I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 729: Money is really hard to spend!

"Marquis Zhenyuan and Duke Chengguo?" Zhang Juzheng's eyes flashed with an unfathomable expression, "Zi Yu, where did you get this information?"

Zhang Xueyan replied: "Prime Minister Zhang, it's just a rumor in the market."

"Are these rumors from the market not from Shuntian Prefecture and the Inspection Bureau?"

"No. Prime Minister Zhang, this time, Prefect Pan made great efforts and made great resolutions. He formed a special case team, selected elite soldiers and generals, and borrowed people from the Guard Army and the Pacification Office, but he was willing to let the Capital Taxation Inspection Bureau lead this operation."

Zhang Juzheng smiled meaningfully, "Pan Fengwu's goal is not to catch those tax thieves, he is targeting the big tigers. Ziyu, have you figured it out?"

"Prime Minister Zhang, I am a dull student. Please enlighten me."

"The imperial clan case was triggered by the Liao Fan case, the Shandong Qingtian case was triggered by the internal struggle in the Confucius Mansion, the Jiangnan case was triggered by the investigation of the Nanwei case in the first year of Longqing, and the Huguang case was triggered by the Hunan provincial examination.

Now we are investigating tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Zi Yu, Chinese medicine emphasizes monarch, minister, assistant and guiding drugs. Among them, the guiding drug is the most inconspicuous, but it is extremely important. The guiding drug guides the other drugs in the prescription to reach the lesion. "

Zhang Xueyan understood and said, "Your Majesty is really self-taught and has a lot of experience in prescribing medicine and treating diseases!"

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and said leisurely: "My Great Ming is seriously ill. It has been ill for hundreds of years and is incurable. How can this disease be cured without taking strong medicine or scraping bones to heal the wound?"

"Zhang Xiang has hit the nail on the head. What about this matter?"

"Let's just not get involved and let them do what they want.

The higher you jump, the harder you fall. Wang Zijian is a sword that cuts iron silently, a hammer that has the power of thunder, and Pan Fengwu is a net, a net that is as meticulous as a hair and leaks nothing.

Now he has laid a big net by investigating tax evasion and tax avoidance, but it’s just the people caught in this net.”

Zhang Juzheng suddenly thought of something, and the smile on his face became even more intense. "A bunch of old foxes are calculating against people again. Those who calculate against others will also be calculated against."

Zhang Xueyan understood some of what he heard, and hesitantly asked, "Prime Minister Zhang, will there be any setbacks when Mr. Tan takes up the post of Chief Military and Political Envoy?"

Zhang Juzheng chuckled, "Lord Meilin has been ill for half a month, and the position of Chief Military Officer is still undecided. It is said that the emperor is hesitant. But you and I both know that the emperor is such a person."

Zhang Xueyan smiled.

Anyone who cares knows what kind of person Emperor Wanli is. He is resolute and courageous, and he thinks ten steps ahead before taking one step. Whose intelligence are you insulting when you say he is hesitant?

"Prime Minister Zhang, in that case, Pan Yinglong has reported this to the Emperor, and the Emperor is also covering for him. The Chief Military Envoy is just a bait, hanging there to lure certain people."

Zhang Juzheng glanced at him and said, "Zi Yu, it's good that you know what's going on.

Once Tan Zili made a move, the cabinet also had to move. Originally, the emperor wanted to abolish the cabinet's right and left council, leaving only an assistant. I argued with reason, but the cabinet had so many complicated matters that I couldn't handle them even if I had three heads and six arms.

The Emperor sympathized with his subjects and agreed to my request, but changed the Left and Right Councillors to the Left and Right Prime Ministers of the Cabinet, with one Left Prime Minister and two Right Prime Ministers to serve as my assistants.

The six ministers and the ministers of the various temples are my subordinates."

Zhang Xueyan nodded.

He understood that the assistant official meant that Zhang Xiang had the power to supervise and lead him, but not the power to directly appoint and punish. The subordinate official not only had the power to supervise and lead, but also the power to directly appoint and punish. However, this power needed the emperor's approval.

