Zhu Hao was not in the capital, and Zhu Si lacked a satisfactory helper and felt powerless to do anything.
Ever since.
Zhang Zuo was often asked by Zhu Si about Zhu Hao's situation.
Where is Zhu Hao?
How is Zhu Hao doing now?
Is there any letter?
A series of problems made Zhang Zuo increasingly restless.
Although Zhu Hao was ordered to go to Nanjing to audit the accounts, and was secretly followed and protected by Jin Yiwei, he still had to cover up people's eyes and ears to avoid arousing Yang Tinghe's suspicion of Zhu Haoxin. At the same time, Zhu Hao was also accompanied by Yu Chengxun and other Yang Tinghe's cronies to follow him and monitor him. How could there be too many connections?
Did Zhu Hao's news reach the capital?
"...Everything is fine. Logically speaking, we should arrive in Nanjing in mid-to-late September."
"Ah, I was getting married at that time, and he was in the south and was too late to attend!" After Zhu Si finished speaking, his face was full of regret.
Zhang Zuo thought to himself, as a minister, it would be great if he could witness the emperor's wedding with his own eyes. If not, it would be okay. There are so many officials in the world, but no one insists on entering the palace to attend the emperor's wedding ceremony. It makes it seem like you, the emperor, are completely inseparable from Zhu Hao.
Normally... Your Majesty, can we be a little more reserved?
Originally, Zhang Zuo thought that Zhu Si could calm down for a while after asking the question. Unexpectedly, within two days, Zhu Si asked the same question again.
This made Zhang Zuo very depressed, as if no one around the emperor could accomplish anything without Zhu Hao?
Your Majesty, we cannot be partial.
…
…
Although Zhu Hao was not in the capital, the battle between kings and ministers in the court became increasingly fierce.
As the order to mobilize troops from the three sides is issued, the troops and horses from the three sides will be transferred to Piantou Pass and Datong to assist in the defense. One thing is very troublesome. The troops and horses from the three sides need to bring their own dry food.
It's not that it's a embarrassment to the local soldiers on the three sides, but because the Xuanda front line's own military food and material supplies are insufficient and they can't afford to take care of the food.
For several days in a row, the court was arguing over how much grain to requisition from the northwest. Although there was less silver in the river this year, the expenditure in the northwest was huge. After all, the war lasted from the beginning of the year to September. This long-term war preparation state,
This makes the northwest need a steady supply of money and grain, and self-produced resources are almost non-existent...
When Sun Jiao returned home that day, he was told that Peng Ze, Minister of the Ministry of War, had come to visit him.
"Sir, Master Peng has been waiting in the study for a long time."
What annoyed Sun Jiao was that Peng Ze came as soon as he came, and even went to his study room to wait in advance without seeing anyone outside at all. In this way, it was neither missing nor missing.
Unable to escape, Sun Jiao could only meet Peng Ze in the living room.
"Xing'an, you came here uninvited. This old man is very upset...are you here to ask for money again?" Sun Jiao had nothing to hide, so he made it clear when he came up.
Peng Ze's courtesy name is Jiwu and his name is Xing'an.
In the Ming Dynasty, officials who were familiar with each other often used nicknames to refer to each other. Peng Ze had been in the northwest for many years and was a half-life soldier. He was both an official and a general, so others often referred to him by nicknames.
Peng Ze was young and had many friends, but his qualifications were far inferior to those of Sun Jiao. In addition, this time he came to ask for something, so he politely bowed his hands and said, "Sun Budang, isn't there really nothing I can do? I'm from the northwest.
It's tight, the military department is having difficulty supporting the army. How can we helplessly watch the soldiers go into battle without food or clothing to kill the enemy? I hope Sunbutang will give me some face."
If you can't ask for something in court, ask for it in private.
Sun Jiao sat in the main seat and stretched out his hand to signal Peng Ze to sit down, but Peng Ze stood there, as if he were a venerated door god. He probably meant that as long as you promise to allocate money and food, I will leave immediately and will not delay you any longer.
time.
