MLMD -Chapter 208 Chongzhen’s Reaction

Chongzhen held no fondness for merchants. In fact, many rulers harbored little goodwill toward the vast majority of merchants who did nothing but hoard goods and speculate for profit.

In the eyes of many, what merchants did amounted to nothing more than buying low and selling high, earning money from the price difference. And indeed, before the advent of industrial civilization, this was precisely the kind of business merchants engaged in. They were merely merchants of circulation, not the production-oriented merchants of later generations. This, in turn, led to society’s general dislike of them.

Dislike them as one might, however, society could not function normally without merchants. Thus, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, formulated a series of laws and restrictions to rein them in—forcing their social status to the very bottom, forbidding their direct relatives from taking the imperial examinations, barring them from wearing silks and fine brocades, and so on.

Yet the world is full of absurdities. Merchants had money but could not wear silks, while the common people were allowed to wear silks but had no money to buy them. In the early Ming, these rules could still be enforced to some extent, but by the mid-Ming period they had all but become dead letters. The emergence of large landlords and powerful merchant magnates marked the dawn of early capitalist sprouts in the Ming dynasty. Greedy and ruthless, they cultivated large numbers of spokesmen—people active at court, in officialdom and society alike—who monopolized public opinion both within and beyond the government. With sufficient利益, there was nothing they dared not do.

After ascending the throne, Chongzhen quickly sensed the terror of the gentry–merchant conglomerate. Their influence permeated the entire Ming court. Chongzhen loathed them, yet he had no choice but to rely on them to maintain his rule. This contradiction was what frustrated him the most. Therefore, when he heard that Yue Yang had executed a batch of merchants who had colluded with the Eastern barbarians and confiscated their property, Chongzhen felt an indescribable surge of satisfaction in his heart.

Seeing the hatred Chongzhen revealed toward those merchants, Wang Chengen at his side sighed with emotion. “Indeed, Your Majesty, just look at it… Hunyuan Prefecture is no large place, yet Yue Yang merely searched and seized some merchants’ lands and residences, and he turned up such a vast amount of silver. This servant truly cannot imagine how wealthy those famous great merchants must be. Alas, the annual tax revenue of our Great Ming is only a paltry four million taels of silver—barely comparable to a few minor merchants. Thinking of it is infuriating. Yet now there are still quite a few people at court impeaching Lord Yue, saying his conduct is too crude, that he has killed too many people, and that such actions are unworthy of the rule of a wise monarch. They are all clamoring to have him punished.”

Chongzhen had already been seething, and Wang Chengen’s words only stoked his anger further. Clenching his fists, he barked, “What do these people know? Those treacherous merchants have enjoyed imperial favor yet refuse to repay it. They even committed the disgraceful acts of colluding with the Tatars and selling out the nation. Such people—why keep them alive? Yue Yang killed well. I will reward him heavily. Didn’t I last promote him to Commandant Vice Director? This time, I will raise him to Participating General and grant him the title of Light Chariot Cavalier. As for military rank… confer upon him the title of Defender of the State General, and put him in overall charge of military and administrative affairs on the Northern Route of Shanxi. Grand Attendant, you personally dispatch a capable man to deliver the edict. Tell Yue Yang to work hard—he has me backing him. Let’s see who dares to make trouble!”

“This servant obeys!” Wang Chengen hurriedly lowered his head, retreating more than ten steps in deference before Chongzhen. Only when he was nearly at the doorway did he turn to leave—yet before he could step outside, Chongzhen called out to him again.

“Grand Attendant, also tell Yue Yang to have those one million-plus taels of silver escorted to the capital as soon as possible. I urgently need them.”

Wang Chengen’s body swayed; he stumbled, nearly falling to the ground, then quickly hurried off…

The edict conferring upon Yue Yang the titles of Defender of the State General and Light Chariot Cavalier soon spread throughout court and countryside alike, sending especially powerful shockwaves through the entire Northern Route of Shanxi. For those who hated Yue Yang, the news was unpleasant but not overly so—after all, Defender of the State General and Light Chariot Cavalier were merely honorary military titles, of little practical use. But the position of Participating General in charge of the Northern Route was no empty honor. It was a genuine, substantive post. Previously, the Northern Route roving commander could only manage Yingzhou Prefecture, Hunyuan Prefecture, and a dozen or so nearby forts. Now, once Yue Yang was promoted to Participating General with overall authority over military and administrative affairs on the Northern Route of Shanxi, the position became formidable indeed. In theory, from Yingzhou to Hunyuan, all the way to the Great Wall-adjacent forts of Gaoshan, Yanghe, and Tiancheng, fell within his jurisdiction. His power had expanded severalfold in one stroke.

