After the emperor finished speaking, the ministers looked at each other and could not answer for a while.
There is no way, now Wang Anshi's reputation has long been trampled into the mud by Sima Guang and others who are holding pens. Due to the lack of mass base, he has almost been beaten into the most traitorous prime minister in a thousand years.
No official with a good reputation has any positive comments about this stubborn Xianggong.
Luo Dajing juxtaposes Wang Anshi and Qin Hui, "For the unification of the country, it is Wang Anshi's crime to unite and then split, and it is Qin Hui's fault to split and not reunite." Zhu Xi commented that "it spread poison all over the world and caused great chaos."
"History of the Song Dynasty" even directly regards Wang Anshi as the culprit of "the failure of national affairs"; even the line about feeding animals in the folk novel "Three Words and Two Pai" calls out "Lulu Luo Luo, Wang Qigong is here to eat."
Of course, it is not that no one has spoken out for Wang Anshi.
Lu Jiuyuan criticized the injustice and said that "the discussion is unfair", while Yan Xizhai said that Wang Anshi's posthumous reputation was that "he had merit but was half-diminished by history, and he was innocent but was slandered by history."
But this not only failed to create any momentum, but instead caused a lot of commotion.
After Zhu Xi's coffin was sealed and Song History concluded, the minority who argued for Wang Anshi almost disappeared.
In this dynasty, Zhang Juzheng, who may have been sympathetic to him, even if he had unexpected thoughts in his heart, he could only express it euphemistically in "Zi Zhi Tong Jian Zhi Jie", implicitly pitying him and criticizing him, calling him "unreasonable and ignorant."
The time is right, if you have talent but lack knowledge, it is a pity that you will win."
Even a reformist like Zhang Juzheng kept it secret to this extent, which shows Wang Anshi's dissatisfaction.
Therefore, the matter of reversing the case of Wang Anshi, even if it was the emperor's pretext, made the officials bewildered for a moment.
The hall fell into silence for a short time.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Yijun didn't bother to wait for these people's reactions, so he asked questions one by one.
He was about to look at Shen Shixing when he happened to catch Wang Xijue's gaze.
The latter had no choice but to speak first: "Your Majesty's so-called reversal of the verdict, if you want to turn these hundreds of years of evildoers into virtuous ministers in one fell swoop, it is really difficult."
"In my opinion, it is better to divide the Xining Reform and Wang Anshi into two parts. The new law was at the right time. Song Shenzong had entrusted him with the trust of a generation of British leaders. However, Wang Anshi was stubborn in nature and lacked appearance, which corrupted the new law and brought disaster to the Song Dynasty.
"
"It's so in line with the world's conditions that it won't surprise the people."
The emperor wanted to overturn the case for Xining's reform, but he did not necessarily overturn the case for Wang Anshi.
The differences are naturally not the same, and can be considered a contingency.
But to his surprise, the emperor simply shook his head: "Could it be that Wang Qing is joking with me? Both Xining's new law and Wang Anshi will be harmed. Cutting it off is not as simple as overturning the verdict."
"Besides, when can people and things be divided into two?"
Overturning a verdict is the most disciplined thing - it is never about right or wrong, but about showing attitude.
People are things, and things are people.
Don't make jokes about being right for the situation and wrong for the person. Historically, Zhang Juzheng was counterattacked and everything he did was wrong.
The new law is bad, the people employed are wrong, and the motives are even more heinous.
Even Liu Shiyan, a man like Liu Shiyan, could have his case overturned on the grounds that "it was a great pity that he had lost power and seized the title on false pretenses."
Even though Yu died after 20 years as a traitor, Zhang Juzheng could not accept that Zhang Juzheng did the right thing by depriving him of his title.
Split into two?
No one dared to divide Emperor Taizong into two and say that although he was a British ruler, the mutiny was not good for the country.
Not to mention directly pointing at Zhu Di of this dynasty, even commenting on the former Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty is a heinous insinuation.
People and things still want to be divided into two. Only on the stage can this kind of childishness be played.
Wang Anshi and Xi Ning's reforms are also grasshoppers on the same rope. If Wang Anshi amassed money violently, what kind of fun could the reforms be?
Because of this, Zhu Yijun wanted to set up a banner for the new law, so he wanted to reverse Wang Anshi's case!
Who doesn’t know that Xining’s reform has done many things that disturbed and harmed the people? Who doesn’t know the flaws of Wang Anshi?
He has been reviled by the government and the public for hundreds of years, and of course there is a reason for it.
But overturning the verdict must be thorough, and there must be no room for cover-ups or compromises.
