Chapter 623 Emperor Chongping: In addition to asking for money, the Ministry of Revenue still wants money!
Hanyuan Hall, front hall
It was in the afternoon when the three ministers of the cabinet gathered together and waited with their hands down. The hall was empty and cool, which made people feel cool in this hot summer day.
After a while, the sharp voice of the prisoner outside the palace sounded: "Your Majesty has arrived."
The three cabinet ministers Yang, Han and Zhao were shocked. They saluted Emperor Chongping who came to sit on the golden chair surrounded by the eunuchs. However, they were surprised when they saw Xu Lu, the censor of Zuodu, who was following the emperor. Click.
Today is the summer grain collection matter. What is the General Procuratorate doing here?
"I have seen Your Majesty, long live long live, long live long live." The three cabinet ministers spoke.
"Your Majesty, please excuse me."
Emperor Chongping looked indifferent, looking at the three cabinet ministers and a Zuodu censor below, and said straight to the point: "This year's summer grain collection period has come again, how is the situation in the provinces?"
As he said that, he turned his attention to Yang Guochang.
Yang Guochang said in a green voice: "Your Majesty, last winter, there was no snow in many places in Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, and Guanzhong. After the beginning of spring, there were only two intermittent light rains. The provinces were generally affected by disasters. Now the summer grain collection is approaching. "Recently, memorials reporting disasters from various places have been arriving like snowflakes, most of them requesting tax exemptions. The counties of Yanzhou Prefecture and Dongchang Prefecture in Shandong Province are the most severely affected. Locusts are raging, and they request the imperial court to allocate rice and silver for relief."
Zhao Mo, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, had a gloomy look in his eyes and a cold heart. The disaster in Shandong was serious, and Mr. Yang Ge really took care of Sangzi. Not only did he exempt him from taxes, he also asked the court to allocate money for relief. These money were donated by the people of Jiangnan provinces. .
When Emperor Chongping heard this, he frowned, glanced at Yang Guochang, and said, "It's really strange. We haven't seen such a drought in previous years. Why are there so many memorials reporting disasters this year?"
I am afraid that the sword is pointed at Jia Ziyu again. Several provinces are experiencing drought and no rain, but they still need to overhaul water conservancy projects, which will waste people and hurt money.
Yang Guochang said without hesitation: "Returning to the Holy Spirit, in recent years there has been a severe drought in the north, and the wilderness is thousands of miles away. Since the beginning of May, the heat has increased sharply, and the drought has become more and more severe."
Since the drought is getting worse, the so-called warning of heavy rains that will turn into floods after summer has become nonsense!
Zhao Mo, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, looked straight and spoke: "Your Majesty, the cabinet and the Military Aircraft Department issued an edict to hold local officials accountable for instigating civil unrest the day before yesterday. If a civil unrest is provoked due to the difficulty of people's livelihood, the imperial court will The law severely punished him, so I came to officials from all over the country to ask for exemption from the grain tax. It is unknown whether he stopped eating because of choking."
Because of the tragic lesson of the Henan civil uprising and the common people's response, together with the civil and military ministers including Emperor Chongping, they all adopted a lenient view on the northern provinces, that is, no more civil uprisings could be provoked in any case, otherwise the governor and the following , all accountability is not equal.
After being consolidated step by step, some prefectures and counties naturally began to report disasters and took the opportunity to free money and food. Of course, there were also deeper reasons for this.
Han Huang frowned and sighed in his heart.
Because he was choking and stopped eating, Zhao Bojian was clearly still admonishing the Holy One, but his words were not tactful enough, and he was afraid that the Holy One would be displeased. Even if he wanted to curb Jia Ziyu's rise, he could not act too hastily and lose his track...
Before Emperor Chongping could read Zhao Mo's words carefully, Han Huang said: "Your Majesty, the provinces have indeed been severely affected by disasters this year, and harvests in many places have failed. I believe that the most urgent task is to accumulate food to prepare for famines and build rivers to fight drought. Those who should be exempted from taxes will be exempted, and those who should build water conservancy projects will be exempted.
