Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but glance at Liu Huaiwen and snorted, "Uncle Huaiwen, they owe our Great Ming money, it's true, but our Great Ming isn't some miserly landlord who claws back every debt. Even if we can't send charcoal in the snow, we certainly shouldn't pull the rug out from under them at this critical juncture."
Liu Huaiwen thought to himself, "Is he trying to fool ghosts? When it comes to thoroughly ruining the barbarians of Europa, where could I, Liu, possibly compare to His Majesty?"
Of course, Zhu Jinsong was the Emperor of the Great Ming, and courtesy had to be shown. So Liu Huaiwen merely chuckled awkwardly and said shamelessly, "Your subject was only thinking that the national treasury has little surplus... so..."
Zhu Jinsong waved his hand and said, "Europa is already at war. If we go demanding debts at this juncture, aren't we pushing them to their deaths? Let them owe it for now. We'll talk about it after the fighting is over."
Hearing Zhu Jinsong's words, Liu Huaiwen and Zeng Cheng, along with other senior officials, couldn't help but want to complain a bit. Why were they fighting in Europa? Why couldn't it end quickly?
With their current method of paying back debt while borrowing more, the accumulated interest might eventually mean they'd have to sell all of Europa to repay it! Especially the interest. After calculations by the doctors and vice-ministers from the Ministry of Revenue, who seemed to be reaching out from their coffins, the monthly interest didn't seem like much, and the overall interest didn't appear to be too large. However, when it came time to repay, that interest was truly deadly. Under such circumstances, how could Emperor Zhu keep saying they shouldn't be pushed to their deaths?
Hmph, pfft!
Zhu Jinsong, of course, had no idea that Zeng Cheng, Liu Huaiwen, and Zhu Erdan were all privately criticizing him, the Emperor of the Great Ming. But even if he knew, Zhu Jinsong likely wouldn't have cared. For someone like Zhu Erdan, a beating would suffice. As for Zeng Cheng and Liu Huaiwen, beating them was out of the question. Given their diligent efforts for the Great Ming's empire, sending a few Japanese women to be concubines in their households would be acceptable. Then there would be ample opportunity to witness a drama titled "The Roar of the Lioness of Hedong."
Tapping his fingers on the table, Zhu Jinsong continued, "Besides those barbarians in Europa, our Great Ming should also find ways to become stronger. Otherwise, how can we cope with such a change?"
Upon hearing Zhu Jinsong speak, Zeng Cheng and Liu Huaiwen, along with other senior officials, instinctively reached up to touch their heads. Of course, Zeng Cheng and Liu Huaiwen and the other senior officials didn't have doubts like "Is my head still on?" but simply felt heartache for their hair. Everyone hoped the Great Ming could become stronger and understood that this was an unprecedented transformation in a thousand years, where a single misstep could lead to great chaos. But wasn't the fundamental problem how to become stronger? Furthermore, Emperor Zhu Jinsong was particularly restless...
Let's count. Ever since His Majesty occupied Liangshan, he had been preoccupied with things like literacy campaigns, social schools, and farmers' associations. The result of all this commotion was that the common people of the Great Ming were becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
Back when the Great Qing was still in power, whatever the court said was law, whatever the government said was law, whatever the officials said was law, and whatever the local gentry and scholars said was law. Where did the common folk have any say? Now, it was a different story. Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming could still do as he pleased, and the decrees issued by the court were easily implemented. However, it was becoming very difficult for local officials. If they wanted to embezzle some silver, not only did they have to be wary of the imperial censors, the supervisory censors, and the hunting dogs of the Brocade-clad Guard, but they also had to be careful of the farmers' associations and the ordinary dirt-poor commoners. Besides not being able to openly embezzle silver like in the Great Qing era, it was no longer as convenient to oppress and deceive the commoners. Trying to deceive literate commoners who knew some of the Great Ming laws was a thousand times more difficult than deceiving someone who couldn't recognize the character "一" even if a pole fell down. It was simply disastrous! Except for the Hongwu era, in which dynasty or generation were officials as stifled as they were now? Of course, it was stifling, but it was still unlikely to resign. At most, they would endure it, endure it again, and endure it until it passed.
