Zhu Yunying actually knew relatively little about the war in Goryeo. Even as the emperor, he could not fully understand everything that was happening on the Goryeo battlefield.
Even though reports were constantly being sent back to the Ming Dynasty and into Zhu Yunying's hands through various channels, the long distances involved meant that only spies, couriers, or messengers on horseback were able to deliver the information station by station, inevitably leading to delays.
This was also because Emperor Zhu Yunying was 'ambitious'. In fact, generals like Fu Youde and Xu Huizu didn't dare to act arbitrarily, and they did send back some information from time to time. However, Zhu Yunying was not good at remote command. He was quite wary of the master of micro-management, so the troops at the front also had sufficient autonomy.
As long as the strategic intentions set forth by Zhu Yunying can be fulfilled, that will be enough. Zhu Yunying doesn't actually pay much attention to the ever-changing battlefield, at least not at this time.
For Zhu Yunying, the most important thing at this time was to further clean up the bureaucracy, which was also the focus of his concern.
The bank is undergoing an internal cleanup. Corrupt officials who have seen too much gold and silver in the bank are now feeling the impending doom. It is common for them to be implicated in other corruption cases, and a large number of people are being dealt with ruthlessly by Emperor Ying Shi.
The Maritime Trade Office shouldn't think they can relax either. Selling goods brought back from overseas at low prices or accepting bribes from merchants to obtain 'export rights' are things that Emperor Ying Shi absolutely cannot tolerate.
It's not just these corrupt officials who will suffer; the merchants who are implicated also don't have a good ending.
Although some merchants seem to have gained higher status, it is probably because the Ming Dynasty is becoming increasingly powerful, so these merchants naturally have a better business environment and can accumulate more wealth.
In particular, some of the policies implemented by Emperor Ying Shi were quite beneficial to these merchants.
Ultimately, however, merchants held a relatively low social status in feudal times. Even during the so-called dream era for scholars, and the most prosperous period of the Song Dynasty, merchants' status was not particularly high.
The situation was even more dire during the Ming Dynasty. Even though Emperor Yingzong seemed to be relatively friendly towards merchants, it was merely a facade. Under Zhu Yunying's rule, countless merchants suffered losses, some even losing everything.
The abolition of the salt trade system back then damaged the interests of countless merchants who could have made huge profits. This was especially true for the large salt merchants, who were severely impacted. In recent years, the imperial court has maintained tight control over the Maritime Trade Office, leaving many merchants only able to watch with envy and barely scrape by; even those who wanted to make more money had no way to do so.
If any merchants try to interfere in government affairs, or are reported for currying favor with officials, their fate is self-evident. Having some of their property confiscated is considered relatively lenient. Many merchants understand that even if they live in luxury, they cannot afford to wear fine silks and satins, as they could be crushed by the court at any time.
That's just how feudal dynasties were; merchants had a low social status. Prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce was the prevailing policy.
Even the seemingly merchant-friendly Emperor Ying Shi had his bottom line. For example, he wouldn't allow merchants to have much contact with officials, and he certainly wouldn't allow them to interfere in state affairs. Merchants who tried to do so were simply courting death.
If you want a comfortable and prosperous life, then follow the policies of the imperial court closely; this is the best way to secure your livelihood.
The Ming Dynasty's efforts to rectify official corruption were not surprising, as this was a continuation of previous practices. Ultimately, Emperor Ying Shi appeared to be a man of great ambition and wisdom, naturally unwilling to allow his empire to be plagued by too many corrupt officials.
Moreover, Emperor Ying Shi was the grandson of Emperor Hongwu, and he was the most ruthless emperor in terms of dealing with corrupt officials over the past few years!
Zhu Yunying was indeed ruthless. Anyone who dared to drag his officials down would be punished tenfold or even a hundredfold without any hesitation. If he were even more ruthless, it wouldn't just be the lives of one person or one family that were at stake.
Even in the Ming Dynasty, corruption and bribery were serious crimes, and offering bribes was also a crime that had to be severely punished without any leniency.
In that sense, Zhu Yunying seems to be even more ruthless than his grandfather. After all, most of the time, Zhu Yunying only targeted officials, unlike Emperor Yingshi who showed no mercy to either party involved in a violation of the law.
However, Zhu Yunying also understood that sometimes it was necessary to consider improving the treatment of Ming Dynasty officials. Otherwise, apart from a very few upright officials like Hai Rui, or many ambitious people, there would be serious resentment.
Officials have high social status, but they should also be able to eat their fill and be wealthier than ordinary people.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, officials were poorly paid; a first-rank official at the time only received an annual salary of 900 shi (a unit of dry measure). However, Emperor Zhu initially gave princes of the imperial family 4,800 shi, not including silk, brocade, and other valuables.
Although in the 25th year of the Hongwu reign, Emperor Zhu raised the annual salary of a first-rank official to 1,050 shi (a unit of dry measure), it was still insufficient overall. While the treatment of members of the imperial clan did decrease somewhat, it still far exceeded that of some high-ranking officials.
Zhu Yunying probably wouldn't implement a system of high salaries to encourage integrity, and certainly wouldn't offer the exceptionally generous treatment to civil and military officials as was the case during the Song Dynasty. However, improving the salaries of officials to the best of his ability was something he could consider.
If you want the horses to run fast, you naturally need to feed them some grass; you can't be too demanding.
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