I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 11 Southeastern Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office
Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei sat in the inner courtyard of the post house, looking at each other worriedly.

The memorial to the Southeastern Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office was approved and established, with the task of raising food and pay for the Southeastern Anti-Japanese Bandits campaign being the sole responsibility.

But the imperial edict has come down, what should we do next?

Go to the Ministry of Revenue.

The Ministry of Revenue smiled with a fake smile. Alas, this Southeast Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office was specially approved by the Emperor. It is a privately-run office and the government has no say in it.

Go to the Ministry of War.

The Ministry of War spread its hands and said, "There is no such example in the national system or ancestral system. We don't know what to do. How about we ask for permission?"
Go find the Imperial Household Department.

These eunuchs, who used to be as fast as lightning at the smell of silver, were now hesitant and half-hearted, unable to explain anything.

How to do?
Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei have been very worried these past two days.

Xu Wei thought about it again and again, and said his own judgment: "Brother Ruzhen, I guess that the outer court really doesn't know what's going on. The eunuchs in the inner court may know something, but since the master is silent, they dare not say anything."

"The real master?" Xu Wei's words made Hu Zongxian ponder for a while, "Brother Wen, are you talking about His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go find him?" Hu Zongxian said hesitantly.

"No rush. I think His Royal Highness will come to see us in the next day or two."

"I hope it will be as soon as possible. I can't rest easy without any progress on this matter."

"Min-do, sir."

An attendant hurriedly ran to the door to report.

"what's up?"

"The prince is here!" the attendant replied, panting.

It's coming!
Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei hurried out and ran to the gate of the second courtyard, where they met Zhu Yijun and his party.

Today he was wearing a red bullfighting suit and a black gauze winged hat, looking heroic and dashing.

Following behind him were Feng Bao, four eunuchs and six guards.

"Your humble servant Hu Zongxian/commoner Xu Wei pays respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Stand up, stand up!" Zhu Yijun waved his hand, "No need to be polite, let's go inside and talk."

The three men entered the room, and Zhu Yijun naturally sat down on the chair at the top, while Feng Bao stood behind him with his hands crossed.

Eunuchs and guards stood at the door, ready to serve at any time.

Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei looked at each other and sat down in the first seats on their left and right.

"Mr. Wenchang, I have heard of your great name for a long time. You are an excellent calligrapher and painter, and a famous scholar in the southeast. You served as the staff of Governor Hu and planned the suppression of the Japanese, and made great contributions.

It is my honor to see your true appearance today."

Xu Wei quickly stood up, bowed his hands and thanked him, "I am so humbled by your praise, Your Highness. I really don't deserve it."

"Sir, please take a seat. Let's sit down and talk." Zhu Yijun spoke politely, but with a tone that did not allow for questioning. Perhaps he had been around Emperor Jiajing for a long time, so he was naturally influenced.

"Governor Hu, Mr. Wenchang, have you received the order from the Southeastern Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office?" Zhu Yijun went straight to the point.

"Received it." Hu Zongxian answered honestly.

"The name of the Southeastern Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office looks unique. Actually, you can think of it as the Shaofu during the Qin and Han dynasties. It's similar but not entirely the same."

Zhu Yijun could only use this as an analogy, because Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei did not understand why he used the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and central enterprises of later generations as an analogy.

Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei looked at each other. They didn't expect that the Crown Prince would be so straightforward and powerful.

The Shaofu of Qin and Han!

The functional agency responsible for managing the private property and daily affairs of the royal family is huge and has many subordinate officials, even more than the agencies and personnel in charge of the country's financial affairs.

Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the power and duties have been gradually reduced.

It was re-established during the reign of Emperor Taizu of the early Ming Dynasty, but was soon abolished and replaced by the Twelve Prisons of the Inner Court.

What does it mean to bring it up again now?
Will it cause any disturbance?
Zhu Yijun continued, "Hu Du was also present at the time. It was indeed I who proposed the Southeast Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office. But it was also a stopgap measure. Yan Maoqing was inspecting the salt industry in Lianghuai, and he embezzled half of the silver he collected. He was confiscated and his family property was over three million taels of silver. There were also Yan Shifan and Yan Xiaoge Lao, who sorted out the taxes in the southeast for Grandpa Huang and built palaces and temples. They dared to report one hundred taels for materials worth one tael of silver. The silver seized from the Yan Mansion was like a mountain and a sea.

How many corrupt officials are there in the local areas? I don’t know!

