I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 195 The target is still His Royal Highness the Crown Prince
Gao Gong remained silent.

Zhang Siwei, Wang Lin, Cheng Wen and other core members of Gao's party also hurried over. Seeing Gao Yi persuading Gao Gong, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

At this time, the Minister of Works Ge Shouli also came running over, and when he saw this scene, he was relieved.

He sat down slowly and spoke to Gao Gong in a serious tone.

"Mr. Su, this incident not only slaps your face, but also the face of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. You are in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, and he is in charge of the Imperial Household Department. When such a big thing happened, you were criticized, and so was he."

Gao Gong's mind immediately became clear.

Yes, the prince was entrusted by the emperor with the power to approve documents and to handle military and national affairs. He himself was incompetent in the Ministry of Revenue, which forced officials to death and even to beg on the streets. He could not be blamed for his duty.

So, he was not the one behind this.

In order to disgust me, he also got himself into trouble. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was so stupid, he would not be living in the West Garden and secretly exercising the power of regent.

"Everyone, I know in my heart that this matter has nothing to do with Xiyuan. Perhaps it just happened suddenly, and then someone with ulterior motives took advantage of the situation to add fuel to the fire.

But now is not the time to pursue this matter. The most urgent task now is how to properly handle this matter."

Gao Yi, Ge Shouli, Zhang Siwei, Wang Lin, Cheng Wen and others felt relieved when they heard Gao Gong say this.

Ge Shouli stroked his beard and said, "We are very pleased that Lord Su thinks so. How to properly handle this matter depends on whether we have money.

Who has the most silver in the Ming Dynasty now? "

The others said almost in unison: "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"In this case," Ge Shouli nodded, "Mr. Su, you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince share the same interests. You should put aside your prejudices and ask for his help to calm this storm."

Gao Yi said at the side: "Mr. Su, misfortune often brings blessings, and blessings often bring misfortune. It may be a good thing for you to ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for help and work together to quell this storm."

Cheng Wen also understood the meaning of the words, "Master, what Nan Yu said is absolutely right. Master, you are brave and responsible. It's just that this time, the Lianghuai Salt Administration was entrusted to the wrong person, and the important matter was delayed.

But I think Xiyuan has always been interested in rectifying the salt administration.”

Gao Yi nodded: "There are many problems in the Nine Borders, Horse Administration, and Maritime Transport. Xiyuan has been secretly rectifying them, and it has achieved considerable results. Salt Administration and Canal Transport are two of the two major problems in the Ming Dynasty. Xiyuan cannot ignore them.

It doesn't matter that Su Qing returned with a failure in the salt administration. How can a century-old problem be solved by a single inspection? Su Qing, you have also charged forward and tested the depth of the two Huai regions.

Next, Su Qing, you should cooperate with Xiyuan to calm down this disturbance first, and then keep an eye on the Lianghuai Salt Administration. Only by taking over the Lianghuai Salt Administration can you, the Minister of Revenue, sit upright and speak with confidence. "

Gao Gong stroked his beard and replied, "You are all my good friends and confidants. I am deeply grateful to you for coming here so quickly and speaking your hearts out to me during this great change.

I have reflected on this and realized that I had entrusted the wrong person with the administration of Lianghuai Salt. Moreover, I was too self-righteous when it came to distributing salaries and rejected Xiyuan's kindness, which led to this turmoil.

Don't worry, I am a minister, the prince is the heir, and we have the same interests, both for the Ming Dynasty. Gao is willing to submit to Xiyuan, work together to eradicate the accumulated malpractices, and clarify the government."

As they were talking, a clerk came to the door and reported, "Master Shangshu, someone has come from the palace."

Gao Gong quickly led everyone to the gate of the courtyard and met Chen Ju, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

"Mr. Gao, the Minister of Revenue, Mr. Ge, the Minister of Works, Mr. Gao, the Left Vice-Inspector General, Mr. Gao, and Mr. Wang, the Vice Minister of Rites, you are all here.

An imperial decree was issued from the palace, summoning all the old gentlemen of the Cabinet, the vice ministers of the six ministries and above, the right deputy censor of the Censorate and above, and the chief officials of the Supreme Court and the Imperial Household Department, to enter the Forbidden City immediately.

The Emperor and the Crown Prince are in the Baohe Hall, summoning all the officials."

Gao Gong looked at everyone. The prince invited the emperor out. It seemed that many things would be resolved once and for all this time.

The ministers sat in sedan chairs and silently came to the Meridian Gate, handed over their cards, and entered the Forbidden City from the Zuoye Gate. Led by the eunuchs, they walked along the alley for a while, came to the Baohe Hall, and were taken to the center of the main hall.

Emperor Longqing sat on the throne in the center, and Zhu Yijun stood in front of the steps.

Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin, Yin Shidan and Zhang Juzheng stood in the first row.

Gao Gong, Ge Shouli, Zhao Zhenji and other six ministers of the Ministry of Justice and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate followed closely in the second row.

Following them were the assistant ministers of the six ministries, the left and right deputy censors of the Censorate, as well as the chief ministers of the Supreme Court and the Imperial Household Department such as Wang Guoguang.

After the ministers finished their ceremony, Emperor Longqing suppressed a yawn and turned to Zhu Yijun and said, "Prince, you go ahead and I'll just listen." "Yes, father."

Zhu Yijun turned to look at everyone and said loudly: "Two things happened this morning. One is that Wei Yun, an assistant teacher at the Imperial College, hanged himself at home. The other is that five of his good friends, out of righteous indignation, went to Chaoyang Gate to beg for money to pay for his funeral.

This kind of thing has never happened before in the history of the country. I was entrusted with the great expectations of my father and the military and national affairs, but such a big mess has occurred. I, your son, apologize to your father."

Emperor Longqing waved his hand and said, "The Crown Prince will handle this matter properly. Don't worry."

"According to the order!"

Zhu Yijun turned around again, looked at everyone, and continued: "Now that this matter has happened, everyone, please tell me how to deal with it?"

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, I have something to report to you."

The speaker was Hu Qingxu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

"explain."

"This disturbance is caused by the lack of silver in the Ministry of Revenue's treasury. Now that taxes are difficult to collect and the treasury is in a tight spot, the inner treasury has a large surplus. The situation is reversed, the inner treasury is heavy and the outer treasury is light. The state is in trouble while the private sector is rich. This is not the state of the country.

I sincerely request that the Coordination Bureau be transferred to the Ministry of Revenue to solve the urgent problem of Ming Dynasty!"

Gao Gong was shocked and immediately understood.

This turmoil was carefully planned by the people behind the scenes, and was aimed at the crown prince and the Coordination Bureau under his control. He was just implicated.

Hu Qingxu, a Hanlin graduate, served as chief examiner for several provincial examinations and as vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing.

Nanjing Ministry of Revenue?

Its responsibilities included collecting tax grain from the four regions of Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Huguang; assisting in the management of grain transport; handling national salt permit inspection affairs, and the collection and management of the national yellow book.

The Nanjing Ministry of Revenue generally does not have a left vice minister, but only a right vice minister, who is the immediate superior of the Lianghuai Salt Administration.

In the 43rd year of the Jiajing reign, Hu Qingxu was transferred from Nanjing to the capital to serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, where he has served ever since.

Who is Hu Qingxu close to on a daily basis?

He was originally from Huangzhou Prefecture, Huguang. According to geographical division, he should belong to the Chu Party of Zhang Taiyue.

However, when Gao Gong was serving as a lecturer in Prince Yu's Palace, he accidentally learned that Hu Qingxu had a close relationship with another lecturer in the Palace, Yin Zhengfu (Yin Shidan).

It is said that Hu Qingxu's father was a juren, and worked as a teacher and county magistrate in Licheng, Qihe, and Jiyang, Jinan for more than ten years. Jinan Prefecture was his second hometown.

Yin Zhengfu's native place is Jinan Prefecture.

When he passed the imperial examination, his teacher was the former cabinet minister Yan Yangzhai (Yan Ne).

It can be said that Yan Yangzhai was secretly forced out of the capital by the prince when the emperor ascended the throne.

Gao Gong connected the various clues in his mind together and suddenly realized that the twenty-four disciples he sent out to inspect the Lianghuai Salt Administration had been precisely sniped, and this was the root cause of his failure!
Then he clearly requested that all officials in the Shaanxi Qingli Division receive 50% rice, 30% in exchange for goods, and 20% in silver. But they changed it to 40% rice and 60% in exchange for officials above the fourth rank, and 20% rice and 80% in exchange for officials below the fourth rank, which caused a disturbance.

I originally thought that it was just a group of smart people from the Shaanxi Qingli Division who were being too clever and trying to curry my favor.

No one expected that it was a huge conspiracy with ulterior motives.

Gao Gong's eyes flashed, and he glanced at Yin Shidan's back, then turned to Zhu Yijun, wanting to see how His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would respond.

Zhu Yijun nodded calmly, "Minister Hu's words are quite pertinent. My fellow officials, what do you have to say?"

Yin Shidan bowed calmly and said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, I second what Minister Hu said."

Then four vice ministers of the six ministries and one left deputy censor-in-chief spoke in agreement.

Emperor Longqing, sitting on the throne, showed a look of surprise. His eyes swept over Yin Shidan several times and then fell on Zhu Yijun.

There was silence in the hall, and everyone held their breath, waiting for the Crown Prince's reply.

(End of this chapter)