Chapter 152: Bi Yu Ji Feng, the division of labor

In the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Yijun sat on the throne.

There were two long tables in the hall, and thirteen important ministers were given seats, sitting on the left and right of the long tables.

While showing off her grace, she also looked as if she was going to have a long meeting today.

At the beginning of the annual meeting, Zhu Yijun asked the Ministry of Revenue to make a financial report.

Financial reporting is definitely a must.

Compared to the beautiful articles praising one's achievements, the amount of money in one's pocket is what cannot deceive people.

Fortunately, he had made some money this year, so Wang Guoguang didn't feel embarrassed when he was called first.

As he had been told beforehand, Wang Guoguang did not need to stand up to answer. He just sat on the third seat on the bench on the left, opened a memorial and began to answer.

"Your Majesty, according to the total amount of money collected and released in Taicang in one year, according to the inventory of the Viceroy of the Ministry of Revenue, Guo Chaobin."

"A total of 5,819,153 taels, 6 qian, 6 fen, 2 li of silver and 2,677,945 copper coins were collected."

"A total of 3,837,140 taels, 2 qian, 7 fen, 8 li of silver and 2,780,666 copper coins were paid."

"Net income: 1,982,039 taels, 3 qian, 8 fen, 4 li of silver, net output: 102,721 copper coins..."

"As of the end of last month, the warehouse in Taicang had 465 taels of gold, 5,385,877 taels of silver, 5 cents and 1 cent, and 16,460,490 copper coins. Other gold and silver jewelry, pearls, gemstones, Jialong gold backs, ancient miscellaneous coins, Yunnan low coins, etc. were not counted."

While listening, Zhu Yijun circled and drew on a memorial.

Following Wang Guoguang's report, the remaining twelve ministers in the hall either looked relaxed or happy, and all seemed quite satisfied - poverty brings sorrow to the central government, but with money, the atmosphere will naturally be harmonious.

What does it mean to have a surplus of nearly two million taels?
During the six years of the Longqing calendar, was there any year that did not result in a loss of at least one or two million?
The story of how the Taicang warehouse collected 2.3 million taels of silver and spent 4.4 million taels of silver in the first year of the Longqing reign, which directly scared away the Minister of Revenue Ma Sen, is still vivid in our minds.

Wang Chonggu, who was sitting second from the right, tapped his knees with his knuckles in satisfaction.

It’s good that the Taicang warehouse has money. There will be a war next year, and the Taifu Temple Treasury of the Ministry of War may not have enough money. It’s a good time to ask the Taicang warehouse for help.

Zhang Juzheng, the first person on the left, also nodded with satisfaction.

If there was such ample funds at the beginning, why would the Cabinet instruct the Imperial Censor to humiliate... and dissuade the late emperor just because he embezzled 100,000 taels from the national treasury?

However, Wang Guoguang, seeing the joy on everyone's faces, instead reminded them carefully: "Among these, there is a lot of income, which is not tax silver, and there may not be more in the future."

"Except for these, it's just a balance of payments."

Zhu Yijun, who was checking the reports from below and reviewing the memorial of Guo Chaobin, the Viceroy of the Ministry of Revenue and the Governor of the Granaries, stopped writing when he heard this.

He raised his head and looked at Wang Guoguang.

Non-taxable income means non-fiscal revenue, such as fines, property confiscations, etc.

As Wang Guoguang said, this year's surplus also includes a lot of one-off transactions and confiscated property.

For example, of the 5 million taels from Nanzhili, the emperor and the prime minister divided up a lot of silver for emergencies, and it was not deposited into the Ministry of Revenue's account, but of the remaining 2.04 million, one million was deposited into the Taicang warehouse.

As for the clan properties confiscated in Huguang this time, although most of them remained unchanged and continued to be used by the clan and vassal states, at least three or four hundred thousand yuan was deposited into the Taicang warehouse.

These revenues may not even be available next year.

The ministers in the court also realized this problem and became much more sober.

Zhu Yijun on the imperial steps pondered for a while before he slowly spoke: "In the future, the silver collected from the salt tax will be more than in previous years, and the expenditure of the vassal states can also be saved a lot."

The salt tax was a consensus reached after a struggle between the North and the South, and Li Chunfang accepted it on behalf of that group of people.

Until the salt administration became corrupt again, the annual revenue was millions.

This is a long-term business.

