"The Ming Dynasty's treasury is full, far beyond the previous dynasties!"
At the great court meeting in Fengtian Hall, the old Fu You actually shouted such arrogant words.
For a moment, there were some exclamations in the court hall.
"Speaking of which, I'm ashamed of myself!" Fu You said again, "When His Majesty talked about commercial tax, the veteran and others said that agriculture and mulberry trees are the foundation of the country. Talking lightly about commercial tax might hurt the foundation of the country. Now it seems that the emperor and others are short-sighted.
A clear lesson for thousands of miles!"
Who said that I can’t flatter the old minister? Isn’t that a good thing?
Zhu Yunxi, who was sitting on the dragon chair, smiled slightly and waited.
"This year...cough cough!" Fu You from the palace suddenly coughed.
Zhu Yunxi smiled and said, "Shame on you."
"The slave is here!"
"Go give Fu Aiqing a bowl of tea and let him moisten his throat and speak slowly!"
"According to the order!"
~~~
In the main hall, Fu You proudly took the tea bowl, thanked him and drank it with countless envious eyes.
Then, he held his head high and said loudly, "I tell you, Your Majesty, that the commercial tax balance in various places this year totals 2.73 million."
As soon as he finished speaking, there were bursts of strange noises from the palace.
This money may not sound like much, but it is all real cash! This is cash that needs to be turned over to the national treasury, not grain, cloth, etc.
More importantly, this is the balance, which means it is the figure that local officials have withheld. You must know that in the past few years, local governments gathered together to ask for money from the court before the end of the year.
Fu You's expression became even more proud, "In addition to the commercial tax balances from various places, the Ningbo Customs customs clearance amount is 1.32 million taels!"
"Fuzhou Customs 1.7 million taels!"
The expressions of the officials changed from shock to excitement, and even madness.
"Guangzhou Customs, three million two hundred and seventy thousand and another ten!" Fu You yelled with all his strength.
Buzz! The court is going crazy.
This is all cash, cash!
It’s all silver, silver!
"Your Majesty, Ningbo Customs asked the Ministry of Household Affairs yesterday for instructions, please allow 700,000 pieces of cotton and 400,000 pieces of silk and satin to be provided to the customs in Zhejiang next year!" Fu You continued with a smile, "This is because Ningbo Customs is unhappy because Guangzhou has come from behind.
Signs and gestures!”
"Your Majesty, Guangzhou has also issued a banknote to the Ministry of Industry!" said Lian Zining, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, "allowing them to build porcelain kilns and brick factories and open gilding bureaus in Foshan and other places. It is said that maritime merchants often cannot buy the goods.
, go to the Chief Secretary’s Yamen and act like a rogue.”
"What kind of maritime merchants are so bold? They are all arrested and killed!" Rujun, the Minister of the Ministry of War, heard this and said angrily, "How can the heaven allow them to run wild!"
In short, the solemn and silent court was completely boiling because of Fu You's words.
In other words, when had the officials of the Ming Dynasty ever seen so much money?
When the officials are happy, the treasury is sufficient and the world is stable. When the court is rich, there is no need to demolish the east wall to repair the west wall. Maybe the emperor can raise wages when he is happy. Even if wages are not raised, the salary should be paid in cash. The country is so rich.
It doesn't make sense to use moldy rice to top up your salary.
The military attaches were secretly happy. With money, they could finally fight, right?
But it's been a long time since we sent out an army of 200,000 to defeat the Tatars.
Suddenly, a voice came from among the ministers, "Your Majesty!"
When everyone looked around, they saw Cao Guogong Li Jinglong stepping forward and kneeling on the ground.
"My talent is sparse and my knowledge is shallow and dull. However, I have read a little history. Through the ages, through all the dynasties, the national treasury has never been so prosperous."
"Our Ming Dynasty now has strong troops and strong horses, and a full treasury. There is no hunger among the people inside, and there are no strong invaders outside."
"The government is clear and all officials are responsible for their duties. This is an unprecedented prosperous era!"
"This prosperous age is all due to His Majesty's benevolent government. I am lucky enough to be born into the Ming Dynasty, and all the people in the world are lucky to receive great blessings from the Emperor!"
"The Ming Dynasty will be prosperous forever!"
After saying this, he kowtowed and shouted, "Long live my emperor!"
The ministers immediately followed, "Long live my emperor!"
"Guard Cao is the one who can talk!" Someone thought to himself.
