Chapter 55: Orderly and Convinced

He made a big move right from the start by bringing up the Lianghuai Salt Administration, but it was not that Zhu Yijun intended to bully honest people.

It is really due to the situation that someone has to take on this important task.

Short of money!
Let’s take a closer look at what Zhu Yijun has to do now.

Administration of officials, taxation system, land measurement, opening up of the sea, re-establishment of the Shaofu, promotion of the budding of natural philosophy, splitting up Southern Zhili, improving the tribute system... and so on.

Every single thing, there is nothing that does not require the real military power to back it up.

Training soldiers always requires a lot of money.

This brings us back to the question - when considering where the money is used, we must first answer where the money comes from.

The first thing he needed to brief Zhang Juzheng on after letting him take over was how much money was in the treasury of each department.

Zhang Juzheng didn't want to hide it from him, and informed him of the result as soon as he got it.

Among them, Guanglu Temple was in the worst situation.

In July, Feng Shi, the Right Censor of the Ministry of Revenue, was sent to investigate the Guanglu Temple.

The results came out in September, and it was reported that the Guanglu Temple had never had a surplus after all its income and expenditure had been offset over the years.

That’s not all. From the time when the Longqing era was changed to the fifth year, the total amount of arrears in all provinces was more than 195,200.

In other words, the grain was spent in January and not a penny was left, and the provinces were slowly starting to fall behind in collecting their debts.

Then there is the Ministry of Revenue’s Taicang Warehouse, which is the national treasury.

After Zhang Shouzhi retired, Wang Guoguang took office as the Minister of Revenue and immediately conducted a thorough investigation of the Taicang Warehouse.

The results came last month.

Taicang Silver Treasury, ends at the end of June.

The total amount of silver was 2,525,616 ounces, gold 465 ounces, and copper coins 16,199,408 coins.

If all of it is converted into silver, even if we estimate it at a higher amount, it would only be five million taels of silver!

This is the national treasury! The Celestial Empire only has 5 million taels in its treasury!

As far back as the second year of Longqing, the annual expenditure was 4.4 million taels, and as recently as last year, more than 3.2 million taels were spent.

In other words, the national treasury only had more than one year's worth of silver in reserve. No wonder Gao Gong said that a war should not be started lightly. With this little money, the national treasury would be emptied if a war was fought.

The rest of the treasuries, big and small, such as the Imperial Household Department Treasury of the Ministry of War, were almost all in this state of spending more than they earned.

The imperial treasury is no exception, otherwise the late emperor would not have gone to the Ministry of Revenue to ask for money.

Especially after spending one million taels in August, there were only 2.3 million taels left.

Zhu Yijun already had a general idea of ​​these situations.

So we made plans to open source early on.

How to open up a source of income?

Whether it is tax laws, land measurement, or sea opening, these real ways to increase revenue all require a foundation of money and a long period of preliminary preparation.

Therefore, for the first start-up capital, Zhu Yijun set his sights on the salt administration!
There were six salt transport offices, namely Lianghuai, Liangzhe, Changlu, Shandong, Fujian and Hedong.

No matter which well the money comes from, these six departments are responsible for collecting and transporting it.

Most of the salt administration in the world will fall into the hands of Lianghuai.

It is said that the salt from Changlu Mountain in Shandong is cheap and the tax is high, and only Huai salt accounts for half of the world's salt.

But the fact that the salt administration made money quickly did not mean that the tax revenue was high.

During the Hongwu period, there were thirty salt fields in Lianghuai, with an annual output of 350,000 tonnes, which is equivalent to 140 million jin.

As a result, today, only the unit of measurement has been changed, from 400 jin per tractor to 200 jin per tractor.

It sounds like it weighs 700,000 kilograms, but in reality it still weighs 140 million kilograms.

Very stable.

Of course, corresponding to this is the increasing amount of private salt of unknown origin, which seems to be the sea salt dried by Japanese pirates.

In fact, this would be fine. As long as the taxes were paid in full, Zhu Yijun could still tolerate it for a while.

However, according to the current salt system, the salt tax for one bank is six cents and four cents, in addition to another three silver coins for tax and three silver coins for envoys.

The total tax collected for one yin was six silver coins, six coins and four cents.

Then Lianghuai should pay at least 4.6 million taels of tax.

But what about practicality?

