The current right servant of the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs is a loser in the process of restructuring the government offices in Beijing.
He had also wanted to be transferred to Beijing along with the previous "Nanjing Nine Ministers". Even if he was still just a right minister, he would be directly responsible for the important affairs of the department.
But he still stayed in Nanjing. At this moment, the six ministries in Nanjing, except Jia Yong and the Minister of War, were all people who had served as Zuobu envoys or governors in various provinces.
Each province had a governor-general, and they were transferred to Nanjing. The reason is self-evident: if they were to continue to work there, they might hinder the new law.
Yang Tinghe, Jia Yong, and Xia Yan all saw the look that the right minister of Nanjing Hubu looked at Nanjing Hubu Shangshu, and then heard him calmly say: "This year, after the provinces clear their land, they will rebuild the Yellow River."
There are so many things in this book. I am not sure, and I am afraid that I will miss something important. The young servant is impartial and can give his advice to Xia Youdu, so there is no need to be angry."
Xia Yan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Am I angry?
At this moment, Yang Tinghe's eyes also focused.
Then, he picked up the tea cup, blew on the hot air and said: "Re-creating the Yellow Book will be next year. Xia Shangshu and Tong Shilang are naturally public-minded, everyone is public-minded, and no one is angry."
After taking a sip of hot tea, he put down the tea cup, but his voice became colder: "Is it possible that the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs is already busy remaking the yellow books before the provincial records have arrived?"
The words that attracted Yang Tinghe and Xia Yan's attention were Qing Zhang Tian Tu and Huang Ce.
In Houhu, Nanjing, there is the Huangceku, which records the "family wealth" of the Ming Dynasty.
This yellow book storehouse contains the land and population information of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the transaction records of each piece of land.
The daily management of Huangceku mainly involves the four parties.
The person responsible for updating and checking the Yellow Book is the Nanjing Household Department, and a person in charge of the sixth grade is in charge of this matter.
The person responsible for supervising the daily affairs of Huangceku is Nanjing Huke Geishizhong, from the seventh rank.
The person responsible for guarding the keys and opening the door is the Nanjing garrison eunuch.
Those responsible for security, vigilance, and patrols were sent by the pro-military Three Guards stationed in Nanjing.
According to the rules, the petty officials and craftsmen who have been working in Huangceku on Houhu Island for a long time cannot leave even if they get sick. Doctors will go to the island specifically for diagnosis and treatment.
Huangceku is so important. Why did Xia Congshou, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, point out this content?
Yang Tinghe asked back, it was the system for updating the yellow records in the yellow records library.
Different from the previous dynasties, the Ming Dynasty's land, household registration, population and other information were "declared" and summarized from bottom to top. The household registration system of all dynasties was "top-down", that is to say, the household registration system was controlled by the imperial household department.
, provinces, states and counties conduct statistics from top to bottom.
In the Ming Dynasty, the yellow book was first distributed by the government to each household, with Lijia as the unit. After filling it out, it was handed over to the head of the Jia. Each Lijia then sent the book to the county, and the county
Li made the county's yellow book based on the county's book and sent it to the government office and prefecture. The chief envoy did the same thing, and finally sent it to the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs.
Each county has four yellow books in theory.
At present, all provinces are still at the stage of clearing the fields, and some places have not even started yet - the farming season cannot be missed.
Xia Congshou's intention of mentioning the Yellow Book is worth pondering.
"The Yellow Book has not been produced for a long time. New officials, clerks and clerks under the Ministry of Household Affairs must practice their skills. What is written in the Yellow Book must be consistent. The lower officials have ordered people to check the Yellow Book stored in the warehouse to see if there are any insects.
After counting the damaged ones, they have to compile documents for each province, copy the corresponding contents in the booklet and send it to Nanjing to complete the old book." Xia Congshou was very calm, looked at Yang Tinghe and said, "Whenever the yellow book is made, there is no need to advance it.
