I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 532: The Chief of Hai Mansion
Early in the morning on the fifth day of May, the sun was rising and shining obliquely into Cao Panguan Hutong in Jinchengfang, Xicheng District. The brick and earth mixed courtyard wall was gleaming in the sunlight.

The warm air was filled with the smell of coal smoke.

Ever since the smoke tube coal stoves and honeycomb coal balls produced by Jingdong Coal Factory became popular in the capital in the 43rd year of Jiajing, the smell of firewood in the capital has gradually changed to the smell of coal smoke.

The Hai Mansion in the alley is said to have two courtyards, but in fact it is not even as good as the small courtyards of wealthy families.

"Chief Steward" Shu Youliang was standing in the backyard making some noise, and his voice was the only voice that could be heard throughout the yard.

"Madam, there's no need to pack so many things. Our master is going to be the governor, not to escape."

Hai Mu said with a smile: "Youliang, do you mean to ask your master to go to Jiangnan to make a fortune? So have you prepared a few boxes?"

Shu Youliang had been with Hai Rui for twenty or thirty years and had saved Hai Rui's life several times. Everyone in the Hai family treated him as a relative and spoke to him very casually.

"Madam," Shu Youliang replied with a bitter face, "I do want to accept them. I wish I could take ten or twenty boxes to Jiangnan and come back when they are full. But someone has to be brave enough to send them.

Just look at our master's bitter face and glaring eyes, and those corrupt officials would wish they were buried in the ground. Who would dare to give him money?

Sending cattle and sheep into the tiger's mouth, and still having to prepare seasoning? This is unacceptable!
Old lady, madam, you don’t know that since the news that the master will be the governor of Jiangsu was confirmed, the news has spread like wildfire in the streets of Beijing. "

Mrs. Wang Hai smiled and asked, "What was passed on?"

"I don't care much about the rest, but there is one thing that I care about. They say that when the master becomes the governor of Jiangsu, the price of one thing in Yangzhou, Suzhou and other places will definitely go up like crazy."

"what?"

"Old clothes. I'll remember this. Old lady, madam, this is a God-given opportunity to make a fortune!
We don't have much else at home, but we have a lot of old clothes. I thought I would take more to Jiangnan, sell them at a high price, and then buy some new clothes in Suzhou.

We can now buy all the clothes for the whole family for the next two to three years. What a great bargain!"

Haimu and Wang were stunned for a moment.

Are the prices of used clothes skyrocketing?
It should be that when officials and wealthy businessmen in the Three Wus of Jiangnan and other places heard that Hai Rui was sent to govern Jiangsu, they dared not show off their wealth and rushed to buy old clothes to cover it up.

As more people rush to buy, the price naturally skyrocketed.

The two couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Mother Hai looked at Shu Youliang and said, "Youliang, you have taken the trouble to follow the master to Jiangnan to take up his post. I asked your wife to move in with you. Your son and daughter are still young, so it would be good for them to move in and take care of them."

Shu Youliang returned to Beijing and lived there for a while. He successfully helped his wife give birth to a daughter. Having both a son and a daughter was a beautiful thing.

He shook his head violently and refused.

"Old lady, it's okay. My house is right next door. It's so close, only three walls away. If you shout, everyone here can hear it. If you don't move here, my kid is now at an age where everyone hates him. He's a naughty boy, making a fuss all day long!

If he wasn't my own flesh and blood, I would really want to throw him into the garbage dump.

I won’t move in. The old lady is too old to stand the noise. My elder and second brothers need to study for the autumn exam of the Imperial College, so they also need quiet.”

Haimu and Wang tried to persuade Shu Youliang for a few words, but seeing that Shu Youliang insisted, they had to give up.

A maid ran in and said, "Madam, Madam, the master is back."

Hai Rui was talking to his mother and wife in the backyard, while Shu Youliang retreated to the front yard to talk with Zhang Daoshuo and others.

The previous guards Hu Guangsheng and Tian Sheng were replaced by Wang Shiqiu and Fang Zhiyuan. Now Zhang Dao is the head of the guard academy.

"Lao Zhang, have you gone to the Ministry of War to get the certificate?" As the "chief steward", Shu Youliang was responsible for the daily travel of the group, and the first thing he asked about was the most important certificate from the Ministry of War.

Zhang Dao answered simply and swiftly: "No."

"What?" Shu Youliang's eyes widened. "How can we stay at the post station without the military permit? How much does it cost for six people to travel south on our own?

