The next day, in the morning court, under the leadership of the elder Cheng Yuandao, the Qingliu people took the lead in launching an attack, impeaching the Caoyun Yamen for corruption and waste, and then brought up the issue of Hai Cao again, saying that the river canal should be changed to a sea canal.
Transform river transport into sea transport.
Such an action by the Qingliu people was like a thunderbolt, and it immediately overturned the peaceful situation in the temple that had been peaceful for a long time.
After all, this matter does involve the interests of too many people. From different standpoints, you will naturally come to completely different opinions.
For a time, hundreds of officials stood up to express their attitude. Some people joined the Qingliu people in vigorously criticizing the water transportation yamen. Some people joined the "Zhou Party" to defend the water transportation yamen in every possible way. Some people chose to support the sea-cao shipping matter, and some people
It repeatedly emphasized the necessity of river-cao transport.
However, because Cheng Yuandao obtained the detailed figures for this year's water transportation grain consumption, and these figures were indeed extremely shocking, he naturally stood on the moral high ground and temporarily gained the upper hand.
During this period, compared to the strong Qingliu, the "Zhou Party" who worked hard to oppose, and those neutral officials who took sides, the "Zhao Party" members were unusually low-key and silent, and did not express their opinions at will. At most, they were
Express some ambiguous opinions.
The low-key silence of the "Zhao Party" people is naturally due to Zhao Junchen's low-key silence. Before Zhao Junchen expresses his position, the "Zhao Party" people will not take sides at will.
And Zhao Junchen did not remain silent. When he listened to the officials' statements, his expression was very focused and serious.
Zhao Junchen will have to implement the canal project sooner or later in the future and must consider it carefully. Today's court meeting is undoubtedly a great opportunity to solicit opinions.
As he listened, a hint of sarcasm flashed across Zhao Junchen's expression.
Zhao Junchen discovered that the different statements of the officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were all traceable. He could make a rough guess just by looking at the composition of their family's industry and the geographical distribution of their industry.
All officials who actively maintain the water transport yamen and the status quo of water transport, they personally and their families are benefiting from the status quo of the water canal; all officials who impeach the water transport yamen and advocate the sea canal issue, they personally and their families will benefit from the sea canal issue.
And reap more benefits.
In the final analysis, interests determine opinions after all, but everyone pretends to be noble and serving the country and the people. They talk about "people's livelihood" and say "well-being". They are all selfless saints in this world.
In fact, the Qingliu people, including Cheng Yuandao, are so strongly opposed to the water transportation yamen and the current situation of water transportation, largely because they are mostly from the big landowner class in the south.
In fact, Zhao Junchen himself is also a slave of interests, but that does not prevent him from laughing at the same time.
While Zhao Junchen was secretly ridiculing all officials, including himself, seeing the two factions arguing endlessly, Wang Shou, Minister of the Ministry of War, couldn't wait to stand up and express his position, although his official power and responsibilities had almost nothing to do with water transportation.
It doesn't matter.
Seeing Wang Shou stepping out of the queue, Zhao Junchen thought to himself: "Remember that Wang Shou is from Liaocheng, and Liaocheng is a must-go place for rivers and canals, so the Wang Shou family operates a large number of docks, taverns, and warehouses in Liaocheng.
, and even businesses such as brothels, making huge profits by relying on the river canal. If the river canal is changed to the sea canal, his family business will soon decline... Therefore, Wang Shou must stand up to support the current situation of water transport.
Maintain the water transport yamen!"
Sure enough, as soon as Zhao Junchen's thoughts came to an end, Wang Shou said impassionedly: "Your Majesty, since I have been in charge of the military affairs of the imperial court, I know very well the consumption of money, grain and materials during transportation! This year's water transportation grain consumption is indeed
It's a bit shocking, but considering the canal blockage at the beginning of the year, this kind of food consumption is reasonable. I don't think the water transportation yamen should bear the blame!
