Chapter 942
Chapter 942
On the first day of the sixth month of the first year of the Jingtai reign, government offices throughout the Ming Dynasty successively received imperial edicts.
The inventions are for the benefit of the people, and are convenient for them and beneficial to the economy. Now, the National Preceptor, in order to benefit all people and promote the advancement of inventions, has set aside 100,000 taels of silver. Whether they are Chinese, foreigners, scholars, farmers, merchants, craftsmen, or slaves, anyone who has an invention can report it to the local invention workshops, county governments, and circuit offices. As long as the invention is verified as valid, the minimum reward will be 20 taels of silver, and the maximum will be 100 taels of silver.
The imperial edict also cited examples, such as waterwheels, which have existed since ancient times, but Hu Wei of the Ministry of Works was able to use wind power and water power to make waterwheels, and was awarded twenty taels of silver for each of them, for a total of forty taels.
Another example is an old farmer in the imperial estate who received a reward of twenty taels of silver for modifying a piece of wood on his plow, which allowed him to plow the land two inches deeper.
Anyone who makes a similar invention and passes the verification will receive a reward.
The imperial edict was copied and posted on the notice boards of various government offices. Along with the edict, a sentence from the Imperial Preceptor was also sent to the local areas.
“In cultivating merit, I must be most careful not to break my promises. Therefore, if anyone ruins my merit, I will curse them for life.”
Upon receiving this message, the provincial governor, prefect, and county magistrate silently copied the imperial edict word for word and posted it on the notice board. Some, in an effort to curry favor with Pan Yun, even covered the walls on both sides of the city gate with it and summoned the village heads to publicize it extensively.
She added, "This is different from before. This is the National Preceptor paying out of her own pocket. She wants to accumulate merit and will keep her promise."
So there's no need to worry about not getting a reward after giving the items.
Pan Yun was already renowned among the common people, especially in the Jiangnan region. After the northern expedition last year, she was revered as a deity in the army and in the north. After becoming the national advisor, her reputation soared even higher. Now, people may not believe the promises of the emperor and the court, but they certainly believe in Pan Yun.
Pan Yun seemed unafraid of being too powerful and overshadowing the emperor. This time, he took full charge of the matter and used the imperial court's channels to publicize it in a grand manner.
The cabinet allowed this because Pan Yun said, "If science and technology rise, industry will surely prosper. In addition, with the gradual development of maritime trade, commerce across the world can flourish. However, our Great Ming is facing a severe shortage of silver, and copper coins are not conducive to transportation. Paper money is the only way forward. But after the incident with paper money, the royal family and the court have lost all credibility in the financial world. Paper money absolutely cannot be completely controlled by private banks. Therefore, to develop the court's paper money, we must improve its credibility."
Yu Qian and she had known each other for a long time. They had discussed this topic when they were doing disaster relief in Jiangxi. He had a sudden thought and said, "After the matter is accomplished, you should give the credit to the imperial court?"
“If we hand it over to the court, how many will truly believe it?” Pan Yun asked Zhu Qiyu.
The cabinet ministers looked over, their eyes flashing with a gleam in them: "That is one way, but doing this alone is not enough."
“Indeed not enough,” Pan Yun said. “He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. The rest of the measures to win the hearts of the people are the business of you gentlemen. I only love things and am only good at things.”
“To win the hearts of the people, it is necessary to rectify officialdom and fight against corruption,” Yu Qian said in a deep voice. “What the people want is nothing more than fairness.”
The ministers responded enthusiastically, and Zhu Qiyu made the final decision, so everyone got to work.
Sure enough, because of Pan Yun's reputation, as soon as the announcement was made, everyone began to rack their brains to think of what inventions they could be proud of.
And this is not the only announcement that followed.
Soon, new imperial edicts were issued to various places.
Starting from the first day of the sixth month of the first year of the Jingtai reign, the imperial court would no longer add new artisans to the register. Therefore, although scholars, merchants, and commoners made inventions, they would not be registered as artisans.
The old craft registers remain unchanged.
The imperial edict also strictly stipulated that at least 50% of the profits earned by slaves after inventing objects belonged to them, and their masters were not allowed to forcibly seize their profits.
After the imperial edict was issued, even more people from all over the country presented their inventions, and the county government office was bustling like a vegetable market every day.
In most places, there were no workshops to make the tools, so the county government's workshops and officials had to work together to determine the tools. For this reason, the county governments in various places also invited Taoist priests and some craftsmen to serve as judges.
They actually managed to filter out quite a few things.
By the time Pan Yun helped Sun Yuanzhen find a suitable location to build a port in Ningbo, and together with the painter he had invited, they had completed the port construction plan, 168 inventions had already been reported to the Ministry of Works. Even at the lowest reward of 20 taels, that would still amount to more than 3,000 taels.
The account, which claimed to hold 100,000 taels of silver, actually only held 10,000 taels.
