As soon as this statement came out, Zheng Yi, the Minister of Rites, immediately became the focus of all attention.
What can you, the Ministry of Rites, do about something that the Ministry of Husbandry can’t do anything about?
It seemed that he also felt that what he said was a bit inappropriate, and he suddenly looked uneasy.
"Zheng Aiqing, it's okay to say it!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "The meeting is just for brainstorming!"
"I have an idea!" Zheng Yi said hesitantly, "Open a donation!"
"Huh?" Zhu Yunxi was unhappy in his heart, but still smiled on his face, "What kind of donation method?"
"When I was an official in the local area, whenever there was something difficult to resolve in the local area, the government would organize the gentry to provide money and help." Zheng Yi said, "In this way, we can save... Now the war in Yunnan and Myanmar is imminent.
The imperial court is temporarily in difficulty, so the gentry all over the world must be eager to donate. The imperial court can commend..."
"Shut up!" Zhu Yunxi suddenly shouted.
Zheng Yi immediately lowered his head, fearful and did not dare to speak any more.
"Where has the Ming Dynasty reached?" Zhu Yunxi looked at him and said loudly, "Oh, the memorials all day long are about the prosperity of the country and the peace of the people, He Qinghaiyan, and the increasing strength of the country. When something happens to the court, you ask the gentry to donate money, you
Excuse me?"
"You have the nerve to say that I'm embarrassed to hear it? I want face!" Zhu Yunxi sneered, "Isn't it enough for the people of the world to pay food and taxes?"
"I didn't mean that..."
"That's what you mean!" Zhu Yunxi looked at him and said, "When there was a disaster in the local area before? Ha! I still don't know the tricks in the local area? The court gives relief funds, but the local government has to raise the money itself.
Did it reach the hands of the victims? Where did they go in the end?"
"You are still the Minister, how can you say this?" Zhu Yunxi continued to say bitterly, "Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
Immediately, he thought to himself, "This Zheng Yi needs to be replaced. Now he is old and confused!"
Zhang Yan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, also frowned and said, "These two things cannot be confused. The local government has organized the gentry to donate generously to the rich, but the government has promised benefits, otherwise they would not get anything. The imperial court uses soldiers to talk to the gentry? Too much
It’s unbecoming. If there is a slight mistake, for example, the accounts are unclear, who can explain it clearly?”
"Actually, what Mr. Zheng said, I am..." Sitting in the second to last row at the back, Zhang Sizhong from the Ministry of Revenue said to Shizhong. He has great power in Shizhong, and he can be regarded as entering the ranks of high-ranking officials.
The next level up is the Minister of the Sixth Department.
"Do you agree?" Zhu Yunxi asked.
"I don't agree, but I thought of something else!" Zhang Sizhong said, "At the end of the year, the national treasury of the Ministry of Household Affairs is stretched, and money must be reserved for emergencies in the coming year. As for the old foundation of the treasury,
Then you can’t move!”
The Ming Dynasty's treasury was actually not without money. It had tens of millions of silver coins, but it couldn't be touched.
"The donation thing Zheng Shangshu said is definitely not advisable if it involves the face of the imperial court, but I thought it could be borrowed!" Zhang Sizhong said, "It was established earlier in the Yuan Dynasty, and private loans were promised with interest and returned at maturity...
"
"This hole cannot be opened!" Zhu Yunxi said seriously.
He knows that national debt is a good thing, but in this era... the official is the king, who can do anything if he refuses to admit his debt?
"Remember my words, no matter when in the future, even if the sky falls and the earth falls, you cannot use this method!" Zhu Yunxi looked at the ministers and continued, "Since ancient times, money has moved people's hearts, and when money comes too easily, officials will inevitably get their hands on it. In the end, not only
Losing the original intention will only cause the court to lose face."
"It doesn't matter if the court loses face, the most important thing is that it loses the support of the people! People cannot stand without trust, let alone the Ming Dynasty. When something really embarrassing happens, will you take money out of your pockets to plug the holes?
"
"Hmph, I'm afraid I'll be able to shirk it faster than anyone else and pick it off more cleanly than anyone else!"
Zhang Sizhong couldn't sit still and immediately stood up and said, "I made a mistake, please punish me!"
"There is no need for punishment!" Zhu Yunxi said after taking a sip of tea, "But I have something to warn you. Don't use this little cleverness again in the future."
"I obey the decree!" Zhang Sizhong was sweating profusely.
"I thought that the national treasury is now abundant, but now it seems that there are still too many places to spend money, so we can't do it without careful calculation!" Zhu Yunxi sighed for a while, "Well, Mu Chun said it would cost two million, and the Ministry of Household Affairs will raise part of it."