As for the sea-cao issue, I am even more strongly opposed! The river-cao is the source of food and clothing for millions of water workers. If the river channel is changed to a sea-cao, then the millions of water workers will lose their means of survival and may become millions of refugees.
, and they are still millions of refugees who are strong and well-organized... Once such a situation occurs, I am afraid it will shake the foundation of our Ming Dynasty!"
Hearing Wang Shou's statement, Zhao Junchen nodded secretly and commented: "Wang Shou is worthy of being a general of the 'Emperor Party'. He really found out the relationship between water transportation and the Ministry of War, and this discussion
It’s quite reasonable and well-founded... If we can’t properly solve the food and clothing problem of the canal workers, directly changing river transportation to sea transportation is indeed a way to cause chaos!”
However, as soon as Wang Shou finished speaking, another official who seemed to have nothing to do with the water transportation matter - Zhang Dun, the Minister of Punishment, also stood up immediately.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Dun is also a member of the "Imperial Party".
After Zhao Junchen saw Zhang Dun stepping out of the queue, he secretly thought: "Zhang Dun is similar to most Qingliu people. He comes from a large landowner class in Jiangxi. Jiangxi is the main area for grain collection. In order to ensure that
The supply of Cao grain has been secretly restricting the nobles from annexing land, otherwise they will have no place to collect grain... This situation undoubtedly affects Zhang Dun's family interests, so Zhang Dun must support the Hai Cao matter!
"
Sure enough, although Zhang Dun and Wang Shou were both members of the "Imperial Party", he was at odds with Wang Shou at this time and said righteously: "Your Majesty, I was born in Jiangxi, and I know the people of Jiangxi best.
We have suffered a heavy burden due to the bad government of river canals! If we only pay normal taxes and grains to the court, it is also the people's responsibility, and we will naturally have no hesitation. But if the people are required to bear several times the additional cost of water transportation grains, it is a bad policy.
Damn it! Wang Shangshu only saw the food and clothing of hundreds of thousands of water workers, but ignored the heavy burden of tens of millions of people. Isn’t this a small gain but a big gain?”
Zhang Dun's statement is still very reasonable - in fact, it is precisely because each has its own truth that the dispute between river-cao and sea-cao has lasted for hundreds of years without a conclusion.
Although Zhang Dun actually only wanted to annex the people's land, it did not prevent him from speaking out for the welfare of the people on the surface.
And while the officials were arguing endlessly because of their own interests, Emperor Deqing also felt extremely annoyed.
Since Emperor Deqing ascended the throne, the dispute between Hecao and Haicao has occurred seven or eight times. Each time it was a long-running dispute, but no consensus could be reached each time.
As for Emperor Deqing himself, he actually preferred Hecao, not only because Emperor Deqing himself was taking advantage of the current situation of Hecao to draw various benefits, but also because Emperor Deqing's governing policy has always been based on stability.
Emperor Deqing did not like to see any changes unless there were clear benefits.
For those in power, the so-called "change" actually means variability and chaos.
Therefore, Emperor Deqing's eyes finally turned to Zhao Junchen.
In the eyes of Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen was undoubtedly the best at settling accounts among the officials of the Manchu Dynasty. If Zhao Junchen thought that the Haicao incident was more beneficial to the court, Emperor Deqing might seriously consider it and change his mind.
, but if Zhao Junchen thinks that the benefits of Haicao are not great, then Emperor Deqing will continue to resist Haicao - in this regard, Emperor Deqing still trusts Zhao Junchen.
However, after Emperor Deqing turned his attention to Zhao Junchen, he quickly discovered something.
Since the beginning of the court meeting, Zhao Junchen has been silent and low-key, so none of the officials of the "Zhao Party" have come forward to express their opinions!
You must know that the interests of everyone in the "Zhao Party" are also closely related to the water transportation. Some people will benefit from the current situation of water transportation, and some people will suffer from the current situation of water transportation, but no "Zhao Party" official took advantage of the opportunity.