Half a year or even a year to prepare?”
He was a dignified minister, a second-rank official, and was theoretically responsible only to the emperor. Now when he called Yang Tinghe a subordinate official, his tone sounded like a rhetorical question.
Yang Tinghe asked calmly: "Are there preliminary statistical results now?"
"The pavilion knows this. According to a statistics in the third year of Hongzhi, there are more than 792,900 volumes in the library. The shells are missing, and 647,300 volumes have been eaten or rotted to varying degrees.
There are so many, less than two-tenths of them are intact. Preliminary statistics now show that of the more than one million volumes, less than one-tenth are intact. Your Majesty has been informed by your Majesty that this time it is necessary to make up for the old volumes as well as copy them.
For the new album, the previously budgeted money for paper and ink mounting and craftsmanship will only cost 70% more."
"Seventy percent?" Yang Tinghe's tone was no longer good.
"At least 70%." Xia Congshou still looked very confident, "Each time the Yellow Book is remade, about 80,000 new books will be made. Now that the new law is implemented, how many fugitives will be found in Hidden Fields this time has not yet been traced.
It can be seen that if the official land is sold, how many percent more will be recorded in the yellow book's change of hands? This new book will probably require at least 120,000 copies."
He looked at Xia Yan: "If we don't start preparing now, how will we prepare the new book as soon as possible? The Beijing Inspectorate should follow its routine, but this time the Nanjing Beijing Inspectorate and colleagues from the Department of Science and Technology made consultations and consultations so complicated that they were intrusive.
It’s not just the Hubu department that thinks it’s too heavy, it’s just that the Hubu department does have a heavy responsibility on its shoulders.”
After scolding Xia Yan for a while, he bowed his hand to Yang Tinghe again: "Pavilion, according to the new regulations, the county will no longer allocate the silver for the remade yellow book. The official made a rough estimate, and the silver needed to make one book in previous years is
Counting two taels, one volume has four copies, and a new volume may require one million taels of silver. To make up the old volume for inspection, another five hundred thousand taels will be needed. At the national policy meeting and the state affairs meeting, the counselors and ministers of state,
You take the pornographic book lightly!"
Huang Zuo had been a local official in Guangdong, and he knew that Xia Congshou's estimate of the cost of a book of twenty taels of silver was correct.
This is already quite cheap.
Recreating the Yellow Book is not just copying it. As one of the most important archives of the Ming Dynasty, there are requirements for the paper used, mounting, and preservation. Although it is no longer possible to create a "copperplate book" like Taizu and Yongle years.
, the cost still cannot be underestimated.
Even if we don’t want to increase the burden on the people, officials in each county still need to devote time and energy. Without special funds, can this matter be done?
But now Xia Congshou's last words shocked the hearts of the Nanjing officials at the meeting.
There seems to be something in the words.
Given the strength of the imperial court, the more expensive the yellow book is, the more expensive it is. Is there such a thing as "overthinking"?
The Yellow Book is not just a Yellow Book. The Yellow Book is the basis for taxes and servitude. The Yellow Book is also... the basis for a large number of local governments to adjudicate many land and land disputes.
Yang Tinghe nodded: "Since Xia Shangshu has written the memorial, the imperial court will definitely discuss it again. According to what Xia Shangshu said, eight out of ten of the more than one million volumes in the library are damaged?"
"After Xiaguan took office in Nanjing's household department, the first thing he did was to inquire about Huang Ceku. The root cause is that in the first year of the year there was a severe wind disaster and there was a flood. Secondly, in the past ten years, Chen Hao was the first
There was chaos, and then His Majesty moved to the extreme, people in Nanjing were unsettled, and the officials were quite slack."
The meaning of Xia Congshou's words: I have just arrived, so the maintenance issues of Huangceku have nothing to do with me.
But everyone only heard the words "people's hearts are uncertain" in his words.