Wang Xijue had been in the place for a long time, and when faced with the emperor's words, he was speechless for a moment - just like in history, this guy discussed the matter as it happened, opposed Zhang Juzheng when everyone supported him, and supported Zhang Juzheng when everyone opposed him, making both sides unhappy.
At this time, Li Zaiting, the governor of Fujian, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I am a family member."
Zhu Yijun turned around and looked.
This guy has not been seen for many years, and his demeanor has become more and more capable. Just by saying this, there are signs in Zhu Yijun's heart that this guy is going to be attentive.
He waved his hand, signaling Li Zaiting to continue speaking.
Li Zaiting said seriously: "Your Majesty, I have read the "History of the Song Dynasty" thoroughly, and I deeply feel that its text is extremely clumsy and its narrative is wrong and sparse."
"Only through a cursory reading, I can see that there are more than ten inaccuracies, indiscretions, errors, omissions, and inaccuracies in the narrative. There are more than a hundred items in total including return points, attachments, inappropriate points, and perverse points.
, so that Ke Weiqi worked hard and wrote the "New Edition of the History of the Song Dynasty" in order to correct his errors, and the value of the "History of the Song Dynasty" can be seen."
"And there are many mistakes in it, but no one has corrected them for hundreds of years, and the incident of King Jinggong is also among them."
"If you want to rectify the origins and restore the glory of history, you might as well rewrite the biography of Wang Anshi."
As soon as these words came out, the officials had different expressions and fell into deep thought one after another.
Li Zaiting said this cleverly.
It is generally accepted that the history of the Song Dynasty is poorly written.
Because "Song Shilu" was once called "a tool of the party and government", "full of false accusations" and "the most controversial in lawsuits", and "Song History" was written based on real records and was famous for accepting one-sided words.
Unable to tell the truth from the false, the main thing is a perfunctory one.
All talented and learned people despise "History of the Song Dynasty".
This is the case for Ke Weiqi, who Li Zaitingkou mentioned. He was a Jiajing scholar and one of the most famous historians in his generation. Because he couldn't stand the history of the Song Dynasty, he simply picked up the three histories of the Song Dynasty, Liao Dynasty and Jin Dynasty, eliminated the false and retained the true, and wrote the "New Edition of the History of the Song Dynasty".
, to attack the differences and correct the errors.
Therefore, in this case, it is only natural to rewrite the biography of Wang Anshi, who was the most politically persecuted by the old party, to dig out the misunderstandings and to correct the situation.
Of course, if the biography has been rewritten, new conclusions will naturally be made based on new historical data.
This is a practical and feasible method.
Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and couldn't help but nodded. This number was just right.
He turned away and looked at Wang Shizhen who was standing aside: "Wang Qing, Lan Tai has made a final decision in the history of the secretary. We should have an attitude towards this matter. What do you say?"
Even an exquisite person like Wang Shizhen rarely showed a look of embarrassment at this time.
He thought for a long time before speaking slowly: "Your Majesty, although there are many errors and omissions in the "History of the Song Dynasty" and "Records of the Song Dynasty", however, looking at the Xining Reform, the Qingmiao Law, the Market Change Law, the Horse Protection Law, etc., they are all about ruthlessly amassing money. , bringing harm to the world."
"The history is clear, and there won't be any discrepancies in general."
"Only Wang Anshi's original intention still has a little leeway."
Wang Shizhen, who is in charge of Lantai, has a very clear attitude.
Whitewashing is a cleansing, and it must also be based on historical data.
Re-editing is not random editing, and revision is not blind editing.
It is always a fact that the people are remnant under the new law. Since Wang Anshi rules the world, he must take responsibility.
If you want to clear your name, I'm afraid we can only discuss Wang Anshi's motives.
Naturally, there is no need for the emperor to name everyone when expressing his position.
After Wang Shizhen spoke, Shen Shixing thought for a moment and calmly expressed his position: "Your Majesty, Wang Anshi is ignorant but has ambition. It is a pity that he will win."
Shen Shixing's attitude is the attitude of the cabinet.
It often also represents the attitude of Zhang Juzheng who keeps the rules at home.
Shen Shixing quoted this statement from Zhang Juzheng's "Zi Zhi Tong Jian Zhi Jie", "There are talents but no knowledge." They only changed the order and expression to express recognition of Wang Anshi's ambition.
Absolutely amassing wealth and bringing disaster to the world?
As Mr. Shen Ge said, Wang Anshi was just "ignorant" and his "knowledge" could only support him to that point.
But no matter how you say it, Wang Anshi is a man of "ambition". Why is it much better than Sima Guang and others who just sit back and watch the decline of the Song Dynasty?
