Huang Zicheng's heart suddenly tightened, and cold sweat suddenly emerged from his back. Although Emperor Antai in front of him was a kind-hearted lord, kind-hearted does not mean that he is weak and can be bullied. Even Li Ruisheng, who was the first to support the support, was willing to cut him down, let alone his rootless civil servant. It seems that it is not easy to pass today. If I had known this, it would be better not to report the matter of the navy. If I were not speculating, I would have caused trouble for myself.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, please calm down, listen to me and say slowly." This time Huang Zicheng read the line the most smoothly, and he didn't stutter at all. While begging for mercy, he quickly calculated the gains and losses.

"Talk", Emperor Antai frowned, and the monarch was so powerful that the whole house was filled with coldness.

In an instant, Huang Zicheng's face was pale. He dared not tell the truth, and no one believed it. In terms of products, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Fujian and Guangdong in the Ming Dynasty were the richest places in the world. The land that was ripe a year was far richer than the bitter and cold places in Liaodong. In terms of population, any province in Jiangnan was taken out, and the population exceeded the total number of the three provinces in Liaodong. In addition, the southern people were naturally flexible and flexible, and the southern treasury should be more abundant than the northern treasury. But the actual situation was not the case. The six northern provinces under Zhu Di's name were made of the efforts of the governor Guo Pu.

, life has been prosperous year by year, and factories have been opened one after another. In addition to cloth, the entire wealthy family in Jiangnan is proud to use authentic northern goods. Seeing a large number of silver rounds flowing north, Qi Tai, the Minister of Revenue, had no choice but to increase taxes. In order to maintain the expenses of the court, what else can I do besides increasing taxes? The merchants under the court were not good at doing well, and did not want to be loyal to the emperor and patriotism. Instead, they always envied the northern merchants who had a status than themselves. They thought that their rights to pay taxes to the court themselves were not as secure as those in the north, so they took the money and ran to the north when they were a little unhappy.

Seeing that Huang Zicheng had eaten for a long time but did not give him a definite answer, Zhu Biao was even more unhappy and asked calmly: "Why don't you talk? Do you, the Grand Secretary, care about whether the national treasury is full? Zicheng, I have high expectations for you. You won't learn from those people to drink tea, write poems, and play with couplets all day. If so, this Grand Secretary would be too relaxed."

"Long live to calm your anger, long live to calm your anger, it is important. I, my minister, dare not speak nonsense.

This is the Ministry of Revenue, and Lord Qi has always been under the jurisdiction of the sea and customs. It is better to call the two of them here to ask, maybe they will say more in detail.

I only saw it with a little bit of a claw, and said too much, but it made a mistake. "Huang Zicheng made a fuss and threw the hot potato to his senior brother Qi Tai and the customs chief Zhu Jiangyan.

"If I want you to tell me what you know first?" Zhu Biao asked again, his face was as heavy as water. Huang Zicheng was not good at this, and he was anxious to do whatever he wanted. He shrank his hands and feet if he had nothing to do. He looked at what he looked like today. He must have hidden something from me.

Huang Zicheng looked up suspiciously at Zhu Biao, and said in his heart: "What's wrong with this emperor today? You won't hear any news." He gritted his teeth and said with a tough bullet: "I think the fundamental problem is that His Highness, the King of Yan, always fighting against the court. The court increases taxes, and the King of Yan reduces taxes. The merchants always want to run to Liaodong.

At present, there are many factories in Liaodong, and all the things we don’t have done well here, so many silver notes were earned by the north. The silver dollars that the King of Yan paid to the court have not changed for more than ten years. Such a large family business is supported by our court, so how can we hold on? Besides, the King of Qin still asks for a lot of money every year and needs firearms to maintain the stability of the border. The Western Army only reported the damage last year and asked for additional firearms to be added. I heard that the musketeers who asked for additional damages were enough to equip a whole army. Lord Cao and Lord Wu didn’t know the mistake of saving. If the navy wants to fight far, they have to build a dock on the wild islands and reserve supplies. All achievements are piled up with silver notes. Master Wu has always been lenient to build roads and river management, and he will give as much money as the relocation fee for the troublemakers, and even the bargaining price is still high. In recent years, the treasury expenditure is more and the income is less, so naturally it is getting poorer and poorer."

He thought about these words for a long time, so he said them smoothly. As Huang Zicheng expected, Emperor Antai stopped asking about the treasury after hearing this, frowned and formed a circle around the book case. He would not pursue Huang Zicheng secretly changed his concept and transferred the issue of why the merchant fled north and would rather travel thousands of miles to ship in Yongming than ship in Jinzhou to save the investment in naval forces and construction.