Stand up and express your attitude and fight for the interests of yourself and your family.
It is obvious that everyone in the "Zhao Party" is waiting patiently for Zhao Junchen to take the lead in expressing his attitude, and then they will decide their own position based on Zhao Junchen's attitude.
This situation undoubtedly reflects Zhao Junchen's high control over the forces of the "Zhao Party", so much so that all "Zhao Party" officials regard Zhao Junchen's attitude and will as the primary condition for them to decide their own position.
In other words, compared to the benefits assigned to them by Zhao Junchen, the benefits related to water transportation are simply not worth mentioning to the "Zhao Party" officials.
From this aspect, the "Zhao Party" has obviously become an extremely close community of interests.
After thinking of this, Emperor Deqing's eyes showed some haze,
At the same time, Emperor Deqing's thoughts were very similar to Zhou Shangjing's last night.
"Just looking at the performance of the members of the 'Zhao Party', we know that Zhao Junchen's power foundation has become more and more stable. If he is allowed to further expand and grow, sooner or later he will become an uncontrollable trouble...
It's a pity that in recent years, the court's luck has always been bad. Natural disasters have occurred frequently in various parts of the country, and the national food stocks are also stretched... Until the court's food shortage dilemma is completely solved, I will continue to tolerate it and can only suppress it secretly... At present
It’s not the best time to completely eradicate the future troubles!”
While thinking deeply, Emperor Deqing already put on a trusting attitude and asked Zhao Junchen: "Zhao Aiqing, you are the senior official of the imperial court. You are also the most familiar with the fiscal matters of the imperial court, and you must be familiar with the current situation of water transportation.
You are the most insightful, why have you never expressed your position? What do you think about the impeachment of the Water Transport Yamen by Mr. Cheng Ge and others, and the dispute between the rivers, seas and seas among the officials? "
Zhao Junchen's silence and low profile were deliberate, just to wait for this moment.
At this time, all the officials had already expressed their opinions, and Emperor Deqing personally asked. Zhao Junchen chose this time to stand up and express his position, which naturally had the effect of sealing the coffin.
So, after Zhao Junchen stepped out of the queue, he slowly replied: "Your Majesty, I have been silent all this time, just because I am secretly calculating the pros and cons of river canals and sea canals in my heart."
Emperor Deqing asked with great interest: "Oh? We all know that you are best at calculating accounts, but have you calculated the results?"
Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "After detailed calculations by the minister, I found that the figures listed by Mr. Cheng Ge just now are all correct. Due to the blockage of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, the cost of water transportation this year is about four times that of grain. If it is replaced by sea
If transported by sea, the cost is only about 80% of that of transporting grain!"
Hearing that Zhao Junchen agreed with his statement, Cheng Yuandao couldn't help but glow.
In fact, if Zhao Junchen denies these statistics, Cheng Yuandao will immediately disclose the origin of these statistics and let Song Huancheng stand up to prove that these statistics come from within the Ministry of Household Affairs. Then Zhao Junchen will undoubtedly become a liar.
.
But then, Zhao Junchen's next words immediately made Cheng Yuandao change his expression.
"However, although these figures by Mr. Cheng Ge are accurate, they are not comprehensive... In other words, when calculating the cost of sea-cao canals, they are not comprehensive, but when calculating the cost of river-cao canals, they are too comprehensive!
For example, when calculating the cost of river canals, Mr. Cheng Ge also included the costs of dredging canals and repairing canals. However, although these costs are huge, they are also necessary expenses... If these costs are too high, they will only
It can prove that the cost of the river canal is too high, but it cannot prove that the canal transport yamen is greedy and extravagant...
In fact, over the years, whenever there is a canal blockage, the cost of canal transportation is four or five times as much as the canal grain.
All officials of the Caoyun Yamen in the past must be held accountable!"
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, several "Zhou Party" officials deliberately laughed out loud on the spot, while Cheng Yuandao couldn't help but show anger.
