I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 200: The power of finance and taxation (third update)
Shen Guan's words also resonated with Wang Yingjiao, the Minister of Household Affairs.

The Ministry of Household Affairs in the Ming Dynasty was indeed too difficult. In fact, it was not in charge of all finances, but everyone in the Ming Dynasty had to ask the Ministry of Household Affairs for money.

As a result, the Ministry of Revenue had to move around, borrowing money from the Ministry of War, borrowing money from the Ministry of Works, and even thinking about the emperor's relief. Some departments were not happy and gave them winks and stumbling blocks, which made the Ministry of Households feel very aggrieved. .

So Wang Yingjiao found out that Shen Guan had brought up this topic, and it seemed that the emperor was also very interested. He immediately expressed his support, hoping that the emperor would support Shen Guan's suggestion.

"Your Majesty, what Mr. Shen Ge said is true. The power of finance and taxation belongs to various ministries and is not owned by the Ministry of Revenue. However, the Ministry of Revenue is responsible for many expenditures of the imperial court. How can we prevent the Ministry of Revenue from being financially stretched? Thanks to His Majesty's wisdom, he has transferred part of the income from the inner treasury to the Ministry of Household Affairs since he came to the throne, so that the Ministry of Household Affairs can be maintained.

However, the court's expenses gradually increased, and it was not an option to continue like this.Therefore, I suggest that the fiscal and tax relations of the imperial court should be reorganized and the internal treasury and external treasury should be distinguished.The inner treasury was managed by the palace, and the external treasury collected the financial rights of various ministries and belonged to the household department. In this way, the government's finances and taxes were integrated, and the Ming Dynasty's finances were coordinated, and expenditures were unified, which was of great benefit to the country. "

Wang Yingjiao has been holding these words in his heart for a long time. Not only him, but his predecessor Li Ruhua has actually wanted to do it for a long time, but the interests involved are too great, so he didn't bring it up after thinking about it.

Until he saw that today's emperor used thunderous means to rectify the six ministries and nine ministers, which reduced the obstacles to the implementation of the New Deal. In addition, the afternoon's political inquiry clearly wanted to reform the Ministry of Household Affairs, so he wanted to climb up the pole and put this Suggestions were made.

"In addition to the Taicang and other treasury of the Ministry of Revenue, what is the income of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry and other bank treasury? Is it worth merging?"

Although Zhu Youxiao wanted to change it, the matter involved a lot and had wide implications, so he had to understand it slowly.

"Your Majesty, the Taicang and other treasury of the Ministry of Revenue are indeed the bulk of the finance, but in addition to the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue, the income of other ministries is also considerable. Although I am in charge of the Ministry of Accounts, there are times when I need to divert and use the treasury of other ministries. Therefore, And some understanding.”

"For example, the Ministry of War and Taipus Temple control the Taipus Temple Changying Treasury and the Changying Treasury New Treasury. These two treasuries are responsible for the income from horse administration, including horse purchase silver, fodder silver, pasture land rent, etc. According to the minister's estimate, the annual Treasury income is about 70 taels."

What Wang Yingjiao said made Huang Jiashan, the Minister of the Ministry of War, immediately angry. He was reprimanded by the emperor today. He actually didn't want to say anything, but Wang Yingjiao actually wanted to take advantage of Ku Yin of the Ministry of War. Naturally, he couldn't bear this.

"Your Majesty, Wang Shangshu said this too easily. Although the Ministry of War has Taipu Temple's ever-increasing treasury, it is still stretched thin. Since the 18th year of Wanli, the imperial court has to draw silver from the ever-increasing treasury for every war. The total has now reached 1057 million taels. Among them, the Ministry of Revenue has borrowed the most, which is 983 million taels."

"Since the 44th year of Wanli, the border wages have been in a hurry. In order to collect the Liao wages, we have been borrowing money from various ministries. Since the Liaodong War, we have to use silver to buy horses. Now the Changying Treasury of Taipu Temple is already in a hurry. Even a merger is useless. It cannot solve the financial difficulties of the imperial court."