All in all, Wang Anshi must bear the responsibility for the failure of the Xining Reform, but this is the limitation of man and the times, and it is definitely not Wang Anshi's bad intentions.
Wang Shizhen glanced at Shen Shixing and seemed to be considering it.
After a moment, the former nodded slowly.
Indeed, there is nothing that deviates from the facts. Wang Anshi is a moral gentleman, and his motives and purposes have never been questioned. Even Sima Guang will not deny Wang Anshi's original intention to save the country. Now he is just preparing to pick up this direction again for publicity.
Lantai and the cabinet reached a consensus, and the matter was half settled.
Zhu Yijun finally looked at Wang Zongyi, the Minister of Rites, and asked, "Wang Qing, do you think so?"
Everyone followed the sound and saw Wang Zongyi with his head raised, looking at the beams in trance.
Yin Zhengmao next to him was about to give a reminder.
"Replying to your majesty, the affairs of the world cannot be without disadvantages for a long time, and the disadvantages will be adaptable. It is actually the way of heaven."
Wang Zongyi came back to his senses and spoke softly.
The first sentence quotes Zhang Juzheng's original words about Wang Anshi.
His expression was filled with emotion, and he continued: "From the Song Dynasty to Shenzong, the country's power was sluggish and plummeted thousands of miles away. It was really on the verge of collapse."
"If there is harm, change will occur. If the world remains unchanged, it will inevitably die. If it changes, it will lead to death."
"Just like today, no matter whether we succeed or fail, we have to change!"
The meaning of borrowing the past and cherishing the present was so strong that everyone present could naturally hear it, and everyone was moved.
Isn't this the reason why everyone is gathering in the Huangji Palace to discuss the country's affairs?
Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment and took the lead in praising: "The disadvantages are the reform. It is true that we cannot only praise the reform when it is accomplished."
"Wang Anshi tried to save the nation and survive, even though he was defeated, it was still glorious!"
Seeing that there were no objections, Zhu Yijun finally made the decision - Wang Anshi thought of serving the country, which can be said to be a gentleman.
Wang Shizhen silently wrote down these words.
At the time when he was offering sacrifices to heaven in the southern suburbs, Zhang Juzheng was compared to Wang Anshi, and Zhao Jin, who denounced the new law endlessly, would have reacted if he had known that the court was going to rewrite Wang Anshi's biography after he became an official.
When Wang Shizhen thought of this, she couldn't help but look at the emperor with her peripheral vision.
Different from Song Shenzong's vacillation, Jin Shang never had any hesitation when it came to reform.
But then again, compared to how Song Shenzong could still gain a good reputation after Wang Anshi was counterattacked, if the new law fails now, his reputation will probably not be as good as Wang Anshi's reputation over the past hundreds of years.
Although it is an honor to lose... I hope this person will not have to wait for future generations to overturn his verdict.
Of course, outsiders would not know what Wang Shizhen was feeling in her heart.
As the emperor expressed his stance on overturning Wang Anshi's case, the tone was set.
Then let’s go back to the emperor’s original proposal.
Zhu Heng always spoke without restraint and spoke directly: "Your Majesty just said the slogan of the New Deal. I don't know whether it should be like Wang Anshi's 'Three Insufficiencies' or the poem 'Xining Slogan' written by Kong Pingzhong?"
Zhu Yijun shook his head: "It's not good either. At least it has to be simple and direct, so you can understand it at first glance."
Slogans similar to the "Three Insufficiencies" may sound deafening, but they are too vague and the people will be confused after hearing them.
Writing poetry is even more elegant, and the music is highbrow and low-key, which is not conducive to publicity.
At this time, Chen Sanmo suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I think Li Siye's teachings are very appropriate and can be used as soon as possible."
Zhu Yijun turned his head and asked curiously: "What is Chen Qing referring to?"
Chen Sanmo was also a Jinshi in the 44th year of Jiajing reign, and was in the same class as Shen Li and Wen Chun.
But compared with the latter two, the ingredients of the former are much different.
Shen Li initially refuted Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng's reputation, but Chen Sanmo was just the opposite. He first considered himself a disciple of Gao Gong, and when Gao Gong left the court, he made Zhang Juzheng the leader of the party.
Call job.
In short, he is a person with a not very good reputation, and even Zhu Yijun is not sure about his approach.
Faced with the emperor's questioning, Chen Sanmo blurted out: "Of course it is one of Zhuowu's two words, distribution!"
He looked slightly fanatical, obviously agreeing with this from the bottom of his heart.
Li Zhi's status in Shilin has now begun to catch up with Zhang Zai's. The so-called "Zhuowu Two Poems" are directly compared with "Hengqu Four Sentences" and are widely praised.
