Xu Youzhen was stunned, as if she did not expect that Chen Xun would ask such a straightforward question.
With a wry smile, he cupped his hands.
"Sure enough, I can't hide anything from the teacher."
"Students believe that Luo Hengxin, the former governor of the Xuanfu, and Chen Jingzong, the former imperial minister, are resolute, courageous, loyal, and well-known among scholars. If they are willing to come out, it will be a stepping stone for the imperial court.
, only the civil and military ministers can have peace of mind."
Chen Xun looked Xu Youzhen up and down, his eyes becoming more and more strange.
Nowadays, Xu Youzhen and Zhu Jian are very close, and Zhu Jian is very partial to the Supreme Emperor in many matters. Therefore, Xu Youzhen will probably consider the Supreme Emperor in his actions. This is something he expected.
However, what he didn't expect was that Xu Youzhen would sneak Luo Hengxin and Chen Jingzong out.
Putting aside everything else, just talking about qualifications, these two people were both Jinshi in the second year of Yongle, the same year as Hu Hui, who is currently the oldest in the court!
No wonder Xu Youzhen said that he wanted to find an "old minister" who could control the situation. This was really what he meant.
These two elders are of the same age, so if you calculate their age, they are exactly seventy-three this year. Moreover, they both just retired from office two years ago.
As for the reason for becoming an official...
One is because they are old, and the other is because they are all ministers that the Emperor relies on very much.
At this time, Xu Youzhen proposed to resurrect them, which shows that he still had the intention of using these veterans to assist the Supreme Emperor in restraining the Emperor.
Thoughts were swirling in my mind, Chen Xundao.
"The cabinet ministers are very important. These two are indeed a bit old. I understand what you mean. However, the affairs of the court can affect the whole body. I will think more about this matter later. You are in the East Palace.
The most important thing is to assist His Royal Highness the Prince, and there is no need to worry too much about other matters."
This is a polite way of saying it, but what it actually means is, I know what happened, so don’t worry about what to do. Just take care of yourself.
Seeing this situation, Xu Youzhen was unexpected, and instead of getting too entangled, she said:
"What the teacher is teaching is, but besides this matter, there is another matter that the student wants to discuss with the teacher."
It is said that no one should go to the Three Treasures Palace without any problem, but when Xu Youzhen came today, there were a lot of things. Chen Xun patiently continued to ask.
"What's up?"
Xu Youzhen did not tell the matter directly, but asked rhetorically.
"I wonder if Teacher still remembers Song Wenyi, the eunuch whom His Majesty recalled not long ago?"
Chen Xun thought for a moment and then remembered such a person.
"The former Liaodong garrison eunuch was appointed by His Majesty as the mining tax eunuch after he returned to Beijing. It is said that Song Wenyi is currently collecting mining taxes near the capital?"
Having said that, when Song Wenyi first returned to the capital, it happened that Cheng Jing, the eunuch in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, was transferred out of the capital, so there were rumors that he would take charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies instead of Cheng Jing.
In the end, the emperor gave him the title of mining tax eunuch. This matter aroused a lot of discussion among the ministers.
However, it was only for a while. There were many officials in the palace, but the only ones who were really worthy of the attention of the ministers from outside the court were Si Lijian and Dongchang.
Since Song Wenyi had nothing to do with either of them, he naturally gradually faded out of everyone's sight.
At this time, Xu Youzhen mentioned what he was doing?
Seeing that Chen Xun still had an impression of him, Xu Youzhen continued.
"Teacher, I have a good memory. This is Song Wenyi. More than a month ago, he was officially appointed by His Majesty as the mining tax eunuch and went to various places in the capital to collect mining taxes. However, this mining tax eunuch did not belong to any of the 24 yamen of the inner court.
One, but a new inner court yamen."
"According to the explanation given by the Ministry of Rites, this mining tax supervisor should be responsible for the management of the imperial village and the royal mining matters in various places. In addition, he is also responsible for taxing the private mines that have been opened. From the teacher's perspective, it should be
Can you see the violation of this matter?"
After hearing Xu Youzhen mention this matter, Chen Xun pondered for a moment, nodded slightly and said.
"The mining tax has been around for a long time. Although our government does not encourage mining due to the high labor and low rewards, there are still many mines. These mines have always been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs, even if there are private mines.
, tax collection is also the responsibility of the Ministry of Household Affairs."
"Your Majesty's establishment of the Mine Tax Supervisor actually overlaps with the powers of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Since the Mining Tax Supervisor is an inner court bureau, the income from mining and the mining taxes collected will naturally be attributed to the internal treasury and cannot flow into the national treasury."