Zhang Ming immediately said, "The money that the Ministry of Household Affairs can transfer is only 800,000 yuan." As he said that, he looked at Zhu Yunxi and continued, "I can't get even one more cent. If the emperor blames me, I can only ask him to move his place."
!”
"Ha!" Zhu Yunxi smiled, "Okay, you don't have to complain to me!" After saying that, he thought about it, "I can estimate that my internal treasury can provide about 700,000..."
Zhang Yan and other ministers hurriedly said, "No!"
"There's nothing wrong with it! My money is also the country's money!"
A large part of the money in Zhu Yunxi's inner treasury was the reduction of salt water in the Lianghuai River and part of the customs duties. These funds were said to be his inner treasury, but in fact most of them were used for military expenses.
"I said I was going to fight the war. There is no reason for me, the emperor, to spend all my money." Zhu Yunxi said and thought for a moment, "I have already taken the money, but my uncles...?"
Suddenly, the ministers' eyes lit up.
Yes, the princes of the Ming Dynasty were all extremely rich, right?
The imperial court has been raising them all these years, giving them this and that, they are bitches...the ones with the zodiac sign Pixiu can only get in and out. Moreover, the case of King Zhou has been revealed recently. Is it just the King of Zhou? Others are just assholes.
Is it clean?
The king of Zhou knew that the vassal king was as rich as the enemy of the country.
"But what I said about this matter is a little inappropriate!" As he said that, Zhu Yunxi picked up the tea cup and covered his face.
"I'm here to tell you!" Among the ministers, Xin Yande, who had just been promoted to the General Secretary, said, "I won't mention any names, but I will use the recent case of King Zhou to talk about it. The vassal kings have scruples and will definitely serve the imperial court!
"
"What a fool!" Zhu Yunxi smiled bitterly in his heart, "What I mean when I say this is that after the meeting is over, we will study how to say this in private! It would be better for you to make it clear in front of everyone!"
The vassal princes have provided money, so the nobles have the nerve to be iron cocks?
In this way, the problem of military expenditure will be solved.
"Yeah!" Zhu Yunxi coughed deliberately.
But Xin Yande continued as if he hadn't heard, "I have another opinion. The recent case of the King of Zhou involved a huge amount of money. I think that the confiscated property does not need to be confiscated, but can be sold on the spot and directly converted into money, cloth, etc., for military supplies."
!”
"I second the proposal!" Zhang Yan said.
"Yes, it's accurate!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "Speaking of which, I also have an idea in my mind."
Then he knocked on the table and said, "Now that the world is becoming more and more peaceful, corruption breeds in prosperous times. If there is a corruption case in the future, the money involved will be put into the national treasury for special classification. It will be used exclusively for future disaster relief, relieving orphans and widows, and building bridges and paving roads!"
"The Emperor's Holy Ming!"
~~
The small court meeting dispersed and the ministers withdrew, but one person was left behind by Zhu Yunxi to speak.
Ling Han, a veteran minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
"Why didn't Ling Aiqing say a word at the court meeting just now?" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile.
"Economy is not what I'm good at!" The old man Ling Han sat with his back slightly bent, looking a little out of energy. "What if I say the wrong thing, my old face..."
"Well, you are better than some people. You are obviously ignorant of the economy and you still want to make people laugh. Ha, he didn't just lose his face, I was also embarrassed!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile.
Ling Han screamed in his heart and thought secretly, "The little emperor is getting better and better at playing tricks!"
He, Ling Tietou, was unambiguous in matters of right and wrong, and he was also unambiguous if the king's moral conduct was defective. However, over the years he had been an official, he had not offended many of his colleagues.
Offending the emperor does not necessarily mean death, but offending a colleague is a life worse than death.
"How is your personal relationship with Zheng Yi?" Zhu Yunxi opened the skylight and spoke frankly.
"We are acquaintances!" Ling Han said, "He was born in the Imperial Academy of this dynasty, and the veteran was a Jinshi of the previous dynasty."
That’s something to deal with!
Zhu Yunxi pretended not to understand, "He is getting older. I see that he is not energetic enough and makes many sloppy mistakes when doing errands. Please go back and persuade him!"
"I'm trying to persuade you to ask me to tell him to resign and make room for others!" Ling Han cursed in his heart.
Zhu Yunxi said again, "Come here, the old minister has been sitting with me all morning and talked about how to reward the Jianyu out of the palace. That...Shandong sent some big persimmons from the north as tribute. The old minister is also from the north. Take some back to taste."
Try it!”
"A few broken persimmons were thrown away after just one round of dumplings!" Ling Han sighed in his heart and had to stand up, tremblingly saluting, "I thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"