Sun Jiao said angrily: "Do you think I am making things difficult for you? Are you ignoring the safety of the soldiers in the northwest? If the imperial court can allocate money and food, do you need to come to ask for it?"
"All expenditures for autumn grain have been listed in the account books for a long time. Now the government treasury is still in a huge deficit of 400,000 taels. It is written off at the end of the year and I don't know where to make up for it. The transportation of money and grain in the northwest has started since the beginning of autumn. Can't we be a little more frugal?
Do you have to let the imperial court and the old man be in trouble?"
The discussion between the two quickly reached a deadlock.
After autumn, the Ministry of Revenue did not allocate money and grain to the northwest, but
The demand outside of the main items is too great.
The imperial court cannot afford so much money, food and materials at the moment. If they are to be transported to the northwest, the most they can do is ensure that the soldiers survive the winter without encountering war. This is also based on the premise of arrears of salary... Now the war on the front has been fought.
The war was in full swing, and the imperial court really could not allocate any extra money or food to fight this war.
Sun Jiao's meaning is very clear. It's hard for a clever wife to make a living without rice, and I can't do anything without money.
Peng Ze said: "The Xuanfu seems to have accumulated savings in the past few years. Why is it such a situation in the Jiajing Dynasty?"
"Then you have to ask the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance before the Jiajing Dynasty. You come to ask me, how should I answer you? But Xing'an, are you sure that the Xuanfu treasury was full during the Zhengde period?"
Sun Jiao was angry at first and choked Peng Ze, but then realized that this was inappropriate.
In terms of status, the Minister of the Ministry of War was actually half a rank higher than him, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Besides, the other party just came to ask for money and food, so there was no need to get angry, so he immediately asked a very practical question.
What Sun Jiao meant was that you were not in the center during the last years of Zhengde, so how could you know what the Xuanfu treasury was like?
Besides, at that time, the Xuanfu treasury was basically controlled by the late emperor’s female cadres. They had already moved all the money and food from the treasury. The current deficit probably occurred at that time. The soldiers had not received military pay, armor, etc. for many years.
The weapons have not been replaced for many years, and the various fortresses are in disrepair. Do you think that it takes one year to cause such a tragic situation?
Peng Ze couldn't answer Sun Jiao's questions.
Sun Jiao said: "That's right. I didn't want to return to the court. Speaking of it, I just don't have the ability to make money with money. I heard that Huang Shangshu of the Southern Household Department was very good at raising money and food. I was thinking of resigning and returning to my hometown. Let him come
Taking over the position of the main department may be able to make up for the shortage of money and food in the northwest. What do you think, Xing'an?"
wipe!
If I come to ask you for money, why don't you just give up?
You are so shameless.
If you want to say that an old woman is very cunning, you, Sun Zhitong, are even more skilled.
"Sun Budang, even if you really want to become an official, why don't you wait...to resolve this winter's matters before talking...This, alas! In fact, this is what Yang Zhongtang meant. He didn't have a good solution, so I let you
I came to discuss with you." Peng Ze spoke very modestly.
Sun Jiao said: "If the Ministry of Revenue has nothing to do, then there really is nothing we can do. As far as I know, the inner treasury is also empty, so don't expect your Majesty to conjure money and food out of thin air."
"Everyone is living a tight life now. The previous dynasty was full of chaos, which led to the decline of people's livelihood. We should have recuperated and recuperated, and it would have taken a few years for the finances to improve. Who would have thought that the barbarians on this grassland would not give them a chance."
"Go and tell Yang Jiefu that I have tried my best and have taken care of everything I can. Officials must also cut back on food and clothing. If they can, they will not pay their salaries... If there is still a gap like this, then it can only be...
…I’m resigned to my fate!”
…
…
Peng Ze didn't get any advantage from Sun Jiao.
Then he went to see Yang Tinghe, and when he conveyed Sun Jiao's intention, Yang Tinghe was very angry.