Last year, the total amount of taels distributed to the Ministry of Revenue, the Imperial Palace and other treasuries was only 1.1 million taels!
Twenty percent on the surface! Not counting those sold privately!

This is simply outrageous!
From salt merchants, salt fields, local government offices, to the Transport Bureau, the Grain Transport Office, and central government officials, inside and outside, up and down, I don't know how much they collected!
That's why he called Hai Rui back.

Even Zhang Juzheng might not support corruption on this scale.

As long as there is personal affection, we must always put the overall situation first.

Especially in the Ming Dynasty, private requests became a common practice.

Zhang Juzheng has the support of the Chu Party and a group of his former students and officials, and he will be dragged away by everyone with complicated connections.

Not to mention the Zhejiang Party and the Shanxi Party who are trying to hinder us.

It can be said that no one except Hai Rui could manage the salt administration in Lianghuai.

Anyone with an official position will understand the twists and turns here to some extent.

Hai Rui was naturally no exception.

He reacted instantly and asked in a lost voice, "Has the Central Force reached this point?"

The Lianghuai Salt Administration is much more difficult than exploiting the people.

Now that they are going to change the Lianghuai Salt Administration, it must be that the central government’s situation is urgent.

Zhu Yijun praised secretly.

This is why he admired Hai Rui.

He is persistent and possesses extraordinary political wisdom.

He is an honest official and a capable official.

If one can control it, which superior would not cherish it?

Zhu Yijun nodded and said bluntly: "Hai Qing may not know how serious the financial loss of the central government is now."

"If we don't find a way to increase tax revenue while we still have some strength, I'm afraid..."

Zhu Yijun stopped there.

He then went on to talk in detail about the silver deposits of each treasurer.

Hai Rui's face was solemn, and he felt that the situation was shocking.

Zhu Yijun saw that Hai Rui was listening attentively.

He then said, "That's all. Taxes collected from various places have been decreasing over the years, and some are even in arrears."

"Many provinces have changed their governors and no longer recognize the accounts of their predecessors."

“And the previous person was transferred, and he said he was unaware of it.”

“So much so that only 80% of the summer taxes were collected this year.”

"And the issue of military pay almost caused trouble."

"In July, when the officials and soldiers inside and outside the country learned that the late emperor had passed away, they started to make a commotion together, asking the governors of various places to collect the unpaid wages, as if they were about to mutiny."

"In the end, I and the cabinet had no choice but to gather together."

"In the eighth month, the court discussed that the Ministry of Revenue's Taicang warehouse paid 300,000 taels of silver, the Ministry of War took 300,000 taels of silver from the Imperial Household Department's treasury, and the Ministry of Works requested that the mausoleum be reduced in size, paying 200,000 taels of silver from the Jieshen Treasury."

At this point, Zhu Yijun raised a finger and said in a complicated tone: "I took out one million taels from my treasury."

"A total of 1.8 million taels, 664,319 officers and soldiers, both inside and outside the country, each with 2 taels of silver."

"At least I suppressed it."

He looked at Hai Rui and said, "Hai Qing, I really don't want the Ming Dynasty to be handed over to me."

Hai Rui was stunned for a moment as he watched the young emperor in front of him worry about the country and the people.

When he was revived and left his hometown, many people said that he was almost sixty years old and how could he still take on such a heavy responsibility. They advised him to stay at home and take care of his elderly mother.

But now seeing this young emperor, with his young and weak body, shouldering the responsibilities of the country, isn't it harder for him than for Hai Rui?
After Zhu Yijun finished talking about the hardships and the necessity, he got to the point: "So, I want you to start with the Lianghuai salt administration and clean up the taxation policy."

This matter can be said to be extremely difficult.

Don't expect to succeed without killing a lot of people.

The danger involved is self-evident.

Hai Rui finally came to his senses, but he did not agree readily.

Instead, he sat upright and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"

While agreeing to this, it is also a reminder.

Today was the first time he met the new emperor.

Although the emperor treated him with great courtesy and sincerity, he still did not understand the emperor.

Hai Rui was afraid that the emperor was too young and thought things were too simple.

At the beginning, he was just dealing with Xu Jie, but he accidentally provoked a "civil uprising."

That was just 300,000 acres of fertile farmland, but what the emperor wants to touch now are the livelihoods of millions of water transport workers!
Hai Rui was not afraid of the seriousness of the matter, but he was afraid of messing it up, which would not only ruin the overall situation but also betray the emperor's trust.