The money was earned by the King of Yan, but the King of Yan refused to increase the amount of taxes paid by his fief. Zhu Biao repeatedly thought about this sentence and for a moment completely forgot a fact: at least the King of Yan did not ask for money from the treasury, while the King of Qin and King of Jin owned almost as large as the King of Yan, but extended their hands to the court every year.

Can I cut the world? Zhu Biao smiled bitterly and ordered Huang Zicheng to retreat, urged him to let the eunuch Bingbi to come and take the lead. The world would not be cut. The army in his hands was not sure that he could defeat the fourth brother. The second brother and the third brother were also kings. Let them send troops to help the court kill the fourth brother. The price they paid for when they became bigger was no less than that of maintaining the status quo. The suggestion of reducing the expenses of the navy is even more a false statement. No navy has captured cities and plundered the land overseas.

Where did his achievements come from? The prestige among the people made the fourth brother more comparative. Besides, without this navy, why would he bargain with the fourth brother? Reduce investment in road construction and river management in Wu'an Country? This is exactly the method that Huang Zicheng and the others have been secretly using. But the banks of the Huai River waiting for the construction of the imperial court are now the hometown of the Zhu family. The flower drums in their hometown are well sung, "Talk about Fengyang, Fengyang, Fengyang is a good place. Since Emperor Zhu came out, there has been nine years of desolation in ten years..."

Thinking of the miserable situation in Fengyang mentioned in the official memorial, Zhu Biao's eyes faintly showed tears.

The two sides of the Huai River, which had been experiencing nine disasters in the past ten years, are now Zhu Biao's heart-wrenching illness. Even the people in his hometown can't live well. He is still a good emperor. He secretly blames himself, and at the same time he secretly envies the talents under King Yan Zhu Di. If Guo Pu was in the court, maybe I wouldn't be so difficult, but how could King Yan be willing to let Guo Pu enter the court?

It would rather hand over the government affairs of the six northern provinces to Guo Pu than Zhu Di's brother to poach Guo Pu. Emperor Antai Zhu Biao was not stupid enough to steal the first capable minister under his younger brother. Even if he snatched it, he did not have the courage of Zhu Di and gave the other party unconditional trust. This is the difference between being an emperor and being a prince. As long as the emperor is there, the princes are not afraid of the rebellion of the ministers they trust, and they can let the lords throw eggs and shoes at each other during the round table discussion. But can the emperor? The emperor is not only responsible for the country, but also for his own family!

"Your Majesty, Lord Zhu and Lord Qi have arrived." Eunuch Sun Hou tiptoed into the house and reported.

"Let them come in and give them a seat." Zhu Biao took his mind back from the north and gave a loud command.

Qi Tai and Zhu Jiangyan walked into the imperial study one after another. They were once feather fan and furnished, and were so handsome that they were both handsome and handsome. Under the black gauze, strands of white hair could be seen. Qi Tai, who had guided the country in Peking with Huang Zicheng, also entered middle age, and his generous face was covered with the trajectory of time. After the two of them gave Zhu Biao a ceremony to the emperor and his subjects, they sat upright on the stool opposite the emperor.

"Today I will call my two dear friends. I want to ask about the treasury. Zicheng said that the treasury is almost out of money. This is the first time since I ascended the throne. One of you is in charge of money and grain, and the other is in charge of customs. Why is this wild land in the six northern provinces richer than the south of the Yangtze River? Is it because I have lost my morality or the employment of people incorrectly!" Zhu Biao was not in the mood to be polite with his old subordinates, and he immediately told the topic of what he was discussing today.

This was so heavy that Qi Tai couldn't help but sank. He stood up and bowed and said, "Long live, I am in charge of the money and food of the Ministry of Revenue, but I am worried about the national treasury. I am indebted of my duty, please punish me."

Zhu Biao waved his hand and interrupted Qi Taidi's apologizing, "I don't want to punish anyone, I just want to know the specific reason. Zicheng doesn't care about money and food, so you are better off. I don't want to be the blind and deaf head. If I know the reason, our monarch and ministers can find a way.

"Long live to listen to the truth or to listen to lies." Zhu Jiangyan owed his body on the chair and asked in a low voice. Among the ministers of the regent, he and Zhu Biao had the longest time, but his opinions were not accepted by Zhu Biao. He was so disheartened that he was disheartened and left room for retreat when he spoke.

