Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Chapter 616: The imperial court is really good! (Subscribe please!!)

Seeing that Ouyang Lun understood his concerns, Lu Chang no longer hid them.

"Prime Minister Ouyang, this is exactly what I think. Giving rewards to the people and merchants is definitely a good thing. I naturally agree with it. However, if the distribution of rewards is not managed well, they will not reach the people at all."

"Even military expenditures are cut at every level, not to mention rewards for the people."

Lu Chang said helplessly.

"Well, Lao Lu, you make sense!"

Ouyang Lun nodded, he naturally understood this.

In fact, this problem has existed throughout all dynasties. Those in power in the country want to do good things for the people and give them some benefits, but these benefits are separated by a huge bureaucracy. After the rewards are distributed and deducted layer by layer, it is difficult to control how much of the money will finally reach the hands of the people. However, it will definitely be much less than expected, or even nothing.

Even Ouyang Lun felt a bit overwhelmed when faced with this problem.

At this time, the Minister of War Tang Duo also spoke up: "My Lord, I also think that Lord Lu's concerns are very reasonable. We want to provide some benefits to the people, but if all the benefits fall into the pockets of those corrupt officials after working hard for a long time, it will not only hurt our hearts, but also the hearts of the people. Then the people will curse us!"

"As far as I know, there are a few officials in the Ming Dynasty who like to intercept the government's appropriations for the people and use the money for other purposes. Their methods are so sophisticated that even if they are caught, they cannot be convicted of corruption!"

"With these officials taking the lead, we can imagine how other officials will act. In the face of huge interests, it is already commendable to be able to not get involved!"

At this point, Tang Duo, the Minister of War, paused deliberately. Seeing that Ouyang Lun and Lu Chang had no intention of interrupting him, he continued, "Besides, now is the time when the army that conquered the Northern Yuan Dynasty returns to the capital. Everyone is busy celebrating. All the officials who have some relationship with Lan Yu are more arrogant than the other. I heard that these officials have gathered privately many times, and they will celebrate with Lan Yu when he returns!"

"These officials will probably become more daring, and the chances of the rewards being distributed to ordinary people and businessmen will be even smaller."

After the words were spoken, the Cabinet Office fell into a brief silence.

Although Minister of War Tang Duo did not mention the "Huaixi Party" in his words, both Ouyang Lun and Lu Chang knew very well that Minister of War Tang Duo was talking about the Huaixi Party!
As a major political force that has long controlled the court, the Huaixi Party has complex and intricate connections!

Moreover, the officials of the Huaixi Party like to embezzle the money given by the court to the people. They are quite smart in embezzling it. They will not put the money directly into their own pockets, but spend it in the name of the government, such as repairing government offices, improving the welfare of government officials, and even using the money to build roads and bridges. This is because giving money directly to the people is the least profitable way to make political achievements. Improving the welfare of government officials can win over the hearts of the people, and building roads and bridges is a real political achievement!

It's fine as long as he hasn't been exposed. Even if he has been exposed, you can't say he's corrupt!

Minister of War Tang Duo and Minister of Rites Lu Chang both set their eyes on Ouyang Lun, waiting for Ouyang Lun's statement!
Ouyang Lun naturally understood what the two ministers meant, and immediately said, "Don't worry about it!"

"The imperial court has its own system and rules for doing things. Anyone who breaks the rules will be punished according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty. If you don't do it because you are worried that it won't be done well, then this is also a form of corruption!"

"But since you raised this question, let's just solve it directly!"

"In this way, we will publish all the people and merchants who need to be commended in newspapers. As for the worry that there are too many people to be commended and it is impossible to count them all at once, this is also simple. We have national newspapers, provincial newspapers, prefecture and county newspapers, and we will publish them all by region! The superiors supervise the subordinates!"

"Newspaper supervision authorities!"

"The people took the list published in the newspapers, their identity documents, and the receipts for selling and donating grain to the nearest silver cabinet to exchange them. The money was directly transferred from the Ministry of Revenue to the silver cabinet, bypassing the government offices at all levels!"

"Wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Haha, we have set up so many institutions just to solve problems like today. These are all tools, and it will take only minutes to solve these problems.