During the debate a few years ago, Li Zhi specifically proposed the term distribution on the basis of fairness - one of the foundations of the existence of the imperial court was to distribute the wealth of the world.
The so-called foundation means that if it cannot be achieved, there will be no basis for existence.
There are only one or two sentences to say that are deviant.
But Chen Sanmo openly said this in the Huangji Palace, which really made his colleagues look at him.
Zhang Han from the Ministry of Punishment frowned: "The banner of the New Deal has its own imperial laws. Why cite Li Zhi's fallacies and heresies?"
When Zhang Han heard that the Imperial Academy think tank doctrine was about to be put on the table to eat, he almost had his disgrace written on his face.
"I think it's appropriate."
Li Zaiting showed his support without scruples.
"Sima Guang once said that the world's wealth has its fixed number. I think the word fixed is not a good word. After all, the world's wealth will inevitably increase over time. But if you use the word total, it is appropriate."
"The total number is fixed, it is not here, but there. Now the national treasury is in distress and the poor people are in distress. Everyone in the world knows where the money is."
"No matter the salt administration, the clan, or the land distribution, they are all just 'distribution'."
"The rich and powerful officials and gentry are squeezed into the treasury and the poor people are squeezed for distribution. The people can know who is the enemy and who is the friend at a glance. Isn't it the most appropriate slogan?"
Zhang Han was displeased: "Li Budang's words are wrong. If this heresy is taken away by the refugees..."
It was clear that he was about to start an argument.
When Zhu Yijun saw this, he immediately said something to put an end to the problem: "The way of heaven is to make up for the deficiency when there is excess damage."
"It is an eternal duty for the imperial court to carry out the Way of Heaven. Li Zhi is just imitating the wisdom of the sages. Zhang Qing does not need to be too sensitive."
If you feel that you can't accept the fallacies and heresies, there is always a sage's words that can fit in.
Zhu Yijun waved his hand and lifted it lightly: "According to Chen Qing's proposal, the slogan will be based on 'distribution', and let the Hanlin Academy think of some smooth sentences."
Zhang Han hesitated to speak, but he had no choice but to close his mouth.
Zhu Yijun was afraid that he would still be entangled in this topic, so he quickly looked at Wang Guoguang: "Wang Qing, let's talk about taxes and see how they are distributed this year."
This is the topic that will enter the annual meeting.
The ministers sat at attention and cheered up.
Wang Guoguang couldn't say anything about the previous topic. He was distracted and thinking about other things. At this time, he was summoned and he came back to his senses.
"Report to Your Majesty." Wang Guoguang paused and gave himself time to organize his words, "In the seventh year of Wanli, in addition to retaining the summer taxes and autumn grains of each province, a total of 13,231,44 stones were retained. "
"A total of 21,320,000 taels of silver were collected from all the tax items in the central government's treasury, including 5,984,600 taels of silver in the Taicang warehouse."
Customized in the fourth year of Wanli, whether it is retained by the local provincial government or the transfer center, it must be registered with the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Nowadays, the central treasury, large and small, whether it is Taicang, Taipusi, Jieshentreasure, or even the inner treasury, although the meals are still divided into separate pots, the household department has to keep the general ledger.
This is why in the past few years at the annual meeting, Wang Guoguang could only report Taicang's annual income, but now he can report it all together.
Not only that, when recording the annual accounts of the treasury, two sets of accounts must be made - one set according to actual accounting, and one set converted into silver price.
Of course, although it is just a small standardization work, it has changed the statistical method and has actually greatly increased the authority and workload of the Ministry of Accounts.
Since then, the five departments and the inner treasury have frequently been at odds with the household department.
If it weren't for the expansion of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Lao Wangtou would be clamoring to become an official. In fact, the expansion is also noisy. The Imperial College complains about the Ministry of Household Affairs every year, saying that it recruits too many candidates, which significantly reduces the chance of imperial examinations to succeed. The admission rate, of course, is like the Imperial College, so you won’t be able to disturb people by talking about it.
Just listen to Wang Guoguang continue to say: "...Mineral tax, tariff, and salt tax are all the same as last year. Land tax accounts for 82%, down 2 points from last year. Commercial tax due to the rise of offshore shipping and the establishment of mutual trade with Duoyan Sanwei. Due to reasons such as the increase in profits turned over by Huguang Zongzong, it increased by 2 points compared with last year, with an increase of 400,000 taels of silver."
Not to mention that he gradually turned into an emperor by pressing the words of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Shen Shixing immediately asked: "Where is the non-tax income this year?"
