"Father-in-law, after my son-in-law goes south, you will have to worry a lot. You will always take care of family and state affairs." Xu Jingchang's voice was low, and he was a little reluctant.
But even so, he also knew that he could not stay in Peking for a long time. The new envoy must return to Yingtian as quickly as possible. After all, there are too many government affairs waiting for him there. Just Zhu Gaochi,
But I can't deal with these things.
Huang Guan also understood the meaning. He sighed and said, "His Majesty asked you to sit down in response to the sky. He did not mean to alienate you. On the contrary, he wanted to manage the war against Wala. You should believe in your Majesty's ability. This battle will be won."
It's very beautiful, not to mention flattening the grassland and severely damaging the Wala. Instead, it is a matter of the imperial court, which is complicated and cannot be dealt with easily. Also, after you go south, you have to prepare food and salary for His Majesty. In short, there are so many things.
, everyone is worried about His Highness the Crown Prince alone."
Xu Jingchang nodded. He understood some things even if he didn't tell them. The reason why his father-in-law pointed it out was to let him have other ideas.
Xu Jingchang had already made plans for the battle in Wala.
For example, they spread the Jin Yiwei to find out the news. They gathered the Jurchens, wooed Arutai, held a riding and archery competition, and carried out various constructions in Peiping.
It is no exaggeration to say that Xu Jingchang fertilized, plowed the ground, planted seeds, and even did the weeding. As long as the person taking over follows the steps, they probably won't make mistakes.
Of course, the battlefield is changing rapidly, and no matter how well prepared you are, problems will arise if there are problems with implementation or errors in judgment.
Therefore, Zhu Di still had to stay in Peiping and manage the war.
This is what he is good at and what he enjoys most.
Although it felt like going down the mountain to pick peaches, Zhu Di decided to do it.
The reward is a genuine political envoy.
Zhu Di has too many things to do, but there are too few people who can coordinate the overall situation and help him.
Yao Guangxiao can, but he is too old.
Zhu Gaochi can do it, but he is still immature. For example, although he did a good job in abolishing the Imperial College, he did not have the next steps. The so-called advantage and elimination of disadvantage... Look at Xu Jingchang, after he established the Imperial College in Peking, he immediately established four universities.
Tang, new talent training immediately followed.
Looking back at Zhu Gaochi, the old supervisors were driven back to their hometown, the new supervisors did not come up, and the new school did not follow.
On the contrary, Ying Tianchaotang began to advocate the imperial examination, believing that all other ways to become an official were miscellaneous and that only the imperial examination was the right way.
In this way, not only did the results of the reform fail to be harvested, but on the contrary, it slipped in a bad direction.
This does not mean that Zhu Gaochi's methods are not good, but he lacks an overall plan and complete steps to pursue victory.
Compared to Xu Jingchang's antelope hanging its horns in Beiping, it was really a big difference.
Zhu Gaochi still has a lot of room for improvement.
Xu Jingchang nodded, indicating that he knew what he was doing.
"Actually, my mission when I go back this time is very simple, which is to bring together the two official systems and the two fiscal and taxation systems in the north and south. As long as I can accomplish this, I, the general secretary, will be able to retire with success." Xu Jingchang laughed.
road.
Huang Guan frowned, saying it lightly, this is not easy!
Since ancient times, the Central Plains dynasties have had a fiscal and taxation system based on agriculture. By the Ming Dynasty, it had not changed at all, and it had been unprecedentedly strengthened in the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang.
The fiscal and taxation system that focuses on agriculture is very powerless when it comes to land that cannot be farmed.
During the previous battles in the Central Plains, for example, when Zhu Yuanzhang annexed Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, once the land was occupied, as long as they did light corvee and paid little tax, rested with the people, cultivated the land, and rewarded farmers and mulberry trees, they could regain their strength within a few years and even be able to supply money and grain.
Support the fight.
It has become a national asset rather than a burden.
But when it comes to grassland areas, it's completely different.
For example, Qin Shihuang swept across the Xiongnu with hundreds of thousands of troops. Although it was very majestic, what should we do next?
A conservative estimate of the 600,000-strong army would require two million people to transport grain and grass thousands of miles to support expenditures... For border defense, we also need to build straight roads and build the Great Wall, and millions of civilians.
No matter how strong the country is, it cannot withstand such hardships.
This is not to say that Qin Shihuang’s measures were wrong. On the contrary, these are successful experiences that have been verified for two thousand years. They are only weak and cannot be replenished. After all, national power has its limits and cannot violate the laws of nature.
The lessons of the Qin Dynasty were repeated again and again in later generations.
During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the powerful Han Dynasty could violently defeat the nomadic peoples and greatly expand their territory.
But what next?
It is better to send troops to garrison the Great Wall to strengthen defenses, or simply move the nomads who have surrendered inland, give them land, and integrate them into the farming system... But the problem is that the nomads who migrate inland cannot suddenly change their customs within three or two generations.
And the empty grassland land will be filled by other ethnic groups.
Soon there will be internal and external troubles.
After the Han Dynasty, there were the Five Hunan Rebellions in China, and in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, there was the Anshi Rebellion... These are all painful lessons.
When it came to the Ming Dynasty, it was actually difficult to avoid this vicious circle.
However, Xu Jingchang gave a different solution to the problem.
