"All the memorials related to the Ministry of Household Affairs have been temporarily withheld. They said that the incident happened suddenly and there was no time to verify the situation and it was inconvenient to disrupt the court affairs. They will be submitted after a few days."
Xu Jingchang, wearing a crimson official uniform, was sitting in the main hall of the General Administration Department and said quietly.
Hu Yan was startled for a moment and said in a low voice: "Our General Affairs Department has never had the power to detain memorials, let alone when it involves the Supervisory Office, the Sixth Section, and even Qingliu from the Imperial Academy and the Imperial Academy submitted a letter, just in case..."
"Don't worry about them. Go tell Wu Shan and give a message to Jinyiwei Jigang. Don't worry about the rest."
Hu Yan was stunned again, then nodded vigorously and hurried down. Wu Shan knew the secrets here better than him. When encountering major events, you cannot hide it from the emperor. This is the first rule.
But you can't leave everything to the emperor, otherwise, what's the use of putting you in the middle of the court?
The General Affairs Department should really be regarded as a communication room. Even if it is a communication room, we must consider the leadership. If we should not put things in, we must not put them in.
Notifying the Jin Yiwei is equivalent to informing Zhu Di. Although the Jin Yiwei can supervise all officials, they operate independently and only belong to the emperor.
If you investigate something privately, you don’t need to go through the third department.
With Yao Guangxiao staring at the General Secretary, Xu Jingchang took some time off, staggered and went straight to the Ministry of Revenue. Along the way, Xu Jingchang was also thinking about what to say.
This sentence stunned Xia Yuanji. Who am I and where am I? Is my name Xia Yuanji?
Wang Zhong scolded me, and you kid scolded me too!
Xia Yuanji suddenly stood up, his eyes widened angrily, and he was about to scold him back.
Xia Yuanji is not too old, not yet forty years old. He has been in charge of the finances for several months, but he is already exhausted and has a premature age.
In the fourth year of Jingnan, the Ming Dynasty was completely defeated. The provinces that were invaded had to be appeased. In some places, land tax was exempted for three years. Around Yingtian, it was also exempted for one year.
These situations were getting worse one after another, so when Xu Jingchang found out about it, his first step was to sit in the General Administration Department and suppress the matter first.
"So we need to disarm." Xu Jingchang said with a smile.
Xu Jingchang sneered and said: "Okay, if you say I am a traitor, then we will go to His Majesty to argue and see who His Majesty believes!"
Xu Jingchang chuckled, "Am I making trouble unreasonably? Did you know about Wang Zhong's tax evasion in advance?"
Food cannot be harvested, but money has to be spent outside like running water.
Xu Jingchang smiled slightly and said, "Young Master, please forgive me for not agreeing."
"But what? You waited for His Highness to watch the government, and you took it out in a hurry, and even called His Highness away to go with you to inspect the taxes. You asked His Highness to be your pawn to deal with Jing Nan. You plotted to provoke His Highness
What are your intentions for the conflict with the nobles? You dare to influence the crown prince, you are too vicious, why did the Ming Dynasty have such a traitor like you! I should really kill you, lest you harm the country, the people, and the world...
…”
Xia Yuanji snorted, "You think I don't know? But to increase the manpower, it also costs money. The warehouse rats in the Ministry of Revenue can't feed them anymore. What do you want me to do?"
"Xia Yuanji, I will make you an immortal!"
But for Xu Jingchang, that's not the case.
Xia Yuanji was shocked, "Xu Tongzheng, do you mean to use soldiers to collect taxes?"
Yao Guangxiao frowned slightly. He did not doubt Xu Jingchang's ability, but it was a bit surprising that this boy was so proactive.
Xia Yuanji's lips turned blue with anger. There was no one as hateful as Xu Jingchang in the entire court.
At this time, Yao Guangxiao also came.
"Then there will be Lao Xu Tongzheng."
Xu Jingchang chuckled and suddenly sat down, then pulled Xia Yuanji and asked him to sit down too.
"Xu Tongzheng, don't make trouble unreasonably."
At this time, Yao Guangxiao was like Zhu Gaochi's master. If something happened to his apprentice, the teacher could not stay out of it.
"Disarmament? What do you mean?" Xia Yuanji whispered: "Are you saying that you want to eliminate the old and the weak and reduce expenditures?"
This is also the experience Yao Guangxiao accumulated during the four-year crisis and served as military counselor, solving the most difficult problems first.
Xu Jingchang's smile did not diminish, "Young Master, if you try to provoke me, it won't work. Wang Zhong is indeed hateful, but there is someone even more hateful and vicious behind this incident. You don't want His Highness to be deceived, right?"
Now is indeed the best opportunity. Wang Zhong made a mistake. He just caught the nobles and took advantage of their losses to snatch several thousand households. He specially selected the most capable ones and enriched the household department. Later, the tax collectors will go out tomorrow.
