Bachelor

Chapter 49 The capital, the two-bedroom master of the Sun family
Capital.

Entering the Zhengyang Gate, there is an old and solemn building on the right hand side. Although they are all low and small blue-tiled houses, the lights that stay on all night and the silhouettes of people shuttle back and forth give people a strong sense of oppression. .

The cold wind of the spring night blew past, figures swayed, lights flickered, but no noise could be heard.

The wind is vaguely mixed with the smell of sand and dust from the Mongolian plateau. The ecological environment in Beijing 400 years ago was not much better than it is today. Every year in the early spring, there are several annoying sandstorms as usual.

That's right, this is the political center of the Ming Dynasty.

As soon as you enter Zhengyang Gate, you will face the majestic palace of the Forbidden City.On the right hand are the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, Inspectorate and Taichang Temple, while on the left are the six government offices.

Compared with the resplendent imperial palace, this piece of building looks dilapidated and simple.The government does not repair the yamen, and there is a huge building complex that has not been renovated since Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing and built a new one. Grass grows in many places.A century-old house naturally has many unusual features.Needless to say, after nightfall, the sound of night owls flapping their wings can be heard everywhere. Even during the day, weasels can be seen running across the roof from time to time.

The building at the west end of Zhengyangmen is the Household Yamen, the money and food branch center of the Ming Dynasty.Even with a lot of lights on, the yard still looked a bit gloomy, especially the cries of night owls coming from the lush persimmon trees, which made people feel chills.

Tonight is Sun Henian, the second bedroom and second master of the Sun family. He is in his early forties this year, and he is at the peak of his experience and energy.But after being on duty for several nights in a row, it still made him exhausted. He only felt that his mind was in a mess and he couldn't figure it out.

The rebellion of King Ning on the Jiangnan front line has been put down, and the Huanhao Rebellion that tormented the Ming Dynasty for more than half a year has finally come to an end.But the emperor stayed in Yangzhou and never returned, wasting tens of millions of dollars. Every day at dawn, he would go out like a huge amount of money splashing water.

The treasury of the Ming Dynasty was already riddled with holes, and the accounts of the Ministry of Households had long been out of control.In the past, Sun Henian and the others could still maintain the basic shape of this leaky big ship by tearing down the east wall and repairing the west wall.But now, the Son of Heaven personally conquered the rebellion, and this big ship set sail regardless of people's will. It was sailing in the stormy sea, and if it was not careful, it would be broken into pieces.

If this kind of life continues, not only the Minister of the Household Department, but also the servants and principals below will have no choice but to hit the wall.

As the head of the first section of the household department, Sun Henian's main task is to collect taxes in Huguang.Huguang is cooked, and the world is full. If this year's summer tax can be collected smoothly and properly, the cost of the Jiangnan frontline can also be basically balanced.

Therefore, not only the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, but also the chief assistant of the cabinet, Yang Tinghe, have high hopes for Sun Henian's work.

However, only my family knows about my suffering.It is true that Huguang is rich and prosperous. As long as you use a little bit of tricks, it will not be a problem to double the annual tax this year.But the situation in that place is complicated, there are so many squires, wealthy families, and vassal kings.Guantian, Wangtian, Mintian, the tax-reduced and tax-free ones are intertwined.Who to accept, who to exempt, how much to charge, and how much to reduce are all things worthy of careful consideration.

Hearing the cry of the night owl, Sun Henian raised his red eyes from staying up all night, rubbed his hands, feeling more and more uneasy.

The room where he works is large, but it looks cramped due to the accumulation of a large number of documents and books.The room was very quiet, the lights were flickering, and the two clerks were busy checking the tax data.

Sun Henian was originally a deep and peaceful person, and he was also kind and pleasant to his subordinates on weekdays.But the recent affairs were too troublesome, plus he was in a bad mood after staying up all night, and he didn't know what evil he had been caught just now, so he severely reprimanded the two underlings.At this moment, the two petty officials were tremblingly buried in their work, not daring to look at the chief official.

Seeing the fear and sincerity of his subordinates, Sun Henian suddenly felt an unspeakable pleasure in his heart. Power is such a tempting delicacy.As long as you have even a little bit of power in your hands, you can decide a person's life or death.Is there anything in the world more desirable than this?