Build water conservancy projects."
Emperor Chongping looked at the three cabinet ministers below who seemed to have the same tone of voice. His clear eyes flashed under his thin, loose eyebrows, but he couldn't help but feel a burst of suspicion in his heart.
In fact, Emperor Chongping's political sense was still keen.
The three groups of civil servants in the court have indeed reached a tacit understanding, or consensus, on certain issues!
Yong Ningbo must be suppressed!
In short, as Governor Jiaban took over the military and political affairs of Henan, the civil service group felt a huge pressure and gradually formed a general concern.
Yong Ningbo not only has more and more power in military affairs, but also has a tendency to interfere in local civil affairs. He is also the Minister of Military Aircraft. After returning to Beijing, he and the Military Aircraft Department behind him will usurp the power of the cabinet in the future.
It must be pressed!
Even Han Shou, the deputy minister of the cabinet, acquiesced in this matter and neither took action nor stood aside.
Because Jia Heng stretched his hand too far, various practices in Henan were exposed one by one through letters exchanged between Henan officials and officials from the Qi and Zhejiang parties in Kyoto.
They were building river embankments, rectifying the administration of officials, and cracking down on the gentry... In the eyes of Han Guang and other "insightful people", they all had four words: fierce and ruthless.
With such a Wu Xun ruling center, not only the military and political power is concentrated in one person, but also such impetuous governance, the world will be in chaos.
If it were just a simple act of martial arts, then Han Shou and other Zhejiang Party members could temporarily cooperate with him and tolerate him for a while in order to expel the Qi Party. But now Jia Wan has a posture of infiltrating into the civil affairs, combined with Emperor Chongping's trust in Jia Ban.
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Will there be a trend in the future where the cabinet will be emptied out and all parties in Qi and Zhejiang will bow to orders?
No matter what, we must suppress them first, wait until their energy is weakened, and then form an alliance with them with the Zhejiang Party and rely on their brave generals to defeat the Eastern captives.
Because we can't directly conflict with Jia Heng, now we have to avoid his sharp edge and attack in a roundabout way.
To put it bluntly, there is no direct conflict, because direct conflict is useless. The three ministers in the cabinet know that the emperor completely ignores Ke Dao's impeachment memorial against Jia Ziyu.
Then there is only one option left.
Reverse acceleration, over-execution, amplification of problems, and finally when a big problem occurs, the blame will be placed on Jia Heng, which creates an impression in the world that "he is a martial artist who is young and ill-informed and has no knowledge of political affairs."
In this way, Jia Heng's political tentacles are completely limited to the role of a general who leads troops and fights. This can be tolerated for up to ten years. Even if the Donglu are pacified, Wu Xun will gradually retreat to the political center.
To put it bluntly, I recognize your right to speak in military affairs, but in government affairs, you are an outsider guiding an expert, and act arbitrarily, causing chaos at all levels.
Almost no one spoke of this consensus, but an astonishing tacit understanding was reached between the two parties in Qi and Zhejiang.
Press it down, press it back to the capital, press it back to the military aircraft, press it back to the position that Wu Xun should have! Gao Zhongping, the governor of Sichuan under Emperor Chongping at that time, was suppressed in this way. He mounted the horse to manage the army and dismounted the herdsman.
He is an all-rounder, but a town in Sichuan lasts for several years, and the center is not allowed to enter...
Of course, there was also the reason that the Guanzhong rear areas like Sichuan really needed to be guarded by a close and important minister of Emperor Chongping, and this was partly the reason why the civil servants rejected Gao Zhongping, who was only a civil servant.
The power of the civil bureaucracy is that if a tacit understanding of reverse acceleration is formed, not even the emperor can fight against the entire bureaucracy alone.
Although the current Han Dynasty does not have this trend, there are some signs of it. From the major water conservancy projects in the provinces to the request for free money and food... it is a counterattack by the civil servant group.
