Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 126: Officials from the South and the North, Different Opinions

The final list of replacement officials in the two capitals was announced at the court meeting on February 22.

"I have read all your memorials. After careful consideration, I have come to this decision. Now that you have been appointed, there is no need to impeach anyone for previous reasons. We will only look at their performance after they have been appointed."

The court officials were still uneasy about the official list that was announced earlier, and they couldn't help but look at the two cabinet ministers who were here today. Some of them also looked at Tian Le.

Compared with the previously announced list, there are only four changes: the governor of Yingtian was allowed to resign, the Yingtian inspector Niu Yingyuan was promoted to the position of Left Censor-in-Chief, the Yingtian inspector was promoted from Wang Dewan, the chief censor of the Engineering Department, and the chief censor of the Engineering Department was promoted from Gong Yingxiang, the prefect of Guyuan Prefecture, Gansu.

This list reveals at least four pieces of information.

First of all, the people chosen by the cabinet ministers were basically recognized by the emperor. Was it a real recognition to show the cabinet ministers' authority, or was it a last resort?
Secondly, people like Xiao Daheng knew that the core of the changes in this list was Niu Yingyuan. The missing Zuo Qiandu Yushi was originally recommended by Shen Yiguan. Now Shen Yiguan was in charge of the examination, while Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue remained as directors.

Again, everyone else knew that the reason for the change in the list was because Niu Yingyuan was promoted directly from the inspector to the governor, which led to another vacancy in the Yingtian inspector position, so Wang Dewan, who had not been in the capital for a full year, was sent there. The position of Gongke Dujieshi was vacant again, so another local official was promoted to Kedao Censor, and he was directly promoted to Dujieshi.

Finally... Gong Yingxiang was only a juren! How could he be promoted directly to the position of Gongke Dujishi?
Just because the commendation for the Battle of Greater and Lesser Songshan mentioned that he "made contributions in transporting supplies and building embankments"?
"Today, I want you to express your opinions in the memorial submitted by the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue." Zhu Changluo looked at Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue, "The Nanjing Ministry of Revenue has other considerations for the arrangement of the additional gold and silver. The cabinet ministers first thought that the previous strategy was acceptable, and now they think that the strategy proposed by the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue is acceptable. I still want to listen to the opinions of all the ministers. You can listen to the two strategies first, and then submit the memorial and explain your opinions in detail."

Outside the Qianqing Gate, two strategies were read out slowly.

One was previously drafted mainly by the Cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing, and naturally the number of orders for each prefecture and state was directly determined by the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing.

The Nanjing Ministry of Revenue's proposal pointed out the problem of the transport capacity of the canal and the problem of exchange arrangements, and proposed to use civilian transport to transport the newly added gold and silver, and to avoid the peak of grain transportation...

The contents of Zhang Yi's question book were read out word by word, and many people thought of the grain accidents that had recently been frequently reported to the capital.

Many people lowered their heads, knowing why Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue changed their minds.

The emperor was obviously dissatisfied.

But after the pre-appointment announcement, everyone secretly expressed their opinions, but it didn't seem to have any impact on the final list. Are you talking about this again now?
Moreover, many people felt that the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue’s considerations were indeed “thoughtful”.

The emperor's message was conveyed, but nothing happened.

The next day at the court, the emperor asked again: "I only received three copies of the report on the new gold and silver orders mentioned yesterday. Do you think the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue's strategy is more appropriate?"

There seemed to be some encouragement in their tone, but no one responded.

People are not allowed to discuss matters face to face at court meetings, and memorials expressing opinions have no effect. So what is there to say?

The silence of the North Korean officials seemed to convey this attitude.

On the third day, the emperor said again: "Minister of War Tian Le requested that additional gold and silver be transported by sea through the sea route. I think this is a good idea. What do you think? Please submit this memorial."

All of a sudden, there was an uproar after the court meeting.

By speaking about the same thing for three consecutive days, it was obvious enough that the emperor wanted to support the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing.

It should be Tian Le who recommended Gong Yingxiang, a scholar, to work in the engineering department, right? This was the first time that the emperor clearly pointed out who said what in the secret report.

On this day, the study outside the Imperial Household Department finally became lively again, and the various government offices in Beijing also became lively.

You are not allowed to discuss in court meetings, but you can argue in private.

The two sides of the debate gradually became "Northern Officials" and "Southern Officials".

