Zheng Yuanjin was very excited. He stood up, bowed to Wei Guangwei and Liu Lishun, and enthusiastically offered his place in the Zheng Mansion.
Wei Guangwei only came to put on a show and get to know the county magistrate Liu Lishun. From the emperor's advice to him, he knew that Liu Lishun had a promising future.
"Giving me a plaque is a supreme honor, and it's also a spur and encouragement." Wei Guangwei warned Zheng Yuanjin, "If you become arrogant and violate the law, you will be guilty of betraying your grace—"
Zheng Yuanjin hurriedly reassured, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency. My family has a clean legacy. We have land registered with the government. Even if our wealth is exhausted, we will give it all to the government. We will never dare to let Your Excellency down."
"That's good." Wei Guangwei nodded at Liu Lishun and said, "Sir Liu, I will return now. If you encounter any difficult matters in the future, please report them to me and I will handle them impartially."
"Thank you, Lord Wei." Liu Lishun bowed and said, "Your humble servant respectfully bids you farewell."
Wei Guang smiled and nodded, got into the sedan chair, and left with everyone bowing to see him off.
"Thank you very much for your kind words, Lord Liu." Zheng Yuanjin and his son bowed deeply to express their gratitude to Liu Lishun.
The emperor certainly used both tactics and tricks to get the plaque from the emperor, but without Liu Lishun's recommendation, the emperor would not have known about the Zheng family's tycoon status.
Liu Lishun raised his hand and said in a deep voice, "Rewarding law-abiding gentry is a great favor from His Majesty. Few in this county qualify. The Zheng family has actively paid taxes to the state and has also exercised self-discipline. This honor is well-deserved."
After a pause, Liu Lishun said seriously, "Keep quiet at home, clean the rails, be cautious and self-disciplined, and encourage yourself not to get involved in public affairs. Remember this, remember this."
Then he turned to Zheng Shaokang and warned him, "As a student, you should study hard, be self-disciplined, and follow the rules."
Zheng Shaokang bowed his head and accepted the instruction, "I will remember your instruction and will never take the law lightly."
"Thank you for your advice, sir." Zheng Yuanjin bowed sincerely and said, "I will make 'diligently fulfill my duties, obey the law' my family motto and have my descendants follow it."
"That's great." Liu Lishun smiled slightly and said, "I still have some official business to attend to. I'll take my leave now."
"Goodbye, Lord Liu." Zheng Yuanjin understood Liu Lishun's warning, so he did not get too close to the government, and he did not dare to give others the impression that he had connections with the government.
Liu Lishun bowed and returned to the county town with a few yamen runners.
Liu Lishun agreed and admired the emperor's decision to bestow plaques, with only one or two quotas given to each county.
Only by combining punishment with encouragement can we better guide public opinion and promote a change in the social atmosphere. At the same time, it can also play a role in stabilizing the local area.
Let everyone know that the imperial court is not blindly punishing and suppressing the gentry and students in Jiangnan. As long as you obey the imperial orders and abide by the law, you don't have to worry too much.
What's more, the imperial court has already lowered the tax and grain quotas for the eight prefectures and one state in Jiangnan, and there may be other tax reduction and exemption policies.
In this way, the common people got a respite, and the gentry and landlords also had less excuse to complain about the heavy taxes. If they continued to hide the truth, they would not get much sympathy.
"To rectify the system and discipline, and to cleanse the old habits" is the purpose of the Wansui Movement. But this is only the beginning, clearing the way for the reform of the government.
Liu Lishun could only speculate to this extent, but he had no idea what other policies the emperor would implement. Why was he so ruthless? Would the policies he was about to implement face even greater resistance?
His guess was correct, but he had no idea how much of a stir and impact the emperor's subsequent reforms would cause. If he couldn't make the gentry and students fear the law and abide by it, the resistance would be enormous.
Of course, Zhu Youxiao also knew that it was not appropriate to hastily launch a new policy. Moreover, while severely cracking down on bad gentry and students, he also needed to appease them.
"Giving a slap in the face and then giving a sweet date" is a similar tactic to this one. Or, "using both kindness and severity" is more appropriate.
Since representatives were found among the landlords, it was natural that the students would not be left out. Zhu Youxiao also wanted to use this opportunity to make his position clear: the iron fist was not targeting a certain group, but only the lawless ones.
As long as you violate the national law, no matter whether you are a "highly respected" local official or a "talented" student, don't think that the court will condone you because you have a talisman.
In front of the Shen family's house in Chongming, firecrackers were blasting and gongs and drums were beating. It was quite lively.
A plaque inscribed with the emperor's own handwriting, "Respect honor and be chaste, forget family and serve the country," was hung high above the door lintel. The old man, Shen Yong, dressed in crown and robes, accompanied the imperial envoy diligently and enthusiastically.
In ancient times, there was a system of bestowing titles on officials and their ancestors. If the officials were alive, it was called "feng"; if the officials were deceased, it was called "zeng". If the officials were of high rank, titles could be bestowed on two or three generations.
This is the same favor as granting an imperial edict to an official's mother or wife, and it helps the official realize his life ideal of "bringing honor to his ancestors and making his family famous."
According to the regulations on bestowal of titles, Shen Yong was granted the title of Fengyi Doctor of the Wensan rank, the same rank as his son Shen Tingyang.
Such a huge surprise made Shen Yong so excited that he could hardly control himself. He had long forgotten how many times he had scolded his son as a "spendthrift".
"Mr. Shen has a good son. It can be seen that he is diligent in his studies and has a good family education!" Wang Guozhong, the eunuch of Suzhou and Hangzhou Weaving Factory, came to present the plaque and could not help but praise him.
Chen Yong said modestly, "Thank you for your compliment, sir." As he spoke, he made way inside. "My house has prepared some light wine, please don't refuse it, sir."
Wang Guozhong chuckled and said, "Then I won't be polite."
Shen Yong accompanied Wang Guozhong into the house, and the Shen family warmly invited relatives, friends, and neighbors to join the celebration.
Mr. Shen was also a wealthy maritime merchant. Since the Wanli Korean War, he responded to the Ming court's call to sail the Chongming Sand Ship to carry sailors and supplies to reinforce Korea, and once reached Busan.
During the 47th and 48th years of the Wanli reign, the Ming Dynasty fought against the Later Jin Dynasty and dispatched Chongming sand ships to reinforce Liaodong. The Shen family's fleet reached the Sanben River.
Therefore, the Shen family is familiar with the sea routes, and Shen Tingyang has been influenced by them since he was a child. He often travels for trade between Qingdao, Yantai, Luda, Qinhuangdao, and Tianjin, and is familiar with the sea routes.
Having money, holding a grand banquet to celebrate such a great event is nothing to the Shen family. It is also because of their wealth that they can withstand Shen Tingyang's "spending the family to ship goods by sea and buying ships and grain at their own expense".
But now, Shen Tingyang is no longer in trouble. With the golden label of "forgetting family and serving the country", he is a role model for other students and has a bright future.
And Mr. Shen should also be thankful that he has such a "prodigal" son, who helped him, a businessman, to become a fifth-rank official, something he could never have dreamed of.
Whoever said that the emperor was full of ill will towards the merchants in Jiangnan was just a rumor. Imposing a title of fifth-rank official was definitely more prestigious than a common nobility.
As for the phrase "diligent children, profound family education," Shen Yong didn't think it was an exaggeration. What's the matter? Starting with me and my "prodigal son," the Shen family has prospered. The next three or four generations will be equally promising.
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