prosperous age

Wei Guangde came out of Zhang Juzheng's room and strolled back to his duty room, still thinking about the pros and cons of this matter on the way.

Datong has developed from a tribute road into a horse market. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Wei Guangde feels that he needs to think carefully about it.

Datong's geographical location determines that once the Datong horse market is opened, Shanxi merchants will inevitably take advantage of the convenience to gain huge profits.

Wei Guangde is not a jealous person. He feels more uncomfortable when others make money than when they kill him.

This is everyone's chance and destiny, and cannot be forced.

But they are Shanxi merchants.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde suddenly realized that if Datong opened a horse market, Shanxi merchants might start from there and begin to transport their respective contraband to the north on a large scale.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that there would be no smuggling by merchants without the horse market. It’s just that with the help of Datong Horse Market, it is easier for Shanxi merchants to transport goods to the border.

After all, under normal circumstances, no merchants would transport goods to the border, except for the tribute trade twice a year.

If goods were transported northwards at other times, they would inevitably be subject to strict inspection by the Ming army garrisons and towns along the way.

However, the Datong Horse Market will definitely be beneficial to the development of the northern economy, and the Ministry of Revenue will also be able to earn more income.

Didn’t you see that Wang Guoguang intervened and successfully lobbied Zhang Juzheng together with Zhang Siwei?

In fact, Wei Guangde had guessed why Wang Guoguang was so anxious about the ministry's revenue.

Before Zhang Juzheng implemented the performance evaluation system, the Ming Dynasty's treasury had always been in deficit and its expenditures were insufficient to cover its revenues.

Even in the last two years of Longqing's reign, when Gao Gong took over as prime minister, the situation did not change at all.

One of the important reasons why Zhang Juzheng introduced the Performance Evaluation System was to use it to promote the timely collection of local taxes and labor service and reduce the deficit of the court.

It can be said that the financial summary at the end of the third year of Wanli was extremely important, and the deficit needed to be eliminated. Even if there was a surplus of one or two taels of silver, it would be Zhang Juzheng's greatest achievement in his administration.

At the very least, it proved that the new law could eliminate the deficit of the imperial court without shaking the foundation of the country.

Wei Guangde had returned to the duty room and was sitting at his seat. Looking at the two piles of memorials on the desk, he felt a headache.

He now needs to consider two things. One is the attitude of the Ministry of Households, and the other is what the Datong Kaima Market might eventually develop into.

It seems to be two points, but in fact it seems to be one point, that is, the Ministry of Revenue has clearly supported the opening of Datong market.

Thinking of those Shanxi merchants in the late Ming Dynasty who frantically sold grain and ironware to the Jiannu in Liaodong to earn gold and silver stained with the blood of the Han people when grain production in the north was greatly reduced, Wei Guangde did not want to agree to the opening of the Datong Horse Market from the bottom of his heart.

But the Ministry of Revenue was obviously going crazy because of the financial deficit, or it could be said that Zhang Juzheng was very anxious to solve this problem.

Originally, minting the Ming Tong Bao could earn the court a lot of money, but wars broke out in Liaodong, the southeast, and the southwest one after another, and the court spent a lot of money. It seemed that the little money earned was definitely not enough to cover the expenses.

The income from Yuegang was not much, and most of it went to the palace.

"In the palace?"

Wei Guangde suddenly realized that the palace was dissatisfied with the Ministry of Revenue, and that there was something wrong with the way Feng Bao looked at Wang Guoguang.

As for the Datong horse market that he supports, he feels that it can be resolved as long as it is delayed for some time.

Yes, Wei Guangde wanted to oppose the opening of a horse market in Datong, but he was unwilling to speak out directly.

As for how Feng Bao would deal with Wang Guoguang, he knew it clearly.

In fact, the fundamental reason why the eunuchs and the Minister of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty often clashed was the purchase of the inner court.

"All under heaven belongs to the king. All the people in the world are his subjects."

The "tu" here does not only mean land. In ancient times, land was actually a symbol of wealth, and it is still the same in later generations.

The Ming Dynasty's fiscal system did not clearly distinguish between the state's income and expenditure and the emperor's personal income and expenditure, so the monarch's personal expenses were closely related to public finances.

Court officials constantly made suggestions to the emperor, such as the extravagant palace expenses, the arbitrary collection of local tributes, the eunuchs taking the opportunity to do whatever they wanted, and the large amounts of land awarded to royal relatives, nobles, and favorites.

But because the emperor held ultimate power, officials could only protest, threaten to resign, impeach courtiers who carried out the emperor's orders, or exaggerate signs from heaven to warn a wayward emperor.

But when these methods failed, they were at a loss, and they were often in danger of revenge from the monarch.

With the exception of the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, who was self-taught, other Ming emperors received Confucian education. They were taught to abide by their ancestors' teachings, respect public opinion, and stay away from resentment and indulgence.

