Chapter 979
Chapter 979
Chapter 979
"Pah! Who are you trying to hide here? Who doesn't dare to take revenge? His Majesty and the late Emperor were brothers, and he never thought about revenge. It's just that the national treasury is empty and there are many problems in the army, so he endured humiliation and hardship. How come in your mouths it becomes that he doesn't dare to take revenge?"
"Don't make it sound so nice. No one knows the truth about the royal struggle. As for the empty treasury, that's just something to fool ordinary people like you. How could the treasury be empty when the court collects such heavy taxes every year?"
“That makes sense. Last year, our township added two taxes. If the national treasury is still empty, then we need to think about where all the tax revenue went.”
Where are you from?
"Ji'an, Jiangxi".
“We in Laizhou, Shandong, have also been subject to two additional taxes.”
"Right, everyone is paying more taxes, it's not just my opinion."
"If you ask me, the so-called land survey is supposed to increase the country's revenue, but in the end, it's the ordinary people who suffer. It's better not to survey the land."
"I'm afraid it's not the ordinary people who suffer, but rather some corrupt officials and local gentry who prey on the people."
One person sneered, "Foolish! Do you really think that land surveying will increase the national treasury's revenue and reduce the burden on the people? I'm afraid the land surveyed will belong to the poorest people."
Pan Yun couldn't help but look over and ask the scholar sitting at the next table, "Who is this person?"
"You don't recognize him? He's Shang Lu from Chun'an, Zhejiang. He was the top scorer in the provincial examination in the tenth year of the Xuande reign. He's been traveling and studying all his life. I never expected him to come and participate in the special imperial examination this year."
"Many people have placed bets that he will be the champion of the national championship."
"Isn't it too early to draw conclusions at this point?"
Pan Yun glanced at the man, smiled slightly, and turned to leave.
Miao Zhen glanced at the man, then pulled Miao He and Tao Yanbai along to follow.
Miaohe and Tao Yanbai walked quite a distance before turning back to look at Shang Lu, scratching their heads and asking Miaozhen, "What did you see?"
Miaozhen: "The star of literature is shining; he will be the next top scholar."
In fact, Shang Lu was not only the top scholar in the imperial examination, but also the top scholar in the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination, making him the only person in the Ming Dynasty to achieve the triple crown.
Of course, at this time, apart from Pan Yun who had read the history book, no one knew. Even Pan Yun was not sure whether Shang Lu in this timeline could still pass the imperial examinations as well as Shang Lu in another timeline, after so many changes in history.
Pan Yun decided to wait and see.
Because Pan Yue will be participating in the imperial examination next year, Pan Yun decided to go into seclusion to avoid any mishaps: "Even if the Ministry of Works invites me, I will tell them that I am busy and that they should study on their own first. If they can't do it, they can come and ask me again next March."
Miaozhen asked, "What about us?"
Pan Yun glanced at the three of them and said, "You should just focus on your studies. You don't know anything about this."
Miaozhen and the other two exchanged a glance, then cupped their hands in greeting and replied, "Yes."
Like Pan Yun, as soon as the results of the special imperial examination were announced, he immediately shut himself in to study, and even stopped going to the Imperial Academy.
Not long after, students from the Imperial Academy came to his door, but Pan Hong dismissed them without even seeing Pan Yue.
In just ten days, more and more people came to see Pan Yue. In addition to his classmates at the Imperial Academy, there were also some students from other places who said they came because of his reputation.
There were even people who weren't test takers who wanted to befriend Pan Yue...
Pan Hong refused all requests, saying only that Pan Yue was confined to his home in seclusion and not allowed to leave before the imperial examinations.
Someone went three times in a row and found that he really couldn't see Pan Yue. So he hinted to Pan Hong that he had a way to make Pan Yue pass the imperial examination and even rank among the top.
Pan Hong looked up and smiled at him, then walked out of the courtyard and shouted to the roof: "Lord of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there is someone here attempting to cheat in the imperial examination. Please come and arrest him."
The person sitting in the chair was stunned on the spot, and the Imperial Guard hiding in the shadows was also silent for a moment before jumping off the roof, knocking on the door, and entering through the front door.
It wasn't that they didn't want to jump directly into the courtyard; it was just that the courtyard was very strange. They could lie down and look, they could peek out, but as long as they didn't enter through the door, they would be trapped in an illusion.
At first, some people "slipped" a few times, and each time they were almost driven to their deaths by the courtyard. In the end, they had to swallow their pride and ask someone from the Imperial Observatory to go in and bring the "slippery" people out.
There was nothing he could do; even Pan Hong couldn't see the people who had slipped and fallen into the yard, so he couldn't bring them out.
The Imperial Guards entered openly through the main gate, dragged the man slumped in the chair away, and locked him directly in the imperial prison.
Once the person behind him is found out and his motives are revealed, he will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for processing.
This shout immediately turned the Pan family's once bustling home into a deserted place.