Besides these matters, things like the steam engines and roads that His Majesty was promoting were even more troublesome. Whether it was building railways for steam engines to run on or constructing roads paved with asphalt, they couldn't be completed by the Ministry of Works simply drawing lines on paper. It wasn't just a matter of having enough materials and labor; it also involved planning and demolition issues. While land issues were relatively easy to handle, as the land belonged to the Great Ming court and was merely allocated to the people for cultivation, requisitioning it only required exchange, and no compensation was even needed.
However, what if it involved the houses where people lived or their ancestral graves? For the common people of the Great Ming, it wasn't too much of an issue if their houses were occupied, as long as the court was willing to arrange new housing for them. But if their ancestral graves were occupied, especially their ancestral graves, then the nature of the matter was entirely different.
Let's take the treasure notes, for example. Since their issuance in the Hongwu era, the treasure notes had been continuously devalued, becoming worse than waste paper. In the current Great Ming court, however, treasure notes were an absolute treasure because not only were the common people of the Great Ming using them, but even the barbarians of Europa or other maritime merchants liked to use the Great Ming's treasure notes.
Perhaps some might say, "What's so special about treasure notes? They're just paper, and the Great Ming court can print as much as it wants." In fact, it's not that simple. Although His Majesty the Emperor repeatedly said that even if carpenters were to study economics, it wouldn't affect the development of the Great Ming, everyone knew that this was His Majesty the Emperor's habitual grumbling. If carpenters were truly responsible for the printing and issuance of treasure notes, it would be a miracle if the entire economy of the Great Ming didn't collapse.
For instance, should the amount of treasure notes printed by the Great Ming be based on the gold and silver reserves in the national treasury, or should it be calculated based on the current Gross Domestic Product of the Great Ming? If fewer notes were printed, it would lead to a situation where money was valuable and goods were cheap. If more notes were printed, it would cause a situation where goods were expensive and money was cheap. While money being valuable and goods being cheap was also deadly, what about goods being expensive and money being cheap? Once caught in such a vicious cycle, it would inevitably lead to an overall economic collapse, and the treasure notes would once again slide in the direction of waste paper. Not to mention all the other messy affairs like recruiting laborers, relocating people to the frontiers, reforming the imperial court, and trying to swindle Europa to death.
In essence, the Great Ming now resembled a heavy cart going uphill. It's said that a heavy cart going downhill cannot be stopped, but a heavy cart going uphill is also a perilous matter. A slight mistake could lead to the destruction of the vehicle and the death of its occupants. The immense pressure had already caused a great crisis for the hairlines of Zeng Cheng and other senior officials. There was even a saying in the Great Ming court: "Seven Grand Secretaries, six bald, one about to be bald." There was also a folk joke: "If you dress one hundred officials in identical clothes, style them identically, and cover their faces, the only way to distinguish their rank is by looking at their hair. Those with more hair are definitely new recruits to the officialdom. Those who have reached the third rank and above generally have very little hair left." Although these random jokes didn't represent the actual situation, the messy affairs in the Great Ming court were indeed causing Zeng Cheng and the other senior officials to lose hair from worry. Now this person said they needed to strengthen the Great Ming's own power, otherwise they might not be able to cope with the changes?
Zeng Cheng really wanted to ask the person sitting on the dragon throne, "How did this change come about? If you hadn't been messing around so desperately, would our Great Ming be facing this change?"
Just as Zeng Cheng was privately complaining and musing, Zhu Jinsong continued, "Regarding Tianzhu, Toujou Kojiro from Wa Country has done a decent job, but looking at his current activities in Tianzhu, we must also be slightly wary."
When Zhu Jinsong said this, Zhu Erdan immediately asked curiously, "Toujou Kojiro? Your brother is dull-witted and cannot understand why there is any need to be wary of this Wa barbarian?"
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "When used well, the Wa barbarians are loyal hounds. But if you loosen the leash, these dog servants might turn around and bite their master."
"Now that our Great Ming's national strength is formidable, and we have garrisons in Wa Country, those short and squat people naturally dare not have any other thoughts."
"But you must understand, those short and squat people were born in Wa Country and grew up in Wa Country. They have known from childhood that Wa Country has barren land and frequent earthquakes. They dream of obtaining a stable continent. Coincidentally, Tianzhu is thousands of miles away, and the Great Ming's garrisons in Tianzhu are not numerous. Do you dare guarantee that those short and squat people won't be tempted?"