After the left and right chancellors of the cabinet became assistants to the prime minister, they no longer held concurrent posts as the ministers of the six ministries and the chief ministers of various temples. This meant that there were three more vacancies in the cabinet. Together with the minister of war concurrently held by Mr. Tan, there were a total of four vacancies, which triggered another round of open and covert struggles.

"The emperor has given the cabinet a very clear mission: national economy and people's livelihood! How to ensure the completion of the mission? That is to develop the economy. With money, everything will be easy. I now have a deep understanding of this."

Zhang Xueyan and Zhang Juzheng also had a teacher-student relationship and Zhang Xueyan was deeply trusted by Zhang Juzheng. Otherwise, he would not have been placed in such an important position as the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet by Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Xueyan was very talented and decisive. Many of his previous suggestions on political affairs were very pertinent, and Zhang Juzheng not only adopted them, but also greatly appreciated them, and often discussed important and confidential matters with him.

“After much deliberation, I think that the most important thing for economic development is to set a good direction from above and to implement it effectively from below. The key is still the governance of officials.

Now the land survey, population registration, land tax and labor service conversion into salt are all done properly. The Ministry of Revenue's future responsibilities will be to continue to improve the financial and taxation system, budget verification and auditing, serve as the Ming Dynasty's general accounting office, and manage the Ming Dynasty's money and grain.

Wang Ruguan (Wang Guoguang) was in the Ministry of Revenue. He felt that official documents such as books and certificates were extremely complicated and redundant. From the counties to the ministry, all departments and bureaus as well as the specific persons in charge were miserable.

The governance efficiency is low, which greatly delays government affairs.

Ru Guan then carried out drastic cuts and mergers in the Ministry of Revenue, removing nearly half of the red tape. As a result, the Ministry of Revenue, which had the most complicated affairs among the six ministries, became the most convenient and easy to handle.

It can be seen that he is also quite talented in the field of civil service. I want to recommend him as the left chancellor of the cabinet and deputy director of the Central Performance Evaluation Steering Committee to assist the prime minister in formulating national policies and vigorously developing the economy. At the same time, I also want him to be in charge of deepening the reform of the central government and the reform of local performance evaluation. "

Zhang Xueyan replied cautiously, "Mr. Shu'an is more than qualified to be the left chancellor of the cabinet, but how to deal with the Ministry of Revenue? There is also the Ministry of War, which is in charge of the country's transportation, postal services, emergency response, and the placement of retired officers and soldiers. Transportation and postal services are especially important and cannot be neglected. Prime Minister Zhang needs to consider a reliable person to take charge."

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and murmured, "Yes, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, I need to think carefully about this."

At eight o'clock the next morning, the cabinet economic work meeting chaired by Zhang Juzheng continued.

"Yesterday we talked about the court's income, the booming industry and commerce, and how much money we made. Everyone was very happy. But today, no one will be happy, at least not in this sense."

Zhang Juzheng's gaze projected from above the mirror frame and swept across everyone.

“Because today I want to talk about the court’s expenditures, how much money was spent.

First of all, the biggest expense was the food and wages of the officers and soldiers, which amounted to 47.37 million yuan. In addition to the food and wages of the town guards, camp guards, and guards, as well as the allowances of the wing guards, Sushen, and Suolong camps, it also included the salaries and allowances of the central and local military officials such as the military government, the five military governors' office, and the local military preparation offices.

Of this, the rice salary was deducted by one third, totaling 15.79 million yuan, but the actual payment was 31.58 million yuan in silver.

Zhang Juzheng looked at everyone and said with a smile: "Everyone present here is a salaried person. You all know how the salary is distributed."

"I know, food stamps!"

"This improvement by Prime Minister Zhang saves us a lot of trouble. It's brilliant, really brilliant!"

Everyone spoke up and flattered Zhang Juzheng wholeheartedly.

In the past, salaries in the imperial court were calculated in terms of rice. The rank of an official was determined by the amount of rice he was paid. This was an ancestral system established during the reign of Emperor Taizu.

Beijing officials need to go to the Shaanxi Qingli Division of the Ministry of Revenue to collect it.

During the Yongle period, after Beijing was changed into a temporary imperial court, the transportation of rice became inconvenient, so Emperor Chengzu began to partially devalue grain, starting with the Baochao.