This is also the reason why Huang Jiashan doesn't like Xiong Tingbi. It's because Xiong Tingbi has always used guest troops, which is too expensive. Liaodong costs much more than Jiubian, and the Ministry of War is not tired of it. Now Wang Yingjiao has even made plans for the Ministry of War. It's really Peeing on one's head is intolerable.

"Dong Yingju, you are the minister of Taipu Temple. Please tell me how much silver there is in the Changying Treasury of Pusi and the new treasury of Changying Treasury."

As the minister of Taipu Temple, Dong Yingju also participated in the imperial edict of Wenhua Palace. He followed Liu Yishui's footsteps and did not participate in the dispute.

He was very concerned about state affairs, and actually agreed with Wang Yingjiao's move to unify financial power. Now when he saw the emperor asking questions, he immediately stood up and answered.

"Your Majesty, Changying New and Old currently has 1105 million taels of silver. This is used for Jiubian and Liaodong to purchase horses. Although there is an annual income of 75, the place does not pay the full rent. Generally, it is only 60 million taels. ."

Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction. The Ministry of Money and Accounts actually didn't know about it and couldn't control it. Although it was money for buying horses, it still made a lot of money over the years.

So he didn't do anything, and immediately continued to ask Wang Yingjiao.

"In addition to the Taipu Temple of the Ministry of War, what other treasuries are there in other ministries?"

Seeing that the emperor ignored Huang Jiashan's words, Wang Yingjiao continued to ask questions, knowing in his heart that the emperor was moved.

"Your Majesty, the bulk of the rest is the Jieshen Treasury of the Ministry of Industry, which is mainly responsible for the discounting of various materials, including dead silver, military uniforms, equipment discounts, stolen silver, etc. It is estimated that there are still 80 taels each year."

"In addition to this, there are Guanglu Temple, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Punishments. The same is true, but the number is not large. The Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Industry all have intercepted silver coins to be used for military pay and other payments in South Zhili. Although after the Liaodong War, , there are many loans, but there is still a balance, and it is expected to be in the millions."

"Therefore, I suggest that following the example of the three ministers in charge of finance in the Tang and Song Dynasties, let the Ministry of Households unify finance and taxation, and arrange the withdrawal of silver in the middle. Otherwise, every time there is a shortage of silver, we have to borrow from various ministries. Not only is the procedure cumbersome, but it will also increase the barriers between ministries. It wastes a lot of money and cannot improve efficiency.”

After listening to Wang Yingjiao's words, Zhu Youxiao felt that it was indeed reasonable and was very satisfied. As a result, the revenue of the Ministry of Household Affairs was estimated to increase by another 300 million taels. Although the expenditures would also increase accordingly, the efficiency would be improved.At this time, Huang Kezhan, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Huang Jiashan, Minister of the Ministry of War, stood up and strongly opposed it.

"Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. Please consider it in the long term. Each department's expenses have their own uses. Now they are put together. I am afraid that it will cost too much and cause estrangement."

But Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, wondering if this would cause any estrangement, and what else could it do if it caused any estrangement.

"Okay, I think this method is very good. Liu Yishen and Shen Guan, what do you two think?"

Shen Guan was now in a position to do anything, and he would naturally support whatever the emperor said, not to mention that this suggestion was made by him.

"Your Majesty, this is a very good move. Finance and taxation are attributed to the Ministry of Household Affairs, so that various ministries will not argue with each other over finance and taxation matters. I feel that not only will it not cause estrangement, but it will reduce it."

Liu Yishen actually thought this was a good move. Previously, the six ministries were in charge of money and food, so when the cabinet used money, they had to calculate it with an abacus, ask various departments to borrow money, and each ministry would send a letter asking for money afterwards. , it’s very annoying. Now letting the Ministry of Accounts take charge of all the money and food can really improve efficiency.

