Chapter 591: The Overwhelming Power of the Crown
A long queue snaked outside the fertilizer shop, as people eagerly purchased the miraculous fertilizer.
Right next to the fertilizer shop, a new establishment had opened, called the "Agricultural Technology Training School." Several "agricultural technology experts" from Gao Family Village were holding classes there, freely teaching the "scientific" methods of cultivation to the common folk.
The wages for these instructors were paid by Wu Shen.
Although Wu Shen's initial hundred thousand taels had been spent, he had unexpectedly come into money again in the past few days.
The money had come from the Prince of Qin's Residence.
The Prince of Qin's Residence had proactively declared its willingness to contribute fifty thousand taels for "disaster relief." Then, without another word, they swiftly delivered the fifty thousand taels of silver into Wu Shen's hands.
At this moment, Wu Shen and Shi Kefa were seated in the back courtyard of the fertilizer shop, sharing tea and conversation with Li Daoxuan.
Shi Kefa let out a long sigh. “The secret agents my subordinates sent to the capital suddenly fell ill with a strange sickness and died midway. No survivors remained, and the Prince of Qin’s Residence adamantly denied any involvement. The Emperor expressed great difficulty and ultimately could do nothing to them, merely issuing an edict, reprimanding them thoroughly. Alas... what a situation...”
Wu Shen took a delicate sip of tea, his expression quite peculiar. “The Prince of Qin’s Residence got a scolding, and then handed fifty thousand taels of silver to me.”
Wu Shen and Shi Kefa protested in unison. “You call this a good outcome?”
Li Daoxuan spread his hands. “Do you really think, esteemed sirs, that such a minor incident could topple the realm’s foremost princely fiefdom? Disbanding the fiefdom is out of the question. As for stripping their military authority, that’s also impossible; the Prince of Qin’s guard detachment was already reduced to five hundred men a century ago. How much more could they be reduced? Execute the Prince of Qin’s heir outside the Meridian Gate? Is it truly possible to punish an imperial relative over a bit of fertilizer? Put yourselves in the Emperor’s shoes for a moment. What could you possibly do to the Prince of Qin’s Residence?”
The two civil officials pondered this carefully. Indeed, he had a point. What else could the Emperor do to the Prince of Qin’s Residence? A thorough scolding and forcing them to hand over fifty thousand taels was already considered a severe punishment.
Considering these points, the vigor they had mustered earlier dissipated with a soft 'poof'.
Li Daoxuan added another cutting remark. “Those secret agents who suddenly died from a strange sickness? They were definitely silenced by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”
Shi Kefa bristled. “How is that possible? They are all Embroidered Uniform Guard members I personally selected, absolutely loyal to the Emperor. They couldn’t possibly be bribed by the Prince of Qin’s Residence.”
Li Daoxuan countered. “What if the Emperor himself ordered their deaths? If those men weren’t eliminated, the Prince of Qin’s affair would be unmanageable, and the civil officials would cause endless trouble. Better to kill them and be done with it.”
Shi Kefa’s entire body stiffened.
Li Daoxuan burst into laughter.
Shi Kefa said, utterly despondent, “How could this be? We put in so much effort, painstakingly...”
Li Daoxuan suddenly said, with a mocking tone, “This is the flaw of ‘supreme imperial authority’.”
His sudden attack on ‘supreme imperial authority’ was truly treasonous, instantly startling both civil officials.
Wu Shen’s first thought was: *Don’t let the Embroidered Uniform Guard hear this, or we’re finished.*
However, he immediately remembered that Shi Kefa, sitting right beside him, was an Embroidered Uniform Guard himself.
Damn it!
Wu Shen waited for Shi Kefa to explode.
But Shi Kefa didn’t explode. His expression was strange, a look on his face that suggested he wanted to flip the table but was forcing himself to listen further. “Mister Li,” he said, “I can’t pretend I didn’t hear that.”
