I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 508: The stolen money is returned to the public
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Huang Taiji may have learned the lessons from the Battle of Puhe, so this matter is very secret. Jinyiwei has never received relevant information."

Zhu Youxiao frowned slightly when he heard this, obviously not satisfied with Luo Sigong's answer.

Since Jianlu acted secretly, doesn't it mean that Jianlu knew that there were spies within him? Even the Jinyiwei spies might have been exposed.

Thinking of this, he became more and more worried. If this was the case, Jianlu might even take advantage of his scheme and deliberately pass on false information to confuse the Ming Dynasty.

"Luo Aiqing, you should pay attention to this matter. Since Jianlu has blocked the news this time, it means that Jianlu must have noticed it. If it is not possible, let Jinyiwei's spies stay dormant for the time being. This can not only protect them, but also avoid being caught by Jianlu. You can take advantage of it.”

Luo Sigong also has this worry.After all, Zhang Anning was finally installed as a spy, and his position was extremely important. Once discovered, it would be a huge loss.

"The minister obeys the order."

After asking about this matter, Zhu Youxiao saw that Luo Sigong was also present, and he remembered the matter of dealing with the merchants and Liaozuo generals who had liaison with Jianlu.

We just discussed with the cabinet that Liao's salary should be sent to Liaoyang in advance for emergencies.

But Zhu Youxiao knew that this was just salary. When the soldiers fought in the future, they would also be rewarded with silver, which was also a large amount of money.

Fortunately, Qian Zhu Youxiao had already prepared for this, so he looked at Liu Yishen and said:

"Liu Aiqing, it's been a month since the imperial court had an affair with Shanxi merchants and Liaozuo generals and Jianlu. I looked at the money and food from the confiscation of the house and it's quite a lot. I thought I could save this money. Get up and prepare for military supplies in Liaodong."

At the end of last month, Luo Sigong reported to Zhu Youxiao that because Jinyiwei had long understood the movements of Fan Yongdou and others, this time they directly killed Fan Yongdou and others and confiscated all the family property.

After simple statistics, Fan Yongdou and other Shanxi merchants had a total wealth of 760 million taels.

Zhu Youxiao was not surprised at all by this number, and even felt that it was a little small.

You must know that the wealth of Shanxi merchants in the Ming and Qing Dynasties is also famous in history. Those who are the leaders of Shanxi merchants, such as the Wang family in Jiexiu and the Qiao family in Qixian County, have a wealth of tens of millions of taels.

It's just that when they were most glorious, they were still in the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Now in the Ming Dynasty, Shanxi merchants mostly colluded with border towns and generals to dominate Mongolian business.

It is not like the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which relied on its status as an imperial merchant to go to the West Exit, connect the world, etc., and its wealth is not as much as it was said in history.

Therefore, this time they not only ransacked the homes of eight merchants including Fan Yongdou, but also cut off their trade with Jianlu. Under such circumstances, this number was still barely acceptable to Zhu Youxiao.

In addition to confiscating the money of Fan Yongdou and other Shanxi merchants, there was also money embezzled by generals in western Liaoning.

"Your Majesty, according to Chen Liangbi's report, he arrested Sun Degong and more than 450 people and brought them to justice. At present, the initial proceeds from the confiscation of the house are more than [-] million taels. As for other farm property and utensils, there is no calculation. Chen Liangbi has sealed them for further inventory, waiting for His Majesty's order. But since His Majesty’s intention is to use it for Liaodong, I will boldly ask for instructions and transfer all this money to the Ministry of Household Affairs in case of emergency needs.”

Zhu Youxiao had no objection to this and immediately nodded in agreement.But after he finished speaking, he thought for a while and then said:
"In addition to the generals of Liao Zuo, the Jinyiwei also dealt with those Shanxi merchants who had liaison with the rebels last month. There were eight families in total, and more than [-] million taels of wealth were confiscated. The amount can be said to be shocking. I think this money will also be returned to the household. Come on, if there is any natural disaster, we will have money and food to provide disaster relief."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked. Wang Yingjiao, the Minister of Household Affairs, was even more overjoyed. He felt that the emperor was really a wise king through the ages.

The Ministry of Revenue had long known that the amount of money confiscated from Shanxi merchants and Liaozuo was huge, so they also coveted the money.But the stolen money in the past was usually from internal funds. According to the usual practice, the Ministry of Accounts could not say anything.

But seeing so much money, who wouldn't be tempted, so he begged Liu Yisui to see if he could suggest that the emperor allocate part of the stolen money to the Ministry of Household Affairs.

But before he said anything, the emperor took the initiative to allocate all the money to the Ministry of Revenue, which gave the Ministry of Revenue nearly [-] taels of treasury silver.This made him feel extremely ashamed. He was really judging a gentleman's heart with a villain's heart.

"There is no wiser person than Your Majesty. I thank you for your kindness."

Seeing Wang Yingjiao's reaction, everyone else also reacted and immediately knelt down to thank him.

"Get up. Although this money is a lot, you still have to save some money and don't spend it wantonly."

Although the stolen money amounted to more than 1000 million taels, Zhu Youxiao was very excited when he heard it.But after careful consideration, it was decided to allocate it all to the Ministry of Accounts.

First, there are indeed many places to spend money.Secondly, there is no use in handing over internal funds, it is just the left hand turning to the right hand.

Otherwise, instead of asking him for money after the Household Department runs out of money, it would be better to give it directly to the Household Department.In this way, he can not only have a good reputation, but also save Wang Yingjiao from crying about poverty when the time comes.

