I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 261 Official Administration and Revenue and Expenditure

Forbidden City, Dongnuang Pavilion.

Today, the atmosphere in Dongnuan Pavilion seemed a little solemn and quiet. All five ministers of the cabinet had arrived, and the six ministers of the six departments who had just taken office had also taken their seats one after another.

Since the last morning change, two new cabinet ministers were added to the cabinet, and four ministers of the six departments were appointed and dismissed. The entire court has been undergoing a major change.

Therefore, Zhu Youxiao had always wanted to meet them, but he had never been free because he was busy inspecting the capital camp and dealing with the White Lotus Sect.

Today I finally found the opportunity to bring them together and meet them.

"You are all the humerus of the country, and the court relies on it. From now on, you must do your best and never slack off."

Seeing that the emperor was speaking without courtesy, everyone stood up one after another, bowed their heads and said:

"Your Majesty is wise and wise. I will do my best and live up to the emperor's favor."

Zhu Youxiao looked at them and waved his hand for them to sit down and discuss matters.

Then he couldn't help but look at Zhao Nanxing, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He was most interested in this person. He was one of the founders of Donglin Academy in history. Although there were many people in Donglin who were confused, what did he think of this person? He is quite tall, upright, upright, and hates evil as much as he hates it.

"Zhao Nanxing, I have heard that Huang Kao mentioned you before. He said that you hated evil and refused to obey the masses. At that time, Zhang Taiyue died of illness and everyone went to express their condolences. Only you and Gu Xiancheng did not go, and in the end they were dismissed from office. Resigned. More than thirty years have passed since this happened. I wonder if you still have the same view of Zhang Taiyue as before?"

Zhao Nanxing is now over seventy years old. His hair on his temples is already as white as frost, and his fair beard hangs straight on his chest. Although he is old and frail, his body is still strong.Suddenly he heard the emperor asking him if his opinion of Zhang Taiyue had changed. After decades of experience in the official world, he also understood the emperor's implication. He stood up and cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, at that time Zhang Taiyue used too harsh methods and was too harsh on Shenzong. Although he was the leader and assistant in carrying out reforms, he was extravagant and exceeded the rules. Even now, I agree with his public morality. Therefore, Your Majesty asked me whether my opinion of Zhang Taiyue has changed. , I just want to say: Although I don’t agree with Zhang Taiyue, I admire Zhang Taiyue’s behavior.”

"Oh, what do you mean by that?"

Zhao Nanxing pursed her lips, took a breath, and continued to reply to the emperor's question.

"Zhang Taiyue's Gongdechen does not agree. If we go back 30 years ago, I still insist not to go back to express my condolences.

However, in the past 30 years, I have observed the government and found that no one in the past dynasties has surpassed Zhang Taiyue in terms of benefiting the country and the people. He succeeded in testing and measured the land using a whip method. This was something that no one in the past dared to think of or dare to do. He did it, so I admired his work. "

Hearing his evaluation of Zhang Juzheng, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but look at Liu Yishen and Ye Xianggao, and said jokingly:
"It seems that Zhao Shangshu is not satisfied with Mr. Liu Ge and Mr. Ye Ge."

Upon hearing this, the two men immediately bowed out and explained.

"Your Majesty, you are so complimentary. I am far inferior to Zhang Taiyue. It is indeed incomparable."

"Don't be humble, you two. Although you are not as good as Zhang Taiyue, in my opinion, you are more than enough than Shen Shixing, Zhang Siwei and others."

Seeing that the two of them were so humble and low-key, Zhu Youxiao also hurriedly felt relieved, waved his hand for them to sit down, and then looked at everyone again.

"Actually, what Zhao Nanxing said comforted me a lot. Although Zhang Juzheng has bad morals, he devoted himself to the court and dared to do things that his predecessors did not dare to do. For this reason alone, I admire him very much. Now the court does not Is this the kind of person we need?”

As he spoke, he turned his attention to Zhao Nanxing again and spoke seriously.

"Zhao Nanxing, this is also the reason why I appointed you as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Personnel controls the examination and promotion of officials. The power is not small, but the responsibility is also great. Nowadays, bribery and corruption are common among officials. In order to get an official, they will not hesitate to do so. Spending a lot of money to bribe the clerk's office is common in private.

Where did the money for their bribes come from, or was it not anointed by the looted people, I am deeply worried about it, so despite the objections of others, I have repeatedly insisted on promoting you to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.I have always heard that you are upright and hate evil as much as you hate evil.

In the 21st year of Wanli, during the evaluation of officials, you were ranked first because of your fairness and integrity, and were promoted to the chief official officer. There was an endless stream of officials who bribed you, but you did not accept the bribes. Instead, you reported them one by one.

Based on this, I know that you are a useful person. I hope that you will not disappoint my expectations and trust. If you reform the staff, you can reverse this bad habit in the officialdom. "

Zhao Nanxing was deeply moved after hearing Jun's words. He had been ostracized and dismissed from his family for more than [-] years. He felt very depressed and aggrieved. He could not realize his ambitions and was depressed.

But the emperor in front of him seemed to understand his ideals and ambitions, appointed him as Minister of Civil Affairs, and had high hopes for himself. How could he not be moved by this?

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will manage the staff well for Your Majesty, reiterate the examinations, strictly control the selection, and eliminate corruption, even if it costs me an old bone." "Haha, you still have to take care of yourself. Just do your best.”

Looking at Zhao Nanxing who quickly expressed his stance, Zhu Youxiao quickly felt relieved. His health was important, so he had better not exert too much force.