Wang Guoguang cupped his hands. He knew it, of course, but he still had to make the emperor and his colleagues more aware of it.

Especially the look in Wang Chonggu’s eyes, you can tell what he is thinking at a glance.

When I was the governor of the warehouse, the days of being unable to make ends meet and having to borrow money from all sides were too torturous. I really don't want to go through that anymore.

Wang Guoguang shook his head: "Your Majesty, the national finances cannot be estimated so optimistically."

"When Sejong reformed the tax system, he made it lenient. After deducting the annual expenditure, there was a surplus of more than one million silver coins, so there would be no more disasters such as floods and droughts, and no more troubles such as thieves and robbers."

"Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, various types of plunder were carried out year after year, and nothing was left."

"This situation cannot last long. It is just a temporary solution because the treasury was short of money before."

"If the extortion continues, it will inevitably harm the country's prosperity; and once we start to deal with this problem, the revenue of the national treasury will inevitably decline rapidly."

What does it mean to be mature and prudent? This is what it means to be mature and prudent.

Wang Guoguang's words poured cold water on everyone.

Zhu Yijun also began to think seriously.

Wang Chonggu, who wanted to borrow money for the Taipu Temple Treasury, wanted to refute, but he couldn't find any flaws in the words.

The ministers heard the word "what a pity" in Wang Guoguang's sentence as a veiled criticism of Sejong's large-scale construction projects, but they all pretended not to realize it.

The compassionate new Revenue Department Chief Secretary Chen Wude nodded repeatedly: "Minister Wang's words make sense."

Wang Guoguang looked around and continued, "Besides, local tax revenue has been declining year after year. This year, the trend has not improved and has even intensified."

"Especially when the era name was changed, many prefectures and counties were exempted from overdue taxes, so now the localities have become even worse, with more and more overdue taxes. Some prefectures and counties even deliberately drag their feet, hoping to write off the arrears the next time the era name is changed."

"This year, the total amount of summer tax and autumn grain left in the localities is more than 11,917,456 dan, which is already the amount designed according to the revenue and expenditure of each prefecture and county."

"But even so, the local government still doesn't have enough money. They either petition to keep some money in Beijing or ask for money from the imperial treasury. They always want to withhold some of it. There are so many reasons, such as locust plagues, floods, earthquakes, soldiers and bandits. In addition, there are so many people involved that the Ministry of Revenue has no way to distinguish the truth from the false."

"If we don't agree, we're afraid it will harm the people, but if we agree, more and more county governments will follow suit."

"The tax base is eroding. If this continues, even if we confiscate several million silver taels every year, it will be of no use. In the end, we will still be stretched to the limit."

The more direct the way you point out the problem, the more tense the atmosphere will be.

Especially when they wanted to hear some good news before the New Year, the few people who had just listened to Wang Guoguang's report and were ready to ask for money looked at each other tacitly, and no one knew what they were thinking.

There was silence in the hall for a moment.

Zhu Yijun naturally understood that Shangshu Wang was holding the meeting to complain.

But these words really hit the nail on the head.

The Ming Dynasty was constrained by practical conditions and there was no way to distribute taxes. Taxes from the central government had to be collected through local areas.

But every time the pork passes through your hands, a layer of oil will be left on your hands.

There are many reasons why officials help wealthy households resist taxes, such as collusion of interests, simple laziness, the desire to maintain a good reputation, or because they cannot afford to offend local wealthy households.

All in all, the result is that the central government can receive less and less tax.

This is a structural contradiction, but since Wang Guoguang has raised the issue, we must try to resolve it, even if it is only a temporary solution.

That is the purpose of the meeting.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and was about to speak.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng, who was the first on the left, broke the silence first, facing the emperor, and actually speaking to everyone in the hall: "Your Majesty, in this case, let's add this item to the performance evaluation next year."

"Each province shall make a detailed accounting of the annual revenue and expenditure according to the documents reported each year, and submit it to the Ministry of Revenue within a specified period of time, clarify the old amount, expenditure, surplus, existing physical goods and arrears, and check it with the old account books of the Ministry of Revenue."

"For the states, prefectures, and counties with the largest gaps, we will dispatch the corresponding thirteen censors and the thirteen Qinglisi of the Ministry of Revenue to conduct inspections."

"If it is indeed a natural disaster or man-made disaster, it will be exempted depending on the circumstances."

