Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 87: If the civil officials do not agree, will it be difficult to confer the title of lord?
Over there, after the three easy things of "continuing court meetings", "year-end diligence silver", and "abolishing comprador fees and taking advances to meet annual salaries", the Minister of Revenue Chen Qi once again stood up to report on matters.

He had just won the favor of all the civil officials in the court, but what he said this time made everyone feel uneasy: since the year-end diligence silver had been established, officials all over the world hoped that it would become a precedent.

The emperor was willing to bestow this silver, firstly to reward officials for their hard work in the face of many staff vacancies, and also to hope that all officials would be diligent in their work and perform their duties with integrity.

Although the Ministry of Revenue will have an additional 200,000 taels of silver each year that does not need to be paid from the treasury, the fixed border pay quota has exceeded 3 million taels of silver, and the salaries must still be paid after the vacancies are filled next year. We can't let the emperor pay out of his own pocket every year, can we?

He requested the emperor to issue an edict, ordering the cabinet to discuss strategies for increasing revenue and reducing expenditure with the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War.

This matter was in the pre-planned plan. Zhu Changluo nodded immediately and said, "Your Highness, what you said makes sense! I also hope that all officials can have something to look forward to every year. But the financial situation is difficult, and it will be difficult to continue. How about this, the Ministry of Personnel will discuss the matter and come up with a way to change this year-end diligence silver to diligence and integrity silver. If people can perform their duties diligently and honestly, the annual income of the Ming Dynasty should not be so tight."

He paused and continued, "I know that the court and the public are discussing the fact that the edict of enthronement does not mention exemptions. It is not that I do not want to show mercy to the people, but the court is in financial difficulties. I have already taken measures to save money; the policy of increasing revenue cannot be delayed. As requested by the Grand Heavenly Official, the Cabinet, the six ministries and the Censorate will discuss it together. My edict of enthronement says that it must increase revenue to enrich the country. We should come up with a strategy and steps and implement them one by one."

"I accept the decree..."

This had already been discussed yesterday. The three cabinet ministers and seven of the nine officials all knelt down to receive the order.

Others just don't know how to open source yet.

It is impossible to increase taxes or exempt officials and gentry, right? Most of the time, it is better to start with the tax collection, the certificate of ordination and other miscellaneous things.

On the contrary, there is a lot of room for saving!
If the Beijing army is cut down, I don't know how much money and grain can be saved. The number of guards is also very serious. Can we think of a way to deal with the unrest in the prefecture?

While everyone was still pondering, Tian Le came out and said, "I, the Minister of War, Tian Le, have a report! Tomorrow we will present the captives, and the officers and soldiers are looking forward to rewards. I have asked the Ministry to discuss the reward plan for the army of more than 200,000 soldiers who have suppressed the rebellion. It is really difficult to reward them! Now, I have received the grace of Your Majesty, and I have allowed the salaries of the military officials in Beijing to be paid from the treasury. Please promote them to the Beijing camp as the main purpose, and grant them titles as a supplement."

Except for the cabinet ministers and nine officials, no one else reacted for a while.

It sounds like shifting some of the burden to the treasury, but the request for a title is very alarming.

Li Chengliang couldn't help but look at Tian Le.

Shen Yikuan looked at the emperor: The highlight is coming, is the emperor ready?
Zhu Changluo said, "Conferring a title? Moreover, should the commendation of merit be carried out together with the training of the Beijing camp mentioned in my ascension edict?"

"Your Majesty, allow me to report in detail."

Tian Le bowed and stood up, then looked at Chen Qi. "In the Ningxia Campaign, the Korean Campaign, the Greater and Lesser Songshan Campaign, and the Bozhou Campaign, for many years, it has been difficult to sort out the rewards and pensions for the soldiers. The food and wages for the wars were already in short supply, and the recognition of merits was often delayed for months or even years, all because of financial difficulties."

This was a fact known to everyone in the court. Tian Le then turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and it is also the first time since the founding of the country that the emperor has abdicated to the throne. Previously, there were concerns about jealousy between the emperor and his subjects, and now there are concerns about the national treasury being short of money. There is no need to hide this."

After hearing Tian Le bluntly point out the previous "excessive use of imperial power", all the officials couldn't help but change their expressions.

Is it implying that the army has not been stable because rewards have not been timely?
"The memorial of Li Hualong, the former governor of Sichuan, Hubei and Guizhou, commending his merits in suppressing Bo has more than 60,000 words. I have read every word carefully. Now that the rebellion of Bo has been suppressed, if the merits are not rewarded, I am afraid that the generals and soldiers will not be loyal. The court is in financial difficulties, and promotions are entirely dependent on Your Majesty's grace!"

"First, the soldiers who have fought many battles will be incorporated into the Beijing camp, where they will be given more honors and have no worries about their salaries. Your Majesty will immediately have loyal and brave soldiers guarding you;"

"Secondly, the soldiers should be rewarded with money and food, and the brave generals should be given official titles, which will save some money."

"Third, although the reward is still meager, your majesty has conferred another title on a meritorious official. This will encourage all the generals of the Ming Dynasty, and they will not feel resentful for the small favor!"