There is no other reason. Cheng Yuandao himself came from a famous family, and his maternal ancestors included Yang Yipeng, the governor of water transportation during the Wanli period!
Zhao Junchen's meaning is obvious. If the Caoyun Yamen is to be held accountable, the ancestors of Cheng Yuandao's mother's family must first be held accountable.
Therefore, Cheng Yuandao could not continue to pester the Cao Yun Yamen for a while. Instead, he thought he had caught Zhao Junchen's words and immediately asked: "Oh? From what Zhao Gechen said, he also believed that the cost of Haicao was lower and the benefits were greater.
too much?"
For Cheng Yuandao, compared with the impeachment of the canal transport yamen, the implementation of the sea-cao canal is a more important matter. It will not only allow Cheng Yuandao to leave his name in the history books, but also win more benefits for the Qingliu people.
Hearing Cheng Yuandao's inquiry, Zhao Junchen turned to Cheng Yuandao and smiled kindly, nodded and said: "In the long run, the cost of Haicao is indeed lower, so of course I am also willing to support Haicao!
But as I said just now, when Mr. Cheng calculated the cost of the canal, although the figures were accurate, they were not comprehensive!
For example, once the sea canal project is implemented, the coastal seaports must be expanded, at least three to five expansions... It will take about five to ten years and cost about eight million taels of silver... But this cost
, Mr. Cheng Ge doesn’t seem to have calculated it.”
After hearing the numbers "five to ten years" and "eight million", many people in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, including Emperor Deqing, frowned.
There are only so many benefits in the temple. Once a large amount of money is invested in the construction of the seaport for a long time, won't the benefits shared by the officials become less?
"Good guy, I'm going to put all eight million taels of silver into the pocket of the Ministry of Industry in one breath. No wonder Zhao Junchen expressed his support for the Hai Cao project!" This was what many officials were thinking at this time.
In fact, as Zhao Junchen finished speaking, Chen Dongxiang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, immediately jumped out, patted his chest and vowed that the Ministry of Industry would be able to properly complete the task of seaport expansion.
After Chen Dongxiang finished his statement, Zhao Junchen continued with a calm expression: "In addition to the expansion of the seaport, if the river canal is to be converted into a sea canal, the old canal boats will no longer be used, and a new batch of new ones must be built to withstand the traffic.
Huge fortune ships tossed about by the waves... Considering the scale of the annual grain harvest, at least five hundred ships must be built. The cost of each fortune ship is about eight to one hundred thousand taels of silver, and the maintenance cost is about five hundred taels per year!"
Chen Dongxiang's eyes became brighter and brighter, and he immediately jumped out and loudly assured again that the Ministry of Industry could not only properly complete the task of expanding the harbor, but also have the spare capacity to build a large number of ocean-going ships for the imperial court. He wished he could issue a military order on the spot.
When all the officials heard this, they thought - "Zhao Junchen just wants to move all the money from the treasury to the Ministry of Industry!"
However, Zhao Junchen's expression is still not over.
Under the spotlight, his expression still did not change much, and he just continued: "In addition, we have to consider the pirate plunder overseas, so we must expand the imperial navy... But how much will this expense cost?
, I can’t figure it out at the moment, the details will depend on the Ministry of War’s calculations... But I estimate that it should not be less than five million taels!”
When Zhao Junchen said this, the attitudes of all the officials changed one after another.
After all, handing over a large amount of resources to the Ministry of War to expand the navy has a bearing on the bottom line of the civil-military war!
On the other side, every time Zhao Junchen mentioned a number, Emperor Deqing could not help but twitch the corners of his eyes...
After Zhao Junchen finished speaking, Emperor Deqing took a deep breath, and then without waiting for the officials to continue expressing their opinions on the controversy, he directly opened the coffin and concluded: "As for the Hai Cao matter, let's put it aside for the time being... The deposit of the national treasury has just been
It’s more abundant now, so let’s wait a few more years to discuss this matter!”