"I see~~I know~~"

It's already the end of August, and the cicadas are making their last chirping feebly. However, the weather in Beijing has not significantly subsided, but has become increasingly dull.

"Swish, swish, swish, swish." Shen Yiguan, the seventy-four-year-old chief minister of the Ming Dynasty, skillfully washed his hands, applied soap, and rinsed. After completing a set of actions, he raised his hands and fiercely He took a deep breath: "Huh~~ This new mint-flavored soap from Honghezhuang is really good. It's very refreshing."

"Hahaha, of course it's refreshing. The market price outside is eight coins a piece."

"Well, my annual salary is only over five hundred taels when converted into silver. I really can't afford it."

In the past few months, the soap produced by Honghezhuang has been selling better and better. As the workers became more skilled and the output increased, the cost began to gradually decrease. The time travelers began to play tricks on the single product of soap: exquisite gift box packaging , usually in wooden boxes, paper bags, animal fats, vegetable oils, various floral scents, large laundry soaps, medium bath soaps, very small hand soaps, etc... The prices also appear Differentiation is achieved. From the highest price of two taels of silver per piece to the lowest price of one penny of silver for a small piece. In short, according to the words of the time traveler: our products must be able to be found at a price that suits them by the vast majority of people in the Ming Dynasty.

As the chief assistant who likes to be partisan and opposed to dissidents, is narrow-minded, and also likes to be shiny. It is impossible for Shen to not drool over the soap business. However, Mr. Shen Ge is the chief assistant and has his own channels for information. He quickly figured out how deep the background behind this small piece of soap was.

So Mr. Shen Ge quickly gave up the idea of ​​​​taking action against the soap, and quietly spread the word to the Zhejiang Party under his leadership: the officials who follow me are not allowed to make any thorns in the matter of soap!

After stabilizing the internal situation, Mr. Shen Ge waited expectantly for officials from other factions to jump out and cause trouble: The shareholders behind this small soap include the royal family, nobles, and the military. Who would be dissatisfied? If this guy dares to jump out, he's afraid he'll be beaten to pieces.

However, just like Zhu Youdong, for several months, no one has jumped out to make a fuss. This is really different from the past style of the unscrupulous officials.

"Haha, Mr. Shen Ge, what's going on in the Criminal Department and the Work Department that you're in charge of?"

"There are many small things, and there are also a few big ones. Let me talk about the most important ones. The Minister of Industry and Commerce (Cao Shipin, a famous water conservancy expert) came to this book again and said that the Yellow River breach in Feng County and Shan County is far beyond imagination. It is simple After the treatment, there is no guarantee whether the embankment will burst next year. If major repairs are needed, the Ministry of Industry's Jieshen Treasury does not have enough money, and the Ministry of Household Subsidy will be needed."

"Huh, I'm asking the Ministry of Finance for money again. Where can the Ministry of Finance still have money? Last winter, the officials in the capital didn't even receive any charcoal fire money."

"Chief Assistant, I know that Shilang Cao is a man who has been promoted to official position. He is by no means a person who is overjoyed at great achievements. He said that with the additional allocation today, the imperial court will not have to spend money on this section of the Yellow River embankment in the next thirty years. In total, It’s still worth it.”

"I understand the truth, but the Ministry of Revenue has no money. Well, let's write a bill for this matter and ask the internal treasury to subsidize it. Let's see if the emperor approves it, right?"

"Hey, are you looking for subsidies from the internal treasury again? So, when can I ask the emperor to lift the mining tax?"

At this time, there were three cabinet ministers in the Ming Dynasty, each of whom was in charge of two departments. The first assistant was of course in charge of personnel and finance - the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Household Affairs. The second assistant, Zhu Geng, was in charge of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War. Naturally, the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Work had the most complicated matters. It’s Shen Liguan: Who ranked you last in the cabinet?

As for this cabinet, although the two cabinets dislike each other, they still have some things in common. For example, on the dispute over national origin in the early years, the positions of the three cabinet elders were clear and firm. Another example is the current one. Everyone also advocates the abolition of the mining tax.

However, the revenue and expenditure of this unsatisfactory household department has always been unbalanced. It often requires the emperor's inner treasury to provide subsidies. Therefore, the young censors below can clamor desperately and shout that the mines must be dismissed. Tax. But for the three cabinet ministers who stand at the top of the country, before the Ministry of Household Affairs has a clear surplus, the mining tax should be abolished across the board? Well, this is what Fan Zhongyan said best: It is better to cry all the way if one family is crying.

Of course, the elders are at the top of the Ming Dynasty's bureaucracy, but there are also a large number of juniors below to support them. Therefore, although the elders know that the mining tax cannot be stopped easily, the younger brothers below keep calling, and the elders have to do it. It looks like this. However, if you repeatedly reach out to the emperor to ask for money, and say to the emperor that you can't make money on your own - if you do this too often, the emperor will only think that you are mentally retarded.

For a moment, the atmosphere became a little dull. Zhu Geng, the second assistant, smiled dryly and said: "Hehehe, I think that if the soap business does better, the emperor can also stop the mining tax."

"Haha, I never thought that such a small piece of soap could earn so much money. Mr. Shen Ge, you have picked up a good student."

"Hmph, Your Highness Taisun is very talented and a person who is born with knowledge. Unfortunately, he is too enthusiastic about greed for wealth, which is really contrary to the way of a saint. I don't dare to think of myself as your Highness's teacher."

"Huh? What does Mr. Shen Ge mean by this? But why haven't I seen the impeachment book that the soap is sold too expensive and harms the people?"

"This year is also the year of Beijing inspection. Which of the officials in the capital now dares to offend the emperor over this matter? Huh! Every one of them considers himself a saint's disciple and a moral model. As a result, they all shrink when it matters to themselves. Get up!"

Throughout the dynasties of the Chinese Empire, as long as it was not the end of the dynasty or the troubled times of warlords, the officials in the capital were very extraordinary. The fact that the officials in the capital treated the local officials as Sun Tzu's training was not new in any dynasty or generation.

But during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, although the officials in the capital were very powerful, they also had something they collectively feared, and that was the Beijing Inspection—an assessment and inspection specifically conducted for officials in the capital.

Starting from the middle of the Ming Dynasty, inspections in the capital were conducted once every six years. This was a hurdle for officials in the capital: after it passed, the next six years were generally stable as long as they did not do anything. If they failed, hey, thousands of officials in the capital were demoted to just a few. Everyone has you? Then your life is over.

Therefore, Zhu Youdong chose a good year to launch his soap: at least in this year, the officials of the imperial censors did not want to talk.

"Hehehe, yes, this is the year of the Beijing Inspection. However, this year's Beijing Inspection is presided over by me together with the staff. I will make the assessment impartially. What do you have to be afraid of?"

"Huh, that's right, the chief assistant is the most strict person. According to the official's understanding, the officials below have been trembling in fear in the past few months?"

"Hahaha, why is this happening? Why is it happening like this! But having said that, didn't Shuangji Department Store hold an auction for some kind of provincial agency rights a few days ago? It is said that the amount of money won was no less than hundreds of thousands of taels? In this way,
Chapter completed!