"Those who deliberately default on payments will be arrested and punished, and local officials will be sent back to collect taxes."

Zhu Yijun was interrupted and was happy to hear the Prime Minister's opinion first.

Although what Zhang Juzheng said was only a temporary solution, it was also the right strategy for the moment.

The local authorities are out of reach, but they cannot just let it go forever.

We always have to check the accounts and look under the hood of local state governments.

Although it cannot be eradicated, just like weeding, each round of weeding will have its own effect.

The performance evaluation system is used to do just that.

The provincial governments have their own way of doing things: “the law does not hold everyone responsible”, and the central government has its own way of doing things: “if you don’t want to be an official, there are plenty of people who can take the position.”

It’s hard to find a Jinshi who passes the third list, but are there not enough students in the Imperial College?

If you can't do it, replace someone!

This can be considered as a prelude to land measurement - local interests are united and they even dare to resist taxes. If they are not pressured and manipulated from time to time, will they all pile up and fight at once when the land is measured?
After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, Wang Guoguang immediately responded and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, I second the motion."

Seeing this guy so excited, Zhu Yijun could somewhat understand his feelings.

After taking office in the Ministry of Revenue, he worked hard.

Not only did they streamline the Ministry of Revenue's processes, but they also merged the Ministry's 13 departments into one office.

In particular, the two matters of collecting overdue taxes and grain and inspecting military farms and taxation at the border offended many people.

All I can say is that as long as it is beneficial to the national treasury, our Minister Wang will lend a hand.

The pragmatic official who wrote the "Wanli Accounting Records" is different from those scholars and celebrities who like to teach.

Zhu Yijun thought about it and agreed very reasonably: "That's it, Mr. Shen, Mr. Ge, you go down and discuss this matter with the Ministry of Revenue, and draw up a regulation as soon as possible after the new year."

The Censorate and the Ministry of Personnel will definitely not be able to escape this task.

Shen Shixing, who was attending the meeting on behalf of Shangshu Lu Shusheng, and Chief Censor Ge Shouli, quickly expressed their agreement.

Zhu Yijun wrote down two key words of this matter on a blank piece of paper.

As he was writing, he suddenly raised his head, looked at the ministers, and added: "By then, I will also dispatch eunuchs and Jinyiwei to assist as appropriate."

As soon as these words came out, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Yi, the leaders of the left and right classes, looked at each other.

The emperor did not say how he would assist, but one could imagine how the eunuchs and the Imperial Guards would use violence to demand payment.

But it was difficult to dissuade him - the overdue taxes were not only from the national treasury, but also from the emperor's private treasury, so he had a legitimate reason to do so.

Zhu Yijun finally wrote the three words "Jinyiwei" on a piece of paper and handed it to Zhang Hong, asking him to hang it on the screen of Wanshou Palace later.

Then he looked at the ministers below again.

At this time, Wang Guoguang from the Ministry of Revenue had already closed his memorial and was looking straight ahead at the long table in front of him, apparently having said all he had to say. On the other hand, Zhu Heng from the Ministry of Works, who was sitting opposite Wang Guoguang, looked eager to try.

Zhu Yijun's gaze passed over him and fell on the new Minister of Justice, Zhang Han.

Zhang Han, this person is not famous in later generations, but the fables he wrote are still very popular.

For example, in his story, he went to see his teacher before he took office, and the teacher warned him, "One day I was riding in a sedan chair to the court, and my sedan bearer wore a pair of new shoes. Because it had rained, the road was muddy. At first, the sedan bearer chose the road, but then he accidentally stepped into a mud puddle, and from then on he no longer cared about the shoes."

Zhang Han suddenly realized and understood the principles of being an official.

It was once sung by scholars.

The popularity of a fable can reflect a person's reputation in the scholarly community.

Even though the couple copied the Ming Dynasty Code on their wedding night, the public’s reputation for the couple was very different.

Obviously, Zhang Han has a high reputation in Shilin.

Even Zhang Juzheng was quite impressed, so much so that as soon as Wang Zhigao left his position, he immediately recommended Zhang Han to take over.

Not only did he praise him for his "high character, his expertise in both literature and politics, and his ability to take on this task."

He also said that although they were not close, this person would definitely be grateful and repay the favor - "and if you take him by surprise and pull him out from a distant place, his return will surely be ten thousand times greater than yours."