Pan Yun was extremely anxious. After confirming that there were no problems with the port construction plans, she was going to leave that very night.
Sun Yuanzhen quickly stopped her: "Grand Preceptor, what is the matter that you are in such a hurry? I have prepared a banquet at my private residence and invited Master Yu to celebrate our victory tonight."
Master Yu was the one who drew the pictures with Pan Yun. He was best at meticulous brushwork painting, and a painting could sell for a hundred taels of silver. But in fact, his greatest skill was architecture.
Many garden designs in Jiangnan were created by him.
Those who work in construction are basically half-Taoists; their knowledge of Feng Shui is top-notch. Pan Yun gets along particularly well with them.
His senior fellow apprentice was Kuai Xiang, who is currently the principal of the Ministry of Works. He participated in the design and construction of Chengtianmen, which later became Tiananmen, as well as the three main halls of the Forbidden City.
They studied under the same teacher, Cai Sicheng from Changshu.
If she weren't short of money, she would be happy to spend more time with this new friend, but she is short of money right now.
Her credibility was crumbling, and she absolutely could not allow her boast to collapse so quickly, so she refused: "I have something to do. Please invite me again when I return, Lord Sun."
Sun Yuanzhen: "Your Excellency, the Imperial Preceptor, are very busy. Once you leave, who knows when you will return? I would be grateful if Your Excellency would grant me the opportunity to host a banquet for you."
Pan Jun looked conflicted, and finally frowned and said, "Why don't you just pay for my meal and consider it as if I've already eaten it?"
Sun Yuanzhen paused for a moment, then remembered the rumors from the capital. He burst into laughter, waved to his advisors, and said with a loud laugh, "The Grand Preceptor has been working tirelessly for Zhejiang, and has been working hard to select a seaport. He has truly worked hard."
An aide brought over a tray.
Sun Yuanzhen slightly lifted a corner, revealing gleaming gold bars inside.
He pushed it in front of Pan Yun and said with a smile, "It's just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it, Grand Preceptor."
Pan Yun raised an eyebrow and accepted it without hesitation.
Seeing that she accepted the gift, Sun Yuanzhen breathed a sigh of relief and stopped insisting that she stay for dinner, personally escorting her to the door.
Pan Yun turned around and flew to Hangzhou, handing the plate of gold to the people of the Hangzhou Artifacts Shop: "Send two-thirds of it to the Ministry of Works in Nanjing and tell them that some small inventions that do not need to be repeatedly considered and can be redeemed on the spot should be redeemed on the spot."
The people in the Hangzhou artifacts market were all Taoist priests, and they were all senior brothers and sisters from the Longhu Mountain Academy.
When they saw Pan Yun take out so much gold without batting an eye, they couldn't help but gasp: "Grand Preceptor, you're so rich!"
Taoist priests can be truly evasive when they need to be, and truly straightforward when they need to be. He asked directly, "Could you please reveal the National Preceptor's methods for making money? We are also eager to escape poverty."
Pan Yun said calmly, "Go to foreign lands and find unclaimed gold and silver mines to dig up."
Everyone:...
Pan Yun looked at them encouragingly and said, "There are many opportunities overseas. Keep up the good work, senior brothers and sisters. Once you break through to the first Marquis level and can fly on objects, even if you can't find any unclaimed gold or silver mines, you can still legally make a lot of money."
One of the senior disciples said thoughtfully, "What if it's not legal?" Pan Yun replied, "I heard that the Daoist Registry is strengthening its management of monks and Taoists throughout the land. Because of me, many Taoists have recently come out to do things, and many monks and nuns have also come out of the mountains. There are even some reclusive people. In order to prevent these people from fighting and hurting the people, or from harming the people for money, the Daoist Registry is discussing ways to strengthen management with the Celestial Master's Mansion, the Seng Registry, and the Huguo Temple."
Pan Yun bared her teeth at them: "You go ahead, but if anything is assigned to me, I won't hold back."
The other party shivered and said righteously, "I am an outstanding graduate of Longhu Mountain Academy. How can I sacrifice righteousness for petty gains? Grand Preceptor, rest assured, not only will I not do such a thing, but I will also keep a close eye on my junior brothers and sisters and never allow such a thing to happen to those around me."
Pan Jun nodded in satisfaction, patted his shoulder encouragingly, and said, "I knew I hadn't misjudged you, Senior Brother. I'll leave this to you. You must strictly review all the items that are submitted, and don't let a single one slip by, but you also absolutely cannot give out rewards indiscriminately."
Li Xiangdao said sadly, "I know that the Imperial Advisor's money didn't come from thin air."
Pan Yun's money certainly didn't come from thin air, but rather from a typhoon.
The Imperial Astronomical Observatory predicts that a typhoon may make landfall in Zhejiang and southern Zhili provinces starting June 21.
Pan Yun observed the celestial phenomena at night and, after calculating for a long time, circled two areas, one of which was Ningbo.