But even so, with the emperor as the center, the expenses of the palace were still enormous, and the emperor lived the most luxurious life in the world.

The Ming Dynasty palace expenses were extremely complicated. The entire palace was centered on the Forbidden City, surrounded by high walls and heavily guarded.

These majestic buildings covered an area of ​​about a quarter of a square mile and included the emperor's residence, court, study, and offices of the imperial historian and cabinet.

Surrounding the Forbidden City is the Imperial City, which is also heavily fortified.

Within the city walls, the imperial city had all kinds of facilities, including silver vaults, warehouses, and raw material processing and manufacturing workshops, such as workshops producing cakes, candies, medicines, wine, leather, as well as needlework bureaus, silver workshops, warp factories, weaving and dyeing bureaus, and even factories manufacturing guns.

Most of these departments were headed by eunuchs, and only a few were managed in the name of civil officials.

Other eunuch offices received supplies from the above-mentioned warehouses and workshops to maintain normal life in the Forbidden City.

The civil departments in the imperial city included the Censorate, which was responsible for supervising the warehouse, and the Guanglu Temple, which was nominally under the Ministry of Rites. There were more than 50 government offices and living service facilities in all these.

These service agencies mainly serve the royal family, and their operations cannot be completely separated from government functions.

  Large quantities of fine cotton, linen and silk fabrics were mainly supplied to concubines and palace maids, and were also given as rewards to foreign tribute missions and civil and military officials. The Emperor's Silver Bureau produced silverware for the Forbidden City and also engraved and made plates for important documents.

One of the basic duties of the Ming Dynasty emperors was to perform endless court ceremonies in a luxurious place, such as the groundbreaking of large palaces, various grand ceremonies inside and outside the palace, such as the emperor's enthronement, wedding and many similar activities.

These activities were extremely costly, and it is difficult to know exactly which were the emperor's personal expenses and which were state expenditures.

The royal family did not have a special management department, so the so-called "imperial treasury" was often just the emperor's wallet, and it might not be used on the emperor.

The palace expenses generally include purchasing cotton, silk, tea, wax, dyes, etc., all of which are in large quantities.

There is no doubt that the confusion between court expenses and public funds seriously undermined financial management.

In name, the palace's warehouses were managed by the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of War. In reality, the ministers were only responsible for ensuring supply, and they did not have much control over the materials stored in the palace. This was the privilege of the monarch.

When it comes to managing the warehouses, the civil servants merely keep accounts, while the eunuchs hold the keys.

During the Ming Dynasty, senior eunuchs were frequently dispatched to carry out procurement and production supervision missions, such as procurement and production supervision of palace utensils, porcelain, satin, etc. Palace utensils were produced in Nanjing.

These purchases would not have caused much controversy if eunuchs had not often used the canal to smuggle private goods during the purchase process and required additional government transportation.

Such as vases, bowls with a diameter of more than 10 feet, chess pieces, porcelain screens, sacrificial vessels and ceramic utensils used in the Guanglu Temple. Silk is produced in Zhejiang and Nanzhili, with various varieties, colors and patterns, and is exclusively for domestic demand.

Sometimes hundreds of thousands of pieces of certain products were ordered at a time, and the local government had to provide the labor and raw materials needed to produce these tributes, as well as logistical support. This issue has always been a source of tension between civil officials and eunuchs.

Because the demand for materials and labor would squeeze the income of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Works, it would also affect the management of local affairs by provincial officials.

One of the most controversial issues is the handling of supply materials.

The supply of tribute materials to the inner treasury had relative quotas, which were either allocated according to local farmland grain or levied according to the Lijia system.

Even when finances were tight, these additional taxes and levies remained the responsibility of the various government departments, and in order to meet their demands, they had no choice but to transfer money and grain from the departments.

Some special supplies might be converted into silver and intercepted by various departments, but each department was responsible for supplying all kinds of supplies needed in the palace.

Therefore, although the imperial court allocated a large sum of money to the inner court every year, in fact, more financial expenditures were hidden in the tributes from various places and were difficult to divide.

The materials needed by the inner court were not purchased from the imperial treasury.

Why can eunuchs charge sky-high prices for purchases in the imperial palace?

Since most purchases did not require them to spend money, they had to use up their gold and silver in stock so that they could continue to ask the Ministry of Revenue for money next year, but the only way to do that was to increase the unit price of some things.

Otherwise, if the fiscal budget cannot be fully spent, the court will have a reason to cut spending next year.

This struggle, mixed with the vested interests of the eunuchs in charge of the inner treasury, became one of the reasons why taxes could not be completely converted into silver in the late Ming Dynasty.

The reason why Wei Guangde mentioned the internal court expenditures of the Ming and Qing dynasties was actually because he probably already knew Feng Bao's plan.

After autumn, the inner court would certainly make large purchases to prepare supplies for the New Year for the harem.

I believe that only at that time would Feng Bao attack Wang Guoguang and draw up a purchase list that the court could not accept.

