is worthy of being a famous figure in history. Zhou Mengchen feels that although Zhou Mengchen's disciples and his disciples have had many academic achievements over the years. However, in Zhou Mengchen's view, there are few pioneering ones. Only Xu Guangqi has seen hope.

In terms of science, Xu Guangqi is his disciple.

Xu Guangqi is also preparing to no longer take the imperial examination in the future, and at most he will enter the Academy of Sciences and concentrate on science throughout his life.

The Academy of Sciences is an advisory institution established by Wanli. At the beginning, it was a courtyard in the imperial city, but now it has gradually expanded and even shows signs of being on par with the Hanlin Academy. It is called the two hospitals of the world.

Experts from all walks of life all have names here.
Chapter completed!