Zhu Yijun did not answer directly.

Seeing that all the dishes were served, he stopped talking.

He then said, "Hai Qing must be hungry after the long journey. Let's eat first."

Hai Rui wanted to say more, but Zhu Yijun quickly stopped him and said, "Let's talk somewhere else after lunch. I'll take you to meet a few people."

The former stopped talking immediately, bowed, and started to eat lunch somewhat stiffly.

During this time, Hai Rui looked at the emperor again and again.

Hai Rui is not some stupid straight man.

On the contrary, Hai Rui is a paranoid and smart man.

When he was a county magistrate, whenever he encountered the son of the governor who accepted bribes but whom he could not afford to offend, he would pretend that the man was an impostor and tie him up and send him to the governor.

Later, when he advised Sejong, he knew that he had said all the good things and established that his nature was good, but he later slacked off on this tone.

Later, when he dealt with Xu Jie in Nanzhili, although he was defeated, he did show his flexible tactics.

Hai Rui naturally understood that the young emperor in front of him had behaved in various ways in order to win people's hearts.

However, he was still prepared to take on this job without reservation.

Of course, it’s not that he likes to bow down, but Hai Rui has his own code of conduct - Hai Rui, just look at his actions.

No matter how beautiful the words are.

If Hai Rui was asked to whitewash the situation or come back to sing a supporting role, he would turn around and leave without any room for negotiation.

On the contrary, if the task assigned to Hai Rui is truly beneficial to the country and the people, he will do it even if it means his death!

Therefore, when he heard that he wanted to clean up the parasites in Lianghuai, he agreed to it immediately without any hesitation!
Hai Rui always does what he thinks is right.

He only lives for justice and morality!

……

The two were busy talking about business and ate very quickly. After a quick bite, they finished their meal.

Zhu Yijun then led Hai Rui out of the Wenhua Hall.

He asked the servant to move away from him before returning to the previous topic.

The two of them walked on the wide imperial road, with no one around them.

Zhu Yijun apologized, "As the saying goes, if a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his subjects. After all, there are many people in Wenhua Hall, so it is more convenient to discuss things in an open place like this."

This was an explanation for why he had interrupted Hai Rui at a crucial point and kept silent. Hai Rui looked at the emperor in surprise.

It is hard to imagine that a young emperor could be so cunning that he would remain cautious even in a place like Wenhua Palace.

He inexplicably gained a bit of confidence.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand: "Where were we talking about just now?"

Hai Rui asked carefully, "Speaking of which, Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"

Do you want to stop at that point?

Or do you want to stir up trouble in Lianghuai?
Or investigate thoroughly and expose the truth?
If the emperor had different goals, he would naturally have to have different responses and methods when he took office this time.

Zhu Yijun walked in front and gestured to Hai Rui to come closer.

Then he turned his head and looked at Hai Rui seriously and said, "Hai Qing, I don't want to use you as a disposable knife."

These words come from the bottom of my heart, and they are sincere and heartfelt.

Hai Rui naturally felt it, but he didn't dare to respond. After all, it seemed like an allusion to the late emperor.

He immediately apologized.

Zhu Yijun supported him and urged him: "Please listen to me carefully."

The Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues are engraved in my mind. Although he is a good commander, it is indeed a little difficult to get along with him.

At least he managed to persuade Hai Rui.

Then he continued, "I will draw a line for you regarding the affairs of Lianghuai."

Hai Rui was puzzled and asked doubtfully, "Your Majesty, please explain clearly."

Zhu Yijun nodded and continued, "First, you don't have to complete this task completely. A 40% to 50% success is enough. You can make it your own way."

"Second, matters before the first year of the Wanli reign will be forgiven."

There are still two months left until the first year of the Wanli reign, which is enough time for Hai Rui to reach Lianghuai.

Not checking the old for the new and leaving room for maneuver are both necessary compromises.

If we must investigate thoroughly, the fire will surely burn half the sky.

It is possible that he would be implicated and would use Hai Rui to rebel against the emperor.

Who dares to guarantee that Zhang Juzheng, Lu Diaoyang and others whom he relies on are all pure and innocent?

Even his father-in-law, his queen mother, his three ministers, his inner court, his royal guards, is there any one who is clean?
Launching an indiscriminate anti-corruption crackdown is nothing short of a dark turmoil.

Instead, it will cause what you really want to do to be magnified, lose order, and end in a hasty manner.