Upon hearing Ouyang Lun's suggestion, the eyes of Minister of War Tang Duo and Minister of Rites Lu Chang suddenly lit up.

"My Lord, this idea is really great!"

Tang Duo, the Minister of War, said excitedly: "The people can go directly to the silver cabinet to collect it. The silver cabinet is a separate department and is not under the jurisdiction of the local government. These officials can't interfere even if they want to!"

"Prime Minister Ouyang's method is equivalent to directly bypassing the officials in charge. All they can do is to cooperate with them fully! Wonderful! Wonderful! I admire you!" Lu Chang also praised it repeatedly.

"Not only that, if the people have opened an account at the silver cabinet, they can deposit money into the account on the spot, and the money on the account can be withdrawn at any time! There is no need to worry about the money being taken away by others!" Ouyang Lun continued: "From this point of view, it can be understood that the court uses the silver cabinet as a platform to directly distribute money to the hands of the people. Who dares to be corrupt? Who can be corrupt?"

"Even if he wants to be greedy, we won't let him get it!"

Ouyang Lun had been an official for more than ten years and had a certain understanding of the official situation in the Ming Dynasty. Although under Zhu Yuanzhang's strong crackdown on corrupt officials, Ming officials did not dare to be corrupt openly, there were still many officials who were corrupt in secret.

Especially at the local level, the imperial court is out of reach and local forces are intertwined. How can corruption be eradicated?

That's human nature after all.

In fact, even if Ouyang Lun thought of this method, he did not dare to ensure that the people would be able to receive the full amount of silver rewarded by the court. As the saying goes, money moves people's hearts. How could those officials who were accustomed to embezzling people's money bear to see a big mouthful of meat fly out of their mouths?

They will definitely find a way to steal money from the people.

However, Ouyang Lun was not in a hurry at all. In the past, there were government offices at all levels between the people and the court. Officials at all levels controlled the connection between the court and the people. Only the government offices could convey the court's policies and intentions.

But now there are newspapers and media!

The list of civilians and businessmen who received rewards and commendations was published in the newspaper in order to fully express the court's intentions!

The people naturally know how much they should get, and if the numbers don't match, they will naturally ask for an explanation. It may be a mistake if one person is short of money, but if a group of people are made wrong, then the local government must be fishy!
This is exactly what Ouyang Lun wants!
Give the people a realistic opportunity to recognize their relatives, and also give them a channel to speak out!
"Old Lu, the management of newspapers and periodicals is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites. You have to personally monitor this matter this time. What the newspapers and periodicals need to do is very simple, that is, to let the people know that their decision to actively participate in the conquest of the Northern Yuan Dynasty was correct, and that they were the ones who defended the country!"

"Write a few more articles praising the people of Ming Dynasty!"

"We must not neglect the soldiers either. It was they who fought bravely on the front lines and defeated the Northern Yuan army. They are the undisputed protagonists, and the rewards given to the soldiers must be sufficient!"

"Please rest assured, Prime Minister. I will leave this matter to you!"

When Lu Chang heard what Ouyang Lun said, he immediately accepted the task.

"The Ministry of War must also formulate a clear plan for the merits and rewards of the soldiers as soon as possible. We must not miss any meritorious soldiers!"

"Yes, I'll do it right away!" Tang Duo, the Minister of War, also quickly agreed. "Well, let's stop here for now, and you all go down and do your work!"

Ouyang Lun nodded, then stretched and yawned. "I can't do it anymore. This morning, the Emperor and His Majesty summoned me to the Taile Palace. After I came out, I didn't even go back to the Imperial Clan House, and I came to the Cabinet Office to do my work. I was so busy that I didn't even have time to drink a sip of water!"

"I'm so sleepy too!"

"I'll leave the rest to you. If you need any help from me, please don't hesitate to ask!"

"Okay, I'll be leaving first then!"

"Farewell to the Prince Consort (the Prime Minister)!" Minister of War Tang Duo and Minister of Rites Lu Chang hurriedly saluted to see him off.

The weather is getting colder.

The Ming Dynasty is about to enter a cold winter.

It is also because it is the end of the year and many things need to be summarized and sorted out. The various government offices are getting busier and busier. Many things need to be handled before the end of the year, otherwise it would be dereliction of duty! After working hard for a whole year, we can't mess it up at the last minute!
Among all the government offices, the Ministry of Revenue had the heaviest workload, and other departments also kept an eye on it.