At that time, if Wang Guoguang dared to refuse, Feng Bao would report the matter to Ciqing Palace.

Not to mention that the two Empress Dowagers would handle matters impartially, in fact, when faced with official affairs concerning themselves, the two Empress Dowagers would never consider things from the perspective of the outer court, but would only put pressure on the Cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue.

By then, all he needs to do is say a few slanderous words about Wang Guoguang and the old guy will be fired.

And in this situation, Zhang Juzheng couldn't speak for him.

By this time, Wei Guangde only needed to propose a candidate to compete for the position of Minister of Revenue. In order to keep this government office, Zhang Juzheng would naturally have to make concessions in certain aspects.

It’s only three months, Wei Guangde thinks he can afford it.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde stopped working and just spread out the paper to write a letter.

The letter was naturally addressed to Ma Fang, the general commander of Datong, asking him that the Datong military should delay the time as much as possible while Huo Yi was arranging the rules for the horse market.

For example, when it comes to the location of the horse market, you have to consider safety, right? So the military needs to provide reference opinions on which military forts are suitable locations for the market.

It must have convenient transportation, and it must not affect the safety of the border wall. There must also be a large army stationed around it. All aspects must be taken into consideration.

It's normal to spend two months choosing a site.

Wei Guangde quickly finished writing the letter, but was in no hurry to order anyone to send it out. He would ask Zhang Ji to arrange for the servants to deliver it to Datong after he returned home in the evening.

While Wei Guangde was busy destroying the Datong horse market in the capital, Li Chengliang in the southwest was also facing a huge crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of Burmese troops came with great momentum, and it was natural that they would not return in defeat under the strong defense of the Ming Dynasty.

For several consecutive days, the Burmese army has mobilized troops to launch a fierce attack on Tengchong and Shidian.

Lujiang City was also attacked several times, but its geographical location close to the river made it impossible for the Burmese army to implement siege tactics, while the Ming army could continuously provide replenishment to the city via ships.

For this reason, Mang Yinglong did not choose this place as the main attack direction, but chose Tengchong and Shidian as the main attack direction.

As long as they break through any point, the Burmese army can continue to advance eastward, approach Chuxiong, and then threaten Kunming Prefecture.

At this time, the battle report Li Chengliang received was the document sent by Mu Changzuo, in which Tengchong Wei requested to break out.

Yes, Tengchong Wei was a local garrison and an army controlled by Yunnan General Mu Changzuo's confidants. The corruption between the upper and lower levels was relatively serious among the Yunnan garrisons.

Tengchong was a strategic point in western Yunnan, so the imperial court established a complete garrison here. However, the garrison was supposed to have more than 5,000 people, but actually had only more than 2,000 people when the war started.

Even after emergency conscription, the military strength was barely over 4,000 people.

Including the young and strong men drawn from the military households, the entire Tengchong defense force was less than 10,000 people.

Faced with tens of thousands of Burmese troops attacking the city, all the city defense supplies were exhausted in just over ten days. They could only ask Baoshan to break out to the east and enter Baoshan City for defense.

Although the Burmese army was fighting all the way, according to the intelligence obtained by Li Chengliang's scouts, the Burmese army seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.

Yes, most of the chieftains along the way surrendered and joined the Burmese army.

"Like a pine tree."

"father."

When Li Rusong heard his father calling him, he immediately stood up and waited.

"You take two battalions of soldiers and horses from Baoshan City and rush to Lujiang City as soon as possible to meet the Tengchong troops."

Although he was somewhat disgusted with these old-fashioned soldiers in Yunnan, Mu Changzuo's face was there, so Li Chengliang really couldn't give a death order and ask the Tengchong guards to defend the city to the death.

If Tengchong Wei wanted to retreat eastward, the best route would naturally be to cross the river through Lujiang City.

"Lord Mu, please send some troops from your side to follow Rusong to help the Tengchong guards retreat."

Of course, Li Chengliang would not send out troops alone. Since Mu Changzuo came, it meant that the situation in Tengchong was already very critical, and it was understandable to let them withdraw.

Li Chengliang had no habit of letting his troops fight to the death.

In fact, letting the Burmese army cross the Lujiang River was an established strategy. With the Lujiang River divided, the Burmese army could be effectively divided into two parts, Jiangdong and Jiangxi. When the Ming army retreated, it would hide and destroy all the ships on the Lujiang River, creating some trouble for the Burmese army.

"Yes, I will go down and arrange for people to set off with Master Li."

Mu Changzuo hurriedly agreed. The commander of Tengchong Guard was the brother of his concubine, so it would be fine if he just pretended to do so. He would not really make anyone fight him.

Knowing that the chances of winning are slim.

In fact, Lujiang City is the most suitable place to defend. As long as Baoshan sends troops to protect the ferry, he can provide a steady stream of support to the city.

The most important thing is that Baoshan City has this military force. (End of this chapter)