I, Jiajing, successfully cultivated immortality

Because the post station shoulders important tasks such as document delivery, military information transmission, and cargo transfer.

Therefore, inns have always been valued by rulers. Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang even ordered the reconstruction of inns throughout the country during the Yuan Dynasty in the month after he ascended the throne.

Post stations can be roughly divided into three categories, namely Shui Ma Post, express delivery shop, and delivery station.

Their responsibilities are different. After hundreds of years of construction and improvement, inns were built on various traffic arteries in the Ming Dynasty.

If a local riot breaks out, local officials only need to use the post station to send the news to the capital thousands of miles away as quickly as possible.

As time goes by, the system of post stations has gradually deteriorated. In Zhang Juzheng's view, the system of post stations has reached a point where it must be changed.

First of all, because the expenses of the inns were allocated by the imperial court to the governments at all levels, and the governments at all levels also forcibly allocated the expenses of the inns to the common people, this caused a huge burden on the people.

Secondly, there are many post officials who use the matter of apportionment to plunder the wealth of the people. There are also many officials who, in the name of official business, go to the post station to extort money from the postmen.

Once the desire cannot be satisfied, the horses are deliberately pawned and tortured, forcing the postmen to pay money to eliminate the disaster.

After Zhang Juzheng thought about it for a long time, he looked at Jiajing, who was sitting behind the bead curtain, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, there are three major corvees in the Ming Dynasty, namely Lijia, Zafan, and Junyao!"

"Among them, Lijia and Junyao are the main sources of service at the post station. His Majesty Emperor Taizu personally issued an edict in the 27th year of Hongwu, and all the post station personnel were filled in turns."

"The people take turns serving as servants for three, five, and ten years respectively. The original intention is to combine work and rest, be fair and just, and not harm the people's strength."

"But according to Wei Chen's investigation, almost no officials in various places abide by this rule. The civilians who serve as servants at the post station even serve far longer than the originally stipulated time!"

"Therefore, I would like to ask Your Majesty to temporarily dismantle some of the inns with remote roads and low usage rates, and then transfer the management rights of inns in various places to the central government."

"Private apportionment is strictly prohibited. The imperial court will centrally allocate funds to these stations. Those officials who go to the stations to fight against the autumn wind must be severely punished!"

"If we appropriately reduce the time that people spend serving as servants, we can reduce the burden on people and eliminate the need to waste people's energy!"

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he sat back in his seat without saying a word.

……

"This Zhang Juzheng is really not simple. Not only has he done an investigation in advance, but he is also well organized and the solution is practical and feasible."

"Sure enough, young people are still brave!"

Thinking of this, Yan Song looked at Zhang Juzheng with a hint of appreciation.

After all, Zhang Juzheng is only thirty-six years old now. He is in the prime of life. I am afraid he will still have to sit in the chair of chief minister of the cabinet in the future.

After that, Yan Song suppressed all the thoughts in his mind and decided to help Zhang Juzheng.

Anyway, this incident was not caused by him, and the anger of those officials could not be burned on him. Quan regarded it as a favor.

Then, he stood up from his seat, looked at Jiajing who was sitting behind the bead curtain, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I think this strategy is feasible and can eliminate the shortcomings of the post station as much as possible!"

When Yan Song said this, he paused for a moment and continued to add: "Your Majesty, the post talismans currently issued by the court do not indicate the user or the period of use. Therefore, the post talismans are regarded as a kind of Welcome the delivered tools!”

"Those who hold the post talismans take this opportunity to eat for free at the post station and squander it wantonly. In the long run, it has caused a huge burden on the finances of the post stations everywhere."

"Wei Chen proposed that from today onwards, all the original post talismans should be invalidated, and a new version of the post talisman with the user and the period of use indicated should be used instead. Those who issue the post talisman without authorization will be severely punished and will be removed from their official positions! "

After Yan Song finished speaking, he saw movement behind the bead curtain. After a while, Jiajing, dressed in a blue-grey Taoist robe, slowly walked out from behind the bead curtain.

Seeing this, everyone quickly stood up from their seats, bowed to Jiajing and said, "Your Majesty!"

Jiajing heard the words and responded in a subtle way.

Then, Jiajing looked in the direction of Zhang Juzheng, nodded, and said encouragingly: "Well, you are loyal to the country and do your best in state affairs. Yes, you are worthy of being my minister!"

Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng's face was full of humility. He bowed his hands to Jiajing and said respectfully: "Your Majesty is so complimentary. I just did my duty!"