Emperor Chongping's eyes were deep, and he turned to look at the three cabinet ministers, with a silent expression on his face, and said: "Many prefectures and counties in various provinces have reported disasters. How much less grain and rice are expected to be harvested this year?"
There was no expression on Yang Guochang's old face, and he said: "The provinces in the north will have to reduce or reduce summer grains as appropriate this year. After calculations by veterans and the Ministry of Household Affairs, the harvest was about 40% less than last year. I am afraid that the national treasury will be unsustainable. Please ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Five million taels will be allocated and will be repaid by the Ministry of Household Affairs to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in a good year."
In short, the north was severely affected by the disaster, and more than half of the rice grain was exempted as appropriate. So what about the state treasury expenditure? We can only ask for it from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
This is very natural logic.
Moreover, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has been quite wealthy in recent years, because Jia Heng has confiscated the property of many officials, including King Zhongshun, the Sanhe Gang, etc., and previously allocated one million taels of silver to Jia Ban to repair the embankment. This scene naturally fell on the court.
In their eyes, this is also one of the reasons that prompted the civil service group to reach a certain consensus.
Emperor Chongping looked gloomy and said in a deep voice: "Since Yongning Bo reorganized the army, half of the food and salary for the soldiers and horses in the Beijing camp has been coordinated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and allocated first. The Ministry of Internal Affairs does not have much money now. Regarding the soldiers and horses in the Beijing camp, regarding the safety of the country,
Priority must be given to providing real troops and real pay.
At first, Jia Heng went directly to Emperor Chongping, who allocated half of the money from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the capital camp.
The pacification of the Henan Rebellion also proved that the military training in the Beijing camp had achieved remarkable results.
It can be of great use.
As soon as these words came out, the officials below, such as Zhao Mo, the Minister of Punishment, looked gloomy.
The state allocates food and salary for the soldiers in the Beijing camp, but does not go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to withdraw it from the Ministry of War. This is a terrible economic system!
Han Guang cupped his hands and said: "I think what the Holy One said is true. The Beijing camp has made a sound in Henan, and the troops are real and well paid. By cutting down the weak and strengthening them, the Han army can be restored."
Regarding the matter of the Beijing camp, the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty recognized Jia Ziyu's general strategy, but since he was rewarded for his merits, this matter would gradually fade away as time went by.
No matter how much merit he has made, a military commander can only be a military commander. Are there too many unused military honors from Luoyang, Marquis Yangwu, Marquis Dingyuan, etc.?
In fact, if it weren't for the fake military report that made Emperor Chongping vomit a mouthful of blood and lose face, it would not have formed a deep-rooted ideological imprint in a short period of time, and the importance of merit would gradually fade over time.
A person is not good for a hundred days, and a flower is not as red as a thousand days.
Human nature is mostly forgetful and fickle. When Taizu of the Ming Dynasty massacred the founding heroes, he also shed tears while killing.
Similarly, even if it saves all mankind, mankind will not thank Luo Ji!
Yang Guochang's face was expressionless, and his heart was neither happy nor sad.
Emperor Chongping frowned and asked, "Can I withdraw it from the Jiangnan treasury? Is there any surplus from last year?"
Zhao Mo frowned, and wanted to increase taxes on Jiangnan. Isn't the emperor afraid that Jiangnan would trigger a civil unrest?…
Yang Guochang hesitated and said: "Your Majesty, although there is no drought in the Jiangnan area, the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing has been sparse this year, and the government agencies in Nanjing have spent a lot of money. I am afraid that this year's grain supply will be reduced by one million dan."
To transport grain to the north, 4.5 million shi of grain must be transported to Chang'an and Peiping every year to supply the nine-sided army and the nobles of Shenjing. There are 500,000 shi more in Jiangnan than in the pre-Ming Dynasty. This matter has always been a concern for Jiangnan scholars.