In the eight years since the emperor ascended the throne, there has not been a single year without confiscation of homes. It can be said that confiscation of homes has been one of the financial pillars of the implementation of the new law in recent years.
Even an honest person like Shen Shixing found it addictive.
Wang Guoguang smacked his lips: "The houses confiscated by Mr. Shen Ge, Shi Maohua, and Liu Shiyan's gang have not yet been accounted for. Excluding the rotten treasure notes, the current amount is only 1.1 million taels."
The living money is not much, mainly calligraphy and painting, and a lot of jewelry.
Shen Shixing followed suit, secretly calculating how much money Shi Maohua, Liu Shiyan and others would get after ransacking the house.
At this time, Wen Chun, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up and admonished the emperor: "Your Majesty, non-tax revenue is not a long-term solution. The law and order are pursuing profits, lest it spoil the atmosphere."
If you confiscate too many homes, your official life will be ruined.
Shi Maohua and others would rather jump over the wall because the emperor was too harsh.
Zhu Yijun followed the good advice: "This is natural."
With a simple perfunctory sentence, he looked at Wang Guoguang again: "Where are the expenses?"
Wang Guoguang came up with this at his fingertips: "In response to your majesty, in the seventh year of Wanli, the local branches will keep it for their own use, and the central expenditure will total 18.9 million taels of silver."
"Border pay accounts for 47%, 5 points more than last year; battalion and guard officers and soldiers' salaries and grain still account for 14%..."
The military expenditure of the Ming Dynasty has remained at a high level of 60% for many years.
"The supply of His Majesty's inner palace still accounts for 10%; the suzerain vassal salary and grain account for 19%, which is 1 point lower than last year and 10 points lower than the first year of Wanli; the official salary and stipend account for 6%..."
The salary expenditure of court officials is the lowest, but compared with the first year of Wanli, it has tripled.
In addition, it is also because the performance of local officials is retained in the form of retention, so the provincial governments directly retain this part.
"Among them, the income silver ratio is 41.9%, and the expenditure silver ratio is 49.4%, concentrated in the prosperous south such as South Zhili, Zhejiang, and Huguang."
Silverization is a path that must be taken, and it is impossible to jump to credit currency in the blink of an eye.
Before that, adjusting the software was something that had to be done.
Zhu Yijun felt very comfortable as he listened to Wang Guoguang's eloquent talk, which was meaningful.
Since the New Deal, Zhu Heng, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, have never been inconspicuous and have no sense of existence. However, they are impeccable in terms of ability and loyalty. Although they do not have the talent to reconcile yin and yang, they are
He truly took charge of his own business.
In particular, the restructuring of the Ministry of Household Affairs can be said to have gone smoothly without any lag.
Statistics on silver payment were only mentioned last year, but have been put into practice this year. Aren’t the basics of the New Deal just these solid supporters?
"In addition, in compliance with His Majesty's decree, I have gathered with my colleagues to compile the "Wanli Accounting Records", which will be compiled and compiled this year and submitted to Your Majesty."
Wang Guoguang held up the four sets of books in front of him with both hands.
Zhang Hongqing took it over and presented it to the emperor.
Zhu Yijun reached out and took it.
He had read the blueprint two years ago. It can be said that this book is the general outline of the current tax law.
Treasury supervisors, Guanglu, vassals, official positions, salaries, water transportation, warehouses, camps, military salaries, farming, salt and tea money, miscellaneous courses, it can be said to be all-encompassing.
After Zhu Yijun turned over two pages, he gestured to Wang Shizhen beside him: "Director Wang, first of all, the original volume will be kept in the history museum for collection. As for publishing it... I'm afraid we will have to work hard to add an additional volume."
Wang Guoguang stood by and was stunned: "There is another volume of what Your Majesty said, but what omissions did I make?"
Zhu Yijun shook his head: "It's not that Wang Qing made any omissions, it's just something I have to deal with temporarily this year, and I have to settle here."
After saying that, he stretched out his hand and waved to the side.
Immediately, Wei Chao, Li Jin, Sun Long and others each held stacks of books and piled them in front of Wang Guoguang.
In Wang Guoguang's confused eyes, Zhu Yijun stretched out his hand and explained to Wang Guangguang: "These are the accounts of the inner court since the first year of Wanli. The properties acquired, the income and expenditures over the years are all here."
"Since I have spoken out before, there is no reason to be short-term. Wang Qing will compile these into a book and enter them in the Wanli Accounting Records."
As he spoke, Zhu Yijun turned to Chen Sanmo, who was in charge of the civil affairs department, and said slowly: "Every year from now on, the six departments will come to review the accounts of the inner court and publish them to the world."
Chapter completed!