prosperous age

Chapter 440 439 Struggles Are Everywhere
Beijing, Forbidden City, Wenyuan Pavilion.

This place has always been the office of the cabinet, so there are many officials coming in and out on weekdays, including cabinet secretaries, pedestrians, etc., as well as officials sent by other yamen to handle affairs.

Although there were people coming and going, there was always a kind of silence in the yard, and everyone seemed cautious in what they said and did, for fear of affecting others.

Because this is the place that scholars in the world yearn for the most.

Of course, those who can come and go here can also be regarded as the elites in the imperial court, even if they are not the top, they are outstanding people.

Today, after receiving the order from Xiyuan, Xu Jie stayed in his room and never came out again.

The content of Xiyuan's will naturally spread quickly in the pavilion.

Everyone is not a fool. Among the officials, there are people who lean towards Xu Jie, of course there are people from the Yan family, and there are also so-called neutral factions.

Since he was able to be assigned to work here, he was either really lucky, or extremely smart, and naturally he would not lack vision.

Even though Xu Jie usually showed respect to Yan Song, they couldn't tell how much he was sincere and how much was fake, but they could still put himself in his shoes and think about it.

At this time, Xu Jie sat quietly in his seat, and did not work. Even though the desk was already full of official documents sent from various places, he did not process any of them.

He maintained this posture for some time, and seemed to finally come back to his senses. He looked down at the official document on the table, and thought of the order he had received earlier, a wry smile finally appeared on his face.

It's just that Emperor Jiajing wanted Yan Shifan to stay. It's such a big deal. Isn't it always like this before, why did I react so much?

Xu Jie just sat quietly for a while before he realized that this was the emperor's intention, so naturally he couldn't change it.

What is his goal, and how much does it matter whether Yan Shifan is in the capital? With the general trend, he is still invincible in the end.

Looking up, Xu Jie looked at the roof, which was decorated with carved beams and painted buildings.

Maybe it's because I have been suppressed too hard by the Yan family these years, and I have a little fear of Yan Song and Yan Shifan in my heart.

Yan Song is old, but his prestige is still there. Only Yan Shifan, Emperor Jiajing called him a "ghost talent", so he lost his composure when he knew that Emperor Jiajing chose to seize the love and wanted to keep Yan Shifan in Beijing.

Thinking of the decree just now, Xu Jie heaved a sigh of relief, and he wanted to make up his own decree to keep Yan Shifan behind, which is a bit ironic.

After drawing up the decree and sending someone to send it to the palace, Xu Jie returned to his seat and smiled wryly as he looked at the pile of copybooks.

Not long after, the person sent out came back, and the news that came back made Xu Jie feel even more uncomfortable.

The palace not only sent envoys to deliver the decree, but Emperor Jiajing also sent people to give the Yan family many silver coins and banknotes.

Treasure banknotes are worthless, and the Neibao Banknote Bureau still prints them out all day long as official salaries and emperor rewards, but the silver coins minted by the Silver Bureau are still very good, with good quality and appearance.

Speaking of which, the yamen in the inner court is also very interesting.

It is the word Baochao, which is used in the official signatures of two yamen in the inner court, one of which is the Neibaochao Bureau that prints Baochao, and the other is Baochao Department.

The Neibao Banknote Bureau prints precious banknotes, so what does the Baochao Department print?

At the beginning, Wei Guangde was still confused, but later he found out that Baochao printed toilet paper.

Xu Jie didn't ask someone to pass the news to Prince Yu's Mansion, because he believed that Prince Yu's Mansion must have received the news at this moment. If he still sent someone to pass the news on, he would only appear to be afraid in front of outsiders. Yan Shifan.

Moreover, even Prince Yu's Mansion can't help in this matter.

Who dares to object to the emperor's decision.

Just as Xu Jie thought, the news spread to Prince Yu's Mansion very early, and then everyone in Prince Yu's Mansion repeated Xu Jie's previous state.

But after all, their concentration is not enough, it will only take longer for them to react than Xu Jie, and Wei Guangde is still the first to react.

Similar to Xu Jie's way of thinking, since it was an emergency, it would be best if Yan Shifan could be sent away. It would be equivalent to breaking Yan Song's arm, and there was nothing to lose if he couldn't.

However, Wei Guangde secretly thought in his heart that it was a pity for an opportunity.

Without Yan Shifan by his side, the chance of Yan Song making mistakes must be greater.

Yan Song and Yan Shifan returned to the cabinet office on the second day after receiving the decree, but Yan Shifan had more things to do. During the day, he had to go to the cabinet with his father to handle official duties, and after the office was dismissed, he had to go home to wear sackcloth and wear filial piety. .

In addition to not being able to see the current situation clearly, and those who flirt in and out of the Yan Mansion, now the Beijing officials are staring at the sky all day long except for their work.

In the 40th year of Jiajing, in May, there was no rain in Beijing except for a light rain in February. The drought in the north has already shown signs.

