golden scales

Although there are some differences between the civil service system and the crown prince on issues such as restrictions on official family property and family raids, they are more consistent on issues such as peace of mind, spring farming, and taxation to enrich the country.

Because this cabinet is full of pragmatists.

Li Yuzhi was the oldest, and although he was nominally in charge of the Ministry of Officials, in fact his second assistant, Wu Shen, was in charge of the overall situation.After Jiang Dejing came, Sun Chuanting handed over the Ministry of Industry to him, so that he would not become a poor old man.

In the past, the Ministry of Industry was a hard job that no one wanted. Its main task was to build palaces, royal gardens, and emperors' mausoleums.Jiang Dejing thought it was a perfunctory move at first, but only after the Ministry of Industry inspected the matter did he realize that all local projects have been transferred from the Ministry of Households to the Ministry of Industry.As small as a deep well, as large as the management of the Yellow River, all are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry.

In the small conference room of the cabinet, there is only a long table with six seats.Zhu Cihong sat on the north and faced south, Li Yuzhi and Wu Zhen fought horizontally, and Sun Chuanting and Jiang Dejing sat opposite the crown prince.This was a very ordinary meeting, and it was the first time Jiang Dejing participated in such a temporary meeting after coming to Jinan.

"The authority of the Sixth Division has been greatly reduced in matters." Zhu Cihong introduced to Jiang Dejing: "In the past, the Sixth Division can give instructions on all the government affairs of the Sixth Division, but now it can only audit the financial records of the Sixth Division. Mr. Jiang should know."

Jiang Dejing couldn't help smiling when he heard that.The Sixth Section Corridor in Daming belonged to the officials, with a humble position and authority, and most of the heads of various departments had to greet them first.Now if we can only audit money matters, we will greatly let go of the hands and feet of the ministerial officials.

"I have always known that Mr. Jiang is good at managing money, but now the Ministry of War, the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, and the Ministry of Industry spend the most money." Zhu Cihong said: "The reason for asking Mr. Jiang to take charge of the Ministry of Industry is to spend every tael of silver and every grain of millet Rice, all spent wisely."

"Your Highness, the Ministry of Industry has no income, so all the money and food consumed can only be withdrawn from the Ministry of Households?" Jiang Dejing discovered that all the industries under the Ministry of Industry were allocated to the Ministry of Households.Confirmed.

"That's right," Zhu Cihong said with a smile, "In the future, only the income and expenditure of the Ministry of Households will be used in the country's financial accounting. As the so-called brothers have to settle accounts clearly. This will also allow the officials of the Ministry of Industry to be freed from the constraints of money and food, and focus on projects. "After talking about the Ministry of Industry, he paused.Said: "Today there is another matter that needs to be discussed by the three ministries of household, military and industry, which is the issue of the placement of soldiers."

With the expansion of the restored area, the number of local bandits, rebels, and rogues who surrendered has exceeded 25.Zhu Cihong took some of them out to form an engineering battalion, and each division, battalion, and department also had its own engineering unit directly under it, but the remaining labor camps and hard labor camps still had 20 people.

It is impossible for these people to rebel in a short period of time, but if they sit idly by and continue to add more people, I am afraid that there will inevitably be troubles in the future.

"The ingredients are too complicated." Zhu Cihong felt a little headache thinking about it: "I hope to distinguish them one by one and divide them into three groups. All the craftsmen must be separated first and belong to the Ministry of Industry. The Ministry of Industry did not take these people as coolies. Mr. Jiang, you have to urge the Ministry of Industry to use these people to train more qualified craftsmen, not only to pass on the old skills, but also to teach them the "Complete Book of Mining and Metallurgy" and "Taixi Water Law". Mountain stones can attack jade."

Jiang Dejing nodded in response, "I understand."

"The remaining hard labor, soldiers, and prisoners will be handed over to the Ministry of War." Zhu Cihong said: "Mr. Sun. The Ministry of War will separate those who perform better among them, and then organize these hundreds of thousands of people into several teams. The main heavy physical labor in the recovery area. At the same time, we must prevent them from changing."

Sun Chuanting said: "Your Highness, some of these people have committed minor crimes, while others have committed serious crimes. Can you pardon the lightest one as a supervisor?"

"As long as they don't make trouble, it's up to you." Zhu Cihong said: "The death rate is also discussed by the ministry, and I won't care about it in the future."

Sun Chuanting nodded.I have already begun to think in my mind to what extent it is more appropriate to relax the death rate.

