I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 70: Old Man, Old Horse, Old Sly! Shangshu Yin's Highlight Moment

Disciple of Huangji.

After the officials from various departments refuted Yin Zhengmao's strategy of "joint support between the inner and outer courts".

Little Wanli straightened his chest and looked around below.

The young eunuchs on the left and right sides quickly stretched out their hands to make a gesture of silence.

Wait until the surroundings become quiet.

Little Wanli looked at Yin Zhengmao and said loudly: "Minister Yin, tell me what you think."

Young Wanli also felt that this was a ploy by the Ministry of Revenue to evade responsibility.

Apart from being beneficial to the Ministry of Revenue, there is nothing else to recommend him. Although the Minister of Revenue works hard, this is his fate in this position.

Even when he was emperor, he often lamented his misfortune!

However, Yin Zhengmao was the Minister of Revenue appointed by him, so he still wanted to ask the reason.

tread!tread!tread!
Yin Zhengmao strode out with his head held high, exuding the aura of the head of the six ministries.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue is the general directorate of the state's revenue and expenditure. It oversees the population and land throughout the country, levies taxes and labor service, manages taxation, provides salaries and wages, oversees warehouses, and manages the external treasury."

"However, in recent years, the management of the Yellow Book and the textile production in Suzhou and Hangzhou have gradually been transferred to the Imperial Household Department. A new governor has been appointed for the capital's warehouses. Taxes on local products, pottery making and smelting, and taxes on mountain gardens have all been transferred to the Ministry of Works."

"The Ministry of Revenue has declined, with little income and much expenditure, resulting in a shortage every year."

"Recently, military expenses, official salaries and rewards, and disaster relief have been rising steadily. The Ministry of Revenue is often stretched to the limit, having to borrow from one place to make ends meet. However, the Internal Treasury and the Ministry of Works often have surpluses. The court cannot rely solely on the Ministry of Revenue for financial support. Only when the Internal and External Courts complement each other can the Ming Dynasty prosper!"

simply speaking--

The Neiku, the Ministry of Works and other government offices seized many lucrative positions that originally belonged to the Ministry of Revenue, which reduced the Ministry's income, but did not reduce its expenditure at all.

Yin Zhengmao felt that this was unfair and believed that the inner and outer courts should help each other.

Most officials were unmoved by this reason.

I still feel that Yin Zhengmao is taking advantage of the situation.

There is not a single official in the yamen who does not feel that he is wronged, works hard, has no benefits, receives little reward, or is promoted too slowly.

If the Imperial Treasury and the Ministry of Works shared all expenses with the Ministry of Revenue, anyone could become the Minister of Revenue.

Some officials are also inclined to implement this policy.

Because many government offices rely on the Ministry of Revenue for their expenses, if the Ministry of Revenue has no money, their lives will not be easy either.

But they all remained silent.

If these words came from the young Wanli or the Minister of Works Guo Chaobin, they could be called joint assistance.

Coming from the mouth of the Minister of Revenue Yin Zhengmao, it can only be described as: climbing the ladder or wishful thinking.

Every year at the end of the year, the Ministry of Revenue would be so crowded that even thieves would cry.

It was even more impossible for Empress Dowager Li, young Wanli, and Feng Bao to agree, because this policy would affect the quality of life of the royal family.

Yin Zhengmao smiled and took another step forward.

"My colleagues say that the inner and outer courts should each perform their duties and there's no need for them to work together. I disagree. The court uses all the government offices like an arm, so how can we not work together? Especially when it comes to money, there should be no distinction between you and me!"

"For example, His Majesty will have his hair-binding ceremony in two months at the latest, and preparations for his wedding will soon be needed. Could it be that the Imperial Household is fully capable of handling this, without the need for collaboration from other government offices?"

Swish!Swish!Swish!
As soon as these words were spoken, almost everyone turned to look at the young Wanli, including Shen Nian who was on the southeast side of the throne.