For drought resistance, apart from building water conservancy to store water, there is really not much to do, even for later generations.

However, now is not the age of future generations, where everything is about science. In this era, there is a method to deal with drought that will not appear in future generations.

Jiyou, the Minister of Rites, Yuan Wei, played the emperor:
"The emperor built a canon, praying that the two spirits will follow the descending, and everyone in China and abroad will be joyful, but Yu Lian did not touch the four fields, and then the drought returned to the wind and haze, and the sun rose."

During the solar eclipse in February, Emperor Jiajing established a canon to thank God for his kindness. It is strange to say that there was a light rain in the capital afterwards, but that was all.

Under Wei Guangde's astonished eyes, Emperor Jiajing happily accepted Yuan Wei's memorial, and once again held a grand sacrificial ceremony in Xiyuan to pray for rain.

More than that, according to the request in Yuan Wei's memorandum, Emperor Jiajing decreed that the British prince Zhang Rong should go to each palace and temple to pay respects, and all officials would stay in Qingyi for two periods.

In this regard, Emperor Jiajing's reason for letting people release is that "the meaning of what Qing and others said is one body."

Emperor Jiajing had a feast in the palace, and all the officials should not stay out of it, so let me go to various temples to participate in the ceremony of praying for rain.

All of a sudden, hundreds of temples and temples inside and outside the entire capital were busy, and began to arrange altars and altars to organize rain prayer ceremonies. Officials also came to participate in it, and also fooled many people for a while.

In this day and age, for these things of gods and ghosts, from the princes and ministers to the common people, there is more or less awe, not to mention that it was requested by the emperor, and his old man also prayed for rain in the palace.

Praying for rain, isn't it for the harvest in the field?

For a while, Emperor Jiajing's reputation improved a lot. It is said that the emperor saw the drought and was thinking about the livelihood of the people all over the world.

Wei Guangde was dumbfounded when he heard the public opinion from the housekeeper Zhang Ji, and he learned a little bit from Yuan Wei.

When he first heard that Yuan Wei had published this memorial, he was a bit disdainful.

If God Tiaotiao could make it rain, then what kind of science will be developed in future generations, just practice it directly.

However, this feudal superstition in his opinion played such a big role in the Ming Dynasty, so he couldn't help but think about the reason behind it.

The seemingly useless measures have eased the concerns of the people, and by the way, they have reaped a wave of popular support. Do you think Yuan Wei's memorandum is useful?

In addition to assigning officials to participate in the ceremony of praying for rain, the execution and massacre were suspended for nine days, and the eunuch was sent to the Ministry of Rites: "I sent officials to pray for rain yesterday, and I should sacrifice to the gods. Is there nothing left?"

Emperor Jiajing asked the Ministry of Rites to check again, worried that there would be omissions.

Afterwards, the Ministry of Rites really convened the subordinate yamen to discuss, and finally increased the funds of Hehai Yuze, and the water transportation was not heard of, please pray, because Li Chunfang, Gao Gong, etc. were sent to worship the gods and other gods. Hu Zhi, the censor, offered sacrifices to the God of the Great River.

Wei Guangde was also going, so he naturally chose Lingji Palace, which was relatively close to home and familiar.

Participating in the rain praying ceremony is a must, it is the emperor's order, but by the way, I will preside over Xuanjing Zhenren in Lingji Palace, and find a place to have a good rest.

During the past few days, he can't go home and can only live in the temple.

The Beijing officials cooperated with Emperor Jiajing to pray for rain, but the territory of Daming was so large, and all kinds of local reports were not pulled down, and they were still sent to the capital, to the Minister of General Affairs, and then reported to the higher level. .

Jiangxi Ganzhou Mansion is close to Jiangxi and Guangdong because of the geographical relationship. This is where Zhang Lian’s forces, the Fujian-Guangzhou thief, first came into contact. .

The Jiangxi capital commanded the envoys to mobilize the guards of Ganzhou Prefecture to suppress the bandits, and at the same time dispatched troops from surrounding prefectures and counties to support them. For a while, the military supplies borne by Ganzhou Prefecture increased greatly.

Of course the Jiangxi chief envoy knew that these expenses were necessary and could not be saved, but the Ganzhou government had no money, so they had to go to Nanchang to ask the chief envoy Si Yamen for money and food.

There is no way, as a local official, it is his duty to protect the environment and the people, and if he fails to do so, he will lose his official title.

Jiangxi chief envoy made a total internal calculation, and soon an official document was delivered to the capital.

"The salt tax of Ganzhou Prefecture in Jiangxi Province is about [-] silver per year. In the case of the original question, [-]% is used as a rate, and [-]% is reserved for military pay. Eighth is split to help the frontier. Fuchen is in a hurry to increase the army and benefit the salary. Please keep it all."

They just want money, and the money is the salt tax received by the local government. In the past, most of it had to be handed over to the household department. Now that there is a military disaster in Ganzhou, it is natural to want to keep this money for local expenses.