In the short term, the Pan family has been much more at peace.
Meanwhile, Pan Yun, who was supposed to be in seclusion, was playing chess with Zhang Zijin. After hearing Pan Xiaohei's vivid retelling, he gave it the rice cake on the table to eat.
Zhang Zijin glanced at Pan Xiaohei and said, "No wonder you were so at ease saying you were going into seclusion. This cat seems to have become even smarter."
Pan Yun: "It has always been very intelligent, and its intelligence is no less than that of humans."
Zhang Zijin: "Are you really not going to care at all? Aren't you afraid your father and brothers will offend everyone?"
Pan Yun: "Those who intend to cheat in the imperial examinations and use their power against me, I've already offended them. Do I need to consider their gains and losses?"
It is said that it is better to offend a gentleman than a petty person.
Pan Yun: "If he is a petty person, even if I don't offend him, he will offend me. If I have to consider the whims of a petty person in my actions, am I a gentleman or a petty person?"
Zhang Zijin paused, realizing he had never considered this question before.
Taking advantage of his momentary daze, Pan Jun placed a piece with a thud, instantly capturing five of his pieces.
Hearing the sound, Zhang Zijin looked down and saw that she had killed a whole bunch of people. He couldn't help but smile and said, "You're right. Hesitation and indecisiveness are bound to lead to failure, let alone the hesitation caused by looking at the eyes of a petty person."
Pan Yun: "The Ming Dynasty's imperial examinations had been plagued by cheating more than once or twice. First there was cheating in the Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi examinations, and then..."
Pan Yun paused here and silently fell silent.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zijin smiled and asked, "What comes after? Could it be that you can already foresee when cheating in the imperial examinations will recur?"
Pan Yun smiled faintly, twirling the chess piece in his hand, and said, "You're tempted by the profits. If you don't reform, just wait and see."
Zhang Zijin: "I often wonder, does the understanding of the Dao by the Heavenly Child truly surpass ours by so much?"
Pan Yun looked up at him in confusion.
Zhang Zijin: "My level of understanding is far higher than yours. I have a sense of the future, but it is not clear. I still need to make predictions based on celestial phenomena, while you rarely observe celestial phenomena."
“In terms of the length of time you’ve spent observing celestial phenomena, you haven’t even reached a fraction of what your junior apprentice has, but you’ve always had a firm belief in the future,” Zhang Zijin said. “Last year, when you suddenly went to the capital to see the Prince of Cheng, I knew that you had seen more and farther than I had.”
Pan Yun remained silent. Zhang Zijin observed her calm expression and sighed slightly: "It's no wonder that the Zhang family disciples are jealous of Zhang Liuzhen. When I was their age, I wouldn't dare say I wasn't jealous at all. You talented contestants are really discouraging."
Pan Yun: "The senior has a broad mind, which sets him apart from others."
“You don’t need to boast about me,” Zhang Zijin said meaningfully as he placed a piece on the board. “Since you became the Grand Preceptor, you have been invincible. Your family and friends have all been self-disciplined and self-examining because nothing major has happened. But now, with the imperial examinations, land surveys, and military investigations underway, amidst the enormous entanglements of interests, can you really still protect them?”
Pan Yun looked at him, remaining silent.
Zhang Zijin said quietly, "I want to tell you that a true cultivator should abandon all worldly affairs and not concern himself with mortal matters. Only then will mortal matters not entangle you, reducing karma, and allowing you to break through and ascend. I was forced to be trapped here, but you walked in here of your own volition."
He pointed to the Forbidden City outside and asked, "What's so good about this cage?"
Pan Yun: "No, but the people inside this cage decide the life and death of millions of people outside, and even the course of this world, and moreover,"
She looked up at him and said, "Senior, I am cultivating merit!"
Zhang Zijin clicked his tongue, put down the chess piece in his hand, and said, "Those who cultivate merit always end up either dying and being reincarnated, or their souls are scattered. Not a single one has ever attained the Great Dao."
"You chose the most difficult path."
Pan Yun: "Then I'd be happy to."
Zhang Zijin stopped trying to persuade him and nodded, saying, "I won't go anymore. Thank you for guarding the palace for me during this time. I'm out of seclusion now. You can do whatever you want."
Pan Yun smiled slightly at him, then immediately stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Senior, my three junior disciples are staying in the palace. Please take care of them."
Zhang Zijin raised an eyebrow: "Where are your father and brothers?"
Pan Yun said, "That's a mundane matter, so there's no need for you to get involved, senior."
Zhang Zijin nodded in agreement.
Pan Yun returned to the Imperial Observatory without a sound. After seeing Miao Zhen only once, he sealed the door shut. That very night, he carried Pan Xiao Hei out of the palace and out of the city, heading straight for Jiangnan.
Apart from Miaozhen and Zhang Zijin, no one knew that Pan Yun had left the palace. Even Miaohe and Tao Yanbai were unaware. Occasionally, when they suffered grievances outside and couldn't retaliate themselves, they could only run to Pan Yun's door to complain.