Jiajing did not comment on Zhang Juzheng's words. Then, after looking around, he looked back and said: "My dear, there is no need to be humble. I have considered the solutions you proposed repeatedly. Indeed, It is extremely feasible!”

"In that case, how about I leave this errand to you?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will definitely live up to Your Majesty's trust!"

As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, he saw Zhang Juzheng not far away with a stern look on his face and responded in a deep voice.

Jiajing took in the expression on Zhang Juzheng's face, nodded slightly, turned around, looked in the direction of Yan Song, and said slowly.

"The suggestion made by Mr. Yan Ge just now to abolish the original Yi talisman hits the mark. It will be officially announced by the cabinet after it comes down later!"

Naturally, Yan Song did not dare to go against Jiajing's words. Then, he stood up from his seat tremblingly and said in agreement: "As ordered, Your Majesty, I must announce this matter as soon as possible!"

Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, Jiajing added: "By the way, I suddenly remembered that Mr. Yan Ge just said that those officials who issue post talismans without authorization should be severely punished. ?"

"I think it would be better for the Sixth Section to supervise those officials who distribute post talismans without authorization and those who practice autumn wind in the post station. Once such situations are discovered, they will be reported to the court and severely punished. What do you think, dear ministers? "

……

When Jiajing finished speaking, the scene suddenly fell into deathly silence.

The reason why the scene fell into silence was not because there was anything wrong with Jiajing's proposal, but because it was perfect for the emperor to hand over the matter to the Sixth Section.

As we all know, those who can become public officials must have a different kind of persistence in certain aspects. Most of them are honest and self-reliant, speak uprightly, and are not afraid of powerful people.

And this also means that once the incident occurs, there will be no room for maneuver.

If the case is handled by officials from the Inspectorate, they may turn a blind eye if the relationship is in place.

And those officials are a group of guys who accept death. Once something like this happens, they will definitely fight to death until the opponent is completely defeated.

"This Yan Song, what's wrong with mentioning this matter? You've brought yourself into trouble for no reason. It's okay now. No one will have to use it in the future!"

Xu Jie thought of this and glanced at Yan Song angrily.

Later, Xu Jie calmed down and took the lead to stand up and express his attitude: "Your Majesty, I think it is most appropriate for the Sixth Section to be responsible for this matter!"

At this time, Xu Jie gradually realized the emperor's intention of leaving the matter to the Sixth Section.

"Because those officials had repeatedly disobeyed the Holy Will before this, they not only appealed to His Majesty to postpone the exams for the clan and nobles, but also asked His Majesty King Jing to leave the capital immediately in front of His Majesty, making His Majesty unable to come. tower."

"Therefore, His Majesty had the idea of ​​beating them up, and then acquiesced to allow Yan Song and I to use the department rankings to deal with those officials!"

"After that, when those officials are dissatisfied and their vitality is greatly weakened, His Majesty will personally come forward and give them an important task."

"In this way, we can not only supervise those officials who issue post talismans without authorization and fight the autumn wind in the post station, but also control this uncontrollable force in our own hands!"

"Your Majesty is clearly giving me a slap in the face and then rewarding me with a sweet date!"

When Xu Jie thought of this, the expression on his face became particularly ugly.

You must know that not long ago, with the emperor's tacit approval, he and Yan Song took revenge on those officials through departmental rankings.

Although the officials had no substantial evidence from beginning to end, Xu Jie knew very well that Ouyang Yijing would definitely blame himself and Yan Song.

"Now things are in trouble. Being targeted by that Ouyang Yijing is not a good thing!"

Xu Jie couldn't help but feel palpitated at the thought of being targeted by Ouyang Yijing.

Ouyang Yijing was not only sharp in words, but also extremely unique in his ability to curse, which could be said to be unmatched by anyone in the Ming Dynasty.

Just when Xu Jie was worried about the future, Hu Zongxian's voice rang in everyone's ears: "Your Majesty, I also feel that the Sixth Section should be responsible for supervising those who issue post talismans without authorization, and those who Officials who are fighting against the autumn wind in the post station!"

"As we all know, the vast majority of officials in the Sixth Section are public officials. Most of these people are honest and self-reliant, not afraid of the powerful, and rarely accept requests from others."

"In addition, as Mr. Yan Ge said just now, many people are currently using the post talismans issued by the imperial court as tools to welcome and send them off!"

"With just a small post talisman, you can get free food at various post stations in the Ming Dynasty without spending a penny, which has caused a huge burden to the people. This unhealthy trend must not last and must be stopped!"

After Hu Zongxian, the rest of the people also expressed their attitudes one after another.