"The truth is that our king and his minister have been for more than 20 years, and Zhu Er does not need to use lies to make me happy."

Zhu Biao pondered for a moment and gave the customs chief a definite answer.

Just tell the truth, I thought you would like to be a fool like this. Zhu Jiangyan smiled mockingly and said loudly: "I think that the loss of customs income in recent years is serious and has nothing to do with the level of tariffs, but many bad habits in the officialdom are to blame. Compared with overseas countries, our tariffs are not heavy. However, the procedures before leaving the customs are complicated, and illegal officials have reached out. A ship of goods is given, and the miscellaneous fees paid by the cargo owners are several times the tariff. Of course, they have to find ways to avoid harming their husbands, so it is not uncommon for goods from south to north to north."

"Zhu Qing means someone has peeled it from layer by layer." A layer of dark clouds floated on Zhu Biao's pale face. He heard about what Zhu Jiangyan said, but he did not expect that it was so serious that it threatened the balance of the country's income and expenditure.

"It would be fine if you just peel it layer by layer," Zhu Eryao continued to report, "Some officials in the border areas bribed the customs personnel, and their family goods did not pay taxes at all when they were cleared. What's more, they colluded with merchants to smuggle together, and even the customs was not enough. My subordinates arrested several batches of illegal people and reported to the Department of Justice. After checking, they couldn't settle the matter. Those small merchants saw that the customs could not control the powerful officials and businessmen, so they were naturally even more unwilling to be exploited, so they either smuggled or brought goods to the north to sea. This year, the goods entering and leaving from the local customs was less than two-thirds of Antai's ten years, and the customs revenue naturally dropped a lot."

"It's generally the case in the local area." Seeing that Zhu Jiangyan did not give any mercy to the illegal officials, Qi Tai also reported some truth, "Some local officials either raised taxes privately or forced their investment in some industries that are disgusting. The market has become depressed.

The industries opened by officials and their families bully the market, and they can find various excuses not to pay taxes to the court. Housekeepers from all over the country are lying under local officials, and they dare to do anything and cannot collect money, so they have to find a way from the hawkers who are powerless. The people are so scared that they dare not speak easily. I heard that a fool seller of light grass entered the city and was collected countless money along the way. In the end, they were not allowed to ignite a car of light grass in the middle and turn into ashes to prevent the loss from aggravating."

With a "bang", Zhu Biao's hand slapped the desk in front of him heavily. The tea bowl on the desk jumped high, falling to the ground and smashed to pieces. "I will increase their salary for these dog officials who are killed by heaven, and they will not stop until their father is alive. Could it be that they will force me to be skinned again?"

I'm afraid that even the punishment of skinning cannot cure the word greed, Zhu Jiangyan muttered in his stomach. He did not dare to aggravate Zhu Biao's anger. When Antai succeeded to the throne, Zhu Er had high hopes for him, thinking that Zhu Biao would support the generals' proposal to "the title supervise all officials and place the court and officials under the law." Unexpectedly, his proposal was rejected by Zhu Biao on the grounds of disorder. Zhu Biao adopted Huang Zicheng's proposal to raise officials with a high salary and govern the government affairs according to *Neo-Confucianism. The development of private industry and commerce based on *Miscellaneous Studies was also effective at the beginning, and Zhu Jiangyan once doubted whether his original opinions were too extreme. As a result, it took only five or six years to come, and the disadvantages of this strategy gradually emerged and he received a generous salary.

Instead of satisfying greed, the officials of Lu gradually extended their hands to emerging industries and commerce. Illegal encroachment of other people's property, and there are many cases of collusion between officials and merchants. Many of the big bosses of the court were like this. With these examples, the clever people found that it is better to find ways to go to the officialdom to calculate, find ways to become officials, or even be an aide, which is the smallest investment and fastest effect. After investing money, they naturally have to make money back from the people after taking office. Not only did they elect officials from the Jingtai Dynasty, but there were few people who were not greedy after taking office. Now they are pursuing severe punishments and anti-corruption. I am afraid that there will be no official in the world, and there will still be leaks.

"Long live, no," Qi Tai was so angry that he was trembling all over when he saw Zhu Biao. He was afraid that the emperor would be really angry and regain the tyranny of Hongwu years, so he quickly advised him. "Long live, I think that there is still a solution to the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue and Customs, and there is no need for serious punishment and law. Besides, if Your Majesty kills local corrupt officials, the newly appointed one may not be able to keep the integrity."

