Chapter One Hundred and Seventieth: Noisy and Noisy
In his previous life, Zhu Qiyu did not use the method of using peppercorns to reduce his salary, because his status was unstable at that time and he needed to win over his ministers.
But this life was different. He resisted the enemy outside the Zijin Pass, and those who fought fled in panic. Although this achievement cannot be said to be his alone.
But in the end, all border defense plans were planned and implemented under his promotion.
Regarding this, the courtiers, at least the officials of third rank and above, are well aware of this.
In this battle, Zhu Qiyu fully demonstrated the image of a monarch who could listen to advice, be good at making judgments, and be able to make correct decisions at critical moments.
This is very different from the situation in the previous life where one had to rely heavily on Qian to make decisions in everything.
Specifically, it is in the hearts of the courtiers and even the people of the world.
It was really him, the emperor, who led the entire Ming Dynasty out of a critical situation.
In other words, the entire course of the war was completed under his command, instead of being just a person who ruled from above and gave full support to the ministers below like in the previous life.
As for Yu Qian, since there is no so-called defense battle of the capital, he who is responsible for the defense of the capital will naturally not be able to save the world like he did in his previous life.
Today, Yu Qian's main achievements are, first, participating in planning and formulating the border defense plan, and second, ensuring a stable supply for the border army.
However, in the former case, there were many ministers involved in the court, and the final decision was made by Zhu Qiyu himself.
As for the latter, it is his responsibility as Minister of War.
From this perspective, Yu Qian certainly made a contribution in this battle.
But in detail, the credit is not even as good as that of Wang Wen, who supervised the battle on the front line and made prompt decisions, and Ren Li, the commander-in-chief who directly commanded the repulse of Ye Xian's army.
Today, he is no longer Yu Shaobao, a man who dared not disobey an order from his previous life.
Just an ordinary six-part book.
This battle only allowed him and Shen Yi, the two newly promoted ministers, to truly prove to the courtiers that they had the strength to rank among the Seven Ministers and that they could truly establish a foothold in the court.
History, at this moment, has quietly changed.
Since the situation is completely different from the previous life, there is no harm in using Peppermint's method of reducing salary.
Zhu Qiyu had his own account in mind.
Although only the civil and military officials in Beijing received reduced salaries, this group of people included the entire group of high-ranking officials.
Among the current salary expenditures of the imperial court, although there are many local officials at all levels and civil servants in Beijing, there are not many high-ranking officials. Together, they only account for about one-third of the salary expenditures.
Of the remaining two-thirds, half is the salary of the honorary relatives at all levels, and the other half is the salary of the clan kings.
Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty has not been passed down long enough, and the number of clan kings is not large, but its impact on finances has gradually emerged.
After this new year is over, the issue of the clan should be put on the agenda, but now we have to wait a little longer...
In the main hall, Zhu Qiyu knew that the questions he asked were difficult to answer, so he did not rush Shen Yi. Instead, his thoughts drifted away.
The monarch and his ministers just sat in the palace, each frowning in thought.
It wasn't until half a stick of incense was burned that Chen Yi hesitated to speak.
"Your Majesty, I have calculated that if we use the method of reducing the salary of peppercorns and sumacs, the court can save nearly one million taels in the past six months. When next year's autumn grain collection comes up, the court can meet its urgent needs, and then it can be stopped."
Yes, that means there is no other way.
Zhu Qiyu sighed and said.
"In this case, the Ministry of Household Affairs will draft a memorial and submit it to the court for discussion!"
Such major events involving ministers usually lead to a quarrel.
Of course, the outcome is definitely Hubu’s win.
Because no matter how noisy you are, there are only two words for "Hubu". If you don't have money, you can be invincible.
Zhu Qiyu could already foresee what would happen in the morning after the Ministry of Revenue proposed this method...
Ministry of Household Affairs: "The treasury is out of money. The salary for the past six months will be peppercorns."