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Jiajing nodded, faced everyone, and said in a deep voice: "Now that this matter has been settled, let's continue discussing next year's expenses!" Jiajing finished speaking and did not wait for everyone. He responded and went back to sit on the dragon chair behind the bead curtain.

As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Lu Fang and Yan Song leaned down and said respectfully: "I obey, Your Majesty!"

……

After that, Zhang Juzheng stood up, faced everyone, and said in a deep voice: "The expenditures of the Ministry of War this year totaled 12,263,290 taels. In the spring of next year, the court will We will officially start a war with Anda Khan on the grassland!"

"Right now, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou are responsible for training more than 25,000 soldiers. Coupled with the cost of building chariots, the daily cost is an astronomical figure."

"In addition, the imperial court currently has two naval divisions under construction. When these two naval divisions are completed, the salaries of the officers and soldiers on board, daily training, losses, etc. will also be a large expense!"

"Therefore, the Ministry of War's estimated expenditure for the coming year is seven million taels!"

When Yan Shifan on the side heard this, he reacted suddenly. Zhang Juzheng had said so much, and he could sum it up in just two words: asking for money!

You know, not long ago Zhang Juzheng proposed the idea of ​​cutting expenditures in front of His Majesty.

And His Majesty did not raise any objection to this, which means that His Majesty agreed with Zhang Juzheng's idea of ​​reducing court expenditures.

Since the imperial court's expenditure reduction is a foregone conclusion, if the Ministry of War receives more while the overall expenditure of the imperial court remains unchanged, then other departments will inevitably receive less.

"This Zhang Juzheng wants to eat more and occupy more. It is unreasonable for you to apply for 7 million taels of expenses for the Ministry of War alone!"

After realizing Zhang Juzheng's intentions, Yan Shifan began to rack his brains to think about how to obtain more funds for the Ministry of Industry.

"This year, the imperial court allocated special funds to re-strengthen and build the dams along the Yellow River. The dams in other provinces have also undergone some repairs. There is no excuse for the time being."

"This year, the imperial court has not carried out any major construction projects. His Majesty has not even intended to repair the Longevity Palace. It is just left there. It is really difficult to find a suitable excuse to get money from the Ministry of Works!"

"Why don't we just start during the flood season?"

While Yan Shifan was still thinking hard about how to get more funds for the Ministry of Industry.

After deliberation for a long time, Xu Jie stood up and agreed to Zhang Juzheng's proposal: "As the saying goes, the great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs!"

When Xu Jie said this, he paused for a moment, and then continued: "In the spring of next year, I, the Ming Dynasty, will complete his achievements in one battle and officially start a war with Anda Khan of the Tumote tribe. After Anda is eliminated, Khan, there will be no more wars on the border!”

"Therefore, I agree with the expenditure of seven million taels of silver reported by the Ministry of War!"

After Xu Jie, Gao Gong also expressed his position: "I also agree with Mr. Xu Ge's statement and agree with the Ministry of War's expenditure of seven million taels of silver!"

Later, Yan Song picked up the tea cup filled with wolfberry water on the table, took a sip, and said slowly: "Well, I also agree with the expenditure of the Ministry of War!"

After that, everyone expressed their attitude one after another, and the expenditure of seven million taels of silver on the Ministry of War was also successfully confirmed.

Seeing that the expenditure of seven million taels of silver from the Ministry of War was confirmed so easily, Yan Shifan became more and more anxious.

The total expenditures of the Ministry of Industry this year totaled 5,675,329 taels.

In Yan Shifan's view, even if the court had no major construction plans this year, as the Minister of Industry, he still had to obtain at least four million taels of funding for the Ministry of Industry.

After all, the only way for a department to expand its influence is to have more officials and obtain more funding.

After thinking about it in his mind for a long time, Yan Shifan stood up from his seat, faced everyone, and said, "Everyone, the Ministry of Industry's estimated expenditure for the coming year is four million taels. In order to prevent the flood season..."

After a period of war of words, the cabinet finally decided on next year's expenditures.

"Taking into account the unexpected situation, therefore, in addition to the original estimate, an additional five million taels will be used for the court's expenditure in the coming year. The expected expenditure of the court in the coming year is 31,685,000 taels."

"Among them, the Ministry of War is expected to spend 7 million taels, the Ministry of Industry is expected to spend 3.2 million taels, and the Ministry of Household is expected to spend..."

After Xu Jie submitted the estimated expenditures for the court for the coming year one by one, he faced everyone and asked, "Do you have any other opinions on this?"