"What do you call me? Do you want me to learn from the fourth brother and use those with titles to participate in politics. The government is in chaos and order is complete." Zhu Biao asked angrily, and the eunuch who was lying on the ground to pack up the teacup was so scared that he crawled there and did not dare to get up. "You and Huang Zicheng advised me not to use this indiscriminate strategy, and I will follow you.

You advise me to be honest and honest, and I have followed you. I have not been ignorant of the corruption of officials over the years. The reason why I do not want to be deeply involved is simply because they are tired of the country, and relatives and friends will inevitably not notice any extraordinary actions. Besides, they have to use money to my land and money, and they have to use it to do something, open a factory, etc., which is considered to be a blessing for the people. Am I not tolerant and not caring for them like this? Now, they put their hands into the treasury, and you still have to advise me to show mercy to them. When will they keep it? Will they keep it until the treasury is defeated and the people are forced to rebel for them?”

"Long live to calm down, I don't have this intention, I just think that killing is not a good way. The way that the north is not a good strategy." Qi Tai bowed and bowed to Zhu Biao and replied loudly. Qi Tai worked as the Minister of Revenue for some years, gradually gained some experience and found some ways. Unlike Huang Zicheng, he was not very enthusiastic about the power of the world. Instead, he put a lot of effort into the current policies of the north and the south. As Qi Tai's concept has changed a lot in his practice,

Sometimes he himself did not know whether he was a supporter or an opponent of the New Deal. And through communication with his colleagues, Qi Tai learned that many people were as confused as he was. Perhaps at this time, all civil and military officials in the Ming Dynasty, as long as they were still thinking about some countries, had such confusion. The current Ming Dynasty has prosperity that has not been seen in previous dynasties and has a confusion in mind that has not been seen in previous dynasties. Not only Qi Tai, but all the knowledgeable people are looking for the direction for this country to move forward.

"At that time, the north and south were like two small boats set off at night. The people on the boat were giving advice to their helmsmen and asked the helmsmen to choose the direction they thought they were right. It was not until dawn that they found that the two ships were already far apart from each other, and they could only see each other's trajectory in a blur." Qi Tai wrote such words in his memoir in his later years. The most important chapter of this memoir is about the questions he and Emperor Jingtai about state affairs tonight.

This was the most eye-catching questioning of the monarch and ministers in Jingtai Nian of the Ming Dynasty. Qi Tai's answer to Zhu Biao far exceeded the wisdom of all his colleagues at that time, and wrote the most eye-catching mark in his life in politics.

When Zhu Biao asked how to solve the current dilemma without killing people, Qi Tai's answer to Zhu Biao was to regulate the power of local officials, unify taxes and recognize property rights.

The suggestion to regulate the power of local officials originated from the encroachment of money and grain by local officials on the Ministry of Revenue. Qi Tai believes that the court in the Ming Dynasty is divided into seven departments: crafts, rites, officials, punishments, households, soldiers, and seas. The subordinates of local officials have six departments, rites, officials, punishments, households, and soldiers. With the power of one official, they control the six departments. The power is too great and there are too many tasks. When collecting taxes, the power of the household officials in various places is severely disturbed by the local officials, which has caused the dilemma of not increasing taxes. It is better to

The appointment and removal of household officials and the exercise of power responsibilities of households in various places are directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue, and are renamed as the Household Bureau, skipping the level of local officials. In this way, local officials cannot add additional taxes to the people, and the implementation of the tax policy of the court will be much smoother. To the contrary, customs in coastal areas should also be completely independent of local governments. The Ministry of Revenue directly manages customs, including the north, so that officials will go through a lot of trouble when evading tariffs and exploiting them, and to a certain extent, they can alleviate customs losses.

The suggestion of unified taxation is that no matter whether it is mined, opened a factory, farming or doing business, all taxes will be set by the court, and will be collected in the form of silver dollars at one time, and will be issued by the local household registration bureau. No matter where the merchants who have the goods tax certificate will transport the goods, as long as they do not go abroad, no local household registration bureau shall collect taxes from them.

Recognizing property rights was the most proud move in Qi Tai's life. Qi Tai believed that the main reason why merchants fled north now was that their property was not protected, and some illegal officials always used excuses to seize their property. However, under the rule of the King of Yan in the north, the situation was slightly better because the lords and officials restrained each other. If the court issued an order, no government could infringe on the property obtained without embezzlement. If there was any infringement, the court would severely punish and compensate the victims with the treasury. It would definitely win back the hearts of a group of merchants. After all, the north is a bitter and cold place, and the comfort level of life is far from the south.