Censor No. 1: "The Ministry of Revenue controls the world's tax revenue, but you have reduced it to deducting the salaries of court officials. You have failed in your duty."
Hu Bu: "You can do it, come on, I don't have any money anyway."
Censor No. 2: "If we have no money, the Ministry of Finance can allocate it rationally and save money. Why do we have to use peppercorns to reduce the salary?"
Hube: "You are right, this is not mixing. Pepperwood is very good. It can save millions of taels."
Censor No. 3: "The ministers studied hard for ten years and lived on their meager salaries. How can you bear to deduct their salaries and let these low-level officials live?"
Hube: "Besides, peppermint wood is quite expensive and can be sold for a lot of money. Besides, it only lasts for half a year. Let's support it."
Censor No. 4: "UuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuIt is too difficult to be a court official. The Ministry of Household Affairs is simply trying to kill the lower-level officials."
Hubu: "Uh-huh, it's too difficult to be the Minister of Hubu. Your Majesty, please replace me with someone else! These censors are quite good..."
Anyway, no matter whether you are threatening, persuading, trying to be cruel or trying to be cute (cross out), I will stick to these two words. I have no money, and there is nothing you can do about it no matter what you say.
Although Shen Yi was a newly promoted minister, his excellent cooperation with the Ministry of War during this war gradually established his prestige in the court.
Therefore, this matter needs to be quarreled, but as long as the emperor has no objections, the result is destined.
In this case, Zhu Qiyu didn't worry about it anymore, and simply didn't embarrass Old Shen.
They even tricked their own people, which shows that there really is no other way.
Shen Yi saluted as if he was being pardoned, and then withdrew.
Zhu Qiyu looked at his leaving figure and sighed in his heart.
There is nothing this old man can do, he just refuses to say anything.
If the imperial court wants to reduce expenditures, there are many ways to do it. Even if he knows what he wants, he knows that military expenditures will not be easily reduced.
But there are always other places that can be moved.
In the short term, the clan accounted for a considerable part of the expenditure, and a considerable part of the taxes collected by the national treasury every year should be attributed to the internal transportation treasury for the use of the palace.
However, these two areas are too sensitive. If one of them is not handled correctly, it will easily cause an uproar.
Therefore, Shen Yi would rather touch the eyebrows of the courtiers and suggest ways to reduce the salary of peppercorns than get involved in these things.
As for the long term, cessation of war, light corvee and small taxes, and rest with the people are all old clichés. Although they are outdated, they are useful.
The production capacity of the common people is very strong.
As long as the court does not randomly send out corvees and recruit civilian husbands, and the local officials govern well, restrain the local tyrants, do not bully the people, and allow them to have a stable environment and cultivate the land well, then the people will naturally have more children and more land.
With a larger population, the court can collect more Dingkou taxes, and people can farm the land with peace of mind, so the annual land tax can be paid in full.
In this way, within five years, the lost vitality of the imperial court can be replenished, and within ten years, a prosperous age can reappear.
You know, in his previous life, there were almost no smooth years during the years when Zhu Qiyu was in power.
Floods, locust plagues, snowstorms, and droughts are coming one after another.
Almost every year, he exempted several places from taxes, but even so, in those seven or eight years, the imperial court's vitality was restored to a certain extent.
Even after the restoration of Nangong, Zhu Qizhen struggled for another seven or eight years, but in the end there was no major war, and the entire financial situation of the imperial court was gradually improving.
After more than ten years of this, when his nephew came to power, he had the confidence to shout the slogan "Plow the courtyard and sweep the holes".
But it's easier said than done.
These eight words, "light corvee and low taxes" and "rest with the people", sound simple.
However, it involves various issues such as official administration, land, taxation, corvee, etc. It is very difficult to balance it.
What's more, this is a long-term matter, and it is difficult to provide any assistance to the current situation where the court is in urgent need of silver.
So if you want to enrich the national treasury, I'm afraid you have to start from other aspects...