Thus, cries of “the wolf is coming” echoed everywhere across the Northern Route of Shanxi, and many merchants began to panic. Yue Yang’s promotion meant his reach now extended to the Great Wall. Once he controlled the Gaoshan, Yanghe, and Tiancheng garrisons, it would become far more difficult for them to smuggle illicit goods through those routes. Still, there were also those who rejoiced. After Yue Yang had wiped out the major merchants of Hunyuan in one fell swoop, the smaller merchants who had long been suppressed until they could barely breathe sensed opportunity. The Northern Route had suddenly opened up a vast vacuum—one that needed filling. If not now, then when? Quite a few had this foresight, and driven by profit, many merchants flocked to Hunyuan Prefecture.

“Congratulations, Master…”

“Felicitations, Master…”

“Congratulations on your promotion, Master…”

As Yue Yang walked through the residence, maids and servants he encountered along the way all offered their congratulations. If anyone was truly happiest about Yue Yang’s promotion—aside from his family and close confidants—it was the household servants. In these times, it was all about one man’s rise lifting chickens and dogs with him. The higher Yue Yang’s status and the greater his power, the more face his servants had as well. Though they were servants within the estate, once outside the Yue residence they were treated with no small amount of respect. Upon hearing they belonged to Yue Yang’s household, others would naturally give them some deference. Such were the benefits of power.

As Yue Yang headed toward the inner courtyard, he saw the steward Cao Youqian approaching with several servants carrying a large plaque. Curious, Yue Yang stopped them. “Steward Cao, what are you doing?”

Seeing Yue Yang, Cao Youqian hurriedly bowed and replied, “Master, now that you’ve been promoted, the old plaque for the Commandant Vice Director’s office naturally can’t stay up. We need to hang the plaque for Defender of the State General.”

“Heh… I don’t see you this efficient when doing other things, but when it comes to changing a plaque, you’re awfully enthusiastic.” Yue Yang shook his head with a wry smile.

Seeing Yue Yang’s indifferent expression, Cao Youqian explained awkwardly, “Well… this is to add luster to your name, Master.”

Yue Yang then asked curiously, “Why not hang the title of Participating General instead, but choose Defender of the State General?”

Cao Youqian quickly explained, “Master, this is an unwritten rule of our dynasty. Though you hold the substantive post of Participating General, it is only a third-rank position. Defender of the State General, though merely an honorary military title, is a second-rank one. Naturally, we hang the higher title.”

“Oh… I see.” Yue Yang understood at once. It was much the same as the officialdom of later generations. For example, someone might clearly be only a deputy bureau chief, yet when greeting him, people would automatically drop the word ‘deputy.’ If you addressed him explicitly as ‘Deputy Bureau Chief So-and-so,’ you might offend him, or be thought to be mocking him, bringing trouble upon yourself.

“That’s enough… get back to work.” Yue Yang waved them off.

He soon arrived at a study in the rear courtyard. There, he saw Hai Lanzhu, her belly visibly swollen, seated at the table reading intelligence reports that had been sent up. Xiaoman stood by, attending to her. On the other side of the study, the Linglong sisters were rapidly working their abacuses, several ledgers laid out before them, with four maids nearby helping sort accounts and record entries.

Yue Yang sat down beside Hai Lanzhu, took her hand, and said tenderly, “Didn’t I tell you that with your condition, you shouldn’t be working so hard? Leave these matters to the people below.”

Feeling her husband’s care, Hai Lanzhu smiled sweetly. “It’s nothing. Lying in bed all day is suffocating. Besides, the physician said my health is quite good. Among our Khorchin people, pregnant women still sew and do housework at home. We’re not as delicate as your Han women.”

“Oh? You’re getting bold now—talking back to me?” Yue Yang feigned anger, glaring at her as he raised his hands, intending to tickle her. But seeing the loyal Xiaoman glaring at him vigilantly from the side, Yue Yang figured that if he so much as reached out, the little maid would come at him as if her life depended on it.

With an awkward chuckle, he rubbed his nose and asked, “So… since you’ve been reading for quite a while, is there any news worth paying attention to?”

Hai Lanzhu nodded. “There’s quite a bit. Recently, many merchants from other regions have been pouring into Hunyuan Prefecture and the surrounding towns and garrisons. They’ve set their sights on the market gaps left after the Fang family and several major merchants were taken down by us, hoping to fill them.”

“Let them stir things up.” Yue Yang waved it off. “As long as they obey the law and pay taxes on time, how they operate is their business. The more merchants come, the more prosperous this place becomes. We suddenly have over a hundred thousand refugees—demand is high, so opportunities abound. Besides, with more people around, it’ll be easier for us to recruit soldiers.”

“Husband, are you planning to raise troops?” Hai Lanzhu was sharp; she immediately caught the unusual implication in Yue Yang’s words…