Lao Zhu was in a trance for a moment. This was not what he cared about! But when he sat down and looked at the messy accounts, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly entered the state, and his face gradually became serious. Suddenly Lao Zhu stretched out his fist and fiercely
Threw it hard on the table.
"What are these beasts doing? We just came to the throne, and now they have such big mouths! What a deception!"
Zhu Yuanzhang roared low and furious.
Zhang Ximeng lowered his eyelids and stared at the accounts in front of him, also burning with anger... In fact, the reason why Hu Weiyong was introduced not long ago was to rectify the financial and taxation system. The problems in the Ministry of Revenue were very big, and Zhang Ximeng knew this well.
But there is definitely a difference between an honest mistake and an intentional one.
It's obvious that this time the problem went beyond the limit.
Jiang Nan sorted out the account books and continued: "Sir, in addition to the gap in money and food, I also discovered that the money donated to the superior in the past few months has also disappeared, including the money donated by the King of Yue to the superior.
The money is almost three hundred thousand taels!"
"What?" Zhu Yuanzhang roared again, and he was really angry and laughed. Fang Guozhen did send a large sum of money to Lao Zhu, but this money was not just Fang Guozhen's. It also contained money for Mao Gui to purchase ordnance, and this
The batch of ordnance was to be sent to Goryeo and handed over to Guan Duo and the others.
In other words, the Ministry of Accounts actually made a mistake on such a crucial sum of money and disappeared from the books.
Let alone Zhu Yuanzhang, if he were an ordinary emperor, he would probably be furious!
Lao Zhu suddenly felt that his face was burning. It had only been five days since the enthronement ceremony, but he was still full of joy and felt how great he was!
Good guy, you got such a mouthful so quickly.
You still plan to subdue people like Guan Duo and Mao Gui. You, Ming, are in trouble. How much better are you than others?
When Lao Zhu thought of this, his head was buzzing.
"Check, get to the bottom of it! If we don't dig out these big beetles, how can we use troops abroad and how can we maintain peace in the world?" Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth, "Li Shanchang can't escape his involvement in this matter. We are not done with him!"
Zhang Ximeng was frightened when he heard this.
Lao Zhu actually turned his anger on Li Shanchang, which was not a good thing.
Especially at this juncture when he had just ascended the throne, and Zhang Ximeng most likely believed that Li Shanchang was really wronged in this incident.
Why does Zhang Ximeng think so?
The main reason is that the Ministry of Household Affairs took the lead in purchasing for the enthronement ceremony, and the Zhongshu Province cooperated with the Ministry of War to allocate military supplies and prepare for the use of troops.
We do not rule out that Li Shanchang knew about it, but just to convict him on this basis would be too disrespectful to the most important hero of the Ming Dynasty.
"My lord, it is not difficult to catch people and behead them, to scare the tigers, and to serve as a warning. What is difficult is to prescribe the right medicine and find out the crux of the problem. I think the biggest problem this time is that the Ministry of Revenue issued a blank procurement document, allowing the officials below to make their own decisions.
, and this decision-making by oneself has great hidden potential.”
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly: "It's not just big. It's simply wanton. You can do whatever you want. Sir, how did you think that exorbitant taxes and messy tax and labor assessments came about? It's not all like this! We saw a lot when we were young.
Well, we know very well that petty officials harm the people. We just can’t figure it out, what is this Li Shanchang doing? Why do you allow the people below to go down with blank official documents? We held the enthronement ceremony to make all the people return to their hearts, but in the end,
It is not an exaggeration to kill him for such a thing as he has become a cruel person who harms the people and is alienated from morality!"
Lao Zhu was furious, and it was not without reason... Continuing from the Yuan Dynasty, officials had to submit tax accounts to higher levels, and only if there were no problems with the amounts could they be finally approved for treasury.
But if there is a slight mistake, the minor one will be punished and the serious one will be held accountable.
However, the Yuan Dynasty had a vast territory and complicated mountains and rivers. Taking the transportation of grain and grass as an example, the losses on the road were not a small amount.
From the county, when it arrived at the province, ten thousand shi turned into 8,000 shi. When it arrived in Dadu, the 8,000 shi turned into 5,000... All were lost on the road. The actual amount received must be the same as the amount at the time of shipment.
Huge gap.
What should I do?
Smart officials came up with an excellent idea, which was to prepare several blank official documents with large seals in advance, and fill in as many as were actually delivered, thus avoiding trouble.
Perfect!
Wait, is there no problem with such a genius idea?
The problem is huge. Since the officials fill it in casually, there is no basis for it. How much is transported from the local area and how much is lost along the way... How much discrepancy there is depends on the mood of the handling official.
Gu Hao
This is not even the most terrible thing. There are many blank documents in the hands of these officials. If they are lost on the road, can they collect them again?
This is what Zhu Yuanzhang said about the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes he encountered when he was a child. They were levied over and over again.
Knowing these things, when Zhu Yuanzhang established the tax system, he used grain chiefs to collect taxes, so as to prevent local officials from taking the opportunity to extort the people.
Whoever embraces you will own the whole world
Although the grain manager may not be foolproof, it is still much better than officials messing around casually.
It stands to reason that under Zhu Yuanzhang's rule, there was no such thing as an "empty seal".
But this time, in order to build Yingtian, the amount of bricks, tiles and wood that needed to be purchased was very huge, as well as raw lacquer, tung oil, brass, etc., which were all a staggering amount.