"The Ming Dynasty's Minister of Revenue actually said such stupid words of resigning himself to fate? What shame does he have to stay in the position of Minister of Revenue?"
Yang Tinghe didn't avoid Peng Ze either, and cursed Sun Jiao all the time.
I kindly asked the Minister of the Ministry of War to come to you to beg you, and I gave you enough face. But you are so ignorant that you will join our army? It seems that you really don’t want to hang out in the court.
Peng Ze sighed: "Actually, I feel that Sun Buntang's words are a bit rough, but he is not lying. The situation of the imperial court was mostly created by the late emperor. As such, there are still many gaps in the imperial court. We have already paid for the salt in the coming year or even many years later."
Yin and salt taxes are all insufficient to make up for it. At this time, where can Sun Budang allocate money and food? Even if there is money, where will the supplies come from?"
Although Peng Ze also hated Sun Jiao for not saving him, he was also a commander in chief of the northwest, and he knew very well the important role of money and food supply in the war.
In Peng Ze's opinion, it was not easy for Sun Jiao to support the household department in such a difficult time.
Yang Tinghe said coldly: "As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, shouldn't I be worried about this? According to what you said, could it be that
Is he still successful? Now that the grain from the south of the Yangtze River is about to be transported to the capital, why can't he give priority to moving it to the northwest?"
Peng Zedao: "Zhongtang, Sun Butang proposed...that Huang Shangshu from Nanhu come to the capital to replace him. Maybe this person...can create money and food out of thin air."
Peng Ze did not go to discuss the matter of grain delivery with Yang Tinghe.
Everyone knows that the main purpose of transporting grain is to ensure the supply of the capital. If all the grain is transferred to the northwest, then the officials and civilians, the surrounding garrison, and the soldiers in Liaodong and other places will be affected by the northwest wind.
But just because the situation on the three sides is bad, the defenses everywhere cannot collapse. Even if trouble occurs, the entire border cannot suffer together.
The situation in Xuanda has deteriorated to a certain extent, and it won't matter if it gets worse. But once there are problems elsewhere, the entire Ming Dynasty's nine-border defense line will be over.
"Huang Gongxian?"
Yang Tinghe frowned.
Peng Zedao: "It seems that Zhongtang has always had a prejudice against this person? It is said that when he was the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue in supervising the treasury of the Xuanfu, he managed it in an orderly manner. The late emperor went on a military rampage and the imperial daughter was rampant, but he was still able to maintain a steady flow of food and wages in the northwest.
, the generals in the army have a good reputation, if they are used to manage the money and food in the northwest..."
Now Peng Ze is seriously ill and has sought medical treatment.
As the Secretary of the Ministry of War, his subordinates in the northwest are "waiting for food". He has to find ways to raise money and food so that his power can continue in the northwest frontier army.
Sun Jiao had no choice, so he recommended an official who could solve the problem. Peng Ze also mentioned this person to Yang Tinghe. Although he knew that Yang Tinghe had always classified Huang Zan as a party of female cadres and sycophants, he was not selected because of his outstanding ability.
Liquidation, or rather there is no time to liquidate.
"He is in charge of Nanhu, how can he be transferred to the north?"
Yang Tinghe did not refuse directly, but asked coldly.
It was okay for Huang Zan to go to Xuanda University as the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs to supervise the money and food affairs of the government treasury. But the problem is that now Huang Zan is the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in the South. If Huang Zan is to take care of the northwest affairs, he can only be promoted to the Northern Affairs Bureau.
With an official title such as Minister of the Ministry of Hubu or Minister of the Ministry of War, it is impossible to be demoted from the Minister of the Ministry of Finance to the Minister of Minister, right?
Besides, the Minister of Nanhubu also has a very important responsibility. The transportation of grain needs to be coordinated by the Nanhubu, and his powers and responsibilities cannot be underestimated. Why does Yang Tinghe need to place people who are not from his own faction into important positions in the court?