Zhu Yijun didn't know whether he was grateful or not, but the biggest case of love affair between the Prime Minister and Zhang Han in history was stabbed in the back by him.

But then again, it doesn't necessarily mean that those who oppose Mr. Zhang are bad people.

Perhaps this just shows that Zhang Han is an upright and honest person, a moralist who cannot stand anyone violating the law of etiquette?

If this is the case, letting him stay in the position of Minister of Justice may not be a bad thing.

After much deliberation, Zhu Yijun finally decided to put aside historical plots and follow the advice of the Prime Minister.

He handed the Ministry of Justice over to Zhang Han and prepared to wait and see.

Zhang Han is now sixty-four years old and is the oldest person in the court.

Zhu Yijun was very polite when facing the old man: "Grand Minister of Justice, you have been in charge of Qiu Cao for a few days. Are you feeling comfortable with your work?"

When there are many people with the same name, it becomes inconvenient to call them "Qing" or "Qing".

Zhang Han has white hair and beard, and has the temperament of an immortal.

When asked this question, he paused for a moment and said directly, "Your Majesty, since your Majesty ascended the throne, the personnel changes in the Ministry of Justice have been too frequent. The various departments below were once leaderless and acted on their own."

"The longest-serving Minister Wang has too high a vision and doesn't pay much attention to specific matters, leaving it to the people below to do as they please."

"The Ministry of Justice today... has a lot of backlogs, wrongful convictions, and unjust cases. It's really a mess."

"I can't figure it out at the moment."

Zhu Yijun felt a little embarrassed when he heard this.

At first, the Minister of Justice Liu Ziqiang and the Vice Minister of Justice Cao Jin retired together with Gao Gong when he left Beijing.

Bi Qiang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was exiled to Hainan Island at the end of last year because he participated in trouble with Hu Qi and his gang.

But I heard that he unfortunately passed away due to illness on the way, which is really a pity.

Not to mention the Minister of Justice Wang Zhigao, who was just scolded and sent back to his hometown last month.

Too frequent personnel changes will definitely affect the normal operation of the department, and Zhu Yijun has to admit this.

But there was a reason for everything that happened, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and gently turned it over: "Then the Grand Secretary of Justice will reorganize the Autumn Office after the New Year."

After Zhang Han returned the gift, Zhu Yijun continued, "But I have two things to say to the Grand Secretary in advance."

Zhang Han quickly stood up to listen to the lecture.

This posture made Zhu Yijun feel a little uncomfortable, and he repeatedly motioned for him to sit down.

Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "As the Grand Secretary said, there have been many false and wrongful convictions in the Ministry of Justice in recent years."

"Even if it's just the impeachment cases brought to me by the Ministry of Justice, there are two or three, and there are countless more that have been piled up and never seen the light of day."

"Human power has its limits, and I do not ask the Grand Prosecutor to clear the sky for me, so that the people can feel justice in the court."

"Unjust cases are unavoidable, but... I hope that the Grand Secretary will hold those officials who caused the wrongful cases accountable, and not condone and protect them as the Ministry of Justice has done in the past."

Even though the cases impeached by the Criminal Department's Censor-in-Chief were not many, they were only those that could be brought to the emperor's desk.

As for the rest, there is no telling how many were digested by the cabinet, covered up by the Ministry of Justice, or even had flawless files.

The Ming Dynasty had no shortage of detectives with wind-like legs, and also many officials who forced good people to become thieves.

However, the production relations of the Ming Dynasty were so current that it was impossible to achieve success overnight and expect justice to be brought to the people of the Ming Dynasty.

But this is the advantage of being an emperor, he can have the power to be a little willful.

Since institutional construction is hopeless, let’s just vent our anger first.

Zhang Han had just been reinstated and had only been the Minister of Justice for a few days, so it was impossible for him to understand the emperor at all.

After hearing these words, I couldn't help but sigh inwardly that the emperor had such a bad temper.

He glanced at the four unmoved ministers, knowing that he could only handle it by himself, and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, unjust, false and wrong cases may not be caused intentionally..."

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Han curiously, and said in a very puzzled tone: "Yes, that's why I asked you to pay attention to the distinction and hold you accountable according to the law."

"As for deliberately causing such a cruel and insane thing as a false case... I will bypass the Ministry of Justice and let the Northern Pacification Office come forward to punish them."

