The plum rain in May comes as soon as possible, and the drizzle spreads all over the south of the Yangtze River. As the elite place in the south of the Yangtze River, Suzhou has always been the center of fashion, called Suyi.
Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, Suzhou's status in China's fashion industry has been roughly equivalent to that of Paris, France today.
Regardless of food, clothing, housing, transportation, or even behavior, once it became popular in Suzhou, it would not take long for it to spread throughout the country. Its influence was probably second to none in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
As a saying circulated during the Wanli period: "The Su people think that those who are elegant will be elegant, and those who are vulgar will be vulgar." ("Guang Zhi Yi")
"How can Beijing understand elegance? They are just like the Northern Barbarians of the past. At most they just join the army and fight and do some rough work."
In the tea house, on a table facing the window and facing the street, several well-dressed young people were clutching the Nidi album tightly. The leader, with his neck raised, tried his best to express:
"When it comes to living, the starting point is the third courtyard. Fine wood furniture and rockery gardens are absolutely indispensable. It must look elegant; when it comes to clothing, it is natural to wear brocade and luxuriant clothes without sparing any expense; when it comes to eating, it is important to pay attention to
The Jiangnan flavor is what the saying goes, "You never tire of fine food, and you never tire of fine food." When it comes to entertainment, antique calligraphy and painting are a must, and in your spare time, let the domestic theater troupe perform "The Peach Blossom Fan", which is even more elegant."
"good--"
People nearby nodded in appreciation.
They are from Suzhou and they praise their hometown, which is absolutely comfortable.
Hearing the cheers, the leading man put down his album and gathered around in a circle to express his thanks. Then he sat down calmly and chatted with a few friends.
"Why should the capital of Jiangsu be placed in Yangzhou? How can it be half as good as Suzhou?"
"There is no province without Su, and even Nanjing is not worthy of comparison..."
They discussed without restraint, with the album spread out, without any fear of being overheard.
At a table not far away, there were three or five burly men, listening carefully to his words with their ears tilted, and their faces solemn.
The burly man sitting in the middle, with a dark complexion and bright eyes, personally went to the south to supervise the "Atlas Case" of the Jinyiwei Qianshi Bao Jiang, who looked more like a soldier than a Jinyiwei.
Although the Jinyiwei are the emperor's personal soldiers, the middle and upper ranks have always been filled by nobles, and there are very few real low-level school captains.
“The atlas of Suzhou seems to be more extensive than imagined.”
Bao Jiang shook his head, with a gloomy face, left the teahouse and returned to Suzhou Qianhusuo.
"Shangguan, the atlas appeared earlier in Suzhou than Yingtianfu. It followed the style of the communique from the beginning, but the content was mostly trivial and interesting things."
"Later, when there were more people running newspapers, some people began to think blindly and add a page of drawings to the newspaper to attract the attention of ordinary people..."
"From peonies, chrysanthemums, peonies, to brothel girls, the beautiful scenery of the country and the mountains are all shining brightly, attracting the people of Suzhou to buy them, so in Suzhou and other places, newspapers call them albums."
I see.
After hearing the eloquent talk from thousands of Jinyiwei families, Bao Jiang couldn't help but buy a few albums and looked at them one by one. As expected, the styles were exquisite and pleasing to the eye.
The family affairs and neighborhood affairs recorded above seem to be right before our eyes, making people unable to help but take a closer look.
"In Suzhou alone, there are five or six atlases, which are published every half month or once a month..."
Qianhu said cautiously.
"As a royal guard, you don't know how to report it?"
Bao Jiang couldn't help but said.
"Shangguan, this album is not illegal. I, I think reporting it is a waste of time..."
This simple view is quite normal as long as it is not prohibited by law.
"Inform the Suzhou government to ban all albums."
Bao Jiang couldn't help but get up and stretch his muscles: "I knew when I was in Yangzhou that the key to this strength lies in Suzhou."
Soon, the government officials cooperated with Jinyiwei and banned all the albums, not allowing anyone to do them again.
The Ming Dynasty Gazette published the court's resolution: No one is allowed to run a newspaper, and violators will be severely punished.
Jin Yiwei from all over the country acted quickly and captured a series of albums and newspapers.
The managers, investors, etc. were all arrested, which caused huge waves in Jiangnan.
No matter when, without some background, how is it possible to file a report?
As many as a thousand people were implicated and arrested, and more than 20 newspapers were sealed in Jiangsu alone, which is no exaggeration.
The threshold of the governor's yamen is about to be trampled to pieces by a suitor again, but this time the leader of the incident is the imperial guard, and the person standing behind is the emperor. Who dares to be so presumptuous?
After receiving helpless explanations, the gentry did not give up, and their networks of fellow villagers, classmates, relatives, and friends were also constantly activated.
The Jiangnan region has a developed economy and abundant educational resources, so naturally there are many people who have passed the Jinshi examination and many have become officials.
Unfortunately, during the Nanjing Slavery Case that year, a large number of high-ranking officials were captured, and there were not many people from Jiangnan in the middle and upper classes.
Even so, this power cannot be underestimated.
"It's so annoying!"
Wang Yingxiong was lying on the rocking chair, wearing a thin coat, with two maids waving cattail fans beside him, but he was still sweating profusely.
"Jiangnan is the foundation of the imperial court after all."
Jiang Hongtu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, was old. He was sitting there drinking hot tea and didn't feel too hot.
"That's true." Wang Yingxiong nodded and agreed: "If you don't go to Hubu, you don't know how prosperous the three places in the south of the Yangtze River are."
During the period when the north was completely tax-free for three years and half tax-free for two years, the Ming Dynasty's finances were entirely supported by the south.
Anhui, Jiangsu, and Yingtianfu receive more than 6 million yuan of Huai salt a year, and the customs duties and commercial taxes are also several million yuan.
In terms of field tax, since many economic crops such as mulberry, hemp, and cotton are planted in Jiangnan, the burden of paying three cents per mu is not large, but it is much easier than before.
The people in Jiangnan were even more excited because they could finally pay taxes normally.
We must know that in the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou Prefecture alone could pay 800,000 taels of land tax per year; Songjiang Prefecture could contribute 2 million pieces of cloth a year, while the national contribution was only 600,000 to 700,000 taels.
Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, these four provinces account for half of the imperial tax revenue, so there must be no trouble in Jiangnan.
"A small punishment but a big warning."
Gao Hongtu shook his head and showed a smile: "Who said that people are panicking, but it is not a matter of losing their heads. It is just a group of bold gentry who violated the taboo of the court."
"Think about it, after a while, these people will get results. You have to persuade them not to be too impulsive."
After saying that, Gao Hongtu said seriously: "Nowadays, I am a man who takes the soft side rather than the hard side. Don't let the trouble get out of hand in the end."
"I understand." Wang Yingxiong nodded and smiled confidently: "I understand everything."
A few days later, the imperial court made a decision to move all these people to Ningxia and Gansu provinces, confiscating all their properties, leaving only floating wealth with them.
Let this group of people go to the frontier to contribute to the Ming Dynasty, and finally no lives were lost.