Of course, he calmed down after a while and was also secretly vigilant.Those who can work in the household department, no matter how lowly their position is, still have a certain background.As far as the two little people in front of them are concerned, they must be able to enter this key department with the care of big people behind them.

Working in the household department and holding a certain amount of real power, the amount of money and food that is handed over every day is an astronomical sum. A little leakage through the fingers is enough for ordinary people to live comfortably for a lifetime.But also because of this, sitting in this position is like being in a bush of thorns, you don't know when you will be pricked.

From the Hongwu Dynasty to the present, are there still few officials who have been beheaded and exiled from the five departments of the household department?

Well, I have to find a chance to appease them.Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just in case.Who can tell what will happen in the future?
It is difficult to be an official in Beijing, but there is plenty of money, especially the head of the household department, which is a beautiful job that tens of millions of people covet.Behind the chair I'm sitting on, I don't know how many people are lining up to fill the vacancy.

This day is getting warmer as soon as I see it, and the emperor should get up and drive back to Beijing as soon as it gets hot.At that time, without this huge expenditure, and then fiddle with the numbers, this hurdle will pass.As for this bag of bad debts, it will be sealed in the archives room. After ten or twenty years, let's wait for the next head of a department to have a headache.

The wind gradually weakened, and the sand and dust in the air fell and fell on the leaves in the courtyard, which could be clearly heard in the quiet night.

Just as he was thinking about it, there was a sound of footsteps coming in a hurry.

Sun Henian was a little dissatisfied at being disturbed in his thoughts, and was about to explode with a straight face.Looking up, it was the elder brother Sun Songnian who came over.

Sun Henian froze, got up and saluted: "Isn't brother on duty at Taichang Temple?"

"It's only a few steps away, just lift your feet. The emperor is far away in the south of the Yangtze River, and the affairs of the various ministries are busy." Like Sun Hao, Sun Songnian is also a fat man. The official uniform on his body is a bit unfit, tight Stretched on the body, it looks uncomfortable: "I was on duty before, and suddenly someone came to see me, guess who it is?"

"Oh, who is it?" Sun Henian relaxed his body and asked casually.

"Mao Cheng, Mao Shangshu." Sun Songnian said proudly.

"Wait." Sun Henian glared at his elder brother, motioned him not to speak, and then said to the two little officials in the room, "I would like to trouble you two to check Huguang's tax returns from last year and check a piece of data."

"Yes." Knowing that the two brothers had something to say, the two petty officials hurriedly stood up, saluted and left the room.

After the two had gone far away, Sun Henian asked Sun Songnian: "But the Minister of Rites, Mao Cheng? What did he ask you for?"

"Yes, it's Lord Mao." Sun Songnian sat proudly in front of his younger brother, and said with a smile, "Master Mao just came over and told me that the Ministry of Rites is short of a member of the Ministry of Rites and wants to recommend me. Hehe, it should be my luck. All these years I stayed in the water yamen of Taichang Temple, and my body was moldy. Now I can finally find a good place to go out and grow my hair."

Sun Henian's expression did not show the slightest joy: "Brother, from my point of view, you are sincere and simple by nature, and you are suitable to stay in Taichang Temple. Although the side of Liubu looks beautiful on the surface, the water inside is muddy. Be careful, there is danger of accidents.”

Hearing what the second brother said, Sun Songnian was not happy.On the surface, he is the head of the Sun family, but Sun Henian has the final say on all family affairs.He was originally a lazy and peaceful person, and he was happy not to worry about these idle thoughts.But this time it's about his future, so he can't help it.

Sun Songnian shouted unhappily: "He Nian, what you said is not right. Just because you have a great reputation in the household department, you can't let me, the eldest brother, have to enter the ritual department for a few days. How can there be such a reason?"

"Come on, since brother said so, what else can I say?" Sun Henian also felt that what he said just now was a bit too much, and his tone eased: "If brother really wants to go to the Ministry of Rites, I will not stop him. Mao Shangshu is Yang Ge Old man, if you follow him, nothing will go wrong, just go away."

(End of this chapter)