The construction period is only a few months, so the Ministry of Works sent out many people to purchase... and the requirements must be sufficient and no secondary purchases are allowed. If it affects the progress of the project, it will be a big loss.
Therefore, there are many blank official documents in the Ministry of Accounts, in order to facilitate the purchasing officials to write off the accounts.
…
"Xiang Li, I, I swear to God, this is all to speed up the progress of the project and ensure that Yingtian City is repaired. There is absolutely no selfish intention at all. Mr. Li, you have to save the household department! You can't just let the coronation ceremony go so smoothly.
As soon as it is done, we will unload the grindstone, kill the donkey, and take the household flag as a sacrifice! Whoever does more will be blamed more! If this continues, the hearts of loyal ministers will be chilled!"
Ruan Hongdao was heartbroken and begged hard.
However, in Lao Li's view, his various performances were completely without incident.
"I did not participate in the preparations for the ceremony this time. Prime Minister Zhang is also responsible for the process etiquette and taking charge of the overall situation... As for the specific work, it is the Hanlin Academy, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, and Honglu Temple... Among them, your Ministry of Household Affairs has done a great job
The most, and the most money handled. Why are you not careful? Now there is a rumor that the Du branch is targeting you, so you come to me. What can I do? If something happens in the household department, I will go to plead guilty, and the superiors will kill me.
I, too, deserve the punishment, is it possible that I can still protect the criminal?"
Hearing this, Ruan Hongdao was completely out of his mind. Is this guy Li Shanchang prepared to ignore him?
"Li Xiang, in the final analysis, we all work for the superiors. We do it for the superiors' face. We must look good and decent. Now the Du Branch is staring at us, maybe it is Prime Minister Zhang who ordered us behind the scenes. Li Xianggong, he Zhang Ximeng
If you want to be a sage, you also have to make people alive! He bullies people like this, Prime Minister Li can't ignore it..."
"Shut up!"
Li Shanchang jumped up, his eyes were red with anger.
"Okay! Not only are you greedy and greedy, you actually dare to instigate a relationship between me and Prime Minister Zhang, and drive a wedge between important officials in the imperial court... I think you are impatient with life. My Zhongshu Province is too small to accommodate you. Please
You go out now, go to Fengtian Palace, and find the superior. If you can explain the truth clearly and convince the superior, let alone a mere discrepancy in money and food, even if I give you the position under Zhongshu's sect, that's fine.
Of course! I, Li Shanchang, went to Jimin Academy to teach with Prime Minister Zhang, and I was very happy and at ease!"
Ruan Hongdao's old face turned red after being robbed, and he felt uneasy. He quickly said: "Li Xiang Mingjian, I'm a senior official, I don't mean that... I mean, it's difficult to do things, and Prime Minister Zhang doesn't eat the fireworks of the world."
, was deceived.”
Li Shanchang looked at Ruan Hongdao coldly, and suddenly smiled coldly, "You said that Prime Minister Zhang was cheated, then I ask you, how can you prove that you didn't lie to me? How can you prove that the people below didn't lie to you?
When the tax department was established last time, I reminded you to check the people below carefully and don’t let the monkeys fool you!”
"I, I have brought justice to many people, as you know, Mr. Li." Ruan Hongdao argued in a low voice.
"Bah!" Li Shanchang spat: "The ones you brought to justice were not just dealing with official matters? The tax department had just been established, so it didn't reach out to Yingtian. Instead, it first collected taxes on the Ganjiang River... This was both training and military training.
I'll give you some time. If you can correct your past mistakes, conduct strict self-examination, and figure out the problem, you won't be in a hurry and make mistakes one after another! It's better now. Even in the enthronement ceremony, you dare to do whatever you want. What else is there for you?
I don’t dare!”
Li Shanchang cursed loudly, and suddenly, he realized something.
He immediately rushed to Ruan Hongdao, glared angrily, and said through gritted teeth: "You, tell me the truth! Are you considering the tax department's just meritorious service? Hu Weiyong is ambitious and wants to attack your household department... You are in a hurry
In order to make up for the shortfall, you will resort to any means, and want to count the shortfall until the enthronement ceremony? If you think about making the ceremony beautiful, you will have nothing to worry about and you can pass the test safely, right?"
Li Shanchang kept asking questions, leaving Ruan Hongdao dumbfounded and sweat flowing down his temples.
"Li Xiang, I, I was wronged!" Ruan Hongdao's voice was almost crying.
When Li Shanchang saw this, he already knew it.
There is no need to talk nonsense anymore. This beast is looking for death. As expected, no one can save him.
"You can retreat! I still have to write an apology letter to my superior!"
Plop!
Ruan Hongdao knelt on the ground directly, with tears streaming down his face, "Prime Minister Li, we are all old friends from Chuzhou... At the moment, the superiors are surrounded by people from Prime Minister Zhang, and there are so many literati from eastern Zhejiang. They are colluding with each other.
Although Prime Minister Li is known as the leader of hundreds of officials and the most meritorious, but who doesn’t know that the person most trusted by the superiors is Prime Minister Zhang! If this continues, I’m afraid that Prime Minister Li will be left alone!”
Li Shanchang's face turned dark. He didn't even bother to say a word. He just waved his hand and told Ruan Hongdao to get lost... Even if he was alone, he couldn't follow these insects!