With bright armor and murderous intent, who dares to evade taxes?
Yao Guangxiao was startled, "What do you mean? Are you afraid of Wang Zhong's power and unwilling to take action? It's rare that you, Xu Tongzheng, still have someone you are afraid of."
When Xu Jingchang met, he cursed loudly.
This leaves room for maneuver for everyone.
"No, what I mean is to allocate a few well-trained Qianhu from the army and add them to our hands as specialized tax collectors!"
Xia Yuanji was confused by this set of accusations, "Xu Jingchang, don't spit on people with blood. You are making heart-breaking remarks. You are making things out of nothing, attaching to them, and being thoughtful... You, you are a treacherous person!"
"My going to collect finance and taxes was approved by His Majesty. Your General Secretary also knows that it is natural for Your Highness to come to observe the government and let him see the financial and tax situation. There is nothing wrong in what I did. As a result, the Marquis of Jing'an, Wang Zhong, relied on wine to
When I was drunk, I made a big fuss and insulted me in public. Your Highness was standing by to testify. As an important minister of the imperial court, I was so humiliated. Instead, you came to me to make trouble. Xu Jingchang, when did you collude with Honorable Jingnan?
Have you reached the point where you don’t care about right and wrong?”
Xia Yuanji, who calmed down, is not a vegetarian either. This hat is put on his head, and Xu Jingchang does not need to be weak at all.
Xia Yuanji frowned slightly, "I heard a little bit, but..."
Xia Yuanji's face flushed slightly, and he thought about it again and again.
The Jubaomen Tax Card carried great hopes, but as a result, too many noble court officials evaded taxes, and it was really difficult for Lao Xia.
"Actually, this matter, just killing the chicken to scare the monkeys will not be of much use. The key is to increase our tax collection ability. We need people on hand!" Xu Jingchang said in a persuasive way.
"Young Master, I have been in the General Affairs Department for several months, and I have accumulated some experience. Let me say that only the imperial court is leaking from the top. You keep an eye on the General Affairs Department for me, and I will help.
Your Highness, please settle this matter."
"Wait a moment!"
Otherwise, if the General Administration Department handed over so many memorials from the courtiers, and Zhu Di did not express his position, the courtiers would definitely not give up. They would either continue to submit letters, or go to Zuoshunmen to ask for an audience, or even worse, they could beat the Dengwen drum and call Zhu Di directly.
come out.
Hearing this, Xia Yuanji's expression softened a lot, and he couldn't help but sigh. He pointed at his temples. The white hair peeking out from under his crown was particularly dazzling.
It's just that Wang Zhong jumped out, so he had to be attacked first. As for the rest, we will figure it out later.
Yao Guangxiao frowned slightly and was speechless for a long time. His level was definitely top-notch. Zhu Gaochi caused such a big incident on his first day in office. Someone must have arranged it secretly.
"Xu Tongzheng, His Majesty has also appointed you as Crown Prince Zhan Shi. This time, Prince Jing'an Wang Zhong is arrogant and bold. He has no regard for the court. He is escaping from taxes first and colliding with government offices second. We cannot keep him under any circumstances. We simply sacrifice him to the flag."
, to establish authority for His Highness. You will submit the memorial to impeach Wang Zhong now."
Xu Jingchang found that there was also a trace of worry on the old monk's face, because just now, Zhu Di invited him over and mentioned the matter of teaching the prince.
"That's right, we also need elite soldiers!" Xu Jingchang gritted his teeth and said: "We are in the business of grabbing food from the tiger's mouth. If we don't have good men, we won't have strong backs! We must use the best soldiers, the strongest generals, and the smartest
Wang Zhong’s life or death is not important, the key is that we need to strengthen the tax office. Lao Xia, now you understand my painstaking efforts!"
Xia Yuanji was speechless when he heard about the empress. That's your aunt. Even if I have reason, I can't explain it.
He successfully met Shangshu Xia Yuanji in the signing room.
"I understand what you are thinking, Lao Xia, we are like grasshoppers on the same rope. The commercial tax has been implemented for several months now, especially at the end of the year, when the growth rate slows down, and you see money everywhere, just income.
You can't come up. So you want to kill the chicken and scare the monkey, and drag His Highness over, hoping to use his name to suppress all officials and nobles, and implement this matter as soon as possible."
Unexpectedly, Xu Jingchang reacted much faster than him, "Your fucking scheming highness, come after me if you have the ability! Come, follow me to find the Queen's wife for review!"
"Xu Tongzheng, you are so scheming!"
Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "It's all to enrich the Ming Dynasty's treasury, and it's all for the country."
Xia Yuanji nodded, "Okay, in that case, would Xu Tongzheng be willing to face you with me?"
"Okay, no matter what difficulties there are, the two of us will bear them together!"