Otherwise, why was he so dissatisfied with Wang Zhigao?
This guy does not do his job and has allowed so many things like this to happen.

He wanted to see if Zhang Han was truly a moral gentleman with a sense of justice.

Zhang Han was stunned and speechless when he heard this.

I don't know whether I should applaud the emperor's innocent heart or worry about his harshness.

There was a long silence.

Zhu Yijun did not urge him and waited quietly.

After a long while, Zhang Han finally made a move.

He seemed to have figured out the key point and sighed: "I obey your order."

Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction and stopped asking for more - this was the only way the stability maintenance department could do, there was really nothing that could be improved.

He lowered his head, wrote another note, and then handed it to Zhang Hong.

Then Zhu Yijun raised his head and finally looked at the Minister of Works Zhu Heng, who had been eager to make a move since just now: "We are at the Ministry of Works, Minister Zhu, please tell us."

Zhu Heng couldn't wait any longer.

He said, "Your Majesty! This year, the Ministry of Works and the Canal Transport Office have tried three offshore shipping operations, although we encountered many difficulties such as running aground on reefs, high waves, and storms."

“But the geography, hydrology, climate, etc. of the shipping routes have finally been explored.”

"The difficulty of shipping is the risk of capsizing and drowning. I can eliminate these two dangers in two years!"

"In the fourth year of Wanli, sea transportation will be possible!"

Zhu Yijun was moved, a look of surprise appeared on his face, and he subconsciously asked, "So fast!?"

Zhu Heng shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report that it is not the work of the Ministry of Works and the Canal Transport Office, but the legacy left by the repeated opening and closing of the sea for many years."

"The most congested sea routes are those north of Jiaozhou and south of Yangjiaquan, covering an area of ​​about 160 miles."

"Since the Zhengde reign, this section has been examined and reviewed, but it has been blocked by idle opinions."

"People were forced to dredge it in the winter, but it became blocked again in the spring, and finally it was abandoned."

"For example, there are old granaries in places like Haicangkou, and they can be rebuilt to store goods. This is a long-term strategy and a convenient way to transport goods."

"Now that all of these things are reused, it will naturally save a lot of time and effort."

Zhu Yijun finally understood.

After repeated changes, the legacy left behind...

It's really an archaeological way of opening a route.

Zhu Yijun couldn't help feeling distressed as he didn't know how much money was wasted by changing orders every day.

Then he calmed down and asked about the matter: "So, what difficulties does Zhu Qing have now?"

There must be difficulties, otherwise Zhu Heng would not have said that we have to wait another two years before the ship can pass through.

As soon as the emperor asked this question, Zhu Heng's usually stern face actually showed a hint of shyness.

He looked at Wang Guoguang hesitantly, then at the emperor.

Finally, he spoke uncomfortably: "Your Majesty, before the winter came, I went to Jiaozhou to investigate personally, and selected the most difficult part of the watershed to test..."

Zhu Yijun couldn't help but be startled when he saw Zhu Heng's expression.

Are you here to ask for money?!

Zhu Heng was seen mumbling: "… a few feet down is rubble, a few feet further is sand. Below this is all black sand, and within a few feet there is a spring. The more you dig, the harder it is to draw water. It has been more than ten days, and the depth of the digging is only 12 feet. I have spent more than 500 taels of silver, and it is still not level with the water. If you want to reach the sea and make sea boats pass, you need to make it another 10 feet deeper."

"In addition, sea transportation must come from Huai'an Port, and Gaobao must pass through it, so this place should also be governed."

Having said this, Zhu Heng paused.

Zhu Yijun remained calm and looked at Wang Guoguang.

The latter could not hold back and took the initiative to speak to Zhu Heng: "Minister Zhu, why don't you tell me how much money it will cost?"

Zhu Heng smiled at Wang Guoguang in a way that seemed shy and more like flattering.

He turned his head away quietly and said hesitantly, "About... 1.8 million taels."

　After being reminded, I found out that there was a misunderstanding yesterday. The aide Li Du and Li Du who passed the imperial examination in the second year of Wanli were not the same person, and their places of origin listed in the imperial examination records were different.

　　However, since it does not affect the plot, I will not make any changes and will just let the readers know.

　　As a side note, I asked my readers about their books a few days ago, and I went to read them today. One of them has been discontinued, and the other one has only updated 2024 chapters in eight months in . It's really outrageous. God forbids me to read novels.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)