After the coordination meeting ended, Xia Yan stayed. After being informed and entering the official hall where Yang Tinghe met his guests, he couldn't help but ask: "At the pavilion, how can Xia Shangshu be so bold in taking Huang Ceku's own weight?"
"You want to impeach him?"
Xia Yan controlled his emotions and looked at Yang Tinghe.
It seems that all he needs is a signal: if His Majesty and Yang Tinghe need it, he can impeach Xia Congshou immediately.
"Can Gongjin understand?"
Xia Yan actually understood that he was here to test his attitude.
Yang Tinghe smiled: "Since he has submitted the report according to the facts, let's wait for His Majesty's decree and the national policy meeting and Chief Fei to come up with the strategy."
Xia Yan couldn't detect any attitude, but Yang Tinghe's smile still conveyed the message.
After walking out of the gate of Governor Yingtian's courtyard, Xia Yan looked back, his eyes actually looking beyond the courtyard and faintly towards the north.
Obviously, the imperial court already had a strategy, right?
It’s just that I’m not qualified enough to know.
He turned around and walked towards his sedan chair.
But that doesn’t mean he can’t figure out the secrets!
…
Among the various bureaucracies in Nanjing, which one has the most power?
In the past, it was the Ministry of War. Because the de facto highest authority in Nanjing was the garrison meeting, and the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing could be the Counselor for Machinery Affairs.
But now it's strange. The garrison meeting has not been abolished, but there is an additional governor in Nanjing called Yingtianbuyuan. The governor's name is Yang Tinghe.
The Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing was the former right minister of the Ministry of War in Beijing.
The former left minister of the Ministry of War, Yang Tingyi, was the governor of Jiangxi, and the right minister was appointed as the minister and counselor of the Nanjing Ministry of War. The Beijing Ministry of War was actually weak for the time being - they were all new officials. Their purpose was naturally to make way for the Military Affairs Council and the Five Governments whose powers had been expanded a little.
It was convenient for the emperor to better control the military power.
So now, the military power in Nanjing is also in the hands of the emperor - Guo Xun is practicing Zhenwu Camp, Xu Pengju is serving as the admiral of Caojiang, the Minister of War was directly promoted to Nanjing by the emperor over Zuo Shilang, and Yang Tinghe is the new law
Host.
In addition to the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Husbandry can fight.
Needless to say, in the official department, Jia Yong, Huang Zuo, and Xu Jie were either Yang Tinghe's old disciples or the emperor's new ministers in the new dynasty.
Under the current situation, the household department is the hardest nut to crack in Nanjing.
In the Hubu Yamen, after Xia Congshou and Tong Rui came back, they took their seats in the official hall.
"Brother Shiqi is quite dissatisfied today?"
Tong Rui replied calmly: "I don't dare."
"What difference do we have between you and me? Although Brother Shiqi did not serve in the Ministry of Household Affairs in the past, his official career started from the Ministry of Household Affairs. For four years in the Ministry of Works, he supervised the construction of Kangling, Rijingmen, Yangxin Hall, Qingning
Waiting in the palace, how hard it is? It’s fine if I can’t take a further position as a counselor. I’m transferred to Nanjing, but I’m still the minister of household affairs. I often complain about brother Shiqi.”
Tong Rui didn't give any reaction, just looked at Xia Congshou: "Nowadays, all the bureaucracies in Nanjing, including the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of War, and the Metropolitan Inspectorate, all only want to be able to make meritorious service and be ranked as counselors. What Xia Sinong said before, Nanjing
The Ministry of Etiquette, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Work have their own behavior as well-behaved wives."
"Don't be in a hurry, it's just the beginning, haven't I been a senior official?" Xia Congshou smiled, then stopped smiling, "It's only twenty taels of silver for a book. Brother Shiqi must tell those businessmen who want to continue to be Nanjing's household department.
We must give up the profits this time! We must not do things like mixing paper with honey again! During the Jiajing Dynasty, I am afraid that this dirty book will have to be checked from time to time, and you and I must not leave anything to say!"