Lin was also criticized by former officials who settled in Nanjing.
In fact, the Ministry of Internal Affairs spends money every year to purchase grain from the south, transport it to the capital, and distribute rice to officials in the capital and the army in the capital.
Emperor Chongping's face was cold and hard, and he said in a deep voice: "In this matter, I saw the memorial of Pan Ruxi, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing the day before yesterday. It is necessary to let the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing think of its own plan for not less than a stone of grain."
Jiangnan complained every year, which had become a daily routine for the Han Dynasty. However, when Yang Guochang reported his complaints at this time, it was for convenience to ask for money.
"The Jiangnan salt tax has been delayed for a long time, and the rectification affairs have stalled. Since Qi Kun has gone south, why is there still no movement?" Emperor Chongping said in a deep voice before Yang Guochang could complain.
Yang Guochang's heart trembled, and he quickly said: "Your Majesty, the problems in the salt affairs are getting deeper and deeper, and they cannot be fixed in the short term. In the past few days, the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs has re-bidded and auctioned the salt, but there has been no result yet."
Qi Kun went to Jiangnan to rectify the salt affairs, but suddenly fell into the complicated quagmire of Jiangnan officialdom. He could not open up the situation for a long time. Now he plans to make a fuss about the salt quota that was written off by the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs.
Emperor Chongping listened to the bad news one after another, and his original good mood suddenly became extremely bad.
In addition to asking for money, the Ministry of Accounts also wants money!
If a gold mine hadn't been discovered in Song County, Henan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs would have been slowly emptied of money. What would the Ministry of Internal Affairs do when it ran out of money?
If it hadn't been for the continuous embezzlement from last year to this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has also been unable to make ends meet in recent years.
Emperor Chongping cast his stern gaze on Han Huang, the Minister of Civil Service not far away, and asked: "Mr. Han Ge, what do you think?"
Han Huang's face became solemn and he cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the matter of money and food is planned by the Ministry of Household Affairs. If I want to control it, I can only talk about increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. I don't know about the matter of increasing revenue, but I can still mention a few things about reducing expenditure. Now
The Beijing camp has finished eliminating the old and the weak, but the troops on the nine frontiers are huge in number, and it is common to take empty positions for pay. Now it is time to eliminate the old and the weak, and check the vacancies. Now that the two military planes have been going to the north to inspect the border for several months, it is time to put them in order.
In addition to the regulations of the border army, it is to crack down on corruption. Beijing and the police are in progress, and local plans have also been delivered. There is hope for refreshing the officialdom."
Emperor Chongping looked calm and said: "The day before yesterday, the Prince of Nan'an County and Marquis Baoling were sent to the Military Aircraft Department for transportation. Many towns in Ningxia and Guyuan have been checked for vacancies."
As the daughter of the Prince of Nan'an married the King of Wei, the Prince of Nan'an also became loyal to the king and used his prestige to inspect the armies of the two towns.
The actual number of soldiers was recovered, 30% of the corruption in the past years was recovered, and several generals were punished. They killed chickens and warned monkeys, but they also achieved some results.
At the same time, the King of Beijing was also in Datong, and military towns such as Taiyuan also began to check for vacancies, but the King of Beijing was not going well.
"As for the corruption of local officials, I have asked the Metropolitan Procuratorate to send officials to inspect the local areas to investigate lawlessness and rectify corruption. Starting from Shanxi, all those who have taken bribes and violated the law will first have their homes searched and questioned." Emperor Chongping added.
He narrated, then looked at Xu Lu and said, "Xu Qing, you have to take this matter seriously."...
As the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Treasury ransacked homes several times to replenish their blood, ransacking homes gradually became the first operation in Chongping's reign.
Xu Lu looked solemn, cupped his hands and said, "I obey the order."
The recent trends in the court have indeed been quite strange, and I'm afraid it has something to do with Jia Ziyu.