This sounds nice, but in fact, Chen Xun knew very well that this was the emperor trying to collect money from the inner treasury.
Because strictly speaking, apart from the Ministry of Revenue, other yamen are not qualified to collect any taxes. All taxes other than those stipulated by the Ministry of Revenue are called exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes.
But the problem is that there are too many exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes in various places, are they still short of the emperor?
Not to mention anything else, the emperor allocates a lot of money from the inner treasury to the national treasury every year. He has a short mouth and a short hand to take people. Although it is inappropriate in the eyes of the courtiers to set up a mining tax supervisor, it is still okay for the time being.
Able to endure.
Therefore, the sequelae of the Civil War is that the elders in the imperial court have greatly increased their tolerance for the emperor.
It’s just a mine tax supervisor. How much money can be made by doing more and more, even if it is enlarged, how many years will it take to compare with the gold, silver and silk consumed by such a war?
Therefore, after just a brief pause, Chen Xun shook his head and said.
"This matter has been discussed by ministers in the court for a long time, and many imperial censors have also participated in this matter, but Your Majesty has always put it aside. What's more, although there is mining tax in our court, it is almost non-existent. At the time of Taizu,
The military and civilians were prohibited from mining. There were only a few mines registered by the government, and the taxes were very small. The total amount was only two to thirty thousand taels."
"But since Yongle, the mining ban has been gradually loosened. There are many private mines in various places, and the Ministry of Household Affairs is unable to regulate them. Now, His Majesty has set up a mining tax supervisor. Although it is not in compliance with regulations, it is still a way to open up money."
After all, Chen Xun had experience in the cabinet, so he also knew a little about the situation of each yamen.
The Ming Dynasty did not encourage mining because it felt that it would delay farming time, require too much manpower and material resources, and produce few minerals.
However, as the population grew, more and more mines were opened by the government and the private sector in various places. At least during the Yongle period, the revenue from mineral taxes of the Ministry of Household Affairs was already several times that of the Hongwu period, and could reach
Nearly one hundred thousand taels.
And these are only mines registered with the government, mines opened privately, at least several times the amount stated on the surface.
Due to the old system, the Ministry of Household Affairs has been unable to incorporate this part of the mining tax into the national treasury. After all, the general direction of the imperial court is still to focus on agriculture.
These mines require a lot of manpower, and once they are brought to light, it means that the court recognizes their legality.
Therefore, the current attitude of the imperial court towards these privately operated mines is that once discovered, they will be sealed up and the owners of the mines will be imprisoned and punished in accordance with the law. However, the miners among them are still sent back to their places of origin to work in agriculture to protect their farming livelihood.
But it is conceivable that this method is not a long-term solution. Mining can be profitable, so even if the court strictly investigates and punishes it, private mines still emerge in endlessly in various places.
There are endless checks, and if you let them go, you can't let them go. It's annoying to watch them, so it's better to let out a mining tax inspector.
Since the mining tax supervisor belongs to the inner court, it means that the taxes it collects are not the actions of the court. Naturally, it cannot be regarded as the court recognizing these private mines.
At the same time, the money was also received. Although it was said that it was in the emperor's inner treasury, the emperor was always generous and would never stand idly by when the treasury was short of money.
Therefore, this is the reason why a group of important ministers kept silent about the mining tax supervisory issue. The people below did make a fuss for a few days. However, without the support of ministers with enough weight, and the emperor intended to treat it coldly, naturally it slowly
No sound.
The meaning of Chen Xun's words is very clear. He knows that the mining tax supervisor is not in compliance with the regulations, and most of the important officials in the government also know it. However, due to various reasons, everyone is in a state of acquiescence. Therefore, if you want to make a decision on this matter, it is better to do it as soon as possible.
Stop this thought.
As expected, after hearing this, Xu Youzhen's expression changed slightly, which seemed a little unexpected. However, it only took a moment before he shook his head and said.
"Students dare not comment on whether the establishment of the Mine Tax Supervisor is right or wrong. However, students know that under the guise of the Mine Tax Supervisor, some people use the name of the Mine Tax Supervisor to rob, buy and sell by force, oppress the people, amass money without restraint, and ruin His Majesty's reputation. This
, the teacher is also indifferent?"
"What?"
As soon as these words came out, Chen Xun immediately frowned and asked in a deep voice.
"what happened?"
So, Xu Youzhen stood up, cupped her hands, and said.
"I don't dare to deceive the teacher. Regarding this matter, students also heard from some people in the same year that the mining tax supervisor was not only responsible for collecting mining taxes, but also responsible for His Majesty's imperial estate. Therefore, after he took office, he used the name of mining taxes to plunder people's fields.