Not only are the quality requirements for yellow book paper not as strict as in the early days of the People's Republic of China, but new ways of doing things have emerged.
Since declarations are filled out in the yellow book from bottom to top and then checked and summarized, this naturally makes it easier for a large number of people in the local area to tamper with the yellow book.
Since the four yellow volumes in one volume can corroborate each other, and the Ming Dynasty has been cultivating fertile fields, then how come the total number of fields is always declining in a reasonable and legal manner?
It’s difficult to check. The more than one million volumes in the Yellow Book Library are like a vast ocean, and the statistical work is done by officials. The numbers in the emperor’s hands are not reported by the lower authorities?
No one in the Ming Dynasty could truly and accurately grasp the data on these landowners, not even Xia Congshou.
Because too many old albums have been damaged. In order to make it easier to do some things, over the past hundred years or so, people have even begun to make artificial paper mixed with honey. When stored on a shelf for a long time, this paper mixed with honey is particularly attractive.
Insects and ants like it - unknowingly, many old accounts have been "formatted".
If there is no supporting evidence, many things will be easier to handle.
Xia Congshou obviously had the attitude of "loyalty to the emperor and his duties", and made it clear that this kind of paper should never be used, in case Zhu Houcong could check it as needed.
But is he really thinking about Zhu Houcong?
Tong Rui nodded: "I have successively served as the Left Councilor of Zhejiang, the Left Councilor of Shaanxi, the Political Councilor of Guangxi, the Right Chief Envoy of Huguang, the Governor of Shuntian, and the Right Minister of the Ministry of Industry. Xia Sinong can rest assured about this small matter. But this time I am the only one in Nanjing.
The Ministry of Household Affairs stated that Nanjing is a serious matter, but the Ministry of Rites will not talk about it. The Ministry of Industry has one of the two important responsibilities of casting money and making salt to match the templates. I am afraid that the salt law will be changed sooner or later, aren't they in a hurry?"
The Nanjing Ministry of Industry originally had only the Baoyuan Bureau, which minted money, and the Yanyin Bureau, which was involved in printing in the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs. Now Baoyuan Bureau has become an enterprise, and the Nanjing Ministry of Industry, in addition to some other small projects in Nanjing, has only the Yanyin Bureau.
It fits half of these shorts.
Tong Rui, who had worked at the Ministry of Industry in Beijing, knew this very well: Could it be that the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing was still prepared, and was only prepared to repair the old forbidden palace hall, imperial mausoleums, and city walls that accidentally suffered disasters in Nanjing?
"They all don't take the lead. Our household department is the most important in Nanjing now. It depends on the court's intention." Xia Congshou comforted him, "Don't worry, the Nanjing household department is not slacking off and is really doing its best. This Your Majesty must know something."
In the end, I just drank tea leisurely: "My memorial will be submitted, and the news will naturally spread. Under the Qingzhang Tiantu national policy, Brother Shiqi, let's see, there are naturally many people in the government and the public who want to secretly help me. Nanjing is the capital of the country. , now we have just made it clear that a major national matter must be handled in Nanjing. Even if there is only one thing left to manage Huang Ceku, the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs cannot afford to lose anything!"
Just like Xia Congshou said, after his memorial arrived in the capital, because it was purely government affairs, it naturally had to go through many offices such as the General Affairs Office, the Beijing Household Department, the State Palace, and the Beijing Household Affairs Office.
Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that the Yellow Book should be created every ten years. The total number of fields in the Ming Dynasty in the Yellow Book is getting smaller and smaller, and the population is also getting smaller and smaller. Xia Congshou said that more fields and people will be cleared this time. In the past, The old records must also be cleaned up and updated to facilitate the clearing of land ownership and the verification of many land dispute cases during the implementation of the new law. These are pragmatic suggestions.