Baochao is not even as good as wiping your butt. Later, you can fold copper coins and sometimes physical objects.
At the end of the first year of the Longqing reign, the Ministry of Revenue's discount was too harsh, and the pepper was full of unsellable pepper, so there was a scandal that a Beijing official hanged himself because he could not bear the heavy burden, which made Gao Gong, who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue at the time, very embarrassed.

Later, when the national treasury became well-off, it began to distribute money and silver dollars.

But the rice has to be distributed, otherwise what should we do with all the rice stored in the warehouse every year? With current technical conditions, it can't be stored for long.

Are we still following the old rules and going to the Ministry of Revenue to collect it?
As Zhang Juzheng was the chief reformer of the Wanli New Deal, how could he possibly use such an old precedent?
Issue food stamps!

According to the new policy, half of the salary was food, accounting for one third of the salary and allowances, all of which were issued in the form of food coupons.

The Ministry of Revenue’s Taxation Department nominally handed over the autumn grain to COFCO after the grain was stored and the figures were counted and audited. In fact, COFCO was responsible for the transportation and storage of the autumn grain since the beginning of its collection.

COFCO Group, which is directly under Taifu Temple, also has a grain company in each province, divided into two departments: warehousing and sales.

The storage department is responsible for grain purchase, storage, and delivery. Every year, when autumn grain is collected, the people from the collection bureau are responsible for recording the accounts, the people from the grain company are responsible for storage, and transportation is handled by hiring a transportation company. The three-party reconciliation is complicated, but it also greatly increases the difficulty of collusion between insiders and outsiders and embezzlement.

After the grain is stored in the warehouse, it has to be sold and converted into money, which is the job of the sales department.

Grain companies have been moving down to the grassroots, and there is a grain store in every county town and larger township.

Leave it to the market as much as possible!

This is the "holy teachings" of Emperor Wanli.

The solution Zhang Juzheng came up with was that COFCO would issue grain coupons, which the Ministry of Revenue would then give to officials as part of their salaries. Officials would take the grain coupons to the grain stores under COFCO to buy grain.

However, food coupons were divided by regions. Shuntian Prefecture, Hebei Province and Luanzhou were the Jingji Grain Company, and the food coupons they used started with the word "Jing".

The rest of the provinces had local food coupons beginning with Liao, Lu, Jin, Yu, etc., and each province issued its own food coupons.

As for how the Ministry of Revenue and COFCO Group settle accounts, they have their own systems and procedures.

The aged rice that has been stored for several years is generally sold in large quantities to China Liquor Corporation and Agricultural Reclamation Bureau Group for use in brewing wine and making feed.

That’s right, the best feed company in Daming is Nongken Hope Feed Factory!

The active-duty officers and soldiers of the garrison, battalion and guard armies are provided with food and accommodation, and their rations are directly delivered to the regiment level by the Military Grain Bureau of the Rear Army Governor's Office, which connects with COFCO Group.

Therefore, two-thirds of the food and wages of active-duty officers and soldiers were paid directly into their bank accounts. The excess food was converted into food coupons to buy rice and flour for their families.

The Wing Guard, Sushen and Solon Battalion were a very special part of the Ming army, similar to the Wei Suo system, they were given a certain amount of pastureland and farmland and were self-sufficient, but they received a partial allowance every year for the maintenance and renewal of their weapons.

Most of the people who were actually issued food coupons in the military and political system were civil officials.

They were mainly officials in charge of clerical and miscellaneous affairs in the central and local military and political departments. They all had military ranks, which were equivalent to official ranks. Salaries were paid according to their military ranks and allowances were paid according to their positions.

Zhang Juzheng continued.

"The salaries and allowances for the nobles, hereditary officials, and officials totaled 41,796,500 yuan, and the salaries and allowances for the royal family, the Mongolian left and right rear wings, the thousand households, and the hundred households totaled 6,670,000 yuan*.

Of this, one third was converted into food coupons, totaling 13,930,000 yuan and 2,225,000 yuan respectively, and the actual amount of money paid was 27,866,500 yuan and 4,445,000 yuan."

Everyone looked at each other and expressed envy for these nobles and hereditary positions.

Noble titles and hereditary military positions refer to titles of nobility, honors and hereditary military positions.