Emperor Chongping said coldly: "As for the grain tax of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the summer tax must be paid first. If there is any shortfall, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will allocate money to the Ministry of Household Affairs to purchase grain. Jia Ziyu has just discovered a gold mine in Song County, Luoyang.
One million taels of gold."
Han Huang, Zhao Mo: "... Yang Guochang: "???" One million taels of gold? The child discovered it in Henan?
One million taels of gold, if exchanged at a ratio of one to ten, would be mineral deposits worth tens of millions of taels of silver. Even if the taxes of the northern provinces were reduced or exempted for one year, there would be no problem. Well, it cannot be calculated that way.
Excavation of gold mines will definitely not be completed in one year, and may continue for more than ten years, but even if 70,000 to 80,000 taels of gold are excavated in a year, it will still be nearly one million taels of silver.
It's a pity that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is in charge of mining, not the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs...
Naturally, the civil servants criticized the Ministry of Internal Affairs' efforts to compete with the "people" for profit, but this was the ancestral system of Taizu's dynasty. Mine supervisors were also employed in the previous Ming Dynasty to amass wealth for the palace. In another time and space, Chongzhen Shicheng
.........I listened to Wenchen's deception.
As a result, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has continued to exist, and it has continuously provided blood transfusions to the royal family.
It can be said that Chen and Han were able to survive until the end of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs should take a large part of the credit, and they could receive blood transfusions from time to time. Although King Zhongshun was greedy for dreams, he was also successful in amassing money, and he benefited from the Heze ore in the world.
Donate money.
Han Guang frowned, his face was solemn, and his heart was filled with a layer of gloom.
Could it be that Jia Ziyu was blessed by heaven and found a gold mine within two months of being the governor of Henan?
This......at this momentum, I'm afraid it can't be suppressed.
Zhao Mo was also shocked and had the same thought as Han Yan. However, he had to suppress it even if he couldn't help it!
Things like mineral deposits are indispensable. If you can find one, you can also find a bunch of them?
While several cabinet ministers were frowning and pondering, Emperor Chongping said: "In addition, rich coal reserves have been found in Xin'an County and other places. As Ziyu Shangshu said, the Ministry of Industry may establish a Coal Department.
Mineral deposits were dug to meet the daily heating and cooking needs of the people. In addition, Jia Ziyu mentioned in another memorial that Taicang and Henan Prefecture still had 2.4 million shi of grain and rice. Although Henan also suffered from drought this year,
There should be no need for the center to transport grain and rice from Bashu. At the same time, Henan can hand over this year's summer tax of 600,000 shi in advance to the Ministry of Household Affairs for emergency response to pay the summer tax, and then send another 400,000 shi to the Ministry of War to transport Lumi to military towns in Shanxi and other places.
.”
Jia Heng wrote two memorials in total, one about mining affairs and one about farming.
Zhao Mo frowned, his face changed, and it was as cold as ice. It's just coal mines, which are everywhere in Shanxi and other places.
Yang Guochang was so shaken that he was speechless. He swallowed back the question that came to his lips: "Will the profits from the mineral deposits be transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
As for the fact that there are still grains and rice in Taicang, Luoyang, Henan, all officials in the court know about this.
At the beginning, Jia Heng confiscated 3.5 million shi of grain and rice from the Wei and Zheng dynasties. Adding the original 450,000 shi of grain and rice, there were almost 4 million shi...
Later, when the army went to Henan, they used Taicang grain and did not ask for a grain of rice from the court. In subsequent appeasements and embankment repairs, rice grain was mostly used as relief work.
According to a soldier's monthly allowance of four bushels and five liters of grain, and the horses' daily allowance of three liters of fine grain and one bunch of hay, plus transportation on the road, the nearly 10,000-strong army consumes thirty thousand dan of grain and grass every month.
The 80,000-strong army consumes 240,000 dan of rice and food every month, and now they are suppressing a rebellion
Over many months, including providing pensions and providing relief to the victims, it cost nearly 350,000 dan.