The official document was sent to the household department, and soon to the desk of Gao Yao, the secretary of the household department.

Before Jiangxi, similar official documents were sent from Fujian and Guangdong.

To be fair, their demands are not excessive.

The silver is distributed to the household department, and it is specially used for the military pay of the Nine Borders, and it is used for war.

Now the local government is also fighting, so the money should be kept in the local area as military pay for suppressing thieves, but the Ministry of Households dare not fully agree, because the Ministry of Households is also short of money.

In fact, in many places, tax settlements are mostly on paper. In official documents, very little cash is handed over. Therefore, every time the court wants to spend a large amount of money, the Ministry of Households can only urge the lower level to pay, or even use official positions to pay. Threatening, intending to send a note to the Ministry of Officials directly as a disadvantage in handling affairs.

Only in this way can the place spit out more money.

After all, these officials are all low-level officials, and the only thing they can handle is the official position. As long as the background is not particularly strong, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Officials can't afford to mess with that kind.

At this time, Gao Yao looked at the official document sent by Jiangxi, and made up his mind. This official document stated that it was to deduct the salt tax from the Jiebu, but it was unclear on the above. , I want to eat the tax money that I haven't paid in the past few years.

Gao Yao came up from the local area, so he knows these things well.

It makes sense, but if you want to approve it, it's not a question of the salt tax of more than [-] taels a year, but the fact that the salt tax was squeezed in the past few years and Jiangxi was hacked, and he won't take the blame.

"Come here, check the situation of Jiangxi's salt tax relief in recent years."

Gao Yao sent scribes to Jiangxi Qingli Department to transfer the account books to check, and soon Jiangxi Qingli Department Lang Zhong and Yuan Wai Lang followed in.

They only knew that Master Shang Shu wanted to check the accounts, but they didn't know what the purpose was, so they followed here with the account books.

Gao Yao didn't need to explain anything to them, he just wanted to know how much salt tax Jiangxi had paid in the past few years, and how much he still owed, so that he could give a reply when he had an idea in mind, and then he would submit it to the cabinet and hand it over to Xiyuan with other official documents. .

This is equivalent to the work record of the household department for a period of time, and the higher-ups will be notified.

"Haven't you paid enough salt tax for 36 years?"

Qing Li Si Lang Zhong and Yuan Wai Lang knew what Master Shang Shu wanted to investigate, so they were naturally familiar with the matter and found the content quickly.

Up to this moment, the people from the Cleaning Department still don't know the purpose of recruiting this time. It is estimated that Jiangxi must want to withhold tax money because of the suppression of thieves. This kind of thing is not uncommon.

"Big Situ, I heard that two counties in Jiangxi were destroyed, and the rebels withdrew from Jiangxi. They shouldn't need much military pay."

At this time, Jiangxi Qinglisi Langzhong whispered a few words beside Gao Yao.

Ordinarily, it is enough for Master Shangshu to decide this kind of matter. He is a doctor of the Qing Dynasty and there is no need to speak, but it is only because the people from Jiangxi have sent less things recently, and they have to give them some eye drops.

Insects have worm ways, rats have rat ways.

The people who clean up the official department are only doing the total of bookkeeping on weekdays, not like those who are in charge of the warehouse in the household department.

However, as the current management, the Jiangxi chief envoy who is connected with him has to pay tribute, and in the end it is not spent as a reasonable expenditure.

But recently, there have been fewer gifts, which made Mr. Langzhong very uncomfortable. It is not easy for me to live in the capital, and it is not easy to live in the capital.

Gao Yao nodded slightly after hearing what the doctor said, he had also heard about this matter, although Zhang Lian's thieves often harmed Minguang and Jiangxi, but they were mainly in the mountains of Fujian, how many people could be mobilized to encircle and suppress.

What's more, His Majesty has a decree to let Hu Zongxian go to suppress the thieves, and Hu Zongxian's military salary will naturally be paid by Hu Zongxian. Jiangxi only needs to guard the city well, and it doesn't need to spend much military salary.

After he left, Gao Yao approved in the official document, "In addition, the government owes salt tax from 36th to 39th year, three points are allowed to be kept, seven parts are divided, and in the following years The points are still the same as before."

Do the math, in four years, if you leave one more point, the total is 8000 taels of silver, which should be enough to support.

Jiangxi's official documents were processed and put aside, Gao Yao continued to process the following official documents.

However, when the official document was sent to the local area, Yao Yiyuan, the governor of Jiangxi Province, naturally frowned. The official document that he had worked so hard on only cost more than [-] taels of silver, how could this be enough?

"You don't have to worry about it. Why don't you write to the military officer about Jiangxi's situation in the same year, and tell Mr. Wang that it's not the old man who doesn't deal with you. By the way, he will be impeached for Jiangxi's harassment."

The staff around him came up with an idea.

"reason?"

Yao Yiyuan asked.

"Deputy Envoy Wang's death."

The staff member replied in a low voice.

(End of this chapter)