I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 800 Treat your colleagues like spring

When all the ministers were silent, a voice rang out.

"Your Majesty, I dare to say something."

Everyone turned around and looked. Hmm, it was Cai Maochun, the Minister of Taichang Temple, who was jokingly called the Emperor's mouthpiece?
As an official in charge of propaganda and education, how dare you stand up and talk about the practical operations of government affairs?

There are many capable ministers present here. If you say something wrong and are refuted on the spot, you will be unable to save face and you, the emperor's mouthpiece, will become the beef tongue in the hot pot.

Facing all kinds of gazes, Cai Maochun still kept smiling.

Zhu Yijun pointed at him and said, "Okay, Cai Taichang, please tell me."

"Your Majesty, what Prefect Pan just said is to use the special business tax and the lottery bureau's income to subsidize the honeycomb coal benefit project. I think this should be the fiscal transfer payment system that Your Majesty has repeatedly mentioned to me before."

Fiscal transfer payment system?

As soon as you hear this word, you will know that it is an economic term that emerged during the Wanli Dynasty.

Economics was a subject first proposed by the Jintai Academy, which was originally set up by the Shaofujian and later participated in by the Ministry of Revenue and the Taifu Temple. It focused on national economy and people's livelihood.

Now Jintai College has become the School of Finance and Economics of Wanli University, and economics has become its most important subject. It also led the establishment of the Ming Economic Policy Research Institute, which has become an advisory body to the cabinet.

You, Tsai’s mouthpiece, now you understand?

"Fiscal transfer payment system, if you can say this term, it means you have put in a lot of effort. Wang Youcheng, you are also the Minister of Revenue, so explain to everyone what the fiscal transfer payment system is?"

"As you wish!" Wang Guoguang said, "The fiscal transfer payment system was proposed by the emperor at the Central Finance Conference of the Ming Dynasty in the first year of the Wanli reign.

Fiscal transfer payments are when the government transfers part of the fiscal funds raised in the form of taxation to the payment of social welfare and fiscal subsidies, etc., in order to narrow the economic development gap within and between regions.

According to the regulations promulgated by the emperor, fiscal transfer payments include two main lines: vertical and horizontal.

The first is vertically, from bottom to top, that is, all local taxes must be paid into the national treasury, recorded in a unified account by the Ministry of Revenue, and then allocated uniformly.

The special business tax of Shuntian Prefecture and the gambling tax of the Lottery Bureau are both collected uniformly by the tax department in accordance with strict procedures and deposited into the bank's treasury account.

Then return it to Shuntian Prefecture according to the proportion.

These tax monies have been in the bank, and the Ministry of Revenue and Shuntianfu Revenue Department are all doing account transactions."

Separating money and accounts was the most ruthless move used by the emperor and Zhang Juzheng to implement the new financial system.

The money is in the hands of the bank. To pay for the remittance, they will recognize the valid documents but not the person.

The accounts are in the hands of the Ministry of Revenue's financial system. No matter how elaborate the accounts are or how cleverly they are balanced, you have to get the money, and that cannot be avoided by paying and transferring money from a bank account.

The bank's account is another set of accounts, and it also has its own system. The fact that money transfers from public accounts to private accounts must be strictly reviewed is enough to make many corrupt officials so angry that they want to smash the counter.

When auditing accounts at mid-year and year-end, not only the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue’s financial system are audited, but the bank’s cash flow ledgers are also retrieved for verification.

This move made all the previous corruption methods used by corrupt officials ineffective.

The emperor said it very bluntly at the meeting that it is difficult to completely eliminate corruption. There will always be loopholes in the system, and the system is implemented by people, so there will always be opportunities for favoritism and fraud, so there will always be smart people who discover and create loopholes.

It doesn’t matter. The emperor just wants to make it more difficult to commit corruption, make it easier to detect illegal activities, and then impose severe punishments on illegal offenders.

If you have the courage and brains to be greedy for money, it depends on whether you have the life to spend it.

Besides, if you flee overseas these days, it won’t be a benefit, but you’ll be paying for hardship. Why bother?

As long as you can't run away, you will have to vomit out what you eat sooner or later.

The ministers looked at Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng sitting in front and behind them, and felt very complicated.

Previously, the emperor said that Zhang Juzheng was responsible for the mess, and everyone agreed. But why didn't the emperor mention himself?

You are just dismantling the stove!
Wang Guoguang continued to explain. As a professional, he pays attention to detailed and thorough explanations.

"Just now we talked about the vertical line, now let's talk about the horizontal line.

Governor Pan used the special business tax and gambling tax returned by the Ministry of Revenue to subsidize the honeycomb coal project for the benefit of the people, which was a form of horizontal transfer payment within the region.

Another type is horizontal transfer payments between regions.

For example, the policy of converting native peoples into officials in the western part of Hubei and Hunan and Yunnan and Guizhou is a very typical case.