After venting my frustrations, I felt much better and went back to work and study happily.
Only Miaozhen watched all of this silently.
Pan Jun couldn't stay still. The world is so big. Since he wanted to walk the path of accumulating merit, he couldn't just stay in seclusion to practice.
She first went to see the ship under construction, and then remembered to ask about Wang Cong's whereabouts.
Upon contact, it was discovered that Wang Cong had led his men out to sea, but not to Japan; instead, they were heading to Guangzhou.
"Guangzhou?"
Cao Jixiang sighed, "Yes, he said he wanted to take advantage of the reopening of Guangzhou's port to stockpile land and build shops and warehouses. He also told me that Guangzhou's geographical location in Southeast Asia is more advantageous than Quanzhou's, and that Guangzhou will be more prosperous than Quanzhou in the future."
Pan Yun: "That's not wrong."
Seeing Cao Jixiang's speechless expression, Pan Yun laughed and said, "Lord Cao, don't be disappointed. You can always steal customers."
Cao Jixiang: "Guangzhou has a naturally good location, how can I compete with it?"
"If we can't compete with the natural, then we'll compete with the acquired. Quanzhou is next to Jiangnan, and it's closer to the Central Plains than Guangzhou. Foreign merchants might choose Guangzhou as their first stop, but can't the Ming merchants who go overseas seize Quanzhou?"
Pan Yun said, “Goods need to be distributed and transported out after they arrive at the port. Lingnan’s development is far behind that of the Southeast. If you pave the roads, there will be more shops and more workers, and the cost of import and export will be lower. Merchants will be profit-driven and will naturally choose Quanzhou.”
After a moment's thought, Cao Jixiang felt that Pan Yun's words made sense.
He lowered his head and pondered: "Several official roads in Quanzhou become full of potholes every time it rains. We need to urge the prefecture and county governments to repair the roads."
“We can’t just build official roads; we also need roads to the countryside. If good things can’t be transported into or out of the countryside, how can the economy survive?”
Pan Yun said, "Although ordinary people are not as wealthy as the gentry and landlords, 99 out of 100 people are ordinary people, and they are the main force of the future economy."
Cao Jixiang expressed skepticism about this argument, scoffing, "What money do they have on them?"
Pan Yun said, "But isn't what the imperial court wants to do precisely to make these poor people rich?"
"How much can those few rich people afford?" Pan Yun murmured. "Could it be that the millions of people in our Great Ming Dynasty are really just struggling their whole lives for the extravagance of these tens of thousands of people?"
Cao Jixiang was shocked and looked at Pan Yun in astonishment.
Pan Yun smiled slightly at him, then turned and left: "Good luck, Lord Cao. I'm going to find my nephew."
Cao Jixiang quickly followed behind her and asked, "What do you want with him?"
Pan Yun: "I asked him for money to reward the craftsmen who had made contributions."
Cao Jixiang muttered, "Does he still have any money?"
When Wang Cong returned to China, he gave Pan Jun a large sum of money, and then spent a large sum of money to buy a boat from the Pu family. It was no secret that he also needed to repair the boat. Everyone was guessing how much money he actually had.
News from the capital didn't reach Quanzhou so quickly, and news from Quanzhou didn't reach the capital so quickly either.
Moreover, Pan Yun met Cao Jixiang alone; no one else had seen her.
Based on her understanding of Cao Jixiang, she knew he would not reveal her whereabouts; at most, he would report it to the emperor.
From now on, Pan Yun does not plan to show her face in front of these people again.
She changed out of her Taoist robe and stood at the crossroads, deep in thought. Should she fly directly to Guangzhou or buy a horse?
Just as she hesitated, several people hurriedly walked past her from behind and said, "Second Brother, you must ask the master to do justice for us. It was the old master who took their land and records back then. Now they want to take stock of the land, but they don't want to leave. The government wants us to be held accountable for our crimes. How can we bear this responsibility?"
Pan Yun turned her head and saw several middle-aged men escorting a young man past her and heading straight into the bull market. A short while later, two carriages came out.
As they sat in the carriage, they continued to wail and complain: "Those yamen runners are both arrogant and greedy. They came three times and each time they came with something. If we had known this would happen, we would not have accepted their land in the first place."
A fairly gentle voice came out: "Uncles, don't worry, let me go back and see Magistrate Fang first."
"I'm afraid this matter is difficult to resolve. We should think of a solution quickly. I've heard that the imperial court is even investigating military farms and empty salaries in the army. This land survey will certainly not be a small matter."
“Indeed, Xue Shao, the Imperial Inspector of Jiangnan, is known for his integrity and uprightness. We don’t know where he is inspecting right now. If he catches us doing something wrong, it might affect your and your son’s future.”
Pan Yun immediately decided to ride a horse.
So she turned around, went into the bull market, bought a horse, and followed the carriage ahead with a clattering sound.
(End of this chapter)