But at this moment, Xu Guangqi, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, was silent in thought. He didn't know what he thought of. Then he stood up, raised his hands to Zhu Youxiao and said:

"Your Majesty, I have something to report." Upon hearing this, Zhu Youxiao asked with great interest:
"I love you, but it's okay to say."

"Your Majesty, since you came to the throne, you have worked hard and fast, saved money in the palace, and provided aid to foreign countries many times. As a result, the national treasury is abundant and you no longer have to worry about money. But I have always been sad about one thing, and that is the three main halls in the palace. It has not been repaired since it was burned down in Wanli. Only three gates have been repaired.

As the saying goes, there is no magnificence without majesty. These three halls are where the majesty of the imperial court lies. Previously, His Majesty was sympathetic to the imperial court and stopped building the three major halls because the imperial court's expenses were insufficient.As the minister of the Ministry of Industry, I feel sad every time I think about this matter.

His Majesty also ordered so much stolen silver to be delivered to the imperial court that the treasury is now full. Therefore, after much deliberation, I decided to risk my life and suggested rebuilding the three main halls to show the imperial power. "

As soon as Xu Guangqi said this, everyone present looked sideways. It was Xu Guangqi's brain that actually came up with this move.

But what he said was reasonable. The emperor had already spent so much money. It would be unreasonable for everyone in the court not to express their gratitude.

"I second the proposal. What Xu Shangshu said is true. The construction of the three halls is not only for His Highness, but also for the majesty of the imperial court, so there is no delay."

"I also agree that although there is a war in Liaodong, the imperial court has sufficient expenses and is not as exhausted as before. It is the time to build the three main halls."

······
Although Xu Guangqi took the lead, the rest of the people, such as Zhao Nanxing, Huang Kezhan and others, were not to be outdone and came out to support him.

Zhu Youxiao was surprised when he heard it just now, but seeing that what Xu Guangqi said did make some sense, he also felt that it was reasonable.

If you didn't repair it before, you wouldn't have the money, but now you have the money to repair it, it doesn't hurt.Otherwise, the three main halls we pass by every day are all bare, which is really an eyesore.

Besides, now is the best time to build it. Otherwise, when natural disasters come in a few years, it will be unreasonable to build it again.

Thinking of this, he pretended to be hesitant, and then said helplessly:
"In that case, let's repair it. There should be some remaining materials used when repairing the three main halls. When the time comes, take those things and make do with them. You must save what you can and don't spend too much."

Liu Yishen and others were even more moved when they heard this, and immediately said:
"Your Majesty has saved so much, and we are very ashamed. The cabinet will definitely deal with this matter together with the Ministry of Household Affairs, and we will ensure savings and not waste more, so your Majesty can rest assured."

Zhu Youxiao felt relieved after hearing this.As a result, the major issues have been discussed, but while the emperor is present, the Sixth Department of the Cabinet went on to report some progress to Zhu Youxiao.

The most important one was the report by Liu Yishen, Ye Xianggao and others about further promoting equalization of land and labor.

Last year, the implementation of equalization of land and labor in Gyeonggi Province achieved remarkable results.After clearing the fields in Gyeonggi, we found out the fields that had been hidden by nobles and gentry families, and clarified the quotas for the gentry and the gentry to be exempted from miscellaneous taxes, so that the court's taxes in Gyeonggi increased from 44 taels to 61 taels, an increase of basically one-third. above.

However, during this process, the gentry and local officials in Gyeonggi hated it deeply.

But they did not dare to openly say that Zhu Youxiao was not good, so they had to turn their attacks on Zou Yuanbiao, the governor of Gyeonggi Province, Liu Zongzhou, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and the cabinet supporters behind them, namely Ye Xianggao, Sun Chengzong and others.

They said that what they did was a slave to the country gentry, and they would be punished by God in the future.

When Ye Xianggao was the chief minister in the Wanli Dynasty, he single-handedly presided over Xu Minshi's reform of equalizing land and equalizing labor in Jiangnan. At that time, the Jiangnan gentry's scolding of Ye Xianggao was much more unpleasant than this.

Therefore, Ye Xianggao was not surprised by this for a long time. He just responded with a sentence to these officials and noble gentry who "discussed the government's affairs" and published it in newspapers to report it widely.

The general idea is that it is really unfair to hide the land and escape from the labor.The court did this not only for the sake of the people, but also for the sake of these gentry families. After all, no one can guarantee that future generations will always be officials. It is better for everyone to be equal now.

Therefore, despite this heavy opposition, and with the efforts of the cabinet, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and even the Beijing camp to counter the rebellion, the reform of equalizing land and labor in Gyeonggi Province was carried out as scheduled.

Now that the toughest bone has been chewed off, things will be easier to handle later on.

Therefore, the cabinet discussed with the Ministry of Household Affairs to further expand the scope of land and labor equalization this year and implement it in Shandong, Shanxi, and Liaodong.

For one thing, both Shandong and Liaodong suffered disasters last year. The implementation of equalization of land and labor can also reduce the burden on the people.Secondly, it is close to Gyeonggi and there is less resistance.

Zhu Youxiao naturally had no objection to this, and immediately nodded in agreement, and then asked the cabinet to approve it.

Then came the memorial from Sun Shenxing, the Minister of Rites, and his content was very simple, that is, the Imperial College had been initially built and was ready for use.

Zhu Youxiao had said before that he would visit the Imperial College in person, so he wanted to confirm a date with Zhu Youxiao to see if he could go there soon.

(End of this chapter)