."sieve
"Many gentry in the vicinity of Gyeonggi Province suffered greatly from this. He used the excuse of purchasing land for the imperial estate to arbitrarily lower the price of private land. The land obtained was often less than 20% or even 10% of the market price."
"If there were those who resisted and were unwilling to sell their land, Song Wenyi would make something out of nothing, saying that there were mines under the fields. If the gentry was unwilling to sell their fields, they would have to pay a large mining tax."
"In just one month, at least tens of thousands of acres of private land were plundered by him, and countless amounts of money and silk were plundered in the name of mining taxes."
"Because during this period, everyone in the imperial court was paying attention to the border situation, so few people knew about this matter. However, students felt that Song Wenyi's behavior was no different from robbery. If left unchecked, it would surely trigger a civil uprising.
, if things go on like this, it will damage the reputation of the imperial court and your majesty’s sanctity.”
"However, the Mining Tax Supervisor was established by His Majesty, and Song Wenyi also works for His Majesty. Therefore, the student has been having a hard time deciding how to handle this matter, so I want to ask the teacher for advice."
He said he was asking for advice, but to put it bluntly, he just wanted Chen Xun to help.
After all, the person standing behind Song Wenyi is the emperor. If no one with enough weight comes forward, then either the memorial will be handed over to nothing, or it will cause trouble for himself.
However, I have to say that these things Xu Youzhen said were indeed things that Chen Xun did not know before.
If the matter is true, then it is true that we cannot just sit idly by and ignore it...
After pondering for a moment, Chen Xun asked.
"Where did your news come from? Is there any solid evidence?"
Since Xu Youzhen dared to tell the matter, she would not be unprepared. After hearing this, she immediately answered.
"The military department gave the case to Mr. Song Jie. His family is in Dingxing County, Zhili. A few days ago, his family came to Beijing to complain. Because of this, the Song family was raped by the eunuchs in the palace in the name of mining taxes.
We acquired 542 acres of land and over a thousand taels of gold, silver, and silk."
"It is said that Mr. Song has prepared a memorial, and the military department has been handed over to Mr. Lin Cong, who is in charge of the matter. He has also agreed to attach the memorial. In addition to Mr. Song, Mr. Cui Gong, the head of the household department, and Mr. Ma Liangma, the head of the civil affairs department.
Mr. Wang Fuwang, the left councilor of the General Administration Department, all planned to write the same memorial."
"This matter involves a lot. Mr. Ye Sheng of the Rites Department and Mr. Ni Qian of the East Palace are all very concerned about this matter. However, it is difficult to mention this matter during the Spring Festival, so there is a delay."
"After the New Year's Day, I'm afraid some adults will have to present the memorial. A few days ago, Mr. Lin came to my house and explained the matter to me. He wanted me to present the memorial together. The student is stupid and not sure, so he has been hesitant.
I took the liberty to come here today and want to ask the teacher to teach me."
Therefore, the branches and branches in the officialdom come into effect at this time.
The Song family was bullied and robbed by the eunuchs, so he went to the officials in the family to file a complaint. Then Song Jie went to his friends from the same age and joined forces with some officials who had also been harmed, and they went around and around again.
, a large number of people gathered.
And among this large group of people, most of them had heeds, like Xu Youzhen, who came to Chen Xun to make up his mind.
If Chen Xun agrees to come forward, then things will really turn around. Many things in the court are so intricately connected.
However, it is obviously not that easy to persuade Chen Xun.
Chen Xundao frowned and thought for a moment.
"Does Mr. Zong Xian know about this matter?"
In matters like this, science and education have always come first. However, now that science and technology have been shackled by the emperor, they are not as free as before. However, there is still a way.
As long as Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu, is willing to nod, then, at least on the censor's side, all problems can be solved.
However, as soon as he thought about it, Chen Xun suddenly had a strange idea.
When the emperor reformed and rectified the science and technology, was he preparing for today?
This thought passed in a flash, and was quickly thrown out of Chen Xun's mind, because whether it was yes or no was a foregone conclusion, and there was no point in thinking about it anymore.
Nowadays, we still have to focus on the things in front of us.
This time, Xu Youzhen looked a little embarrassed. After a moment of pause, he spoke.
"With the New Year approaching, it might be inappropriate to disturb the General Constitution. Therefore, Mr. Lin and Mr. Ye plan to discuss the matter with Mr. General Xian after the New Year's Day."
In this way, I still have no confidence in persuading Chen Yi.
With a smile on his face, Chen Xun exposed Xu Youzhen mercilessly and said.
"Are they going to discuss with Chen Zongxian, or do they want to ask me to be the lobbyist?"