Seeing that no one raised any objection to this, Xu Jie closed the account book in his hand, then looked at Jiajing behind the bead curtain and said respectfully.

"Your Majesty, the cabinet has finished discussing the imperial court's expenditure for the coming year. The imperial court's estimated expenditure for the coming year is 31,685,000 taels!"

"Well, since the expenditures for the coming year have been discussed, let's go here today. When we come down later, your cabinet will sort out all the matters discussed today and then announce them!"

Jiajing, who was sitting behind the bead curtain, waved his hand and ordered after listening to Xu Jie's report.

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

After Jiajing finished speaking, everyone stood up from their seats and said in unison.

After that, Jiajing did not stay in the cabinet for too long, but took Lu Fang and left the cabinet.

……

Soon after, the cabinet quickly sorted out the matters discussed at the imperial meeting today, and then announced them one after another.

When the officials learned that the accounts submitted by various departments had been approved by the Director of Ceremonies, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and their hearts that had been hanging around were finally relieved.

You know, in the past, the Director of Ceremonies was not so forthcoming. If the accounts submitted were slightly wrong, disaster would be waiting for that department.

Before those officials could be happy for long, news came one after another that the imperial court would cut expenses, abolish the post stations, and abolish the original post talismans.

These pieces of news, like dropping a bombshell in calm waters, soon caused an uproar in the court.

Many officials have been discussing this, and the vast majority of them are opposed to it.

For those officials, the imperial court's plan to cut expenditures and abolish inns could not burn them for a while.

However, the fact that the imperial court was about to abolish the original post talisman really harmed the interests of these officials.

After all, with a small post talisman, you can travel smoothly in the Ming Dynasty. You can travel to and from the Ming Dynasty without spending a penny for food and accommodation. All are reimbursed by the post station. I wonder if there is anything better than this in the world?

Therefore, these officials, as well as their family members and relatives, often hold post talismans.

It is very popular in today's Ming Dynasty to use Yi talismans as gifts to welcome and send. After all, doing so can not only indirectly demonstrate one's strength, but also show one's sincerity.

With the Yi Talisman, you can travel smoothly in the Ming Dynasty, which is equivalent to getting a free meal ticket. You don't have to worry about it for the rest of your life.

When you need to run around for errands, you can take the post talisman and go to the destination through the post stations along the way. You don't have to pay a penny for the whole process, which can save costs to the maximum extent.

Some officials even developed new ways to play. They often took the post talisman and went to the post station to eat and drink for free, and even held banquets from time to time.

In a true sense, I did it, spending the court's money and having my own relationship!

At this time, the bulletin board near the cabinet.

Even though it was already time to go off duty, a large number of officials still gathered near the bulletin board.

They all came in a hurry after learning that the imperial court was about to cut expenses, abolish the post station, and abolish the original post talisman.

"The laws of our ancestors are immutable. The post station system was a policy formulated by Emperor Taizu himself. The post station shoulders important tasks such as conveying military information and transporting goods. If it is abolished rashly, it will do no good to our Ming Dynasty! "

"Oh, what a sin. Who proposed this bad idea to your Majesty to abolish the existing post talisman? If I know who it is, I will have to punish him!"

"There are people who do such things that are harmful to others and not beneficial to themselves. In order to please His Majesty, they really do anything. Isn't it obvious that everyone's escape route is cut off?"

"You see, it is clearly written on it that the management rights of the post station will be returned to the imperial court in the future, and the Sixth Section will supervise those officials who issue post charms without authorization and perform autumn wind in the post station. Once such behavior is discovered, If such cases occur, they will be reported to the court and severely punished!"

"Hiss, the Sixth Section is actually responsible for this matter. Those officials are a bunch of guys who are not easy to mess with. Anyone who offends them will not end well!"

"By the way, there are rumors that it seems that Mr. Zhang Ge stated the various shortcomings of the inns in front of His Majesty at the imperial meeting, and requested His Majesty to abolish some of the inns, return their operating rights to the central government, and abolish them. It seems that Mr. Yan Ge raised the issue of the post talisman in public!"

After that, many officials at the scene fell into varying degrees of silence.

The official who previously threatened to retaliate against the person who suggested abolishing the existing Yi talisman now turned pale and was trembling all over.

Most of the officials on the side looked at this man with schadenfreude and quietly distanced themselves from him.

After all, the person he offended was Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet who is now in power and has many party members!

Such trivial matters do not even require Yan Song's instructions. Those in the court who want to cling to the top branches of the Yan family will not let this opportunity pass by.

Just take this person's head to show your loyalty to the Yan family. It should be considered as a certificate of surrender! (End of chapter)