With our family background, we can only go as far as Shandong, and the rest of the way we have to beg for food to take up our post in Yangzhou!"

Zhang Dao laughed, "Shu Ge'er, why are you in such a hurry? Just listen to what I have to say."

"Say, you say."

"After Zhang Yuanfu became the Prime Minister, he changed the rules of the post station. Starting from the first day of May, the Ministry of War's Chariot and Driver's Office no longer issued seals and tokens. Instead, the competent department would issue documents and then go to the Ministry of War to get the seals and tokens.

Our master is the governor, so he must take the documents from the Ministry of Personnel to the Ministry of War to get the badge."

"It's the same thing. Isn't it just like taking off your pants to fart?"

"It's different. In the past, you could stay at the post station with a permit from the Ministry of War, no matter what, and all expenses were waived. Now it's not possible. When an official from any of the six ministries or temples goes to a local place to do business, that office must issue a document, and the official can take the document to the Ministry of War to get a permit.

With this token, you can stay at the post stations along the way, but the fees are not free, but they are recorded in the account. "

"Accounting?"

"Yes, when you check into the post station, the postman will settle the bill with you when you leave, including the number of people staying for a certain number of days and nights, the cost of accommodation and food, the cost of horse feed, and the amount of miscellaneous expenses, all listed in detail.

After you have checked and verified everything, you sign and seal the account. The account will be in duplicate, one for you and one for the post station. When you come back from your business trip, you should sort out the accounts and submit them to the government office for reimbursement.

The post station would collect the accounts every ten days or a month and then the Department of Chariots and Drivers would sort out the accounts and then ask for money from the various government offices. The government offices would take the reimbursement list of the errand staff and, if the two accounts were correct, they would pay the Department of Chariots and Drivers of the Ministry of War.

Shu Youliang asked curiously, "Do you really want money?"

"Don't you really want money? The most fundamental point of Zhang Yuanfu's reform policy is money! Anyway, we can't let you eat and live for free at the post station and get paid for free."

Shu Youliang asked curiously, "What if I don't admit it?"

"So do you still want to stay at the inn?"

“That’s right. If you don’t admit it, the news will spread around this post station and no other post station will let you stay. You will have no choice but to beg for food.

But what if the government office that submitted the account refuses to acknowledge it?" Zhang Dao laughed and said, "The Ministry of War will not ask the government offices for the money directly. It will sort out the account and hand it directly to the Ministry of Revenue, which will deduct it from the accounts of the government offices.

Zhang Yuanfu’s move was truly amazing!

When you are on a business trip, you can spend as much as you want at the post station. No matter how much you spend, the post station will ask your government office for money. If you spend too much, the post station will not feel bad, and neither will you. But the head of your government office will feel bad, and he will naturally punish you. "

Shu Youliang understood immediately, "I heard that Zhang Yuanfu has set up a budget system for each government office, and they spend money by counting on their fingers. In this way, the heads of each government office really need to watch their spending. If the budget for one year is set in stone, it will be spent in half a year.

Hehe, Zhang Yuanfu's temper can really make people from this government office go to Chaoyang Gate to set up bowls."

"That's right." Zhao Kuan echoed, "I didn't think so before, but now it seems that Zhang Yuanfu is the most courageous Prime Minister in the past twenty years."

Fang Zhiyuan interjected: "Now it's not called the Prime Minister, but the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, or the Prime Minister."

Zhao Kuan sighed, "It's a new official position, and everyone's names are all messed up. It will take some time to finalize it."

Shu Youliang asked curiously, "Why are they changing the post station out of the blue?"

Fang Zhiyuan blinked and asked, "Brother Shu, you don't know yet?"

"What do I know? I've been so busy these days. I prepared a few more boxes. In addition to the old clothes at home, I also bought old clothes from relatives, friends and neighbors.

Alas, can this family do without me?
I'm busy all day, so I don't know shit about what's going on in the streets! Zhiyuan, you're the most popular person in the streets, tell me what news you've heard."

Fang Zhiyuan is indeed a veteran. When he goes out to gather information, it takes less than half a day for him to find out all the trivial matters in half of the city, and even most of the dirty affairs of the rich and powerful families.

Talent!

"Do you still remember when Mr. Gao died suddenly at the Linqing Posthouse?"

"Mr. Gao, the one with the big beard? If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about this person. What's wrong?"

"The Emperor ordered the Minister of War, Mr. Tan, and the Minister of Justice, Mr. Wang, to investigate the case of Mr. Gao. It turned out that when Mr. Gao was the Minister of Revenue, he withheld subsidies for post stations in Zhili and Shandong. He investigated their apportionment strictly.

