The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 424

"Teacher, what is this steam engine?"

Hai Rui flipped through a book Zhou Chu had given him and became very interested in the conjectures about the steam engine. However, Zhou Chu had only written down general conjectures about the steam engine in the book, and he didn't know the specific details.

Upon hearing Hai Rui's question, Zhou Chu immediately became interested.

"When you boil water in a kettle, the steam inside will push the lid up. That's quite a force, isn't it?"

Zhou Chu looked at Hai Rui's eager expression and smiled.

Hai Rui nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this.

"What if we increased the size of this kettle by ten or a hundred times? How much power would the steam generated after the water boiled inside produce?"

Zhou Chu patiently and skillfully guided him.

Upon hearing this, Hai Rui's eyes lit up immediately.

"Does the teacher mean to build a machine that can utilize the power of this water vapor?"

Hai Rui looked at Zhou Chu, as if seeking confirmation or knowledge.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu nodded, displaying an expression that suggested he was a promising student.

"So how should we use it?"

Hai Rui couldn't help but ask.

Zhou Chu shook his head upon hearing this.

"This is just my guess. If you're interested, you can look into how to use it."

Zhou Chu had no idea how a steam engine was made, so he could only try to get Hai Rui to study it. Given Hai Rui's talent and enthusiasm for physics, as well as his stubborn personality, Zhou Chu believed that he would definitely be able to build a steam engine.

Once the steam engine is available, many things can be put on the agenda, such as trains. With the current steel production of the Ming Dynasty, these things are achievable.

"Of course, the study of natural sciences is not suitable for working in isolation; you can also conduct research with others."

Zhou Chu looked at Hai Rui and said.

Besides Hai Rui, there are several other highly talented individuals in the Gewu Academy, including Yang Shengzhai. After Yang Shengzhai finishes dealing with matters in Jiangnan, Zhou Chu plans to have him join the research on steam engines.

"The students understood that if this steam engine could be made, it would probably be very useful."

Hai Rui became increasingly excited as he thought about it, and couldn't wait to go and study it immediately.

"Go."

Seeing Hai Rui's expression, Zhou Chu knew what he was thinking and waved his hand.

Upon hearing this, Hai Rui bowed to Zhou Chu as a student, then turned and left with a face full of excitement.

In the capital, Xie Qian, Mao Ji, Xia Yan, and others were very anxious upon learning of the situation in Jiangnan. Mao Ji and Xia Yan, in particular, considered Jiangnan their base of operations. If Jiangnan were lost, their influence in the court would be greatly diminished.

Especially Xia Yan, who is still young, only in his early forties. For him, his political life has just begun. If the Jiangnan faction runs into trouble, then his political life will be basically over.

This is something Xia Yan absolutely cannot accept.

Xie Qian, on the other hand, was not in a hurry at all. He was somewhat of a double agent, and his return to the capital was, frankly speaking, just paving the way for his son, Xie Pi.

However, for Xie Qian, the Jiangnan lineage was by no means the only way out for his son Xie Pi. In fact, given the current situation of the Jiangnan lineage, it was not a good way out for Xie Pi either.

Xie Qian was a member of the Jiangnan faction his whole life, and he was already labeled as such, but Xie Pi was not, just as Yang Tinghe was a representative of the Jiangnan faction, but Yang Shen was not.

Xie Qian was already considering whether to give his son a different path, such as secretly helping Zhou Hengqi and the emperor.

"My Lord Xie, the situation is so dire, how can you remain so calm?"

Seeing Xie Qian's nonchalant demeanor, Mao Ji felt quite annoyed. Since Xie Qian came to the capital, he seemed to have done little for their Jiangnan faction.

"What are you saying, Lord Mao? What's the use of being anxious? As the saying goes, only those who remain calm even when Mount Tai collapses before them can accomplish great things."

Xie Qian teased Mao Ji while sipping his tea.

Upon hearing this, Mao Ji felt a throbbing in his forehead and was about to explode in anger when Xia Yan secretly stopped him.

Xia Yan knew very well that for Xie Qian at his age, it was already quite an achievement to be able to rejoin the cabinet. At this age, no one wanted to risk their life; it was only human nature, and there was no need to force it.

"Lord Xie is right. There's no use in being anxious. Let's talk things out."

Xia Yan spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Mao Ji took a sip of tea, but he felt a tightness in his chest, yet he couldn't vent his anger.

"Yan Song's policy doesn't seem to be his idea; he doesn't have that kind of boldness."

Seeing that Mao Ji had calmed down, Xie Qian expressed his opinion.

Xia Yan nodded upon hearing this.

"Yan Weizhong certainly doesn't have that much courage. No one has dared to touch the commercial tax for many years. Yan Weizhong is already over forty years old. He won't be as ambitious and enterprising as a young person. I think this decree should have come from His Majesty or Zhou Chu."

Xia Yan said.

“I think it’s more like His Majesty’s doing. Zhou Hengqi is still in that damned mountain village, and no one dares to come out. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would dare to do that.”

Mao Ji thought for a moment and then said.

"The key point is not whether it's His Majesty or Zhou Chu, but the contingency plan behind this decree. It's a well-intentioned scheme, involving the interests of too many people. Those officials are now eager to collect commercial taxes, so what you and I say is completely useless."

Xia Yan said with a worried expression.

"Since ancient times, the most difficult to understand is the open scheme. The reason why the open scheme is difficult to understand is that the person who uses the open scheme has absolute power and influence. For example, Emperor Wu of Han implemented the Edict of Grace. The reason why it was successful was entirely because Emperor Wu of Han had absolute power."

Xie Qian said helplessly.

Xie Qian's words struck a chord with Mao Ji and Xia Yan. At this moment, they felt a sense of powerlessness in the face of Yan Song's actions in Jiangnan, and they had no idea how to proceed.

In the past, they could have resolved the issue through rebellion or other means, because at that time the emperor and the court actually had little say in Jiangnan.

But things are different now. The current emperor and the court have a strong enough control over Jiangnan that even Xia Yan and Mao Ji's influence in Jiangnan is far less than that of Yan Song, the emperor's faction.

Under such circumstances, Mao Ji and Xia Yan were helpless in the face of this seemingly openly deliberate strategy to increase commercial tax revenue.

Meanwhile, in the palace, Jiajing received memorials from Zhou Chu and Yan Song. Both memorials concerned the performance evaluation system and the increase in commercial tax revenue. Regarding the issue of increasing commercial tax revenue, Zhou Chu had already explained it very clearly to Jiajing in several previous memorials.

Jiajing had already given Zhou Chu his answer: Go ahead and do it.

When Jiajing saw Yan Song's memorial, and saw that Yan Song had used Zhou Chu's strategy to dismantle the foundation of the Jiangnan faction of officials, he was overjoyed. As a result, the tax revenue of the entire Jiangnan province would increase significantly.

Previously in Jiangnan Province, commercial taxes were practically nonexistent and could hardly be collected. Now, these officials are all scrambling to collect them. Once the commercial taxes are collected, the total fiscal revenue of Jiangnan Province will be enormous.

Moreover, Jiajing was well aware that this was just the beginning. When the commercial tax was increased to 20% of the total tax, these officials would not object, since they had all tasted the real benefits.

After reading Yan Song's memorial, Jiajing began to carefully consider one of the ideas in Zhou Chu's memorial.

To win over Xie Qian?

The thought of this possibility excited Jiajing greatly.