"Among these people, I only want one Chen De. It's up to you to decide which department the others belong to." Zhu Cihong said: "The issue of money and food will be handed over to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Mr. Wu, the Ministry of Household Affairs does not have a minister now. The Ministry still needs you to take the helm."

"The servant, Yao Tao, is quite talented, and he can handle all the affairs of the department properly." Wu Sheng said with a smile: "It's a pity that she is a woman."

Zhu Cihong also sighed: "Yes, I don't know where the world discriminates against women. It is not easy to change the customs."

Jiang Dejing also said: "In the hometown of ministers, women also work in the fields, not inferior to men. Now the world is employing people, if you can borrow the power of female officials, it is not impossible."

"Why don't Master Wu show mercy, and the Ministry of Household Affairs will pay the people to read more "Mulan", "Liang Hongyu", "Qin Liangyu" and so on." Zhu Cihong smiled at Wu Sheng.

Wu Zhen didn't smile, and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, it's not too bad." He helped the crown prince compose some operas in praise of the soldiers when he was in Shanxi. With the newspaper in front of him, it's not difficult to look back now. Discover the impact of theater on public opinion.Many uninformed people basically take the stories in the drama as real events.

"If the government runs the pear garden..." Wu Sheng tentatively asked.

"The cost is too high," Zhu Cihong shook his head. "The labor cost is too high. We don't have that many people involved, so we still take the path of private transactions. We pay people to write books, and hire registered opera troupes from all over the country to perform in the countryside. The government sends tickets according to the household registration, and these theater troupes collect tickets for performances, and the household department pays money according to the theater tickets they collect. How about this?"

Wu Xuan nodded and said, "Then we're just spending money, so it's not troublesome. It also avoids the problem of competing with the people for profit."

"Well, this can also encourage registration and increase taxes." Zhu Cihong said with a smile: "The money spent will actually be returned in the end."

"Your Highness, the investigation work of the various companies in Shandong and Henan has almost been completed, when will the registration be carried out?" Wu Sheng asked again.He is now in charge of the household department, and he is very concerned about increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. Now that he has abolished the private customs at various checkpoints, he is only waiting to collect business taxes.

"There's not enough manpower." Zhu Cilang sighed: "The matter of collecting taxes seems simple, but it's like pulling out carrots with mud, and it's related to a bigger matter."

"What's the matter?" Wu Zhen was also surprised.The vassal kings from all over the country can open money and collect taxes with just two servants. Could it be that the court is not as righteous as those vassal kings?

"Tax Law." Zhu Cihong sighed: "There are two kinds of money collection, one is to pay people with gritted teeth, and the other is to pay money willingly. Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong can be free from scruples, but our Ming court can't be shameless and let the people pay. cast aside."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.In any case, people-oriented thinking is always the foundation of Confucianism. As the saying goes, a benevolent man loves others. If a gentleman does not love others, is he not a hypocrite?

"So I want to write down the taxes that should be collected, so that every businessman knows how much money to pay. The tax stamps during the epidemic prevention in the capital must also be implemented, so that there are records. If the tax collectors dare to abuse merchants, Businessmen must have the opportunity to sue them; if businessmen dare to evade taxes, the government must have a basis to punish them, so this tax law is indispensable.

"The other thing is how to collect the business tax to achieve the best of both worlds. The imperial court can get the money to build roads, lay bridges, train soldiers and protect the people, and the merchants will not be unable to make a fortune because of excessive taxes and fees. Based on the current situation of my Ming Dynasty The situation, how to formulate taxes, and how to regulate tax rates all require brainstorming.

"The most troublesome thing is to fight against taxes and food. Some people are so small-minded that they don't want to benefit the country. It is said that the temple master is greedy for money and amassing money. He sent tax supervisors and mine supervisors to make people angry. The emperor appointed a gentleman and abolished In the ten years of Chongzhen, the tea tax in Zhejiang Province was only 12 taels of silver, and the tax collected in some places was not enough to support the tax collectors! There are Juren and Scholars who come with the boat and car, and even bring all the goods. Tax exemption...I don't have the face to say such a thing. From the first emperor to the present, is there any dynasty that is as useless as I am?

"Everyone knows what kind of background you are, and what kind of background the officials are. The fundamental principle is still fair. If the Ming Dynasty falls, when the rogues and Eastern captives come, not to mention the money cannot be kept, even the heads may not be kept. The old gentlemen should discuss this matter in detail, and we will come up with a charter as soon as possible." Zhu Cihong said that the tax issue was also a bit tricky, so he simply ended the meeting and let the cabinet discuss it. . )

ps: Please recommend tickets~~