"This move is indeed possible, and efficiency can indeed be improved. However, I feel that the original expenditures of various departments cannot be hindered just because the Ministry of Finance and Taxation is unified. This will not only fail to improve efficiency, but will also restrict each other."

Zhu Youxiao also thinks so, and Liu Yishui's thoughtful consideration is that if the power belongs to the six departments, the household department will be the God of Wealth of the six departments. Whenever the six departments need money, they will ask the household department. If the household department gets in the way, then It's not easy to do.

"Your Majesty, it's simple. As long as the six ministries make budgetary expenditures, which are determined by the cabinet at the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Revenue only needs to spend according to the budget. If money is needed and the cabinet decides, the Ministry of Revenue can allocate it according to the treasury. In this way, it will be the same as usual. No, it’s just that you need to make a spending plan every year.”

"If this method is feasible, then the cabinet will issue an edict, asking the six ministries in Beijing to send people to the five ministries, Jiuqing, and the six ministries in Nanjing to clean up their respective treasury banks. After the cleanup is completed, they will be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Beijing. From then on, all central finances of the imperial court, except for the internal treasury, will be It is under the jurisdiction of the Beijing Household Department, and all branches of the imperial court are under the responsibility of the Beijing Household Department."

Wang Yingjiao was overjoyed when he heard this. After more than 200 years in the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Household Affairs finally lived up to its name. He sincerely admired it in his heart. If Ye Xianggao hadn't blocked it secretly today, which made the emperor angry and suppressed, his proposal might not have been passed.

"Wang Yingjiao, since you want to clean up the treasury, you need the household department to clean it up. If there is no one, you can transfer it from Da Nei or Nanjing household department. Then report the amount to me, and the household department should also formulate an annual budget every year. Do you understand that the support plan has been reviewed by the cabinet?"

"I understand that I will do my best and will not accept the emperor's favor."

Wang Yingjiao immediately bowed his head and agreed.

Even if the reform of the Ministry of Household Affairs is completed in this way, although it seems to be a few words, Zhu Youxiao knows that the real battle has just begun. How can those who enrich themselves and have vested interests in such a large-scale merger give away households as they wish? There is a smooth handover of the department.

However, this is not an issue that Zhu Youxiao is concerned about, but an issue that Liu Yisui, Wang Yingjiao and others need to be concerned about. As an emperor, he only needs to know the result.

Now with this key part, the power of the Ministry of Household Affairs has been greatly increased, but there are still many problems that have not been solved, such as the problem of Baochao. Baochao is indeed a genius invention, but due to the lack of understanding of economic principles such as inflation, it has become increasingly worse. It's so much, now it's almost like waste paper.

Another example is the issue of copper coins and silver taels. Although overseas silver is now flowing into China in large quantities, the imperial court does not have the right to mint coins and cannot control silver. To put it bluntly, as the legal currency of the Ming Dynasty, the amount of silver was determined by the inflow of private and foreign silver. The imperial court There is absolutely no control over it.

This led to the uneven distribution of silver in the Ming Dynasty. There was more silver in the south and inflation, and there was less silver in the north and deflation, etc. However, the whole country in the Ming Dynasty had to use silver to pay taxes, and there was less silver in the north, so farmers needed more grain to exchange for silver. Paying taxes and going bankrupt several times will not be included in it, which will make the people complain endlessly.

Situations like this emerged one after another, which also caused huge differences between the north and the south, and also posed a huge hidden danger to the development of the imperial court. Zhu Youxiao wanted to solve it with all his heart.

The prerequisite for all this is to have a strong central fiscal and taxation agency.

Therefore, as long as the fiscal and taxation powers of each ministry are completely vested in the Ministry of Household Affairs, many of Zhu Youxiao's fiscal and taxation reforms can be implemented naturally.

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(End of this chapter)