Li Daoxuan chuckled, then swiftly shifted his tone. “The civil officials have too little power, and the Emperor’s power is too vast. This is not good. The Grand Secretariat officials should be given more say.”
This single sentence of his struck a chord with the civil officials.
Wu Shen was delighted. “Oh? I find those words extremely reasonable.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately felt he had gone too far and quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.
Shi Kefa was now in an awkward position. Although he belonged to the civil official faction, he was also part of the Embroidered Uniform Guard system. Li Daoxuan’s words resonated with Shi Kefa, but his identity as an Embroidered Uniform Guard made him want to explode. What was he to do?
If he himself felt the words were reasonable, how could he then explode?
Li Daoxuan saw Shi Kefa’s dilemma and chuckled inwardly.
In truth, during the late Ming Dynasty, capitalism was already budding, and there were even faint signs of constitutional monarchy emerging. At that time, the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries frequently opposed the Emperor, openly defying him. For instance, regarding the Prince of Qin’s succession, the Ministry of Rites dared to delay its approval indefinitely, and the Emperor was powerless against the Ministry of Rites, only able to issue edicts scolding them.
The civil officials were uniting, striving relentlessly to seize power from the Emperor!
This was, in essence, a prelude to constitutional monarchy, the inevitable path of institutional development.
It couldn’t be said that the civil officials possessed great foresight. Rather, their acts of seizing power for their own self-interest happened to align with the proper trajectory of governmental evolution.
Therefore, when Li Daoxuan brought up this topic, it easily resonated with the civil officials.
Li Daoxuan continued, “Minister Shi, my wife mentioned to you last time that advanced productivity requires advanced political systems to complement it. If the political system lags, it will hinder productivity. You remember that, don’t you?”
Shi Kefa felt a little awkward, not wanting to admit he remembered such treasonous words, but could only concede, “I remember.”
Li Daoxuan pressed on. “Now you see, the Emperor’s autocratic system is riddled with problems. Instead of one Emperor making all the decisions, it would be better for the officials of the Grand Secretariat and Six Ministries to step forward, each casting a vote, assisting the Emperor with ideas. As the saying goes, ‘Three cobblers with their wits combined are better than Zhuge Liang.’ The Six Ministries are like six cobblers; they could be worth two Zhuge Liangs.”
Both Wu Shen and Shi Kefa found this reasonable. But the conversation was delving deeper and deeper, and neither dared to speak up in support any longer. They could only entertain the thoughts in their minds.
Li Daoxuan was not in a hurry. Simply planting the seeds was enough.
He would let them ponder slowly.
He then shifted his tone again. “Now that the Prince of Qin’s Residence has yielded, they certainly won’t dare to cause trouble again for a while. We have a rare window of time when the political system won’t hinder productivity. Minister Wu, why don’t we seize this opportunity and take bigger strides?”
Wu Shen’s spirits lifted, pulling his thoughts back to the present. “Please, Mister Li, enlighten me.”
Li Daoxuan explained. “With the Prince of Qin’s Residence no longer interfering, I can establish fertilizer factories, new crop experimental fields, chicken farms, pig farms, and other such facilities all around Xi’an. Taking advantage of the heavens granting rain and the people’s lives stabilizing slightly, getting these operations up and running will increase grain yields and naturally save more disaster victims.”
Wu Shen was invigorated. “That approach is sound.”
Ultimately, the matter of political systems was too distant. Wu Shen’s immediate priority was still disaster relief. And now, with another fifty thousand taels of silver in hand, it might be better to follow Mister Li’s example and set up some new factories.
Wu Shen said, “Mister Li, however you wish to proceed with these endeavors, simply tell me; I will certainly assist in any way I can. Furthermore, I too would like to get involved and learn how you do it. Please, instruct me.”
Li Daoxuan smiled. “No problem at all! Minister Wu, you are welcome to learn from my factory-building experience.”
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