"Speaking of official administration, I suddenly thought of one person? Liu Yishen, have you got Bi Ziyan's question book? Has Li Sancai dealt with it?"

Seeing that the emperor suddenly changed the subject and suddenly asked about Li Sancai, everyone else kept silent. Everyone knew that Li Sancai was brought to justice, and they couldn't help but look at Liu Yishen.

"Your Majesty, Bi Ziyan's title book was handed over ten days ago, and the cabinet draft was also handed over to the Supervisor of Ceremonies. Bi Ziyan said in the title book that Li Sancai had shown his head to the public, and all his property had been confiscated. 1 taels of gold, 78 taels of silver, and countless other mansions, antiques, calligraphy and paintings were found.

In addition to confiscating Li Sancai, according to your edict, more than 40 officials were punished for shielding the wealthy gentry, including 30 officials from the Six Ministries of Nanjing, including the Right Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Left Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, and [-] officials such as Songjiang Prefecture. Multiple people.

The homes of 14 people involved in the case, which were serious and deliberately obstructed the imperial government's plans, were ransacked, more than 20 people were dismissed from their posts and will never be used again, and the rest were demoted.

At present, all these have been packed up by Bi Ziyan, totaling more than 180 million taels. They will follow this year's first batch of grain and tax money to go north and will soon arrive in Tongzhou. "

Sent to the ceremonial supervisor ten days ago?Zhu Youxiao frowned when he heard this. Why didn't Wei Zhongxian, a great guy, tell him such a big thing?

Although he was confused, Zhu Youxiao knew that now was not the time to care about this, so he continued to ask:
"What about the gentry in Jiangnan who are in arrears with their taxes? Have they paid all their taxes?"

"Back to Your Majesty, the tax amount has been paid in full. The former Chief Assistant Fang Congzhe heard that Your Majesty wanted to pay him the tax arrears. He said in the letter that he was ashamed and paid for the tax himself."

When Zhu Youxiao heard this, he nodded with satisfaction. It seemed that Fang Congzhe was quite sensible, otherwise he would really think highly of him.But now that he heard that all the debts had been paid, Zhu Youxiao felt happy again. It was easy to do things with money. Now the court was really well-off.

"This is very good. As long as it is replenished, the imperial court will forget the blame. The imperial court spent a lot of money. All the debts from the confiscation of the house will be transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs and transferred to Taicang for use."

Wang Yingjiao, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, immediately became happy when he heard this. He was thinking of finding an opportunity to tell the emperor about giving part of the stolen money to the Ministry of Revenue. Unexpectedly, the emperor was so conscious and allocated it all to the Ministry of Revenue with a wave of his hand.

"There is no wiser person than Your Majesty. Now the imperial court's revenue and expenditure this year finally have a balance."

Zhu Youxiao looked at the smiling Wang Yingjiao and said teasingly:

"Wang Yingjiao, I have spent a lot of thought on this money. Now the balance of 330 million taels has been paid, and more than 180 million taels have gone into the pocket of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

In addition, you have cleaned out the 260 million taels from the Six Ministries of Beijing before. This year, the money and food that the Ministry of Revenue can control is completely enough. The money you worked so hard to get, I don’t know how many people have been offended, so you must treat me well. Use it. "

When Wang Yingjiao heard this, he nodded solemnly. He admired the emperor very much now. When he first took over as the Minister of Household Affairs, he lived and slept for money, and no matter how careful he was, he couldn't get enough.But it had only been half a year, and the emperor had solved the money and food issue with his own efforts. I really admire him.

"Your Majesty, now including the stolen money turned over and the treasury proceeds from cleaning up the six ministries, the household department's income this year totals 50 million taels. However, excluding Liao's salary, Jiubian's accumulated salary arrears, the use of troops in the southwest, and the construction of the Tongzhou Firearms Factory, After Beijing operation expenses and other expenses, the remaining income of the household department is now about 850 million.

This year's nine-border salary bank is about to be allocated, and the expenses of the remaining five departments are also borne by the Ministry of Accounts. This is another big expense, about 300 million taels. I have calculated that if there are no other things this year, I can still make it. The balance is 500 million taels. "

When Zhu Youxiao heard this, he was confused again. This hadn't even started yet. The money had just made a sound, and the excitement hadn't passed yet. It was going to be spent all in the blink of an eye.

When Wang Yingjiao saw the emperor's expression, he knew that the emperor must be worried about money, so he immediately explained.

"It is true that I just reported the expenses, but it is also true that the imperial court has a surplus. Your Majesty is telling the truth. I have been working in the Ministry of Household Affairs for many years. This year, I am one of the few who has a surplus after excluding various expenses, and it is a full 500 million taels. In addition, The remaining 200 million taels from last year and the salt dealer's deposit that will be collected soon will only be more. Your Majesty does not need to worry about this."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao was relieved. After all, the imperial court still had a lot of money left over. This money must be spent sparingly. It will be of great use in the future. After all, in the history of Chongzhen, 17 of the 14 years were spent. There will be a severe drought every year, and we will definitely experience this kind of thing. If we don’t have money, how can we provide disaster relief and help the people, and how can we recruit troops to suppress the rebellion.

"Well, the money that should be spent still needs to be spent. There is no need to be stingy, especially the issue of nine-border salary arrears. Since the court has money, it must make up for it. These soldiers are serving the country, and the court cannot even pay them out. Let's make it up. They sell their sons and daughters to make ends meet, and I feel ashamed every time I think about it.

Therefore, since it is going to be distributed, then make up for them.This time to make up for the debt, the imperial court must send a special censor over to prevent the border generals from embezzling money and not giving it to the soldiers. Do you understand? "

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(End of this chapter)