Half of the military expenses, redemption costs of chieftains, and resettlement costs of the people in Yongshun County, Enzhou County, and Guizhou were allocated by the Ministry of Revenue to the provincial governments of Hunan, Hubei, and Guizhou in the form of support for the border areas through the value-added tax, transaction tax, and business tax paid by the economically developed areas of Huzhou, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang.

At the same time, Anhui and Jiangxi also transferred part of their payments to Hunan and Guizhou through the Ministry of Households. Their tax situation is relatively better than that of Hunan and Guizhou.

Thanks to fiscal transfer payments and Governor Wang's skillful maneuvering, the policy of converting native peoples to officials in the western part of the two lakes and Guizhou achieved great results.

Not only that, Hunan also took advantage of this fiscal transfer payment to dredge and develop river transportation on the Yuan, Li, Xiang and other rivers, and further developed the Dongting Lake and the Yuan, Li, and Zi River areas by resettling Miao people and immigrants.

Xu Wei, the governor of Gansu, said, "Your Majesty, Wang Youcheng said it very well. I, Chen, would like to add a few words."

"Mr. Wenchang, please speak."

“Your Majesty, my colleagues, in fact, in the Ministry of Revenue’s account books, Shaanxi and Gansu in the northwest, including Ningxia, Yulin and Yansui, are the major recipients of fiscal transfer payments.

Since the second year of the Longqing reign, the Ministry of Revenue has allocated a large amount of funds every year to support major projects in Shaanxi and Gansu.

For example, the Zhuanglang River was diverted, and a canal was dug from the Da Nan Tong Pass, crossing the southern valley of Dasong Mountain, all the way to Jingyuan where it merges into the Yellow River. It took two years and cost 1.3 million yuan to finally succeed, allowing the vegetation there to gradually flourish and become the Songshan Grassland.

Another example is the Yellow River diversion project that began in the first year of the Wanli reign. A ditch was built about 150 miles upstream and downstream of Suiyuan City (Baotou) directly into the desert area of ​​the Ordos region in the south.

Taking into account solar evaporation, water is directly transported through prefabricated reinforced concrete pipes. Two-thirds of the water is underground and one-third is open channels, which are diverted to various parts of the Ordos Gobi Desert for planting trees and grass and restoring vegetation.

Four years later, more than 200,000 mu of sand-proof forests and grasslands have been planted and restored, with remarkable results. There are also projects to return farmland to forests and pastures to grasslands in western and northern Shaanxi and Ningxia, as well as to build ponds, ditches and water storage for irrigation, and to relocate people from drought-stricken areas that are not suitable for living to the two lakes area.
These projects, which will benefit future generations, were all drafted and formulated by Xu Rudong, who personally presided over the project. He took people to these places to survey the terrain, formulate plans, and supervise the construction. Now they are beginning to show results. The northwest is covered with yellow sand, but lush green can be seen everywhere.

The Yellow River will soon become clearer!"

When the Yellow River becomes clear, a sage will emerge.

If the Yellow River really becomes clear, it would be a great auspicious sign from heaven!
Xu Wei continued: “But the most important money for these projects came from the cabinet, which strongly supported the Ministry of Revenue. From the taxes collected in Luanzhou and Huzhou, 23.1 million yuan was allocated to these projects over four years.

Here, on behalf of Xu Rudong and the millions of people in Shaanxi and Gansu, I would like to thank the emperor, the cabinet, and the Ministry of Revenue! "

Zhu Yijun took the lead in applauding, and warm applause broke out in the carriage.

Xu Zhenming, the governor of Gansu and deputy director of the Northwest Development Agency, was not in the carriage. He was still only a court official in the capital, waiting for tomorrow's special train to take him to Luanzhou.

But Xu Wei's words just now were obviously meant to praise Xu Zhenming as well as himself.

What do you mean?
Which of the twenty-eight people here is not a smart person?
Many people started to think about it.

First, Cai Maochun came out and talked about fiscal transfer payments to show off his expertise in government affairs.

Then Wang Guoguang, the Right Prime Minister and Minister of Revenue, came out to explain and praised Pan Yinglong and Wang Yi'e. Then Xu Wei followed up on this topic and praised Xu Zhenming and Zhang Juzheng.

It all makes sense now.

These people were the ones who were going to be used in the adjustment plan for all officials drawn up by the emperor at the general meeting of the Advisory Bureau a few days ago. They were also the main force in the implementation of the national policy for the next three years.

Although the adjustment plan for all officials and, more importantly, the national policy strategy for the next three years, were strongly supported by all members of the Advisory Bureau, the next step was to discuss them at the Imperial Court Conference.

The Imperial Court Meeting was similar to the previous court meeting, and the attendees were representatives and core figures of various forces. Their approval meant that the forces in the court and the opposition accepted the two plans.

The emperor had made it very clear before that the adjustment of officials and the formulation of strategies were of great importance. He informed all parties in advance and asked them to negotiate internally. He then solicited unified opinions from all parties one by one, and only drew up this draft after weighing the pros and cons.