One is the statistical data, and the other is the budget for next year!

In addition, during this year, the Ming Dynasty started building the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway and conquering the Northern Yuan Dynasty!

These two major events made the Ministry of Household Statistics compilation work more cumbersome.

Even Ouyang Lun doesn't have it that easy. He no longer needs to be personally involved in data and other aspects, but many things beyond the data must be decided by him as the boss.

The Ministry of Revenue is busy.

The army that conquered the Northern Yuan Dynasty also returned safely!
Now the whole capital city became even more lively.

Although the Chinese New Year has not yet arrived, every household in Beijing has already hung up red lanterns, and set off and played firecrackers and gongs and drums!

Nowadays, among the people, those who can live a decent life at home have taken the initiative to subscribe to newspapers and magazines, and have the latest newspapers delivered to their doorsteps every day. This has brought a substantial and stable income to the newspapers and magazines.

The increase in the number of people reading newspapers has also driven advertising services. The advertising space in newspapers is becoming more and more expensive, but more and more people are competing to buy advertising space.

"Everyone, please read the latest issue of the newspaper!"

"How come my name is in the newspaper?"

"Your name is in the newspaper? Are you sure? How could an ordinary citizen like you be in the newspaper?"

"This is true! Li Dalang from Baopingfang in the capital, his hometown and name are correct, isn't this me?"

"What! Let me take a look. Damn! It's really you. Not only you, but also the people from our workshop are here. What does this mean? Are we wanted for committing a crime? We haven't done anything recently!"

"Don't be nervous, it's a good thing!"

"Good thing?!"

"For good things, great things. Take a close look at what is written in this newspaper. Those who are listed here are all people who have made contributions to our Ming Dynasty! Not only will their names be published as a reward, but they will also be given money and medals. For those who perform particularly well, there will also be plaques awarded by the court!"

"Oh my god! Is it that good? But I don't remember any contribution I made to the court!"

"Li Dalang, you really have a bad memory. A few months ago, you carried the family's grain to northern Zhili. Have you forgotten? I see that you have indeed forgotten. Although you have forgotten, the court has not forgotten. You will be praised for this in the newspaper!"

"The court is going to commend us for this! Oh my god! Pinch me, I feel like I'm dreaming!"

"Wow! I've lived for so many years, but this is the first time I've seen such a court. They actually credit the merits of ordinary people and give us rewards. Is the sun rising from the west?"

"There has never been such a saying in all dynasties, right?"

"We feel warm inside that the court remembers us, but as for this reward, just take a look at it. Nine times out of ten, it won't reach us."

After hearing this, everyone seemed to have thought of something, and the originally cheerful scene immediately became quiet.

"Look, this reward doesn't seem to be issued by the government!"

"Isn't it issued by the government? Let me take a look."

"Wow, it's really not distributed by the government, but I have to go directly to the silver cabinet to collect it?!"

"As long as you provide your identity information and relevant documents, you can receive the money directly! If you have an account, the money will be directly deposited into your account and you can withdraw it at any time!"

"I know about the silver cabinet. It's a high-end bank. There's no charge for depositing money in the silver cabinet, and you can even get interest. I've already deposited my money there. So, can I go and withdraw the money now with this newspaper and the relevant documents?"

"It seems so. Let's go and give it a try."

"Our Ming Dynasty court is really great!"

As the news was published in the newspapers, the people of the Ming Dynasty were shocked. While they were happy, they also felt a little embarrassed.

You have to know that the reason why they chose to sell grain to the imperial court and send it to Northern Zhili was mainly because the price of selling grain to the imperial court would be higher. If it was sent to Northern Zhili, the price of the grain in their hands would be higher!
To put it bluntly, most of them went there because of the imperial court’s subsidies for selling grain!

Unexpectedly, after the war against the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the imperial court would reward them according to their merits, which was far beyond their expectations.

For a time, people's favorability towards the Ming Dynasty court suddenly increased!

Combined with the reports in the newspapers, the people felt a sense of pride in being citizens of the Ming Dynasty.
(End of this chapter)