Sōza, no doubt, wanted to turn the tables, but he hadn't expected to support a daimyo in Japan who didn't believe in foreign religions. Even if Imagawa Yoshimoto received firearms and won against Oda, he wouldn't be as loyal as Ōtomo Sōrin or Ōmura Sumitada. These Japanese samurai were extremely troublesome and, when driven to extremes, were even crazier than the people of the Great Ming. If Imagawa Yoshimoto were pressured by the various lords, his policies would likely be no different from Oda's.
With this thought,
He sighed and said,
"Everyone, it's not that I'm unwilling, but that I cannot. Even if aid is to be provided, it must wait until the siege of Rekkō is lifted. At that time, I will personally lobby the various provinces for Sumitada and Harunobu-dono. Then, a coalition army will be formed, with you and your nephew still at the helm, so that Kyushu can be recovered... Harunobu-dono, please don't blame me; understand my difficulties. I have suffered repeated failures, and the pressure is immense... Hmm?"
With his words reaching this point, what else could be said?
Arima Harunobu had no choice but to give up, thinking to himself, "You still don't trust those who don't believe in foreign religions..."
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With the plan settled,
Everyone returned to their respective preparations for countermeasures.
...
During this time,
Zhu Mo and Zhang Juzheng shuttled back and forth between Jingdezhen and Hangzhou.
Following Zhu Mo's suggestion, a "Porcelain Art Academy" was established, headed by He Chaozong, divided into high, middle, and low tiers to teach ceramic workers. He Chaozong and a few renowned masters led the creative aspect, researching profound techniques and preparing for upcoming custom kiln firings. The middle and lower-tier ceramic workers would primarily have their skills enhanced by experienced artisans.
The academy also had a crucial objective: to create customized works for overseas merchants in the future, which required a deep understanding of various foreign cultures. These things were inconvenient to disclose to the general populace, as rampant rumors would create immense trouble.
Zhang Juzheng meticulously oversaw every detail, quickly streamlining the process, and the academy soon opened. They unveiled the plaque together and allocated a sum of one hundred thousand taels of silver. He Chaozong became the head of the academy of crafts, the first since the death of Mozi.
The hundred thousand potters of Jingdezhen were naturally overjoyed.
However, Zhu Mo also faintly sensed—
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The residents of the Imperial Kiln Factory and the Official Kilns felt a sense of loss. Trouble was likely brewing, but there was nothing that could be done for the time being. After all, this involved reforms to imperial estates, factories, and workshops, and any action would affect the whole. It was better to postpone it until a foolproof plan was in place.
Moreover,
After being so busy, there was no time in the coming days.
This was because that morning, Shen Shixing, who was responsible for dealing with overseas merchants, had sent word—the foreign merchant đoàn for the year had arrived in Hangzhou.
The two hurried back to Hangzhou.
Although Zhang Juzheng was not young, his spirit was truly excellent. Riding a horse alongside Zhu Mo, he could still gallop on the official roads.
After riding for an hour or two, they stopped at a post station. Zhu Mo saw that he was still in high spirits, stroking the horse's mane after dismounting, with a look of exhilaration. Recalling how Zhang Juzheng often met with private kiln owners alone in Jingdezhen, Zhu Mo couldn't help but ask,
"Brother Taiyue, I find the craftsmanship of those private kilns to be rather ordinary. Rather than calling them kiln masters, it's more like they are reselling official kilns... What do you think?"
Zhang Juzheng paused for a moment, then burst into laughter and said,
"Zixuan always hits the nail on the head... However, there are unavoidable reasons for this. Think about it, what have the official kilns been firing in recent years? Seven or eight out of ten pieces are rejects! It's a pity to discard them, but they cannot be delivered. So, it's better to sell them..."
Zhu Mo naturally understood this. But why were the official kilns not firing well? There were also very mysterious reasons for this. From his personal observation, the official kilns often deliberately did not fire well, thus producing more rejects to be sold. As for delivering them, that was almost magical—
They actually didn't want to deliver!
They would rather the court believe that the official kilns were already useless!
This was Zhu Mo's biggest discovery during his ten-plus days in Jingdezhen.
Why?
Because the Great Ming's official kilns were managed at two levels: one line was the Department of Industry's Bureau of Works, and the other was the Jiangxi Provincial Administration. The supervisor of pottery was originally appointed by the Department of Industry's Bureau of Works, but Emperor Jiajing changed this after his ascension, appointing the local officials of Raozhou concurrently. As a result, the supervisor of pottery became the most lucrative position in the entire Great Ming Dynasty, bar none.
Yan Song was from Jiangxi. Since he consolidated power, he had held onto the governorship and the provincial administration of Jiangxi, a significant reason being to control Jingdezhen.
In fact, after a few days of investigation, Zhu Mo could already see—
The supervisor of pottery, Shen Chun, whom he met these past few days, held the position of Tongzhi of Raozhou Prefecture. He was recommended by Governor Ma Sen, and the reason Ma Sen recommended him was that Ma Sen himself, as governor, was personally chosen by Yan Song. Although Ma Sen was not necessarily a member of the Yan family, with this connection, it was difficult to distinguish between public and private matters.
Shen Chun, who had been managing fifty to sixty official kilns for the past three to four years, found his method of accumulating wealth to be the large-scale resale of rejects. While reselling rejects was not his invention, it was under Shen Chun that it flourished. The proceeds from this operation over the years were also a major source of income for the Yan family.
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Not only that,
Shen Chun also had a task: to accumulate wealth while also auditing the official kilns. The conclusion of the audit on the official kilns had to be that the official kilns were rotten beyond repair and needed to be taken over by the private kilns.
This conclusion was very important in the court because Yan Shifan, who was in charge of the Department of Industry, wanted to control the financial channels below, thereby controlling the lifeline of the court. The most effective way to control the financial channels was for the private sector to take over.
These past few days,
The four or five kiln owners personally met by Zhu Mo were not originally from the kiln industry. Before this, some were in the jewelry business, some in silk, and one was a smuggler of salt. Without even investigating, it could be guessed that these individuals were frontmen. Most of the money earned from reselling official kilns would return to Yan Shifan through money houses. And the operator of this entire scheme was the supervisor of pottery, Shen Chun.
What kind of person was Zhang Juzheng? Could he not understand these intricate workings? But why was he wading into this muddy water? This question needed to be clarified.
Zhu Mo was naturally not satisfied with Zhang Juzheng's previous reply.
He predicted—
That Zhang Juzheng would not fail to understand that the official kilns were largely deliberately fired poorly... If so, by not distinguishing between the good and the bad and also saying that the official kilns were inadequate, was he also thinking of controlling the market with his own private kiln owners?
From their interactions during this period, it could be seen that Zhang Juzheng was good in all aspects, except that his desire for power had expanded somewhat, and he did not trust the entire civil official group. Having witnessed the Yan family's control model, perhaps he thought this method was more efficient?