But it costs 1.5 million taels of silver, which is 70% more than the previous price of nearly 900,000 taels for a set of 80,000 volumes, a total of four sets, and a volume of 2 taels and 50 silver, plus some other expenses.
Should this money be spent?
"No one has come forward to agree yet?" Zhu Houcong asked curiously.
"Your Majesty, no."
The person who answered him was Wang Shenzhong, the newly appointed bachelor's student in the imperial study room.
Today is not what it used to be. The "influence" of the accompanying bachelor in the royal study has been greatly reduced. He is really just a secretary.
Wang Shenzhong was here to help Zhu Houcong sort out the memorials sent to the imperial study by the general affairs envoy. At the same time, he also had another job - to communicate with his fellow villager Lin Xiyuan about many contents in the Ming Pao.
After hearing this, Zhu Houcong sighed: "It is clear that the frequency of communication has greatly increased in the past few days. Everyone is concerned, but they are still watching the wind."
"...I'm ashamed, I don't understand."
Zhu Houcong looked at him with a smile: "Then think about it slowly, or ask Maozhen for advice."
At the national policy meeting, Yan Song's "switch" proposal was still being discussed.
But Yang Tinghe went to take charge of Nanjing. This year, when the imperial court and local governments began to reorganize government offices, the only remaining government offices in Nanjing could no longer sit still.
The one who took the lead was indeed the Nanjing Household Department.
As expected, the person who came up to talk about the matter was not the collection and transfer of grain taxes from the four provinces of Jiangnan, but Huang Ceku.
There are countless dirty records of retired and serving officials hidden in a yellow bookstore.
Will those erased, altered, and disappeared pages and data be uncovered during the Ming Dynasty’s land clearing process? Can the countless land disputes among the people be resolved without any evidence? Immediately impose a harsh judgment?
The land owned by officials and gentry cannot be evaded or evaded taxes. However, the land that has been transferred to them through various methods over the years should naturally still belong to them - if there is more land, they can always receive three or five more. Stone grain.
Don't because of the flaws in the yellow records library, you must first find evidence and take it as official land, and then sell it to ordinary people.
The Nanjing Household Department must exist, it must be "easy to communicate", and it must be supported!
After the news spread, the eyes of countless officials and gentry in the world were focused on Nanjing's Houhu Lake.
On the island in the middle of the lake, nearly a thousand warehouses stood quietly. In the warehouses, the yellow books stacked on the three-story shelf remained silent.
After nightfall, insects, ants, and mice still live in "richness" here just like their ancestors have done for hundreds of years.
The lake water around the island does not shake due to the footsteps of the patrolling guards, but only rises due to the wind.
The weather in summer is changeable. There will be thunderstorms and strong winds tonight, and the water surface will be high and violent.
"Everyone, be alert and beware of heavy rain, lightning, fire, and water leakage!"
The head of the Nanjing Household Department works very seriously.
No one has the guts to burn this place down. We will definitely protect it, although in fact it may not be a big deal if this place is burned down. After all, there are four copies of the yellow booklet, and there is also a white booklet that is updated frequently in the local area.
But you have to know that in the past few years since the new law was put into trial implementation in Guangdong and Shandong, how many versions of the yellow and white books in other prefectures and counties have been updated? If there is a dispute, if the lawsuit continues, the yellow book in the yellow book library will still have to be adjusted.
Came to verify.
If Huangceku was burned at this time, this would be the second most troublesome thing. The key question is why it happened to catch fire at this time?
Don’t burn, and definitely don’t catch fire!
The people in Nanjing's household department just want to keep their leisurely and powerful days, and don't want to enjoy the entertainment of the nine tribes.
In the Ministry of Household Affairs in Beijing, Yang Shen, the right minister, finally completed his second mission after the joint examination.
In front of him were eighteen tables in the Hubu Yamen.
There are ten people sitting at each table.
Most of these people are young. The oldest one looks like he is only thirty or forty years old.