There are two types of titles. One is for relatives by marriage. According to the "True Ancestor System" established by Emperor Sejong, the title is only conferred for one generation and cannot be inherited from generation to generation.

After one generation, they are gone. At most, the emperor may show mercy and grant them an honorary title or an idle military position in consideration of the kindness of their ancestors. However, this will usually be eliminated after another generation, and the people will live on the land bestowed upon them when they were conferred the title.

The other is to be awarded titles, honors and hereditary military positions for military merit.

Honorary titles and hereditary military positions can only be passed on if the descendants serve and work hard in the army.

The title conferred for military merit is hereditary.

Envy cannot come from envy.

Those who are granted titles by external relatives are lucky and have superb reincarnation skills.

There is no need to envy those who have military merits, noble titles and hereditary military positions, because they are earned by risking their lives; they are paid with blood.

However, many nobles are also having a hard time now.

In addition to their salaries, nobles used to rely on land, business, mining and other miscellaneous incomes to lead a fulfilling and happy life.

Since the 42nd year of the Jiajing reign, some nobles and newly-appointed nobles boarded the ship of Emperor Wanli and became extremely wealthy.

The other nobles celebrated the New Year with Wang Xiaoer, and each year was worse than the last.

You can't make money just from the fields.

Mining? Those nobles who privately dug the Xishan Coal Mine lost all their money.

When it comes to business, can you beat the Shaofujian and Yang Caishen?
He could only rely on his salary and the money from his title land, and count the days on his fingers, looking at the nobles who came on board with envy and jealousy.

Thinking of this, many officials present suddenly felt relieved.

There were also some people who were quick-witted and secretly calculated all the grain expenditures for military affairs, civil affairs, and hereditary expenses of nobles.

Converted into silver and cash, the expenditure amounted to 31,945,000 yuan.

In the first year of the Wanli reign, the autumn grain harvest was 44,980,000 dan, which was equivalent to 47,229,000 yuan in silver according to the market price of one dan of grain.

Now Prime Minister Zhang had paid out the full amount of salaries and grain to all the royal family nobles, hereditary relatives, civil and military officials, and naval and land officers and soldiers, and there was still 15,284,000 yuan left.

In total, there were about 14.55 million shi of grain left.

Oh my god, there is still so much food left?

But it's normal.

In the past, salaries were already low, and food was the most valuable part, so food was used to fill holes everywhere.

Now when we pay salaries and allowances, food is just a supplement and the most basic guarantee.

What is a prosperous country and a prosperous people?

This is it!

Zhang Juzheng continued to read: "At present, the central cabinet, the Imperial Censorate, the Xuanhuiyuan, the local provincial governments, the government offices, the Supervisory Office, and the Siliyuan have a total of 670,000 civil officials, including 320,000 police officers. The expenditure on salaries and allowances for civil officials is 33.5 million yuan, and the average salary and allowance for officials is 50 yuan."

Officials who have visited Luanzhou for study all know that in Luanzhou factories, the lowest-level worker earns 1.2 yuan per month, 14.4 yuan per year, and the highest-level ninth-level worker earns 180 yuan per year.

The largest number of people are level three, four and five workers, with an average annual salary of around 51.5 yuan, which is 1.5 yuan higher than the average salary and allowance of officials.

Workers' wages are oval-shaped, small at both ends and large in the middle.

The official structure is a pyramid, with the largest number of officials being those of the eighth and ninth ranks. The higher one goes, the higher their salaries and allowances are, but their numbers drop off like a cliff.

The salary of a regular worker in Luanzhou is calculated from the second-grade worker, which is similar to that of a ninth-grade worker. The annual salary of a ninth-grade worker is higher than that of a sixth-grade Wanping county magistrate, but lower than that of a fifth-grade county magistrate.

It is said that the highest paid person in Luanzhou factory is a senior engineer, whose annual salary is almost the same as that of a third-rank right vice minister.

However, workers and engineers support themselves with the money they earn, and officials support themselves with the taxes they pay.

Zhang Juzheng lowered his head, looked at the data on the paper in his hand, took off his glasses, threw them on the thick document, and shook his head.

"Money is so precious!"

(End of this chapter)