Everybody actually forgot about this!
Little Wanli's hair was tied into a bun, which meant he had become a child. According to royal custom, it was time to prepare for his wedding and purchase various items.

For the emperor’s wedding, a year of preparation is not considered long at all, because there are so many things to prepare.

Compared to the cumbersome ceremony.

Finding a suitable candidate for queen is not that difficult.

At present, the emperor's wedding is a celebration held with the efforts of the whole country, and the Ministry of Revenue's expenditure is higher than that of the Imperial Household or any other government office.

At that time, we will definitely have to take money from the Ministry of Revenue's purse.

If the policy of "joint support between the inner and outer courts" is rejected, it means that the inner court will control the inner court and the outer court will control the outer court. At that time, the Ministry of Revenue will really have the courage to refuse to purchase or simply not pay.

On the throne.

When young Wanli heard that they were going to prepare a wedding for him, he couldn't help but smile shyly.

He is still very ignorant about what goes on in bed.

However, he knew that once he got married, Queen Mother Li would not appear in front of him at night, so he was excited.

……

this moment.

The one who experienced the greatest emotional fluctuations was Empress Dowager Li, who was behind the scenes.

She started to order people to prepare for the hair-binding ceremony of the little Wanli at the beginning of this month. She also started to think about the preparations for the emperor's wedding and had some plans.

In addition to purchasing.

The Qianqing Palace, the bedroom of the young Wanli, must be renovated.

She planned to take advantage of this happy event to renovate the Ciqing Palace and Cining Palace of the two Empress Dowagers.

All of this requires money, lots of money!
Although the Ministry of Revenue was often stretched to the limit, it was still supplying the needs of the country.

There is income and high cash flow.

By transferring and maneuvering, the money can be moved out and the emperor's wedding can be held beautifully.

Empress Dowager Li knew it clearly.

Zhang Juzheng advocated increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, and taught the young emperor to practice frugality every day.

If this strategy cannot be implemented today.

Even if an obedient Minister of Revenue is replaced in the future, the cabinet will use this incident as an excuse to reduce royal spending.

The emperor may only marry the empress once in his life, so he must not settle for anything less.

……

this moment.

Feng Bao looked depressed. He didn't expect this to happen.

But for the inner court, the emperor's wedding is above everything else, and they cannot allow any oversight in this matter to turn the emperor's wedding into a laughing stock for the common people.

……

this moment.

The officials also figured it out and secretly cursed Yin Zhengmao as an old fox. He was really cunning and sly.

What a thief!
This idea is definitely not something that an honest and upright official could come up with.

He just said so much nonsense just to introduce the emperor's wedding, which required joint assistance from various government offices, especially the Ministry of Revenue.

Zhang Siwei's lips trembled slightly with anger.

"He... where does he get the courage to threaten me with the Emperor's wedding?"

Zhang Juzheng, who was standing by, stroked his beard lightly. Although he showed no expression, he was actually very happy in his heart.

He felt that Yin Zhengmao had grasped the scale just right.

His original intention was to serve the government and the people of the world, and no one can criticize this.

If the Neiku, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Revenue could really help each other, although they could not achieve equality in terms of finances, as long as the Neiku was more generous, the pressure of the new policy would be greatly reduced.

The pressure on military expenditures, river and sea repairs, and disaster relief for various regions will be greatly reduced.

……

this moment.

Yin Zhengmao puffed out his chest and felt like he was glowing. Just a few days after taking office, he was about to remove the label of poverty from the Ministry of Revenue.

He knew that the Imperial Treasury and the Ministry of Works would not completely exchange resources with him.

But in the future, it will definitely be easier to get money.

If the former Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang knew that he could do this, he might want to come back.

Yin Zhengmao also thought that even if this strategy could only be implemented for two years, after the emperor's wedding, the Neiku would be in power again, and he would have no problem with it.

In two years, he will be 66 years old. If he cannot join the cabinet, he will consider retiring.

……

"Cough cough..."

Empress Dowager Li coughed lightly, then nodded slightly when young Wanli looked at her.