After that, the people who participated in the corvées were provided with food on the river, and their families were paid with rice grains to maintain their livelihood and tide over the drought.
It was precisely because of the rice grain that Jia Heng was able to mobilize the people in Henan without any worries. Even because he used rice grain relief to save countless lives, he gained a good reputation among the people.
Emperor Chongping said: "The secret memorial written by Jia Ziyu mentioned that a crop called sweet potato, with a yield of tens of shi per mu, should be promoted in Henan. At the same time, considering the severe drought in the north, I suggested that I promote the planting of sweet potatoes in the northern provinces.
"
As soon as these words came out, the three cabinet ministers looked at each other in shock.
Several people present had worked as local government officials for their parents and children, and they knew very well about farming. The yield of wheat was only a few stones per acre.
Sweet potatoes can yield dozens of kilo per acre. How is this possible?
It's okay to say that Yongning Bo built a river embankment, but now he's even saying that sweet potato yields can yield dozens of dan per mu. Is this just flattering his superiors and talking nonsense?
But after thinking for a moment, no one questioned it, because many people knew that the emperor was not happy, so the more they waited for Jia Heng to say, the more mistakes they would make in the future.
Yang Guochang's expression suddenly changed, and there was a look of surprise in his old eyes. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, is this true?"
Emperor Chongping said: "It is said that it was transplanted from Fujian, but it has not been planted and harvested in Henan."
Yang Guochang's expression changed, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He cupped his hands and said, "Oranges grown in Huainan are called tangerines, and oranges grown in Huaibei are called tangerines. Your Majesty, I think this matter still needs to be considered. After the summer grain harvest in the northern provinces, they have to be planted.
For autumn grain, if you plant sweet potatoes like this and the soil and water are not suitable for you, and if the harvest fails, I am afraid the consequences will be disastrous."
The autumn grain harvest every year is more than the summer grain, while the summer grain is only a quarter. Moreover, there are many drought-resistant crops in the summer grain. No matter how much we fight with Jiaheng's party, they cannot really be widely planted in the provinces, which affects the summer grain.
"My original intention was to try planting in Henan first. If the water and soil are really suitable, the yield will be not only tens of shi per mu, but even more than 10 shi per mu. If we are not afraid of drought locusts, it will be a great blessing for me.
." Chongping Emperor Dao.
Although he also had doubts in his mind, as the queen said, this kind of thing is not easy to fake. If it was not possible, he personally opened an acre of land in the palace and asked the eunuch to plant it and check the harvest. If the yield per acre is ten stones, this year
The foreseeable famine in the Northland will be greatly relieved.
In fact, some emperors in ancient times who valued crops would symbolically cultivate underground during the spring plowing season to show their emphasis on farming. Therefore, most history books of later generations rewarded farmers and advocated frugality.
After discussing the summer tax, the cabinet ministers and Xu Lu, the imperial censor of the left capital, all left with their own thoughts and went about their official duties.
Emperor Chongping, who was in the Hanyuan Hall, looked at the retreating figures of the cabinet ministers, his face was silent and his eyes were unclear.
As he put Jia Ziyu in a more important position, many civil servants in the DPRK and China were not happy to see this, and there was a vague intention of joint checks and balances.
This matter... In short, there will be pros and cons in the future.
With the departure of several cabinet ministers, the news that Jia Heng had discovered gold mines in Song County, Henan Province and that of coal mines in Xin'an County also spread in the city of Shenjing, and the detectives of the inner guards were also secretly advocating that it was God.
Bestow wealth to the emperor, God bless Chongping.
It is also a response to the severe drought and other disasters in the Northland in recent years.
The original weird atmosphere in the capital, as well as the saying that "wasting money and wasting people's money, doing things blindly" gradually dissipated.
Let’s ask Mr. Jia to toil in Henan. He has just found a gold mine. He has been struggling for a year’s production. At most, there will be no rain in the end. Let’s look at his “unfounded worries” joke.