Zhu Erdan said dismissively, "Your Imperial Brother worries too much. They are just some short and squat people. Even if they are tempted, what can they do? With just the Front Guard Commandery that I control, it is enough to destroy their Wa Country ten times over."
Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but glare at Zhu Erdan and reprimand him, "Are you asking for a beating again!"
"Think back to when we raised the rebellion in Ningyang County. Was Jianyi's strength formidable, or was ours? If we could simply rely on our national strength being stronger than Wa Country to confidently let Wa Country do as it pleased, you are simply courting death!"
Zhu Erdan was scolded into silence, but he couldn't help but mumble softly, "We were able to succeed in the rebellion because of you. Could Wa Country also produce someone like you?"
Zhu Jinsong was so angered by Zhu Erdan that he laughed, "Even if there won't be a second 'Me' appearing in Wa Country, do you dare guarantee that Wa Country won't cause trouble for the Great Ming in Tianzhu?"
"With your pig brain, I don't know if enfeoffing you as a vassal king was the right decision, and I even doubt if you can hold onto the empire and its altars of the soil."
"Remember this clearly: you are a Prince of the Great Ming, and in the future, you will be a vassal king with a fiefdom. It is right for you to treat the Great Ming citizens under your jurisdiction well, but besides the Great Ming citizens, you must be vigilant, especially towards those barbarians."
"As the ancient sages have said many times, those who are not of our kind will have different hearts. Why don't you remember!"
Zhu Erdan dared not retort. After a long while, he said with a blushing face, "Yes, Your Imperial Brother, your brother knows his mistake."
Zhu Jinsong then snorted and continued, "Those short and squat people are very well-behaved now, but that doesn't mean they will always be so well-behaved. Otherwise, after the Battle of Baekgang in the Great Tang era, where would our Great Ming get Japanese pirates from?"
"You must remember, raising a dog is like this: you have to feed it, but you can't let it eat too much, and you can't casually loosen the leash."
"If you let the dog eat too much, it won't diligently hunt for you. If you casually loosen the leash, and it gets used to a life without a leash, and then you try to put it back on, you might be bitten in return."
Speaking of this, Zhu Jinsong turned to Zhu Sanshun and said, "And you, Third Brother, you must also remember this. You can show kindness, but you must never show too much kindness. Remember the story of 'a liter of rice is kindness, a dou of rice is enmity.'"
Zhu Sanshun nodded in agreement, "Yes, Imperial Brother, your brother remembers."
After speaking, Zhu Sanshun turned to Zhu Erdan and said, "Second Brother, you must also remember that Imperial Brother is doing all this for the good of both of us."
Zhu Erdan said with a blushing face, "Mmm, I remember."
However, despite their words, Zhu Erdan and Zhu Sanshun, as well as Zeng Cheng and Liu Huaiwen and the other senior officials, couldn't help but privately mutter in their hearts.
When it came to showing too much kindness, in fact, throughout history, it was precisely Your Majesty who showed the most and the most excessive kindness, and to put it bluntly, it was almost doting on the common people.
That's right, doting. Qianlong, that old dog, once issued an imperial edict when handling the Xiayi flood case: "The prefectures and counties are the parents of the people. If the children accuse their parents, how can I, Zhen, listen to one side and encourage a climate of defiance? For example, even though a grandfather loves his grandson, he will not allow him to defy his parents by relying on favor. Such vulgar customs must never be prolonged!"
But in contrast, Your Majesty, with all the policies and strategies you implement, which one isn't for the benefit of the common people? Zeng Cheng and the other senior officials even worried that Zhu Jinsong's excessive favoritism towards the common people might lead to them becoming "spoiled and arrogant" in the future.
For instance, the royal family's gossip is the most popular among the people. If it were other emperors' gossip, it wouldn't be a big deal, but Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming is also full of rumors, which is a bit too much, isn't it? What's even more infuriating is that there are even rumors circulating among the people now that Zhu Jinsong is not a descendant of the Great Ming royal family at all, and his true identity is just an ordinary dirt-poor commoner from Ningyang County, Yan Prefecture, Shandong. The reason he falsely claimed to be a descendant of the Great Ming royal family was merely to borrow the identity of a royal descendant to raise an army. There are even some rumors that Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming has killed too much, thus violating the will of heaven. In short, all sorts of messy rumors are flying everywhere.