This means that she wanted the young Wanli to agree to this strategy.

this moment.

Zhang Juzheng looked up at the young Wanli, wanting to hear what he would say.

If we simply say that the Ministry of Revenue is important to the emperor's wedding and therefore implement this policy, then it would be too naive and would make the royal family appear too short-sighted and snobbish!
Little Wanli puffed out his chest and said loudly, "What Minister Yin said makes sense. It is indeed better for all government offices to work together to support each other than for each to do its own job. However, this policy concerns the inner and outer courts, so we need to think it over carefully. I will make the final decision after the cabinet has made a detailed plan."

Little Wanli's answer was perfect.

Although this policy was set in stone and must be implemented, for the sake of the face of the group of objectors and to get rid of the royal family's short-sighted and snobbish tendencies, it naturally could not be agreed to directly.

Zhang Juzheng smiled with satisfaction and strode out.

"Your Majesty, I implore the Imperial Household Department and the Censorate to send special envoys to Liaodong to thoroughly investigate the exodus of disaster victims and the unusual disaster relief efforts in Liaodong last year. They should also conduct a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Revenue. This can be led by the Three Judicial Officials and Minister Yin!"

"Accurate!" Little Wanli said in a crisp voice.

……

Then, the regular court was dispersed.

The three cabinet ministers all went to Wenhua Hall, apparently to discuss the strategy of "joint support between the inner and outer courts".

The "degree" of this strategy is the most difficult to control, and they need to negotiate a limit that both parties are satisfied with.

Shen Nian walked out of Huangji Gate and headed towards the Hanlin Academy with his colleagues.

And this moment.

Zhou Hai, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who was on duty at Huangji Gate today, looked at Shen Nian's back, as if thinking about something.

Zhou Hai heard everything that happened in today's court meeting.

Everyone else thinks Yin Zhengmao is experienced and capable, but his focus is entirely on Shen Nian.

He knew that it was Shen Nian's arrangement that the group of disaster victims went to the household registration office to find Yin Zhengmao to complain.

There is no Shen Nian.

Given the level of those disaster victims, it was impossible for them to find Yin Zhengmao's sedan chair, shout such slogans of complaint, and write such content of the complaint.

He knew that Shen Nian's original intention was just to save a girl.

Shen Nian could have just told him and rescued the person, or used other simple methods.

However, Shen Nian made things complicated by making a private matter into a state affair, leveraging the momentum of the new Minister of Revenue Yin Zhengmao to stage such a good show in the court.

He originally wanted to save one person, but in order to save one person, he ended up saving tens of millions of people (the victims of the Liaodong disaster).

Zhou Hai was deeply impressed by his strategy, courage and sense of justice.

Zhou Hai did not intend to report the matter to the emperor, Feng Bao or Zhang Juzheng.

He felt that this was of no benefit to Shen Nian.

He planned to completely bury this matter in his heart, and then try his best to make friends with Shen Nian.

As a military general, he understood very well that sometimes, only by following the right people can one take the right path and do the right things.

……

Near dusk, in the editing hall of the Hanlin Academy.

Shen Nian sat at the table, thinking about how to write today's daily notes.

Although a lot seemed to have happened today, in fact, little Wanli had not decided anything.

Shen Nian thought for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote: On the ninth day of March, I went to Huangji Gate, and the Minister of Revenue Yin Zhengmao proposed a plan for the inner and outer courts to support each other.

After that, he just attached Yin Zhengmao's memorial.

……

After dismissal.

Shen Nian returned to the Shen residence and found that Mu Sheng and his sister Runye had left.

When the two heard that the court was going to build a house outside the city, they refused Shen's mother's kindness in order to gather with their fellow villagers. After expressing their gratitude, they chose to live in the suburbs of the city so that they could return to Liaodong.

Although the capital is a good place, the two know that it is not the place where they live.

Once their fellow villagers return home, they will follow them back and continue to live their lives in that familiar land.

(End of this chapter)