They were asked to raise military supplies and food for Governor Hu, and they dared to accept one million taels of silver, but only reported 100,000 taels. Another 30% was lost in the middle, and Governor Hu only had 70,000 taels.

Is it enough? Absolutely not enough. We can only continue to raise food and money.

As a result, the local people suffered terribly, and the army was unable to make ends meet. Where did the money and food go? They were all embezzled by these bastards in the middle. "

Xu Wei listened to Zhu Yijun talking and found that although the prince was young, his thoughts were very clear.

The tone and demeanor of his speech were very confident and calm, as if every word he said was carefully considered and spoken to you very frankly.

interesting.

This prince really has the talent to be a saintly grandson, just as Brother Ruzhen said.

"But Governor Hu's food and salary are urgent and cannot be delayed. So I proposed this suggestion to the emperor. What is privately run or government-run? In my opinion, the most appropriate term should be "privately run by the emperor".

Borrowing the mature civilian business system, hiring managers, trusting the business, and using the profits for military purposes. The emperor sent someone to supervise, especially to audit the accounts and check the inventory.

Hu Zongxian felt a little dizzy after hearing this.

However, Xu Wei became more and more interested the more he listened, and he vaguely guessed some of the meaning in his mind.

Zhu Yijun finally said: "Grandpa Emperor has entrusted the Southeast Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office to me, the Prime Minister, so today I came to visit Governor Hu and Mr. Wenchang to discuss how to run the Southeast Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office well and ensure that the Southeast Anti-Japanese Army has no worries and relieve you of your worries."

I understand this sentence!
Hu Zongxian almost jumped up in surprise.

He has always been worried that if the Southeast Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office was led by civil servants, it would be more restricted; if it was led by eunuchs, it would be more exploited.

Now, it is actually the Prince of Yu who is taking the lead, yes, he is called the Prime Minister.

It’s really a great thing.

He was in charge of the Southeast Food and Pay Coordination Office for the Suppression of Japanese Invasion. Civil officials were not allowed to intervene, and eunuchs did not dare to get involved.

Zhu Yijun continued, "I am young and I still need to study. I cannot be in charge of the Prime Minister's affairs in two places at once, so I may not be able to take care of much. Therefore, we need a general manager to take charge of the affairs personally.

When Hu Du was in Renshou Palace, I also proposed to invite a retired official with recognized character and talent. The emperor drew up a list and asked me to choose. I thought about it and finally chose Zhao Zhenji, the former left vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Mr. Dazhou.

The Cabinet has sent an urgent letter to Neijiang, summoning Mr. Dazhou to Beijing."

Zhu Yijun pulled out a document from his sleeve and said, "It will take some time for Mr. Dazhou to arrive in Beijing, but we can't just wait.

The Southeastern Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office is responsible for raising food and pay for the Southeastern Anti-Japanese War, so you, Governor Hu, should appoint someone to serve as the co-director and deputy to Mr. Dazhou. I think Mr. Wenchang is the most suitable person. "

Xu Wei guessed it.

Hu Zongxian was surprised and happy, yet a little reluctant.

He was very surprised that Xu Wei caught the prince's eye.

But Xu Wei was very talented and helped him a lot, so he was reluctant to let him go.

But on second thought, the Crown Prince is the Emperor's most trusted grandson, and his words are more effective than those of Prince Yu, Xu Jie and others.

With his good friend Xu Wei by his side, he felt like he had someone in the court, so he could boldly use his military power in the southeast without having to hesitate as before.

Zhu Yijun handed the document to Xu Wei.

"Mr. Wenchang, this is the draft I drafted for the establishment of the Southeastern Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office. Please give me your opinions.

I also nominated a co-manager, Yang Jinshui, a former Hangzhou weaving master and eunuch. He is very familiar with the business affairs in the southeast, and he and Mr. Dazhou are both his right and left assistants. "

Xu Wei knew that since it was a private enterprise supervised by the emperor, eunuchs would naturally be allowed in.

"Your Highness, may I ask where this Yang Huiban should go to visit?"

"He was traumatized in Hangzhou last year, lost half of his soul and spirit, and went crazy. He was sent to Chaotian Temple by Huang Gong, the Imperial Household Department. These days, the Taoist priest prayed for him and performed rituals, and he actually slowly brought his soul back.

I saw that he was quite clever and capable before, and now he has fully recovered, so I reported to the Emperor and asked Mr. Huang to bring him over. Hu Du, Mr. Wen Chang, you go to Chaotian Temple and take him out. "

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)