Tian Le was from Hejian Prefecture, so he was of course a northern official. Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue were both from Suzhou Prefecture, and Shen Yikuan was also from Zhejiang.

In the court, northern officials have always been a disadvantaged group.

Because of the existence of the Southern Song Dynasty and the rule of the Mongols in the north, the place where culture and education flourished had long since moved to the south. In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination had to be divided into two lists, the northern and the southern, to select candidates, so as to avoid the court being filled with southerners.

Zhayang was brought up by Tian Le, and Beiguan immediately found a handle.

There were also "traitors" among the southern officials. After all, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing wanted to have more power in their hands.

There are also some upright people who implicitly believe that the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue is suspected of "using the grain transport tax to gain power."

At the court meeting on the fourth day, the ministers watched in amazement as the eunuchs carried a screen to the steps of the Qianqing Gate.

"I have already selected both the pros and cons of the memorials you presented yesterday." Zhu Changluo pointed to the screen, "I have also verified some of your concerns. More than 90% of those who think the Grand Marshal's request is acceptable are from the north of the Yellow River, while nearly 80% of those who think the Grand Marshal's request is not acceptable are from the south of the Yangtze River."

No one knew whether the emperor was talking nonsense or not. After all, they couldn't be sure how many memorials were submitted and what they said.

But everyone knows it, and this is generally what people discuss privately.

The emperor used this method to point out some of the dark thoughts of everyone, and for a while many officials from Jiangnan hoped that Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue would come forward and say something.

Shen Shixing also came out and said sincerely: "Your Majesty, the Caohe River flows slowly and passes through the government offices and provinces, and there are still many losses. The sea wind is unpredictable, the waves are high and the water is deep, and the sea has not been sailed for a long time. Are the ministers just because of their backgrounds? Your Majesty is wise."

It seems that this is just to cover up the fact that officials from the North and the South have different opinions.

"The gold and silver are from the imperial treasury. If you give them all to General Zhayang, I will accept them even if there is no loss or damage."

When the emperor said this, all the ministers saw Shen Shixing's expression suddenly change.

Everyone was quiet, and the emperor seemed to be doing his best to oppose the plan proposed by the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue.

These things cannot be done by force of the emperor. If he does so, this matter may not go wrong, but other matters may go wrong, and anyway, the emperor will always be troubled.

If the emperor's words were always final and all officials and gentry obeyed him, why would there be so many troubles throughout the dynasties?

"Your Majesty!" Tian Le stood up and spoke again at this time, "Nanjing petitioned for civilian transport, after all, it is still a lot of trouble for the people to transport silver thousands of miles. I will make another proposal. Since the Zhaiyangzong is no longer a formality, the court still needs to provide for it. It is better to change it to a business."

"Reform to a merchant?" The emperor seemed to be invigorated and said quickly, "Grand Marshal, please tell us the strategy in detail."

"Since we have seagoing vessels and skilled workers, we can first sell them to big merchants and buy them for the Beijing camp. Secondly, the general transporters of the ocean are also recruited from the various guards in the south of the Yangtze River. The various guards in the south of the Yangtze River have to bear the burden of transporters and local defense soldiers. The burden is really heavy. After the reform, one burden can be reduced. Thirdly, the merchants have a good flow of goods. The newly added gold and silver will not be a loss. We can first submit 200,000 taels to the treasury in Beijing, and then determine the required silver consumption in the south of the Yangtze River. There is no need to transport the silver directly for thousands of miles..."

He gave many reasons one after another, but many people's expressions had changed.

If Zhayang can be changed, will the other twelve generals of the Caojun also need to be changed in the future?
However, this can be said to be a compromise opinion, because the wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan are more powerful in bidding for Mr. Zhayang's current assets through buying the bets.

Of course, there are many hidden dangers. Zhayang is still responsible for transporting food and supplies to Liaodong, although the scale of the quantity is no longer comparable to that of the land merchants in Shanhaiguan.

However, Caohe River is preparing to pass strict currency regulations to increase revenue, and perhaps more and more people will go north along the coast from Taicang Port to avoid taxes.

Although the risk is greater, we should still give it a try, right?

Although his mind was opened up, the emperor didn't seem ready to accept it all at once.

"If you have any thoughts on what the Grand Marshal has said, please submit your thoughts as usual!"

The ministers only saw Shen Shixing frowning deeply, his face full of worry.

(End of this chapter)