Because the Jiangnan region was hit by strong winds last year, Sun Yuanzhen began preparations well in advance this year after receiving the news.
Pan Yun was in a hurry to leave because it was already the fifth day of the sixth lunar month, and there was still no news from the Japanese silver-carrying ship.
She decided to go and see for herself.
Pan Yun set off that evening and arrived at Onsenzu Port on the afternoon of June 6th.
She peered down from the edge of the pot and saw a bustling scene at the port, with people moving goods.
Pan Yun raised an eyebrow slightly.
Pan Xiaohei said, "You've come at just the right time, just as they're about to set off."
Pan Yun glanced at the ships docked inside and outside the harbor, lost in thought: "Why are so many ships gathered here?"
Onsenzu Port is just a small port, so there shouldn't be so many seagoing vessels coming here.
Pan Yunfei flew over, found a secluded spot to land, changed his clothes, put on a veil, slung his sword over his shoulder, and then went out.
This attire was the most common attire for female knights-errant from the Ming Dynasty in Japan. They wore veils, had narrow sleeves, and looked neat and beautiful. They carried swords on their backs or in their hands, and Japanese ronin would avoid them at all costs.
As a result, Japanese women have recently begun to adopt the style of Ming Dynasty female warriors, with the Tang Dynasty style shifting towards the Ming Dynasty style.
They even started learning to walk. As long as they learned to walk well, no one could tell whether they were Japanese or Han Chinese women. Ronin would stay far away from them, which was a way to protect themselves.
As soon as Pan Yun entered the town, the vendors and merchants on both sides waved to her warmly, and passersby smiled at her. Everyone was very friendly.
Pan Yun could also tell that their friendliness was genuine, because the smiles on their faces were real.
She walked directly to the harbor, and with a quick glance, she found the person she was looking for.
Miaohe sat on a stool with a serious face, clapping away on the abacus. Next to her stood a Japanese man in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, who was bowing and saying in Japanese, "We can finish moving on time."
Miao replied unhappily in Japanese, "That's what you said yesterday, and because of your delays, we can't set sail on time today."
The Japanese man bowed and apologized, saying, "Yesterday, a lot of ships suddenly arrived, and we didn't have enough manpower. I'm very sorry, so I called many people over overnight. As you can see, they are working very hard today. Please continue to use them, otherwise, their trip will have been in vain."
Miaohe was a little angry, but when he glanced at the people standing behind him, they were all wearing short-sleeved shirts and shorts, some even without shirts, only shorts, and barefoot with mud on their feet. They must have come from the village overnight.
She was ultimately soft-hearted; she snorted and nodded, letting them go to move the goods.
Pan Yun chuckled.
Miaohe heard the familiar laughter and suddenly looked up. She saw a person standing outside the thatched hut. Even though the person was wearing a veil and her face was not visible, she still jumped up excitedly.
Pan Yun raised her index finger and shushed her. Miao He suppressed her excitement and asked her with an air of arrogance, "Who are you? What brings you here?"
Pan Yun smiled and said, "I'm just passing by your esteemed place, could I please have a bowl of water?"
Miaohe immediately sent someone to pour water.
Subordinate: ...There is clearly water on the table.
However, he still took the teapot downstairs and brought up another pot of boiling water.
Miaohe pulled her to sit down beside her, looked around, and asked in a low voice, "Junior Martial Aunt, where is Pan Xiaohei?"
“Everyone in Japan knows that I have a black cat with me, so I made it hide.”
Miaohe asked, puzzled, "Why hide your identity?"
Pan Yun: "Now that I'm the Imperial Advisor and have an official title, I can't just freely enter and leave Japan. By the way, where are Wang Cong and the others?"
Miaohe: "The senior brothers have gone to fight."
Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "Fight?"
"Yes, the Ouchi clan wanted to seize another seaport. They started fighting the day before yesterday, and the eldest brother led his men to provide support."
Pan Yun murmured, "No wonder there are so many ships here."
“Yes, they all came from over there, including several Korean ships,” Miaohe said. “You don’t know, the Masuda family is overjoyed and wishes they could keep fighting.”
Pan Yun asked with a smile, "How was things here when Japan was at war?"
"Several groups of people attacked Omori Township, but the Masuda family did not participate. Although they did not send any men, they sold us a lot of information. Commander Tao said that he was very self-aware. Even if he suspected that there were indeed silver mines in Omori Township, he was certain that our Great Ming would win."
"Since the Ming Dynasty is going to win, it's impossible for them to take the silver mountains from us. They might as well focus on developing ports and maritime trade."
Pan Yun smiled and nodded: "Commander Tao is right. Masuda Shinta has always been a smart man and knows how to adapt to the times."
She likes to work with pragmatic people.
Pan Yun finished her cooled tea and asked, "Is the fight over now?"
Miaohe shook her head: "I don't know, there's been no news, but I think it's over by now. Senior Brother has gathered many martial arts heroes." (End of Chapter)