But there were also people who yelled at Li Jinglong, "It is extremely vulgar and unsightly. This should be used as a compliment to His Majesty, and as a wonderful pen to produce a beautiful and beautiful chapter. What the hell are you Li Jinglong talking about? If you ask me..."
"Your Majesty!" Li Jinglong shouted, "I have the courage to ask Your Majesty to grant me the title of Zen to Mount Tai! I will show my merits to the heaven and the earth and bear witness to our glorious Ming Dynasty with the sun and the moon."
"I second the proposal!" the unofficials shouted.
None of the officials spoke, and instead glared at Li Jinglong.
In their opinion, why did the emperor leave the palace? Take tens of thousands of people to Mount Tai, Shandong, and you, Li Jinglong, spend the money?
The money in the treasury belongs to the treasury, not the emperor!
Some people even thought that if the emperor really wanted to go on a patrol, even if he died in the Jinluan Hall today, he would still fight to the death to pay tribute.
Others wonder how much the price of Fengchan Taishan has dropped since Zhao Er came. Can the emperor agree?
The ministers waited for a long time, but did not see the emperor speak.
He quietly raised his head, but was shocked to find that at some point, the emperor came down and stood in front of the ministers.
~~~
Zhu Yunxi put his hands behind his back and looked calm.
"The national treasury is full and the country has money. I am very happy."
"Because the country has money, it won't think about raising taxes or squeezing more oil out of the people when something goes wrong."
"If you have money, you won't be afraid of disasters or foreign invaders."
"Can we say it's a prosperous age?" Zhu Yunxi nodded at Li Jinglong, "Isn't it too early to say so?"
Li Jinglong sneered twice, "Your Majesty, if this isn't a prosperous age...?"
"That was also a prosperous age that was not worthy of the name." Zhu Yunxi said again, "Everyone in the world is full. Does the family have enough food?"
"But they all have something to support them when they are old, but they don't have someone to rely on when they are young?"
“Everyone lives and works in peace and contentment?”
“Is everyone clothed and housed?”
After Zhu Yunxi's words came out, the ministers became silent again.
"Speaking of prosperous times, as far as I know, there are still many people in the world who have not eaten enough, and their clothes are full of patches. Many people don't even have half an inch of land to build their houses, not to mention their houses, and they don't even have a roof over their heads.
There are no thatched huts.”
"Is this considered a prosperous age?"
Speaking of this, Zhu Yunxi smiled slightly and said, "I also know that among the billions of people in the world, it is impossible for everyone to live and work in peace and contentment. Even if the gods come, they will not be able to live such a life."
"I don't mean to put you in trouble, but I just want to ask you. When the country has money, does it mean it is prosperous? What does the country's money have to do with the people?"
"The money from taxation comes from the people, and it is shameful that it cannot be used for the people. Why do you want to boast about a prosperous age and say that I am the king of Yao and Shun because you collect too much tax?"
The ministers bowed their heads one after another. Many people had guessed that the emperor might have an attack today.
"Didn't you notice who was missing from the court today?" Zhu Yunxi continued to smile, "Both the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and the Shaoqing of Dali Temple are not here. Don't you think it's strange?"
Then, without waiting for any of the ministers to speak, he went on to say, "A case came out in Jurong a few days ago. A wealthy man raped a woman. The woman went to file a complaint, but the county magistrate not only failed to uphold justice, but instead ruled her guilty of adultery!"
"Ha, what a confusing case."
"Actually, this is not a big case. There are always evil people in the world, and evil people always want to do evil and challenge the king's law."
"But do you know? After I sent people from the Criminal Department to go to the public trial, how many people were there in Jurong County?" As he spoke, Zhu Yunxi's tone suddenly increased, "How many people went to the Yamen to ask the imperial envoy to provide justice for them!"
"In a county town under my nose, three squads of government officials rushed to receive the people who complained, but they couldn't receive them. There were dozens of clerks in the government office, and they were exhausted from writing the petition papers!"
"In every case, it turns out that they have suffered injustice, officials have failed to act, or they are seeking to incriminate others."
"Jurong is right under my nose. Jurong is like this. What are those places that are thousands of miles away from me like?"
"Taxation comes from the people. If the national treasury is sufficient, we should remember the kindness of the people."
"But the people have paid taxes and grain, but they still have no way to ask for help. What's the point?"
This chapter has been completed!