The post officials and servants at these post stations held a grudge against Gao Ge Lao, and took advantage of the fact that Gao Ge Lao was dismissed from his post and sent back to his hometown, where he was in poverty, to deliberately ignore and humiliate him.

Lord Gao was originally a proud and arrogant person, so he could not endure such humiliation. In addition, he drank every day and had a hidden illness. He suddenly suffered from angina pectoris in Linqing and died.

After Zhang Yuanfu received the closing documents from Mr. Tan and Mr. Wang, he immediately implemented a major reform of the post station.

It is said that the post stations will be changed into self-financing commercial associations, the express delivery shops will be changed into post offices, and the delivery offices will be changed into transport associations. The specific regulations are still being worked out by the cabinet, but the first thing to be done is that the post stations will keep accounts for food and lodging in the future. "

Shu Youliang sighed: "Zhang Yuanfu is really vigorous and resolute in his work. The case of Gao Ge Lao was closed in late April, and the new post station system was implemented on the first day of May.

Such a resolute and decisive courage. No wonder many officials in Beijing call him Zhang Yanluo.

Wang Shiqiu snorted, "This is how we deal with these bastard officials, like thunderous military law. The imperial court has treated them well for two hundred years, and now they are being fed like pigs."

Shu Youliang glared at him and said, "Are you cursing our master?"

Wang Shiqiu's eyes widened, "Looking for trouble, eh? Everyone in the world knows that Lord Hai is the nemesis of corrupt officials, and those bastard officials are most afraid of him.

I was scolding those corrupt officials, those bastard officials, how can I be scolding Lord Hai?
What? Are you trying to frame me? Do you want me to talk some sense with you?"

Shu Youliang had no way to deal with this troublemaker among the four guards in the academy and his fists that were as big as sand bowls. The key point was that this guy really dared to do it when he said he would.

It's really impossible to reason with him.

Wang Shiqiu and Shu Youliang stared at each other in disbelief, while the three people nearby just watched the fun and smiled without saying anything to persuade them.

Hai Rui came out, and the four military officers straightened their faces and called out respectfully, "Mr. Hai."

The rebellious look on Wang Shiqiu's face disappeared instantly. He stood with his hands hanging down, turning from a tiger into a kitten.

Hai Rui glanced at the crowd and said amiably, "It's almost time. We should go to Nanyuan. The Emperor will summon me today."

Shu Youliang looked at Hai Rui's thin cotton shirt and robe and asked, "Master, are you going to see the Emperor in this?"

"Today is not only the Dragon Boat Festival, but also the emperor's birthday, and he is celebrating with the people. The emperor has already issued an order that everyone should wear casual clothes today, and there is no need to wear formal clothes."

Shu Youliang rolled his eyes and said, "Master, how about I choose a worn-out piece of clothing for you? I have a pile of old clothes, and they will come in handy. Choose the most worn-out one."

Hai Rui looked at him and asked, "What do you mean by changing into worn-out clothes?"

"Master, the emperor saw that you were wearing shabby clothes, and out of pity, he gave us a few hundred silver dollars. Master, the money the emperor gave us last time is almost gone."

"Asshole!" Hai Rui was so angry that his beard twitched. "The emperor has established a new official system and increased the salaries and allowances for officials like me. This is already a favor from heaven. You, a bastard, are still trying to take advantage of the emperor. You are not a good son!"

Hai Rui walked out the door with a wave of his sleeves, and Shu Youliang quickly followed him: "Master, you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are until you manage the household.

How much does it cost to have such a big family, young and old, every day? And the eldest and second brothers have grown up, has the master saved money for them to get married?

Also, my eldest and second sisters are about to get married. Has the master saved up the money for their dowries?

And the old lady is blessed with a long life. Have you prepared the wood for her longevity? Have you chosen the land for her longevity? Alas, Master, you are a hands-off boss, leaving everything to me. I am really worried about this family.
What's wrong with wearing old clothes? It's not like you haven't worn them before, sir. The ones we wore before were even more worn out than this.
The emperor is so rich that even a little bit of it leaking out from between his fingers would be enough for our whole family to eat and drink for a year."

Looking at Shu Youliang following Hai Rui and chattering like a fly.

Hai Rui walked in front, looking normal, as if he was used to it.

Zhang Dao and the other three smiled at each other and hurriedly followed.

Just get used to it, get used to it.

(End of this chapter)