"Fourthly, the conferment of titles can be traced back to the previous battles. The meritorious officials employed by the Emperor Emeritus can be conferred titles by Your Majesty. This is a special favor at the time of succession, and the morale of the Ming army can be stabilized!"

Tian Le gave four reasons in a row, and the emperor nodded repeatedly.

Because he came to the capital to offer prisoners, Liu Jing was also qualified to attend the court.

After hearing Tian Le's words, his heart was beating wildly.

Grant the title!

Is this actually the case?
If one person was to be granted a title for the battle of Bozhou, who else could it be except him?

Li Hualong? No, civil officials who are granted titles are excluded!

That guy sold himself because he didn't want to be excluded. He will definitely want to come out again after he finishes his mourning period!
Then who else could it be except for himself, the military commander who made the first contribution? Da Sima said that there is still a long way to go.

Liu Jing never dared to imagine that he would receive such a reward. After Li Chengliang was conferred the title of Earl, after so many years and so many battles, who else could be granted the title?

If I could be granted a title, I wouldn't have to go to Liaodong to risk my life. I could just do nothing in the capital.

But before the emperor could speak, someone stood up and said, "I beg to differ!"

Zhu Changluo looked at him, of course, and asked, "What is your position?" "I am Hou Xianchun, the military official."

Zhu Changluo nodded: Let’s begin.

That’s right, all the military departments are involved.

Hou Xianchun looked at Tian Le and said, "Grand Marshal, you are worrying too much! The imperial court has been fighting for several years, and the provinces have done their best to support us! The generals and soldiers are paid by the emperor, and killing the enemy and quelling the rebellion is their duty. Rewards are the emperor's grace, so why do the generals and soldiers complain about the emperor's small grace?"

Tian Le ignored him.

"Your Majesty!" Hou Xianchun bowed to Zhu Changluo again, and then spoke generously, "The emperor is ill, and Your Majesty has taken over the throne. How can the morale of the Ming army be unstable? The Grand Marshal is exaggerating! Several wars have cost the people money and labor, and now they are tracing back the battles and conferring honors. That is the situation where the border generals are greedy for merit and start conflicts, and the war will never end. The Grand Marshal is not thoughtful enough! In the several wars, although there were loyal and brave generals and soldiers, there were also cowardly, partial, and harmful bandits. How can we generalize? The Grand Marshal holds an important position in the Ministry of War, and the Ministry's decision on merit, rewards and punishments is inappropriate, and it is suspected that he is winning the morale of the army!"

Although the censors are of low rank, they have great offensive power.

Tian Le was immediately charged with three major crimes: fawning on superiors, incompetence, and buying people's hearts.

Hou Xianchun opened his mouth, and another person came out: "I second the proposal! Since you are talking about financial difficulties, why confer more titles of nobility?"

"The title should not be granted lightly. In the battle of Bozhou, the surrender of the barbarians was just a rebellion..."

"I heard that General Liu Jing visited the home of the Minister of War twice in three days. Grand Marshal, please consider the country's shortcomings and fear that this is due to personal preference!"

Liu Jing's heart suddenly turned cold.

Damn it, Da Sima is right, I am a little stupid.

Zhu Changluo watched all this quietly, and then looked at the three cabinet ministers and the nine ministers one by one.

Most of them showed worry on their faces, but they faced the emperor's eyes calmly, as if to say: This was not organized by us.

There was a bustle outside the Qianqing Gate. Over at the Yuehua Gate, the eunuch who was delivering messages was muttering nervously.

When the content reached the second floor of Longdao Pavilion, Empress Dowager Li couldn't help but grip the edge of her chair nervously.

There was more anticipation in Zhu Yijun's eyes: Did you mess it up?
You don’t even know how difficult it was to confer the title of Li Chengliang at that time!
It's a wild idea. Do you think you can win the hearts of the soldiers by conferring titles?

What the civil officials are afraid of is that all your troops will surrender!
On the Qianqing Gate side, the civil officials who came out one after another to refute and impeach Tian Le almost filled up the space in the middle reserved for reporting on matters.

Some were kneeling and speaking earnestly.

Some were standing, very excited.

Then they all knelt and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, please be wise. The title should not be granted lightly! The Grand Marshal is a traitor pretending to be loyal. This request will lead to your misleading the emperor and bringing disaster to the country!"

Zhu Changluo counted: twenty-eight people in total.

But this scene finally came to an end, because the more "mature" people discovered that none of the cabinet ministers or the nine ministers, except Tian Le, stood up to speak.

During this process, all the military officials attending the court meeting remained silent.

The granting of titles was a signal that the emperor might want to make use of military officials, but the situation was unclear and the civil officials reacted strongly, but they were unable to come out and refute it.

Zhu Changluo then said, "If I remember correctly, the Grand Marshal has not finished his report yet. He has just presented the strategy for commending merits. Grand Marshal, you haven't finished talking about the connection between commending merits and the training of the Beijing camp, right?"

Tian Le bent down and said, "That's right."

"Then continue playing."

The twenty-eight people kneeling were a little dumbfounded.

The matter has not been discussed yet, and since they have left the class to express their opinions, they cannot go back first.

Now they are still kneeling, and they cannot stand up on their own without the emperor's order.

Why do I have a feeling that this is a bit hasty?

(End of this chapter)