Aiming at the grassland tribes, we must be good at dividing and disintegrating them, and use various means to win victory.
Moreover, the grassland is not without oil and water to exploit. As long as you change your thinking and develop industry and commerce, you will find that the grassland is not only a vast market, but also an excellent source of raw materials.
With military as the foundation and commerce as the means, the grasslands will never go unfavorable.
Zhu Di has accepted this.
It’s just that the current superstructure of the Ming Dynasty is still the traditional one and must be changed.
That's why Xia Yuanji proposed moving the capital.
Because the capital is being moved at this time, along with the reform of the official system, Beiping must be headed by the Minister of Household Affairs and focus on commercial taxation. Lao Xia directly overtakes him.
Jian Yi wants to stop this, it's not just a dispute between two people... The Ming Dynasty also had a huge agricultural society. Now that the capital is moved to Beiping and the control of the south is relaxed, the consequences will be absolutely disastrous.
Xu Jingchang also recognized this point and proposed not to move the capital for ten years.
Even if Xia Yuanji compromised so easily, someone might have told him in advance and told him to take it easy.
As for Zhu Di's promotion of Xu Jingchang to the post of general affairs envoy again, and promotion of the general administration secretary to a first-rank yamen, he wanted to bring a proper conclusion to this matter concerning the life and death of the Ming Dynasty.
We can't continue to have meaningless arguments ten years later!
"The heavy burden is all on your shoulders." Huang Guan sighed and patted Xu Jingchang's shoulder.
"Don't worry, father-in-law, I can handle this."
Huang Guan nodded happily, "Very good, you finally have the demeanor of a famous official, I'm relieved."
After some exchanges between Weng and his son-in-law, they already knew that Huang Guan was Xu Jingchang's agent in Peiping. Xia Yuanji had the final say on general matters.
After all, there is still Zhu Di here, and Lao Xia is not a treacherous person.
But when encountering a critical issue, Huang Guan had to argue with reason to avoid Xia Yuanji's mischief.
As for Yingtian's matter, it depends on Xu Jingchang's methods.
Before leaving, Xu Jingchang stared at his son for a long time.
"Perhaps next time we meet, you will be able to crawl, and if it lasts longer, you might be able to speak." Xu Jingchang pondered again and again, took a string of Qinan from his wrist, carefully placed it on his son's pillow, and then said goodbye to his wife.
, then he left Peiping with his entourage and returned to Yingtian.
The news of Xu Jingchang's departure spread like wildfire.
People in Peiping were naturally relieved and almost toasted in celebration.
In particular, King Zhu Su of Qi set off firecrackers outside Tianjin and invited people to come and perform operas, which was very lively and lively.
"You wait!"
Xu Jingchang held the secret report and gritted his teeth. I will write down the accounts first. Later, I will not let you, Zhu Su, go bankrupt and owe money that will not be repaid for several lifetimes, so I will depose myself!
As it is here in Peiping, the real killer is Ying Tian.
Even Jian Yi, the official of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was not calm.
He walked significantly faster, spoke louder, and his subordinates were scolded at every turn without being polite at all... He still had the calmness and calmness of the head of the civil service.
"What is the head of the civil service? Nowadays, the General Secretary is the head of the civil service. That boy Xu Jingchang is back."
Jian Yi hurriedly organized all the government affairs. He wanted to prevent Xu Jingchang from getting caught.
In fact, Jian Yi didn't do anything immoral. He just increased the allowances for the officials. This is also in line with reality. After all, prices in Yingtian are getting higher and higher, and there are also excessive issuance of treasure banknotes, causing the currency value to drop.
Another thing is that there are more and more precious banknotes, and the problem of counterfeit banknotes is also emerging one after another.
In fact, it affects purchasing power...
It is reasonable to increase the allowance, not to mention that he will also benefit from being appointed as the Duke of Guo?
It's just that the expenditure on the Ministry of Personnel seems to have increased by more than 1.8 million taels... Where has all this money been spent?
Officials of the fifth rank and above are required to provide four servants, a groom, and two draft horses, with an annual expenditure of 360,000 taels.
In the Beijing Yamen, a canteen was added. The annual cost of the canteen of the official department was 23,000 taels...the household department was 32,000 taels, and the inspectorate was even more exaggerated, with more than 50,000 taels.
It seems like you haven’t eaten anything?
What's going on?
Jian Yi only felt a pain in his head. These people below are really abominable. They don't know how to take it easy. Someone must take care of you.
At this moment, Qiu Fu was also yelling at the housekeeper in Qi State's mansion, and he was furious!
"Who asked you to transfer that piece of military camp land to my name? Who wants to harm me?" Qiu Fu was furious, "That's three thousand acres! It's going to kill me!"
The housekeeper said bitterly: "My lord, those are the best irrigated fields. They can be harvested twice a year and can produce three kilograms of grain!"
"Three stones? So what if you can produce ten stones? The person named Xu is coming back, deal with it as soon as possible... Listen to me, if you can't clean your butt, I will report you immediately. The worst is, I will lose face, and you have nothing."
Brain!”
Seeing the Duke like this, the housekeeper could only leave in a hurry.
But compared to their panic, after Xu Jingchang returned to Yingtian, the first person he saw was General Secretary Xie Jin.
"I don't need to say more about the matter, right? Your Majesty feels that the burden of the Secretary of General Affairs is even heavier."