However, this was the truth, and he was still a little afraid that Hai Rui would be stubborn and unwilling to agree.

After all, historical images and real people may not be exactly the same.

After saying this, he couldn't help but look up at Hai Rui, wanting to see the reaction of Mr. Hai.

If he really can't tolerate any sand in his eyes, he will have to come up with other plans.

However, to his surprise, Hai Rui did not shout that all corrupt officials must be killed and that they would not be tolerated.

Instead, they looked at me with amazement and approval.

It was not until the emperor gave him a puzzled look that he reluctantly explained, "Your Majesty, do you think I am a stubborn person?"

After all, he started out as a county magistrate and worked his way up to a central government official.

I don't know what kind of story people have told about him.

Even the young emperor was afraid that he was such an old stubborn person.

Zhu Yijun coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment: "That's not the case, I'm just afraid that the corrupt officials will go too far and make you angry."

He looked around and continued, "Wherever the performance evaluation system is implemented, I will distribute performance."

"Previously, the salaries were insufficient, causing the officials to lose their restraints. This is also due to my lack of moral integrity."

"But if you are evaluated for your performance and still don't know how to restrain yourself, Hai Qing, you don't have to worry about it."

Liang Huainan and Zhili were also included in the scope of this performance evaluation system.

If the salary is not enough, just ask for it. Otherwise, you can always blame it on the Zhu family.

But if you still don't know what's good for you when it comes to performance distribution in the future, don't blame the emperor for taking action.

High salaries may not necessarily lead to integrity; they must also be accompanied by drastic measures.

Hai Rui, who was standing beside him, was not sure whether he was recalling his embarrassing and impoverished official career, or whether his colleagues who became corrupt due to poverty were appearing in his eyes.

A hint of complexity flashed in his eyes.

He bowed his hands and bowed, and performed a gesture of thanks: "Your Majesty is kind and benevolent. I, on behalf of the noble people of the world, would like to express my gratitude."

Didn't Hai Rui lack money? Didn't he want to make his wife, children and mother live a better life?
But the court salary was so little, and he could do nothing about it.

He understood the situation of relying solely on salary, and naturally understood how difficult it was for ordinary people to persist like him.

This has led many colleagues astray.

Now the emperor is grateful for the hard-earned integrity and has given rise to this benevolent policy. He is truly expressing his gratitude on behalf of future generations and colleagues.

Zhu Yijun ignored him and helped him up.

Then he said: "As for how to deal with it, I will draw a few more lines for you."

Hai Rui bowed and listened quietly.

Zhu Yijun put his hands behind his back and spoke eloquently: "First, there are no powerful officials, gentry, or salt merchants in the family who hold official positions. You should punish them severely and kill as many as you can."

Without an official position, one's power is always limited and one cannot cause much trouble.

It was a good opportunity to clean out a group of parasites, confiscate their properties and exterminate their families, so as to fill the national treasury.

"Secondly, regarding those below the seventh rank, you should handle them according to the law and do not need to worry about public opinion."

These people must be dealt with.

The atmosphere has become bad, and we are about to remove these minor officials to free up key positions for officials who have passed the performance evaluation system.

"Third, for those below the fourth rank, you must enforce the canonical punishment and work with Wang Zongmu and the Ministry of Justice to make it an ironclad case. If you need to make a dictatorial decision, please let me know before you act."

Those above the seventh rank can be considered high-ranking officials in a place.

Even though Hai Rui was given the title of imperial commissioner and governor, he could not act arbitrarily.

The purpose of making it a solid case was naturally to reduce Hai Rui's political risks.

If you want to seize the opportunity or make a temporary solution, then report to him. He will naturally help you complete the procedures afterwards, and if someone holds you accountable, he will take the responsibility.

As for the execution of the law, there were also considerations.

Senior officials of this level are the weather vane of the regional political atmosphere.

We have to kill a lot of them to have a deterrent effect.

"Fourth, for those of the fourth rank and above, do not act rashly. Your fourth rank body cannot handle it. Inform me directly and I will personally make the decision for you."

Hai Rui, the Censor-in-Chief, was only of the fourth rank, while there were a lot of third-rank vice ministers and second-rank chancellors in Nanzhili.

Not to mention some of the old but immortal super-items.

If these people were really involved in the case, Hai Rui would not be able to withstand it.

If we let others support it again, there will be the risk of the steel breaking easily.