It certainly would not satisfy all parties, but it was the most suitable plan after the emperor weighed it. Then he communicated with the advisors one by one in private, so that the leaders of all parties could reach a consensus and agree to the plan.

What the advisors, that is, the leaders of various forces, need to do next is to seize the time and persuade their own lackeys among the court officials.

If you have any opinions, please raise them during the group discussions, and the emperor will decide whether to make minor adjustments based on the situation.

Once a consensus is reached and the majority agrees with the two drafts, they will be announced publicly at the court meeting and everyone will unanimously express their firm support!
Why does the emperor make things so complicated?

At that time, some ministers were very puzzled.

In the past, important ministers were elected to important posts to discuss state affairs. Either the emperor would make the final decision with his own will, or the ministers would fight like vicious dogs for food and finally reach a compromise after a mouthful of fur.

Now that the emperor is playing this trick, they are a little uncomfortable.

Zhu Yijun spoke very bluntly at the closed-door meeting of the Advisory Bureau.

This is called unifying thoughts and uniting the government and the opposition.

It is nothing more than all parties putting forward their demands, negotiating with each other, compromising with each other, and resolving conflicts as much as possible to reach consensus.

Once everyone accepts these two plans, they must be implemented resolutely. Anyone who is dissatisfied and makes small moves in secret will be destroying unity. Not only will the emperor punish him, but other forces will also despise him.

The forces to which the saboteurs belong may also be kicked out of the country's political stage.

They can’t even control their own members. What qualifications do such a makeshift team have to sit at the table?
Just now, Cai Maochun, Wang Guoguang, Xu Wei and others spoke one after another, secretly praising each other, which was actually also spreading rumors to other forces.

First, we have already communicated and will fully support the two plans approved by the Emperor.

Secondly, the people in the adjustment plan are all proven and have outstanding political achievements. The national policy for the next three years is carefully thought out and comprehensively considered.

In the next few days, you must quickly convince members of your respective forces to accept reality.

We will also convince our respective members to support the parts of the plan that are beneficial to you, and strive to turn the Imperial Court Conference in the fifth year of Wanli in a few days into the conference of unity and victory that the Emperor has mentioned!

After Pan Yinglong, Cai Maochun, Wang Guoguang, Xu Wei and others made their attitudes clear, others could no longer just sit there and do nothing.

Zhang Siwei stroked his beard and replied, "After listening to your words, I have learned a lot.

Your Majesty, I have been busy with spiritual civilization construction, and I don't know much about local civil affairs and financial affairs. However, today, Fengwu, Qiushi, Ruguan and Wenchang's speech not only opened my eyes, but also made me understand that the adjustment plan of the officials carefully drafted by Your Majesty was really painstaking, and it was all for the benefit of the country and the people. "

You glass ball!
The ministers couldn't help but mutter in their hearts!
After a brief silence, Zhao Zhenji spoke.

"Feng Pan is in charge of the responsibility of spreading culture and education, and his achievements are outstanding. I am strict and upright in my duties, but I am too strong. With Feng Pan's combination of strength and softness, the thunder and rain complement each other.

Feng Pan, your capable general Wang Yuanyu (Wang Xijue) has helped to resolve the conflict in the Three Wus and ease the anger in the southeast. He deserves special praise!"

Wang Xijue, one of the three outstanding students of the Renxu Imperial Examination, has for some reason become very close to Zhang Siwei in recent years.

Zhang Siwei went to Jiangnan to "dig up his roots" under the secret order of Zhu Yijun. Wang Xijue made great contributions to his work and became a new general after Zhang Siwei's "resurrection".

Zhang Siwei wanted to recommend him to succeed Cai Maochun and take charge of the Taichang Temple. He was adjusted by Zhu Yijun to be the Governor of Guangdong and was given the title of Chaoyi Dafu.

Zhang Siwei thought about it and felt that it was an okay option.

By taking up a local post and gaining experience step by step, you will become more promising and be able to build a career for yourself.

Wei Xuezeng nodded and said, "Wang Yuanyu was the second place in the imperial examination in the 41st year of Jiajing, and one of the three outstanding candidates in the Renxu year. Naturally, he is full of literary talent and talents. Another of the three outstanding candidates, Shen Rumo, served as the right deputy censor of the Censorate and investigated the fraud case of Wang Yijie and the embezzlement case of Tian Shiyou. He enforced the law strictly and was upright.

Lord Dazhou, you have brought up a good junior!"

Shen Shixing is now Zhao Zhenji's capable general and is recommended as the governor of Zhejiang, working with Wang Daokun to govern Zhejiang.

Wei Xuezeng and Wang Daokun have a special relationship.

Everyone spoke up, praising the capable officials of the court, but in fact they were praising each other's capable generals. For a moment, the carriage was as peaceful as a spring day!
(End of this chapter)