"You write a memorandum and try to make it clearer. Tomorrow our monarch and ministers discuss this matter in the court, I think these three strategies are all good prescriptions for governing the world." When Qi Tai made the first suggestion, Zhu Biao was attracted. This strategy is really good, especially in the name of regulating the power of local officials to regain the jurisdiction of Yongming City Customs. King Yan Zhu Di must not find enough excuses to refuse. Article 2 The law of unified taxation will inevitably be difficult to implement, but if the people are properly employed, the problem can be solved. Article 3 The strategy of recognizing property rights is also beneficial. The people have worked hard for half their lives and must have a hope that the officials of the family property will occupy it at will. What other ways will they do besides escaping to a relatively safe place?

"The minister respects the order", Qi Tai accepted the task happily.

Zhu Biao was moved by Qi Tai's pious face. He smiled and told me, "Don't be happy too early. I think these three strategies are a good way to govern the world, but the court officials may not think that you have made sense, so I should find a way to make it clearer when I was going to tell you tomorrow morning. It is best to write a feasibility report and analyses for me like Duke Wu back then."

"I will definitely live up to your expectations," Qi Tai sat upright and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, in fact, your Majesty's confusion tonight will be solved with your great talent. After the Huai River is cleared, I hope Your Majesty will be transferred to the capital as soon as possible and ask questions day and night."

"I have a good attitude to this matter," Zhu Biao said to him. "You two will retreat. I will go to the Department of Justice to investigate what you reported tonight tomorrow. The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and the general account must be calculated clearly. I must find out a few severe punishments that will lead.

Otherwise, these guys would really think that I was weak and could be bullied, and they would become more and more ignorant of restraint."

"I'm leaving," Qi Tai and Zhu Jiangyan stood up together to say goodbye. In the twelfth lunar month, it was very cold outside the house. The two were not very harmonious at first, and they had no intention of chatting under the cold wind. They quickly walked out of the palace gate and headed straight for their respective carriages.

"Brother Zhu, wait." As soon as he touched the handrail of the car, the foot of the Suzhou Zhu Er was called back by Qi Taidi. Turning around, he saw Qi Tai's excited and trembling body shivering in the cold wind, leaning forward slightly, as if he was about to speak but stopped.

What the hell is this Qi Tai? Zhu Jiangyan is a little confused. Among the several Grand Secretary of the Jingtai Dynasty, Huang Zicheng was the most respected, and then Cao Zhen, Qi Tai, Shang Jiong, Liu Binglong, Zhu Jiangyan ranked last because of his political disagreement with Huang Zicheng and others. And this position was the honor and favor that Zhu Biaonian had been following for many years.

However, the proposal made by Qi Tai today is somewhat insightful, at least not just to protect the traitors who are plundering the people's wealth and ointment. In his performance tonight, Zhu Jiangyan gave the other party a smile and asked politely: "Mr. Qi, it's so late, I won't go back to catch the memorial tomorrow morning. Is there anything else to discuss with Zhu?"

"It's nothing big," Qi Tai smiled awkwardly and asked in a low voice: "Qi's uncle, Bo Wenyuan, was invited to give lectures in the capital a few days ago. I wonder if Brother Zhu had ever met him."

"Of course, he and I are old acquaintances." Zhu Er became more and more strange. Qi Tai, who was very familiar with his uncle, did not know that their masters and apprentices had never had any contact with each other for many years due to their different views on Confucian classics.

Qi Tai leaned against Zhu Er again and said in a tone that was almost chatty: "The Chinese New Year is coming soon. Qi Tai is worried about his uncle's health and wants to suggest that if his uncle is fine, it would be better to return to Beijing as soon as possible. The winter in the south is wet and not warm, so it is not suitable for a weak person like Uncle Master to stay for a long time." After saying that, he turned around and said goodbye.

"The south is wet, so it's not suitable to live for a long time." What's this? I've lived here for so many years, but it's not good. Besides, the guest room in the Capital University Hall can be slow to stay in Bo Wenyuan. He can't go to my house for fear of the cold! Zhu Jiangyan was very impatient by Qi Tai's mysterious behavior and thought angrily.

No, no, Zhu Er suddenly felt a warning in his heart, jumped into the carriage, and headed straight for the Beijing University.
Chapter completed!