Zhu Yijun is not so cold and indifferent.

Naturally, he has to take it over personally.

Hai Rui listened quietly to the emperor's sincere communication and drew the line for him.

These few words were spoken in a decisive and murderous tone. For some reason, Hai Rui suddenly broke into a smile, which grew brighter and brighter.

With this method of doing things, his talent is clearly even better than that of King Sejong.

How could he not hear the intention?

With Hai Rui's many years of work experience, he immediately understood that this was a well-targeted move.

His Majesty is like a general who knows his own enemy and his own troops, and he can divide them and defeat them one by one.

In addition to this natural talent and heroic appearance, Hai Rui was even more touched by the trust and care shown.

Those below the seventh rank can be dealt with at will.

Those below the fourth rank shall follow the procedure.

What kind of trust is this?
Other imperial envoys, even if they received the king's order, would not call for the killing of civil officials.

His Majesty is completely giving him power.

What’s even more rare is that those of the fourth rank and above are not allowed to be killed.

If it weren't for this sentence, the emperor would still treat him as a knife to be thrown away after use.

But once the last sentence was added... Hai Rui sighed in his heart, he really had no way to repay her.

But, while feeling moved, he also did not forget to find and fill in the gaps.

Hai Rui asked respectfully, "Your Majesty, where are the noble royal relatives?"

Don’t think that the salt administration in Lianghuai is just local corruption.

Most of those in high positions in the two capitals are implicated, and some of the nobles and royal relatives must be involved as well.

Zhu Yijun had already thought of this point.

In an inexplicable tone, he said, "Let them come to me and tell them that I have a big business here. Don't worry about the petty profits, otherwise don't blame me for turning my back on them."

If you give face, then we can exchange interests. If you don’t give face, you can only tear off the faces of these nobles yourself.

This is a bit of a suspense.

But if the emperor didn't say anything, Hai Rui wouldn't ask any further questions.

He just bowed to show his obedience.

At the end, he reminded: "Your Majesty, I heard that the Minister of Justice Wang Zhigao was quite popular in the official circles in Nanzhili."

Let them kill. Let them kill.

But the Censor-in-Chief can only handle cases at most, how can he kill people at will?

If we want to enforce the law, the Ministry of Justice has to do it.

But the current Minister of Justice, Wang Zhigao, is too popular in Nanzhili.

Zhu Yijun naturally heard the hidden meaning.

He shook his head slightly and said solemnly: "We won't follow the procedures of the Ministry of Justice."

"The Minister of the Ministry of Justice of Nanzhili has retired. I will not fill the vacancy for the time being. When the time comes, Wang Xijue, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice of Nanzhili, will cooperate with you."

"And the new Dali Temple Shaoqing Chen Dong will follow you to Lianghuai."

Hai Rui was impressed.

The Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple... this is a three-judicial system tailor-made for Hai Rui.

It really is a plan that leaves nothing to chance.

He never expected that there would come a day when Hai Rui would be able to do things without having to worry about authority.

He saluted again, his tone firm, and made a military order: "Your Majesty has placed such trust in me, I will definitely fulfill my mission!"

Zhu Yijun suddenly grinned and said, "Don't worry, Haiqing, there is more to it."

"Come on, I'll take you to the training ground and give you a few more men."

　Note 1: The emperor ordered to take taels of silver from the Ministry of Revenue, taels of silver from the Ministry of War for horses, taels of silver from the Ministry of Works, and million taels of silver from the inner treasury to reward the officers and soldiers inside and outside the borders, as in the first year of Longqing. He also sent four officials to various borders to work with the governors-general, governors-general, and governors to reward the host and guest border troops from Liaodong to Gansu, a total of people, with taels of silver each.

　　Note 2: The Ministry of Revenue reported: As of the end of June this year, the Taicang Silver Vault had a total of taels of silver, taels of gold, and copper coins.

　　Note 3: Feng Shi, the Right Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, said that the annual income of the Guanglu Temple was only enough to cover the expenses of one year. There are many grand ceremonies in the country, and the expenses are huge. From the change of the reign title to the fifth year of Longqing, the total amount of arrears in the provinces was .

　　Note 4: Zhang Shouyue, the Imperial Censor of Zhili, proposed six issues concerning the salt law... and submitted them to the Ministry of Revenue, saying that the income of the Taicang silver treasury in the fifth year of Longqing was only more than million, and the expenditure was more than million.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)