Now, Yang Shen stood up and held the wine glass: "I have been with you day and night. You are all from the first and second grade of Jinke, and I am the chief examiner of Jinke. But after these three months, you and I can really be regarded as teachers."
But above me, there is Your Majesty. This training course, these graduation examination papers are all from Your Majesty. I will not shy away from suspicion. One person is the first and second-ranking scholar of the Ministry of Revenue's three hundred new subjects. You must know that His Majesty has high expectations!"
"...I'll keep this in mind!"
Yang Shen nodded: "Very good. Once you have completed your studies, you will be called an official, and there will be no relationship between teachers and students. I will practice it for you today. After you leave, you will have to work hard in the past three years."
"I will live up to your majesty's expectations, and I will live up to the expectations of the chief minister, the chief minister, and the young chief minister!"
The current Minister of Household Affairs is Zhang En, the former Guangdong Zuobuzhengshi who was promoted by Xu Gong.
He and Yang Shen are old partners.
Now, he gave Yang Shen the leadership of this occasion. After all, he also knew how much the emperor valued Yang Shen.
The prince's guest, Yang Shen, now has three hundred real students, a younger generation.
The Ministry of Household Affairs has taken 300 new subjects this year, all of which have been "taught" by Yang Shen for three months. The genius Yang Shen taught accounting, arithmetic, many official documents and standards that he learned in Guangdong.
Simplified Chinese characters, and some things the emperor frequently summoned him to teach him.
Of these three hundred people, less than half stayed in the Household Affairs Bureau in Beijing and joined the General Department of Taxation and other departments.
The remaining 160 or so people will have a new identity starting from tomorrow: special inspection commissioners from the Department of Land and Cleansing of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
They will be assigned to nearly two hundred prefectures and prefectures in Guangdong and Shandong during the Ming Dynasty. With identities ranging from the seventh rank to the sixth rank, they will only be responsible for one thing: the creation of new yellow books for each county and state under the jurisdiction of each prefecture.
However, they will go to Nanjing first.
After all, the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs has always been responsible for the yellow registration office.
Did the Beijing Police delay the Nanjing Household Affairs Bureau?
It doesn't matter, new officials who have never held an official position before are not included in the Beijing inspection, their hearts are set.
"Renfu, you are in charge of the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs, and you are in the important position of Huang Ceku, the Department of Land and Cleansing and Officials of the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs. If anything happens, just report it according to the facts!"
Zhan Rong, a first-class scholar in the new department, responded sternly: "I understand!"
The starting point is that he is the chief officer of the sixth grade. As a new scholar, he is the leader among the new officials in the Ministry of Household Affairs. He is also very down-to-earth and does not worry about taking the system exam next year.
Zhang En also stood up with the wine: "Drink! I wish you a bright future!"
When the sun rises, it will be the sun-gazing meeting on July 15th.
Among the court officials, many people indeed prepared memorials today, intending to discuss the matter of Huang Ceku's money at the court meeting.
The tax base of Da Mingtian lies, we must support it!
Then Fei Hong stood up and said: "I heard that the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing reported that the repair and new construction of the Huangce Library has been approved by the State Council. I think this money should be spent! The Ministry of Household Land, Land and Cleansing Department has been established.
After that, I request the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing to set up a new Land Clearing and Cleaning Department, and set up the head of the Huangce Treasury, a treasury manager, and other personnel, and each prefecture and prefecture will send inspectors and inspectors..."
The court officials were stunned.
Discussed so quickly?
Have you already prepared it?
What pit has Nanjing Hubu jumped into?
Zhu Houcong just said solemnly from the throne: "Since the State Council has decided on this matter, the Chief Assistant can implement it on his own."
It sounds like there is no need for Zhu Houcong to be involved at all, but after all, it involves the establishment of a new department in the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs.
Many people in the National Assembly Hall lowered their heads.
Beijing attaches great importance to and supports the work of the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs.
The Nanjing Household Department will get a lot of money and a lot of new subordinate officials.